When do you fire a cleaning lady?!

Gold Member Joined: Mar 31 2010 Posts: 2093

I have a cleaning lady clean my entire house once a week. I just found one of my pesach oven mitts behind the rocking chair in my bedroom. (All of my pesach stuff makes a pit stop in my bedroom to be organized before returning to the attic.) Aside from the embarrassing fact that obviously I never cleaned behind the chair, that also means that my cleaning lady, who gets paid to do it, never moves the chair to clean behind it! Ew! and Grr! What makes matters worse is that she often tells me that she's done and leaves early! Do you think I can still train her, or is she done.

Gold Member Joined: May 05 2008 Posts: 1970

why don't u tell her every week she should move it away?
its so hard to find a good one if thats the only thing she did then u can still train her.

Diamond Member Joined: Jan 19 2005 Posts: 2560

my cleaning lady would be dead meat in your books. she does worse everios and I still keep her. she is trustworthy and she is good with my kids . that is the main thing.

Gold Member Joined: Mar 31 2010 Posts: 2093

There's a lot of other things that I constantly have to tell her to do so it's always frustrating. I just thought that something as basic as moving a (not so large) chair regularly to clean behind it would be a given. sigh.

Active Poster Joined: Nov 27 2006 Posts: 66

I have come to a conclusion, there is nothing that is understood with these ladies. if you dont tell them, they wont do it. period.
My cleaning lady does a hudred and one things wrong, but she shows up every day she is supposed to, never calls with excuses. And she has a good nature that I want in my house.
So...she leaves windex around, and would only move the chair if I told her like a hudred times, but I keep her cuz the next is no better!

Diamond Member Joined: Jan 19 2005 Posts: 2560

sweetie I am still telling my cleaning lady after 8 yrs what to do... s-p-e-l-l it out for them ... thats why they are a cleaning lady ....sigh..otherwise they would be working at a higher prestigious jobs....

Diamond Member Joined: Sep 02 2007 Posts: 2715

By making a clean break. Wink

Jus kidding. Mine is good at some things and less good at others. Like all us humans.

You fire a clearner if s/he steals or if you can't afford this service, or if s/he talks your ear off or inappropriately to your children, or consistently treifs up your kitchen.
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Posted: Fri, May 07 2010, 12:49 am Post subject:

Gold Member Joined: Apr 11 2008 Posts: 1450

You want to fire her for that?!! Can I please have your cleaning woman, I really could use someone now. They're not perfect you know, it's your house not theirs and if you don't ever check their work and make sure it's done right you can't complain.
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Posted: Fri, May 07 2010, 4:39 am Post subject:

Diamond Member Joined: Feb 02 2006 Posts: 4771

My cleaning lady/babysitter is actually very intelligent and she makes a killing cleaning houses, so I actually do think that it was a choice for her. If she charges 100 dollars to clean for a house and can do two houses a day thats 1,000 dollars a week...4,000 dollars a month! Not bad for someone without a college degree!

In terms of whether to fire or not, I feel like its ok to overlook small things if the person is reliable, trustworthy and does a decent job. As others have said, no one is perfect! I also like cleaning ladies where I do not need to straighten up before they come. I've only fired a cleaning team (they were a couple) once and that was because they made "demands" on me and the husband used to drive me crazy!!!
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Platinum Member Joined: Dec 27 2007 Posts: 7257

I have the same problem!

I keep telling my cleaning lady to wipe my bottom with double ply cotton toilet paper, but the stupid wench doesn't understand and just uses tissues. I don't know what to do with myself. I tried saying it slowly and even made a little diagram, but she's sooooo sloooow. I almost considered firing her, but then I would have to do it myself and I can't bear the thought.

Well first let me be able to hire a cleaning lady.

And I use to be one.
The only way someone knows what you want them to do is if you tell them what you want. Not everyone moves furniture around to clean behind and under it. I swipe under chairs and things, I don't usually mvoe the furniture.

If you want the furniture moved, ask. If you want the floors dried after washing, ask.

And if you really want perfection you kind of have to do it by yourself...because the cleaning woman isn't you... and she has different standards, some of which will be higher, some lower than yours.
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Diamond Member Joined: Jan 01 2008 Posts: 4023

Posted: Fri, May 07 2010, 10:24 am Post subject:

My mother still has to tell me what to do when I am in her house, and I spent many years there under her critical eye. Heck, I don't even always do what I tell myself and my kids to do. In fact, I can't find my oven mitts from before Pesach, it's driving me crazy.

And I have 2 post-secondary degrees. Rolling Eyes