Cleaning people for the cottage
As hard as it is to go up to Maine and clean the cottage between turnovers, I don't really mind it very much. I listen to podcasts on my drive up and back, and get to "play house" with my lovely vacation home by the sea. I often get a chance to go sit at the seaside for half an hour or so, too. Yes, I have to work like a dog for four or five hours cleaning and landscaping, but I am strong and healthy and fully capable of weeding flower beds and cleaning toilets. I don't fear the work. On the contrary, I am happy for the chance to inspect the place, see what needs fixing, and spend a few minutes setting things right.
The only problem for me is the intractable EVERY WEEKEND of it. With few exceptions, I need to spend every Sunday from June through August on 15 hour trips to Maine. No other week-end plans can happen all summer, every summer. It's getting troublesome. We wanted to go camping with my Dad in Michigan. How to do this?
We hired
a local couple. They came over and saw everything in person. They discussed rates. They discussed schedule. They gave us email and cellphones. I sent them the cleaning checklist (which is also printed on the clipboard in the cleaning cupboard. I sent them the email from the tenant saying what beds needed making up (which was also written on a piece of paper on the clipboard in the cleaning cupboard. I left money in sufficient amounts to cover an unexpectedly large cleaning job, the outside edge of the range, and asked them to record their time and take what they were due.
The incoming tenant reported that the beds were not made, there was no "welcome" letter or bottle of wine (or bouquet, which I left as an optional thing for the cleaner if she wanted to), the dishwasher was slightly broken and so were some door handles and the refrigerator was full of other people's food. Oh, and the trash left in the yard wasn't picked up.
Ugggh. I got back to the island to do the next turnover myself, figuring I'd be able to see the lay of the land. Well, I discovered the cleaning people reported being there at least an hour more than I knew them to be, and took all the cash I'd left, every last small bill. They left me the note from the outgoing person about a door knob being broken without fixing the broken doorknob. (It just needed a screwdriver, which we had there.) A floor mat was so full of sand that I have to think it hadn't been moved in two weeks. But the worst thing was that the plastic adirondack chairs were sitting on un-mown grass. The husband had mowed around them without moving them. They're plastic lawn furniture. You just MOVE them when you mow. Not only didn't he, but the little glass end table in that set was upside down on the grass and left there for at least a week (maybe two?) and it burned/killed the grass in just that square. What the fuck. Lawn furniture isn't rocket science.
Neither is making up beds when you were told verbally to make up beds, you had an email about what beds needed making up, and it was written on a piece of paper on a clipboard. Basically, they did a quick clean of the place and charged me $140 for about three hours of work. The incoming tenant has paid for linen service, which included making up beds, so I'm going to have to refund her about $30. Between costing $170 and having the place not present as well (so may cost me future business) I'd have to say that I am not happy with those cleaners.
So B & I went up last week-end and set things to rights. I picked up the dog poop in the yard left by the tenant they were supposed to clean up after. B fixed the doorknob and some caulking and put the fans back in the right places. I weeded the flower beds and picked the bouquet you see here for the incoming tenants, which goes on the table along with a "welcome" letter, a bottle of wine and the binder with the cottage FAQ. I not only clean, I fix stuff, refill stuff, and do the hospitality services.
And that's why I get the big bucks. I'll be doing the turnovers myself for the rest of the summer. I only have 8/2 and 8/16 left to do as same-day turnovers. I'll get an overnight on 8/8 and will be able to go up myself after the person leaves 8/23, although not for a few days, because, hey, I need to fly to Michigan one more time this summer. For a Sunday family reunion. The cottage will stand empty while I do that.
The only problem for me is the intractable EVERY WEEKEND of it. With few exceptions, I need to spend every Sunday from June through August on 15 hour trips to Maine. No other week-end plans can happen all summer, every summer. It's getting troublesome. We wanted to go camping with my Dad in Michigan. How to do this?
We hired
a local couple. They came over and saw everything in person. They discussed rates. They discussed schedule. They gave us email and cellphones. I sent them the cleaning checklist (which is also printed on the clipboard in the cleaning cupboard. I sent them the email from the tenant saying what beds needed making up (which was also written on a piece of paper on the clipboard in the cleaning cupboard. I left money in sufficient amounts to cover an unexpectedly large cleaning job, the outside edge of the range, and asked them to record their time and take what they were due.
The incoming tenant reported that the beds were not made, there was no "welcome" letter or bottle of wine (or bouquet, which I left as an optional thing for the cleaner if she wanted to), the dishwasher was slightly broken and so were some door handles and the refrigerator was full of other people's food. Oh, and the trash left in the yard wasn't picked up.
Ugggh. I got back to the island to do the next turnover myself, figuring I'd be able to see the lay of the land. Well, I discovered the cleaning people reported being there at least an hour more than I knew them to be, and took all the cash I'd left, every last small bill. They left me the note from the outgoing person about a door knob being broken without fixing the broken doorknob. (It just needed a screwdriver, which we had there.) A floor mat was so full of sand that I have to think it hadn't been moved in two weeks. But the worst thing was that the plastic adirondack chairs were sitting on un-mown grass. The husband had mowed around them without moving them. They're plastic lawn furniture. You just MOVE them when you mow. Not only didn't he, but the little glass end table in that set was upside down on the grass and left there for at least a week (maybe two?) and it burned/killed the grass in just that square. What the fuck. Lawn furniture isn't rocket science.
Neither is making up beds when you were told verbally to make up beds, you had an email about what beds needed making up, and it was written on a piece of paper on a clipboard. Basically, they did a quick clean of the place and charged me $140 for about three hours of work. The incoming tenant has paid for linen service, which included making up beds, so I'm going to have to refund her about $30. Between costing $170 and having the place not present as well (so may cost me future business) I'd have to say that I am not happy with those cleaners.
So B & I went up last week-end and set things to rights. I picked up the dog poop in the yard left by the tenant they were supposed to clean up after. B fixed the doorknob and some caulking and put the fans back in the right places. I weeded the flower beds and picked the bouquet you see here for the incoming tenants, which goes on the table along with a "welcome" letter, a bottle of wine and the binder with the cottage FAQ. I not only clean, I fix stuff, refill stuff, and do the hospitality services.
And that's why I get the big bucks. I'll be doing the turnovers myself for the rest of the summer. I only have 8/2 and 8/16 left to do as same-day turnovers. I'll get an overnight on 8/8 and will be able to go up myself after the person leaves 8/23, although not for a few days, because, hey, I need to fly to Michigan one more time this summer. For a Sunday family reunion. The cottage will stand empty while I do that.