If you hired someone to do a job, would it matter more to you that the job was done correctly or would you want them to take an amount of time that you felt justfied what you paid them?

I like to clean so I don’t know – but I guess the former.

As long as she does the job she’s hired to do, who cares? You’re paying by the job, not by the hour. If you don’t think she’s doing the work, that’s different.

I used to clean…You’re getting a steal at $80 I’da charged $100 for what you’re describing

When I was a property manager, I can tell you with certainty that I gave one hoot about when they cleaned or how long it took them…I just cared that they did the job right the first time without me having to write them a laundry list of things they missed/neglected to do…or didn’t do sufficiently the first time.

If you’re happy with her performance, then what does it matter?

If the job is done well, then I think the cleaning lady deserves more money than if she was there for a while and did an a mediocre job. It’s probably in her best interest to be able to do the most in the least amount of time. Besides, isn’t it better for her to be out of your house sooner? This way, the house looks good and your cleaning lady isn’t there forever. Seems like a pretty good deal to me.

If you are happy with the result, that’s what counts. The fact that she is very efficient and gets the work done quickly for me would not be the issue. I would only be concerned about that if she was doing a half-arsed job and then suggesting she spent all day doing it! So.. are you happy with the work?

I want a cleaner… I am such a nutter though I would have to clean before the cleaner came so it would defeat the purpose… sighs…

For something like this, I could give two sh*ts how long it took. In fact, that it takes her so much less time means that she’s that good. And someone who does their job well so that it takes them less time and they can do more jobs and make more money….that’s what we call a professional.

That should be between your cleaning lady and you. Your parents should butt out.

If she is doing the job you hired her to do, at a price you like, don’t rock the boat.

If you’re satisfied with the job she does, it doesn’t matter what time of the day she starts or how long it takes her. If this is what she does for a living, it wouldn’t surprise me if she could do it quickly.

I had a friend who worked as a chambermaid in a hotel. I’ve never seen anyone perfectly make a bed as fast as she can.

If you are happy with the job she does, what does it matter how long it takes here to do it?

If you paid for a given amount of time and the house was never clean, would you be happier? The only reason not to pay by results is if you don’t know what the result should be.

I would want them to do the job correctly.Time doesn’t matter.

I’ll chime in with the rest of the chorus; sounds like a win-win situation.

If she’s the kind of cleaning lady like on Seinfeld and George got involved with… is she Portuguese?

You are hiring her to accomplish a task. Whether it takes her more time or less time is immaterial. If you are happy with the results, and it makes your life easier, that’s what you’re paying for.

Not to get churchy on you, but this is exactly the story of the workers toiling in the vineyard in the bible (bless my little agnostic heart) where the workers agree to do the work at X dollars and they start in the morning. More workers are hired in the afternoon and they are paid the same wage to do the same work, but work for less time. It’s not the time spent but getting the work done.

That’s not to say that she didn’t come by sooner, saw your parents car, and didn’t come in because she didn’t want to intrude. Perhaps your parents being there disrupted her day, and she was going to have to work extra hard to get things done before you got home.

both!

When will parents stay out of their adult kids’ business?! Damn! My mom is all about money and was it worth it, but then she’s cheap…I don’t understand her :P Anyway, no – I was a supervisor/dispatcher in a nuclear pharmacy and the way I ran things was – I don’t care how many breaks you take, as long as the job gets done and it gets done right by the end of your shift. People will work much harder for someone they like, but they will end up doing the bare minumum if they don’t like you. I say, it’s none of your parents business and if you are happy with the cleaning lady, leave it be. Why rock the boat? She could end up being vindictive – you just never know. Sounds like your parents are control freaks too, just like mine.

if everything is spotless and is clean, dusted, everythings picked up, and the floor is cleaned in a short time and it looks good then she must be good at what she does, as long as it gets done then let her keep cleaning it, doesnt erally matter what time she comes, your not h ome the kid isnt home as long as shes gone before yall get home then i would keep her around, if your parents dont like it then thats on them, the house is CLEAN thats all that matters.

Ugh, I have a friend who pays a maid $40 every other Thursday to clean his house and everytime I go there, I see dude piss all running down the side of the shitter bowl. Pisses me off because she does a shitty job.

If your happy with her work, I think it is fine. The price is a good price, she is happy, you are happy, all good. If you feel she is missing area because she is going quickly, maybe above the fridge, baseboards, or top of ceiling fans, you can always leave a note every so often to do one of those things, so at least it is done once every six months.

@spykenij or he does a piss poor job of aiming?

@SpatzieLover – Yes, he is a big, sloppy, hairy, gay bear. They are weird. I pointed it out and he says, “Oooh, yeah! That’s hot!” He is from Kentucky, so it kinda all makes sense now.

If the job was done correctly then i think that the job was justified.Why make it a problem?

What is your criteria of an orderly and a clean house? Because your place might look orderly but is it clean? You need to discuss with your house help the result you want so she could include your criteria to the work system that she has.

I think it’s in the nature of parents – mothers in particular, in my experience – to complain about their children hiring ‘service help’ and the value they’re receiving for it.

If she had watched the cleaning lady, and she had taken twice as long as usual, then your mom (I’m guessing it was she who served as spokesperson for ‘the rents’) would have complained that she was inefficient or some such.

My advice would be to have your parents over to the house the day after she cleans (or soon thereafter), and not ‘on the day of’, so they – and you – can get the benefits of the clean house, and avoid the argument. Otherwise I’m in your camp: you’re paying for results, not an hourly wage.

I think that your parents should stay out of it. If you are happy with the job she is doing and happy with the amount that you pay her, what’s the problem?

My parents’ cleaning lady gets paid the same whether she is there for 1 hour or 8. Mostly it is closer to one hour than 8. But this makes it easier for my parents to pay for the times it is 8 hours.

And the cleaning lady has a steady income to budget with instead of trying to keep up with the bills with uncertain paychecks. Tell your parents you have a similar deal worked out with your cleaning lady if they keep complaining.

If I hire someone to do a job, I’m paying for the service. They might need to charge for their time, as a mechanic does, but what I want is the end result. If someone could come and clean my apartment by waving a magic wand, I wouldn’t care if it only took five seconds. There’s something that needs to be done, and there’s an amount I’m willing to pay for it.

So long as the job got done to my liking, I wouldn’t care if she accomplished it in twenty minutes while naked with two poodles duct-taped to her nipples.

@cprevite That would be way better than waving a magic wand!

If the house is cleaned to your satisfaction I see no issue.

Your parents are just parroting their programming.

This is one of my biggest pet peeves, there is no right or wrong methodology as long a job is well done.