[fayellen]

I have 8 different clients most of them are really good but I have an elderly lady who sulks if I have a day off, ok she's old so I let that go and eh ho so what. 
Another one is starting to take the pi** last week I took all her empty bottles to bottle bank, fine I was going anyway, this week I got there and she had left a note asking if i would mind doing the ironing and leaving out some cleaning.. ok why not easier than cleaning, then she had added a PS: these clothes need to go to the charity shop if your passing WTH.  I know I say no I will not be treated as a general dogs body but why do some clients think it's ok to treat us cleaners as lower than them. urrgh and she pays me late and she is the only client I have had who has charged me for breaking someting in her house.
Come on you must all have nightmare clients what do you do Leave or stay quiet and what's the worst thing a client has asked you to do? did you do it?
I didn't take her bottles this week

[suffolkclean]

Had a customer we cleaned for 2 hrs a fortnight - she didn't do a thing between cleans and we were expected to do the lot! She was a real nightmare customer - she even expected us to replace the block in the toilet freshner that loops over the toilet, picking up her used tampon applicators off the floor cos the bin was so full was disgusting. She always found something to moan about we ending up ditching her 

[vacman]

It has nothing to do with people thinking less of us because we are cleaners and all to do with the fact that some people just dont realise they are taking the pee. I think we've all had them, i ended up leaving two houses because the people drove me mad. As people, i liked them, but i couldnt work for them in the end.

As for paying for breakages, i have insurance to cover damage to property if all hell breaks loose, but for the every day things which get broken in the course of my work, i'm afraid i am NOT in the habit of paying for it. I exercise as much care as i can, but accidents happen. I'd say a third of what i break is by accident, a third is due to the item being on its last legs before i touched it, and a third is due to the owners putting things in stupid places/not assembling the items properly.

If anyone asked me to pay, that would be the last time they saw me. At the end of the day, it is peoples choice to pay for help or do it themselves.

[shelton]

When we first started, we had an old couple in Bournemouth.  Things started OK, but I guess familiarity breeds contempt as after a month or so the 'extras' started appearing . ... it soon became apparent they were having trouble distinguishing between a cleaner and a housekeeper!

I didn't mind too much changing the sheets of the bed (they were getting on a bit), but drew the line at polishing the brass door knocker and scrubbing the front step!

Felt like I was in Mary Poppins.

Binned them off. 

[suffolkclean]

Thats' exactly it Shelton - my husband said its not a cleaner they want its a MAID!

[fayellen]

I started cleaning for an elderly couple, the first week i went in she says kitchen, bathroom  now you get on with it, I nearly told her to fork off, then she had me changing her beds, fine she's old, the week after she asked me to do the ironing, again I don't mind until she tells me to get a move on..urrrghhhh If I am cleaning quietly she comes to check I'm still working. She's also had me cleaning the outside of her porch and clearing her drains..I could say no but it gives me a chance to have a craty fAg.  8 months later I'm still there, she's relaxed a lot more and trusts me to get on with it, she still does my head in on occasions and I would happily leave, but at the end of the day it could be worse.
Have to say though most clients are great, then again I like to think I'm a good cleaner
Vacman sometimes it's just a feeling you get with some people looking down on you but who cares we all have a job to do in this world.

[vacman]

Have to say, i dont think i would stand for being told to hurry up. I've had people saying that there's a lot they want me to get through and not to be to diligent, but its meant as a pointer, not as a snide remark. Are you charging a flat fee or an hourly rate?

[fayellen]

An hourly rate, yes have to say it drove me mad at first her whole attitude did as her house can easily be done in two hours without leaving anything out.  But like I say she has improved I clean for a neighbour of her's who is great so would find it awkward to give up with her when cleaning for her neighbour + she is 93 and to be quite honest it is easy. I don't know I think I'm too soft, I do put up with some silly buggars ie: late payers the charity shop incident who by the way charged me for a breakage..didn't think anything of it until I read your post. and the above old lady, but it's all money in the bank. 
Then again I could easily give the old woman and the one who charged me if a better offer came along.