This group started out OK in the beginning when 1 of the 2 owners was here with 2 other cleaners. After a while the owners just sent a crew of 3 people whose work rapidly declined; they never cleaned corners on the floor or on shelves or anything else, made the beds incorrectly (Would put the blankets on in the wrong order and orientation. We ALWAYS had to remake the bed after they left), skipped many, many items in each room - never cleaned moldings and other dust collecting areas, did not clean pictures and did not put cleaning products away.
One big problem was their inability to understand or communicate in English, which led to their developing an attitude with me when I pointed out problem areas and they called their boss complaining about me, even though I was always respectful and polite with them and made sure that there was no clutter in their way. When I talked to him on the phone at that time, he started off in a belligerent tone and I told him that his people had not done a good job at all. He started to argue with me asking did I want to know how much he paid them. I said, "No, that's none of my business." And then asked him if he wanted this job? He said yes and thought that was the end of my troubles with them because he came the next time and things were mostly done properly. One bed in the back bedroom was made all crooked and when I showed this to him he said, "That the sheet was too big." Indeed it wasn't and even if it had been that was no reason to put in on cock-eyed. I was home while they were here and he could have told me about his problem with the sheet but he never did. I realized later that he had used 2 twin sheets instead of one and I had to remake that bed too. He had also claimed that my floor steam cleaner did not work, upon checking it it works just fine, he just didn't turn it on. In general, I don't think that they know how to clean. One of them said that my Dyson vacuum cleaner was no good. I looked at it and saw that they never emptied it. They made frequent errors in how to approach the job, like not starting at the top and cleaning their way down.
When I had first interviewed them I said that the back end of the house, consisting of 3 bedrooms and 1 full bath, would not have to be done every time, only sometimes. And even then it was just 2 of the bedrooms and the bath, changing the sheets, dusting and vacuuming in the bedroom.
I hired them to come every other week and they would show up whenever during the agreed upon day. I never knew when they would show up and the arrival time varied from 12:30 PM to 4:30 or 5 PM. It was very inconvenient for me and I talked to the owner about coming at 1 PM and he agreed. The very next time the other owner called me the day before and said that she could only come at 4 PM. Then we agreed that she would come that day at 3:30; instead of showing up she called at 3:30 PM to cancel because snow was blowing around, not falling. They never accommodated me when on the few times I asked for change in when they came.
She came the next day at 2 PM. I started to go over what had to be done by starting to say that the back bedrooms ... and she interrupted me screaming, "No sheets, no sheets! When we first came here you said that we would not have to do the rooms in the back." This was completely inaccurate. I reminded her what we had agreed upon and she shook her no and added that I made a problems for her and complained about 2 things, based on hearsay from her husband and 1 of her workers. She got both instances all wrong.
I then asked her, " If she would rather not work here." Nodding her head no, she said that she didn't want to work here. I said, "Good, leave, and don't come back." I am delighted to be rid of them and had not wanted to fire them before the holidays, which reminds me that last year they NEVER said thanks for the holiday tip I had handed to the husband, he just took it and left. read more
