How do I tell my cleaner she's doing a rubbish job?

My present cleaner has been with me for 3 weeks and could talk for Poland. She has broken or dropped something each week- the last being a cup of coffee which splashed up the wall on the staircase. I have a stair lift so she was lucky that was not affected.

She moves the same furniture each week and others get left- do I leave those items to sit until there are swirls of dust and then show her? I also do not appear to have a corner in my house- the middle of the floor is clean but that is it. She is employed by an agency so I could get rid of her but as this is her first job with the agency, I am acting slightly soft. I know she needs the money, she has an evening and a weekend job as well as looking after her own flat, husband and daughter. She has a hefty mortgage to pay. Difficult.

I watched a cleaner I once had pick up an apple core left by a child on a coffee table, polish where it had been and then carefully replace it. Oh dear.

You are unhappy so she has to go but firing her is difficult. I could hire and fire easily at work but struggled with cleaners because it was far more personal. I think you just have to pluck up the courage and tell her you no longer need her services, no explanation required and perhaps give her and extra week's money then goodbye. If you start explaining why it gets difficult.

There is a huge difference between a good cleaner and a bad one. I had one who managed to whip through my list in no time and then I would find her doing what she saw was needed like cleaning the outside paintwork. I was very happy when I discovered my perfect cleaner missed the outside of the loo bowl every time! She clearly didn't have little boys. Another one wandered around slowly and thought she had come for a chat and kept asking for veg from the garden.

I only ever had someone to do the ironing (not a job I enjoy ) and have always done my cleaning myself. Persuade myself it is good exercise.
My ironing lady retired, but I have trained up a substitute - retired husband- well he needed something to occupy himself!!

My parents have a lovely cleaner, but not a good one. Unfortunately, she has become a good friend to them, takes them shopping, responds in an emergency etc, so it is difficult to tell her she is not much good. Ive suggested she ask her to leave the vacuuming, which Dad can manage, although he is blind! They can then give her a list of alternative tasks without offending.

The relationship between employer and cleaner is fraught. It sounds as if it is far too down the road in your relationship to challenge your cleaner without her getting upset or grumpy. Then you might be into 'revenge' territory.

To be honest, I'd start again. When I started with a new cleaner I had a list of everything I wanted done in each room and handed it over. Then there were no false expectations on either side.

Of course, it depends on both personalities, yours and hers. Also levels of competence and understanding. My last cleaner was a clever Irish lady who was doing a bit extra to supplement her main wage. She always went the extra mile and spotted things before I had a chance to. However, she was a real exception as I'd had a line of variable ladies, the worst of whom was a wannabe film star who was just filling in before her next Hollywood blockbuster! Needless to say, her heart wasn't in it.

Mutual respect and good pay are essential but you shouldn't be paying for poor work.

I may be old fashioned but if you are paying a decent wage and giving her/him
enough hours to do what you want doing the cleaner should do it and earn their wages

I have a chap like that Teetime he needs a list though, he cooks too.
Years ago I had a cleaner like yours Tiny. I couldn't tell her so asked her to do the ironing instead, she was good at that.

I would give her a list of tings you want doing and then if that's bad say your letting her go for economic reasons i.e. its not worth the money. I have a very good chap who I have trained up over the years so he can do it all unsupervised now. Nice bum too.

I reiterate what I said before, if there is one person or twenty in the house, the three seconds it takes to wipe a bedside table should be obvious to anyone who is cleaning that bedroom. In my eyes that makes her incompetent.

Difficult for anyone to judge the lady not knowing the size of the house, number in the family living there and number of hours employed weekly

You have to be clear exactly what wants doing in the time allowed.

I agree with FarNorth. You need to talk to her rather than hand over a list.

In my experience, it takes a while to find a good cleaner. I had one who locked the front door while I was out - I'm not quite sure what she was up to that she didn't want me to see. Another 'cleaned' the kitchen and bathroom floors using my babywipes and another would put the kitchen chairs up on the window seats so that I knew she had washed the floor. Unfortunately, the kitchen table was still stuck to the floor Yet another one knocked two Crown Derby plates off the wall.

But my current cleaner has become a friend and just gets on with doing her job.

I think that handing over a list without any chat/explanation would be very embarrassing for both of you.

How about asking the question you ask us in your OP - Am I expecting too much?
You can say that you noticed some things had been missed and wondered if she feels she is short of time for everything you want done.
You can then clarify exactly what you do want done, find out how long she thinks things will take and decide if you think this is reasonable.

I think all the suggestions of making a list would be the best solution and save you having to have a `chat` which I would think would be very embarrassing for you .
I would make the list very specific as her standards may be very different from yours .

Maybe your cleaner has different standards from your own and thinks that hoovering and flicking a duster counts as proper cleaning. As others have suggested, perhaps a list would help her to work her way round the house and thereby not miss crucial areas.

We once sacked a cleaner who came while we were at work because our neighbour told us she was turning up with a man! The cleaning itself was fine, so maybe he was helping her, but we didn't want to ask!

I would have a cleaner again in a minute if I could afford it. I never had any problems with the standard, despite different people coming sometimes. I wasn't at home when she came, but either way I would not dream of following her around. I imagine that would be very off putting.

We experimented with a cleaner, but I had to keep following her round saying "Would you mind just doing this bit" and it didn't seem much better than doing it myself.

MiL had a cleaner when she was too crippled to do anything herself but it was a waste of money. The girl would do a few bits and pieces but MiL would complain if she started moving things round to clean properly so very little got done.

My husband wanted a cleaner, bathroom cleaning was his job, we have three of them, all small, and he got sick of cleaning the showers and bath, so he went ahead and got a cleaner, I was appalled at the time. NOW I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT HER, she leaves the bathrooms gleaming. In three hours, once a week, she works from top to bottom, we have 3 floors, and I'd say she doesn't miss a thing.

Maybe you are expecting too much. We don't know how long your cleaner is there for, how many rooms you have or how much work you are hoping she will do.
Has she been working for you for long and, if so, have you only recently noticed these lapses?

As Wilma says because it would make a great difference.
You have a contract with your cleaner in that she cleans in return for your money so I don't suppose she would be any more impressed than you are currently if she was given less money than agreed. It is no different.
DH and I used to run high star rated guest accommodation and if the premises were not kept to the standard required we would have lost our grading so we always were very explicit as regards exactly what should be done and also how. We realised that people really do need to know what is expected and what you expect to get for your money. There should not be any embarrassment in what is a business arrangement.

As for Pompa I trust that Mrs P has let him know what she expects too!

My cleaner only moves certain things..i.e. items she chooses to dust so in the kitchen, the condiments by the cooker never get moved so it remains a bit sticky until I do it or remember to move the stuff before she comes! Also she never plumps up cushions or 'tidies' any magazines etc. But she leaves the bathrooms/loos sparkling..some you win some you lose!

If part of her job is cleaning the bedroom I don't think she needs to be a mind reader to accept that the bedside table needs dusting. Or if the kitchen is included the worktops need a good clean. My cleaner knows what I expect done ,which is to generally to clean all rooms and if I need extra like the conservatory
UPVC doing I pay her to come another time . If I have done a job myself she (or they I have 2 ladies come together) they will do kitchen cupboards or take down light fittings and wash them. We rub along very well.

I think it would help to know if the cleaner used to do a good job or if she's new.