Is this client request for a cleaning proposal a normal expectation?

[ByAlertGoldGoose]

Hi,

I'm a domestic cleaner and just need a sense check if you have a cleaner or you are a cleaner.

I received the following message from a client I started with last week. For context the home is a bedroom, 2 bathroom house

"Hi XXX, I’d like to come up with a plan for the next 6 months. I like the idea of having a full clean on Tuesday and then a once over on Friday. Regular bed sheets changed and towels. I don’t know if you do general laundry and ironing, otherwise we can do the laundry and maybe find someone to do ironing.

Could you write me a proposal of your thoughts and ideas and goals for the house. And then we can make an agreement going forward.

Also, just before the beginning of each new season, a deep house cleaning, getting everything ready for the next season.

Sounds good?

All of your thoughts and ideas on the setup of the house, any systems we should put it place etc.

Write everything down so I can have a look through"

I've never had such a request so wondered if this a one off request or is this the expectation going forward?

Sounds like he wants you to organise his whole home and work out systems for him like Stacey Solomon. He wants a housekeeper or a wife!

I've never had this when I've had a cleaner. It seems like it's more than cleaning if you are organising and sorting and doing laundry and ironing and doing all the thinking.

I agree with pp, they want a housekeeper rather than a cleaner. However housekeepers charge more per hour so they want premium work for a cheap price and based on that I would walk away.

I agree with PP saying this is a GREAT way to upsell more services and get more money!!

List out your ‘bog standard’ stuff that you’d include in a Tuesday proper clean and how long that would take and how much
List out the ‘top up’ clean jobs and how long how much

Then detail what you’d add for 4 x seasonal cleans and how long for each one

Then add ‘rolling extras’ as optional say 1 extra hour every week to cover eg:
wiping all paintwork throughout the house
deep clean each room pulling things out / hoovering behind furniture etc
washing windows
kitchen drawers and cupboards
Inside wardrobes
ontop of kitchen cupboards / wardrobes
hard to reach light fittings
polishing brass / silver
beeswax / deeper polish furniture
etc etc

Also agree if you plug the details of her house and her request into most AIs they will give you a great starting point in minutes

3 bed 2 bath, so not a big house. How keen are you to secure their work and how many hours/ what rate is being proposed?

Do they have pets, young children, a cluttered or very messy house? None of these are deal breakers, just give an idea of what level of work you might encounter each visit. Also, will the house be empty or will you have to work around people at home?

Honestly, I'd consider bending over backwards with a more detailed list (not a written proposal/business plan though) for a good 10+ hours per week at a really good rate, but if less than 6 hours a week for a nominal rate under £18-20ph, I'd find a different client as their expectation seems way off.

I wouldn’t bother frankly. You want someone to have a chat with you and walk you round, appreciate you understand the job and then you give expected time/ a price. I’d respond and propose this instead of some battle of the forms.
The sort of person who wants “goals and proposals for the house” for a cleaning job sounds like someone who values their time more than yours and won’t be easy to work with.
It’s super hard to find good cleaners now. Do you really need to do this?

Why on earth are you paying someone to clean toilets and bathrooms that haven't been used? That's mad!

They'll still get dusty, possible cobwebs or other signs of small insect activities, etc, so I imagine they just get a light clean. Hardly mad.

Absolutely not normal! A 'proposal and goals' for a 1-bed house? They want an executive PA, not a domestic cleaner. Do not do unpaid corporate admin for a house clean!
This madness is exactly why I started booking everyone through mycleanerhub.co.uk it forces clients to select standard services and keeps the boundaries strictly professional. you can try visit the platform and sign up

Jeeze

Thorough clean plus top up seems completely normal.

I think she just wants an idea of how many hours it’ll take and what areas you’ll clean during this time.

As well as normal week to week cleaning I would allow approximately an hour a week for periodic cleaning, e.g. oven, refrigerator, skirting boards, deep clean of shower etc.

No, it’s up to her to tell OP how long she needs to do what OP requires. Or give options. If I do xxx it will take yyy hours and if I do zzz it will need qqq hours. That’s setting expectations and for success.

its the same as any employee, its a job spec.

But it’s the OP who is the cleaner. She already has cleaned for the client so should have an idea of what needs doing and approximately how long it’ll take.

Honestly, it’s a basic job and not well paid. You shouldn’t need training in contract management to understand an agreement. Cleaners I’ve met wouldn’t both, if that’s the tone.

It sounds like she's running a business not a home. Is she airbnb'ing it out?

I predict this client will be a nightmare with unrealistic expectations. When I had a cleaner I just expected her to clean what she could within the time limits, I didn’t need a written proposal of ‘scrub showerhead and polish taps ever second Thursday’.

Hi. My plan is to dust, polish, hoover and mop and then go home. I don't plan on doing anything else. You can either pay me per hour for the above, or list the tings above you want doing in what order and I'll work through them until done and pay me for the tasks in total.

It isn't so badly paid. I pay £20. London Living Wage is £14.80. But I do think it's hard work. There's also dead time, travelling between jobs (my cleaner doesn't drive), no sick pay, holiday pay (although I pay mine at Christmas), pension, etc.

Me too. She should be saying what she would like and you give her a price (how many hours) and cleaning. Why would you have a goal for her house?? Nuts. If she wants a seasonal clean etc ask what she means eg. All furniture moving etc. It sounds like she has aspirations to have a housekeeper but can't afford one.

Proposal? They're bloody bonkers. I'd reply with something that doesn't even acknowledge the proposal part. I'd say, "Full clean on Monday and lighter clean on Friday is fine, as is a seasonal deep clean. Happy to also do ironing and laundry". If they replied chasing up a proposal, I'd simply not reply and wait to see if they gave their head a wobble.

Goals for the house 😂

It sounds like they’ve got ChatGPT to write it.

You could always reply 'The cost of the initial assessment and proposal is £80. Do you wish to proceed?'

My cleaner just asked me what I wanted doing Mondays then Fridays. She pretty much sticks to list of jobs we agreed. Occasionally she will do an extra job she finds herself if she has time.

I honestly wouldn’t bother; I’d imagine they will be the type of client that nothing is ever good enough for, and they’ll probably expect you at their beck and call and be phoning you all the time

I'd never expect my cleaner to clean the oven or fridge.

The fridge gets a wipe through when it's emtyish; the veg drawer is lined with kotchen roll which gets replaced when the drawer is nearly empty. Takes about 5 minutes.

Ovenclean clean the oven twice a year and it gets a wipe after roasts, etc.

It’s up to you OP how you run your business, of course customers can ask for irregular things, but it’s your choice as to how you run it and if you want to take the work or not, you can always say yes if you DO want to add a service or say no if it’s not something you want to include.

This would also include any additional admin than your norm, like this complicated proposal, surely a normal cleaning plan (of what client has asked for and you’ve agreed a price for) is all that would be needed to be confirmed in an email or something when you quote the job? SHE should decide on the scope of the work!

This sounds like she doesn’t clean much herself, so doesn’t really know exactly what she wants help with to get it into a routine she would like, and has therefore put that whole responsibility of figuring it out onto you, but you are not her and can’t read her mind or price up what she’s unsure about. You don’t have to take her on, there’s loads of other clients who just tell you what they want included in the cleans and the frequency, and you just give them your price, and then they take it or not, which is MUCH easier to deal with!