Clean It Up
UK General Cleaning Forum => General Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: donmagsino on May 26, 2006, 03:18:42 am
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I have had my first client and I offered free cleaning for the first 5 hours! Of course she did not pay for it. The next cleaning day she said that she did not like the cleaning and she did not pay again. The third time, my cleaner slightly damage an item (noah's ark) worth £300.
I told her that the insurance will pay for it. The insurance company told me to give them an incident report. I am now quite apprehensive because i might use word that will invalidate my insurance claim. Please somebody help me what to write to the insurance company. To make the matter worse, the cleaner is nowhere to be found. I heard that she's gone back to Philippines (without a trace)
Also the client is threatening me of all sorts. She wants payment for the troubles i have caused her on top of payment for the item. I dont know what to do. What legal rights do I have? Your advise will be highly appreciated. :-[
info@homesteadhelperz.com
(http://info@homesteadhelperz.com)
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What sort of rubbish cowboy outfit are you running.
5 hours free cleaning, then the cleaning the second day was so bad they didn't pay THEN your cleaner breaks an ornament.
I doubt if someone has fled abroad over a broken Noah's Ark, do you not have the cleaners address, NI number, telephone number, references etc.?? If not why not.
Offer to pay for the damaged item, the insurance will want you to pay the first few hundred anyway, so I wouldn't have thought it worth making a claim.
How long have you been in business? Where are you from?
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http://www.homesteadhelperz.com/
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Hi Kazzie,
I love the website its very flashy indeed, but who decided on the pictures used? they dont seem to relate to cleaning in any way.
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Sorry Kazzie I think uve just highlighted the web address, my question is to Donmagsino ;D
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LMAO, its like a dating site ( not that I've ever used one).
I'd be disappointed if I used this company and the cleaner turned out to be a minger.
;D ;D
If my cleaners looked like that and broke things I wouldn't care, I could think of suitable punishments ;) ;D
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Your'e having a laugh. paying someone £6.00 hour self employed, they have to sort out there own tax affairs , holidays, transport etc.
That web site is full of spelling mistakes as well.
Is it a front for a massage parlour.
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Well spotted Dave, but all those things don't apply to you if you are an immigrant.
Also it is illegal to sub out work if they only work for one company, I think the ratio is about 60/40. But they'll get away with it.
At least he is charging more than the last one, he advertised self employed cleaners at £5.25.
How come there is a huge thread on here that started over someone charging 9.50 and yet no one says a word when an immigrant charges 8.50.
Beggers belief. >:(
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Your'e having a laugh. paying someone £6.00 hour self employed, they have to sort out there own tax affairs , holidays, transport etc.
That web site is full of spelling mistakes as well.
Is it a front for a massage parlour.
I agree about the massage parlour/dating agency bit, but on the whole the website is excellent (pity about the pics), the z'ss on the end of cleaner etc are deliberate.. me thinks ;D
what other spelling mistakes have you noticed?
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Have you noticed how you can zoom in on the body parts? have a go just click on the pics, its ace! :P
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No just the ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzs
I do not like assasinating someones hard work ,please note the latter part of my last post was said tongue in cheek.
On the web site it states that one of the reasons for not employing staff direct is that they do not need a written health and safety policy.
In my eyes health and safety should be paramount and should never be overlooked.
I think the contractor will be jointly liable should any health and safety issues come up
Dave
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5 hours cleaning for free? When you get your vehicle serviced, or your acountant to do your tax return do they do it for nothing?
If YOUR cleaner damaged the womans ark then YOU should pay for the damage not try and palm it off. If the second clean was bad then this should have been rectified before the third clean.
The customer has treated you for what you are ...a COMPLETE FOOL WHO CLEARLY CANOT RUN A BUSINESS AND SHOULDNT EMPLOY STAFF.
Paul
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5 hours cleaning for free? When you get your vehicle serviced, or your acountant to do your tax return do they do it for nothing?
If YOUR cleaner damaged the womans ark then YOU should pay for the damage not try and palm it off. If the second clean was bad then this should have been rectified before the third clean.
The customer has treated you for what you are ...a COMPLETE FOOL WHO CLEARLY CANOT RUN A BUSINESS AND SHOULDNT EMPLOY STAFF.
Paul
But.... ??? it is a good website ;D ;D
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lovely ;D
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A well put together website, Although not dificult if you use the right firm ... but why the pictures of people on holiday?
Paul
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A well put together website, Although not dificult if you use the right firm ... but why the pictures of people on holiday?
Paul
They are the cleaners, didnt you know ;D
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I've just spent the last 10 mins zooming in on the body parts ;D
But whats it got to do with cleaning and whats the freaking point of it ???
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Do they clean in the nude?
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I spent about 30 seconds on the (admittedly good) website.
Then it quickly became clear this was another poxy business using cheap foreign labour, without a hint of using born and bred British workers.
Call me old fashioned, racist, whatever . .. I'm getting very quickly fed up of chancers like this.
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Wheres the NHS gone
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Hi
From the web site:
£6.00 per hour paid directly to the cleaner each week by you.
£2.50 per hour paid directly by you to the agency each quarter. If you book more than 5 hours a week regular cleaning, you only pay us £2 per hour agency fee.
My questions are
1. If they only do 2 hours cleaning per week, do they then have to go back themselves to colloect their own money?
(most people are out at work during domestic cleaning, so probability is they then have to go back and collect)
2. Why are you waiting 3 months to be paid?
I do not know about anyone else on here but as a business I like to get paid ASAP, not wait 3 months!
Just my two pence worth
Regards
Martin 8)
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Thanks for all the response. It hurts when people say bad things against you but it helps me a lot to improve in this business.
Friends, what do you think? Do i need to make a claim for 350 on quid noah's ark damaged by one of my cleaners?
What is the best option then? Do i need to talk to the client gently? Yes, the insurance company is asking me to pay 250 right away but they are not sure if my claim will be successful or not. I asked them: 'what is the point of me paying 250 quid when it is not yet sure the claim will go throug?'. They cannot answer.
Please help me. I started this business few weeks ago and headche starts head on. I need to reply within 14 days or else, I am doomed. I know there are many people there who came across with this situation as well, but I am giving my heart to this business. No matter what. Your suggestion on how to go about this situation will be valuable to me. Thank you. :-[
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If it were me i would pay up straight away and move on and just put it down to experience.
I had a similar thing a few weeks ago when we smashed a customers window cill, so the window had to come out to replace it , just last week i broke a lamp shade in a shop i was gutted.
I know it hurts but you have to take it on the chin. Just pay i would not bother with the insurance. sooner you pay it the sooner you can forget about it.
Dave
ps It is tax deductable too so it wont cost as much as you think in the long run
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Wheres the NHS gone
Its being systematically ripped apart by the Government, and abused by people from abroad who come here just to use the free service >:( >:(
( couldn't resist that one ).
Donmagsino, I see on another thread that you are expanding into commercial, if I were you I'd get cleaning a lounge right first.
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Wheres the NHS gone
Donmagsino, I see on another thread that you are expanding into commercial, if I were you I'd get cleaning a lounge right first.
LMAO
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Garry
Sorry i cant agree there the NHS is now in better shape than its ever been.
Every time my family has needed treatment it has always been quick and first class.
You can not blame the foreigners because after all we nicked all the doctors from these foreign countries even though it cost them said countries many thousands to train each doctor saving the British tax payer millions in not having to train too many doctors.
Dave
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Donmagsino
I f I was you I would suggest the following to the customer.
"Look I am a small cleaning company and to put a claim in would cost me £250, which I havent got, can I suggest the following, I will improve on the cleaning as to your requirements and will give you 15 hours free cleaning to take when you want and work off the debt. I hope this meets with your approaval" I have done this on a number of occasions. apart from my biggest claim yet £3,500 it was a good job we where covered. kind regards Phil
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What planet are you on, the NHS is a disaster. I live in a town with over 45,000 people, our ambulance station has just been closed down and our local hospital A&E now shuts at 6pm. Last week there was an accident in town involving 2 cars it took 35 mins for 1 ambulance to get there and a further half hour for the second. A motorcyclist was knocked off his bike at Stonehenge recently, the ambulance turned up and then went on another call to a heart attack victim, the cyclist died. Waiting times at the A&E are horrendous, if I needed to see my doctor I'd have to wait a week. Thousands of nurses are jobless, hospitals are closing all over the place and people are being denied life saving drugs because the NHS cannot afford them. Moral amongst the nurses is at an all time low and many of them are moving abroad where they are better paid and thought more of.
It is also a FACT that THOUSANDS die each year through being subscribed the wrong drugs or the wrong quantities, thats if the MRSA bug doesn't get them first.
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Hi Donmagsino,
I f I was you I would suggest the following to the customer.
"Look I am a small cleaning company and to put a claim in would cost me £250, which I havent got, can I suggest the following, I will improve on the cleaning as to your requirements and will give you 15 hours free cleaning to take when you want and work off the debt. I hope this meets with your approaval" I have done this on a number of occasions. apart from my biggest claim yet £3,500 it was a good job we where covered
I would ignore the advice given above whether you are a small or big company should not make any difference to how you deal with your clients at all times be professional. At the moment your company has not delivered on its basic function that is to provide a good cleaning service be proactive keep the client informed on how you are going to turn things round. As for the damaged Noahs Ark, pay the client for the loss take it on the chin and learn from it.
On a lighter note did all the animals get out of the ark two by two ?
Cheers Mark.
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Personally I think you have been reading to much Joe Polish.
Giving away 5 hrs Free Cleaning.
Did you investigate the second visit.
I think you should pay up.
You seem to be avoiding all responsibility for staff, so why not put and exclusion clause in your cleaning contract regarding breakages.
I thought under your employment system the customer pays staff, if this is the case that makes them the employer///?????
If this is the case the customer would be responsible.
I sincerely advise you to go to a solicitor and have them give your business a legal health check
PS I'm not usually this blunt but I do not like your Web Site.
I do not like its name.
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Gary
I am on the real planet, thank you very much
With the NHS i speak as i find and the NHS has been fantastic to me and my family.
I comment as how i see it and dont believe all the the hype and spin mostly created by conservatives ,the daily mail and news companies in general who dont report the news but create the news after all anything to do with the NHS gets them big headlines.
As for these expensive drugs which are refused, most of them are experimental and cost up to thousands just for one tablet and would bankrupt the UK never mind the NHS.
With my doctors surgery you just phone up in the morning and they have to book you in that day, i have never waited more than 1 hour in A&E in the last 5 years, I had an operation and from diagnosis to surgery it took 5 weeks.
Perhaps the NHS trust in your area is doing a bad job but generaly the NHS has had the biggest investment in years.
You will always get bad stories about the NHS no matter how much money is spent.
Dave
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Gary
Sorry it was the planet thing i have modified my post.
Good health to you
Dave
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Why cant you all just be nice to each other ?
Abusive name calling just isnt on,
Andy Pandy
If i were you i would modify that post immediately.
Dave
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Yeah dont get caught enjoying yourself or you are for the chop.
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Domansango, You provide the cleaner and are therefore responsible for the cleaners actions whilst on the customers properyty. YOUR cleaner did the damadge and you must pay. Tough
How high do you rate customer service and future recomendations? Not very or you would have rectified the complaint over the second clean and transferd the cleaner to another contract.
It is a very inept business that does not have reserves for breakges and unnforsean circumstances, and tradeing without sutch a reserve you will not be about long.
Oh I forgot you only make £2 per clean and do the first 5 hours for nothing and use self employed cleaners to avoid a H&S policy,so the above is probably true.
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I may be going over old ground, but I work for NHS and I could make your ears curl! but I won't coz who knows who's listening. I think it all boils down to which Trust you come under: where one excels, the other fails (v.badly!). it all depends on how each Trust spends it money. IMO (I like IMO, it excuses me, a bit, from the firing line)
;D Ali
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I may be going over old ground, but I work for NHS and I could make your ears curl! but I won't coz who knows who's listening. I think it all boils down to which Trust you come under: where one excels, the other fails (v.badly!). it all depends on how each Trust spends it money. IMO (I like IMO, it excuses me, a bit, from the firing line)
;D Ali
????????????????
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??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ?? ;D
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I may be going over old ground, but I work for NHS and I could make your ears curl! but I won't coz who knows who's listening. I think it all boils down to which Trust you come under: where one excels, the other fails (v.badly!). it all depends on how each Trust spends it money. IMO (I like IMO, it excuses me, a bit, from the firing line)
;D Ali
????????????????
??? Am i missing something?
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I think you need to read the thread again :)
Vodkas bad for the eyes :'(
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tell me about it! Speed reading not good when on vodka. I'll have a read tomorrow. Night night
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Thank you everybody.
I will write a letter to my customer and i will apply your suggestions. It is a pleasure indeed to be in here like-minded people.
Again, thank you for all your advice. 8)
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Thank you everybody.
I will write a letter to my customer and i will apply your suggestions. It is a pleasure indeed to be in here like-minded people.
Again, thank you for all your advice. 8)
You have taken all these responses in good heart. Fair play to you.
However this works out with the customer, you should learn from this how to cover yourself in the future.
Maybe checking the job beforehand and making note of any possible damage that the customer can try to blame on you afterwards.
Whatever happens you need to look and act as professional as you can or you can end up coming across many customers like this one.
Unfortunately if you give some people an inch they will try to take a mile.
Maybe you should start a new thread detailing your cleaning experience and background and ask how you can improve your service and gain more work.
Good luck to you.
mark
ps apologies for my earlier remark. It seemed funny at the time.