Real-Life Communication
Good communication is essential to being a good housecleaner, whether
you are working for yourself, a single employer, or an agency. "Communication
is a typical problem" that leads to misunderstandings on the job, says Paula
Schwartz. She owns an agency that places housecleaners.
Kathy Patrick
owns a cleaning company. She says that people skills are important in many
aspects of the work. "You need to be someone that likes to meet new people.
You need to be a salesperson, to sell yourself and your services, and you
need to be able to take suggestions and criticism."
Cleaning may seem
like self-explanatory work. But people can be quirky and particular about
how some tasks are performed. Their homes are important to them and they may
expect housecleaners to approach the work as they would.
You, however,
may have your own style. Neither is wrong, but both parties have to understand
each other and come to some agreement to make the arrangement workable.
Schwartz
says some problems arise when clients ask housecleaners to do more than is
listed in their job description or when housecleaners take advantage of a
client's goodwill. Here are a couple of examples from Schwartz's experience:
In
one case, a client told a housecleaner that she would never have to iron,
that she would bring everything to the cleaners. Then the client expected
her to start ironing.
In another case, a client allowed a housecleaner
to bring her child to work when she didn't have a babysitter. Then the housecleaner
kept bringing the child without permission.
It can be difficult to
approach someone about these problems. Schwartz offers her mediation help
to either party. She encourages her workers to learn communication skills
for situations like these.
Here are some exercises:
- If you were a housecleaner in the first situation and you didn't have
someone like Schwartz to intervene, what would you say to the client who suddenly
expected you to iron (without working extra hours and getting a raise)? Keep
in mind that you want to be pleasant, but firm. You'd like to keep the client.
- Next, how would you react if the homeowner confronted you about continually
bringing your child to work? Would you feel insulted, angry or understanding?
What would you say?