Cleaner: expectations

[NewChoos]

We have had our first cleaning visit today and I feel slightly disappointed but not sure if my expectations are too high. In 2 hours she hoovered the house, washed the kitchen floor, bathroom, ensuite & downstairs loo. Dusted/wiped down surfaces.

It looks fine, but certainly isn't perfect ie she didn't polish towel rails, kettle, toaster. There were still marks on the fridge door, few splashes on paintwork, tv's dusty.

I asked her if 2 hours was enough to do the house and she said yes as doesn't need to do the same cleaning every week, for example no need to do the guest room weekly.

Although it looks fine, I certainly didn't have the wow feeling but not sure if I should??
We are paying £11 per hour. Should I see this as help with getting the basics done and I can do the finer details myself or shall I try a different cleaner to see if standards are any better?

Yep, I would be stopping the cheque.

To say the house was a bit of a state is horrid, but if it was spotlessly clean, you would have no need for a cleaner. It's probably not a good idea for him to ingratiate himself to say to clients that their houses are in a 'bit of a state'!

If it were me, I would be telling him that unless they come back and do a satisfactory job, then I will be stopping the cheque. Point out that mopping around the table is unacceptable, and giving work-tops a surface wipe is not cleaning, it is wiping.

£60 per fortnight is (IMO) far too much to be paying anyway.

3 hours is the norm for a standard house isnt it? To cram so much into 2 hrs only the basics can be done. In the past I also had 3 hours and really another hour would be need to really dust everything and start moving funiture.

I always found the kitchen was the first room and that was well cleaned and by the time they got to the bedrooms they'd given up. I never got the cooker cleaned as it takes too much time.

I've given up with cleaners as they always start well but start fading after a few months.

Kettle polishing?

You should probably allow one hour per bedroom. So, a 3-bed house = 3 hours etc.

I've drawn up a very detailed list of instructions - including wiping over door handles and moving items to clean windowsills. I've done it myself and know how long it takes to do a thorough job.

I do think you have to coach cleaners to get exactly what you want - praise them for the things they do well (which might be everything if you're lucky) and ask if there was a problem if something hasn't been done to standard... if it still doesn't work out, move on to someone else.

But also, hardly anyone will do it as well as you might do yourself if you had the time, so there has to be some leeway - up to you to decide where to draw that line.

I think it depends if every room is done each week. Our cleaner doesn't really do our study or play room, but 3 hours is enough for most houses.