About Time
Friday, July 24th, 2015One of the trickier things when taking on a new client is agreeing how many hours of work are going to be necessary to get the job done. We’ve become very experienced with estimating how long a home is going to need to do a good regular clean, factoring all the elements which may need extra effort and coming up with a plan which will give the cleaner time to do their work and give the client a satisfactory result.
Sometimes however there are disagreements over this, a client may feel we’ve overestimated and insist the job can be done in less time. This is completely common and understandable, we’ve all done a quick clean round the home and felt pleased with the result, and we’ll always try and accommodate a client’s wishes, but this often ends in disappointment as the work can’t be done to the standard that is expected from a professional clean – vacuuming into every corner, and cleaning the skirting boards etc.
Where there is some discussion over hours required, if we agree to the client request, what we like to do is review the situation after the first few weeks. Bigger homes can take the cleaner a few sessions to properly find their way around and come up with the most efficient way of getting all the work done. Every job will bring it’s own quirks, for example with ironing shirts – how long this will take may depend on how they’re washed and dried, and what kind of iron and ironing board is available. After this we can know for sure what is required, and we can discuss the best way forward, either extending hours or altering the tasks requested of cleaner.
Once hours are agreed, there are also a few things to be considered to make the best of a cleaner’s time. Dirty dishes for example, or many items left about to clean around can all add considerable amounts of time to get the job done. Whilst we’ll happily take care of these things for a client if that’s what they wish, we could also take on those more difficult jobs that people really don’t want to do themselves – cleaning the oven or changing the bed linen!
In summary, we ask our clients to trust our experience, and keep dialogue open so we can work together and get best value for money for a service they’re really happy with.
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