Cleaning lady talking on phone while working

amother

Magnolia

Tue, Jul 11 2023, 10:22 pm

Since I don't speak or understand Spanish, I just imagine the cleaning lady talking to her other cleaning lady friend on the phone. The topic of conversation is the people that they are cleaning for. For some reason the most animated conversation always happens when she's cleaning the bathroom embarrassed

amother

Currant

Tue, Jul 11 2023, 10:38 pm

My cleaning lady was speaking Spanish on speaker. Suddenly I hear so Yanky had a new shidduch redt her name is sprintzy shwartz should we call the rav… I jumped thinking someone had walked into my house. Apparently the cleaning lady on the other end of the phone was in a frum house. I heard the next hour of her problems. So don’t talk about private things if your cleaning lady is on the phone. You never know who can hear you.

Busybee5

Wed, Jul 12 2023, 4:32 am

Mine has ear buds and listens to something, I can see from her phone but it doesn't bother me. When I need to talk to her she pauses it.

amother

Papaya

Wed, Jul 12 2023, 8:46 am

It grates on my nerves also. I don't mind her listening on speaker to whatever but she should hear if I call her. Short phone calls are OK as well as important long calls like the time she had an iep meeting on the phone Very Happy

Duh

Wed, Jul 12 2023, 9:00 am

I once had a cleaning lady who couldn't clean properly while on the phone and it was annoying me. She used wrong detergent etc.

So I pulled out a chair and said here, sit, finish the phone call and then clean. Don't worry about it, I know it's important. She finished in under a minute and apologized it was her mom from her country.... I said sure sure I understand not a problem. She never made another call.

watergirl

Wed, Jul 12 2023, 9:04 am

I have cleaning help for 2 hours a week when I'm not home, so I have no idea if she's on the phone or not, and I don't care because all the things I ask her to do are done perfectly.

But as far as concentration while on the phone goes - I don't know about any of you, but I hate cleaning. So I put on a show to listen to on my airpods, or listen to a podcast or audiobook and clean much better that way. I also cook much better when I have something interesting to listen to. So who am I to tell the women who cleans my toilets not to do what she has to do to make that job better for her?

Highstrung

Wed, Jul 12 2023, 9:51 am

Mine Face Times her family back home in her country , so she’s busy looking at the screen instead of at the work she’s doing . When she herself knows it’s too much , she’ll tell me “I’m talking to my mother” or “I’m talking to my lawyer”.

thegiver

Fri, Jul 28 2023, 3:29 pm

[orking… would you ask them not to?[/quote]

I do bec it distracts them from working and makes them work slower
One lady couldn’t take it and took revenge on me by throwing milchig in my fleishig sink so my husband told me to fire her

Cheiny

Fri, Jul 28 2023, 3:32 pm

Duh wrote:

Great way to handle it!

Cheiny

Fri, Jul 28 2023, 3:33 pm

watergirl wrote:

I find it distracts them. As I said, I actually saw mine standing in the hallway, mop in hand, not doing anything while she was on the phone. Not okay.

amother

Mintcream

Fri, Jul 28 2023, 3:34 pm

Cheiny wrote:

I find it distracts them. As I said, I actually saw mine standing in the hallway, mop in hand, not doing anything while she was on the phone. Not okay.

And? Is she still yours?

Ema of 5

Fri, Jul 28 2023, 4:00 pm

Cheiny wrote:

I don’t think anyone would if their boss was within earshot. Like I said, a short call here or there is ok, but constant?

It depends what kind of job one is doing, and whether or not being on the phone affects productivity.
I have had cleaning ladies who I have asked to not be on the phone so often. My current cleaning lady spends a lot of time on the phone, and I don’t care because she gets everything done, and well.

Mon, Jul 31 2023, 11:19 am

My cleaning lady is on her phone a whole day. On AirPods so at least her hands are free. Whenever I need to ask her something/give her instructions/tell her her lunch is ready I have to apologize for interrupting her conversation and wait until she can give me attention from her call. It’s definitely annoying but before I get rid of her how would I know that another cleaning lady wouldn’t be the Same way ?

Ema of 5

Mon, Jul 31 2023, 2:21 pm

Gt wrote:

My cleaning lady is also on her phone hands free. If I need something, I just say her name, and she responds.
If you want to replace her because of this (maybe other reasons too) then before hiring someone else you need tell them that either you don’t want them to be on the phone all the time, or they should respond immediately when you need something. You need to set all rules, guidelines, expectations, etc. BEFORE hiring someone.

Mon, Jul 31 2023, 3:07 pm

Ema of 5 wrote:

Right. When this one started working for me she was not on her phone all the time. I had no reason to expect it would be an issue (my old cleaning lady did not talk on her phone , it was a Pleasure) . If I do hire a new person now I know to have the convo upfront.