“Should I stay or should I go?” House cleaner has a confirmed appointment but finds the customer is sleeping. Maid service training doesn’t tell you “should I stay or should I go?”
Today on Ask a House Cleaner a confused maid asks “should I stay or should I go?”
Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru gives tips for emergency situations. You’ve confirmed in advance. She’s expecting you to come clean. She knows you have a cancellation policy. And she knows the rules for rescheduling when she’s home sick.
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Listen: Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Watch: Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Hey there, I’m Angela Brown, and this is Ask a House Cleaner. This is a show where you get to ask a house cleaning question, and I get to help you find an answer.
Question: Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Now, today’s question comes from Kathy, and she’s headed over to Mrs. Randall’s house with a confirmed appointment to clean her house.
When she gets there, Mrs. Randall’s car is in the driveway, and Mrs. Randall is at home asleep.
Kathy wants to know, “Do I stay and clean the house, and just try to be quiet? And not run my vacuum until the last, or do I just leave, or do I reschedule the appointment? This is weird, and this has never happened to me before. What am I supposed to do?”
Answer: Should I Stay or Should I Go? What Does Your Cancellation Policy Say?
All right, well Kathy, you confirmed 24-hours in advance. You do have a confirmed appointment. Mrs. Randall is expecting you. And so whatever may have happened at the last minute, comes down to your cancellation policy.
If you charge full price for a last minute cancellation, Mrs. Randall may not have called you, because she still wants her house cleaned. But if she’s at home sick, that’s something else you need to take into consideration.
Right now, there’s only one thing you can do. You’re a house cleaner. And your job is to clean houses. That’s what you’re there to do. That’s what she’s paying you to do. You don’t get paid to read people’s minds. You don’t get paid to guess what’s going on in Mrs. Randall’s life, not your responsibility.
Pick Up The Phone and Ask Her – Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Most people keep their cell phones within reach of their bed, So they can receive texts or phone calls. So, call Mrs. Randall and say, “Hey, Mrs. Randall, I’m here at your house. I noticed that your car is in the driveway, and it seems like you’re upstairs asleep. Did you miss your alarm, or are you staying at home today? Do you want me to just skip your cleaning today? It will still be a full charge, and I don’t have any other rescheduling options. You’ll just have to skip it if you want to sleep through, but I wanted to give you the courtesy.”
Then she has a choice. She can say, “You know what, I got a hangover, my head hurts bad, and the vacuum’s going to kill me. Please go away. That’s fine, I’ll pay you the money, whatever.” 
Or she can say, “No, in fact, I’m just catching up on a couple of hours of sleep. If you want to work downstairs that’s fine, the vacuum won’t bother me, I have earplugs.”
She can convey that information to you.
Your Job is to Clean House
It’s not your job to second guess, and it’s not your job to just leave.
Because if she’s expecting it, you can still clean all the rest of the house, and not clean the room that she’s in.
Or by the time you get to the room she’s in, she’ll be up and about, and she can move to another room while you then do that room.
Sure, it will be an inconvenience. And it might throw you off schedule a little bit. You may have to restructure your pattern of cleaning her house. But if you let her know that you’re there, she knows you’re there on time. And she knows you’re the concerned house cleaner. Then she can direct you what to do next.
She May Need Some Emergency Help
Don’t guess what’s going on, because you have no idea.
It could be that maybe she’s had a stroke or something, and needs you to call 911. I mean, you have no idea. Don’t make assumptions, because that’s not your job.
Just give her a call and find out. And if she does not answer her phone, if the phone is on airplane mode, knock on her door.
Get her attention, and just say, “Hey, what’s up? Just wanted to check in on you and make sure you’re okay. Because you being here while I’m cleaning is out of the ordinary. This is not the norm, I just want to make sure you’re okay.” Then take your cues from her.
Alrighty, so that’s my two cents. Until we meet again, leave the world a cleaner place than when you found it.
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