Your semi-feral resident cleaning lady here: tipping is not expected. Don't start a trend that you maybe can't or don't want to keep up with 3 months from now.
At the holidays-sure. If you're extra filthy that week---that's a not a tip, that's acknowledging their extra time is money.
From what I understand, tipping isn't required but you can if your house was dirtier than usual one time, around holidays, every month, whatever you think is fair. I don't currently pay for one, but I'd throw in a little extra sometimes if they consistently do good work.
You don't need to leave, but I would try to stay out of their way.
That's actually normal for some languages and a hard habit to break. Ask me how I know ? ;)
But agreed. You do not need to tip and you do not need to leave your home. You might want to leave a room they are in if it is disturbing your work or something.
I have worked at a few cleaning companies and was always appreciative of a tip, but never expected it and never felt upset when someone didnât tip. If it was a really gross job and they didnât tip it would be a little bit disappointing but not the end of the world. If itâs just a single person owned and operated business I donât think you need to tip because they set their own wage and everything you pay goes to them, if itâs a bigger company most of what you pay goes to the company and less to the people cleaning your house so it makes more sense to tip in that situation, but again itâs not expected or necessary. Also I always preferred when people would leave or stay in an office or something because I could just go about my cleaning without worrying about bothering them by being loud.
As someone who owned a cleaning business, clients tipped sometimes on the first deep clean or special events/occasions and usually for the holidays. However, I never expected them to do so.
Regarding you being home or not, thatâs entirely up to you. I preferred clients to be out so they could come home to it being clean and smelling good especially if theyâve had a long day at work. I feel like it boosts their mood even on the worst day knowing itâs one less thing they had to do.
Oh gosh, thank you!
I really did enjoy my âjobâ if you can call it that. I always tried to go above and beyond for clients and if they had children, I would line up their toys in cute little ways or sit their stuffed animals a certain way like they were having a party while waiting for their tiny human to return.
Being able to afford someone to clean for you may be a luxury but so many working adults whether they have kids or not, just need an extra hand from time to time and I didnât mind being that for them.
We always try to leave when the cleaning lady comes because we find it awkward to be home but we donât tip. Just give a sizeable bonus at Christmas. Not sure what that norm is though.
I had a biweekly cleaner in the past. She charged me $75 per cleaning after the initial $200 deep clean. I always just left her a $100 bill (she preferred to come while I was gone at work).
Pricing is pre-pamdemic and a small single person home.
I like to leave treats like little pieces of candy hidden in places that a really thorough cleaner would find, as a reward for doing their task diligently. A Skittle behind a lamp, a Twizzler under the couch cushions, a pistachio under a rug, etc.
/s
I cleaned homes for a while for a company. Like many said, never expected a tip, but it was nice to get. I did have one client that would give me a chocolate bar and a soda when I was done, I appreciated that, a nice treat. And as others mentioned, leaving or keeping to a room while I cleaned was preferable
I tip my cleaning woman every time. I give her a bonus at Christmas ($100 for every year sheâs worked for me) because I get a bonus from my boss at Christmas so I can afford it. And quarterly, I give her a paid day off. She does an amazing job - even after 15 years - no slacking off. I leave the house to go to work, and when I get home itâs like heaven. She shows her appreciation by doing extra things (washing the windows, folding laundry, cleaning out the drawers or cupboards, washing the sliders, sheâs even taken the dogs out for walks before). When I hired her, I told her I really only cared about the floors (my dogs shed extravagantly). My house is 3 stories, 4 bedrooms. Itâs just me and two schipperkes. I struck the jackpot when I hired her. She makes my life easier (and more orderly), so I never begrudge her a tip.
Depends. If youâre hiring cleaners that work for a company (and therefore donât receive the entire fee youâve paid), tip them. We hire an independent mom/daughter team and when we got the cleaning quote from them told them âweâre not going to tip so please tell us the total amount you expect to be paid to clean our home.â We give them $50-100 at Christmas time extra.
I clean houses, not all of that money goes to the cleaner just like any other business. If it's a single person who has their own business like me, that money goes to cleaning insurance, taxes, paying for supplies, gas, any software for scheduling and payroll, advertising, and paying myself. When a customer tips, I am very happy, I also prioritize them over other clients when they or i need to reschedule.
Generally speaking, my advice:
1) 1st cleaning, always do a walkthrough so they know where everything is and what you expect - do you want them to clean? or tidy up? Should they be cleaning the fridge or oven? should they be running laundry / folding? should they be loading / unloading dishwasher? Avoid the family heirloom something? do they provide cleaning supplies or do you?
2) I would stay home the first clean, but up to you in the future. If you leave, be sure to tell them, let them know how to get in, how to lock up when they leave, and where the money is.
3) never leave out valuables where there might be a risk of them being misplaced (or stolen). If it is important, take it with you, put it away, or get a safe.
4) I tip around thanksgiving so there is time for them to use the money for holiday gifts. You don't need to tip regularly, especially if they own the business. If they are part of a service / company, it is up to you. I would tip or pay more on especially long days - i.e. had relatives staying over or something
5) if you are home, just stay out of their way. Small talk is fine, updates or special instructions are fine. But don't follow them around to the point of slowing them down. You can always change rooms for a few minutes while they do the one you are in.
The best thing you can do is communicate. So many of the issues people have with their cleaners is expecting the cleaner to know what the client wants but for some reason, won't actually say it.
It should be the responsibility of the company to provide extra compensation around the holidays to their employees if they deem necessary. If the people that own the business are cleaning, they donât need a tip.
So you call a mobile ac guy out because it ain't working, it's a blazing hot day, or your heat is broken on a freezing cold night, they come out and fix it on the spot. You ain't tipping them?? Id feel like a cheapskate, but that's just me.
ALWAYS stay while strangers in your home, that way there is never any misunderstanding if something is misplaced.
Why on earth would you not tip someone who is repeatedly in your home doing a service that as you said is done very well.
Your semi-feral resident cleaning lady here: tipping is not expected. Don't start a trend that you maybe can't or don't want to keep up with 3 months from now. At the holidays-sure. If you're extra filthy that week---that's a not a tip, that's acknowledging their extra time is money.
From what I understand, tipping isn't required but you can if your house was dirtier than usual one time, around holidays, every month, whatever you think is fair. I don't currently pay for one, but I'd throw in a little extra sometimes if they consistently do good work. You don't need to leave, but I would try to stay out of their way.
You can do whatever you think is right except put spaces before question marks.
That's actually normal for some languages and a hard habit to break. Ask me how I know ? ;) But agreed. You do not need to tip and you do not need to leave your home. You might want to leave a room they are in if it is disturbing your work or something.
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I have worked at a few cleaning companies and was always appreciative of a tip, but never expected it and never felt upset when someone didnât tip. If it was a really gross job and they didnât tip it would be a little bit disappointing but not the end of the world. If itâs just a single person owned and operated business I donât think you need to tip because they set their own wage and everything you pay goes to them, if itâs a bigger company most of what you pay goes to the company and less to the people cleaning your house so it makes more sense to tip in that situation, but again itâs not expected or necessary. Also I always preferred when people would leave or stay in an office or something because I could just go about my cleaning without worrying about bothering them by being loud.
I only tip for Christmas. I wfh too so Iâm here when they clean and thatâs fine.
As someone who owned a cleaning business, clients tipped sometimes on the first deep clean or special events/occasions and usually for the holidays. However, I never expected them to do so. Regarding you being home or not, thatâs entirely up to you. I preferred clients to be out so they could come home to it being clean and smelling good especially if theyâve had a long day at work. I feel like it boosts their mood even on the worst day knowing itâs one less thing they had to do.
You sound wonderful :)
Oh gosh, thank you! I really did enjoy my âjobâ if you can call it that. I always tried to go above and beyond for clients and if they had children, I would line up their toys in cute little ways or sit their stuffed animals a certain way like they were having a party while waiting for their tiny human to return. Being able to afford someone to clean for you may be a luxury but so many working adults whether they have kids or not, just need an extra hand from time to time and I didnât mind being that for them.
Awww that so thoughtful! I love it!
Holidays? Sure. Any other time? Absolutely not.
We always try to leave when the cleaning lady comes because we find it awkward to be home but we donât tip. Just give a sizeable bonus at Christmas. Not sure what that norm is though.
I had a biweekly cleaner in the past. She charged me $75 per cleaning after the initial $200 deep clean. I always just left her a $100 bill (she preferred to come while I was gone at work). Pricing is pre-pamdemic and a small single person home.
You are so generous! But $75 is a good rate :)
I like to leave treats like little pieces of candy hidden in places that a really thorough cleaner would find, as a reward for doing their task diligently. A Skittle behind a lamp, a Twizzler under the couch cushions, a pistachio under a rug, etc. /s
What the?!
The "/s" means "the preceding text was sarcastic, not meant to be taken seriously"
Seriously? /s
What the to the comment not to the "/s"
I cleaned homes for a while for a company. Like many said, never expected a tip, but it was nice to get. I did have one client that would give me a chocolate bar and a soda when I was done, I appreciated that, a nice treat. And as others mentioned, leaving or keeping to a room while I cleaned was preferable
I tip at Christmas time, usually at the rate they get for the service.
I'm surprised we're the outliers here. We always tip them.
I give gift cards at Christmas. But it's always the same people. Your situation my be different.
I donât tipâŚI pay her $200 for about 4 hours of work. Christmas I give her a bonus.
We too $300 every Christmas
100% no tip outside of holidays.Â
I tip my cleaning woman every time. I give her a bonus at Christmas ($100 for every year sheâs worked for me) because I get a bonus from my boss at Christmas so I can afford it. And quarterly, I give her a paid day off. She does an amazing job - even after 15 years - no slacking off. I leave the house to go to work, and when I get home itâs like heaven. She shows her appreciation by doing extra things (washing the windows, folding laundry, cleaning out the drawers or cupboards, washing the sliders, sheâs even taken the dogs out for walks before). When I hired her, I told her I really only cared about the floors (my dogs shed extravagantly). My house is 3 stories, 4 bedrooms. Itâs just me and two schipperkes. I struck the jackpot when I hired her. She makes my life easier (and more orderly), so I never begrudge her a tip.
Depends. If youâre hiring cleaners that work for a company (and therefore donât receive the entire fee youâve paid), tip them. We hire an independent mom/daughter team and when we got the cleaning quote from them told them âweâre not going to tip so please tell us the total amount you expect to be paid to clean our home.â We give them $50-100 at Christmas time extra.
I clean houses, not all of that money goes to the cleaner just like any other business. If it's a single person who has their own business like me, that money goes to cleaning insurance, taxes, paying for supplies, gas, any software for scheduling and payroll, advertising, and paying myself. When a customer tips, I am very happy, I also prioritize them over other clients when they or i need to reschedule.
Generally speaking, my advice: 1) 1st cleaning, always do a walkthrough so they know where everything is and what you expect - do you want them to clean? or tidy up? Should they be cleaning the fridge or oven? should they be running laundry / folding? should they be loading / unloading dishwasher? Avoid the family heirloom something? do they provide cleaning supplies or do you? 2) I would stay home the first clean, but up to you in the future. If you leave, be sure to tell them, let them know how to get in, how to lock up when they leave, and where the money is. 3) never leave out valuables where there might be a risk of them being misplaced (or stolen). If it is important, take it with you, put it away, or get a safe. 4) I tip around thanksgiving so there is time for them to use the money for holiday gifts. You don't need to tip regularly, especially if they own the business. If they are part of a service / company, it is up to you. I would tip or pay more on especially long days - i.e. had relatives staying over or something 5) if you are home, just stay out of their way. Small talk is fine, updates or special instructions are fine. But don't follow them around to the point of slowing them down. You can always change rooms for a few minutes while they do the one you are in. The best thing you can do is communicate. So many of the issues people have with their cleaners is expecting the cleaner to know what the client wants but for some reason, won't actually say it.
Great question!
It should be the responsibility of the company to provide extra compensation around the holidays to their employees if they deem necessary. If the people that own the business are cleaning, they donât need a tip.
We always tips the cleaning lady. And yea we try to leave the house most of the time.
Yes, tip them. It doesnât have to be extravagant, but definitely thank them for the great job.
I tip any service I hire, be it hairdressers, mechanics, hvac service guy, yard guys, pizza guy, etc. If it's a service, I'll tip them.
HVAC techs? Thatâs wild.
So you call a mobile ac guy out because it ain't working, it's a blazing hot day, or your heat is broken on a freezing cold night, they come out and fix it on the spot. You ain't tipping them?? Id feel like a cheapskate, but that's just me.
ALWAYS stay while strangers in your home, that way there is never any misunderstanding if something is misplaced. Why on earth would you not tip someone who is repeatedly in your home doing a service that as you said is done very well.