To get rid of the cleaners who came today?

[LoveMyGirls]

Two cleaners came for an hour and a half (so 3hours total cleaning time) I tidied before they arrived so all they would have to do is clean and my house is by no means grimey or filthy, surface dirty i'd say at most.

They put clean bedding on dd's beds
hoovered and mopped 3 bed house (not to my standards)
cleaned my leather suite
wiped the sides dining table and chairs (chairs not done to my standards)
wiped sides in living room
cleaned both bathrooms (again not to my standards)
cleaned patio windows
folded a small pile of clean washing and put it upstairs

I'm just not convinced it was a good enough go at it, when they hoovered they didn't do underneath or corners properly when I wiped the kitchen floor with a wipe it was dirty.
They didn't wipe under the microwave ot bread bin either but did wipe under everything else.
They didn't wipe the desk either and it was really quite dusty.
The bath had a ring round it and hair in the bottom of it.
The highchair I asked specifically to be done properly wasn't done properly at all infact even had a baked bean from lunchtime on the seat.

So AIBU?

If so what shall I say to their boss?

Harriet - The did the patio window not all of them, the fee is £8 per hour and I provide cleaning stuff.

I have now found another cleaner for £9 an hour she will bring all her own stuff and I did meet her ages ago and we clicked but chose not to take her on because she couldn't offer me the right day now she can offer me the day before the day I'd like which is not absolutly ideal but if she's good I can work round it.

I think that if they start off cleaning poorly there is only one direction they will go in.

I would understand if they did not complete everything in the time because they were finding their way around but if it is their first week, you would expect them to make every effort to clean thoroughly.

Glad you have found a new person. Hope it works out well.

I am on my 3rd cleaner now (1st left to have a baby, 2nd came in pairs and there were various problems so I sacked them) and have found it easier each time to be more specific about what I expect and where I am happy to compromise.

YANBU
I don't understand how anyone could not manage to do the jobs you list in 6 hours.
Can anyone honestly say that the op was unreasonable to expect her list to be completed in 6 hours?
She had TWO cleaners who each worked 3 hours. That is 6 hours worth of work.
Call the company and tell them that the work was not up to standard and you do not want them back. If asked to elaborate , then read your list to the boss.

I just re read the op and realised that I am completely wrong

But AIBU ginor? Not that it really matters as I've done what I think is best but for the sake of it was I bu?

Well the boss jsut rang me and I told her honestly that I wasn't impressed and I'd pay this time but not to bother sending them again. Feel a bit bad they may get into trouble as she didn't sound happy. I did think she would try to defend them and say well what did you expect etc but she didn't, she didn't apologise for it either or knock any money off. At least I can start a fresh with my new one.

Friday morning I spent from 8am-11am cleaning my 2 bedroomed, small apartment. I did not even go into my dd's bedroom. This did not include any special cleaning ie the oven.

I changed a db sheets, cleaned 2 bathrooms, hoovered lounge (small) and bedroom. Dusted both rooms. Mopped kitchen floor, bathroom floors. Wiped down all leather furniture.

As I had to get ready for work, I did not complete all the cleaning. I personally do feel yabu, proper cleaning does take time. Although my dh does accuse me of being slightly obsessional about cleaning, so maybe my standards are high.

Oooooh, I've had loads of experience with sub-standard cleaning. The worst experience was paying a company to do a 'spring clean'. I was charged £18 an hour as it was a one-off, which I gulped about, but wanted a really thorough job doing as my previous regular cleaner had not cleaned well, and come only erratically. I specifically said I wanted the cleaner to get behind furniture they could move eg toddler beds, cots etc. The promised to get behind everything in the kitchen.

Anyway, I came home after 8 hours and found that the house had been cleaned to a normal 3 hour clean standard. I phoned to complain and was told that health and safety meant they didn't move furniture although they had said they would. However, they were very proud of the fact that they had cleaned behind my fridge. Until I emailed photos of the back of my fridge. Eventually, after a visit from 2 supervisors from the company they reduced the bill by 1 hour. Whooppee.

Anyway, that's irrelevant. Sorry. Just makes me riled.

I think the sorry truth is that nobody will clean your house as well as you can yourself. So, unless you fancy cleaning it yourself, you have to put up with some annoyances. I've decided not to get irritated when the shower screen isn't done well, because I hate doing it myself. I pay someone to do it, and am very grateful that I don't have to think about that aspect of things any more. If it annoys you to an extreme, then you're better off with no cleaner or another cleaner.

Out of interest, where did you find an agency that charged £8 an hour? My current agency charges just over £11 an hour, and I provide all the stuff. At the moment I prefer an agency because I have found unreliability an issue. I need to know when my house will be cleaned, and agencies are quite convenient for that.

LMG
It sounds like your new lady is the way forward. I would do the same in your position. The supervisor has probably heard it all before. And for some people those ladies might be fine.

My new cleaner started today and she did very well, exactly what I wanted.

She was here for 2 hours she hoovered and mopped the whole house, cleaned bathrooms, cleaned the kitchen/ dining room, picked up all the shoes thrown under the stairs, made dd2's bed and left me a note saying she'd done everything I asked so she dusted dd's bedrooms and did a few skirting boards. Brilliant. Just a bit gutted I can't afford for her to do more hours or come more often!

i cant believe all the slave drivers on here what a load of moaners get your whole house cleaned in 3 hours what a joke and change the beds i cant believe it, all for £8 0r £9 an hour, your just the people i would not want to clean for.

i love my cleaner,she's great

hooray a happy client

YABU

Message withdrawn

I have a brilliant cleaner at the moment, she comes for 3 hours on a Tuesday and 5 hours on a Friday, she is great She is a tidiness freak and that suits me, my house looks fantastic after she has been.

I have had a succession of useless cleaners, one spent all her time with her phone clamped to her ear, shouting in bulgarian, started off well, went downhill, hated the cats and the children, swore when she tripped over both!

Another, was a good cleaner, but started to steal from us after 2 .5 years, mainly DD's clothes, she 'borrowed' some, they went and then reappeared! The final straw was a Tiffany bracelet from her godmother, she knew I knew she had taken it, and she contrived to "find it" down the back of DD's bed, which we had taken out to check as she often loses her inhalers down there. I have lost a lot of jewellery without realising, a lesson learned for me to lock up valuables, but I am a trusting person

When she 'found' it, I just asked for my keys on the spot and asked her to go She went without a murmur. later found put that she had been pinching all the £1 coins out of DH's office, we thought it was the DC's, they were so indignant when we accused them!

I think that having 2 people for half the time doesn't work, I did have a team of polish girls who came, 4 of them for total 6 housr, but they never knew who had done what and things got missed. They also broke to many things, which I should have made the agency pay for, but sometimes you just want rid.

Another agency thought I was unreasonable to not allow one to bring her 2 year old with her, I found her playing with all minded children toys, alone the other end of the house from her mother, unsupervised, they thought that as a childminder that I wouldn't mind an extra one. So I told them I would deduct £6 an hour off their bill for childminding fees!

They then said she could only come at 4.00pm, I said I didn't want a cleaner around at 9.00pm on a Friday night, again told I was unreasonable!

Are you in London? I use homeclean.co.uk.
You pay them a yearly fee (£190 for the first year, then £95 every year after that) and £7 an hour to the cleaner directly.
I went through a couple of cleaners before I found one who I am very happy with.

The agency were understanding/polite when I told them frankly that what I needed was an exprienced cleaner - I just don't have time to go round after her telling her how it should be cleaned - and they are very good at sending a replacement is she goes on holiday/ is sick etc.
I think there is only so much they can check up on. Times have changed but when I applied to be an au-pair 15 years ago no one checked my references.

If you don't tell the agency, they won't know you're not happy and assumed the cleaners did an all right job.

fyi my cleaner does around 5 hours every friday, 4 bed house from top to bottom including around 1 hour ironing.

I think it's just trial and error until you get a cleaner who's on your wavelength.

I've used agencies in the past and never had a good clean from any of them.

My current cleaner is reasonably good. She was excellent at first but she's still one of the best I've had.

She does 3hours a week at £10 per hour. Most of that time is kitchen, bathrooms and loos as that's what I hate doing and what I feel we need most. Then the last half hour or so she hoovers most of the house. Once every 2 months I pay her an extra hour and she spends 2hours cleaning the windows and wiping the skirting.

IME, you've got to prioritise and say you want those areas done thoroughly otherwise you end up with a superficial clean everywhere rather than a good clean anywhere.

June, that is good value, in St Albans it is between £10 an£12 an hour.

My DD lives in London and she pays £9 an hour, and is very happy with her cleaner too.

I always use Karma Klean. They do one off cleans so if they did a bad job would lose a lot of business. Their cleaners make a priority list with you so its really clear what you expect. They are also based in north london.