The family I work for has gone through 3 cleaning ladies in the 7 months I have worked for them... Either because they were not happy with the quality of cleaning or because they thought the cleaning person "charged too much". Now I put that in quotations because the family I work for has NO IDEA how much work it is to clean their GINORMOUS house with ALL WOOD FLOORS. They have consistently asked cleaning ladies to do too much for too little pay... So I offered to ask someone that my husband and I know to come and clean and see how much she would charge. The woman works with my husband and does cleaning as a second job. She cleaned a "flip house" for my husband and I and we were very happy with her work. She does and AWESOME job and does not charge nearly as much as the other cleaning ladies they have had in the past. The family I work for pays her $100 to come every other week and do the WHOLE (7000+ square foot) house. That is a deal if I have EVER seen one! They also offered to have her come on the "off" week and do JUST the main floor (kitchen, living room, etc.) for $50 dollars and she gladly accepted.Well, 2 weeks ago, the cleaning lady was supposed to do JUST the main floor and then they asked her to also do the master bath (for NO extra pay). She did and did not say anything... But now this week they asked the same thing (main floor, master bath) AND the guest bathroom for only $50 dollars!!!! They offered NO EXTRA PAY! I am a little angry about this because she is someone that I know and I do not want her being taken advantage of... Is it my business to step in and say something? I have asked the cleaning lady and she says it is "okay" but I can tell it isn't and I don't want her to stop showing up because she is being over worked and under paid... What to do?!?!
12 comments:
First, I don't understand why, knowing what the family is like with cleaning ladies, you would recommend that someone you know work for them!? Second, even though you have some responsibility in that you helped set up the situation, I'm not sure that you are in a position to intervene in what is now an employer/employee relationship between the family and the cleaning lady. If you can think of a way to casually drop a hint to the family, that might be good. Otherwise I think it could be very awkward and possibly inappropriate for you to get involved. The family does not sound like the kind of people who would react well to this. However, maybe you should apologise to the cleaning lady for getting her this badly paid gig and let her know that you wouldn't take it personally if she decided it wasn't worth it to clean for them anymore!
Reasons like this is why I do not give out names when my boss needs a sitter when I can't watch the kids or any other service she needs. I learned a long time ago that it just creates a problem
You don't need to do anything. I assume your friend runs her own business and is her own boss so she should have the balls enough to stand up for herself. If she hasn't learned that trait yet she will soon enough. I honestly wouldn't intervene what so ever. It's now out of your hands and I hope you've learned your lesson about recommending friends.
I would start looking for a new job because it is only a matter of time before they start pulling stunts like this with your job!
OP here:
Let me just clarify... The cleaning lady is NOT a friend. She is an employee of my husband's. It is probably even a stretch to say she is an acquaintance. I would NEVER recommend a friend to these people. My sister will often babysit for families I nanny for and I have never once offered that to them because I do not want her getting taken advantage of.
The family I work for is Indian and I have been told by a number of people that it may be a cultural thing... In Indian culture people go above and beyond for nothing extra...? I am not sure.
I have talked to the cleaning lady and she seems very appreciative of the job (even with the low pay) so I will probably just try to drop a hint to my employers... that she was here a really long time or that she works really hard, etc.
Thanks for the advice CanadianMom and TC.
Monkeyshines:
Oh they do already! I was told when I started I would be asked to do laundry twice a week... that has turned into EVERY day. And I was told it would just be the kids laundry... now it is ALL of their laundry. I was told I would NEVER have to do grocery shopping or diaper runs... that lasted about a week!
Anyway, I have been keeping my eyes peeled for jobs in my area... It is a hard job to "deal" with. The kids are FABULOUS but Mom and Dad SUCK!
The only people who get taken advantage of are those who allow it.
She's an adult; it's her problem, let her handle it.
It is absolutely none of your business. If this was your sister and you'd feel appropriately "protective" of her, then it might be ok to intervene on her behalf. But I'd have to agree with djembe--let the woman take care of her own business. If she is fine with being taken advantage of, that is her prerogative.
As for them being Indian, it is absolutely not true. My employers are Indian and they are all about fairness and payment for services rendered. Indians are very career-oriented and work very hard, and they expect everyone around them to have the same sort of drive for excellence. But expecting people to work for nothing is certainly not a cultural thing--it is a jerk thing.
asain/ Indian families are horrible to work for, they are cheap and will get their moneys worth out of you!
Eeekkk....Monkey Shines..I am Asian, but I will let your comment slide as I know part of ISYN is to stay on subject and not go off.
OP, that was nice of you to help your husband's co-worker out, but did you know prior to telling her about the job that your bosses were cheapskates? If so, then that is not cool...but if not, then I guess you were trying to do the "right thing" which is nice of you. You can feel kinda guilty inside now that she is being taken advantage of (I would feel bad, personally), but there is not much you can do. You can maybe talk to the family in a tactful manner, but you risk losing your job in the process.
I think if they treat their household help like that, then it will only be a matter of time before they treat you like this. This is called "job creep" and at least now you can keep an extra eye out for any "additional work" they may give you.
I cannot stand families who treat domestic workers like this. Shame on them.
Anonymous said...
I work for a great indian family who pay me more then most nannies I know and don't expect any cleaning not related to the child. I have also worked for their extended family and they treat me just the same. They lend me movies to watch while the children are sleeping and actually expect me to eat their food. It's not a cultural thing, that's like saying all Jewish families are cheap( which their not cuz I've worked for some as well).
May 4, 2010 8:11:00 PM
monkeyshines - jeez, racist much?
I had a friend who worked in a high end agencey and this is what happened, also families would call in looking for a nanny and they would request one that is not fat, stuff like that happened all the time
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