How do I navigate this situation with a cleaner I hired or am I expecting too much?

TL;DR: Hired cleaner- she did a fraction of what I requested but charged me for the full three hours- to be fair she I was required to rescue her from a ferret despite giving her a heads up about them.

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I hired a cleaner to let herself into my house and do some general cleaning duties while I was at work. I've never hired a cleaner before but I've been super busy at work and figured I'd rather part with the money and have a clean house than use my limited time off cleaning myself.

When I contacted her via Messenger I specifically said ideally I was after wiping down blinds, windowsills, bathroom, vacuum and mop, skirting boards, surface cleaning, oven and fridge. I said 2-3 hours and that I would leave it up to her discretion. It's an older house and gets dusty. In saying that, I also realize as an older house there are flaws in the paintwork, discolouration of things in places. I in no means expected her to clean the house to a new standard, especially in the 2-3 hours I allocated to her. I also didn't leave or expect her to do anything I wouldn't want to do in a stranger's place- ie: dirty clothes/underwear/socks, mould, any animal related cleaning, gross food or cleaning out sinks/etc. It was purely time consuming stuff that I just couldn't get around to.

She was happy with this, confirmed a day (I said I would be at work between certain hours so no specific times)

I specifically let her know there would be caged animals in the house and she assured me she was an animal lover so not to worry about that.

She was scheduled to come in yesterday. I got a message (not even a call) saying there was a ferret in the kitchen. She saw it, she left the house and messaged me. Somehow she had gotten out. I realise this isn't part of her job, but I asked if she could pick her up- it would require one hand under her belly- and put her back in the cage. I assured her she's docile (and somewhat elderly) and doesn't bite. She said no, she's on the porch and won't go back in.

As luck would have it, my partner was out on home call and was in the area. He dropped in and put the ferret back. It took less than a minute.

She presumably went back in after that.

I got home last night and it smelled cloyingly like vanilla. As far as I can tell she partially cleaned the fridge and oven and that's it. Nothing else I specifically asked for- no vacuuming/mopping/surface wiping/skirting boards/windosills/bathroom/etc.

The oven was clean, the trays in them and the re-useable baking sheet were not.

The crisper drawer and base plate in the fridge along with one door tray were cleaned, the rest were not touched. The freezer section was not touched.

Nothing else has been touched or moved as far as I can tell.

She send me a bill for the full three hours. I want to send her a message asking what she actually did for those three hours? She's charging me nearly $40 an hour and I feel like over $110 is a lot to not even fully clean one oven and one small fridge.

Is this reasonable? If not, do I say anything or just suck it up and pay her? If not, and I do ask what she did, how do I phrase it in a diplomatic way.

I realise this isn't a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. She didn't let my pets out, set fire to the place or run a heist and steal all of my things but I would like the internet's input.



Submitted August 06, 2019 at 11:52PM

TL;DR: Hired cleaner- she did a fraction of what I requested but charged me for the full three hours- to be fair she I was required to rescue her from a ferret despite giving her a heads up about them.​I hired a cleaner to let herself into my house and do some general cleaning duties while I was at work. I've never hired a cleaner before but I've been super busy at work and figured I'd rather part with the money and have a clean house than use my limited time off cleaning myself.When I contacted her via Messenger I specifically said ideally I was after wiping down blinds, windowsills, bathroom, vacuum and mop, skirting boards, surface cleaning, oven and fridge. I said 2-3 hours and that I would leave it up to her discretion. It's an older house and gets dusty. In saying that, I also realize as an older house there are flaws in the paintwork, discolouration of things in places. I in no means expected her to clean the house to a new standard, especially in the 2-3 hours I allocated to her. I also didn't leave or expect her to do anything I wouldn't want to do in a stranger's place- ie: dirty clothes/underwear/socks, mould, any animal related cleaning, gross food or cleaning out sinks/etc. It was purely time consuming stuff that I just couldn't get around to.She was happy with this, confirmed a day (I said I would be at work between certain hours so no specific times)I specifically let her know there would be caged animals in the house and she assured me she was an animal lover so not to worry about that.She was scheduled to come in yesterday. I got a message (not even a call) saying there was a ferret in the kitchen. She saw it, she left the house and messaged me. Somehow she had gotten out. I realise this isn't part of her job, but I asked if she could pick her up- it would require one hand under her belly- and put her back in the cage. I assured her she's docile (and somewhat elderly) and doesn't bite. She said no, she's on the porch and won't go back in.As luck would have it, my partner was out on home call and was in the area. He dropped in and put the ferret back. It took less than a minute.She presumably went back in after that.I got home last night and it smelled cloyingly like vanilla. As far as I can tell she partially cleaned the fridge and oven and that's it. Nothing else I specifically asked for- no vacuuming/mopping/surface wiping/skirting boards/windosills/bathroom/etc.The oven was clean, the trays in them and the re-useable baking sheet were not.The crisper drawer and base plate in the fridge along with one door tray were cleaned, the rest were not touched. The freezer section was not touched.Nothing else has been touched or moved as far as I can tell.She send me a bill for the full three hours. I want to send her a message asking what she actually did for those three hours? She's charging me nearly $40 an hour and I feel like over $110 is a lot to not even fully clean one oven and one small fridge.Is this reasonable? If not, do I say anything or just suck it up and pay her? If not, and I do ask what she did, how do I phrase it in a diplomatic way.I realise this isn't a huge deal in the grand scheme of things. She didn't let my pets out, set fire to the place or run a heist and steal all of my things but I would like the internet's input.
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