Tipping is for people who make less than minimum wage on a service salary, like waiters and waitresses. Tips are part of their declared earnings. I imagine the people working for this company make normal wage, even if minimum and don't need to be tipped. Check with the owner of the service you're using. If the cleaning person works for themself, tipping is not indicated, as they earn the whole fee.

I don't tip but I use individuals who are self employed. Lots of people who make more than minimum wage get tips - hair stylists for example.

It's a cleaning service. Yesterday I met the owner at my home and I liked him quite a bit. It's a referral from my neighbor across the street and the same team of two women will clean my house. I guess I should see what my neighbor's practice is. I would hope that the cleaners make minimum wage.

I've always tipped my hair stylist, whether they own the shop or just rent a chair in a salon. I want a good relationship with the person wielding scissors in my hair.

I don't have a cleaning service, just a lady and her mother who clean for me. I give them gift cards at Christmas, but don't usually tip them unless they have done something over and above during the year. But I would ask your neighbor since she referred them and since it will be the same two women each time.

No tip. Give them a bonus at Christmas if you are pleased with their service.

I do the same as My3dogs.

I use a service because DH wanted someone who was insured and bonded and he didn't want to deal with the tax or insurance issues of hiring a 'free lancer.' My service bills my credit card directly so I don't have to leave a check. I give a bonus at Christmas and since I know her birthday I give her a card and another bonus.

I called the office and asked exactly what they are paid. My service pays them a percentage of what they charge me for my house and depending on how long they have been with the company the % may go up. I know my company pays them more than minimum wage but they are not reimbursed for gas or mileage or uniforms.

susanzone5

Tipping is for people who make less than minimum wage on a service salary, like waiters and waitresses.

^^^

Tipping is common for way more than servers, like hair stylists and paper men and women.

I do tip my cleaners each time they come. I don't have the same people all the time, so the Christmas bonus wouldn't work.

I do the same as my3dogs.

Same as my3dogs as well.

You guys are great. Thanks very much. I will ask my neighbor what she does and will probably follow suit.

For everyone who commented on me saying tipping is for service people who make less than minimum, that was just an example of who DEPENDS on tips for their living.

You can tip whomever the heck you want to tip. Your choice.

Similar to my3dogs..check for more money around Easter, double check around Christmas

I do tip my hair stylist even though he owns the salon and I ve absolutely no worries about financial situation of his lol..but he's an amazing master so it's my token of respect for his talent..I do tip less than I would if he hadn't own the salon, or else I'd go broke..:) but I do tip couple other people there-the one who helps with color, the one who washes the hair..

I'm usually due for my haircut in 6-8 weeks but I started waiting up to 10-12 between the visits to stay inside the budget. And I do tip more around the holidays.

No we have a negotiated price for the service and that's what I pay. I have the same ladies every time they have their own business. I do a very generous tip for Christmas.

I also do a Christmas bonus equivalent to the usual cleaning bill.

What kind of service are you talking about. If a franchised one, the ladies cleaning get very little. Has anyone read Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich? If it's family run type professional business, the ladies might get a better wage.

My housekeeper has her own company. She usually brings one helper, sometimes more if they need to work fast. I tip during Christmas.

I think I would have different thoughts if I used franchised service or one where the actual owner is not doing the cleaning.

Our gal comes weekly and just works on her own. She has a really low hourly rate and comes for five or six hours.

I pay her the same amount no matter how long she is here. We also vacation for two weeks every year. I pay her for two weeks and tell her to only clean one while we're gone. I also give her a good extra at the holidays that is more than we pay her weekly.

I value what she does for us and want to recognize that in how we pay her. Neither DH nor I have the time to keep up on the house without her.

I tip each of them, two young mothers employed by a service, $10 each, every time, every other week. I pay the service $75 or $85, depending on time. I tip at Christmas, 50 per person. Life is tough enough for these hard working women and I can. So I do. In the tight old days when I couldnt, I didn't tip. we also have a cleaning team in Chicago and give them a Christmas bonus when we leave in October/November of either $50 or $100 icr.

There will be two women and I'll be paying $100 per visit. That seems fair to me. I have no idea how much they will be paid. My friend, in a more upscale part of town, same size house as mine, pays $75 per visit.

How many hours will the be there? $100/2/x hours is how you should look at it.

I only tip at Christmas - the cost of one service; same as My3dogs. Even when on vacation, we have them come as usual so we don't upset their schedule/pay.

I have a wonderful person who does an amazing job. I pay her slightly more than her usual rate because I live further than her other clients. I also add an extra session's worth to her paycheck at the holidays and I give her something small as a gift as well.

In addition like Spanish I pay her when or if I"m on vacation or have to cancel a session and I also pay her when she misses a session due to illness or her very occasional travel. I truly value her service and she works very hard so I consider those payments her sick leave and vacation. She has not asked nor have I volunteered to deduct SS and payroll taxes, so I'm not sure how she handles her income reporting.

Same as my3dogs

Linnelle, thanks for asking this question. I will be looking for a maid to come in every other week once I move. I will be hiring directly, not thru a service.

For those who regularly or on occasion (e.g., holidays) pay your person extra, do you just increase the amount on your check or give a separate check/cash on the side? It sounds like my workers will collect my check at the end of their shift and leave a receipt. Of course, if I'm there, I can just hand them something and say, this is for you. But if I'm not there? I guess an envelope with their name(s) would suffice.

I pay with cash. For vacations, I let her know ahead. At the holidays, I put the extra in a card.

Increase amount on the check

It's a family owned business..the owner usually comes herself and brings one or two relatives of hers, depending on how busy they are that day..I know for sure that whoever cleans get the money:)

(ah..of course it can be cash too

no receipts)

they help me for seven years already..sometimes I feel like they're the ladies of the house:) not me

but keeping my mouth shut. They're nice. I cleaned houses at some point when young; was hard enough..:) especially one owner-she also asked me to do a lot of extras all for the same minimum wage..including ironing. An hour of ironing in a hot room and you're close to loosing it. Tons of dressy men shirts(her husband's and son's)..and she checked all the time whether it's ironed ideally or not..

nah.. taught me a lot

I also tip waiters nicely unless they're awful because been a waitress myself

I also am extremely tidy in dressing rooms putting all the clothes back on hangers and folding things, because once I was a saleslady too

How I would deal with a cleaning service would be very different than how I deal with a cleaning woman I hired. A service is a business; I don't tip the saleslady at Macy's who helps me - Macy's pays her and her salary is between them.

With my own cleaning woman, I pay her what she asked for. After a year, when I go away for a month (she comes every two weeks), I will give her a day's pay during that time as "paid vacation". I know she counts on her money but I don't want her in the house when I'm out of town - she's just too flakey. I always give each $100 at Christmas.

Every 2-3 years, I give my yard man and my cleaning woman a raise. My yard man has been with me for nearly 12 years. I'm afraid he's getting to the top amount I can afford to pay him - at some point, all jobs reach that point.

If I had a new cleaning service or cleaning woman in my house, I would definitely stay home the first 2-3 times they come. They may have questions or you may see them doing something you do NOT want them to do (rearrange your book shelves?) so being there is a good plan. I still have to stay around with my "new" cleaning woman (started last Aug) as while I have told her WHAT to do, if never occurs to me to tell her what NOT to do as things she does astound me. A few months ago, I was out when she cleaned my library and when I returned, the smell of PineSol was overwhelming when I sat in my upholstered club chair - it was so powerful, it caused me an asthma attack. I couldn't imagine what on earth she even need to use PineSol for in the library - had some been accidentally spilled? I called her and she told me she had "wiped down" my upholstered chair with a cloth with pure, undiluted PineSol on it so the chair would not "smell". My chair did NOT smell - I'm not a smoker and I don't pee on my chair!

In 50 years of cleaning women, this was a first. Who knew I had to tell her not to do this? Thank God she didn't do it to the cotton/linen velvet LR sofa! At least my chair was cotton and a quick wipe down with clear water and a good room airing solved the problem.

Yes, this IS the same woman who still cannot put the sheets on the bed correctly so we do it together. Believe me, if I could find someone else, I would. But since it is not impossible for me to do any cleaning, I'm stuck with her. I just have to try to anticipate her flights of fancy.

I'll definitely be here the first time they come, since 8:00 is too early for me to leave and go find something else to do. I'll stay out of their way, but being around and available to answer questions is a good idea.

The owner did ask me what I used to clean my Caesarstone and then I told him what works on my painted cabinets (water + Dawn). He offered that they only use SoftScrub (good, as my tub is acrylic). I did point out that they needed to be careful with my carrara vanity top and not set cleaning items on top of it. Other than that, I don't think they can hurt much in my house.

I've thought about doing this for at least a couple of years but couldn't pull the trigger. I'm so happy I finally set it up. Hopefully it will suit my needs. No special stuff like changing beds. Floors and dusting alone will lighten my load significantly.

Now to round up the silly clutter.

Linelle, what's Dawn?

Sorry about OT..it's just the first time in my life i have painted cabinets, and I'm afraid to be harsh with cleaning products, and use soap..great for spills but if spills were done by boys of the house and I find them a day later and it's greasy or something I don't know..sets in, soap doesn't cut it

April, Dawn dish soap:

I like the New Zealand scent.

I fill a spray bottle with water and add about a teaspoon of Dawn, shake it up, and I'm good to go. I learned that right on the Kitchen forum.

I use it on my Caesarstone, painted white kitchen cabinets, and carrara counter in the bathroom. The curse of white cabinets is that they show everything. The blessing is that they show everything. You see stuff early on and it cleans up easily. It never gets bad where you go ewwwww! and then need a lot of elbow grease.

I agree about being there the first time and being clear about your priorities, what products you want or don't want used, and anything else that's important to you. Even though you have met with the owner, it's helpful to speak directly to the people doing the work.

I have never tipped, either when using a service or directly employing an individual. I do gift at Christmas. My present cleaning lady has been with me for many years. If she does extra things for me, I add a "bonus". Having said all of this, I pay her above the rate a service cleaner would get, and in cash.

Linelle, my ladies use only the client's products. They just bring a vacuum and pail.

i would right down all your specifics. The only thing I was worried about was my granite so I asked how they cleaned it.

Linelle - Congratulations on finally taking this step to make life easier for yourself! I hope this works out as happily for you as it has for us. Two years ago we decided to try a professional cleaning service, as it was becoming clear that the floors, especially, were becoming really unpleasant to manage.

We chose a franchised service for a few reasons - professionalism, reliability, and recourse in case of a problem (there has never been one!). The women come every two weeks; originally the cost was $99 for two bathrooms, the kitchen, and two other rooms of our choice (we chose master bedroom and living room). I tip them $12 each per visit. $10 seemed too little and $15 too much. Hard to explain. I put each tip in a separate envelope, write Thank You! on the cover, and decorate it with flowers and hearts or seasonal stickers (I just like decorated envelopes). At Christmastime I tip $50 each.

The company's cost was raised to $115 several months ago. So I perhaps need to think about raising the tips. I really care about these women - they barely speak English, they always have children, and they have few options in our society. And they work hard, thoroughly, without breaks.

I am always here when they come. I stay in the den reading and puttering and they and I can talk back and forth about this and that. Very convenient.

DH and I agree that this is the best decision we've made for our lives in many years, and worth every penny. I hope that it's the same for you!