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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to expect a cleaner to know not to use a scourer on stainless steel?

37 replies

AnnieLobeseder · 26/02/2010 20:11

And please spare me the 'oh, you've got a cleaner, you don't know you're born' comments please .

But seriously, FFS! She has scratched my beloved hob to bits! It will need replacing. I loved that hob.

I'm seriously in tears!

I had cancelled my contract with them, cos there were other issues. The boss said I could cancel the cleaner immediately though I would need to pay him for a month. I thought this very unfair, and that the cleaner should get a month's notice too. And this is the thanks I get. Great. Thank you, karma.

OP posts:

BrahmsThirdRacket · 26/02/2010 20:13

YANBU that is really shoddy. I would be asking them for a new cooker if I was you. It's freaking common sense to not use a scourer on ss.

thisisnotwhoyouthink · 26/02/2010 20:15

I would ask for something towards it too. Very shoddy work. Do you think it is related as he is losing his job? Payback?

JustMoon · 26/02/2010 20:16

My MIL did the same to my Smeg stainless steel range oven, I nearly passed out when I saw it. I wouldn't mind but it's not like I asked her to clean it, she took it upon heself while I was out.

YANBU.

RixRix · 26/02/2010 20:27

I got rid of my SS scourer for this very reason and just keep the gentle ones here.

I also watched in horror as my nanny sprayed our brown leather lounge with mildew/mould remover!!

Imisssleeping · 26/02/2010 20:49

Won't the company be insured for things like this?
Did you ask her why she'd done it?

TheYearOfTheCat · 26/02/2010 20:59

Small claims court will sort it.

LadyPops · 26/02/2010 21:04

Ours did the same, to our hob and splash back - when I showed her she just went 'oh yeah' WTF???

We had to do the same too, got rid of her but had to pay the agency fees for a month, We could have claimed on their insurance but the excess was £150 so we didn't bother. Makes me want to weep whenever I look at it though.

theoutdoorlifeforme · 26/02/2010 21:07

If you have accidental damage cover on your home insurance (usually an optional extra of about £25) you'll probably be able to claim for a new cooker. They'll pursue the cleaning company if necessary.

hazeyjane · 26/02/2010 21:13

I don't think I would automatically know not to use a scourer on stainless steel

When I was cleaner, I washed my employers wooden floor with Flash (she had asked me to clean the floor), she was furious, because I should have cleaned it with the wooden floor cleaner that was right at the back of the cupboard - I just didn't have a clue.

hazeyjane · 26/02/2010 21:14

Sorry that should be 'when I was a cleaner' - that post makes it sound as though i am filthy!

Original poster

AnnieLobeseder · 26/02/2010 23:43

Am still really really upset. We don't have much money. We have a tiny house. Most of our stuff is second hand or hand-me-downs. We're making a fair number of sacrifices to have a cleaner, so that we can spend more time with the DDs at the weekend as we both work full-time.

That hob was one of the few special, lovely things in the house. When DH built the kitchen, by himself, with the cheapest units Wicks had on sale when we moved in, we spent more than we could really afford on that hob, because it was so beautiful and I loved it so much. It was mine, I chose it, when I hardly ever get to choose anything in the house cos we can't afford to be fussy.

And now it's ruined. I know it might just be a stupid hob to other people. But it meant a lot to me.

And that wanker at the cleaning company, when I e-mailed him earlier to tell him about it, has just responded with "I'm sorry you're disappointed with our service." That's all. How can he run a professional company, employing cleaner who he claims are super-trained and of an uber-standard, when they try to clean my bath with Toilet Duck Fresh Disks and ruin my precious hob?!

I think the company is a franchise. This guys obviously doesn't give a toss. I've had the same responses to all my complaints. Do you think it's worth contacting head office?

OP posts:

Bonsoir · 26/02/2010 23:50

Annie - yes, contact head office. See what they say. And if you get no joy, you need to contact a consumer organisation or a journalist who deals in this kind of thing.

It is just not OK for a cleaner to do this kind of thing.

cakewench · 27/02/2010 00:00

Yes it is 100% worth contacting the head office. Please do so! What horrible service.

ChunkyPickle · 27/02/2010 00:01

And if after all this you don't get any results, do as TheYearOfTheCat suggests - moneyclaim.gov.uk - it costs about 35 quid to file the claim (really easy web form, full instructions) then just chunters along, nothing arduous or time-consuming, they'll probably listen a bit harder when they get official court documents delivered!

I just claimed from an agent that screwed me over, 2 months later I've just had confirmation from the court that a cheque is on its way in full refund (including the 35pound original fee)

BitOfFun · 27/02/2010 00:21

DP says it can be polished out with a professional buffer. It's like a rag on a sander. Perhaps worth a google and a try?

BitOfFun · 27/02/2010 00:22

It's fixable, he promises! I do sympathise though- you expect a professional service when you go with an agency, and you are right to be disappointed.

islandofsodor · 27/02/2010 00:27

I'm confused. I find that brillo pads are the best way to clean stainless steel. MY sink comes up lovely when I use one.

alypaly · 27/02/2010 00:28

DS2 thought he was being very helpful a few years ago and decided to clean a really expensive set of circulon mon stick pans with a metal scourer. I could have killed him but i guess he was only trying to be helpful

BitOfFun · 27/02/2010 00:31

Some info here on ow to best care for stainless steel.

BitOfFun · 27/02/2010 00:33

Some information on repairing scrathes

Devendra · 27/02/2010 07:09

Im sorry but I cannot ever ever imagine being in tears over a hob!!!
Yes call head office as cleaner not doing job and would expect some kind of compensation... but tears... really?? Perspective.

CwtchyMama · 27/02/2010 08:03

Devendra i dont uinderstand,why not tears? The op has explained this was the only possesion she has in her home that she has chosen herself & it means a lot to her.

Do you not have a possesion that means a lot to you?

Op, dh seconds what BitOfFun's dh has said,you should be able to polish the scratchs out,i would get a professional company to do it & send the bill to the cleaning company.

SixtyFootDoll · 27/02/2010 08:09

OP, Def contact head office.
And I would have been in tears too.
I cried when I lost my lovley brand new mobile phone that I had saved up for.

Devendra · 27/02/2010 08:10

No possession means so much to me that I would be in tears... really.

hazeyjane · 27/02/2010 08:28

Hope that the suggestion for rebuffing can sort out your hob.

In future I would make sure that you leave a special stainless steel cleaner and cloth next to the hob, with a note on how to clean. Even if you have used an agency, the cleaner may be young and naive like I was.

After my floor incident, I was always really careful to ask people what was the correct product for the job, and wouldn't clean something if it in any way looked like I could damage it!

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