Cleaning ladies and tipping...

precious williams

If you hire a cleaning lady from an agency, how much should you tip them? I used to use an agency and the cleaning itself would cost around $70. Then I'd tip about $15. Is this expected though? Was I being overly generous?

Also, can anyone recommend a great local cleaning lady? I had one for a while and she was a bit of a nightmare. She'd put my cast iron skillets in the dishwasher week after week even though I repeatedly asked her not to. She managed to somehow break my lightswitch and I caught her throwing a Missoni scarf into the trash along with a brand new bath towel. Every other week she would call to say her back hurt/her grandmother died/she felt dizzy/her baby felt dizzy and she couldn't make it. When she did show, she was usually a minimum of one hour late and she'd blame her lateness on her and her baby's dizziness also. So, yeah, I need a new cleaning lady!

veggiequeen

i give 15-20%. though i've heard you don't tip the person if they are self-employed.

i use zen home cleaning. they use environmentally friendly products, burn essential oils while they clean and leave me an organic chocolate bar on my bed after they clean my sheets. however, my all time favorite cleaner left, and i've had trouble finding a replacement that i've been 100% happy with (though my old person was FANTASTIC and cleans the way i would clean).

i've also seen a referral for a woman on the prospect heights board... i might call her for an estimate.

http://www.brooklynian.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4975&highlight=cleaning+sje