Giving Notice for House Cleaner?

[readyin07]

Are you going to be honest about why you're moving on so she can try to come down in her rates or no?

I would say it would be really nice if you could let her finish out the month, but then again IDK if you'd be getting an acceptable level of service from her (I know you really like her, but I think it's human nature to not bring your A game when you know you are being let go even if she's great otherwise). It's kind of tough timing around the holidays too...but if it were me, I guess I would want to know I was going to be short a job when I think about holiday spending.

[ijack]

I would tell her a couple days before her next time - "hi mary, I just wanted to let you know that unfortunately we'll be switching to another provider due to your price hikes. 12/12 will be the last day that we need you. thanks"

[Deleted]

You don't need to provide any notice, unless you are under contract, but I agree with PP's that it would be best to let her finish out the year, after letting her know via your normal means of communication.

I wouldn't worry too much about the quality really dropping off - sounds like you've been pleased with her work, so I can see her not bringing her A-game, but I doubt she'd simply spill cheerio's all over on purpose or anything.

I do agree with readyin07 that you should give her the feedback. Something like: "Cleaner, your prices have gone up and while you continue to do a great job, the new prices just don't fit our budget anymore. If you were willing to clean our house for $YY, we'd love to keep you, but our plan is to switch to Other Provider starting next January. You do a great job and I'd be happy to provide a reference for you. [If you do feel that way, usually cleaners / small business owners really value references.]"

[Deleted]

I think I would tell her right after the last cleaning (so in our case, she'd have two weeks to replace us) And I would be honest that it's because of the cost increase.

[Deleted]

You never know (or maybe you do, because you already asked) but most of us know that the best customer is the customer you already have, so she might drop those rates...

[Deleted]

Can you tell her that you'd like to keep her services but the increase is pushing you to switch providers. Do you think she'd be willing to work with you on the price? Or perhaps her pricing is based on size of the house.

[vanillacourage]

I would give her a more generous than usual holiday tip but wouldn't offer to split the difference or pay more every month going forward. She's setting her own rates, if she's charging more than market value then she may have to make occasional concessions to keep long-term clients.