We are in need of a maid / house cleaner for monthly cleanings, and my neighbor's teenage daughter is interested in doing it.
What's the going hourly rate for a teenage girl to do basic house cleaning? I don't want to overpay, but I definately want her to get enough, because I don't want her to quit and have to hire an impersonal cleaning service.
Thanks
Find out what an impersonal cleaning service would charge and pay her that amount. I think people should be paid based on the quality of work they do, not their age, gender, or any other characteristic.
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Huh? Don't you think an impersonal cleaning service would be more skilled at cleaning a house? Would you see this in rec.auto.body.repair?
We are in need of an autobody person for body work, and my neighbor's teenage son is interested in doing it.
What's the going hourly rate for a teenage boy to do basic auto body work?
I don't want to overpay, but I definately want him to get enough, because I don't want him to quit and have to pay a professional auto body shop.
Not necessarily. A cleaning service would hire independent contractors and pay them around $7 an hour, though.
Nan
I'm with calling the cleaning services to find out their rates and paying your neighbor a comparable amount.
Nan
Why would I? If you hire someone to clean your house and they do a good job then they deserve the going wage. If their work doesn't meet your expectations then you need to talk with them. If you don't expect a good job and you are going to pay them a fraction of the going wage then I think you need to explain that to them up front. (But why bother hiring someone who you don't think will be thorough?) The key to success in such cases is having a clear set of expectation and communicating them to the person doing the job.
I had a college student who cleaned my home and office. She was very thorough. I have had to fire "impersonal cleaning services" because they didn't do a good job. In one case they broke several things, constantly set off the alarm system, locked themselves out of the house, and locked the dog in the basement. Another firm that touted themselves as "restoration specialists" accidentally sprayed oven cleaner on my kitchen cabinets and ruined the finish and dulled the lacquer finish on the cornice of my china cabinet. I had to take legal action to recover from their "professional" services. Cleaning services range from very professional and thorough to a person with a station wagon, some rags, and bottle of Windex. The best residential cleaning service that I used was Merry Maids. The very best job was done by the college student. I don't see why a teenager couldn't clean as well as a 40 year old, especially if you told them what you expected them to do. In the case of Merry Maids, they had a room-by-room list of tasks and a weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly schedule of what they would do. They left the check-off list after each session. You have to decide who is going to supply the tools and cleaning agents, when they are going to arrive, and how disputes are going to be handled. For instance, if the person didn't clean something to your expectations then how are you going to resolve the matter? It is far better to decide this up-front than to stew over it for a month.
How bout finding out what the company would charge and then split the difference?....After all the teenager does not have any insurance etc in case of breakage/theft whatever....
W>
I would think the neighbor's daughter would be much more careful. The "professional" person/company may not be careful because they figure they're covered.
Afaic, it all boils down to whether the OP wants some "impersonal" stranger wandering around inside their home, or a close neighbor. I'd choose the neighbor, and pay well enough to ensure a decent job.
Nan
Homeowner's insurance should cover things that people break or steal from your home. The neighbor's insurance probably also covers things that the girl would break or steal.
In my opinion, you should think twice about hiring your neighbor's daughter, regardless of wage. Problems with house-cleaners can and do come up, and you may end up making an enemy of an otherwise perfectly satisfactory neighbor.
If you do hire her, I would agree with those who have said to pay her fairly but to have a detailed talk with her about your expectations. Very detailed. Very, very detailed. Many teenagers these days are unreliable. Some are willing to work hard, but they may have no idea how to do the various jobs that are required.
To take one example, I used to have a window cleaning service that would come in and clean all my windows in about 15 minutes. They did an excellent job, and they didn't charge much. They knew what they were doing. They were in and out in no time.
The average teenager would have taken a full day to do this same job, and would not have done it as well.
This will sound somewhat racist and sexist, but I'll say it anyway...
The best household workers I have ever hired have been Mexicans. Most of them have probably been illegal immigrants. I pay them in cash. They work their butts off. You get a good Mexican, you'll be better off.
A Mexican female would be ideal. The males are for yard work.
If you're not better off, then you can fire him or her without making an enemy out of a neighbor.
How much the pay is has little relationship to the quality of the job. I do agree with paying fairly, but I do not think you always get more by paying more. In some cases, you might even get less.
"NO" is universally understood.
I disagree. If a person is paid well, they will likely be more apt to do a better job.
Nan
Welcome back, Mr. Bentos!
America needs uneducated immigrants because natives are not productive enough to keep the economy going. Before going to work, children in this country are expected to spend at least twelve years sitting in class and doing nothing productive.
That's no way to produce citizens who believe in working. It's no way to produce literate ones, either. As the Secretary of Education pointed out, Americans have more years of schooling than ever before, but they are functionally less literate than ever before.
Frankly, your attitude sounds un-American.
My country club used to have a greenskeeper who had been a Marine in WWII. During the Vietnam War, he hired an ex-Marine who had come back from Vietnam. A few weeks later, he reported that in 30 years, he had never before seen anyone mow the greens in less than four hours, but this veteran always finished in less than two. He asked to give him a raise above the minimum wage.
We said no. After all, a Vietnam veteran was lucky to have any job at all. He proved us right by continuing to work as hard as ever.
Americans are paid acording to their needs and obligations, such as country-club dues. If we were paid according to how hard we worked, there would be no money for country clubs, and veterans would have no jobs mowing grass. That would be un-American.
I speak some Spanish. They usually speak some English. They may not be highly educated, but they aren't stupid. You can usually communicate about things like cleaning by simply pointing at things.
I don't see how things like this happen. You give the Mexican the chandelier and the ladder, and you point to where you want the chandelier to go. Not complicated.
What did your friends do? Ask the Mexican to go shopping for them?
I will say that when you are dealing with people -- Mexicans or otherwise -- who were not raised in a "culturally similar" environment as you are accustomed to living in, you have to expect keep a close eye on them and to give them clear instructions. They are fully capable of doing things like using oven cleaner on the kitchen cabinets. You need to anticipate this sort of thing and head it off at the pass.
If your friends intend to stay in Texas, I'd suggest they enroll in a community college Spanish class. Either that, or hire their house cleaner to teach them some real Spanish. Start with "chinga". It has many forms and applications. Point at the oven and say, "muy chigadero".
My experience has always been that someone who works hard by nature will work hard at any job they accept. They might not accept the job, and I do think there is an obligation to pay them fairly -- but I have never gotten any more work out of someone by giving them a pay increase. I give them a pay increase as a sign of my appreciation for their work and because I want them to continue to work for me. Assuming the work is good, I usually pay a bit more than I've promised.
If you want something to get done, give it to an ex-marine. The job *will* get done.
Children should be raised on farms. 4H should be a requirement.
Hahahaha!!! Yeah, sure. My hubby is an ex-marine. The reason things end up getting done is because I start pushing him.
Nan
Yes. but...
You are married to him. If I hired him to pull a stump, the stump would be gone. He might well destroy my house in the process, but there would be no more stump.
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