[suffolkclean]

I want to beable to send 2 cleaners out on their own to do cleans (I usually go with them & clean too). Not sure how we're going to do it weather to pay one cleaner more for using her own car or if we should get a little van. If we were to get a van we would struggle for space to park as were working from home at the moment.

Any opinions/experiences in this dept. would be great.
Barbara

[nat1]

Hi Suffolkclean, I'm on my own at the mo but have done quite alot of advertising and will be hoping too take staff on asap, I have 1 person in mind, do you tend to think cleaning companies work more in pairs or on their own?.  I was intending too send the cleaner out in her own car unless I decided too do the clean with her.

Probaly not much help!!



 Nat1

[vacman]

Nat

If you send the cleaner to the job on her own, it begs the question "why doesnt the cleaner work for herself to begin with". After all, she could cut out the middleman, as simple as.

Working in pairs means you can bounce-off each other, help each other, and are company for each other.

[nat1]

Vacman see where your coming from, good point, must admit gets a bit boring working on your todd.


Ta nat1

[vacman]

Hello Nat

Yes it can, but i have always questioned why anyone would clean for a company and then was willing do the work alone, especially if they could drive and had their own car. Essentially they are more than half-way to having their own business if they do that.

I can understand more people who dont drive and who do work via an agency, but not when they are fully mobile i don't.

[dianegreenwood]

Hi all

Our guys work in teams of two usually and one is paid a mileage allowance to drive them both.

Hope that helps

Diane

www.freshlymaid.co.uk

[suffolkclean]

Hi Diane
Thanks for that, is the driver in her own car? is that driver equal to the cleaner they drive apart from she uses her car?

How much extra per mile do you pay your cleaner if you don't mind me asking you could email me on info@kc-services.com

Thanks again
Barbara

[Fox]

We have people that do both, mainlly they drive their own vehicle on a mileage allowance. 

I can't see where you are coming from that they may aswell do it themselves if they are on their own!  Many clients employ a company because they want the security of a company, proper management, cover in sickness, insurance etc, not mrs mop from next door, so if that is what you are worried about you should maybe be looking at your client base.

Fox

[vacman]

Hello Fox

I take it you are refering to me. You don't say, so forgive me for presuming.

What I am saying is that given that staff taking on customers directly is nothing new, I am always wary of anyone who is fully mobile and willing to clean who is willing to do it for a company and not for themselves. Even if the company pays the staff a good wage, it will never match the amount the customer is charged, therefore the potential earnings (not taking into account tax and insurance etc which most staff can't care about, its the money that counts) are far greater.

I take on board your comments and I take it that they are based on the customers in your region. Where I work, customers would give their right arm to find ONE cleaner who comes again and again, time after time. Their desicion to use a cleaning service is not for the reasons you mention, but out of desperation. Believe me when I say I know my local 'client base' inside out. I am not saying I know yours, and I trust you have the manners to not even pretend to know mine.

My comments are purely based on my own clients and my own experience. There is no correct answer. What I said was I didnt understand why fully mobile staff are happy to do domestic cleaning for a company. And even after your post, I still don't. 

[Big Al]

Thats vac man for you full of s***!

[vacman]

why thanks for the intelligent comment 

[nat1]

Oops think i might of started somthing here!! calm down boys....  Think what you said makes sense VACMAN, c'mon Snow lighten up a bit!!!

[dianegreenwood]

Hi all

The driver uses their own vehicle, I get a copy of their insurance certificate and drivers license.  Everyone gets the same rate of pay but nobody gets travel time.  The mileage allowance is 0.25 per mile which I based on the AAs recommended rates minus things like breakdown insurance & vehicle insurance that they would be paying anyway.  If their insurance company wanted a supplement then I would pay this for them in addition.

And I agree with Fox, my clients employ us usually because they want a 'fully managed' service that means their relationship is with the business not an individual cleaner and so they get full cover for holidays, sickness, etc and are fully insured, plus if there's a problem the relationship is a lot less awkward.  I've just picked up a 10 hours a week client because their cleaner has only managed to turn up twice in the last 8 weeks and we charge almost 50% more than they were paying.

For my team, the attraction is the fun of working with other people, a guaranteed number of hours per week, a stakeholder pension scheme and holiday pay, which they would not get working freelance as customers tend to cancel when they go on holiday, etc.

Cheers

Diane

www.freshlymaid.co.uk

[suffolkclean]

Hi Diane - Do you provide them with a sheet to record the mileage or do you look it up on the internet yourself to see how many miles from one place to the next?
Thanks for your advice on this as I'm going to have to do this myself

Barbara

[Fox]

Yes vacman I was referring to you!  I don't pretend to know your customer base no and I am no longer involved in domestic, however I know about people and expectations, yes you may get one or two cleaners that think they can go on their own but that should never be your main concern when deciding how to run your business, they would do it working in pairs, on their own, or the other side of the world if they are so inclined, like I said most people are looking for security and I can't imagine personality and expectation changes that much in each human, dependant on where you live (we are talking about people who can afford to have cleaners here!).

Pleany of cleaners have loyalty and are happy to work for a good company, if staff run off then it's not just the customer base but management style that is in question (no particularly aimed at you).

Fox

 

[vacman]

Hello Fox

I take all that on board. I have to say though that although people are paying for domestic help, it does not always follow that they are 'loaded'; a lot of the work I have done has been in poor areas and for people who were not well-off; in those cases it was ill-health which prompted the request for help.

I started my business on my own and it was dead easy. Therefore I am wary of anyone who is in a position to do the same who wants to work for a cleaning company. Your points about managment style are well made and i appreciate that. On the other side, the cleaning staff i've met over the years were doing the job only for the part time hours and the money it bought in; long-term prospects were of little interest. Surely you must have seen that in at least one person?

Thanks for your reply.

[dianegreenwood]

Hi Barbara

I record the mileage myself.  I did originally set up timesheets and mileage record sheets but its easier if I just use our daily schedule and then www.theaa.com to plot their route for the day.

Hope that helps!

the cleaning staff i've met over the years were doing the job only for the part time hours and the money it bought in; long-term prospects were of little interest

Hi Vac, you'd be surprised!  My team have access to a pension, enjoy a well paid job, work with a fun team and have as many rights as anyone else.  When I advertise for new people my ad always stresses ''do you love cleaning".  I don't get many applicants, but the ones I get are often great.  And management style is important too; we have regular team meetings, shared goal setting and social get togethers.  This keeps everyone engaged in wanting my business to do well and so far it seems to work!

Cheers

Diane

www.freshlymaid.co.uk

[Big Al]

Yessssss

Vac man bow out now 

[dianegreenwood]

snow, this is a forum for the exchange of ideas not a competition

Cheers

Diane

www.freshlymaid.co.uk

[vacman]

snow, this is a forum for the exchange of ideas not a competition

Cheers

Diane

www.freshlymaid.co.uk

Indeed and thank you Diane.

I liked very much what you had to say, though i notice from your excellent website that there is more to your business than just the cleaning side. What I am meaning is that your compnay looks very attractive to a wannabe employee.

In my county, the house cleaning companies are 'just another domestic cleaning outfit' to a lot of potential staff. Even the big franchises are rumoured to have a very high turnover of staff.

On the otherside, the quantity of clients/work is very much plentiful.