to be fed up with my cleaning lady?

[nowwearefour]

she is a very nice person and i trust her completely. she babysits for me from time to time and is sooooo good with my dds. Her cleaning is even ok!! the arrangement used to be 2-4pm on a tuesday. she then decided she wanted to come on a monday morning. not ideal for me but i agreed 10-12 with her. only trouble is she keeps on trning up at 9.30. doesnt sound like a big deal but after i have done the school run i wanted the time to sort things out a bit for myself before she turned up. i have tried the 'oh you are early or wasnt expecting you quite yet line' but it isnt working. should i let it go as it is only 30 mins or should i say something??

theITGirl - your reasons for getting a cleaner sound exactly the same as mine! When I first went back to work I was four days a week and wanted to spend my day off doing things with dd not trying to get all the housework done.

13 years later we still have the same cleaner!

I can sort of sympathise with the OP since over the years our cleaner has gradually moved her days and hours to suit herself rather than us and occasionally she p*s me off. BUT I think this is the sort of thing you do put up with when you have found someone you trust and can leave to get on with things.

If my current cleaner decided to jack it in I am not sure I would want to go through the hassle of finding someone else.

No that's not what you agreed. If she was coming half an hour later it wouldn't be ok either. I think you'll have to mention it to her before it becomes set in stone and it looks like you don't mind.

I don't undestand why some posters think you should accept it and be grateful. You are employing her to do a job and those were the agreed times. The same would apply in any job.

Good to see the usual cracks on this thread about people using a cleaner, too. The OP wasn't asking permission from mn

surely if you can afford a cleaner than you are helping the economy out of recession to spend/re-distribute £'s

And I should not be flippant as DH out of work but those that are ok should keep employing people and spending, or am I wrong?

Its a tricky one, but I think on balance if she is a good cleaner and you like her, I would just let it slide.

If it REALLY is a problem then say something to her, but I am not sure it is worth the hassle.

I am really crap at this sort of stuff though, cleaners always end up taking advantage of me/stealing stuff - so I have decided it is just easier to do it myself. If you have a good one stick with her!

I had a great cleaner in Sydney but we moved and she refused to leave her DH and family to come with me

I used to be a cleaner and yanbu. Ask her to come at 10, not 9.30.

Actually, I wouldn't have a cleaner, cleaning is piss easy. I want a TIDIER! Someone who will pick up the endless Items on all the surfaces in the house. Once someone is doing that, I'll happily clean them

ooh, colditz, I am the opposite. I don't like cleaners who tidy. It drove me crazy that the last one (who was otherwise a very good cleaner), used to put things away in drawers and throw away stuff I wanted to keep, in the name of tidying up. After she came, I had to spend lots of time looking for things she hid, including in the bin! Plus she did not follow the correct procedures for recycling.

Everything has a place and not everything that looks like rubbish (eg my papers) I intend to throw!

I told her not to tidy. We are generally quite tidy anyway (though not anal).

coldtits - unless that is a name change?

I can see where you're coming from. Our cleaner does 9-11 on Monday morning (only slot she had) and often calls to ask if she can come at 8.30 instead as it fits in with her school drop off run. TBH it is a total pain as getting us all up and sorted by that time (ds' still preschool age) is a nightmare.
She is so good when she does get here, I figure it's only once in a while and let is slide.

i find it odd that people think that is all i have to be worried about!! it waas the thing i wanted to ask advice about on this particular thread. noone knows anything about my circumstances and what i am worrying about!! but yes essentially house is a total tip befor i leave for the school run and i like to get surfaces and floor cleaned before she turns up so she cleans not tidies.....and her cleaning isnt that great to be honest but ok and acceptable and i like her and want to keep her on. hence my dilemma!!

wish I had your dilemma

nowwearefour - perhaps just a gentle reminder on the lines of, 'is there any way you could push back your arrival time to 10 to give us a bit more time to prepare in the morning' etc?

And just ignore all the petty, judgemental comments about your decision to have a cleaner. It is just that, YOUR decision, and if you can afford it I think having a cleaner is a really sensible idea. She's being paid to do a job just as you and/or your other half are - there's nothing whatsoever exploitative in that.

nowwearefour - LOL Maybe you should have posted your '10 Biggest Worries In Life' before posting this .

and while I am at it, would you stop exploiting this woman!!!

PMSL - fancy paying her to do something she is choosing to do, how terrible of you!!

Nowwearefour - You just need to organise yourself a bit differently if you like, know and trust this cleaner.

One suggestion: why can't you tidy the house last thing on Sunday night? Then it can't get too wrecked before you go off to school in the morning.

Or, just tidy one room when you get back - one of the quicker ones - and ask her to clean that room first, then you tidy the next room and she cleans it, and so on. If you can tidy the whole house in 30 mins it can't take more than 5 mins average per room (assuming she is cleaning 6 rooms). So she shouldn't be left waiting for you to finish tidying. So in effect she can start cleaning at 9.35 not 10.00, but with a tidy house.

lol. ChippingIn.

nowwearefour, I think I was in your position with my first cleaner. She was very nice, and we spent time chatting when she was here. Her cleaning was ok, superficial, not great but I put up with it on the basis of the devil I know.

She would cancel at the last minute (for all sorts of seemingly valid childcare-related/crisis reasons), make up time on a day that suited her, come 15 minutes late and leave on time - all of which I took with a pinch of salt. Because of the friendship and the long habit of giving in, I failed to manage the employer/employee relationship miserably and felt I could not now start. I would have come on mn and ask a question along the lines of ... would I offend my cleaner if I ask her to stick to my rules?

To cut a long story short, when the opportunity presented itself (aupair), I replaced her rather than manage her.

With my aupairs, I don't pussyfoot around any more. Learnt my lesson.

I will state my requirements very clearly and point out shoddy work or slipping standards as soon as I am aware. I am polite but firm.

And I realised that when I wanted to hire a cleaner, which I did over the summer, there were much better ones out there. I just chatted with a few of my neighbours and got recommendations. No way I will put up with halfbaked cleaning again (not saying your cleaner is). All the best.

I wouldn't say 'would you mind...'

I'd say ''I really need you to come at 10 as we agreed''.

Have started to get better at communicating with my new cleaner. I think the longer you leave not saying anything, the more difficult it gets.

Completely agree that you need time to sort yourself out in the morning.

It's a waste of money expecting the cleaner to tidy before cleaning and a real pain when you can't find things.

Agree with DesperateHousewife, ask her to come at 10 as agreed. You've already accommodated her by agreeing to change the day (I do agree that Monday morning is not the best time for a cleaner though).
I also struggle to get myself and DSs sorted in the morning and get very anxious if cleaner (or various builders etc) arrive earlier than expected.

I agree - she needs to come at 10 - you need to time for a cup of coffee and a frantic tidy in peace. I SO agree that cleaners time should be used up cleaning and not tidying. I would definitely say something. I would. Without a doubt. It is totally reasonable to do so.

SO her cleaning has gone from being "OK!" to "not that great" in the space of the thread...

What is the point of paying a cleaner who doesn't clean well??!?! Doesn't that defy the object of employing her in the first place?!

her cleaning is ok. not great. tolerable. ok. nothing has changed during the course of the thread! i will try to speak to her this morning but i too am a bit of a wimp on these types of matters. it is realy jusy emptyin the dishwasher from the night before and putting away breakfast things so kitchen is free of clutter and also sorting out drying washing so driers arent taking over floor space etc. house is tidied up night before but still have clutter created in the am! thanks for all helpful comments though...

Have you said anything to her yet?

Go on.....you can do it

would you believe it today she didnt turn up til 9.55!!! so i said nothing. then she was gossiping away said oh yes i was on the phone to so and so this am that is why i am a bit late. i said actually i prefer it when you come a bit later. she totally ignored what i said and carried on. not sure what that means!!! do i score at least some points for grabbing the moment????