Cleaner constantly on the phone Post Reply

[AnnieH]

HI

I just wanted to ask a question so I could work out whether I am getting narked for no reason.

My cleaner comes for 4 hours a week, and during that time she is pretty much constantly on the phone. I haven' t said anything as i'm not sure whether i'm being unreasonable, but I'd really value other people's opinion.

many thanks

[Fergie1]

Hi !

I don't see how someone vacuums and mops and does the laundry effectively with one hand? Even if she can, she wont be doing it as fast as she would with 2 hands !

She is not being professional!

Good luck !!

[lindylindylindy]

Had the same problem with a plumber recently, went 15 mins over the hour doing a simple washing machine procedure and so I get a 2 hour bill. Not fair seen as he was on the phone almost constantly - do have a word with her definitely...

[kewty]

I think you have every right to be "narked". you are paying her to clean, not to chat on the phone. If you had a desk job and were constantly on the phone to your friends, I don't think you would keep the job for very long!

Hey if she is that good at doing two things at once, just imagine what her cleaning would be like if she wasn't on the phone!!

At the end of the day you are the boss!

Kx

[Jen66]

If she's using a Bluetooth style ear piece then, I guess, it's not that big a deal - but if she is just holding the phone to her ear then, no, that's not on.

There's no way I could efficiently clean anything one handed or having to restrict my movements to keep phone in crook of neck. If it bothers you say something - you're paying her and you deserve her best efforts for that money.

[twingirlsmama]

As the proprietor of Done & Dusted, a local company offering cleaning services, I have to say that we would view this as completely unacceptable and would ask any client to report this to us.
Even if using a hands free device, a cleaner simply wouldn’t be giving her full attention to the job she is carrying out. We understand that there may occasionally be the need to take a call and for this reason we ask our ladies to keep their phone on silent with the vibrate option selected. If they have to take a call and it becomes protracted for any reason, we ask that they make up the time by however many minutes they have been on the phone.
Clients pay for a service at an hourly rate and they should receive the very best.
I suggest that you speak to her about this and perhaps say that if she was working in an office environment it wouldn’t be allowed and that whatever job someone is doing this wouldn’t generally be acceptable.
That said, good cleaners are hard to find and if you feel her work is exemplary, perhaps suggest a 10 minute break when she can have a tea or coffee and make a short phone call.
Although I say this slightly ‘tongue in cheek’, if she wasn’t on the phone, maybe she would be doing the same job to a good standard in 3 hours!

[marypoppins]

If she' s hands free it may keep her mind interested while she scurries around. If she gets the work done to a high standard don' t watch her work. If she' s not handsfree buy her a kit and ask her to use it. It' s only like someone listening to music while they jog.

[twice_as_nice]

To be honest, I think it's a bit strange you're bothered about her being on the phone rather than the quality of her cleaning.

Personally I think if you have a cleaner that you can trust (e.g. to have keys if you give them keys) and that does a good job, does it matter if she's on the phone whilst she does it?

of course if she's on the phone and not doing a good job, it's a totally different situation....