How to ask the cleaners nicely without offending them

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I am not originally from the UK and am often criticised for being direct.

We have a holiday let. The cleaners came with the property and are very nice. Cleaners are also like gold dust.

We have just paid £660 for a deep clean however when we visited the property we noticed dust webs and all the picture frames are covered in thick dust.

How do I tell them nicely to be mindful of the dust webs and picture frames? Do I include photos?

Geez, that was long winded

Definitely take photos but if you’re worried about offending and losing them don’t include them in the initial communication. You’ll have them as evidence if they dispute what you’ve said. Seriously, for that amount of money the place should be gleaming.

Use the 'shit sandwich' technique.

"Thanks so much for the clean on Tuesday. How did you get the windows so gleaming? You must tell me what you use.

I noticed a few cobwebs in the corners. Would you mind doing a final check before you finish next time?

It was good of you to fill up the loo roll shelf. It's little things like this that our guests notice"

Or some such waffle.

Other posters will be along to say my suggestion is too wet and you should clearly and briefly let them know they didn't do a 100% job. And that you should say you'll be expecting better if they're booked for the same service again. But I'm too passive!

£660....??.
Cleaner here... Where do I sign up??

£660? I wouldn’t worry about causing offence.

I agree that for £660 it should be gleaming!! It's daylight robbery

@Gazelda I'm all for the wet waffle shit sandwich- thank you

Cleaner here.

On the rare occasion I get any clients complaining, I appreciate photos and the opportunity to go back to rectify.
When I’ve had a client who provides no photos, won’t let me go back or just complains with no interest in a resolution, this is when I get offended. Some clients get very personal too. They start telling me how much they paid (like I don’t know!) and it feels like they overlook all that I’ve done and just focus on the bad but.

Genuinely, if I screw up, I’ll fix it but so many people don’t afford that opportunity. So please, do give them the chance.

Don’t forget, the cleaners have touched literally every surface in the house and if they’ve missed photo frames and a cobweb that’s like 1% of the house. (BTW: cobwebs are a nightmare. Sometimes they just don’t show up depending on the way the light falls in the room).
They’re human. Everyone misses things in their jobs - a typo in a email, running late for an appointment, not having a clients order ready for collection or whatever else your job involves.

I would message them, thank them so much for the clean. Say you’re really pleased with everything but you’ve just noticed some areas were missed (gives details) and you would really appreciate it if they could pop out and get those areas.

Early on in my cleaning days I did a deep clean for a woman who was helping her daughter move into a student flat and it was 'filthy'. I didn't think it was that bad, but whatever.

She popped in towards the end and I said to her I was 'almost' done. She came into the bathroom, which I was still scrubbing, knelt down and looked under the sink. Then she put her finger inside a gap between the basin and the stand of the sink and said 'it feels dirty in here'. I said, 'Oh don't worry, that was next on my list' it wasn't

I didn't mind, I was brought in to do a job and I'd rather the client was happy tbh. If you're offering a deep clean then you shouldn't miss anything (including gaps that are upside down under sinks apparently). It shouldn't be an issue for them if you point out they forgot something!

I didn't charge £660 though!

Thanks @Sparklfairy and @Fynoderee - always good to hear from other cleaners.

I'm really not fussy and as I said I don't want to upset my cleaners and lose them so want to email them 'as nicely as possible' - I totally get things get missed.

You certainly had an interesting experience @Sparklfairy I've had one too, years ago when I rented out my house. It had been empty for 3 months but newly decorated throughout. There was dust mostly from redecorating and being empty but otherwise clean.

I sent round cleaners before the tenants moved. Next minute I get a call from Foxtons saying the cleaners are saying it's an absolute pigstye, filthy, dirty etc - it required a deep clean and they refused to clean it.

I argued this was not the case but FoxKnobs a) refused to go round and see for themselves because b) these were their recommended cleaners.

I to leave work early, find an emergency cleaner to meet me at the property. We get to the house and the it's exactly as it was expected: requiring a light clean from redecoration.

A few days later I received a call from FoxKnobs. They had contacted the emergency cleaners (clearly checking up) who confirmed the clean state of the property. Clearly, FoxKnobs cleaners were trying to pull a fast one and grift some more money

I don’t understand the price. The average amount for cleaning per hour is around £20. Did they really clean a house for over 30 hours?! It all seems very strange to me and can’t even think about a cobweb! My cleaner does top to bottom clean for average 3 bed takes 2 hours for £40 and a full spring deep clean is £100.

Take photos, send them a note thanking them, note what wasn’t done, send them a list of tasks for future, thank them again. You can be direct but polite.

You don’t need to send the photos unless they dispute it, which is v unlikely

I would imagine that the OP has dealt with it in the last six months.