DG
Forget how long it took you to do this time etc, think of it as experience now, just go back in October and quote a FIXED priced to get the house back into shape (based on how it looks when you go) then return SEVEN days later to see what it looks like and give a FIXED price for a weekly clean.
I am not at all in favour of charging hourly rates for the cleaning I do, and when i have work done in my house (i dont mean cleaning work) i expect a FIXED price for the job i need doing. The problem with hourly rates (esp. if you say "We charge £X per hour") is that straight away the client will dictate to YOU the number of hours they want. This is a difficult situatuion to be in as it is YOU who knows how fast you and each of your staff works. You may know its just not possible to do the work in the 3 or so hours the client asks for. I ask my clients what they want and I tell THEM how much i want for doing it. I am not prepared to go down the line of them telling me how many hours of my time they are prepared to pay me and then have to kill myself to fit it all in OR get invloved in a debate about what i will and wont have time to do and get them to trim their requirements accordingly. Admitidly there are times when people say things like "Any chance you could leave the bedrooms etc and do inside some kitchen units/vac the car/sweep the drive/change the beds/iron some shirts etc" which of course i dont mind as the jobs i do instead usually take less time than the job i've been asked to leave. That said, you being 'bigger' than me you might not get asked to swap-and-change jobs as people generally only ask this/expect this of people who work on their own.
The other thing is that if each and every cleaning operative comes to the job with all the equipment and products that they need and like, this can actually save so much time which means that the hourly-rate method can work in reverse and YOU can be accused of going early when in actuall fact through your own excellent work pattern have done all that needs doing.
This is just my opinion but i'm saying it as you've asked - give ONE price for the work she wants and stick to it. I would.
As for the issue of tidyness - its up to them. All my customers know that the more they tidy the better the cleaning that can be done. Many clients say they hate the day before i go as the evening is spent screaming at the famliy members to put clothes away, tidy surfaces, put shoes in cupboard etc. But they also say that it does ensure that everything is sorted, tided, and thinned-out every week or fortnight etc. so works to their own advantage.
I do take the point completley about untidy houses being difficult to clean (and of course the end result is not always as 'glossy') but then there are many houses that are difficult to get round because there is way too much furniture, too many ornaments, or the general decoration and paintwork is so poor that it doesn't look 'glossy' - and these may be tidy houses. Untidiness is just one more thing that we 'treasures' have to overlook. I have to say that dirty pants are the least of the 'horrors' i have found over the years...
I would also not mention a word about the drugs, i dont think it is our place to. If you are not happy then find a reason to not go back, but if you carry on going then you will have to overlook this matter. Your staff should be trained to 'deal' with it and personal opinion should not even come into the issue. It grieves me to say this because as you know i think cleaning is a very important job BUT at the end of it we're only there to clean, like me and you your client will no doubt have no shortage of friends and relatives who are willing to share their opinions (whether asked for or not lol).
At the end of the day you are running a business and you need to put your personal thoughts aside OR cease to deal with the client, but in a way i am pleased that it's happened to you now as you will be a better person for it - the more 'issues' we learn how to deal with earlier into our cleaning carrears the better it is.
I sound like a right heartless bi#ch i know, but DG please you know i dont mean it that way. BIIIGGGGGGG hug (and i hope this 'situation' sorts itself out for you).
Cheers
Stephen
