Category Archives: Hiring A Cleaner Advice

relationship between cleaner and customer

Cross cultural communication (3)

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Do’s and don’ts to avoid a fight with your foreign domestic cleaner:

1- Do not think that there is only one right way (your way!) to communicate.

2- Learn from generalisations about your cleaner’s culture, but do not use these generalisations to creat stereotypes.

3- Practise, practice and practice!. If you don’t, you do not learn.

4- Do not think that communication problems happen because other people are on the wrong. Always search for new ways to make that communication work.

5- Listen actively and empathetically. Put yourself on her shoes and you will improve your communication skills.

6- Try to look at the situation as an outsider. Analysing the situation as a “third person” will give you more in depth and will help you to resolve the problem quicker.

7- Remember that cultural norms might not apply to the behaviour of your particular domestic cleaner. We are not only shaped by our culture; the ethnic background, the family or the education influence how we grow as individuals.

Cross cultural communication (2)

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On this post you will find some explanations about why your cleaner does not act and react on the same way as you do. Please, do not learn them by heart; as with all researches regarding culture and human behavior it is impossible to decipher the truth. Use them as a way to start knowing and understanding your cleaner with open mind.

1- Communication styles. Cultures use language on different ways. A yes in one part of the world can mean a no on the other side; this can create communication problems. Non verbal communication is also important. A gesture can be rude in one culture or a sign of friendship in another. For example, it may be that on the first meeting with your domestic cleaner you will consider appropriate to keep a physical distance between you two, but in some cultures, such as African or Hispanic, people tend to get closer from the beginning as a sign of friendliness and acceptance of the other.

2- Attitudes toward conflict. Some cultures consider conflict as something that has to be avoided; other cultures think that it is a positive thing. In a lot of European countries, conflict is consider embarrassing and needs to be tackle quietly, avoiding discussion. So, there are more possibilities of an east European domestic cleaner accepting quietly your concerns or complains regarding her work than someone from a Latin culture, who will try to speak with you to find a common solution. Again, this is a general idea and does not mean that there are cultures that will find conflict at any cost leaving their work on one side.

3- Approaches to completing tasks. Asian and Latin cultures tend to consider more important to develop relationships at the beginning on a new job, leaving the completion of the task for the end. European Anglo-Saxon cultures tend to concentrate on the task first. An Asian or Hispanic domestic cleaner would tend to speak with you more often, not because they do not want to do the job, but because they consider essential to get to know you better. This does not mean that domestic cleaners from different cultural backgrounds are more or less keen to do their job or value relationships more or less; it just means that they do their tasks differently.

 4- Attitudes toward disclosure. In some cultures, they consider that being honest about your own feelings or thoughts is not appropriate. Keep this in mind when you are talking with your domestic cleaner regarding a complaint or any other issue of her work; be aware that your domestic cleaner may not be comfortable revealing some information and a question that is so common or natural for you may not be for her.

Hope this helps a little bit on your way to understanding your domestic cleaner. Do not use these cultural differences to create prejudices but to create a better relationship with her.

Keep checking the blog for some tips on how to positively develop your cross-cultural communications with your domestic cleaner!

Cross cultural communication (1)

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Knowledge is the key for an effective cross cultural communication with your domestic cleaner.

How many times did you have issues with your domestic cleaner because she did not react on the way you expected? Do not worry! It is not the end of the world! It does not mean that your cleaner does not listen to you! It is just Culture.

In the UK there are a lot of domestic cleaners from all over the world, from East Europe to South America. At http://www.amycleaning.co.uk there has been a lot of issues regarding cross cultural communication. Recently, a customer called us concerned about her new domestic cleaner. She considered her too loud and invasive while on the first meeting. When talking with the cleaner, from a Mediterranean origin, she was confused; she did not understand what went wrong!

Communication between people of different cultures can cause anxiety. Yes, it is your cleaner, but most of the times you do not know a lot about her; sometimes you cannot even locate her country on the map! This “knowing nothing” cause a lot of uncertainty, thus making you scared and destroying the bases of your relationship.

Therefore, to avoid uncertainty and problems with your domestic cleaner you will need to know what the differences are between your culture and hers.

Culture differences can be found on:

1- Communication styles (how people talk and interact with others).

2- Attitudes toward conflict (how people resolve problems).

3- Approaches to completing tasks.

4- Attitudes toward disclosure (how people express opinions).

Would you like to know more? On the next post I will explain a little bit about each of them. Don’t miss it! It may give you the answer you were waiting for!

Non-Verbal communication (2): Listen with your eyes

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On the first part of these articles regarding Non Verbal Communication we spoke about the first impression when you meet your domestic cleaner for the first time. On this article, let us explain you what happen when you are interviewing your potential cleaner.

There has been a unanimous agreement between different psychologists regarding the perception of a person’s message. Basically, professionals consider that 55% of what we perceive when someone is talking to us is visual (that is body language), 38% is vocal (that is how the person sounds) and 7% is verbal (that is what the speaker is actually saying).

Everyone can do the maths on this matter: what someone is saying is not as important as how they say it. Do you remember that situation when you asked a friend that was crying if everything was ok and they just said “fine”? You didn’t believe them, did you? So keep reading and you will find some very useful tips on how to listen to your domestic cleaner and how much you can believe what she says!

There are some basic aspects of body language that you will need to check when interviewing your potential domestic cleaner:

·         Eye contact: Maintaining good eye contact shows respect and interest. If your future cleaner is looking at you without a blink or not at all, then you have something to worry about.

·         Arms: Extrovert people tend to use their arms very often, contrary to shy people. That is fine; the only thing you will need to check is if the potential cleaner has her arms crossed on her chest or has her hands on her hips as it is a very defensive and aggressive posture.

·         Legs: We know that we tend to move our legs a lot when nervous, and most probably your new domestic cleaner will be like a jelly on her first day, so be kind on this one. Anyway, if she is sitting with her legs crossed or her foot is kicking slightly, in general terms it will mean that she is bored.

·         Hands: They can say a lot, but again, there are many different gestures and culture differences may change meanings drastically. Generally, someone with their palms up is seen as open, friendly and sincere.  Someone tapping their fingers will most probably be impatient. And someone biting their nails will imply insecurity or nervousness.

·         Distance from others: Too close to you and you will see your cleaner as pushy; too far and you will consider her not to be interested. As with the hand gestures culture difference play a big part on this. Generally Latin cleaners will tend to get closer to you and Asian cleaners will tend to maintain a larger space between you.

Other gestures that you may have seen:

·         If your potential cleaner puts her hand on the cheek, most probably she will be evaluating something or thinking about something.

·         If she touches or rubs her nose, the meaning is clear: rejection, doubt or lying.

·         Is she fondling her hair? It usually is a lack of self-confidence or insecurity.

·         If she quickly tilts her head that means interest in what you are saying.

 There are thousands of different gestures that will tell you a lot about your domestic cleaner. You will not be an expert on the field on your first interview, but do not give up and keep trying!

Non-Verbal communication (1): The first impressions

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It has been said by some professionals that it usually takes about two minutes to create an opinion on someone. Others rebate this by saying 30 seconds. Actually, there are others saying that you only need 2 seconds to get an opinion on someone! You know now that, what it takes you to open your front door to meet your new cleaner would be more than enough to decide if you really like her or not.

As psychologists say, we humans are confronted on a daily basis with complicated situations, or maybe we are forced to decode important information quite quickly. On these cases, without even knowing it, we tend to our beliefs, values and attitudes to make a decision or create an opinion on the matter.

It is part of our nature. I suppose it is our animal instinct; we need to protect ourselves. But this natural reaction can have big implications on the way we communicate or relate to others. Imagine your first meeting: You open the door to your new long waited domestic cleaner and… you don’t like her, you just don’t like her! But still you need to give her a chance, let her in, do the interview and hopefully change your mind about her. There is only one problem: it is extremely difficult to change your feelings once you already made up your mind about your domestic cleaner.

These unconscious judgments that we make can be very tricky. On one hand, this “ability” (let’s call it this way) can bring on us our worst prejudices which will stop us from interviewing our prospective domestic cleaner appropriately. On the other hand, it can save our lives.

Now that you have this information, use it to your advantage! We know that there will be situations where our most hidden part of our minds will work by itself to create a general idea of our new cleaner when we meet her for the first time. At http://www.amycleaning.co.uk we consider important to try and force yourself not to react instinctively by creating a structured interview, writing down your possible questions in advance. It will help you a lot to get a better idea about the experience, skills and attitude of the domestic cleaner.

I know I need a domestic cleaner when…

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– I cannot think of cleaning the bathroom when I wake up on a Saturday morning.

-I do not know the difference between a polisher and a hair spray.

-My job and work projects are “eating” most of my time away.

-I have spare time to go shopping, to do some sports, to walk the dog… but not to clean the house!

-My back is aching so much that I have no strength to hold the hoover properly (I call it health problems!).

-I can consider myself a great professional… but, honestly, a really bad cleaner.

-I stand in front of the dirty oven and there are voices inside my head telling me to run away as quickly as possible.

-I spent the whole weekend doing an “after-party cleaning” while taking paracetamol every two hours to stop my hang-over getting worst.

-I realize that the dust in the sofa is not part of a new trendy decoration.

-I cannot see the difference between a white tile and a black tile.

-after 6 months and 17569 sneezes I convinced myself that I do not have flu but dust allergy.

How to resolve problematic situations

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Here are some excellent tips on what to do if you are having problems with your cleaner

“The house does not look clean when I return home; I think my cleaner is not doing her job properly”.

If you are in this situation, first speak to the cleaner to raise your concerns, try to understand and get an explanation from her of why she is not able to do a professional job.

Normally your cleaner will give you great information and the problem is easily solved.  However if not, speak to your agency, for example  http://www.amycleaning.co.uk have a group of professionals able to re-train or coach your domestic cleaner to improve her job.

“My domestic cleaner does not pay attention to detail; she always forgets to hover underneath the bed and sofa”

Before you rush to blame your domestic cleaner for the state of your house when you return from work, ask yourself some questions:

  • Are my expectations too high? 
  • Does she have enough time to clean my house?

Sometimes your domestic cleaner can struggle with the hours and the amount of work that she has in your house. All cleaners, even the best ones, will find it difficult to finish on time and do a good cleaning on the first visit.

  • Is she wasting time doing things that are actually not important to me ?

Very often we find that the cleaner is spending a lot of their time doing something that is not important to that specific customer.  This is often something that one of their other customers wants, but you do not feel is important.  Once they do this task less often, then they have time to do what you actually want. 

For example your cleaner may be deep cleaning your oven on every visit, when actually you only want it done once per month.  this change means they now have lots of time to iron all your shirts.

 
 
 

 

 
 

It is always a good idea to leave a note with the tasks that you want your domestic cleaner to follow. This way she will find it easier to re-organise her work the way you expect it.

If this “soft” approach does not work, call the agency to explain them the situation.

“She keeps re-organising my stuff!”

You will need to do some preventive work on this one. Speak with your domestic cleaner on the first visit to establish some rules: “if you find something underneath the bed, put it on top”; “if there is any paper/documents on the desk, leave them on the same place”; “dust the shelves in the bathroom but leave bottles on the same place”;…

Each customer will have different requirements on this issue and without communication the cleaner has to guess which one you like, sadly the odds are never high on guessing what you like.

“The watch has disappear from my room”

There is never an excuse for theft.  If you use a good agency that has vetted your cleaner then this is not something that happens.  This usually happens when someone has hired a house cleaner from an ad in a newsagent window and has not taken the time to vet them properly.

This is a concerning issue though and an event like this is very distressful.

If you are thinking of hiring a domestic cleaner then it is always right to minimize temptations.  It is not nice for the cleaner if there is money, expensive jewellery and other things about.

Do not leave your valuables on sight. It is not about not trusting your cleaner, but trying to avoid temptation.

If you already have a domestic cleaner and suspect that she has taken something, make a list of everything that have gone missing and contact the domestic cleaning agency in case you hired the cleaner through them.

However do always be careful to check things out first, as most accusations are later followed by the client finding the item in an unexpected place.

 “It is impossible to speak with my cleaner, she does not speak English and she does not understand me!”

It will not take too much time until your domestic cleaner starts having good level of English. Meanwhile, just make sure that you leave a note for her with the tasks that you require for the day; always write short sentences that would be easier to understand.

It is far easier for a cleaner to read and write things as they can do this at their own speed.  This is because with verbal communication the cleaner has to keep up with the speed of hearing what is being said and giving a prompt verbal response.

Generally domestic cleaners with not a lot of English knowledge tend to have strong domestic cleaning skills; they know they need to give their best on their job as they have no possibility of finding work on any other sector where English is required.

“I have lost so many days off work! My domestic cleaner is never on time!”

Prevention is essential on these situations. When you first meet your domestic cleaner make it clear that time keeping is essential for you, that you will not tolerate any unexcused absence.

If there are any issues, it is always best not to ‘tell your cleaner off’, just express that regrettably you are not able to work with them if this issue happens again.  There is no need for conflict, it is simply that you are not able to wait around as you have other things to do.

If your domestic cleaner is still arriving late to the appointments, you may need to think about changing the cleaner if you hired her directly. If you use a domestic cleaner through a house cleaning agency, it is even easier to change your current cleaner for a more reliable one.

Communication: the key to success

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“The first cleaning went great, my cleaner managed to do the laundry, iron, dust, hover, mop, tidy up, and do the washing up in just 2 hours! Two weeks later she is missing things to do, she is just a lazy girl that speaks no English and doesn’t understand me!”. How many times we have heard of situations like this one! It is very easy for someone to go from a positive feedback to a negative feedback, sometimes without thinking why the cleaners have changed their behaviour (if they have at all!).

Having a cleaner is a choice. Most people would be able to do the house cores if they needed to. The problem comes when, after making the choice, customers seem not to like the arrangement very much. Why that happens?

On one hand we have customers keeping their cleaners for years, constantly praising their job. On the other hand we have people who seem to be upset with their domestic cleaners; they criticize their job and would get rid of them as quickly as possible.

These latter employers find it difficult to communicate with their domestic cleaners and therefore they are not able to maintain a positive and professional relationship with them.

We cannot say that communication is easy, especially when we talk about a stranger going into your house to clean your pants on a weekly basis. We know that it could be an uncomfortable situation. At the end of the day, your domestic cleaner knows exactly where your personal valuables are kept, who leaves the dirty socks on the living room floor or whether anyone in the house ever cleans the toilet. So we can say that the domestic cleaner can reach a level of intimacy with your house that not even your best friend (or mother) can achieve. But, knowing every single detail about your house does not mean that the intimacy is at the same level with the members of the family. It is not at all. Your cleaner will know for how long you keep the milk on the fridge but will know almost nothing about you.

If you want to have a productive relationship with your domestic cleaner it is important to acknowledge the importance of open communication. Of course, you will not need to sit down with her over a cup of tea to talk about family and life in general; you will just need to be open and understandable. Let us see some tips:

1.       Explain your domestic cleaner what is expected from her; what you consider more important; what you are looking for in her. It is the only way for your domestic cleaner to know if she is doing the right thing. This will boost her confidence and most probably her cleaning standards as a consequence.

2.       Write everything down. If you want your cleaner to concentrate one day on the windows instead of the mopping, write it on a piece of paper with clear hand writing. Even if she does not understand a word she will check it on her dictionary or call the domestic cleaning agency to ask for help.

3.       Do not shout. You do not need to raise your voice to make yourself understood. Speaking basic English does not mean that your domestic cleaner is deaf.

4.       Use simple sentences. Most of the domestic cleaners are not native English speakers; but although they have good level of English they may not understand specific comments or made up phrases, or even a joke (remember that language is more about culture than grammar).

5.       Praise her job. If she has done a great job or an extra task that was not expected, let her know.

6.       Raise your concerns. If there is anything that she needs to improve or you are not happy with, speak with her. If your domestic cleaner does not receive any complain she will assume that her cleaning is up to standards.

7.       Listen to your domestic cleaner. It is true that some people may have been on a situation where their cleaner has tried to get advantage of the situation and she has asked for extra time or more money. But most of the domestic cleaners are honest people who try to earn their living. If your cleaner thinks that the deep clean of the oven will take longer than usual, the chances are that this may be true.

8.       Be polite at all times. She may be doing a job that you do not want to do but any domestic cleaner will be glad to hear a “thank you” or “please” from her customers. The same as you usually do with your friend or boss.

At http://www.amycleaning.co.uk we receive a lot of feedback from our customers. The tendency is that, although it is important for the domestic cleaner to be a good cleaner, customers tend to consider on a higher level qualities such as trustworthiness, reliability and politeness. This could explain why some customers decide to change their cleaner just because they do not feel comfortable with her as a person.

If we manage to listen and understand our domestic cleaner as well as appreciate the job that they do on our houses we will have given the first step towards a more effective relationship with her.

How to get the best of your cleaner on the interview

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Choosing a good domestic cleaner is not easy. There are always potential problems that need to be addressed from the start. Using a domestic cleaning agency will be an advantage for you in terms of quick replacements in case your regular cleaner is ill or resigns unexpectedly; but still, there is always some tips that you, as a customer, can follow during the interview with your prospective domestic cleaner to get the best of it (and her!).

Thinking of a domestic cleaner that can, magically, guess your cleaning requirements and get them done with a touch of a magic wand is not at all realistic. Every person has different priorities and expectations and it is important that you communicate them to the domestic cleaning agency as well as the domestic cleaner.

So, before the interview is arranged, make a plan and prioritize your needs. At http://www.amycleaning.co.uk we recommend that, when doing this, you consider: a) What tasks require equipment or supplies you don’t have; b) what tasks you prefer to do yourself; c) what items or areas in the house are of special importance.

When interviewing the cleaner that the domestic cleaning agency has allocated to you consider these easy to follow points so you can get more information about your new cleaner at the same time that you give her all the information she needs to provide a high quality cleaning service:

  1.        The length of the interview will depend on you; it is usually  between 5 and 30 minutes (but do not be afraid if it takes you longer than this! At the end of the day she is going to be your regular cleaner!).
  2.    Check the domestic cleaner’s appearance and non verbal communication. Someone that is looking down to the floor when you are explaining where the chemicals are kept won’t be very willing to work!
  3.      Ask a variety of questions including those relating to training, experience, cleaning times and days…
  4.      Show her your priorities: Which room is more important for you? How often do you want the blinds to be dusted?…Make sure she understands your needs; it will be easier to get what you want if you make it clear at the start.
  5.      Ironing: This seems to be a very obvious task to do. Nothing further from reality; everyone has specific preferences. Explain the domestic cleaner how you would like your shirts to be ironed (creases on your sleeves for example) or what would be the essential clothes for you to be ironed.
  6.      Laundry: It would be fine to ask your cleaner to organise the laundry and change the bed linen but it would be better for you to leave very clear instructions to avoid any pink socks in the future!
  7.       Rubbish: There are a lot of councils that issue fines if the rubbish is placed in the wrong place at the wrong day. For this reason, make sure you let the domestic cleaner know on the interview about the correct procedure.
  8.   The task sheet: Some people feel more comfortable writing a task list for the cleaner. It is in fact very useful for the domestic cleaners as it enables them to follow your requirements more easily (remember that the first days on your house will be the hardest ones for your domestic cleaner as she needs to get used to a “different way of doing things”). The domestic cleaning agency will have the possibility to give you an easy to use task sheet, making your life easier.
  9.      Cleaning products: You know by the domestic cleaning agency that you will need to provide the chemicals yourself. The interview is a good time to go through the chemicals you have in your house and also get to know the knowledge the domestic cleaner has on the different chemicals and cloths used.
  10.  The keys and the alarm: No one wants to get called in the middle of an important meeting because the cleaner has turn on the alarm by mistake or maybe she cannot open the door! It is better to make sure the cleaner knows how the alarm works from the beginning (make her practice a little bit) or any other “tricks” to open the door to the house.

Hiring your cleaning services from a domestic cleaning agency not only saves you time; it can also reduce your stress level. The domestic cleaning agency can always communicate your cleaner any changes on your priorities or needs to make sure that the information shared on your interview with the cleaner is accurate and up to date.

We can say that proper communication on the interview with the prospective cleaner is the key to a successful relationship with her. You have to get to know her at the same time that you need to assess her suitability; but it is important to make the effort at the beginning and avoid any stressful situation afterwards.