I'm still fairly new at this hireling someone to clean & organize our home ! The First Lady turned out in the beginning wonderful & her work stayed that way ! But there was a big problem with some legal issues she had & we had to lrt her go & now I'm finding it hard to find someone who does as great a job as she did! The last lady just wasn't very through , & I think she just didn't have the experience & I'm fairly flexible & would kindly tell her if she didn't clean an area that next week would she please clean this or that too,& she did but it just seemed I'd find Somme areas still lacking but I let it go hoping it would get better but the final straw was when I got her msg. Last week an hour later than when she was suppose to be here that her car was in the shop & she wouldn't be able to make it ! Now I'm fairly flex able with people but a couple of areas I'm not & this is one of them if you can't make it you let me know at lest one day in advance unless it's a illness sudden, or wreck or something of that nature other wise your done ! I let her go she was upset with me saying she didn't know what I consider last min. Cause she said she had txt. Me 15 hrs. Earlier! I said I'm sorry dear but I just got your txt. An hour after you were suppose to be here & that's why one should call instead of txt. As they can be unreliable . So now I'm looking again . It makes me wonder do a lot of these people not realize when we hire someone for our homes or children & things that these jobs are serious for us? That we hire them because in my case I can't do them any more myself & my health depends on getting the dust & dirt up because I can't breath when it builds up & it's very frustrating for me not to be able to do it myself ! It would be nice to find someone who cares about the service they provide for us & realize they are important to us as we depend on the peron we hire to do thier best for us ! It also goes too though that we show them we care about them as well . Ok sorry I tend to rattle when things bother me . I'm still looking& hope I can find a good person soon. As for the lady that had to fire her help I hope you find a good person soon & I guess we both need to check more carefully on the people we hire ! Thanks for listening . G. Brinkley

Hi Gail,
I'm so sorry to hear you got a lemon, but the truth is that when hiring someone to work in your home for any job 1 out of 2 is not bad. At least in my several years of experience, I find it all too common for domestic employees to take a very casual attitude toward their job. There are some really good ones out there. Finding them is the challenge. It's easy to want to hire the first one to apply. We need the help! We want to be optimistic!
What I suggest is that you sit down and make a list of everything you want done and how uou want it done. Be very specific, including what products you want used where. If you want to be sure they don't use Tide on the kitchen floor or Windex to "disinfect" the toilet, especially if it is someone who is new to our country and may not be too familiar with what we clean with. If you're not sure, just make a chart you can post near the cleaning supplies.
Be very clear that this is paid employment and you expect a professional attitude. You can include things you think might clarify what you mean, such as asking them to arrive early enough to actually start working on time (not 5 minutes late and another 10 minutes to call and check on the kids, go to the bathroom or other personal things.)
Know what you are prepared to pay. If they want to debate withyou, move on. They will keep pestering. And most important, listen to your gut. If it doesn't feel right, don't hire them. Beware of RED FLAGS! No bringing kids or a friend to help, eating your food (what else will they help themselves to), giving them your wifi password or other personal info. If possible, be there for the first few days, and tell them in advance you'll be inspecting their work before they leave, just to be sure you are both on the same page.
It's hard to find the right person to do the job the way you want it and even harder to have a stranger come in to your home, handling your personal possessions. Don't dispare. The right person is out there, and if you are patient you will find him or her. Best wishes!