[divaleh]

house cleaners?<br><br>
We started using Merry Maids (yes, I am THAT lazy) this winter, since I'm working 7 days a week and get really stressed out when the house gets out of whack. This way, we keep on top of clutter, knowing that they're coming to clean every other week.<br><br>
Should I be tipping them?

 

[bikegirl72]

I have no clue but I'm jealous. Does that count?

 

[divaleh]

LOL - don't be. They honestly don't do that great of a job. It's more of a light dusting/cleaning. But it's better than nothing.<br><br>
The best part is that they fold over the end of the toilet paper roll and put a little Merry Maids sticker on it.

 

[bikegirl72]

Do they clean the bathroom? I hate doing that.

 

[diablita]

I don't tip b/c I'm paying a woman who's in business for herself. When I used a service in SoFla, I tipped them at holidays or when my house was pretty messy.

 

[divaleh]

These ladies are definitely employees. My concern is that I never know which ones are coming, or if it will be a team of two or three. Since they come when I'm not home, how do I leave a tip for an unknown number of women?<br><br>
And yes, they do clean the bathroom. But not nearly as well as I would (if I were to actually ever clean the bathroom - PSA, whirlpool tubs are a PITA).

 

[Ice Cream]

I think those are the women that Barbara Ehrenreich writes about in "Nickle and dimed". They are told to use as little water as possible when cleaning, and encourage sprays and chemicals, because they are much easier to handle than water. Is that true? I personally prefer to use water and soap.

 

[tigger]

I tip hotel room maids. If I had a maid service at home I'd probably tip them too. I think it's important to link the tip to good service and not make it automatic. But once you start tipping, it becomes expected, regardless of service.

 

[merigayle]

you can call the service and ask what is usually done.

 

[Auntie Moe]

Like Diablita, our cleaning lady is independent, so we don't tip her. We do leave her a nice christmas bonus (one time's salary) and sometimes leave her candy or cards or pix of the pets (she loved our Rosie so much, she was the 3rd person we called after she died. <img alt="sad.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/sad.gif"> Now she loves Penny. <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif">)

 

[divaleh]

I did! And the owner said he prefers to have no knowledge about tipping because then he'd have to tax them on it.<br><br>
Oy.<br><br>
The problem with linking the tip to service, is that they'd get the tip before doing the work...<br><br>
Who thought being lazy would be so confusing?

 

[dg1]

Housecleaner? What's a housecleaner?

 

[theia]

I'm like Auntie Moe. Our cleaning lady is independent, so her entire payment is basically a tip. We give her a Christmas bonus, and once in a while if she goes above and beyond (like right before we had an overnight guest in November who was allergic to pets) I'll give her about $20 extra.

 

[jebba]

Can I just say that I adore the woman who cleans our house? She is wonderful, wonderful. She says cleaning is her therapy, so when she's done cleaning, she'll look for other stuff to do. So she'll do laundry, clean out the refrigerator, organize the tupperware and lids, etc.<br><br>
I just started paying her more than she requested, because she does more work than I'm paying her for, if that makes sense. And I give her one session bonus at Christmas. Otherwise, I wouldn't tip, except for Christmas.