Housekeeper concerns & questions

Hi Everyone

Do you or have you ever hired a cleaning person or housekeeper? Since my wreck it has been nearly impossible for me to get around and do much housekeeping or cleaning, and now that hubby works full time he is unable. Recently we had "hired" a good friend of ours, she was cleaning our house to pay off a computer we "sold" her.  She has always done a tremendous job and is very thorough, etc. but she also does another house in town (a  huge 1800 sf house apparently) and gets tired and sore, so she has been calling in on us. We have now been left hanging for 2 and 1/2 weeks , which is ridiculous. It is almost like she doesn't think she is getting paid so she is putting us off............

Today I interviewed a lady who has glowing references, lives in town and will be I think fully reliable and so I told her she had the job and can start July 1.........

Now any ideas on how to let this other lady know? I don't want to risk messing up a friendship.

I'd tell her the truth.

Say something like "I understand you clean at another house and is tired.. to lessen the burden, I decided to hire someone who can come in and take care of the house for me"

I am sure your friend will understand, considering she had left you hanging for almost 3 weeks- I'd do the same thing if I were in your shoes.

I have a girl who comes to do cleaning.  She's marvelous!!

I've had bad experiences in the past with cleaning help.  They get too friendly and become complacent and slack off, call in or just not show up. I had one girl who I discovered was using a lint brush to remove cat hair from the furniture instead of vacuuming it as instructed, and I couldn't figure out why my allergies were acting up!  The same one only spot mopped the floor.

I've never had the voice to speak up about it.  This last time when I was looking for help, I decided it was going to stay a strictly professional relationship. I was looking for cleaning help, not a friend.  In fact, when she leaves me a note she writes "Dear employer"  LOL

You just need to tell this other girl something along the lines of:

"I'm sorry, but this isn't working for us anymore.  We need someone to come to our home on a regular basis, and unfortunately your schedule isn't allowing for that.  I'm not able to do the cleaning myself, and really depend on someone coming to do it for me.  Because of this, we've gone ahead and hired someone else."

Just recently I found that I have been paying my cleaning girl for 4 hours ($20 per hour = $80).  I was home sick one day and she finished in 2 hours. Usually she does 2 loads of laundry but that time she only  had 1 load (bedding) to do.  I had left $80 for her that day and didn't have the nerve to ask for change! 

So before she came the next time, I called her and told her that I had noticed that I have been paying her for 4 hours, but she is finished in 2 hours and that even with another load of laundry, it would only take her to 3 hours, not the 4 for which I have been paying, and that future weeks I will be paying her $60 for 3 hours instead of the $80 that she has been getting. I added that if she does a big job like clean my oven or take everything out of my fridge/freezer and wash it out, to let me know and I'll add an additional hour to her next visit.

My advice is to keep the cleaning help a strictly professional relationship.

Nebula said:

 I don't want to risk messing up a friendship.

Click to expand...

You hired her to clean for you. She's your help, not your friend.

As I said above, if the cleaning relationship isn't working for you, just tell her that and that you've  hired someone else.  You don't need to be sorry about it or feel badly about it.  She's not doing the job that you hired her to do, plain and simple.

We pay $7.50 an hour, which is more than US minimum wage- and I am having her come 9-11 Tuesdays & Fridays

She was happy with the wage, and it's what I can afford right now. Her duties are going to only be

Kitchen Dishes, Sweep, Mop, Surfaces

Bathroom Surfaces

Bedroom: Make Bed & Vacuum

Guest Room: Vacuum once a month

Living Room: Vacuum & Straighten, vacuum couch every other week

And then once a month I told her I would have her come an extra day to do a bigger project like cleaning out the stove or fridge, organizing a closet etc and pay her for an extra day

 No Laundry or Pet Duties- Hubby is great at doing those

Wow, $7.50/hr is great!! l'd have a housekeeper if l could find someone for that price. 

Our minimum wage is $10.25 but housekeepers are typically $18 - 25/hr here. l'd love to hire one but l don't want to pay that. l pay slightly more than a third of my net income on rent so it would be a stretch, but l keep thinking about it. l'm happy that you're able to afford it. Please let me know how it goes, l may change my mind ...

Andrya said:

 
Wow, $7.50/hr is great!! l'd have a housekeeper if l could find someone for that price. 

Our minimum wage is $10.25 but housekeepers are typically $18 - 25/hr here. l'd love to hire one but l don't want to pay that. l pay slightly more than a third of my net income on rent so it would be a stretch, but l keep thinking about it. l'm happy that you're able to afford it. Please let me know how it goes, l may change my mind ...

Click to expand...

If it had not been for my wreck, I couldn't justify the expense. But since I have 2 broken legs, literally I can't do it. I just posted an ad on a facebook group and offered that as the pay, I didn't leave any room for negotiation, I also don't have tons of duties like Laundry changing linens etc. In fact here is the list of her responsibilities. I hope this goes well, and will keep you updated.

Cleaning Schedule

TWICE WEEKLY TASKS

Kitchen:        Dishes if Needed

                        Surfaces (Stove, Countertop, Washer Top)

                        Sweep & Mop

                        Empty Trash- Replace Bag

Bathroom:    Surfaces (Toilet, Tub, Sink, Mirrors)

                         Sweep & Mop

                         Empty Trash- Replace Bag

Bedroom:       Make Bed

                           Vacuum

                           Empty Trash- Replace Bag

Living Room: Vacuum  (Include Hallway)

                         Dust Shelves & TV

                         Straighten

MONTHLY TASKS

Vacuum Guest Bedroom

Andrya said:

 
Wow, $7.50/hr is great!! l'd have a housekeeper if l could find someone for that price. 

Our minimum wage is $10.25 but housekeepers are typically $18 - 25/hr here. l'd love to hire one but l don't want to pay that. l pay slightly more than a third of my net income on rent so it would be a stretch, but l keep thinking about it. l'm happy that you're able to afford it. Please let me know how it goes, l may change my mind ...

Click to expand...

In this area an average size house is right around $100 per routine cleaning. They typically don't charge by the hour but rather a set amount for the job.  I used to know a single mother who cleaned houses as a second job and she made more than she could make at a typical second job.  She said when she started with a new client she would do a real deep cleaning, the refrigerator, taking the stove apart, like a spring cleaning.  She said unless people were real slobs it was easy to keep up with when she did that.

The people I know who do cleaning for a living charge $20-$25 "an hour" for residential cleaning. They don't actually charge per hour because of issues like Natalie_ca mentioned (finishing early, etc.)---they look at the house and decide how long it will probably take and figure the price that way. Flat rate per visit. I can't imagine how anyone can get by charging only $7.50 an hour, unless she works for an agency that provides cleaning supplies and pays taxes, social security, etc. Otherwise they wouldn't be making anything after paying all that stuff. But you got lucky to find someone who can work that cheap!

This lady works at a hospital, and this is a thing on the side.. plus I'm providing all the supplies and lunch

So the first lady, called me last night begging her job back because she got fired from the other big house...... not my problem......... she apparently didn't show up there either.

But it wasn't even a paying job for her, right? Just a barter for something you sold her? Oh, drama!

Willowy said:

But it wasn't even a paying job for her, right? Just a barter for something you sold her? Oh, drama!

Click to expand...

No, it wasn't a paying job- just exchange of services or barter....... Anyway I couldn't be happier with my decision, the new lady is AMAZING. And the other one, well I told her we may bring her on once a month or every other month for a full on deep cleaning day. But only a maybe

I cleaned houses for several years from my early teens through and beyond college. 

I'm amazed that anyone is taking $7.50/hr, as that was my price when I started out in the early 80's.  When I quit in the late 90's, I was at $12.50.  I can't imagine taking/paying much less than $20 today. 

Maybe I'm an outlier, but when I cleaned, if I "finished early", I would always look for something to fill the time.  Perhaps that kind of work ethic has fallen by the wayside.  Most of my houses were 4 hr jobs, and I was always willing to customize to a customer's needs.  Most did not need laundry done, but I had a few who needed it, and one who wanted me to iron (in spite of the fact that I was only able to get 4-5 shirts done in an hour).  When a customer wanted a special project done (oven/fridge/lamps), they had a choice of sacrificing some regular work, or paying extra.

I kept communications fairly straightforward, and I always encouraged them to let me know if I needed to improve on anything.  Some customers became fairly familiar and friendly, and I sometimes approached them for switching schedules up a little, but I never completely bailed on anyone.  I wouldn't do that to a customer OR a friend.

My mom started her own cleaning business in1988, and she has always charged by the job. She does a free estimate and based on difficulty, size, and frequency, she'd determine the price. So if someone wanted her to come weekly, that was cheaper than once a month, because it would be much dirtier after a month than a week.

The lady I knew who cleaned houses as a second job also charged flat fees. Her first cleaning would be like a spring cleaning so her hourly rate wouldn't be very good but it made things easier to keep up

Denice said:

The lady I knew who cleaned houses as a second job also charged flat fees. Her first cleaning would be like a spring cleaning so her hourly rate wouldn't be very good but it made things easier to keep up

Click to expand...

l think that's the way to go. l'd be happy to keep paying a fixed rate to get certain things done - the same as mechanics do. And if they're efficient enough to do the same job in less time - good for them, they earned it.

Wanted to give everyone an UPDATE!

The new lady is working out wonderfully. My house has been clean, she shows up on time, the days I need her- and gets the work done. She does an amazing job, I couldn't be happier. I am keeping the original lady as a fill in/back up and person to call for special jobs (like a twice a year super deep cleaning etc). So everyone is happy!!

Thanks for all the great ideas

Sounds like a good plan to keep the other girl for heavy type cleaning twice yearly.

I've also rethought my rate for my cleaning lady. I've decided to give her a flat rate of $80 for up to 4 hours of work.  This way if I want something done, I can just leave her a note to do it.  For example, yesterday I asked her to tidy up and organize my linen closet, wash out the inside of the fridge, and to dust and wash the tops of the kitchen cabinets.  I know she did the fridge and closet, but I'm not sure if she did the top of the cupboards,  My cake carrier looks like it is still sitting in the same spot.

LaraLove said:

My mom started her own cleaning business in1988, and she has always charged by the job. She does a free estimate and based on difficulty, size, and frequency, she'd determine the price. So if someone wanted her to come weekly, that was cheaper than once a month, because it would be much dirtier after a month than a week.

Click to expand...

I agree with this. I started my own cleaning business a little over a yr. ago, & have learned that by the job is best. Once I have finished my work, I want to be able to leave & not feel obligated to hang around filling time.

That would make me feel like I needed to be paid more, for doing extra work. (outside of the normal job duties)  I price by the job. I only do one a day, because It's hard work, (if your doing a good job), (but I can do do smaller jobs in a day if I need to).  so that's what your paying for, as well as someone you can trust. 

Most of my jobs are $100.00 ( most houses about 2,000 sq. ft. or so).

A couple are only &75.00 because they are a little smaller, or same, but I don't have to clean the guest room & bathroom, unless they have company, & then they will usually pay me a little extra for that.

I have a little larger house that I only do once a month, so it is more, (& bigger), so that one is between $150.00-$175.00 depending on how much they want me to do. 

In one yr. of starting this,  I have a full schedule of 9 biweeklies, & 2 once a month clients. ALL through referrals from each other!