Anonymous
Post 03/18/2022 13:16     Subject: house cleaner asking for raise
Anonymous wrote:This is really bothering me. I just gave my weekly house cleaner a $10 raise last month - as in 4 weeks of the new pay rate- and last week she asked me for another $10 a week raise because of gas prices. She tells me she has a 30 minute drive and it is getting too expensive to come every week. She said she could either come every other week, but then have to charge me $60 more each time, or she can come every week with a $10 raise. I currently pay her $160 for a 3,800 sqft house. It takes her 3.5 hours, so it comes to $45 per hour, which I think is a good rate. I pay her when we go out of town and I give her a 2 week pay bonus at Christmas. When she goes out of town, she has a friend come clean instead, which I really appreciate. I just can't get past that she wants a raise so soon after I gave her a raise, and I can't think of how to respond, but it really upsets me. She's been with us for 10 years and I really like her. I just feel like I will resent her if I give in to this random increase. Obviously she's not paying an additional $10 in gas every week to drive to our house, so I'm not sure why she said that. OK DCUM, tell me I'm being petty.


You are cheap and what you pay her for this size house is robbery to me. How often does she come? Mine comes every 3 weeks and my home is 1700 Sq feet and she’s here 5 hours with her husband. She cleans the inside of the fridge, gets in the bathtub to clean it, cleans the baseboards, washes linens, makes beds…..love her work!
Anonymous
Post 03/18/2022 13:13     Subject: house cleaner asking for raise
Mind does a fabulous job and I pay her more than she asked because she cleans crap I don’t want to clean. She under charges for her services. She asked for $140 and I pay her $175. I live in a 3 level townhome. She and her husband come and they are here working for hours!
Anonymous
Post 03/18/2022 12:21     Subject: house cleaner asking for raise
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Fwiw, I think $160 for a 3800 square foot house is low. I pay $200 for a smaller house.


Maybe. There will always be people who pay more or pay less. This doesn't convince me that she's being reasonable. I am now thinking she doesn't want to clean my house anymore, but feels bad saying so. She works full time at Target, and I just read somewhere they are paying people $24/hour, maybe she doesn't need to clean houses anymore!

Do the math in full time @$24/hr. Does she own a home, have school loans, children, etc? Food prices were way way up before gas prices. Her rate seems low. If she’s asking so soon after a raise, she probably needs it. (Over time, I generally give my cleaning person the same level of raises I get. Have you kept up with that?)


OP here. Of my friends that I've recently compared rates, I pay more, so I'm just not moved by that particular argument. I'm tempted to switch to one of my friend's housekeepers, but like another poster pointed out, I have history with this person, and I like her and trust her, so I'd feel terrible letting her go over this. I have to just go with the 2nd raise or counteroffer with maybe $5.


I understand your frustration, but you are talking literally $20/month that you would be compromising over. You already pay $640/month to get your house cleaned so clearly you have the means. It just seems overly petty. Her point about gas costs is reasonable. To me, the trust and bond you’ve built with her is worth the extra cost.
Anonymous
Post 03/18/2022 12:17     Subject: Re:house cleaner asking for raise
Anonymous wrote:Wow that’s really low. We pay $160 for a 2,400 square foot house and we tip them on top of that. I would definitely pay her more.


I pay $165 for a 2000 sq ft house every two weeks and usually pay at least $25 more for a tip. My ladies work their butts off cleaning my toilets. And yes, it costs a lot in gas to go anywhere now. I would never squabble my cleaning ladies over $10/session.
Anonymous
Post 03/18/2022 11:01     Subject: house cleaner asking for raise
Pay her or clean your own damn toilets.
Anonymous
Post 03/18/2022 10:50     Subject: house cleaner asking for raise
I pay $175 for a 2,500 sq ft house so I already think you’ve been getting a good deal. My guess is she’s kept her rate the same for a while now since she’s been with you 10 years and likely should have been paying more. I bet as a new client with someone else you’ll get a higher rate.

But regardless, I just can’t imagine saying no to an extra $10 to someone who scrubs my toilets and vacuums my floors when I know there is record inflation and skyrocketing gas prices. I’m lucky to work from home (so gas prices not really affecting me) and I got a nice federal step increase this year plus the regular COL adjustment, so I’m doing ok. If I could afford it, I would pay it. I somehow doubt $40/month is going to make a huge dent in your monthly budget OP.
Anonymous
Post 03/18/2022 10:16     Subject: house cleaner asking for raise
I pay $165 for under 2000 sf. She cleans for about 3.5 hours. OP will you even notice the $40/month she is asking for? I’m going to guess you won’t. This woman isn’t getting rich off of you and is probably barely making ends meet. (That said, I hadn’t really thought of gas prices and should probably offer my own cleaning lady some extra money even though I just gave her a raise in January.)
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2022 17:39     Subject: house cleaner asking for raise
Anonymous wrote:$10 in gas is two gallons. My car gets 20 miles to the gallon. So yeah, it probably does cost her that much to drive to and from your house. You are already paying a high rate. Either pay it, or find someone closer.


This. If she is doing a good job, I would increase her rate now. Between gas and food price increases, she's not making much money.
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2022 17:28     Subject: house cleaner asking for raise
Anonymous wrote:Fwiw, I think $160 for a 3800 square foot house is low. I pay $200 for a smaller house.


I agree. give her the raise.
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2022 11:54     Subject: house cleaner asking for raise
Calculating a 30 minute drive every week and assuming gas is $1 per gallon more than usual, I would give her a $20 gas card every month until gas prices are below $3.80.
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2022 10:44     Subject: house cleaner asking for raise
Anonymous wrote:Fwiw, I think $160 for a 3800 square foot house is low. I pay $200 for a smaller house.


I pay $200.00 for a 3,000 sq foot home.
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2022 10:43     Subject: house cleaner asking for raise
3.5hrs a week?? How does that work? Do you not have many bathrooms or do they not do any extra stuff ever?
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2022 09:45     Subject: house cleaner asking for raise
If you want to keep her - pay it.
I was paying $250 to clean my house pre pandemic. Just got someone new and it’s $400. Prices have gone way up. Sounds like you are getting a great deal.
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2022 09:43     Subject: house cleaner asking for raise
I pay $175 for a 2100 sq ft home - OP - you have been lucky to pay SO LITTLE for so long.
Anonymous
Post 03/17/2022 09:40     Subject: house cleaner asking for raise
I think what you pay for is trust and honesty. 10 years is a very long time and clearly you trust and like this person.

My recommendation would be to make the extra $10 temporary until gas prices get down below X amount. Or split the difference and do five dollars permanently.

There is no guarantee that your friends housekeeper will charge you that lower amount since you are a new client. Many housekeepers don’t increase their prices on old clients but have higher rates for New clients.