Real-Life Decision Making
Disagreements will sometimes arise about the amount or type of housecleaning
duties that were originally agreed to.
In any business transaction, one party sometimes hears or understands the
others' words differently or remembers them differently later. That's why
it's important to have a written contract, no matter what kind of service
you perform.
Paula Schwartz runs an agency that places housecleaners in jobs. She says
that there are three common problems that arise in her business dealings.
The first one is clients who try to get the housecleaner to do a little
more than what's included in her job description without further compensation.
The second is housecleaners who take advantage of a homeowner's good nature,
for example, coming in late often after the homeowner excuses it once.
The third is when a client makes a major change in the contracted-for duties.
Here's an example of the third situation.
You are a housecleaner whom an agency has placed in a home as a live-in.
This is the type of arrangement you are looking for because you want to save
on rent. You carefully read the contract before signing it.
Three days into the contract, the client tells you that she doesn't want
a live-in. She wants you to commute every day.
What do you do?