My Cleaning Client Made Me So Mad I Am Sparking

My cleaning client made me so mad I am sparking! Have you ever had a customer who left you feeling angry and frustrated? Then you'll want to watch this episode of Ask a House Cleaner. In this show, host Angela Brown helps a new house cleaner navigate a tricky customer situation. Follow along as Angela shares one of her personal policies and explains how it can be a powerful tool for maintaining a positive and professional demeanor. You will learn how to respect your business and provide the best service possible to your customers.
Today's #AskaHouseCleaner sponsor is #SavvyCleaner training and certification for house cleaners and maids. (savvycleaner.com/join) And your host today is #AngelaBrown (g.page/r/CbMI6YFuLU2GEBI/review)
** I AM SPARKING CHAPTERS **
0:00 - Meet Angela Brown, the House Cleaning Guru
1:20 - Should a new client tell you how to do your job?
1:57 - Which person, the husband or wife, pays the house cleaner?
2:16 - How do you deal with someone who keeps changing their mind?
2:30 - What do you do if a customer makes you crazy?
2:59 - What do you do if a customer makes you mad?
3:41 - How do you keep from fighting with a customer?
3:55 - If a customer picks a fight, what do you do?
4:21 - What do I say to a customer I don't want to work for?
5:21 - How do you keep yourself from getting mad in a customer's face?
6:27 - Can you take a customer to small claims court to get the money that's owed to you?
6:47 - What is the customer scorecard?
7:35 - How do you know if a customer is a good fit for your business?
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[@galamander_1327]

I love how you depersonalize situations by analyzing them coldly. You're so generous to give us scripts to use so we can safely navigate out of sketchy situations.

[@AskAngelaBrown]

Thank you for your feedback and for watching the video, I appreciate it.

[@Frannied]

This is pure gold. This is applicable to pretty much everyone’s life situation.

[@AskAngelaBrown]

I’m so glad you liked the video and appreciate you leaving a comment. 👍

[@sevendeadlychins]

This is such great advice. There are some clients who are eccentric and demanding but are fundamentally decent/nice people who can be worked with. They are worth the extra effort. They can even become your most loyal clients because they know most cleaners won't tolerate them. Then there are clients who are pathological, and not safe emotionally to work with. These you part ways with immediately.

[@AskAngelaBrown]

So true! Thanks for taking the time to watch the video and for sharing your input.

[@genxx2724]

It might not be that they’re loyal because others won’t tolerate them. They might be loyal because they invested time in showing you what they want, and you learned and are doing it.

[@pjj.5649]

Absolute truth!!! Those life sucking clients will test your entire nervous sytem . Getting rid of them is the best and only answer!!!!

[@pjj.5649]

@@genxx2724 What??? "... and you learned and are doing it" You are implying the caller/house cleaner is the 'idiot or a 'slave' The caller is running a business and this customer is a pain in the butt. It's not about "learning" this customer is a manipulator and a fault finding confusion maker - her goal is to control and con. She is always going to "flip the script" to get a "free cleaning job" I bet she's been through a long list of service people/businesses and the "imaginary husband" has never been seen.

[@genxx2724]

@@pjj.5649 I wasn’t referring to this particular potential customer. Go back and read the comment I was responding to. I agree this potential customer might have been a manipulator. But actually, the caller never said she did the job. So she wasn’t cheated.

[@gammerr82]

I totally agree. Yesterday I went out job I clean the house up they 4hrs my time want 3 more appliances and wrong square footage. Went up walking away

[@AskAngelaBrown]

Oh wow, glad you wereable to do what you needed without any confrontation.

[@gammerr82]

@@AskAngelaBrown it common sense to me. They was 1200 town house it was 1800 and 3 appliances .

[@mindy1230]

You're amazing. I have had a plethora of different difficult customers in my 25 plus years of cleaning and ran into all kinds!!! One job kept adding more and more to my list. I started out working 8 hour days then it turned into 15 hours a day. It got to where I couldn't keep up. My body was starting to get too tight so I would get insomnia. I am so happy you are here 💖

[@AskAngelaBrown]

Thank you for your kind words!

[@pjj.5649]

As always, Angela, you bring it home on a silver platter I love your cut to the chase, cut your losses approach. Believe me no matter what profession a person works in, there is always at least one major idiot that can make your skin peel. If you are decent with them, they mess with you, if you come back at them for their senseless stupid behavior, they come back at you so there is NEVER any winning with them. A damned if you do, damned if you don't see-saw. I can only gather this is the caller's only extremely contentious customer so, dropping her is a small trade off for her sanity. In this world of shrinking integrity, miss/mash professionalism and making it up as you go along, it's nice to know someone is still aiming for a standard of quality work that you can sign your name on it. Thanks again, Angela, always the best.

[@AskAngelaBrown]

Oh wow, what a lovely thing to say. Thank you for your kind words of encouragement and support. I appreciate you. 🙏

[@heatherpoyer]

I want to thank you so much for responding right away to my question. I wasn’t sure if you would understand my question, but you nailed it. I do struggle with my temper, but I refused to give into it until I got a response from you. I even accepted the idea that I probably wouldn’t get paid. Unfortunately I had to be stern to get my pay, but the parting was good. She wished me luck and I did the same. Thank you so much for your help. I now have a customer rating worksheet. I haven’t used it yet, but I definitely will in the future.

[@AskAngelaBrown]

Thanks for checking in. I'm so thrilled that you created boundaries. Moving forward you will know what to look for, and you will create better boundaries up front with new customers so you are not taken advantage of. I'm sending you a big virtual hug. 🤗

[@Mermaidchild]

I work in aged care and have two which deliberately go out of their way to tick me off .. makes it so difficult to clean for them

[@AskAngelaBrown]

I'm sorry to hear about the difficult clients you're dealing with. It can be challenging, but try to maintain professionalism, communicate your concerns, seek support from colleagues, and prioritize self-care. Your work in aged care is important, and I hope the situation improves for you.

[@kikitauer]

The scorecard is such a great idea! I will adapt it and use in my job. I work as an IT support and customers can sometimes be difficult. It is not a perfect analogy with the individual customers as a cleaning business would have and I can't walk away. But I can do other things - start to generate evidence for further use, update customer relations department etc. This is something I didn't know I needed but will seriously help me. Thank you plenty! 💚🤗

[@AskAngelaBrown]

Great idea. Thanks for sharing your adaptations. 👏👏👏

[@littlelamb6804]

Perfect advice.

[@AskAngelaBrown]

Thanks for watching and thanks for your kind words. 😀

[@US_Joe]

This a good philosophy that should be applied to all social contacts in general. Angela - you are my sweetheart, Happy Valentines day !🥰

[@AskAngelaBrown]

So true! Aww you are too kind....have a Happy Valentine's Day!😊

[@rachelmatonmi4755]

Thanks for this video❤

[@AskAngelaBrown]

You're so welcome!❤

[@ebonymitchell2720]

Another great video Angela about bringing awareness to the environment and the chemicals that we use. So important!!. Thank you so much!

[@AskAngelaBrown]

Thank you Ebony, glad you enjoyed it! I appreciate your feedback. 😊

[@biarosalina]

I’m in the beginning phases of business and I seem to be getting character customers. Very scattered thought interruptive needy limit pushing. She tried to reschedule on me for the 3rd time technically and I have a second job. Super inconsiderate so I let her go. You’re much better off not being Nickle and dimed not having your time waist when you can be focusing on other things and gaining respectable clients. The money will come. Lines to watch out for “my family member is sick the house cleaning is for them” “deep clean my house you haven’t seen in 4 hours” “I have so many referrals for you” “what does all the steps of standard cleaning consist of” “My friend I hired as an assistant will be there to pay you”

[@AskAngelaBrown]

Thank you for sharing! 😊

[@wednesdaysworld1471]

You are the boss. Fire them. That is disrespectful

[@pjj.5649]

What? Are you saying the caller should fire the customer? Trying to understand. Thanks.

[@AskAngelaBrown]

The key to remember in this situation is that there are options. When a cleaner needs the job, and there is a customer in front of you wanting to hire you, it's tempting to take the job - but not all jobs are worth the money earned in exchange for the headache they will cause.

[@Mytagz]

Great advice for life in general. ❤️

[@AskAngelaBrown]

Glad you think so! Thanks for watching, hope all is well!

[@trixie9867]

don't argue with idiots - such good life lessons - not just cleaning lessons

[@AskAngelaBrown]

You’re right, it can be a rule in most areas of life.

[@karenbrown9956]

I had a client I was cleaning for four months. I really liked her she was a sweet old lady always greeted me with a hug. Then she started to not pay me at the end of my cleaning telling me she would pay me the next time. The next time I cleaned she still owed me from the time before when I was done she said only paid me for the last time not this time. When I told what she owed me she said I’ll catch up next week. I told her there wasn’t going to be a next week as I shouldn’t have to beg to get paid for my service I told her you keep your money I’m done. This lady lived in a gated community on a lake.

[@AskAngelaBrown]

Oh wow, sorry that you had to deal with that! Not getting paid is very frustratins and having to ask for it every time is even worse. Glad you are no longer in that situation.

[@joyona7430]

Dear Angela : )! You are totally inspiring and wise. Thank you : )!

[@AskAngelaBrown]

Thank you for watching and for your kind words. 😍

[@johnmal5975]

Yup with some people you just need to walk away. If they do not respect you on the initial meeting I just over price them and move on. These kind of people will try to get anything they can from you for free.

[@AskAngelaBrown]

Yes, it's true. If a customer makes the cleaner spark on the initial greeting - it's not likely they will ever be able to see past that. Not a good long term situation in most cases.

[@heatherpoyer]

Did overcharging someone because you realize you don’t want to work with them ever put a bad mark on your company?

[@PrettyStraightforwardBudgets]

Omg back in 2017 I started my own cleaning business and I had this one client that lived in a 5000 square foot home 6 bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms… long story short it was a $350 job that myself and my workers did and she left just as we were finishing and left her sick, dying father to pay me $125. I was disgusted with her behavior. We cleaned that house SPOTLESS!!!!! We steam clean and also we use non toxic or less toxic products, essential oils etc. and she thought all we were worth was $125???!!!! Then she negotiated on $250, it was completely race based. She thought since we are a different ethnicity we didn’t “deserve” what we were worth. That job was easily $600. She had the NERVE to call a year later saying she needed our service because she is depressed cause of a divorce and the passing of her father… shame. I love providing excellent service but I won’t be taken advantage of.

[@AskAngelaBrown]

Oh no, this sounds like a horrible situation. I'm so sorry you had to go through this. 😞

[@missdragoness6132]

It's important to remain calm in all situations, even though sometimes there's that customer we'd like to strangle 😵 🤭.

[@AskAngelaBrown]

Yes!! Always remain calm, no matter what. Thanks for sharing your input and for watching the video.

[@juliebarnett9812]

The psychopath woman I use to work for was a cleaning business's nightmare. I could give you so many stories where she stuck it to the maids. She usually used me to give them the bad news. She set them up and lied when she owed them a bunch of money. I could tell you so many tricks she pulled.

[@AskAngelaBrown]

Oh wow, that is terrible. I hope that you haven't encountered others like that. Did everyone eventually get paid?

[@juliebarnett9812]

@@AskAngelaBrown No. She ripped off those people who faithfully cleaned her house. The cleaners deserved better than that.

[@AskAngelaBrown]

+Julie Barnett oh no, this is a sad story. I am sending you a big virtual hug. 🤗

[@juliebarnett9812]

@@AskAngelaBrown You are too kind. Thank you.

[@DGW]

Angela, You rock!

[@AskAngelaBrown]

I am not sure what I did that deserves this, but I'll take it. THANK YOU! 🙏

[@lazygardens]

WOAH! She said this - "You do what I say and I'll pay you what I want to pay''? She actually said that? That sparked a thermonuclear mushroom cloud in my brain. OMG YES ... WALK OUT! You can't control crazy, but you don't have to stay around for it. Part of being a professional anything is knowing when to disengage and leave with your dignity intact. Just say, "Thank you for your time, but i don't think your needs are a good fit for what my business offers." ... you have pointed out that is is YOUR business and you run it. Someone is going to take these videos and build a comedy series about it - the cleaners (regulars) and their crazy and not so crazy clients. Like the Office, but with mops.

[@AskAngelaBrown]

LOL. I like the series idea. Thanks for sharing it. We have 3 years of episodes already in my head. 😂😱😍

[@SpaceCadet4Jesus]

Angela, Are you saying I shouldn't cellophane the toilet seat or short sheet their beds? But...but...these relieve a mountain of frustration. 😀🤪

[@AskAngelaBrown]

It can be frustrating at times, and the best thing to do is walk away. It will save you a mountain of boomerang trouble. 😜

[@maryhurren6938]

As self employed your the boss if the client makes you "spark" just do not schedule them in for another clean, sorry you lost your spot.

[@AskAngelaBrown]

Thanks so much for leaving a comment. 👍

[@anadesenrola]

Marvellous advice. You choose to whom you wanna to work, girl! That’s why you are a sole trader, otherwise you would be sit in a desk 9-5 taking shit from bosses with a tie 😂

[@AskAngelaBrown]

Thanks for your feedback ad for watching the video, I appreciate it!

[@danni1993]

Please tell me your OWN home is a MESS....it will make me feel better. 😉

[@AskAngelaBrown]

LOL. I work from home and have 7 to 10 employees there most of every day. And yes, the floors and bathrooms need to be vacuumed and mopped daily, the coffee bar needs to be restocked, the trashes emptied, and the fridge, counters and microwave take a beating. The rest of the house is normal wear and tear with people living in it. 😜

[@danni1993]

@@AskAngelaBrown 😊

[@genxx2724]

This caller does not have the appropriate temperament for a service job. I don think it even sounds like it’s safe for her to be alone with a customer.

[@pjj.5649]

I disagree. This question might be, does the caller like the work she is doing? Maybe she is better in a suprvisory position and she is not there yet. Maybe she would be excellent as a boss with workers under her and she can go to bat for them. But in the meantime she in the trenches, She is aware and working on her temprerment clearly not what the 'crazy maker' customer is not doing. This customer is a contol freak nut job who is probably powerless with her husband. They do exist, bigtime! Since the caller said it was only this customer, then the answer Angela is giving her well applies. Walk and either get her pay in small claims court or eat the loss but one thing for sure, no one goes to work seeking a 'crazy maker'. This is just the walk through, imagine if she had started the job, this customer would be all over her checking her every step of the way and making things a mess/dirty right after the area/room is cleaned and blaming her. What did Maya Angelou say: "When people show you who they are the first time, believe them."

[@SpaceCadet4Jesus]

She will either adapt or give up this business. Disrespectful customers abound and have no loyalty. Walk away before you're drowning, you'll respect your decision on hindsight.

[@AskAngelaBrown]

The saddest part of this conversation for me was the tone in the caller's voice. You could hear the frustration. I wanted to give this house cleaner a big hug. 🤗

[@genxx2724]

If wanted to hire a housecleaner, I would take them through my home, show them how I want it cleaned, and show them which products to use. I am hiring them to clean just as I would clean.

[@genxx2724]

I ask housecleaners to consider the difference between a cleaning person and a janitorial service. I would expect a janitorial service to come through with their own equipment and supplies and do it their way.

[@AskAngelaBrown]

It sounds like you're thinking of a W2 employee with a housekeeper title. We are talking about cleaning companies who work as independent contractors. The difference is that house cleaners from cleaning companies have a particular way of working efficiently with their own tools and cleaning chemicals they've researched and are familiar with. Cleaning products a customer may have may be okay to use - but the cleaner needs to go back home and research the safety data sheets to learn which personal protective equipment to use and what surfaces are safe for the cleaning solutions. Imagine a house cleaner having 30 different customers and they all want their own cleaning supplies, methods and techniques used. The cost to hire that cleaner would be astronomical if they accommodated such requests. It's more economical for everyone to hire a trained professional and after sharing your initial priorities, let them do the job they do all day, every day for a living.