Cleaning agency policy

amother

Plum

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 6:32 am

Did anyone ever have to do this? I called a agency for a lady for Thursday. I told her I want a good lady Monday-Wednesday- Friday.but this week I'll take one Thursday
So she tells me ok it's 12$ a hour for a good English talking woman .I said no I pay 10$ ok she gave me for 10 but she won't be any to talk to me .I said ok I'll try her.
She was so so . I get a call now from the agency lady that " as we discussed " I need to pay half for agency on Fri. She said she tried calling me Fri. She never told me that cause I would not have taken women. Oh I had her Fri.too I told the cleaning won't herself to com back Fri.I was surprised I told her she never told me this. She said she is driving now and will come by for $$$$ what I do????? Sorry so long

amother

Lime

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 6:58 am

I don't know how your agency works.

Is it a legal licensed place, where they bring their own tools and cleaning supplies or somebody who just finds women to clean.

I once tried the second (had a women sent from a lady who just finds ladies to clean). I would never do it again.
- I didn't like that I didn't pay the lady directly, I felt she worked hard and I didn't like that I just sent her off with nothing. It wasn't a good feeling.
- The lady could NOT clean. It was like they picked someone off the street. I had to explain each item that was used and how to clean. Not what I expected at all (and I am not particular).
- Money became so sticky. the owner came to pick up the full amount on Friday and then we had disagreement about when my hours started, ended, etc.

I never did it again. I'd rather a lady comes to clean and I personally pay her for the hours she works when she is done.

Amarante

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 7:01 am

As I understand it, you hired the cleaning lady directly and paid her directly instead if paying the agency.

By doing this, the agency lost out on its commission for providing the woman.

Fifty percent is a huge commission especially since total hourly pay was only $10 per hour which means the woman only netted $5 per hour.

Generally you don't know how much the agency takes as the commission.

But I am still not understanding the issue. The first time, who did you pay? In my experience, when I get people through an agency, I pay the agency and not the worker and then the agency is responsible for paying the person. All kinds of reasons for doing this including tax withholding and insurance.

ETA by hiring directly and not through an agency, you can generally pay a bit less and the worker gets more per hour because there is no middleman taking a cut.

amother

Plum

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 7:14 am

Op here thanks for replies! I paid the cleaning woman Thursday10per hour+ 5transportation.
Friday I did tell her to come with out telling agency my mistake(didn't realize so bad)
I paid her up fo Friday.
Now what do I do w this lady calling me from the agency telling me I owe her $
She says she told me before but I never heard anything another it!!!!!
I will not be using this lady or agt now that I know her policy thanks for listening

Amarante

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 8:18 am

I would tell the agency to collect from the worker since you paid the agreed upon rate. It's between the worker and the agency if the worker wants more jobs from this agency.

You did nothing wrong since you didn't make a side deal with the lady to cheat the agency. That is, you didn't say I will pay you $9 and the agency nothing.

Often the women used by agencies are not the most skilled or experienced because they don't have their own clients yet. Most people hire their cleaners directly if possible through personal recommendations. Like any service business, you build through word of mouth.

amother

Violet

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 8:56 am

Amarante wrote:

AYLOR because she "cheated" the agency by paying the worker directly. She owes the agency a reasonable fee because but for the agency she wouldn't have contact with the worker. She went behind their back and made the worker happier by paying her directly.

Amarante

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 9:00 am

amother wrote:

In my opinion, if anyone cheated the agency, it was the worker agency since the worker had the relationship with the agency,and should have given the commission to the agency or told the OP to pay the agency.

If the OP had benefited by paying the cleaner directly, my analysis would be different. However, she paid what she would have paid to the agency so I don't think she did something deliberately wrong. She didn't pay less which is what generally happens when people go,around the agency and pay directly.

ETA And not that I care, but what is the rationale of your being amother? You aren't giving out personal information or even anything controversial.

amother

Violet

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 9:18 am

Amarante wrote:

She did benefit. She had a happier worker. The worker got paid more money. OP also didn't mention that she paid the transportation Friday.

She used a service she didn't pay for hence AYLOR. That is stealing. In your analysis going behind the Realtor's who showed you the house and negotiating directly with the seller is OK since the buyer pays the same price. You are wrong. It is a service business. The agency could not stay in business if the home owners could hire direct after the first time.

Anyone understands that it is underhanded to pay the worker directly.

Amarante

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 9:24 am

amother wrote:

A buyer has no duty to the realtor. The seller has a duty to the realtor. That is the analogous situation. It is between the seller and agent how much commission is paid and has nothing to do with the buyer except that it may figure into net price received by seller.

To say the benefit is a happier employee is really not compelling argument. The worker owed the commission and the agency should seek money from the worker.

My opinion as I don't think she did anything either illegal or immoral.

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 9:32 am

amother wrote:

I know of agencies that charge more for the first time, and after that you hire directly. Basically, the agent takes shadchanus

amother

Violet

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 9:42 am

Amarante wrote:

Helping someone defraud is not immoral? You have a really strange sense of morality. The housewife had an agreement with the agency to pay for services directly to the agency. She bypassed the agency and paid the worker directly. Why is anything different on Friday verses the first day she had the cleaning lady? She owes the money.

A buyer going behind a realtor's back is also immoral and sleazy.

Amarante

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 9:55 am

amother wrote:

Perhaps I am misinterpreting but the OP had no intent to defraud. She paid in full the $10 so the issue is whether it is she or the worker who owes money to the agency. It is the legal and moral responsibility of the worker.

A buyer can't go behind the back of a realtor because the buyer has absolutely no relationship with the seller's realtor. When a house is sold, the seller owes whatever commission is contractually agreed upon by SELLER and realtor.

Typically, a buyer has no contractual relationship with a realtor except perhaps a moral one to the realtor who shows the person around. Now if you would ask whether a buyer has a relationship to purchase through the agent who has been shlepping, that's a different issue. But the commission to the BUYER's agent is also paid by the seller since any commissions are split.

Now however, you are getting insulting by saying that I have a "strange sense of morality" and lumping me in with someone who is "immoral and sleazy". shock

I find it odd that so much of Jewish practice is based on very fine readings of what is permitted and not permitted and yet when someone like myself uses the same kind of reasoning, you call it a "strange sense of morality" and insult the person. What if I insulted someone who had an interpretation of what constituted "heating" on Shabbos which also often involves very intricate analysis and differing interpretations of what is permitted.

amother

Violet

Sun, Nov 08 2015, 10:16 am

Amarante wrote:

The homeowner had a relationship with the agency. The homeowner bypassed the agency by employing the worker directly. This is so basic that I don't understand the confusion.

The agency gets paid by supplying workers. If you use the workers directly, it is sleazy.

Typically now buyers sign an agreement not to go behind the realtor's back. Absent that agreement, I recently saw a million dollar verdict in Brooklyn to the seller's realtor against a buyer for going behind the realtor's back. He had to pay the going rate. The realtor called him.up.and told him about this deal. The realtor didn't do any other work. He contacted the seller directly nor was there a signed agreement. I am glad because morally it is correct.

There are realtor commissions paid by buyers when the realtor acts as a buyer's agent. Not to get too far off the discussion commissions are by contact and are whatever the buyer and seller agree to.