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i can haz clean?
By heather | February 28, 2008
I am going to spill another dirty dark secret, one I’m coming to find out is more common among us working moms than anyone would have thought. We don’t talk about it, but let it slip and suddenly everyone cops to it.
Nope, not the anti-depressants. That stopped being a secret long ago.
I have a maid.
I know. But come on! It’s not like I have a hot French chick flitting around my house with a feather duster and ruffled bloomers - even if I could afford that I wouldn’t be that dumb. I’d get the old English lady with a bun like a bagel on the back of her head who would also cook for me and brush my hair.
It’s a maid service, and they only come once a month. I hired them mainly because I need to know amidst remembering everything else when the bathrooms were last cleaned.
I was out to dinner with a group of friends - all full-time working moms - a few weeks ago and one girl muttered something about forgetting that her maid was coming the next day and having to clean up when she got home. I remembered that mine was coming later in the week and then another friend confessed to having just hired one who was starting the next week.
None of us had ever talked about it before, for fear of I don’t know what exactly. Like maybe if you have that much money to throw around, then what are you doing working you selfish bitch - you should be home raising your child?
To satisfy my working mother guilt, I should note that the once monthly cleaning is less than I spend on groceries in a week. Not that I feel like I have to defend this, because I looooovve coming home to a clean house. Not only clean, but clutter free, too.
Because we all know that the day before the maid comes, you have to run around and gather up all the crap that clutters your living space and stash it.
The reasons for this are many, primarily for me it’s because I’ve learned from experience that my maid service will vacuum AROUND a shoe, rather than pick it up and move it. So if I want a majority of the dust to be gotten, I’d best spend some time clearing every surface of every last book, hair clip, or remote control.
The other reason is of course the maid being judgemental about your stuff. (Holy credit card bill! Look at these tacky shoes!)
Which brings me to my current dilemma, and the reason I’ve outed myself to the Internet about my inability to clean my own house. Our service comes with a guarantee that if we’re not happy with a cleaning they’ll come back and re-do the area. They did a shitty job this time, most notably in leaving obvious cat hair tumbleweeds in the corner of the master bedroom and not dusting the top of the TV armoire.
But the guarantee has a catch… Who is really comfortable complaining about the job someone you don’t know is doing when they are alone in your house??
Do I call in the guarantee and risk getting spit in my milk or my toothbrush rubbed around the rim of the toilet?
Or do I suck it up and finish the dusting myself?
I will freely admit the main reason I hired them is so the kitchen floor, which usually looks like a Picasso painting of thrown food, would get mopped. Doing this one thing myself does not compare to having to mop a months worth of sticky off the kitchen floor.
Brett’s vote is to not complain. I think the maid franchise RELIES on the fear that if the maid gets a complaint and has to come back she’s going to mess with your shit.
I’ve thought about just chickening out and switching companies instead of complaining but these services make it so expensive with “pre-cleanings” to get started that once you’re in it’ll COST YOU to switch. And let’s be honest here, getting rid of maid service as long as I’m a) working b) pregnant and c) lazy is not an option.
What an industry to be in - you can do a crappy job but few people will complain and most won’t fire you because on some level they need you. It’s almost like being a drug dealer isn’t it?
So what should I do Internet? Complain and then hesitate before I brush my teeth? Deal with it and do it myself? Or just pretend I don’t see the dust and hope they get it next month?
Topics: home improvement, soliciting advice |
February 28th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Come on! With the maid service comes the requisite nanny cam so you can watch her and see exactly what she’s doing to your stuff.
It’s a Catch 22. But, if you don’t complain you’re paying someone else to be lazy about cleaning your stuff. That’s a waste of good shoe money.
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February 28th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
i am of the ilk that if we pay for something, it might as well be satisfying us in the way we intend.
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February 28th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
I would call and let them know. You can be nice about it, but you are paying for a service and should get what you are paying for. BTW, I had a maid when I was working before I had a baby. I just got tired of picking up after Jim and cleaning all the time. It takes some stress off when you know they are coming and you can put your pregnant feet up.
February 28th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Hey Heather,
Thanks for the Facebook invite which led me to your page. I had a maid service when I was still Active Duty and after a few months they started doing a terrible job. I would fill out those comment cards honestly and then the next few times they came they’d do better.
February 29th, 2008 at 6:06 am
Complain, nicely….if we are held to a standard in our daily professional lives so should they. Just buy some extra tooth brushes on your way home that day
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