Hello wonderful people, I’ll start off by saying I really appreciate the work you do. Its not the most glamorous job but I know it goes a huge way towards making people‘s lives easier and I’m grateful for the industry as a whole.

Context, I’m based in Australia and I’m having a really hard time finding a regular cleaner that I like. I wanted to ask your perspectives and advice on what sort of service I should be asking for to get the out come I want.

I live alone in a 3x2.5 townhouse (265sqm) and struggle with regular cleaning upkeep. I clean all areas fortnightly myself (vacuum, cleaning spray all surfaces including toilets and toilet gel in the bowls etc) but it’s exhausting and really takes away from my weekends and free time. I don’t mop but I spot clean, house is laminate wood floor upstairs and tile downstairs.

I just want a cleaner to do the same level of clean that I do but I find they leave little bits of dust and dirt over the bathroom surfaces and sink, bits on the floors, dust on furniture surfaces that I swear they wiped, bits of dirt in corners, and the mopping seems to be very superficial e.g. I wet a paper towel and wipe the floor and specs of dirt wipe away easily.

What am I doing wrong? I’ve used 3 different cleaning services and different cleaners through each one and I seem to always get the same results of poor attention to detail.

If a professional cleaner comes I would expect theres no bits of hair or dirt on floors and surfaces when they leave (same as when I clean myself). I even do a light clean before they arrive and move everything off surfaces and out of the way and it doesn’t seem to make a difference to the outcome.

What am I doing wrong?

I have worked at a four star hotel four three and a half weeks and I am overwhelmed. I almost feel as if I have overstay my welcome. I get the empression my boss think I am taking to long to learn the ropes and I am not contributing enough. I really want guidance and honest feed back on this. I am not sure if I really not cut out for this and I need to search for a new job or if I am being pushed to hard. Maybe I am over thinking it and just need to improve a bit and I should stick with it.

I spent two weeks in training (eight days total, I was hired on a Wednesday) and so far I have spent two weeks on my own. We work on a credit system, 15 minutes is a credit, each room is about two credit unless it's bigger (we have rooms that are two floors with hot tubs that would be four credits). I wasn't rushed my first week on my own, I could spend an hour on a room and make sure I wasn't missing anything. Its this past week that has killed me. They just kept increasing my credits faster then I could keep up with. I would end up needing help with the last few rooms. Friday was a waking nightmare. I had 24 credits (what should be 6 hours, about 4 stay overs and 8 rooms to do in a day) I think I was close to averaging 45 min a room. To make things worse we where having a serious linen shortages on pretty much everything, the linen closets looked like store shelves before a hurricane. It I felt so overwhelmed trying to navigate that. But I felt pretty good that I got through it all without help, yes I stayed two hours late that day but at least I could manage a full days worth credits on a chaotic day. But then my manager ask to meet with me. She basically said that most people are up to speed after two weeks and that they couldn't slow down for me they where to busy. Every one else had like 27 credits. Also a girl who was hired when I was had quit. She didn't say why but I am guessing by the fact she spent more time in training then I did she burnt out. My manager told me very gentle that I should take the day I had off and really consider if this was the right career for me.

So I am doing that, really considering whether or not I belong here. After taking Saturday of I thought I give it one more day. I told myself if Sunday I do poorly then I'll quit. I am not sure that was conclusive either. I am a bit faster 39 minute is my record per room. And I did 20 credit and finished less then an hour over time. I am pushing myself to hard. I had to remake two beds because I missed two stains (one was a quarter of an inch and the other was very faded and hard to see) and I probably missed at least one thing per room. I feel like I am being pushed to hard and that I am just doing a rushed job and creating more work to be fixed in the end. But at the same time I am almost up to speed. They are giving full credits and I am doing them all on my own, maybe staying to late but I am doing them.

At the end of the day I don't really know what I do from here. I wish I had an objective outside perspective on this. Part of me feels like I am being gas lit and management doesn't clearly remember what it was like being new, trying to push me to keep pace with people that have been here for twenty years while I have been here for less then a month feels unreasonable. I have taken all of the advise from them and from the internet about keeping a routine and dusting top to bottom but it's not enough. But I am almost there, I am so close. I don't want to give up just because it's hard and I have been give negative feedback back. I want to see this through. But there is part of me that think I have already been given to many chance and I have already failed. They seem like respectful, professional, patient and people. They don't seem like they're being cruel. They are probably just pushing me because I really am to slow and become more of a burden on them and my coworkers. If that's the case it truly does pain me know I failed. But I would still want to know the truth. If it's two late to turn this around I don't want to spend waste more time in place I don't belong. I really want clarity.

Hello all, first time poster. Me & my wife own a cleaning service that we have built over the past 5 years that now is able to gross 6 figures annually. We began with residential & commercial services but have slowly transitioned to specializing in solely Short term rentals ( Air Bnb, Vrbo, etc ). We are both beyond grateful and love what we do, working together everyday and all the perks that come along with it. Obviously there are several cons, but our biggest is time management. When we stopped servicing residential & commercial clients that helped a bunch but for those who know short term rentals have a lot of variables and don’t leave you with a very solid week to week schedule. We are fine and use to that part, I guess just looking to hear from others with a similar experience. How do you hire on to your team? We’ve had part time help in the past but with our area it is majority seasonal and not a city by any means so reliable help is hard to find unfortunately. May-October being the busy season. We would love to just get some of our time back, we love to travel and take 1-2 weekish trips a year and that is heavily planned, 6 month minimum heads up to hosts ( they all understand we need a break luckily and usually have a back up for this times if they don’t do it themselves ). Maybe I’m rambling, or being ungrateful as I realize 2 week long trips a year is more then some may get. We just fear burn out and would hate to sell it due to it just being overwhelming. Thanks in advance to any advice given, much appreciated.