For the ladies...Maid Service-am I expecting too much?-My maid woes.

As far as getting the dried milk splashes, I wonder if I wasn't giving her enough time before but now, she'll have one long day and it will be insisted. But if you're all saying 3 hours is plenty of time...I hope things will improve. I'm not sure where she's getting hung up and I'll have to watch her more carefully. Or at this point in time, she pretty much knows how I want things done. Will tell her I'm only paying her for this many hours as I feel it's sufficient time and if she takes longer, that's her call. I would never be able to clean the house in that time now because I physically can't. I know that I could easily clean the bathrooms, dust and vacuum in a snap. Moving the furniture, sweeping and mopping, would take me all day because of all the breaks I'd have to take.

This morning I remembered & checked that the tiles near the new entertainment center/fireplace needed to be scrubbed after construction. She remembered, as it was pointed out to her last week, while I forgot about it. I'll be sure to thank her for remembering that as I've been looking for reasons to praise her.

I grew up with a housekeeper & was brought up to be self sufficient. My mother, although self employed, does her own books to this day. Only during ages 10-18 did I clean my mother's house. Good training she said, and she was right! One reason why I do not have many knick knacks, as she has many & I don't like dusting them. However, my mother had a thing about toilets and never made me clean one. Also didn't learn how to clean a toilet until I was nearly 22 years old! Then she taught me.

Managing employees. It depends on what type of ship you're running, that's all I can say. I don't imagine we're in the same line of work. Yes, this is my first long term domestic help employee and obviously, I'm learning how to do this after getting over my embarrassment. My DH made it quite clear to me from the get go that I had to separate friendship from employee. I think I confused the employee to employee relationship with the employee to boss relationship. One reason is because I have other boss employee relationships, but they aren't cleaning my house! :face:

John, regarding granite, Gringal hit the nail on the head. No Ajax or bleach either!

When my maid comes, what should my expectations be if she's doing no laundry or kitchen? I want it done thoroughly once a week.

Move the furniture,
sweep and mop & vacuum rugs(every visit),
dust the frames and the tops of them,
wash the mirrors completely,
bathtubs & showers are cleaned and tile back splashes/block walls wiped down or scrubbed clean.
Wipe the top of the shower head.
Dust all the furniture from top to bottom & the cabinets, polish away fingerprints, dust frames & any decorative item(not much here)
dust the toys & tops of dvds,
wipe fingerprints and doggy slobber from glass doors(every visit)
toilets, counters, & sinks
light dusting(short days)
shake out the bath mats
check for cobwebs(hardly ever have any)
wipe off the terraza table(every visit)
on the short days, she doesn't even enter 2 bedrooms. The doors are closed.

This does not sound like a whole stinkin lot in my opinion.

once a month or as needed, we need the ceiling fans cleaned & the wall near the ceiling fan in the master bathroom wiped down & our windows washed inside and out. Sheesh, writing this all out sure makes it look pretty simple...why the heck have I made it so hard for myself!

Look, your maid needs to be doing a whole lot more than that IMO. 3 hours at a time will not cut it. First they have to get their stuff out, get organized, by which time you've lost at least 15 minutes, ditto for the end of the day.

Ours comes twice a week for an entire day. 10 to 5. BTW we have a retriever who sheds like crazy.

Here's what she does.

The entire house, all of it, about 3500 sq, ft. As I stated before, the casita is another issue, which gets addressed as needed.

First she cleans and sanitizes the kitchen, plus does any pots which may have been left soaking the night before. Cleans, as per instructions all stainless steel appliances inside and out, except for the fridge which we clean inside and chuck stuff we don't want. She also empties the dishwasher.

Then she moves to the guest suite, which is rarely used, and starts the heavy duty stuff. That includes sweeping, a proper mopping, dusting, including inside closets and the bathroom vanity. The bathroom gets a deep clean as well. Then she vacuums rugs plus the bath mat.

Once finished in there, she moves on to the living and dining rooms. Same deal, sweep, mop and vacuum, plus dusting. This includes moving the furniture if there is even a hint of dust bunnies in any room. She waxes all furniture twice a week, and most of our stuff is tricky, either antiques or high end repros. She also cleans the inside of our bookcases and keeps an eye out for any termites or mold.

This schedule allows us to keep over on our side of the house until after lunch,
and undisturbed.

She also washes the bedclothes and changes the beds.

After lunch she starts on our side which includes an office, den, bedroom and bath. Once again, everything gets the same treatment as elsewhere. At this point we vacate the area so we don't disturb her. DH goes out to the terraza and I usually retreat to the kitchen.

One she's finished there, she does the terraza, which is essentially furnished much like the inside, except for the wood furniture. No polishing, but lots of glass stone and marble.

On to ironing, which is the very last thing she does. I have already done the laundry. When she's done she puts the laundry away.

She also does the windows, and goes through a bottle of windex usually once every week and a half or less.

The kitchen cabinets and drawers get cleaned inside about every 2 weeks.

Anyhow, those are my expectations, yours may differ, however I would doubt that you need any more than 2 5 hour days. Maybe less.

John, regarding granite, Gringal hit the nail on the head. No Ajax or bleach either!
"I didn't think anyone was really dumb enough to use Ajax, Bleach or even Windex on granite. You can etch the finish. Granite is more delicate than you think. No citrus juices on granite! Wipe them up right away. Use mild soap or water to clean granite and seal it every couple of years."

When my maid comes, what should my expectations be if she's doing no laundry or kitchen? I want it done thoroughly once a week.

Move the furniture, - Are you trying to kill her? Sometimes it takes 2 rugged guys to move furniture and they struggle with it. Try lifting one end of a tripple dresser or armoire..
sweep and mop & vacuum rugs(every visit), - Vacuum every visit!!!
dust the frames and the tops of them,
wash the mirrors completely, - How do they get dirty???
bathtubs & showers are cleaned and tile back splashes/block walls wiped down or scrubbed clean. - Don't you wipe down your shower and tile after taking a shower to prevent waterspots from the crappy water at Lakeside?
Wipe the top of the shower head. - You can do that after taking a shower?
Dust all the furniture from top to bottom & the cabinets, polish away fingerprints, dust frames & any decorative item(not much here) - Necessary.
dust the toys & tops of dvds,
wipe fingerprints and doggy slobber from glass doors(every visit) - Isn't having a pet wonderful?
toilets, counters, & sinks - Necessary.
light dusting(short days) - Necessary.
shake out the bath mats - Necessary.
check for cobwebs(hardly ever have any) - maybe once a month
wipe off the terraza table(every visit) - Necessary.
on the short days, she doesn't even enter 2 bedrooms. The doors are closed. - Why doesn't she do the bedrooms?

This does not sound like a whole stinkin lot in my opinion.

once a month or as needed, we need the ceiling fans cleaned & the wall near the ceiling fan in the master bathroom wiped down & our windows washed inside and out. Sheesh, writing this all out sure makes it look pretty simple...why the heck have I made it so hard for myself!

You and especially raqueteer are clean freaks. Most maids don't do this much, in fact most maids do "surface" cleaning.

.

I don't consider cleaning the toilets as part of a surface clean John. More like wiping the top of the lid. So, you are getting a pretty thorough clean. Don't forget, I was asking for the opinion of the ladies, as we are nesters and overall more clean than men. Generally speaking.

Wipe the top of the shower head. - You can do that after taking a shower?

maybe if I were 8 feet tall.


Another friend, who has what I call a rather large estate, also she said her maid cleans as thorough as what I'm asking for in a 9 hour day. She said there would be no reason that my maid wouldn't be able to do the house in 4 hours but I'm going to have to take a day to train and walk her through it.

Sometimes you get a good maid, sometimes you don't. Our first two were really good, both sisters, but this sister we have now SUCKS. We don't want to let her go.

johninajijic wrote:Sometimes you get a good maid, sometimes you don't. Our first two were really good, both sisters, but this sister we have now SUCKS. We don't want to let her go.

John, I looked at your sell list....no offense but....give the under 100 peso stuff to your maid....when I moved here 6 years ago.....I gave most away, as furnished purchase is semi full of junk A good maid is worth the give away!

johninajijic wrote:Sometimes you get a good maid, sometimes you don't. Our first two were really good, both sisters, but this sister we have now SUCKS. We don't want to let her go.

Why not? You do have a house for sale. If she isn't up to snuff get another. This is no time for sentimentality, you have business to attend to.

i dont think you have a maid who knows how to clean, or has had any experience. its a no brainer to see that. this person would not last 2hours w/me. id pay them to go home early. i did that once, heres the money, go. cut your losses, why are you wasting your time? are you an employer or a social worker? in general i donot hire people who work for americans, as many of you have no boundaries, & have created monsters here. like the one i fired in 5 minutes. i hire people who work for upper middle class mexicans. i am senora i am not a friend. i dont get what this 30day business is, or severence. no one who worked for me who was awful got severence $. dont think you know how to deal w/employees, & seem to want companionship. that is not appropiate. i would try someone new, now since you know what you want & read these posts. i will never fire my maid, shes been w/me 4 years. shes good, but i also show her how i like certain things done. like iron on the reverse side, use this detergent for hand laundry etc. sometimes she will forget something important-like she will not use the heavy towel while ironing on the wood table. i set it up for her, so my table dosnt get burnt. i also prepare & separate the laundry for her, stack the dishes etc. i have my own cleaning stuff, she tells me when i run out. she comes regularly 1 day minimal 3 hours. that is my commitment to her. she will work more if i need her for additional hourly pay. 1 or 1 1/2 hrs more in general. if i need her sometimes for an extra day she will fit it in. usually i have a routine, but sometimes that changes. (i sometimes use a written list, but she does better if i remind her as a backup). the regular routine is: kitchen, bathrooms, floors, dust& polish furniture, clean glass table tops. each time she comes, there is an additional chore which changes each week: some times windows, or patio, or clean closet or arrange draws. she also picks up & drops off laundry, goes to the supermarket for me that is part of the routine. because of that, it takes around 4 hours. i always have food she likes, special for her. if someone works more than 3 hrs they should get a sandwich in addition to soda & water & a snack. she sometimes just takes bread & yogart & goes home. sometimes she will stay & toast tortillas w/cheese. i also give her all my bedding towels clothes dishes etc that i dont need. she offered to buy my dining room chairs, & had her husband come by to pay me & take them before the consignment store came. she never missed a day, if she needs to change the day, she calls. when its her vacation i get a weeks notice, & pay her what is legal or more. xmas a bonus always. oh, never a key. she has teen boys, no one ever get a key to my house ever. i trust her personally but something can happen. she knows my habits, my food, my personality, there is no weird games. shes direct, we get along. most of all she knows how to clean.

Why don't you get an ironing board???

New list is ready to go w/items circled that we'll go over together. I'm thrilled to have finally gotten products that clean the water stains off the window block. That's a big chore and i did most of it tonight. My husband wanted to know why i was paying someone to do it when i was doing it myself? I had to know if it worked to be able to train her to do it right.

Wish me well! I'll report tomorrow how it went.

susan wrote:i dont think you have a maid who knows how to clean, or has had any experience. its a no brainer to see that. this person would not last 2hours w/me. id pay them to go home early. i did that once, heres the money, go. cut your losses, why are you wasting your time? are you an employer or a social worker? in general i donot hire people who work for americans, as many of you have no boundaries, & have created monsters here. like the one i fired in 5 minutes. i hire people who work for upper middle class mexicans. i am senora i am not a friend. i dont get what this 30day business is, or severence. no one who worked for me who was awful got severence $. dont think you know how to deal w/employees, & seem to want companionship. that is not appropiate. i would try someone new, now since you know what you want & read these posts. i will never fire my maid, shes been w/me 4 years. shes good, but i also show her how i like certain things done. like iron on the reverse side, use this detergent for hand laundry etc. sometimes she will forget something important-like she will not use the heavy towel while ironing on the wood table. i set it up for her, so my table dosnt get burnt. i also prepare & separate the laundry for her, stack the dishes etc. i have my own cleaning stuff, she tells me when i run out. she comes regularly 1 day minimal 3 hours. that is my commitment to her. she will work more if i need her for additional hourly pay. 1 or 1 1/2 hrs more in general. if i need her sometimes for an extra day she will fit it in. usually i have a routine, but sometimes that changes. (i sometimes use a written list, but she does better if i remind her as a backup). the regular routine is: kitchen, bathrooms, floors, dust& polish furniture, clean glass table tops. each time she comes, there is an additional chore which changes each week: some times windows, or patio, or clean closet or arrange draws. she also picks up & drops off laundry, goes to the supermarket for me that is part of the routine. because of that, it takes around 4 hours. i always have food she likes, special for her. if someone works more than 3 hrs they should get a sandwich in addition to soda & water & a snack. she sometimes just takes bread & yogart & goes home. sometimes she will stay & toast tortillas w/cheese. i also give her all my bedding towels clothes dishes etc that i dont need. she offered to buy my dining room chairs, & had her husband come by to pay me & take them before the consignment store came. she never missed a day, if she needs to change the day, she calls. when its her vacation i get a weeks notice, & pay her what is legal or more. xmas a bonus always. oh, never a key. she has teen boys, no one ever get a key to my house ever. i trust her personally but something can happen. she knows my habits, my food, my personality, there is no weird games. shes direct, we get along. most of all she knows how to clean.

What, are you for real? If you are dig a grave and jump in. I’m really glad you have no relationship to me otherwise I might find myself in situations I find intolerable. Apparently heart and compassion means nothing to you and it’s all about, “ what’s for “ME!!!” Sorry but the likes of you are not the kind of people anyone needs to know, IMHO,

I personally keep working relationships, IE hired help separate from my personal life. I pay the legal wages. I pay extra for what is not considered in the norm of cleaning in a 4 hour work period. The normal being, sweeping, mopping, dusting. That also includes wiping down counter tops in the kitchen and wiping cabinets when needed. Both bathrooms are cleaned. All mirrors and glass tables Windexed.

When I have extra work as in ironing, cleaning refrigerator and stove cleaned. I prearrange another work day at her convenience. She knows within reason she welcome to what ever she wants to eat and drink, sometimes we eat together, sometimes we don't. I offer my hired help 1st choice of things I no longer want or need if she wants it. That doesn't mean I will give her my old car. If it is furniture or appliances she can afford, she gets first dibs and pays up front.

I do not give her a key to my house and I pay her bus fare or pick her up and take her home if needed.

CG - what product did you find to clean the glass window blocks? Always looking for products that work better.

Thanks

I have to agree with the no key business. No one has a key to our house. If we go on vacation the maid gets paid but has the time off.

As for lunch, since she's here for the whole day we make lunch for her.

We also give her things that we no longer want. In one case a large stove which was in very good working order. We had it delivered at our cost to her house. I always ask her first if she wants anything which we plan to get rid of, like bedding or clothes.

A woman I know is all heart and went to great lengths to please those working for her. Of course she gave her maid the keys. That showed "trust", etc.

Soon thereafter, she was thoroughly robbed without evidence of a break in. Of course, the maid was suspected. It was known to the police that members of her family were not on the rolls of the good guys, so of course, they were all thoroughly questioned. Nobody was nailed for the robbery. The woman berated the police for questioning her maid and bringing her to tears. She's still working for her.

Some maids have relatives who are not as honest as the maid herself may be. Does anyone in her right mind think they can't get those keys from her with a little "persuasion"?

I don't give anyone my keys.

Pato bano spray, bought it in Walmart last night. My spots were BAD! I put a glove on, fans & windows open, sprayed, applied ajax to a 3M type sponge and scrubbed on it. It does help to let it set a few min. Then rinse well. Once the spots are off, Pato works well alone. Dangerous combo ajax and pato but i was desperate. White vinegar wouldn't cut it :(

Sheesh - chapalagringa, sounds like you should seriously consider a new maid.
We found ours through Rony El Belgiano's employment service in Chapala. Deliberately hired an older woman with lots of experience. She is awesome.

We have her for 4 hours a day, 3 days a week and she keeps our 4700 sq foot home impeccably clean - despite the mess and confusion from ongoing construction and unpacking/arranging our stuff. I have turned her loose on things like unpacking and arranging our clothing storage.

I set a day for her to strip the beds and do laundry; a different day for ironing. Had to explain a dishwasher to her, and the permanent press setting on the clothes dryer. I've asked her to do the kitchen first thing when she arrives, then she pretty much does her own thing. And very thoroughly. I've had to remind her a couple of times about sweeping the office and the guest room more often.

She cooks lunch for us most of the time, and I give her an extra hour of work time for cooking prep and clean up. She does the grocery shopping and plans the meals, we give her a thumbs up or thumbs down and she is building a repertory of what we like to eat.

So - all cleaning and laundry, in 12 hours a week; and special requests like organising the kitchen storage, shining our shoes, French braiding my hair, shining the silver....

oh - forgot to say - we pay her 50 pesos an hour. She has her own car, we are out in the boonies, and her pay is a little higher because of that. We only pay our stable hand 25 pesos an hour (plus feed and vet care for his horse, which he rides to work); and our construction crew members get anywhere from 1800 - 3000 pesos a week, depending on skill level.

Chapalagringa wrote:Pato bano spray, bought it in Walmart last night. My spots were BAD! I put a glove on, fans & windows open, sprayed, applied ajax to a 3M type sponge and scrubbed on it. It does help to let it set a few min. Then rinse well. Once the spots are off, Pato works well alone. Dangerous combo ajax and pato but i was desperate. White vinegar wouldn't cut it :(

Maybe you should have worn a mask???

Combining household products can be a very bad idea! Take ammonia and chlorine as an example, dead could be the result.

Yep, ammonia and bleach = mustard gas.

disappointed...I'm so disappointed! Will be contemplating another plan. I can't see myself training this gal for 4 hours for 2-3 weeks. Only because I've gone over it all with her. She's been with us a year. She can sweep and mop well. Will be cutting her hours and hiring another maid for the real thorough stuff, effective immediately. Got two in mind and have to decide which one will come. Either way, will work out.

Found out the going rate for a maid is: 25-30 pesos an hour! These are in gorgeous estate type homes.

Ladies, I would recommend paying a bit extra and going through a maid service. If you aren't happy you tell them to train her better or get you a new maid. It's just that easy. You won't have to worry about severance pay or stat pay or vacation, etc., etc. Having employees is not an easy undertaking...........

Bob that was the icing on the cake when my friend dropped the bomb on me. She's paying her thorough cleaning maid 30 pesos an hour! So, yes, I want to hire her! Dang! Come on over! Big problemo...the maids live on the same street and are friends. I didn't know that. May be trying yet another friend before the invite. This is the tricky part for me. While most people couldn't give a hoot what happens to the ones who don't work out, I just might be their friend. So, how does it feel when your friend is out of work? All I can say is I highly recommend my present maid for sweeping, mopping and cleaning toilets. The rest, is hit and miss.

And that, in a nutshell, is why we deal with Spring Clean. Unfortunately, they're the only game in town as far as we know.

I sure don't have a problem with employees...had, at one time, twenty two...but I keep getting involved in their personal lives because they ask my opinion about things. I'm pretty sure I've created at least two Mexican Feminists but I don't want the responsibility any more. Courteous, respectful and appreciative...that's about the extent of my involvement right now.

"carrie", dont want to spend the $ on a board. i dont need custom ironing like shirt sleeves, collars. big wood table is fine. i set up for her as i do the detergent the hand wash. she's so fast that she forgets some times to put the double towel. "parker": if you continue to tell people to drop dead than i will be forced to report you. you are very mean. dont flatter yourself, our paths wont cross. the person who "does" choose to be w/me is my maid! she can work for any other american, & an employee like her is in demand. someone as fast & punctual as her, has her pick of houses especially during high season. this woman would never stay anywhere unless to was to her liking. she dosnt need you to defend her. you have not had a maid before you moved here. & you may be lucky w/the one you have. but seriously if someone comes in my house & its a disaster (or they have a bad attitude which sometimes was the case), i cut my losses. no one holds me hostage, like they do "gringagirl", & so many americans. whats the big deal? i value my poccessions. i take care of #1. charity begins @home. whats wrong w/putting $ in someones hand then saying "no necessita"! its OVER, done everyone moves on.