What do I say to cancel a housekeeper due in three weeks? (More inside)

You could tell her that things are tight financially right now and you have to cut back on unnecessary spending.
If you are married you could blame it on your husband. “My husband wants me to cut back on spending and says we can’t afford a housekeeper at this time.”

”...oh and by the way, have you by any chance seen my ring when you were cleaning the house? I left it someplace, AGAIN. Third time this week. I’d lose my head if it wasn’t attached to my neck, heh heh. It was a family heirloom, too – my grandma gave it to me, so it would be great if you could remember if you’ve seen it somewhere around the house. Thanks.”

You are the boss; you do not need to make excuses.

Be courteous and firm and say, “Thanks, but I have made other arrangements.”

Definitely.. if she wasn’t doing a good job. Just cut her out!

Does she work for a company or run her own business? If it is the former, contact the company rep. They need and want the feedback. They can set you up with another cleaner, should you so desire.

If this person is independent and is new in the business, the minimum that needs to be said is what @gailcalled suggests. If you liked the person, other than the jobs left incomplete, why not provide the feedback if she asks for it? We need to support people who are starting their own business and have the right intentions. By providing constructive feedback, she will learn that she needs to ask for each client’s expectations on the front end. After all, they will be different for each customer.

@Aster , I think I know what you’re saying when you state that you just won’t tell her that her work was unsatisfactory. I myself have a hard time giving what I think of as my criticisms of someone that is supposed to do a job, and have let people slide rather than hurt their feelings.

I think @chyna had a good idea – just tell her that financially, it’s not in your budget right now to have recurring appointments. Maybe say that if your situation changes, you’ll contact her at that time.

Oh, and @fremen_warrior had a great idea for the ring – I don’t think I’d let that one go. If you’re pretty sure that she didn’t take it, then you’re doing no harm if you’re simply asking if she recalls seeing it. It’s not like you’re accusing her of anything. But if she supposedly cleaned, then it would stand to reason that she would notice a ring in an unusual location such as under the couch, etc….

Call and say you won’t be needing her to return. You shouldn’t need to give a reason but if you’re asked then say you had expected a different level of cleaning up or that you were used to a different level of cleaning up and you’d like to find that.

If the lady is more defensive than anxious to try to do a better job then she’ll let you off and you’ll know it wasn’t just her cleaning job that was lacking. Maybe though, she’ll offer to return at a reduced fee and clean to your satisfaction.

Thanks, everyone; I have 2 backups. No problem with calling them. And I found my ring! I was so glad!
She works for herself and has 2 other houses she cleans regularly in this area==lucky for me they don’t know about my other ladies who are SO much better! But I still don’t know what excuse I’ll give her. I think I’ll say something quite vague like, “my regular lady called me so I’ll use her. ” That isn’t vague at all now that I read it . LOL IF she should ask me if I liked her work I won’t be able to resist telling her about the dishes, the microwave and the trash. Then she’ll hate me. I guess because she’s so pretty and super quiet that the neighbors put up with her. I don’t know.

@Aster: People put up with lacklustre service mostly because they don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings or make waves. Really though, if you’re letting someone into your home then by all means, you have every right to state your expectations.

Tell her you have have a regular cleaning service you’re really happy with and she was a fill in as the reason you won’t be asking her back regularly. That gets you off the hook to feel like you’re inviting bad feelings, gives her the idea you might use her in the future (even if you think you won’t) and it gives you an emergency fill in person as a last resort.

@Aster: Why do you still feel the need to make an excuse? What would happen if you simply said that you will not be needing her?