Cleaning Service Trust Procedures
February 8, 2011 1:03 PM Subscribe
What should I do to increase my trust of my house cleaners?
A little over a month ago I hired a house cleaner (really two ladies) who come and clean my apartment once a week. I found her contact info on a bulletin board at a local temple (New York City), although I have no indication that they are affiliated with it in any way. They do a reasonable job, and I'd like to transition to just giving them a set of keys and leaving money for them every week.
In the past I have been there for a cleaning and all went well. Also I have been there when they arrived and then left in the middle. Everything seemed fine when I returned home.
What steps should I take before leaving my apartment, worldly possessions and pets in the hands of strangers?
A little over a month ago I hired a house cleaner (really two ladies) who come and clean my apartment once a week. I found her contact info on a bulletin board at a local temple (New York City), although I have no indication that they are affiliated with it in any way. They do a reasonable job, and I'd like to transition to just giving them a set of keys and leaving money for them every week.
In the past I have been there for a cleaning and all went well. Also I have been there when they arrived and then left in the middle. Everything seemed fine when I returned home.
What steps should I take before leaving my apartment, worldly possessions and pets in the hands of strangers?
Maybe you can get the names and numbers of their other clients?
posted by Ideefixe at 1:30 PM on February 8, 2011
posted by Ideefixe at 1:30 PM on February 8, 2011
Do they come in a car? License plate number. But really, I think by now, it'll be OK.
But get a fireproof safe for the really important stuff, like your passport, extra credit cards, etc. Fireproof safes are just good things to have anyway.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:35 PM on February 8, 2011
But get a fireproof safe for the really important stuff, like your passport, extra credit cards, etc. Fireproof safes are just good things to have anyway.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:35 PM on February 8, 2011
If it makes you feel any better, when I moved into my house a few years back, the previous owner asked me if I wanted the guy who cleaned the house to keep doing it. I said OK and since then I think the cleaners have switched every six months or so. I normally get a text just telling me the name of the new person. Because they come in working hours I haven't met some of them.
Apart from the fact that none of them seem to clean that well, the worst that's happened is that a kitchen utensil has gone missing. And in retrospect I think we probably lost it.
In my previous apartment, we got a recommendation from a friend and ended up calling a Ukrainian lady with a gold tooth (apparently) on the other side of town who I imagined was some sort of cleaner pimp. She recommended a person who we gave our keys to one day, and who I think I met subsequently 18 months later when I had to work from home.
In short, get the assurances you need, but generally speaking most people are honest. People who leave their prints all over your home and who you can identify by face, and who you have some kind of trace for are not overly likely to burgle you, in my experience.
posted by MuffinMan at 1:43 PM on February 8, 2011
Apart from the fact that none of them seem to clean that well, the worst that's happened is that a kitchen utensil has gone missing. And in retrospect I think we probably lost it.
In my previous apartment, we got a recommendation from a friend and ended up calling a Ukrainian lady with a gold tooth (apparently) on the other side of town who I imagined was some sort of cleaner pimp. She recommended a person who we gave our keys to one day, and who I think I met subsequently 18 months later when I had to work from home.
In short, get the assurances you need, but generally speaking most people are honest. People who leave their prints all over your home and who you can identify by face, and who you have some kind of trace for are not overly likely to burgle you, in my experience.
posted by MuffinMan at 1:43 PM on February 8, 2011
Leave a loose stack of small bills laying out. Check the count afterward.
Change on the floor can be another indicator. For some reason people of German ancestry clean around it where it lays, most others put it one the nearest raised surface.
posted by StickyCarpet at 4:02 PM on February 8, 2011
Change on the floor can be another indicator. For some reason people of German ancestry clean around it where it lays, most others put it one the nearest raised surface.
posted by StickyCarpet at 4:02 PM on February 8, 2011
> Leave a loose stack of small bills laying out. Check the count afterward.
Don't forget to count the knives and cutlery, ditto the linen, and maintain the key to the silver cabinet on your person even when you go to bed.
I'm lucky enough to have a dependable housekeeper, recommended by someone I trust, going on seven years now. She's had keys from day one.
Granted, she tends not to see dust, but she does a great job with laundry, at least once I hid the bleach. I've also met her niece and her husband, which was a treat, not least because he did some much needed work around the place that, otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered with, because I'm an avoider.
There have been other gifts. To name one, I was given the opportunity to exercise forgiveness when her niece spilled her lunch of SpaghettiOs on my couch while watching Teletubbies.
All of which is to say, echoing others, getting to know your housekeeper, even a little bit, goes a long way toward building a feeling of trust, among a broad range of other possible feelings.
posted by Short Attention Sp at 7:20 PM on February 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Don't forget to count the knives and cutlery, ditto the linen, and maintain the key to the silver cabinet on your person even when you go to bed.
I'm lucky enough to have a dependable housekeeper, recommended by someone I trust, going on seven years now. She's had keys from day one.
Granted, she tends not to see dust, but she does a great job with laundry, at least once I hid the bleach. I've also met her niece and her husband, which was a treat, not least because he did some much needed work around the place that, otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered with, because I'm an avoider.
There have been other gifts. To name one, I was given the opportunity to exercise forgiveness when her niece spilled her lunch of SpaghettiOs on my couch while watching Teletubbies.
All of which is to say, echoing others, getting to know your housekeeper, even a little bit, goes a long way toward building a feeling of trust, among a broad range of other possible feelings.
posted by Short Attention Sp at 7:20 PM on February 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
hidden cameras
posted by Salvatorparadise at 9:11 PM on February 8, 2011
posted by Salvatorparadise at 9:11 PM on February 8, 2011
Don't forget to count the knives and cutlery, ditto the linen, and maintain the key to the silver cabinet on your person even when you go to bed.
My point is that this is something done once.
posted by StickyCarpet at 10:01 AM on February 9, 2011
My point is that this is something done once.
posted by StickyCarpet at 10:01 AM on February 9, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Hylas at 1:12 PM on February 8, 2011