How do I tactfully ask my cleaner to do the job I pay her for?

[Callisto]

Hi all,

I have a cleaner who is very lovely and very patient with my dd (3) but who is not cleaning the house very well. I pay her £10 per hour for 2 hours a week and she was recommended by a friend. I don't feel that I am underpaying her and I'm feeling a bit unhappy that the (large) rug in the kitchen doesn't look like it has been hoovered or that the downstairs loo sink is still dirty when she is finished.

So how do I tell her, nicely and without upset, that I'm not very happy with the job she is doing and ask her to work a bit harder?

She sounds like a nice lady and you can do these things with respect, without patronising and without seeming critical, if you are confident. Tell her without beating about the bush and with a smile. Ask her if she's finding it difficult to find the time to do all of x y z and make a list of the things that must be done. Be confident.

Leave her a note (to start with) just saying "last week you forgot to hoover the rug and clean the downstairs loo sink - could you make sure that you do it this week, please?". And then if it's still not done you will have to talk to her about it.

Do you have a list of things that she has to do each week? I know sometimes I get irritated with mine because something hasn't been done, but I have never actually told her what I want done! The upside of this is that she will do all kinds of things that she sees and I don't - last week she cleaned out all my kitchen cupboards, for example.

If she's your cleaner why does it make any difference that she's patient with your 3yo?!

Do you think that she might have run out of time? 2 hours can pass in the blink of an eye when I am cleaning. How big is your house?

Could you start by asking her if this is an issue?

Another suggestion might be to leave a note with specific jobs and that way you have something to point out if she does not do a good job.

Create a list of jobs you expect her to do during the two hours.. then you both know what is expected.

It also gives you a chance to reflect on whether 2hrs is enough time (with no interruptions) to get those tasks done.

My house is tiny so it is possible to clean spotlessly in 2 hours. I know this for sure as I had an excellent cleaner (who dd hated interestingly) but who was so unreliable I had to ask her (very nicely) not to come back.

I like the idea of leaving a note, it appeals to my cowardly non-confrontational side. And no, I have never done a list of jobs, that might be a good idea to leave out too, though like your cleaner BIWI, she uses her initiative.

Thanks everyone.

Sorry, not clear: my last cleaner managed to clean the house spotlessly in 2 hours but was very unreliable about days she could come in.

My ex-cleaner used to love to natter and make a fuss over my dd. But then she would cut corners, cancel at the last minute, come late, finish later but not make up the full time. Tbh, for a cleaner, I would rather a surly one who was hyper-efficient and proud of her work.

As the result was that she was too much of a 'friend' for me to manage her, I replaced her when I got the convenient excuse that I now needed an aupair.

I have learnt my lesson. For my aupair, I itemised all the things I needed cleaning for each room and make a daily cleaning schedule for her, comprising both routine and deep clean tasks. That way, over the course of a month or two, the whole house gets seen to in a systematic way.

I'm feeling your pain. In the last month, mine has managed to break my hoover and my iron.

If she 'misses' something, I leave her a note or a list the following week.

Completely agree with blueshoes on this one - you need to write a detailed, itemised list of all the things you want doing, and how you want them doing eg "clean floors" is not good enough if you want them hoovered and then washed (not mopped). State which products are for what use etc.

The "handbook to cleaning your house" can be a useful reference point for others who have chores to do (older children, grandparents staying to take care of children when you are away, and - dare I say it - DHs...).

blueshoes - if it's not too cheeky could I possibly have a copy of your cleaning schedule as we are just starting to go through this process ourselves and it would be enormously helpful to have something to compare against.

I think a note could be easily misconstrued. Especially if accompanied by a list of tasks. A good affordable cleaner is hard to find and its worth building a good relationship with.

I would write the list and prioritise, and then sit down with her and work out what is realistically achievable. I mean, the rugh might be dirty because she'd been polishing your tsilver or something else.

happy to oblige, MrsWobble. Are you able to CAT me your email address? It is a bit embarrasing, along the lines of 'wipe the skirting boards' ...