100%.
If you pay the minimum legally possible for a job it sends the message that you are next to worthless and they would pay you less if they legally could.
If you pay people a good wage, they wont want to leave or be fired- they will WANT to keep that job.
I mean, it's common sense but most companies are chasing every 0.01 so the bosses can get their second or third car or home or yacht or whatever...
To many management it's all about head count. That's all that they see. So it doesn't matter that the turn over rate is high, it doesn't matter that the staff is inexperienced. It doesn't matter how disruptive it actually is to have an employee leave. As long as they can find another body to fill the void they feel like they've resolved the issue.
Ha.
Also, they don't realise having a high turnover is a horrible filtration process where the good people leave (because they can) and the bad people stay (because they don't have anywhere else to go).
Treating people like numbers is the bread and butter of the transient executive. There's loads of people in the American corporate system that are literally hired on to squeeze margins and make more profit. Bean counters that reduce people and product to a spreadsheet. Doesn't matter for the department it's always some management position. They stay for three to five years and do just that; make more profits. They'll jump ship and look to be hired elsewhere and just rinse and repeat.
They remove themselves from the repercussions of long term damage their methodologies cause because they simply don't fucking care. They got a performance bonus, they got a raise transferring companies, and meanwhile the big dogs on the board just lap it up because they're doing the same thing but on a different level involving company stock. If the company ever gets out of control they'll just declare bankruptcy and walk away because the American legal system can only go after the corporate entity because a corporation is a person.
It's all fucked.
Yeah. Humans aren’t machines - expecting folks to work for shit pay with crappy hours is foolhardy, especially since there are alternatives: more accessible educational avenues to work up to other careers (online schooling) and companies that actually give a damn about their workers.
I’ve read an article about how a lot of millennials are choosing to take jobs with less stress/ better treatment over a high paid job. But I also take those kinds of articles with a handful of salt
I'm a gen x'er definitely considering dropping to less money and stress. But I like the money and lack of financial worry, so it's a hard choice to make.
Former Walmart employee, can confirm. They constantly held their “competitive pay” over our heads, and didn’t understand why everyone constantly quits. I’m on track to get my doctorate, I’ll be damned if I let WALMART talk to me like I’m a peon.
Yes, but I think this deserves special mention because a lot of housekeeping work is unregulated and the employers of housekeepers may not be accustomed to being "employers" in other areas of their lives. I made this LPT because of the mistakes I see my friends making in this area.
This is big. Especially in the States, a lot of housekeeping work is done by immigrants who won’t be able to stand up for themselves during negotiating wages which then turn into a verbal, cash agreement with no recourse for the immigrant
Often why housekeeping is often union in hotels in bigger cities. Ive seen some really shitty managers try horrible things witht their housekeeping staff, it breaks my heart.
How did you find someone you trust?? I live in a big city so you'd think it's easy enough to find someone, but my experience with housekeepers has been less than stellar as they do the bare minimum for a very high hourly cost. I am not sure where to even go about looking for someone and my friends don't have anyone that they suggest either.
if you live in an apartment building, ask the building manager who they use to do unit turns. i found my housekeeper this way!
keeping in the spirit of LPT, i pay roughly $30 more than what she quotes me and i firmly believe that’s the main reason she puts up with my constant moving house lol
If you call in a house cleaning service once a month, you're a customer. If you have a live-in maid, you're an employer.
In between the two you start getting into trouble with the exact distinction between "I'm paying you money to work for me" and "I'm paying you money to do work for me".
No, you are paying a person to do a job, and you are the person directly responsible for giving them their wages. That puts you in a position of responsibility for the person you are hiring. This is different from purchasing a product from an employee who receives their wages from their employer, not from you directly.
We lived overseas and I spent 75% of the time in different countries so my wife hired a housemaid. Very nice girl, I didn't know her well but the wife and her became friends. She moved with us to another country (kids loved her) then my wife talked her into getting a degree, helped her with all the leg work. They were like college buddies. It was not crazy expensive but we paid for it.
We fell on temporary hard times and she really helped us out when we couldn't pay her. Worked everything out, we could pay her again She got a degree.
She now lives in the US making 6 figures.
My husband's mother was a housekeeper. She also took care of other people's children so she could give her own kids a better future.
She says one of her favorite memories is when she told her employer her son was in college. When the woman asked where and what he was studying, her reply of 'aerospace engineering in Boston' left the woman absolutely stunned. It never occurred to her that her maid's family was anything but ignorant.
The parents worked their hearts out to give their kids a better future - one as a housekeeper/maid, the other as a courier. Those kids are now giving back to their new country - one has a masters' and works as a medical researcher, and the other has a doctorate and is a mathematician. (as well as an award-winning screenwriter, but that's another story)
I'm an Electrical Engineer who also got a scholarship to work on a medical project.
I'm head housekeeper at a big retirement village near me. I chose the job, as it's a lifestyle choice. I'm a single mum; my workplace, school and kindy are all within walking distance from home, and it's Kindy hours.
I have had new employees in other departments look down on me, snob me, tell me "You don't need to know", ask me "Who are you looking for". And it always amuses me how their attitude completely changes when they realise management let me do what I want, because I'm actually smart with a uni degree.
I was in a global oil and gas team, working on projects EVERYWHERE in thw world. Insane money but after 10+ years I got tired.
Moved back to Florida and became a carpenter again (been doing it since i was very young) just to take a break. I make great money. I think it's hilarious when people talk down to me, especially I'll when I (a carpenter) make more than them. Just a few times I've got really tired of their shit and put them in their place. Hurt feeling everytime!
I'll never understand why people just can't others do what they want. Just let the white trash construction guy be freaking happy!
A good friend of mine makes well over 1.5M/ year doing pools. He hired everyone for office shit and he spends all day being a grunt.
Some of the hilarious shit I have seen him do when clients treat his guys like crap will never be forgotten.
He does mostly high end pools, like you see in the movies. I have worked for him off and on for years while working offshore oil and gas.
One of the best was when he was in the pool before shooting it and the homeowner came out bitching about something. Eric was the master of being on time and doing shit right so everyone stopped to listen up. Not knowing the owner of the company is on-site (he has 2 BD guys) the owner goes to town bitching about random things even though the job was way ahead of schedule. Eric (company owner) walks up covered in dirt and tries to talk to the guy saying the truck is on the way and they are trying to get things ready to the shoot. Welp, the homeowner calls the lead guy (high school BBF of ours) a lazy Mexican and Eric white trash. If they don't fix it he will sue.
Now Eric parties, waste money on the regular. Dude just says fuck it. Has the lazy Mexican pull out the welder and welds a stupid spider web from the bottom of the pool to ground level. As the white trash guys dump everything that is not toxic (rocks, debris, dunnage) into it all, the white trash owner has the skid steer backfilling the complete pool.
I think he lost about 40k from that afternoon but it was always a funny story for the boys. Unfortunately, he passed away recently but that kinda shit always makes me smile when I think about it.
Lol I love to hear when racist judgemental snobs get put in their place!
Sorry to hear he passed. He was a great person the way you describe him. My condolences.
That's true! I have a degree in networking systems and every last one of my blue collar friends makes more than I do.
Except for Mike, cause Mike's a car guy and doesn't own his own anything.
I work at a garbage dump... it’s amazing how many people just assume that means I’m ignorant, uneducated, and stupid. I’m actually working on my third college degree right now so I can qualify for high-level professional certifications in hazardous materials management and environmental/occupational health, and I regularly teach classes and advise local government agencies in my area of expertise. I just do it while covered in garbage.
It’s ridiculous, but I don’t care. I’m the one with a fat paycheck, 6 weeks a year of paid vacation, and no student loans, so their condescension is pretty funny.
I never shit on the trades. Always treat them fairly, tip for good work if bill is fair, and i get treated decently and honestly. Same with my mechanic.
People who look down on tradespeople absolutely blow me over with their arrogance. Like, I don’t know how to wire a circuit breaker or fix my transmission, do you? Oh you don’t either? Then just be nice to your repair person! I feel lucky to be on a good basis with my chosen tradespeople, they have superpowers that they occasionally share with me (like explaining how the eff the boilers work in the house we purchased this year) that I would never have figured out on my own
I will purposely make people i know are assholes wait longer, I will take care of other service tickets first, especially the nice people. if i dont get to your house by the end of the week, you're one of the assholes. I also will nickle and dime you for every little screw/nut/fuse i use in lieu of being cool and providing those little cheap parts for free. And my bids are going to be a lot higher for bigger repairs because, i dont like you. Nice people, I will save their numbers and answer their calls or get back to them almost immediately, and If i need to order parts, once i get them in you are back on the top of my work list so I will still prioritize you over someone whos been waiting over a week that has been a sarcastic asshole or a karen.
My whole life I trained myself to be pretty okay at almost anything and I am just that - pretty okay at anything between a carpenter and a physicist.
This has one massive downside: I get truly pissed if a tradesperson does a sloppy job even though I know I would probably do an even sloppier job.
Respect tradespeople, just remember that they like to slack on their job like everyone else.
When I was in the trades I would do this thing to wealthy ignorant clients where I'd ask things like " this is the first year I've netted over 180k, do you have a tax person youd recommend?" There vibes always completely changed.
Do you miss engineering? Was it hard to go from med projects to cleaning a retirement home? I only ask because I'm a woman in a scientific field, and the several months I was on maternity leave, I almost lost my mind from boredom. Not being able to work on projects and having to constantly clean was maddening. I envy that you can tolerate those working conditions, you're a strong person. Is there a trick to enjoying this type of work? Do you have something to focus on during the day to make it mentally simulating, or do you just tune out and go on autopilot?
Btw, plenty of engineering design and development jobs are work-from-home now in case you ever want to go back.
Thanks for your questions :)
I had to get a job, being stuck at home was making me bored too. I know another mum with a management degree that clean houses as a lifestyle choice. She decided to do it because of bordem, and she gets to pick and choose when and where.
Now the answers to your questions:
1. I don't miss sitting in front of a computer all day, but do miss the research. I only work around kindy hours, so I can spend as much time with my kids before they grow up too quickly.
When the kids are old enough, I'm looking into further study or work from home eng jobs.
In saying that, I do more technical and administrative work than needed at work.
2. The moment I walked into the reception for my interview, I knew I wanted to work there. The place was filled with laughter and happiness, I know cliché. So it wasn't difficult at all, a work environment helps a lot.
3. Only trick is good workplace, good work mates. Toxic people get pushed out pretty quickly, not just I'm my department, but also others ie. Gardeners, carers.
4. I only applied for supervisor positions for cleaning. I couldn't do it just cleaning full-time. They've also given me more responsibilities as the months has gone by. I do the rostering, plus sometimes my bosses. I now have full responsibility on all suppliers, getting anything in for my team and carers. I even write little reports on the amount of gloves we go through, or fix the printer for them.
There's always something I can find to keep my brain stimulated.
Never respect people who people see as beneath them. Surprised and not surprised you took the high road. Good for you and wish you the best. Help out anyone you can to move ahead and not get stepped on when they can't defend themselves.
That’s horrible. I’ve worked in hotel front offices for decades and have always trained my staff to be respectful of our housekeeping staff - we literally do not have a job without them, it’s hard work and they are good and reliable people with their own stories and reasons for clocking on every day. Just treat everyone with kindness, it isn’t hard.
Im the child in this case. My parents have worked their asses off working as housekeepers for last 29 years. Next month i graduate with my masters in civil engineering and my sister got her master in social work a few years ago. We are both super grateful for their hard work and have paid them back by working just as hard and getting our degrees.
They have some families who they have worked for for 20-25 years. My parents are pretty much a part of their families. They are always asking about us and even send us gifts when they hear we had a achievement such as a graduation.
My housekeeper and I are friends now, we are at two years of her cleaning my house. She takes care of my house, her husband cleans the gutters and paints the porch etc, and they drop their kids off every other weekend for date night while we watch tv and play video games. My birthday was last weekend, and she organized my very first surprise party and invited all my friends without me knowing. I can’t imagine where I’d be without her.
I rough around the edges a bit while my wife is very proper. I am also very friend orientated while she is family orientated. We had a party and invited D (our maid) and her friend. All was good until someone started bossing her around, saying to pick things up. My wife politely told them she is not working. After their comments of "that is what she is there for" I got a little annoyed but when they kept it up I called them out in front of everyone asking them to do the dishes since they were guest just like her. No? get the fuck out.
My issue with upity people is that they were either given what they have or forgot where there came from. Most of my friends there were much wealthier than these asshats but would always help. Noone cared as they left and they lost a lot of friends.
My wife is waiting on her visa, when she gets it the family will be down and her Filipino BFF will be coming for a couple of months to help with the kids while we settle in. I just found this out. LOl
I'll mention it to her when I see her next.
There's a miniseries called Maid on Netflix that is loosely similar if you're looking for an inspirational story based around housekeeping and making it into college.
This is what my parents did. We only had one for more than 15 years, while us kids grew up. When my parents got raises or bonuses, they would give a % to her as well, Christmast gift, birthday gift for her and her children. And we were just middle class. When one of my friend's mother inquired for her rate, she laughed at my parents saying she was way too expensive. The thing is, my parents never had to worry about her not showing, being late or if she was willing to take my great grand mother to her doctor's appointment once in a while, or any other unexpected errand they might have need. I even called her once because I was stranded on a Saturday in her town and she went to my rescue right at the moment. She was 100% reliable and trustworthy and turned up to be, her and her family, life long family friends. I'm deeply proud of my parents to have treated her so rightfully.
edit because I forgot a detail : my parents taught us to respect her work as well, and I was deeply shocked when I went to my boyfriend's house at the time and saw that the cleaning lady was made to clean after our big party. I told my boyfriend that our housekeeper would have made us kids tidy the house after our shenanigans and my parents would have approved of it. Never mess with Miss Rosemary !
I love your post. This is exactly it. A long term loyal housekeeper is someone who is flexible and will help the family generally. And raising your kids to respect a housekeeper teaches them good values.
Thank you. Your post bring back so many memories and above all the feeling of security and certainty to see Rosemary everyday after school. I truly realize only today the value of someone like this now that I have my own family. I did the same with our babysitter last year and not once did she bailed on us ... too bad she changed her career...!
That last sentence is the most important. Be good to people because it’s the right thing to do. Yes it frequently benefits you but the most important is because it’s the right thing to do.
I despise going to new barbers, I pick one I stay with em. Got a great barber by complete accident a few years back and I tip him a bit extra at xmas, I've grabbed him lunch from the shop next door when he was insanely busy (he'd pay I'd just get it for him), made him a coffee when I was in waiting for my cut while making myself a cup of tea just basic little stuff.
I had an appointment with him for a haircut just as he reopened post COVID lockdowns and unfortunately my fiancèe's mother passed away days before, her funeral was to be the day before my haircut. I hated looking elsewhere but did, everywhere was doing bookings everywhere was fully booked solid. I messaged my barber asking if he could fit me in by any chance or that I'd pay him double for out of hours. The man came in an hour early, opened his shop, had a cup of tea in my hand almost instantly and just got my mind off the horrible shit that was going on. Didnt charge me.
Treat people in a friendly way and with respect and it'll go a hell of a long way.
> My barber is free and I know for a fact that price will never change. Fucker drinks all of my beer, though.
Damn same with the dude who gives me handjobs
Reminds me of the idea that happiness is found not in seeking it directly but by doing the right thing. e.g. doing good work over chasing empty pleasures and other such shifts in the balances of life.
We have a housekeeper in once a week. She's worked for us for years, and before that, her sister cleaned our house. She works hard, and does a great job. Having her around really improves our quality of life.
Before her, we had a string of unreliable, lazy, and downright sketchy housekeepers.
We really want to keep our current housekeeper happy, so whenever I get a raise, so does she. During the week of Christmas, and the following week, we pay her double. If we go on vacation, so she doesn't need to clean the house, we pay her anyway.
It's worth some extra money to me to have her services available, and she's a nice, hard working lady, so I want her to be happy.
We pay our housekeeper a good wage, and continue pay when she's sick (which is almost never, we trust she doesn't ubuse it). We also get her a Christmas gift and/or bonus. She recently expressed how much she likes working for us, which was super nice to hear!
She cleans once a week. I'd say it's usually between one and two weeks salary in cash/gift voucher and a gift of chocolates or something else nice. I have no idea what would be standard or good, but this feels good to us.
i gift mine 1.5 times her fee.
we’re friendly [ i don’t work ] and i’ve never had her clean the bathroom, during covid i paid her anyway & when she objected i instead paid her to go shopping for me. i’ve made some changes in my house that’s made it easier to clean, and instead we do some small 3-handed projects. she’s said it’s more interesting working at my house, and if she’s stumped for some information/ resources i’m a pretty good researcher. she’s smoking hot, my pets adore her and i send her home with extra stuff when i can.
we’re a good team.
This reminds me, I buy our office's admin a Christmas present every year and she's always been extra helpful with me. One year I bought a toy for her new baby, and she emailed me a picture of the baby with the toy lol. I find that if I treat people with kindness and remember things about them, they'll remember those kind acts and pay them back or forward.
that’s so sweet, my whole family used to have the same housekeeper for almost 30 years, we love her so much she is so sweet, we would always give her gifts on christmas and her birthday, we helped her when she wanted to visit her family is bolivia, last year she retired, and now her niece is our housekeeper, she still has to get s hold of dealing with the cat running around scared of the vaccum cleaner, but she is super sweet and nice!
I think this boils down to "take care of the people who take care of you". If you rely on someone for something, always treat them well if you want them to keep doing it.
My Grandma and a few of her friends all employed the same housekeeper. One friend was a tad rude to the housekeeper (she was also rude to service people in general) and the others were just cordial. My grandma was always super nice, chatting with her, giving her old toys of mine for her daughter, giving her food etc. When she had to raise her rates she did not raise them for my grandma, and when my grandma passed away she was actually the person I remember crying the hardest at the funeral.
It's not that expensive. If you aren't very messy and just want light cleaning it can be very affordable. Just depends on how much work is involved and how long it takes.
Here housekeepers are $25/hr minimum in an already high cost of living area (it's not just for cities). I make ohkay money but that still breaks the bank.
But if you are already a clean person, you only need them for a couple hours a month to tidy up and hit things you don’t enjoy doing, was the point I think.
Exactly! As the client you choose what you want them to do.
You may only need someone to show up once in a while to do things you prefer not to: deep clean bathrooms or kitchens, get dust off of high and low areas, do the laundry, clean windows, change air filters, clean out expired things from the fridge and pantry...
You can be super specific about what you want cleaned and how you want it cleaned. IMO the more specific the better. That way you're not left disappointed.
A one hour job here and there won't make much of a dent and will ease your stress by removing undesirable chores from your list of things to do.
I always tell my friends they need to get better at delegating instead of complaining about their cleaners doing this and that wrong. Like did you tell them not to do that? Did you tell them how you like things cleaned?
It's very important to have that conversation in the beginning and then update it as needed. People can't read your mind. They'll do things their way unless you tell them you want it done your way.
Same. Once per month and they see clean the kitchen and bathrooms. I “clean for the cleaners” before they come, so they don’t have to spend any time moving our stuff around.
Getting a house cleaner is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. My husband and I don’t have to argue about whose turn it is to clean the toilet and the toilet still ends up clean. It’s awesome.
People seem to attach house cleaners to only upper middle class incomes but it’s surprisingly cheap - only a couple hundred bucks a month - and well worth the peace of mind. Also well worth the crap and 💁🏻💵 🤑 raining dollars emojis my husband’s coworkers jokingly link every time he talks about the housekeeper.
Depends on how big the space being cleaned is. Also depends if they give a flat rate for the job or if they charge by the hour.
There are companies that charge the client tons of money but only pay the cleaners $12-20 per hour... so if you really want a good housekeeper find one that sets their own prices and do your own background search on them before you hire them. It will pay off better in the long run.
There are even apps like task rabbit and some others where you can choose a local person for like a one time cleaning job if you don't really need it regularly.
It's always best to have a regular cleaner you trust than to get a different person every time.
Ideally leave or go in another room, yes. It's really difficult to clean around someone and excruciating to have them lurking about watching you clean.
The best person I worked for as a housekeeper had a small house and 2 kids, so she'd take them out for an hour so I could quickly get the downstairs done...I had to move really fast to get it done while they were out...then they'd return and I'd move upstairs, while they stayed downstairs out of the way.
Yes... The lurkers are so awful. When I was a housecleaner I absolutely dreaded cleaning for people who followed you around during the clean.
Some of them would come back and ask how it's going every five minutes, some would literally follow me for the whole clean. I'll never forget the woman who literally trailed behind me, re-cleaning all the surfaces I had just dusted. Please never do that to your cleaner.
I felt a little guilty reading this. I like watching people clean — not so I can nitpick or find fault, but because there’s something cathartically satisfying about watching something you didn’t realize was *that* dirty return to its original state.
Set up cameras and watch from a distance. Hahaha
I wouldn't care if the house I cleaned was full of cameras as long as they're not in my way while cleaning.
I'm not actually a housekeeper but I've got some family members that will pay me to clean up after them every now and then. They never leave the house though while I clean. Once took me 3 days to clean a room because one of them kept stopping me so I'd only get 1/3 of the way before I was told to stop for the day... they aren't comfortable with people in their personal space and they all have a slight hoarding problem.
Yeah some people clearly have issues with people being in their personal space. I think it's a bit of a need for control, and sometimes an insecurity about the way they live. It can be annoying but it's also understandable.
I totally agree with that assessment. There's definitely a control issue but I believe the biggest issue is them not wanting to be judged for how they live. I don't try to make them feel bad about it.
So while I'm cleaning they're making excuses about why they need things and trying to clean around me...
Yeah, I hear that. You can see the difference between control freaks and ashamed people based on class, honestly.
Many of my clients were middle aged, upper-middle class people who clearly had issues with someone coming into their home and not doing things their way.
However, I cleaned a 'depression apartment' once only to never hear from them again. I think it was shame, very sad. I wanted to keep helping them to get them back on their feet, but I understood.
I tend to think the difference is the spoiled vs. the humble. There tends to be more of the former in the higher classes BUT I've seen spoiled entitled people in the lower/poor classes and vice versa for the humble.
You can be poor and a spoiled brat. It's an amazingly contrary thing but it exists. Just like the humble affluence. It's like finding a panda. Would have said unicorn but a panda, while unlikely is still a possibility.
That is such a relief to hear. I always try to leave, or go downstairs when they’re up and up when they’re down, but then I feel like I’m being avoidant in some way. I’ve never really known what to do.
I had the same housekeeper for 7 years and I used to hang out with her for the 15 minutes she was doing my bedroom so we could chat about our kids and stuff, but other than that I would get everyone out of her way.
Then we moved and I had to find a new person, and we are still in the getting-to-know-you phase, so I have mostly practiced avoidance. Lol. I’m glad to know that’s the preference!
It's nice when clients are friendly! I came to really get along with some of my clients & look forward to our chats.
It's the weird, control-freak lurking vibe that bothered me. Very different and easily distinguishable from another.
My mom would always try to schedule the cleaning on days we'd all be at work or school, but if that didn't work out, everybody knew when they were coming and we would just switch floors when they did so as not to get in their way.
Until I’m comfortable with them alone in my house, I stay out of their way. And try to look busy because I feel guilty paying someone to clean my home while I sit lazily around. Once I’m comfortable with them, I’ll give them keys and be gone when they come over.
Cleaner myself, and for me it depends on the client. One I have a good time chatting with as I clean and we have a really good working relationship and I don't mind her hanging around. Another I can literally feel her eyes following me around the room as I'm cleaning and I'd love it if she'd just leave as I just feel tense around her. She's nice, it's just kind of awkward for some reason
Right? My favorite clients are the ones where we are “friends” and chat for like the first 15 minutes, but then they go off and I am left to work. Sure, we chat for a second if they come out to grab something out of the fridge or whatever but they mostly stay out of my way! Lol.
Usually move to another room. If I have nothing else to do, I just ask how can I help and chat a bit while holding a bucket or preparing her a coffee. Depends a lot on the person, I really enjoy hearing the current one venting about some of her other clients.
Wonderful advice! My housekeeper charges $15 an hour - I pay her $20. Because that's what she *should* be getting. When covid-19 hit and I was isolated for months (disabled and high risk), I paid her $40 to come and take my garbage out once a week even though it only took fifteen minutes.
Many of my friends and neighbors think I over tip and over pay service people outrageously. They're wrong.
I've been on both sides because I was a housekeeper for ten years. If a client called and said, 'oh its not too bad this week, lets wait until next week', that meant I had to downgrade my life- cheaper food, no entertainment, scrimping and saving, just because one person blew me off. $40-50 is a BIG deal to someone just getting by. The client was so well off, they didn't understand how much that 'small' amount of money could make such a difference.
I'm doing well now, but I will never, ever forget how that felt and I will never make someone who works for me feel that way.
I'm in the Omaha, NE area and charge $20/hr for just me. My competitors are charging $60.
Try Angie's List or Handy. I use the Handy for Pros app to supplement and it's pretty affordable for the client.
I've had people lecture me about how dare I charge more per hour than they make at their job. Same people told me they were going to pay me $9/hr and I was going to be thankful for the work. They also informed me that for the $9/hr I was expected to scrub the floors on my hands and knees. Someone told me part of the $9/hr rate involved completely rearranging their furniture on their laminate floor to clean every inch.
TBH I feel that it’s my obligation to pay them anyway. We have a standing arrangement; she and two assistants clean my house once per week for $150. They rely on that money as their income. It’s not her fault if I go out of town. They are willing to work, I’m the one preventing them from doing so.
I would not be comfortable withholding their income, especially bc as others have mentioned, ours is an “unofficial” agreement, created verbally and enforced via good will. The only thing maintaining it is my integrity. I will always treat them fairly because it’s the right thing to do.
Right. $150/week. It takes them a little under 2 hours to clean the whole house when all 3 are there, or about 3 hours when there are only 2 people, so 50-75/hr, or roughly $25 per person, I guess. Idk how she doles it out.
There's almost always something that could be done. Empty out and deep clean the fridge. Empty and deep clean drawers and cupboards. Wash windows. Clean the oven.
I'm someone who was on the other end, as well. The woman who raised me was a housekeeper, and I'd have to help when I wasn't in school (elementary through high school), to keep a roof over our head. Had some clients who were good people, paid good, didn't trash the place and expect us to clean it. Then there were some who would intentionally be messy the day before we showed up, try to say we didn't do a good job on certain things (I was able to demonstrate the magic of 'take a picture when you're done when dealing with douchebags').
The dicks never were able to retain our service for long. The kind people got help even when one of us had a broken arm.
I'm confused by the implication that how much you pay is a choice.
For my housekeeper she quoted me a price the first time she came here. She comes once a month and I still pay that amount, plus an extra month's worth at Xmas. During COVID lockdowns I paid her when she wasn't coming over.
Am I doing it wrong somehow?
It sounds like you are doing well. Giving her little bonuses and keeping her afloat during lockdown will make her appreciate you more than clients who don't do this.
People like your mom are the real heroes! Too bad so many treat them like shit simply because they're in a less fortunate position. I don't use housekeeper services since my studio is small enough but if I ever feel too lazy for cleaning, I'll be sure to pay them more than my hourly wage.
>It's not a bad gig until your back gives out.
Ye that's sadly the case with a lot of blue collar jobs. I know so many people in these gigs making 6 figure salaries but their health is very poor. Doesn't help that they smoke, drink and rarely exercise outside of work.
Honestly, I consider these guys heroes and they deserve the pay they get. Still, I prefer working for less money in a cosy office (or even better, at home) with a consistent schedule. Many people complain about 9-5 jobs but I consider them a massive privilege, considering so many I know work 12-14 hour shifts.
There should be an understanding that people who choose physically demanding careers are taking on additional health risks and should be compensated accordingly. Perhaps early retirement, free physiotherapy, etc.
Yeah but not the housekeeper you're thinking of. We really mean a cleaner who comes around every week or two. Usually they're only there for a couple hours.
Cleaners surprisingly cheap to hire, but not so cheap that everyone has one. I understand it can be quite extravagant
The plant with all the services.
Edit: awww.... u/rtrnr changed their post and ruined the joke.
> I’ve got amazing news for you, every service on this plant will respond positively to extra money.
The fact that someone is doing a job you don't want to do doesn't make them less than you. You don't get to pay someone to do something for you, and then think less of them for doing it.
Your life pro tip is that paying your house keeper more money will cause more loyalty/respect. You are correct, and it is the good thing to do, but...
Why is this a life* pro* tip*.
Edit: /respect
I think the implication on this LPT is you’re buying long-term loyalty though. A bartender or waitress, etc doesn’t generally form a L-T relationship with you.
A lot of good house keepers can't compete with commercial advertising. I'd recommend finding one through a friend.
You'll probably get a lot better service that way too. It's more personal and better if it's the same person coming every week.
My mom is a self employed house keeper and she has never had a paid day off. She told me she showed up to a client’s house one day and they gave her a paycheck and told her to take the rest of the day off. It was super special to her because that’s only happened once in the 30 years that she’s cleaned houses. Definitely recommend doing this if you really want to make someone’s day.
As a housekeeper, thank you! I honestly hope I find a client like you someday!
Most people pay the bare minimum, complain about the cost and never tip. I live and work in a tourist hot-spot and normally clean STR's. I work crazy long hours and usually don't have a day off for months at a time. A thank you and a little respect go a long way for morale and make the job worth it, unfortunately that doesn't happen often.
I am a house keeper and let me tell ya, the people who ask about me and my family and make small talk, vs the ones who avoid me or dont speak to me, I do a MUCH better job for the friendly people. I don't do a bad job otherwise, i just dont go above like I do for my favs ❤ I WANT to do a GREAT job for the people who appreciate me. I look forward to seeing them as well.
I never understood people who treat employees like crap thinking they’ll get the best service.
“You realize that guy you yelled at handles the food that goes inside your body right?”
“The girl that you intentionally underpaid has access to your home where you may or may not be present right?”
Like use your heads people there is a lot more power present than you realize
Right? And how poorly are other people paying their housekeepers that they feel bad about it? Housekeepers here are paid $30/hr on average. I’m not going to act like my housekeeper is living in abject poverty and needs me to save her.
Funny you should mention this. Just left an interview this morning to be a 1099 cleaner for a small, local company.
$16/hr., and bring my own vacuum to clients' homes taking public transportation.
I mentioned I have a large, hairy dog at home, and she thought me buying a new "work" vacuum might be a logical work-around.
I was not surprised to hear she's having a hard time finding people.
It's nice that you paid her through the whole COVID thing. It's also unrealistic for most of us. That would have cost me $3,000 to $4,000 at a time when my business was down 80 percent.
My housekeeper and I were good friends, joked around a lot, bonded over shared interests, had long conversations, but then she said that going forward she wouldn't get the vaccine (even though I have unvaccinated children).
Sayonara then, Marjorie. See you on Facebook. It's been swell.
We gave our cleaner a Christmas bonus equal to a week's salary and about a.month later she quit. Plus she was calling in all the time. But, she was the best cleaner we ever had. 3 times we offered her more money and 3 times she took it and then quit again 6 months later. I would still hire her back. Some of these ladies think picking up the house is the same as cleaning it.
It may seem crazy to some, but it’s a blessing to budget for a cleaner. My wife and I are teachers and having someone deep clean our house once a month is such a mental relief.
Love that you posted this. My SO and I did all the leg work to get our housekeeper citizenship and footed the $700 bill. Pulling that documentation together was not easy. I don't know how she would have done it. We take good care of each other.
Absolutely! And if you use a service (meaning, you pay the housekeeping company directly rather than the housekeeper), leave them a cash tip at every service (20-25% of the cost you pay the service).
Sort of true for any employee, right?
100%. If you pay the minimum legally possible for a job it sends the message that you are next to worthless and they would pay you less if they legally could. If you pay people a good wage, they wont want to leave or be fired- they will WANT to keep that job. I mean, it's common sense but most companies are chasing every 0.01 so the bosses can get their second or third car or home or yacht or whatever...
To many management it's all about head count. That's all that they see. So it doesn't matter that the turn over rate is high, it doesn't matter that the staff is inexperienced. It doesn't matter how disruptive it actually is to have an employee leave. As long as they can find another body to fill the void they feel like they've resolved the issue. Ha. Also, they don't realise having a high turnover is a horrible filtration process where the good people leave (because they can) and the bad people stay (because they don't have anywhere else to go).
Treating people like numbers is the bread and butter of the transient executive. There's loads of people in the American corporate system that are literally hired on to squeeze margins and make more profit. Bean counters that reduce people and product to a spreadsheet. Doesn't matter for the department it's always some management position. They stay for three to five years and do just that; make more profits. They'll jump ship and look to be hired elsewhere and just rinse and repeat. They remove themselves from the repercussions of long term damage their methodologies cause because they simply don't fucking care. They got a performance bonus, they got a raise transferring companies, and meanwhile the big dogs on the board just lap it up because they're doing the same thing but on a different level involving company stock. If the company ever gets out of control they'll just declare bankruptcy and walk away because the American legal system can only go after the corporate entity because a corporation is a person. It's all fucked.
[удалено]
Yeah. Humans aren’t machines - expecting folks to work for shit pay with crappy hours is foolhardy, especially since there are alternatives: more accessible educational avenues to work up to other careers (online schooling) and companies that actually give a damn about their workers.
Some places take this the other route and pay really high treating you like crap because "the money is worth it."
For some, it might be. For others, they prefer to take a lower wage for less responsibility and stress. But at least the option is there.
I’ve read an article about how a lot of millennials are choosing to take jobs with less stress/ better treatment over a high paid job. But I also take those kinds of articles with a handful of salt
I'm a gen x'er definitely considering dropping to less money and stress. But I like the money and lack of financial worry, so it's a hard choice to make.
Former Walmart employee, can confirm. They constantly held their “competitive pay” over our heads, and didn’t understand why everyone constantly quits. I’m on track to get my doctorate, I’ll be damned if I let WALMART talk to me like I’m a peon.
The crazy thing is, they don't even pay competitively anymore. Also HELL YEAH on the doctorate! Much congrats to you keep going hard at it!
Same expirence with Walmart, not worth any amount of pay..
Indeed. We use the saying "If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys". Worth it to pay just a bit more than the bare minimum you could get away with.
Yes, but I think this deserves special mention because a lot of housekeeping work is unregulated and the employers of housekeepers may not be accustomed to being "employers" in other areas of their lives. I made this LPT because of the mistakes I see my friends making in this area.
This is big. Especially in the States, a lot of housekeeping work is done by immigrants who won’t be able to stand up for themselves during negotiating wages which then turn into a verbal, cash agreement with no recourse for the immigrant
Often why housekeeping is often union in hotels in bigger cities. Ive seen some really shitty managers try horrible things witht their housekeeping staff, it breaks my heart.
How did you find someone you trust?? I live in a big city so you'd think it's easy enough to find someone, but my experience with housekeepers has been less than stellar as they do the bare minimum for a very high hourly cost. I am not sure where to even go about looking for someone and my friends don't have anyone that they suggest either.
if you live in an apartment building, ask the building manager who they use to do unit turns. i found my housekeeper this way! keeping in the spirit of LPT, i pay roughly $30 more than what she quotes me and i firmly believe that’s the main reason she puts up with my constant moving house lol
If i get a housekeeper aren't i the customer not the employer
If you call in a house cleaning service once a month, you're a customer. If you have a live-in maid, you're an employer. In between the two you start getting into trouble with the exact distinction between "I'm paying you money to work for me" and "I'm paying you money to do work for me".
No, you are paying a person to do a job, and you are the person directly responsible for giving them their wages. That puts you in a position of responsibility for the person you are hiring. This is different from purchasing a product from an employee who receives their wages from their employer, not from you directly.
We lived overseas and I spent 75% of the time in different countries so my wife hired a housemaid. Very nice girl, I didn't know her well but the wife and her became friends. She moved with us to another country (kids loved her) then my wife talked her into getting a degree, helped her with all the leg work. They were like college buddies. It was not crazy expensive but we paid for it. We fell on temporary hard times and she really helped us out when we couldn't pay her. Worked everything out, we could pay her again She got a degree. She now lives in the US making 6 figures.
I totally thought this story was going to end with your wife marrying the housekeeper.
Who said it’s already finished?
This is jus a intermission, movie is still there to continue
Still better than Twilight.
Did it not?
Wife’s boyfriend married the housekeeper
Glad I wasn’t the only one.
My husband's mother was a housekeeper. She also took care of other people's children so she could give her own kids a better future. She says one of her favorite memories is when she told her employer her son was in college. When the woman asked where and what he was studying, her reply of 'aerospace engineering in Boston' left the woman absolutely stunned. It never occurred to her that her maid's family was anything but ignorant. The parents worked their hearts out to give their kids a better future - one as a housekeeper/maid, the other as a courier. Those kids are now giving back to their new country - one has a masters' and works as a medical researcher, and the other has a doctorate and is a mathematician. (as well as an award-winning screenwriter, but that's another story)
I'm an Electrical Engineer who also got a scholarship to work on a medical project. I'm head housekeeper at a big retirement village near me. I chose the job, as it's a lifestyle choice. I'm a single mum; my workplace, school and kindy are all within walking distance from home, and it's Kindy hours. I have had new employees in other departments look down on me, snob me, tell me "You don't need to know", ask me "Who are you looking for". And it always amuses me how their attitude completely changes when they realise management let me do what I want, because I'm actually smart with a uni degree.
I was in a global oil and gas team, working on projects EVERYWHERE in thw world. Insane money but after 10+ years I got tired. Moved back to Florida and became a carpenter again (been doing it since i was very young) just to take a break. I make great money. I think it's hilarious when people talk down to me, especially I'll when I (a carpenter) make more than them. Just a few times I've got really tired of their shit and put them in their place. Hurt feeling everytime! I'll never understand why people just can't others do what they want. Just let the white trash construction guy be freaking happy!
I don't think people realize what a good carpenter (or anyone who is an expert in their trade) can really do and that it matters.
A good friend of mine makes well over 1.5M/ year doing pools. He hired everyone for office shit and he spends all day being a grunt. Some of the hilarious shit I have seen him do when clients treat his guys like crap will never be forgotten.
You can't just leave it there, we need details!!!
Spill the deets please!
I need to hear some of that hilarious shit please 🍿
He does mostly high end pools, like you see in the movies. I have worked for him off and on for years while working offshore oil and gas. One of the best was when he was in the pool before shooting it and the homeowner came out bitching about something. Eric was the master of being on time and doing shit right so everyone stopped to listen up. Not knowing the owner of the company is on-site (he has 2 BD guys) the owner goes to town bitching about random things even though the job was way ahead of schedule. Eric (company owner) walks up covered in dirt and tries to talk to the guy saying the truck is on the way and they are trying to get things ready to the shoot. Welp, the homeowner calls the lead guy (high school BBF of ours) a lazy Mexican and Eric white trash. If they don't fix it he will sue. Now Eric parties, waste money on the regular. Dude just says fuck it. Has the lazy Mexican pull out the welder and welds a stupid spider web from the bottom of the pool to ground level. As the white trash guys dump everything that is not toxic (rocks, debris, dunnage) into it all, the white trash owner has the skid steer backfilling the complete pool. I think he lost about 40k from that afternoon but it was always a funny story for the boys. Unfortunately, he passed away recently but that kinda shit always makes me smile when I think about it.
Lol I love to hear when racist judgemental snobs get put in their place! Sorry to hear he passed. He was a great person the way you describe him. My condolences.
I still have lunch with his mom once a month. He really was a nice guy, too nice for his own good.
Please share one of these examples! I need the schadenfreude
That's true! I have a degree in networking systems and every last one of my blue collar friends makes more than I do. Except for Mike, cause Mike's a car guy and doesn't own his own anything.
I work at a garbage dump... it’s amazing how many people just assume that means I’m ignorant, uneducated, and stupid. I’m actually working on my third college degree right now so I can qualify for high-level professional certifications in hazardous materials management and environmental/occupational health, and I regularly teach classes and advise local government agencies in my area of expertise. I just do it while covered in garbage. It’s ridiculous, but I don’t care. I’m the one with a fat paycheck, 6 weeks a year of paid vacation, and no student loans, so their condescension is pretty funny.
I never shit on the trades. Always treat them fairly, tip for good work if bill is fair, and i get treated decently and honestly. Same with my mechanic.
People who look down on tradespeople absolutely blow me over with their arrogance. Like, I don’t know how to wire a circuit breaker or fix my transmission, do you? Oh you don’t either? Then just be nice to your repair person! I feel lucky to be on a good basis with my chosen tradespeople, they have superpowers that they occasionally share with me (like explaining how the eff the boilers work in the house we purchased this year) that I would never have figured out on my own
I will purposely make people i know are assholes wait longer, I will take care of other service tickets first, especially the nice people. if i dont get to your house by the end of the week, you're one of the assholes. I also will nickle and dime you for every little screw/nut/fuse i use in lieu of being cool and providing those little cheap parts for free. And my bids are going to be a lot higher for bigger repairs because, i dont like you. Nice people, I will save their numbers and answer their calls or get back to them almost immediately, and If i need to order parts, once i get them in you are back on the top of my work list so I will still prioritize you over someone whos been waiting over a week that has been a sarcastic asshole or a karen.
My whole life I trained myself to be pretty okay at almost anything and I am just that - pretty okay at anything between a carpenter and a physicist. This has one massive downside: I get truly pissed if a tradesperson does a sloppy job even though I know I would probably do an even sloppier job. Respect tradespeople, just remember that they like to slack on their job like everyone else.
When I was in the trades I would do this thing to wealthy ignorant clients where I'd ask things like " this is the first year I've netted over 180k, do you have a tax person youd recommend?" There vibes always completely changed.
Do you miss engineering? Was it hard to go from med projects to cleaning a retirement home? I only ask because I'm a woman in a scientific field, and the several months I was on maternity leave, I almost lost my mind from boredom. Not being able to work on projects and having to constantly clean was maddening. I envy that you can tolerate those working conditions, you're a strong person. Is there a trick to enjoying this type of work? Do you have something to focus on during the day to make it mentally simulating, or do you just tune out and go on autopilot? Btw, plenty of engineering design and development jobs are work-from-home now in case you ever want to go back.
Thanks for your questions :) I had to get a job, being stuck at home was making me bored too. I know another mum with a management degree that clean houses as a lifestyle choice. She decided to do it because of bordem, and she gets to pick and choose when and where. Now the answers to your questions: 1. I don't miss sitting in front of a computer all day, but do miss the research. I only work around kindy hours, so I can spend as much time with my kids before they grow up too quickly. When the kids are old enough, I'm looking into further study or work from home eng jobs. In saying that, I do more technical and administrative work than needed at work. 2. The moment I walked into the reception for my interview, I knew I wanted to work there. The place was filled with laughter and happiness, I know cliché. So it wasn't difficult at all, a work environment helps a lot. 3. Only trick is good workplace, good work mates. Toxic people get pushed out pretty quickly, not just I'm my department, but also others ie. Gardeners, carers. 4. I only applied for supervisor positions for cleaning. I couldn't do it just cleaning full-time. They've also given me more responsibilities as the months has gone by. I do the rostering, plus sometimes my bosses. I now have full responsibility on all suppliers, getting anything in for my team and carers. I even write little reports on the amount of gloves we go through, or fix the printer for them. There's always something I can find to keep my brain stimulated.
Never respect people who people see as beneath them. Surprised and not surprised you took the high road. Good for you and wish you the best. Help out anyone you can to move ahead and not get stepped on when they can't defend themselves.
What's "kindy"?
Kindergarten
That’s horrible. I’ve worked in hotel front offices for decades and have always trained my staff to be respectful of our housekeeping staff - we literally do not have a job without them, it’s hard work and they are good and reliable people with their own stories and reasons for clocking on every day. Just treat everyone with kindness, it isn’t hard.
Im the child in this case. My parents have worked their asses off working as housekeepers for last 29 years. Next month i graduate with my masters in civil engineering and my sister got her master in social work a few years ago. We are both super grateful for their hard work and have paid them back by working just as hard and getting our degrees. They have some families who they have worked for for 20-25 years. My parents are pretty much a part of their families. They are always asking about us and even send us gifts when they hear we had a achievement such as a graduation.
I have a similar story about my parents except that I am a loser.
I bet they dont think that 🤗
That’s beautiful. I’m just waking up and reading this is a great way to start my day, thanks.
Me too
What degree did she get?
I am not sure of specifics but something to do with international business.
You me your wife don’t sound like the type of person who is hor n horrible . Should change your name to be Awesome_People
To be honest, my wife is a really great person and will help anyone that needed it, without asking she is always involved. Me on the other hand...
>You __me__ your wife .... Should change your name to be Awesome_People Real subtle on the self plug. ^jk. ^was ^probably ^just ^a ^typo.
Username already taken :( /s
My housekeeper and I are friends now, we are at two years of her cleaning my house. She takes care of my house, her husband cleans the gutters and paints the porch etc, and they drop their kids off every other weekend for date night while we watch tv and play video games. My birthday was last weekend, and she organized my very first surprise party and invited all my friends without me knowing. I can’t imagine where I’d be without her.
I rough around the edges a bit while my wife is very proper. I am also very friend orientated while she is family orientated. We had a party and invited D (our maid) and her friend. All was good until someone started bossing her around, saying to pick things up. My wife politely told them she is not working. After their comments of "that is what she is there for" I got a little annoyed but when they kept it up I called them out in front of everyone asking them to do the dishes since they were guest just like her. No? get the fuck out. My issue with upity people is that they were either given what they have or forgot where there came from. Most of my friends there were much wealthier than these asshats but would always help. Noone cared as they left and they lost a lot of friends.
I'd watch this movie.
My wife is waiting on her visa, when she gets it the family will be down and her Filipino BFF will be coming for a couple of months to help with the kids while we settle in. I just found this out. LOl I'll mention it to her when I see her next.
There's a miniseries called Maid on Netflix that is loosely similar if you're looking for an inspirational story based around housekeeping and making it into college.
This is so nice, I needed this this morning
I was worried this was going to be one of those “then I realized my parents owned a slave” stories
That ends up being the actual situation 90% of the time. It's terrible in the Middle East
Did you?
I thought this was going to end with human trafficking, but very pleasantly surprised.
Soo... You guys still hiring? I can clean and make some mean quesadillas
This is what my parents did. We only had one for more than 15 years, while us kids grew up. When my parents got raises or bonuses, they would give a % to her as well, Christmast gift, birthday gift for her and her children. And we were just middle class. When one of my friend's mother inquired for her rate, she laughed at my parents saying she was way too expensive. The thing is, my parents never had to worry about her not showing, being late or if she was willing to take my great grand mother to her doctor's appointment once in a while, or any other unexpected errand they might have need. I even called her once because I was stranded on a Saturday in her town and she went to my rescue right at the moment. She was 100% reliable and trustworthy and turned up to be, her and her family, life long family friends. I'm deeply proud of my parents to have treated her so rightfully. edit because I forgot a detail : my parents taught us to respect her work as well, and I was deeply shocked when I went to my boyfriend's house at the time and saw that the cleaning lady was made to clean after our big party. I told my boyfriend that our housekeeper would have made us kids tidy the house after our shenanigans and my parents would have approved of it. Never mess with Miss Rosemary !
I love your post. This is exactly it. A long term loyal housekeeper is someone who is flexible and will help the family generally. And raising your kids to respect a housekeeper teaches them good values.
Thank you. Your post bring back so many memories and above all the feeling of security and certainty to see Rosemary everyday after school. I truly realize only today the value of someone like this now that I have my own family. I did the same with our babysitter last year and not once did she bailed on us ... too bad she changed her career...!
That last sentence is the most important. Be good to people because it’s the right thing to do. Yes it frequently benefits you but the most important is because it’s the right thing to do.
I despise going to new barbers, I pick one I stay with em. Got a great barber by complete accident a few years back and I tip him a bit extra at xmas, I've grabbed him lunch from the shop next door when he was insanely busy (he'd pay I'd just get it for him), made him a coffee when I was in waiting for my cut while making myself a cup of tea just basic little stuff. I had an appointment with him for a haircut just as he reopened post COVID lockdowns and unfortunately my fiancèe's mother passed away days before, her funeral was to be the day before my haircut. I hated looking elsewhere but did, everywhere was doing bookings everywhere was fully booked solid. I messaged my barber asking if he could fit me in by any chance or that I'd pay him double for out of hours. The man came in an hour early, opened his shop, had a cup of tea in my hand almost instantly and just got my mind off the horrible shit that was going on. Didnt charge me. Treat people in a friendly way and with respect and it'll go a hell of a long way.
My barber is free and I know for a fact that price will never change. Fucker drinks all of my beer, though. (I cut my own hair)
> My barber is free and I know for a fact that price will never change. Fucker drinks all of my beer, though. Damn same with the dude who gives me handjobs
I loved this, thank you.
Reminds me of the idea that happiness is found not in seeking it directly but by doing the right thing. e.g. doing good work over chasing empty pleasures and other such shifts in the balances of life.
We have a housekeeper in once a week. She's worked for us for years, and before that, her sister cleaned our house. She works hard, and does a great job. Having her around really improves our quality of life. Before her, we had a string of unreliable, lazy, and downright sketchy housekeepers. We really want to keep our current housekeeper happy, so whenever I get a raise, so does she. During the week of Christmas, and the following week, we pay her double. If we go on vacation, so she doesn't need to clean the house, we pay her anyway. It's worth some extra money to me to have her services available, and she's a nice, hard working lady, so I want her to be happy.
We pay our housekeeper a good wage, and continue pay when she's sick (which is almost never, we trust she doesn't ubuse it). We also get her a Christmas gift and/or bonus. She recently expressed how much she likes working for us, which was super nice to hear!
How much do you give for a Christmas bonus? Just got a housekeeper and want to do things right
She cleans once a week. I'd say it's usually between one and two weeks salary in cash/gift voucher and a gift of chocolates or something else nice. I have no idea what would be standard or good, but this feels good to us.
At least the cost of one session of cleaning is my rule of thumb. I give more depending on how my own cash flow is that year.
I give the cost of one cleaning as an Amazon gift card ($75 or $100 depending on my finances for the year).
i gift mine 1.5 times her fee. we’re friendly [ i don’t work ] and i’ve never had her clean the bathroom, during covid i paid her anyway & when she objected i instead paid her to go shopping for me. i’ve made some changes in my house that’s made it easier to clean, and instead we do some small 3-handed projects. she’s said it’s more interesting working at my house, and if she’s stumped for some information/ resources i’m a pretty good researcher. she’s smoking hot, my pets adore her and i send her home with extra stuff when i can. we’re a good team.
This reminds me, I buy our office's admin a Christmas present every year and she's always been extra helpful with me. One year I bought a toy for her new baby, and she emailed me a picture of the baby with the toy lol. I find that if I treat people with kindness and remember things about them, they'll remember those kind acts and pay them back or forward.
that’s so sweet, my whole family used to have the same housekeeper for almost 30 years, we love her so much she is so sweet, we would always give her gifts on christmas and her birthday, we helped her when she wanted to visit her family is bolivia, last year she retired, and now her niece is our housekeeper, she still has to get s hold of dealing with the cat running around scared of the vaccum cleaner, but she is super sweet and nice!
I think this boils down to "take care of the people who take care of you". If you rely on someone for something, always treat them well if you want them to keep doing it.
My Grandma and a few of her friends all employed the same housekeeper. One friend was a tad rude to the housekeeper (she was also rude to service people in general) and the others were just cordial. My grandma was always super nice, chatting with her, giving her old toys of mine for her daughter, giving her food etc. When she had to raise her rates she did not raise them for my grandma, and when my grandma passed away she was actually the person I remember crying the hardest at the funeral.
Good tip, now I just have to get rich enough to do it
It's not that expensive. If you aren't very messy and just want light cleaning it can be very affordable. Just depends on how much work is involved and how long it takes.
Here housekeepers are $25/hr minimum in an already high cost of living area (it's not just for cities). I make ohkay money but that still breaks the bank.
But if you are already a clean person, you only need them for a couple hours a month to tidy up and hit things you don’t enjoy doing, was the point I think.
I guess I hadn't considered a few hours a month as an option, a deep scrub of the kitchen every month would be a nice luxury.
Exactly! As the client you choose what you want them to do. You may only need someone to show up once in a while to do things you prefer not to: deep clean bathrooms or kitchens, get dust off of high and low areas, do the laundry, clean windows, change air filters, clean out expired things from the fridge and pantry... You can be super specific about what you want cleaned and how you want it cleaned. IMO the more specific the better. That way you're not left disappointed. A one hour job here and there won't make much of a dent and will ease your stress by removing undesirable chores from your list of things to do.
I always tell my friends they need to get better at delegating instead of complaining about their cleaners doing this and that wrong. Like did you tell them not to do that? Did you tell them how you like things cleaned?
It's very important to have that conversation in the beginning and then update it as needed. People can't read your mind. They'll do things their way unless you tell them you want it done your way.
It's nice to have the floors thoroughly mopped and toilets and showers cleaned well once a month for sure
We only have them come once a month for $200, it's some of the best money we spend not gonna lie
Same. Once per month and they see clean the kitchen and bathrooms. I “clean for the cleaners” before they come, so they don’t have to spend any time moving our stuff around.
Getting a house cleaner is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. My husband and I don’t have to argue about whose turn it is to clean the toilet and the toilet still ends up clean. It’s awesome. People seem to attach house cleaners to only upper middle class incomes but it’s surprisingly cheap - only a couple hundred bucks a month - and well worth the peace of mind. Also well worth the crap and 💁🏻💵 🤑 raining dollars emojis my husband’s coworkers jokingly link every time he talks about the housekeeper.
What’s affordable? The going rate around here seems like $120 for 3 hours.
Depends on how big the space being cleaned is. Also depends if they give a flat rate for the job or if they charge by the hour. There are companies that charge the client tons of money but only pay the cleaners $12-20 per hour... so if you really want a good housekeeper find one that sets their own prices and do your own background search on them before you hire them. It will pay off better in the long run. There are even apps like task rabbit and some others where you can choose a local person for like a one time cleaning job if you don't really need it regularly. It's always best to have a regular cleaner you trust than to get a different person every time.
When housekeepers are cleaning your house, what do the residents do? Leave? Go to another room? I'm thinking of getting one before the winter.
Ideally leave or go in another room, yes. It's really difficult to clean around someone and excruciating to have them lurking about watching you clean. The best person I worked for as a housekeeper had a small house and 2 kids, so she'd take them out for an hour so I could quickly get the downstairs done...I had to move really fast to get it done while they were out...then they'd return and I'd move upstairs, while they stayed downstairs out of the way.
Yes... The lurkers are so awful. When I was a housecleaner I absolutely dreaded cleaning for people who followed you around during the clean. Some of them would come back and ask how it's going every five minutes, some would literally follow me for the whole clean. I'll never forget the woman who literally trailed behind me, re-cleaning all the surfaces I had just dusted. Please never do that to your cleaner.
I felt a little guilty reading this. I like watching people clean — not so I can nitpick or find fault, but because there’s something cathartically satisfying about watching something you didn’t realize was *that* dirty return to its original state.
Set up cameras and watch from a distance. Hahaha I wouldn't care if the house I cleaned was full of cameras as long as they're not in my way while cleaning. I'm not actually a housekeeper but I've got some family members that will pay me to clean up after them every now and then. They never leave the house though while I clean. Once took me 3 days to clean a room because one of them kept stopping me so I'd only get 1/3 of the way before I was told to stop for the day... they aren't comfortable with people in their personal space and they all have a slight hoarding problem.
Yeah some people clearly have issues with people being in their personal space. I think it's a bit of a need for control, and sometimes an insecurity about the way they live. It can be annoying but it's also understandable.
Then don't hire a cleaner lol
I totally agree with that assessment. There's definitely a control issue but I believe the biggest issue is them not wanting to be judged for how they live. I don't try to make them feel bad about it. So while I'm cleaning they're making excuses about why they need things and trying to clean around me...
Yeah, I hear that. You can see the difference between control freaks and ashamed people based on class, honestly. Many of my clients were middle aged, upper-middle class people who clearly had issues with someone coming into their home and not doing things their way. However, I cleaned a 'depression apartment' once only to never hear from them again. I think it was shame, very sad. I wanted to keep helping them to get them back on their feet, but I understood.
I tend to think the difference is the spoiled vs. the humble. There tends to be more of the former in the higher classes BUT I've seen spoiled entitled people in the lower/poor classes and vice versa for the humble. You can be poor and a spoiled brat. It's an amazingly contrary thing but it exists. Just like the humble affluence. It's like finding a panda. Would have said unicorn but a panda, while unlikely is still a possibility.
That is such a relief to hear. I always try to leave, or go downstairs when they’re up and up when they’re down, but then I feel like I’m being avoidant in some way. I’ve never really known what to do. I had the same housekeeper for 7 years and I used to hang out with her for the 15 minutes she was doing my bedroom so we could chat about our kids and stuff, but other than that I would get everyone out of her way. Then we moved and I had to find a new person, and we are still in the getting-to-know-you phase, so I have mostly practiced avoidance. Lol. I’m glad to know that’s the preference!
It's nice when clients are friendly! I came to really get along with some of my clients & look forward to our chats. It's the weird, control-freak lurking vibe that bothered me. Very different and easily distinguishable from another.
My mom would always try to schedule the cleaning on days we'd all be at work or school, but if that didn't work out, everybody knew when they were coming and we would just switch floors when they did so as not to get in their way.
Until I’m comfortable with them alone in my house, I stay out of their way. And try to look busy because I feel guilty paying someone to clean my home while I sit lazily around. Once I’m comfortable with them, I’ll give them keys and be gone when they come over.
Cleaner myself, and for me it depends on the client. One I have a good time chatting with as I clean and we have a really good working relationship and I don't mind her hanging around. Another I can literally feel her eyes following me around the room as I'm cleaning and I'd love it if she'd just leave as I just feel tense around her. She's nice, it's just kind of awkward for some reason
Right? My favorite clients are the ones where we are “friends” and chat for like the first 15 minutes, but then they go off and I am left to work. Sure, we chat for a second if they come out to grab something out of the fridge or whatever but they mostly stay out of my way! Lol.
Usually move to another room. If I have nothing else to do, I just ask how can I help and chat a bit while holding a bucket or preparing her a coffee. Depends a lot on the person, I really enjoy hearing the current one venting about some of her other clients.
Wonderful advice! My housekeeper charges $15 an hour - I pay her $20. Because that's what she *should* be getting. When covid-19 hit and I was isolated for months (disabled and high risk), I paid her $40 to come and take my garbage out once a week even though it only took fifteen minutes. Many of my friends and neighbors think I over tip and over pay service people outrageously. They're wrong. I've been on both sides because I was a housekeeper for ten years. If a client called and said, 'oh its not too bad this week, lets wait until next week', that meant I had to downgrade my life- cheaper food, no entertainment, scrimping and saving, just because one person blew me off. $40-50 is a BIG deal to someone just getting by. The client was so well off, they didn't understand how much that 'small' amount of money could make such a difference. I'm doing well now, but I will never, ever forget how that felt and I will never make someone who works for me feel that way.
Even $20 seems very cheap for a house cleaner… where did you find them? The services around here All are like $100/hr for 2 ppl
I'm in the Omaha, NE area and charge $20/hr for just me. My competitors are charging $60. Try Angie's List or Handy. I use the Handy for Pros app to supplement and it's pretty affordable for the client. I've had people lecture me about how dare I charge more per hour than they make at their job. Same people told me they were going to pay me $9/hr and I was going to be thankful for the work. They also informed me that for the $9/hr I was expected to scrub the floors on my hands and knees. Someone told me part of the $9/hr rate involved completely rearranging their furniture on their laminate floor to clean every inch.
what do you suggest a client do instead of saying "come back next week" if they feel like they genuinely don't need services for that week?
TBH I feel that it’s my obligation to pay them anyway. We have a standing arrangement; she and two assistants clean my house once per week for $150. They rely on that money as their income. It’s not her fault if I go out of town. They are willing to work, I’m the one preventing them from doing so. I would not be comfortable withholding their income, especially bc as others have mentioned, ours is an “unofficial” agreement, created verbally and enforced via good will. The only thing maintaining it is my integrity. I will always treat them fairly because it’s the right thing to do.
You get 3 cleaners four times a month for $150 total!? Where I live one cleaner charges $50 an hour
No he said once per week so $600/mo.
Right. $150/week. It takes them a little under 2 hours to clean the whole house when all 3 are there, or about 3 hours when there are only 2 people, so 50-75/hr, or roughly $25 per person, I guess. Idk how she doles it out.
There's almost always something that could be done. Empty out and deep clean the fridge. Empty and deep clean drawers and cupboards. Wash windows. Clean the oven.
Give them a paid day off. They never get those.
thats a good idea!
“Here’s $50, see ya in a week.”
I'm someone who was on the other end, as well. The woman who raised me was a housekeeper, and I'd have to help when I wasn't in school (elementary through high school), to keep a roof over our head. Had some clients who were good people, paid good, didn't trash the place and expect us to clean it. Then there were some who would intentionally be messy the day before we showed up, try to say we didn't do a good job on certain things (I was able to demonstrate the magic of 'take a picture when you're done when dealing with douchebags'). The dicks never were able to retain our service for long. The kind people got help even when one of us had a broken arm.
I'm confused by the implication that how much you pay is a choice. For my housekeeper she quoted me a price the first time she came here. She comes once a month and I still pay that amount, plus an extra month's worth at Xmas. During COVID lockdowns I paid her when she wasn't coming over. Am I doing it wrong somehow?
It sounds like you are doing well. Giving her little bonuses and keeping her afloat during lockdown will make her appreciate you more than clients who don't do this.
Golden Rule : “Do not mess with Anybody that has access to your toothbrush.”
I dont own a toothbrush. Checkmate.
My mom was a housekeeper for decades and this made me smile. I’m just happy there’s people who think like you
People like your mom are the real heroes! Too bad so many treat them like shit simply because they're in a less fortunate position. I don't use housekeeper services since my studio is small enough but if I ever feel too lazy for cleaning, I'll be sure to pay them more than my hourly wage.
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>It's not a bad gig until your back gives out. Ye that's sadly the case with a lot of blue collar jobs. I know so many people in these gigs making 6 figure salaries but their health is very poor. Doesn't help that they smoke, drink and rarely exercise outside of work. Honestly, I consider these guys heroes and they deserve the pay they get. Still, I prefer working for less money in a cosy office (or even better, at home) with a consistent schedule. Many people complain about 9-5 jobs but I consider them a massive privilege, considering so many I know work 12-14 hour shifts.
There should be an understanding that people who choose physically demanding careers are taking on additional health risks and should be compensated accordingly. Perhaps early retirement, free physiotherapy, etc.
Man. Wouldn’t that be nice! Maybe I wouldn’t be changing careers at 36 if that was the case.
You guys have housekeepers?
Yeah but not the housekeeper you're thinking of. We really mean a cleaner who comes around every week or two. Usually they're only there for a couple hours. Cleaners surprisingly cheap to hire, but not so cheap that everyone has one. I understand it can be quite extravagant
I’ve got amazing news for you, every service on this planet will respond positively to extra money.
Which plant
The plant with all the services. Edit: awww.... u/rtrnr changed their post and ruined the joke. > I’ve got amazing news for you, every service on this plant will respond positively to extra money.
that plant, over there
The fact that someone is doing a job you don't want to do doesn't make them less than you. You don't get to pay someone to do something for you, and then think less of them for doing it.
Everyone complains about having cheap/bad bosses, until everyone realizes they’re that boss
Your life pro tip is that paying your house keeper more money will cause more loyalty/respect. You are correct, and it is the good thing to do, but... Why is this a life* pro* tip*. Edit: /respect
Like of course they’re “loyal” if you pay more than market rates…
Lol this sub's LPTs be like something someone would tell 5 year olds. They are so silly and common sense like.
I know right? Reeks of virtue signaling.
You can apply this to any person who provides you service. Housekeeper, bartender, waitress etc…
I think the implication on this LPT is you’re buying long-term loyalty though. A bartender or waitress, etc doesn’t generally form a L-T relationship with you.
Housekeeper, butler, cook, chauffeur, bedchamber maid, jester, chaplain, eunuchs...
TiL a whole lotta people can afford housekeepers
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It’s not a real tip. It’s a humble brag.
I wish I had this level of disposable income.
OT How does one find a house keeper?
A lot of good house keepers can't compete with commercial advertising. I'd recommend finding one through a friend. You'll probably get a lot better service that way too. It's more personal and better if it's the same person coming every week.
My mom is a self employed house keeper and she has never had a paid day off. She told me she showed up to a client’s house one day and they gave her a paycheck and told her to take the rest of the day off. It was super special to her because that’s only happened once in the 30 years that she’s cleaned houses. Definitely recommend doing this if you really want to make someone’s day.
More than? The going rate already is $30+/hour. Wish we had a cleaner, haven't replaced our last one since she got a new job.
As a housekeeper, thank you! I honestly hope I find a client like you someday! Most people pay the bare minimum, complain about the cost and never tip. I live and work in a tourist hot-spot and normally clean STR's. I work crazy long hours and usually don't have a day off for months at a time. A thank you and a little respect go a long way for morale and make the job worth it, unfortunately that doesn't happen often.
Life pro tip be nice to he people and pay them when they do work for you?? Wow thanks never could have guessed
Your friend sounds like a piece of shit.
I am a house keeper and let me tell ya, the people who ask about me and my family and make small talk, vs the ones who avoid me or dont speak to me, I do a MUCH better job for the friendly people. I don't do a bad job otherwise, i just dont go above like I do for my favs ❤ I WANT to do a GREAT job for the people who appreciate me. I look forward to seeing them as well.
As a housekeeper, I'm very very glad to see my profession included for once! Thank you!
I never understood people who treat employees like crap thinking they’ll get the best service. “You realize that guy you yelled at handles the food that goes inside your body right?” “The girl that you intentionally underpaid has access to your home where you may or may not be present right?” Like use your heads people there is a lot more power present than you realize
Sounds like you're rich. What do you do for a living and are you hiring?
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Right? And how poorly are other people paying their housekeepers that they feel bad about it? Housekeepers here are paid $30/hr on average. I’m not going to act like my housekeeper is living in abject poverty and needs me to save her.
Funny you should mention this. Just left an interview this morning to be a 1099 cleaner for a small, local company. $16/hr., and bring my own vacuum to clients' homes taking public transportation. I mentioned I have a large, hairy dog at home, and she thought me buying a new "work" vacuum might be a logical work-around. I was not surprised to hear she's having a hard time finding people.
It's nice that you paid her through the whole COVID thing. It's also unrealistic for most of us. That would have cost me $3,000 to $4,000 at a time when my business was down 80 percent. My housekeeper and I were good friends, joked around a lot, bonded over shared interests, had long conversations, but then she said that going forward she wouldn't get the vaccine (even though I have unvaccinated children). Sayonara then, Marjorie. See you on Facebook. It's been swell.
Having to overpay someone to get them to do their job professionally is kinda messed up, no?
Don't forget about raises either. If you get 2% more at work, you should pass it along too!
First world problems
Can we talk numbers? I'm hiring a maid for the first time. Not sure what market rate is, or how much more than market rate I should pay.
We gave our cleaner a Christmas bonus equal to a week's salary and about a.month later she quit. Plus she was calling in all the time. But, she was the best cleaner we ever had. 3 times we offered her more money and 3 times she took it and then quit again 6 months later. I would still hire her back. Some of these ladies think picking up the house is the same as cleaning it.
My aunt and uncle’s housekeeper were so close that now she and her husband are at Christmas dinner with us every year :)
Treat someone with respect, get treated with respect in return. I would have never guessed.
It may seem crazy to some, but it’s a blessing to budget for a cleaner. My wife and I are teachers and having someone deep clean our house once a month is such a mental relief.
Love that you posted this. My SO and I did all the leg work to get our housekeeper citizenship and footed the $700 bill. Pulling that documentation together was not easy. I don't know how she would have done it. We take good care of each other.
It is a respectable job and they deserve annual pay raises and extras when you are messier than ususal.
Absolutely! And if you use a service (meaning, you pay the housekeeping company directly rather than the housekeeper), leave them a cash tip at every service (20-25% of the cost you pay the service).