My cleaning lady is slacking off

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Forum -> Household Management -> Cleaning & Laundry

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amother

Aquamarine

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 5:14 pm

What to do. I have her a long time and lately I notice she got so lazy she doesn’t move anything on the floor she just mops around it, stopped dusting. I told her today that last time when she left the floors weren’t clean. She got defensive and upset. Today again I showed her dirt in all the floor corners and everything and she had to waste more time going over and cleaning for a second time and now I have to pay for that extra time. It’s hard to find and breaking in a new person. Should I get rid of her?

amother

Floralwhite

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 5:20 pm

This may sound callous but you need to think of your needs. I would definitely send her and find someone new. It’s not a fun experience and I wish you Hatzlocha. You are paying for a service and if she isn’t doing the job properly, it doesn’t make sense to keep her.
She’s probably bored of doing the same house over and over.
She’ll probably do better starting off in a new house.

amother

Saddlebrown

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 5:24 pm

Every cleaning lady has a different style and each one gravitates and takes pride in what she is good at. Some are better organizers, some are more thorough, others will do a lot of work but not as well, etc.
If this lady suits you well most of the time, it would be worth if to state your preferences Ina respectful way. For ex, tell her that you prefer her to do the floor well and spend less time rearranging the drawers.
And compliment what you do like. A bit of positive reinforcement goes a long way.

33055

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 5:26 pm

Don't get rid of her this time of year unless you have someone lined up.

creditcards

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 5:28 pm

It depends how hard it is to find cleaning help where you live. Where I live it's so hard to find cleaning help so I wouldn't even dare tell her to rewash the floor. It's too risky for me to lose her and be without help that I desperately need.

thunderstorm

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 5:41 pm

OP, your post reminded me of years ago when a neighbor and I shared a cleaning lady together. She was an elderly woman and started slacking off. My neighbor was getting frusterated and did a test. She poured a cup of orange juice onto the floor and waited to see if the cleaning woman will clean the spill. She washed the floor but didn't clean the spill. She basically would move a rag back and forth a few times and that's how she "washed" a floor. After that test she fired her. I was more desperate to have an extra pair of hands so I kept her until the day she actually called to tell me that she was going back to Poland and was no longer coming back. If I were you I'd keep her until I find a better replacement since Pesach is coming and chances are it will be a lot harder to find a new good one.

studying_torah

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 5:47 pm

Happens with every cleaning lady I've had. I'm especially upset since I just gave mine a significant raise and she's really slacking off.

Cheiny

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 7:13 pm

Squishy wrote:

Don't get rid of her this time of year unless you have someone lined up.

Great point, Squish!

amother

Aquamarine

Tue, Mar 05 2019, 7:14 pm

studying_torah wrote:

Happens with every cleaning lady I've had. I'm especially upset since I just gave mine a significant raise and she's really slacking off.

You nailed it, she just asked for a raise and I gave it and I fell like she should be doing the job right with all the money she’s getting

dankbar

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 5:44 am

I emptied a closet today, for mine to wash...she ran to sweep floor in kitchen, to wash laundry or fold laundry anything else besides for what I ask her to do.

imasinger

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 6:00 am

I don't think an employer should have to pay overtime when an employee who is a contractor didn't do it properly the first time.

But I also find an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Life works better in almost any situation if you make requests, not criticisms. Saying when she starts, "this time of year, I get very picky, in particular, I'll be looking at the following 3 things" (floors, corners, dusting job, or whatever) works better than saying after she thinks she's done, "hey, look at what you missed here."

It also helps to sweeten the expectation with a compliment. "I feel almost silly saying this, because I think of you in general as so careful and hard working." People tend to rise to higher opinions.

If none of that works, then grit your teeth till after Pesach, then start looking.

STMommy

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 8:34 am

I know people are saying don't get rid of her until after pesach but my concern is if she is being lazy and slacking off then you should not rely on her to properly pesach clean any particular room that you assign, you need to assume that she was probably cutting corners and not being meticulous and therefore how is she of use to you?

amother

Natural

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 9:01 am

This is happening to me too.
I tell her before she starts each room in full detail
I need you to do this and this, this and this way.
I she tells you I did it 2 days ago, say yes I know but something must have fallen and now it’s really dusty/dirty/sticky.

Don’t get rid of her so close to Pesach

amother

Floralwhite

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 9:05 am

STMommy wrote:

I totally agree. It’s almost worthless to keep someone who isn’t doing the job properly especially before Pesach because you can’t be sure the job is getting done. For the record, I had to fire a cleaning lady yesterday. She just couldn’t manage the job. I felt terrible but know that I cannot make Pesach with someone like her.

amother

Denim

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 9:08 am

I've found sometimes someone who's been with you awhile and feels assured of position will start slacking off. I think you should give her a chance to improve (and as others mentioned, with Pesach so close, you'll want to keep her at least through Pesach). Be specific, tell her exactly what you need, without being demanding or anything, but simply as an employer giving instructions. If she hasn't upped the game by after Pesach, time to find someone new.

Bruria

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 10:31 am

Make a list with everything that needs to be cleaned and give it to her,that might help.

Amarante

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 10:45 am

I think that before firing an otherwise reliable cleaning lady, one needs to be proactive in terms of giving clear guidelines of what needs to be done and what your standards are.

If you ask her to do something and she truly doesn't do it and you have pointed out that it is unacceptable, that is a different issue.

My cleaning lady is very sweet - very honest - very reliable. Her strengths are more in terms of organizing and straightening up than deep cleaning. She folds my panties beautifully versus me who would just toss them in a drawer. LOL

When I want her to do something that doesn't have to be done every time, I will specifically ask her to do that - I.e. clean refrigerator interior. I try to have one of those types of things each time she cleans.

I also make an effort to explain how I want things to be done - I.e. that when she vacuums the wood floors, she doesn't use the "beater bar" setting versus using it on my area rugs. Or explaining to her to use the distilled water for my steam mop to clean the bathroom floors.

BayMom

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 11:15 am

imasinger wrote:

All that talk can work if you and the cleaning lady speak the same language, which is usually not the case. Mad

Amarante

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 11:21 am

BayMom wrote:

All that talk works if you and the cleaning lady speak the same language, which is usually not the case. Mad

If you can't have the most basic conversation with a worker, how do you expect her to do what you want to do in a satisfactory manner?

Can you imagine being thrust into a work environment without your boss telling you what you want done and what reasonable expectations are?

What language does your cleaning lady speak? There are language guides which would enable you to have a conversation with her in which you can explain what you want done. It's really not difficult to pick up basic language especially when you know what you want to say - people get simple language guides when they visit a foreign country so that they can get directions; order food etc.

BayMom

Wed, Mar 06 2019, 1:27 pm

Amarante wrote:

If she's Spanish speaking and just about understands the words mop, floor, rag etc., you can't expect her to understand:

But I also find an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Life works better in almost any situation if you make requests, not criticisms. Saying when she starts, "this time of year, I get very picky, in particular, I'll be looking at the following 3 things" (floors, corners, dusting job, or whatever) works better than saying after she thinks she's done, "hey, look at what you missed here."

It also helps to sweeten the expectation with a compliment. "I feel almost silly saying this, because I think of you in general as so careful and hard working." People tend to rise to higher opinions.

For example: Just yesterday,when my new Spanish-speaking cleaning lady was about to leave I went outside together with her to take out the garbage. It was cold and windy, so I figured why not offer her a ride home. So I said to her"mucho frio (2 of maybe 8 spanish words I know), maybe I give you a ride home, where do you live?" So she mumbles some hospital name that she lives near and before I can get my coat and car key she has disappeared down the block and out of sight. She obviously didn't understand what I said to her besides for a few key words.

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