my housekeeper wants to quit by neighbor...WWYD?

amother

Tue, Mar 29 2011, 3:23 pm

I share a wonderful fantastik cleaning woman with my neighbor. she comes to me in the morning and goes to her in the afternoon. the cleaning lady is so amazing, pleasant, cleans super, everything.

yesterday she told me she doesnt want to work by my neighbor anymore since they are not nice to her and she thinks they don't like her. she asked me if I can find her a new job in the neighborhood in the afternoons since she still wants to stay by me. I told her that I don't know of anyone who is looking and also I doubt I would find someone who would want as many hours as my neighbor. I also told her that my neighbor always spoke how nice she cleans and how much she does like her, and perhaps she is nervous/tense about other things in life nothing to do with her. she agreed to stay another week and see what happens but she said if they still seem unhappy with her then she wants to go.

now what do I do? do I tell my neighbor to be nice to her or else she'll leave? its before pesach, she will need the help, but she's so sensitive sometimes and I hate to get invovled. however, if this lady leaves my neighbor and doesn't have a whole day of work in my area then she may leave me to find someone else full day. I hate to get invovled. WWYD?

imasinger

Tue, Mar 29 2011, 3:31 pm

How about if you encourage the cleaner to bring her concerns to the neighbor? It's usually more productive for people to talk directly, and not have anyone in the middle. If it doesn't go well, the cleaner hasn't lost anything more and can quit with a clear conscience (and you can help her find something else with a clear conscience), and if it's possible for them to resolve their issues, there is a chance to do so.

amother

Tue, Mar 29 2011, 7:36 pm

op here

I think the cleaner came to speak to me since I speak her language. my neighbor does not. I did recommned her to speak with the agency who set us up together, and maybe they can speak with my neighbor...

BYT689

Tue, Mar 29 2011, 7:37 pm

I had a similar situation where my cleaning lady complained to me about being mistreated and underpaid by my neighbor. I told her I would talk to my neighbor. So I would definitely speak to your neighbor, alert her to the issues and have her deal with the cleaning lady directly.

bubby

Tue, Mar 29 2011, 7:58 pm

IMHO...MYOB. Don't get involved. It happened to me & while I was embarrassed & uncomfortable, to be perfectly honest I was just glad she liked ME & wanted to stay. Just as we don't intervene with parents when our kids bicker, we shouldn't get into it with cleaning ladies either!

BYT689

Tue, Mar 29 2011, 8:14 pm

The language is an issue...neither my neighbor nor I speak my cleaning lady's language but I make an effort to communicate. I think this is why she has an issue with my neighbor. But I would try and stay out of the middle.

Merrymom

Wed, Mar 30 2011, 1:04 pm

Speak to your neighbor but don't say it exactly as it was told to you. Just say that the cleaning woman feels the neighbor doesn't like her. Ask the neighbor if she knows why. Some people speak very roughly to their employees and don't bother ever offering them a drink or something to eat. If the neighbor tells you something that she does then you can nicely tell her that she should be careful or the woman might get upset enough to leave (not because you heard so, only that YOU would be worried about it).