Cleaning lady and holidays

[michlyn]

What do you give your cleaning lady for the holidays? How much do you tip?

[crl]

When I had one I gave her the cost of a cleaning as a tip at holiday time. I used a service, but had the same person almost all the time if that makes a difference.

[DDowning]

I tip the equivalent of one visit for mine - and I'll do it in cash instead of a check.

[Twin Mom]

Same here. 1 visit is her holiday gift.

[jennifer_r]

I was JUST about to post this question here too.

The person who comes to clean our house is actually the "owner" and she has an assistant; it's been the same assistant for about 6 months now. She's young and has a 2 and 3 year old (I can relate - well, not the young part tho :( ). Anyway, would half of one visit for the assistant be good then or do I tip her the full amount, 2/3s, 3/4s, etc.?

TIA


Jennifer

Mom to:
Christopher 12/29/89
Adelaide 8/23/04
Bronwyn 11/9/05

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif[/img][/url] Woohoo! 1 year and counting . . .

[clc053103]

same- one week's pay.

[BeachBum]

I just got a new person this past week--and thoughts for my situation?

[Fairy]

Being brand new during the holidays, I'd say a token, like a small box of chocolate or maybe some hand lotion?

[Fairy]

I've had mine for about seven years. There are four or five in this service that come every two weeks. I didn't want to tip the cost of the service times five! So, I've always gotten a NICE box of chocolate from Godiva for each one, plus the owner got a real gift. No money. Do you think that's not so great? What would you do for a service of multiple cleaners (three to five)?

[gordo]

I just got a new cleaning service last week and there are about 3-4 of them that come each time to clean my house. Since they have only done 1 cleaning and there are so many of them, I too am at a loss for what and how much to tip.

[michlyn]

I agree with PP - maybe a box of chocolates

[michlyn]

I think that sounds good.

[boogiemom]

I buy a gift for my two cleaning ladies. I don't remember what I gave last year. This year I'm giving some nice L'Occitane lotions. I haven't given money. I try to buy something that they probably wouldn't buy for themselves as a treat. I think chocolates sound wonderful.

[saschalicks]

An extra days wage. We just double her pay for the last time she's there before Christmas. Money is always the right size.

[jgriffin]

We always give one week's pay extra (as a separate check, although maybe outright cash would be better).

Last year after Xmas I was chatting with our cleaning lady about gifts, and she mentioned that she received something like 5 boxes of chocolates. And as much as she likes chocolate, she was a little grumpy because she didn't have room in her house or fridge to keep it for very long, and how much chocolate could she eat, anyway. (She didn't come right out and say it, but the gist was that cash was really appreciated much more, even if it was only $20).

So, while any gift is nice gesture, think about how many other clients your cleaning person may have, and what he or she would do if a lot of other people gave a box of chocolates.

Jen

[jayali]

Our previous cleaning lady (I am the new one, because I can't find another!!!) was the owner and she came with two women who didn't speak english and you could tell that they were having some hard times. Throughout the year I gave them I would give them clothing because they were so appreciative of anything. So at Christmas I gave the owner a small gift and each of the two ladies got one weeks pay. I never had a good feeling about how the owner treated those ladies (one of the reasons she no longer cleans my house) and I really felt like they needed the money. They were so appreciative for their gift. The owner left her gift here last year and I never gave it to her because she left for a vacation in Brazil for the month of January and by then I forgot!!!