10 Reasons Families are Unhappy with their Housekeepers

Finding the right housekeeper to fit your family’s needs can sometimes be a challenge and gets frustrating when things don’t work out. This is more likely to happen if the family doesn’t do due diligence before hiring their housekeeper, but even if they do, problems can still arise. Unfortunately, people will misrepresent themselves while going through the interview process. If you’re in the market to hire household help or a housekeeper looking for work, you should pay attention to these 10 reasons families are unhappy with their housekeepers.

1. Careless or sloppy – Families expect their housekeeper to do the job efficiently and effectively. There’s no excuse for careless or sloppy work. When they’re paying someone to professionally clean your home, they expect them to do a professional job.
2. Unreliable – Another reason for families to be unhappy is when their cleaning person is unreliable and doesn’t stick to the predetermined schedule. Housekeepers showing up late or not showing up at all won’t be gaining favor with the people who hired them.
3. Lazy – Cleaning homes is hard work. That’s why people are willing to pay someone else to do it. A lazy housekeeper who isn’t willing to do the required work is not going to last long in that line of business.
4. Not trustworthy – Trust is a huge factor for professional housekeepers. Families are often times inviting a complete stranger into their home who is usually unsupervised. The first sign that the household help is untrustworthy is a cause for alarm. Lying, cheating and stealing are all very unfavorable traits for a housekeeper.
5. Personality conflicts – Sometimes the cleaning person is doing an excellent job, but the family is still unhappy simply because of personality conflicts. This is unfortunate, but also completely avoidable. Families shouldn’t hire someone to work in their home that isn’t compatible with their lifestyle.
6. Too demanding – Some housekeepers can become a little overzealous about there position in the household and get too demanding. Household help that starts bossing people in the family around is quickly going to make them unhappy. This person needs to be constantly aware of who is paying their salary.
7. Communication – All too often families will become unhappy with their housekeepers because of a lack of communication. Even the best domestic help is unable to read minds. Families need to be clear about what they expect from the person they hire to clean their home.
8. Overcharging – Any time money is exchanged for a service, there’s a risk of problems arising. Families who feel they’re being overcharged for the services the housekeeper provides are not going to be happy. It’s important that both sides of the transaction are clear about what they agree to.
9. Cleaning priorities – Another reason housekeepers fall out of favor with a family is because of cleaning priorities. There is never enough time to get every cleaning job done in the allotted time, so priorities should be set as to what is most important and what can be left for when there’s more time.
10. Equipment problems – Misunderstandings can arise when there are problems with the housecleaning equipment. Some families prefer to provide the equipment needed while others expect the housekeepers to provide their own cleaning toolkit. Cleaning help who abuses the equipment provided or doesn’t have adequate tools of their own will end up in an unhappy situation.

Most families want a housekeeper who will be reliable and do a professional job. Coming home to a clean home so they can relax and enjoy their time with the family is well worth the expense of household help. They don’t want to be constantly worried about what problem will arise next. Professional housekeepers who keep the families they work for happy will always excel in their field. Anyone considering this kind of work should know that reliable, trustworthy, conscientious cleaning professionals with good communication skills are always in demand.