Fire housekeeper or try to improve her speed

amother

Wed, May 01 2013, 12:44 pm

I have this woman working for me since before Purim. (I work pretty much full time, and I have some health issues, so I need someone daily for laundry, dishes, & everything else.)

She is pleasant, she is more or less reliable, and she is very, very thorough. (I had to tell her I don't need my underwear ironed). However, understandably, it takes her extra time to get done what I need. To the extent that some of my married kids (several of whom have been employing her for a few hours here and there) wanted to say she costs $20 per hour because it takes her double time! But, upon careful analysis, we've concluded it's only 1 1/2 times, meaning it takes her 1 1/2 hours to do what we've seen other women do in 1 hour.

My husband is on my case to fire her, and my kids actually found someone new they want me to try. But, a. I don't have the energy to start training in someone new and b. I really do like her and I feel bad to let her go.

So here's the question. Can I explain all this, (I need to get someone to translate into Spanish), without being offensive? I don't trust google translate, which is what I use when I just want to tell her something simple.

Here, I would like to ask her if she can work faster or if she's willing to be paid less per hour, or get a weekly salary.

Right now she comes for 4 hours Mon-Fri and 1 1/2 -2 on Sunday. (It's just me & DH & DD, although married kids & grandkids come for Shabbos & visit during the week, so there are toys & food messes sometimes, linens to change for the guest room every week. Plus my parents next door, she goes to them for around an hour every day to do laundry & dishes, and floors & bathrooms, let's say 2x per week.

I do feel things are a little 'behind' in my house, she does all the laundry & ironing, it's not a lot, & DH has started taking his shirts to the cleaners because he says it costs way more for her to iron them! But I think for someone who moves a bit faster, 16 hours a week should be plenty. I used to have someone more like 10 hours a week, and she definitely didn't get to everything, but the house & laundry were more or less presentable....

I am paying her $10 per hour. I am not sure if I should ask if she is willing to be paid less, but it will be a steady salary (say $175 per week). But why would she agree? I don't know. It's hard. Maybe I am just being a coward & I should just get someone new.

If you vote for 'having the talk' please specify how you would say it (especially if you've done it IRL!)

marina

Wed, May 01 2013, 1:01 pm

deleted for poor reading skills

Last edited by marina on Wed, May 01 2013, 1:05 pm; edited 1 time in total

Barbara

Wed, May 01 2013, 1:04 pm

Deleted because it is a response to a now-deleted post.

Last edited by Barbara on Wed, May 01 2013, 1:16 pm; edited 1 time in total

marina

Wed, May 01 2013, 1:04 pm

mmm... poor reading skills. I will delete my post.

greenfire

Wed, May 01 2013, 1:10 pm

it's hard to find someone you like ... just remind her to stop ironing the underwear

elisheva25

Wed, May 01 2013, 2:06 pm

I think fire her because in my experience some people just can't work fast..I have someone who I pay 14 an hour for babysitting and cleaning help and she is amazing. The main reason she is worth every penny is because she moves at the speed of light but is also very thorough.

amother

Wed, May 01 2013, 2:10 pm

OP here, if you voted unreasonable, please enlighten me as to how and why.

E.g. anyone here with a similar schedule please advise what your help is able to accomplish in how much time.

Tablepoetry

Wed, May 01 2013, 3:10 pm

IME, housekeepers who work slow can't just change. It's a mode of working.

Personally, I far prefer and appreciate a reliable, thorough housekeeper that is slow, than a fast one who is less reliable or less thorough. But each person has their own priorities.

I think you should make it very clear what her tasks are, so she won't be wasting time on unnecessary things. Other than that, I don't know if she can speed up the time it takes her to do things.

If it's really so easy to find good, reliable, thorough housekeepers where you live, then I guess you can fire her. I don't think you'll have much success improving her speed. You might try to first lower her price; you can say, I thought it would take xyz hours to do the whole house, and it's taking longer; I want to pay per job, not per hour; or you can ask to pay her less because it's steady, or whatever....

I think it would be smart to take the other lady for a trial run before you fire this one though.

ETA - obviously if you fire her, you should give her a few weeks notice! And try to do it nicely, with a parting gift.

jflower

Wed, May 01 2013, 3:44 pm

How about giving her a list of tasks you'd like her to finish that day?

amother

Wed, May 01 2013, 9:18 pm

Okay, a few helpful responses this afternoon, let's see who's on this evening...

Chana Miriam S

Wed, May 01 2013, 9:31 pm

Decide how much money you have budgeted and tell her over a week what needs to be done. Give her a list of tasks that need to be done over the week and tell her what you are willing to pay.

Tell her that you would like to put her on salary. Then, let her decide if she wants to stay under those conditions. You will not be telling her how many hours to work, just what she needs to accomplish in a week. If she can get it done faster, she makes more an hour. Slower, less but it's in her control, not yours.

If there are specific hours you want her available, that should also be noted.