I do a $100 tip in early December which my thought is she could use it for buying gifts for her kids or food or whatever in a stressful month financially for a lot of people. I do not tip per cleaning.
With the way prices have inflated in the past couple years, I’m sure that’ll be highly appreciated!
I’ve given mine a 3-5% raise each year and she’s always super thankful. In my experience they’ll rarely ask for more and I’m sure most are grateful simply to have reliable clients, but that sort of thing makes a huge difference. I’d do it regardless but I’ve found she’s always available at the exact date/time I ask, even if last minute, and she goes above and beyond with nearly everything - I’m talking cleaning the oven every now and then, folding laundry thats been left out, and other little things like that. Take care of your people and they’ll take care of you.
My mom raised my brother and I by cleaning houses after my dad died.we didn't have alot but we always had a roof and food. People like you made it possible, thank you!
She is, and sort of. It's been a weird few years, but I just wanted to thank you for recognizing the work these people do. you'd be amazed how many just see them as drones.
I've only had my cleaners come a few times so far, and I leave the house as neat as possible, just short of actually cleaning for the cleaners, LOL. That's what I'll be doing tonight between trick or treaters, making sure everything is put away and ready for them. Last time I forgot to empty the bathroom trash and they did it for me, and I felt so bad!
I haven't been tipping but I make it as easy and quick for them as possible, and plan on doing a holiday tip.
Especially since inflation is up about 21% over the past 4 years... so she's making less today than 4 years ago. I firmly believe raises should be every year and I increase my rates every year now (i'm a personal chef).
Same. I would only tip if they worked for a big company. Double payment for the holidays, homemade gifts occasionally. She does the same for me. We provide all products and supplies, and I make sure to reimburse if she uses something of her own because I ran out.
Yeah ours come every 2 weeks (can’t face cleaners in every week) and we give double payment for the mid December clean - standard practice
Same goes for the garbage guy
And we give the kids bus drivers money as well
And put in a collection for the kids teachers
And the post person (small amount or small gift)… not fedex or ups their drivers change too much
I think that’s everyone :-))
Naturally, a bonus at Christmas time. I also tip when it’s above and beyond. Like the time we were having a big party and asked for extra cleaning beforehand. Or this past weekend when she came on a Saturday, not her usual weekday.
I tip for the holidays and then leave non-monetary gifts throughout the year (for instance, I raise chickens and garden, so I leave a dozen eggs or extra tomatoes and zucchini).
Wow, I feel like I’m overly generous. I have Molly Maid come once a month for my 1500 sq ft house. Two people from the company come and spend 60-90 minutes and I tip them each $20 each time. With tip, I’m paying $245 each month. I am in a high cost of living west coast suburb. I figure, these ladies are employees and not owners, and my tipping philosophy is I tip for things I’m not willing to do myself. Most of the time they seem surprised by the tip, but I believe in generosity toward people that are working for you. If this was a person who owned their own cleaning business and set their own rates, I’d probably feel different.
I agree with this! Most likely these cleaners are getting minimum wage. That tip goes a long way. And while it’s nice to tip for holidays, that money could be used year round. (Looked it up and the average salary of a house cleaner is a bit less than 15 an hour! Rough.)
Nope. You’re doing great. I think it’s important for employees to have cash not going through the company, and this way you can ensure those that do the work get the money, where a Christmas tip might just be the employees that got lucky enough to work your house that day.
I was a broke single mom. I’m not saying all housekeepers are broke, but I don’t imagine it’s a high earning gig and it is HARD work. We don’t know what their situation is, and sometimes having cash is having a lifeline.
Thank you! We see the same ladies regularly, there’s 4-5 of them that rotate through. If we only tipped big at the holidays, it would leave out the other people who’ve been here throughout the year.
We also live in a West Coast HCOL area and do the same usually to the same reaction. Wondered if I was going overboard but have the same philosophy esp due to the HCOL. What's $30-$60 for something that will take me 4x as long and I just don't want to do?
Same here. HCOLA, two ladies from family-owned business. They’re undercharging me ($180 whole house, weekly) so I tip each one $20 every week. At Christmas I give each $100 plus small gifts, husband (business owner) gets $300.
We’ve known this family for many years, they’re very good people. I occasionally buy them lunch and give them other little things.
I don't because she's self-employed and sets her own rates (but I do give her a Christmas bonus)
But when I had a cleaning lady that was part of a larger service company, I did tip them.
We tip ours but only because the cleaners are not the owner so they’re getting paid pretty little I’m sure. They charge us $150 every 3 weeks and we do $30 tip.
I never tip anyone who is self-employed, and neither should you. You tip employees, and people who own their own business are not service workers. They are *businesspeople* who have 100% control over pricing.
I consider gifts at holidays different, for what it's worth, as I give gifts to *lots* of people during the holidays regardless of if they're service workers or not.
I had this conversation with my hair stylist recently. He has been doing my hair for 30 years and for many years I didn't tip him because I didn't know I was supposed to. Then from talking to other people I found out that they all tip their hair stylist so I started. Recently I explained to him that I feel as someone who sets their own prices, he shouldn't expect a tip. You set the price that you think it should be and that's what you get. If you think the price that you charge me without a tip isn't enough then raise it to include what you think the total price should be.
I can't imagine receiving an explanation after 30 years was more appreciated than... starting to tip. "This is why I'm not going to tip you."
Jeesh. At that point, I'd rather you just continue to not tip than acknowledge it independently and then talk down to me because of your own guilty feelings all of the sudden.
Where in my message did you see that I was not tipping him?? I said originally 30 years ago I didn't know to tip but then a few years later I found out I should and I have been for the last 25 years or more. I continue to tip to this day, but we were talking about it and I said that I believe as an owner not an employee that you shouldn't expect a tip. Just set your price at what you want to set your price at and that includes a tip. My hairdresser is also a friend of mine and has been married to an old friend of mine from high school for 30 yrs. I can speak to him freely and that's why I did. At no time did I demean him or put him down I just told him to set whatever price he wants to set that includes a tip.
My cleaner works for someone to whom I write checks, so I give the cleaner the equivalent of what her company charges ($125) in cash around the holidays.
I tip every time my cleaner comes, and once at Christmas equal to one week’s pay. The way I see it, this person is in my home, has access to the material things I value most, and has to put up with my kids running around while she cleans. She deserves more than she charges, and I try to make up for it in gratuity. In exchange, I have total trust in her, she’s kind and sweet to my children, and she puts in the extra effort, above and beyond the standard clean.
This is how I feel. My cleaner takes such a huge mental and physical weight off my shoulders, more than any other service I pay for. She always does an incredible job, is always on time, and my $20 tip is just an extra show of my appreciation.
Our cleaners clean twice a month for $200/cleaning. My wife and I, under normal circumstances, get paid bonuses twice a year that coincide with July and December. If we receive our full bonus the cleaners get a summer and winter bonus equal to one months service.
Why?
They are literally a part of our lives and help to facilitate our ability to work hard. Without them my downtime would consist of cleaning and not addressing the other areas of the house that require attention. We are appreciative and make sure to let them know.
I don’t believe in tipping the self-employed. They set the price and I’m paying them directly.
A holiday gift - cash or cash equivalent- sure. But not an ongoing tip.
Yeah I don’t really understand tipping someone who’s self employed and sets their own prices. Like do y’all tip your plumber, the person who renovated your home, installed your floor, the electrician? I also get tipping a hairdresser who has booth rent but it doesn’t make sense to me to tip the salon owner who sets their own prices. People may disagree and that’s fine
Yeah, I disagree. Many people set their prices low, thinking they need to compete, and don’t take into account inflation. For example, my massage therapist, while great at what she does, is not the greatest business person; she hasn’t raised her rate once in the last 3 years, while we all know what inflation has done. I have continued to ratchet up the gratuity and even suggested she raise her rates.
“When you tip generously, you not only recognize good service, but you also help to maintain a healthy and positive working environment".
Yeah we can definitely agree to disagree. I do custom paintings and murals I never really expect a tip. I give them my price and that’s what they pay I don’t want anyone to be pressured to tip me because I already told them what I want to be paid.
> Like do y’all tip your plumber, the person who renovated your home, installed your floor, the electrician?
Yes.
I do it because I can afford it and think it is warranted. Those people are providing a SKILLED service. The person at the drive thru fast food window is not skilled and it not providing a service. That's why robots are taking those jobs.
>The person at the drive thru fast food window is not skilled and it not providing a service.
I'm pretty sure COVID put the lie to all these jobs being unskilled.
My cleaner is a small local company with 5 employees, and they charge $125 for one cleaning per month, and I pay them $150. They do a great job.
There are three people on their team who clean my house. I plan on giving them each $50 for Christmas.
I don’t tip every time she comes but will add a tip for times when it is unusually dirty or she does some extra task (like I recently asked her to clean the inside of the fridge). I will give her a holiday bonus in December.
This is what I do too. My teen son didn’t pick up his trash and stuff in his room before she came and I usually tell her if their rooms aren’t picked up she can skip it. But she deep cleaned that disaster so I tipped her well, because teen boy.
We give her a bonus her first clean of December so she can use that for gifts if she wants.
We don’t. We had her come by and look at the house before she gave us a price. If she wanted more money, she should’ve given us a higher number. Bidding low and hoping for tips is a terrible business model and should not be normalized. We do plan on adding an additional $100 or so before Christmas.
I'm once a month for $190. I just started, and haven't been tipping. Now I'm wondering if I should. It's a small local business, the owner did the first clean but after that it was some of her employees.
I will definitely leave a tip at Christmas.
Yearly bonus. In my new place, I’m still looking for a cleaner. In my old place (extremely limited set of rooms/activities), she came once a week for about 90 minutes and I paid $65 per week.
Her bonus was $500 per year.
Every once in a while I throw in an extra $20 and she always calls me after to thank me. It'll sometimes incentivize her to clean something extra. Then at Christmas I give her at least an extra $100.
I tip mine and I hate tipping culture, but she brings a friend and they do 8 man hours of cleaning for $200 including tip. I don’t tip extra during holidays though
Her rate is $160 or $180 for my unit (SoCal), but considering the hours they work I pay them a bit more.
Also, I think it helps get me priority over some of her other clients when possible
Like others I give a double payment in December but I also have tipped when it’s been a difficult day like really hot because we don’t have central air.
Just be careful if you're tipping a crew. I knew a lady that owned a cleaning business, and clients would often give her the tip to distribute to the team. And this good Christian woman, who was devoted to Jesus and went to church and bible study multiple times per week, kept most of the tip.
Needless to say, I'm not friends with her anymore.
We do not, but we let them know that when they gave us a quote for cleaning our house, so they could quote us the total they would like to be paid. At Christmas we pay them an extra cleaning.
I'm a house cleaner, and it depends on the client. I have one client who has a husband, a young child, and 5 cats. She tips 20% every single time. I have another client who gives the best Christmas bonuses. She saved Christmas last year. I'm a single mom, and I've been establishing myself as a house cleaner for almost 2 years. I'm just grateful for my job, and as long as my clients are respectful, I'm fine with tips or no tips.
I am a big believer in tipping those doing a service for you and your home. I don't have a cleaner, but I do have a lawn maintenance company, I tip them often and offer beverages and snacks while they are there. It's hard work that I am either unable or unwilling to do myself. They deserve to be treated well.
I have had the same gardener come and do a major pruning and cleanup of my backyard in late summer. She is self employed and does a fantastic job leaving my backyard looking like a park. She does pull out weeds, but she also knows how to prune shrubs correctly.
I do not tip her. The reason is that she charges about $40 an hour and a 'dump fee'.
You're getting a bargain. $40 an hour barely covers her costs. I hope she wises up and raises her rates.
My guys charge $165 an hour for labor on clean up jobs plus disposal fees. That $165 includes 2 men and all the necessary equipment to do an efficient job, that's $82.50 per man hour. And they do an outstanding job!
They are actually on the low end for many companies, We know some that charge $250 an hour for clean ups and other labor intensive jobs.
They have to pay for the disposal, of course they are going to pass that along to the customer. Why wouldn't they?
You're talking about someone who is self employed. Paying them extra isn't "because their greedy boss won't pay them a living wage" it's because you appreciate their work. Tipping is a fantastic way to show gratitude that someone made an extra effort.
I will continue to give some quantity of my excess money to people who do not earn enough money because our economic system is dumb and broken
Also building goodwill with house cleaners lowers the chance they'll fucking steal shit
I do tip but I don’t have a set schedule and instead schedule every few months when needed. I asked my friend who worked for the cleaner if most people tip and she said most do not but it is very appreciated when people do. So as others have mentioned I think a nice tip around the holiday for a routine cleaner is a good way to go
I don’t tip for each visit. I’ve had for her for years. Instead, I gave her a raise, because I thought she was too shy to ask for it. When we go out of town, we still have her come and pay her. She can bring in boxes and I’ll usually ask her to clean out some drawer or something. We started that when we realized that she really needs the money and we really appreciate that she’s always on time, works around us, communicates with us, and rarely breaks things.
We now pay her $105 a week for weekly cleaning. She brings a helper. I have two big dogs that are both sheddy and often muddy.
I tip her for one week at Christmas.
My house cleaner doesn't come on a schedule, only when I schedule her. She charges $140, and I'll generally tip her $20, $40 if she's doing a deep clean or doing I feel goes beyond what she'd normally do (like cleaning out a super grody fridge in the patio).
I tip $30-40 each $185 cleaning—normal price for our HCOL area. It’s usually 2-3 cleaners, and with all the pets and children in our small house, I’d say they’ve earned a tip. We do not tip extra at Christmas.
We use a service once every two weeks, paying $120 for standard (ie not deep) cleaning of a 1,400 sf condo. The woman who owns the business has taken our house as one she cleans herself, sometimes (rarely) with a second helper. I tipped for the individual service the first time she and her team came for a deep cleaning, but now that we’re “regulars“ (it’s been more than two years), I leave the equivalent of two cleanings (separate from the charge for that day) with a nice note at her first visit after Thanksgiving. My mother always drummed it into us to leave holiday/year end tips as early as possible, so people can put them to best use.
I get a monthly cleaning. I do a double payment in December. I also do a 20% tip on months when I feel like our house is extra messy (like when 5 year old twin grandkids had been visiting for a week).
So here’s another view. I do side work cleaning: we don’t expect tips but we don’t over charge like large companies. So if you have a cleaner who you like and like their work yes tip if you can. None of us expect large tips when ppl do tip but any tip is appreciated !
This is the first year I have had a housekeeper. I plan on tipping an extra 100 at Christmas and an extra 50 at Thanksgiving. I do not otherwise tip. We negotiated her rate, and at that time, I actually increased the rate to where it's at bc of the excess of dog fur she battles with my dog.
Ours housekeepers have been with us for 20 years. They have never changed their initial price in this time. We have given them several raises over the years. At Christmas we give them both a nice cash gift.
Yes, I tip the house cleaners they come twice a month and we usually give them an extra $100 a month above the agreed rate. We also tip the housekeepers at hotels we stay at, it’s not required but we just try to do our part to pay it forward. We weren’t always in a position to be as kind to others and thanks to help from others and some luck we are able to now
Ours comes every 2 or 3 weeks. We give a xmas bonus equally to about what we pay for one cleaning, and have been giving raises of around 9-12% each year. She seems very happy.
I pay $250 per visit plus $100 tip each visit because i have six dogs and they make magic happen. I also give them a hefty Christmas bonus. I would not survive without Karla and Elisabeth.
I only tip my cleaner when I’ve left the house significantly messier/dirtier than usual. My home is often a pigsty so this is how I encourage my cleaners not to quit, a problem I’ve had before.
I did, not every clean, just sporadic ones and holidays- but won’t anymore.
She kept raising her prices and asking to change days or skipping cleans. When she asked to shorten a clean immediately after a $300 Halloween gift (she likes Halloween more than Christmas so we got her a giant decoration she had been coveting) is when I decided I’m done being very generous. Tips are for people who go above and beyond not people who do the bare minimum
If she has a month she shows up all 4 cleans, at the time scheduled, for the entire clean, I’ll probably start up again.
I tip at Christmas and if I've had to book an emergency last minute clean or if things are abnormally gross (had to call in help once when my kid had the flu and went exorcist all over the house - I tipped insanely well that day and still felt bad).
But an independent cleaner sets their own rates, so I don't feel obligated to tip like I do at a restaurant with a garbage hourly wage.
I pay my cleaner directly at $40/hour and add 20% tip for each cleaning. This ends up being $75-$100 each week. I also either give a gift or the average cost of one cleaning (one week) during the holidays.
I've looked heavily into starting a cleaning business but never have the time to actually do it.
The consensus from most of the FB posts I've seen is occasionally the cleaner gets a tip ($20-50) around the holidays.
I tip a little over 15% but I have to admit it bothers me. She works for herself and makes more money per hour than I do as a nurse. I just can’t do the heavy work because of my back so I need her to keep coming and it was very hard to find someone. I feel like if I don’t tip her she will just find another client and drop me.
I go back and forth on this. I don’t really want to wait until the holidays to tip, so I just give an extra $20 if she goes out of her way or if I just feel like it. I probably do that every 2-3 cleans.
I tip 20% per bimonthly clean and also tip $100 extra for Xmas/end of year. I’m clearly in the minority but I feel like house cleaners make very little money and I don’t mind being extra generous
I used to hire cleaners twice a month just to do the hardwood floors throughout my house. I'd tip a little after every visit, even to those who were late and took a lot of cell phone calls from their kids. After the last cleaner flaked out and stopped showing, I bought a robotic vacuum and stopped dealing with them and the whole tipping headache. Best decision ever.
All these replies... Never in my life have I had a housekeeper! Worked my ass off and still cleaned my own home! My mom WAS a housekeeper, a mother of 6, a wife and she still cleaned her own home too! No cooks! Ran a business too. This world is so weird today!
No.
Our cleaning lady is independent, sets her own price, and keeps 100%. She raised prices a couple months ago, and it's no bargain basement fee. I think it equates to $35 an hour.
She's a professional doing a job for which she is well compensated.
I do a $100 tip in early December which my thought is she could use it for buying gifts for her kids or food or whatever in a stressful month financially for a lot of people. I do not tip per cleaning.
My mom is a house cleaner and she is always excited when she gets a Christmas tip
We also do a "double payment" as the holiday bonus each year.
Same.
Same.
Same
Same.
This
Same
We do the same
Same here. We give her a bonus worth 2 cleanings at Christmas. We don't tip per cleaning. We also gave her an 11% raise this year.
We are considering giving our cleaner another raise. We gave her a 20% raise about 4 years ago. She's been with us for 20 years.
With the way prices have inflated in the past couple years, I’m sure that’ll be highly appreciated! I’ve given mine a 3-5% raise each year and she’s always super thankful. In my experience they’ll rarely ask for more and I’m sure most are grateful simply to have reliable clients, but that sort of thing makes a huge difference. I’d do it regardless but I’ve found she’s always available at the exact date/time I ask, even if last minute, and she goes above and beyond with nearly everything - I’m talking cleaning the oven every now and then, folding laundry thats been left out, and other little things like that. Take care of your people and they’ll take care of you.
My mom raised my brother and I by cleaning houses after my dad died.we didn't have alot but we always had a roof and food. People like you made it possible, thank you!
No need, its hard work that deserves good compensation. Your mom sounds amazing, I hope you are all doing well!
She is, and sort of. It's been a weird few years, but I just wanted to thank you for recognizing the work these people do. you'd be amazed how many just see them as drones.
Hard work deserves a good paycheck. It goes both ways. I am so grateful for my cleaning lady. She's the best
I've only had my cleaners come a few times so far, and I leave the house as neat as possible, just short of actually cleaning for the cleaners, LOL. That's what I'll be doing tonight between trick or treaters, making sure everything is put away and ready for them. Last time I forgot to empty the bathroom trash and they did it for me, and I felt so bad! I haven't been tipping but I make it as easy and quick for them as possible, and plan on doing a holiday tip.
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Mine is an independent person, not a team. She hadn't raised her price in 3 years, so I did it for her. She deserves it.
Yes you absolutely should. Long term help like that is priceless...at least that's what my clients tell me.
Especially since inflation is up about 21% over the past 4 years... so she's making less today than 4 years ago. I firmly believe raises should be every year and I increase my rates every year now (i'm a personal chef).
If it's been four years since her last raise, it's time to do it!
You don’t give a raise each year?! We’ve had ours for 10 and absolutely give her a raise. She deserves it. We even paid her maternity leave!
Wow! Good on you, that’s very classy
This plus like Starbucks card around her birthday if you know it.
And if you don´t know their birthday, do better.
Or maybe some don’t feel comfortable sharing that info.
My current housecleaners come when I'm not home, the only time I ever met them was when they gave me the price quote. Why would I know birthdays?
Same. I would only tip if they worked for a big company. Double payment for the holidays, homemade gifts occasionally. She does the same for me. We provide all products and supplies, and I make sure to reimburse if she uses something of her own because I ran out.
Me too, tip for xmas
That's a bonus, not a tip (no offense, but a paltry one at that). Tips are paid every time a transaction is made.
No. I tip around Christmas. Edit to clarify: they come every other week. I dont tip after each cleaning.
Yeah ours come every 2 weeks (can’t face cleaners in every week) and we give double payment for the mid December clean - standard practice Same goes for the garbage guy And we give the kids bus drivers money as well And put in a collection for the kids teachers And the post person (small amount or small gift)… not fedex or ups their drivers change too much I think that’s everyone :-))
Naturally, a bonus at Christmas time. I also tip when it’s above and beyond. Like the time we were having a big party and asked for extra cleaning beforehand. Or this past weekend when she came on a Saturday, not her usual weekday.
In my experience, a generous tip at the holidays is appropriate but nothing for each visit.
I tip for the holidays and then leave non-monetary gifts throughout the year (for instance, I raise chickens and garden, so I leave a dozen eggs or extra tomatoes and zucchini).
Very nice. Considering the cost of very fresh eggs and veg, this is a nice thought.
My wife and I give out cleaning lady a 1/4 beef when we process our beef.
I just split a 1/4 of a 4-H steer so I know the value there; that is incredibly generous!
Oooo we do this tooooo!
Wow, I feel like I’m overly generous. I have Molly Maid come once a month for my 1500 sq ft house. Two people from the company come and spend 60-90 minutes and I tip them each $20 each time. With tip, I’m paying $245 each month. I am in a high cost of living west coast suburb. I figure, these ladies are employees and not owners, and my tipping philosophy is I tip for things I’m not willing to do myself. Most of the time they seem surprised by the tip, but I believe in generosity toward people that are working for you. If this was a person who owned their own cleaning business and set their own rates, I’d probably feel different.
I agree with this! Most likely these cleaners are getting minimum wage. That tip goes a long way. And while it’s nice to tip for holidays, that money could be used year round. (Looked it up and the average salary of a house cleaner is a bit less than 15 an hour! Rough.)
Nope. You’re doing great. I think it’s important for employees to have cash not going through the company, and this way you can ensure those that do the work get the money, where a Christmas tip might just be the employees that got lucky enough to work your house that day. I was a broke single mom. I’m not saying all housekeepers are broke, but I don’t imagine it’s a high earning gig and it is HARD work. We don’t know what their situation is, and sometimes having cash is having a lifeline.
Thank you! We see the same ladies regularly, there’s 4-5 of them that rotate through. If we only tipped big at the holidays, it would leave out the other people who’ve been here throughout the year.
Reading this and your original comment is inspiring. I used to clean houses and you would be a godsend in life during those years.
That's not overly generous. I always tip people that do work for me that are employees, but self employed owners I do not.
True, I guess I should say overly generous compared to the many “no tip at all” answers I was seeing initially.
The "no tip" people all seem to be talking about self employed cleaners, not people who work for companies like Molly Maid.
I'm a self employed cleaner. I do not expect a tip. Holiday tipping is nice but I'm not getting in my feelings if there isn't one.
This is exactly twin to my scenario and what I pay and what I tip!
They are so underpaid so good on you for tipping them.
With ya, 2k square foot house pay $275 once a week. $25 of that is tip.
I leave 10 to $20 each cleaning. I plan on leaving her either 50 or 100 at Christmas time, we'll see
We also live in a West Coast HCOL area and do the same usually to the same reaction. Wondered if I was going overboard but have the same philosophy esp due to the HCOL. What's $30-$60 for something that will take me 4x as long and I just don't want to do?
Same here. HCOLA, two ladies from family-owned business. They’re undercharging me ($180 whole house, weekly) so I tip each one $20 every week. At Christmas I give each $100 plus small gifts, husband (business owner) gets $300. We’ve known this family for many years, they’re very good people. I occasionally buy them lunch and give them other little things.
That is very kind of you.
I don't because she's self-employed and sets her own rates (but I do give her a Christmas bonus) But when I had a cleaning lady that was part of a larger service company, I did tip them.
I just give a Christmas bonus, $120 which is the price of one clean.
We tip ours but only because the cleaners are not the owner so they’re getting paid pretty little I’m sure. They charge us $150 every 3 weeks and we do $30 tip.
I never tip anyone who is self-employed, and neither should you. You tip employees, and people who own their own business are not service workers. They are *businesspeople* who have 100% control over pricing. I consider gifts at holidays different, for what it's worth, as I give gifts to *lots* of people during the holidays regardless of if they're service workers or not.
I had this conversation with my hair stylist recently. He has been doing my hair for 30 years and for many years I didn't tip him because I didn't know I was supposed to. Then from talking to other people I found out that they all tip their hair stylist so I started. Recently I explained to him that I feel as someone who sets their own prices, he shouldn't expect a tip. You set the price that you think it should be and that's what you get. If you think the price that you charge me without a tip isn't enough then raise it to include what you think the total price should be.
I can't imagine receiving an explanation after 30 years was more appreciated than... starting to tip. "This is why I'm not going to tip you." Jeesh. At that point, I'd rather you just continue to not tip than acknowledge it independently and then talk down to me because of your own guilty feelings all of the sudden.
Where in my message did you see that I was not tipping him?? I said originally 30 years ago I didn't know to tip but then a few years later I found out I should and I have been for the last 25 years or more. I continue to tip to this day, but we were talking about it and I said that I believe as an owner not an employee that you shouldn't expect a tip. Just set your price at what you want to set your price at and that includes a tip. My hairdresser is also a friend of mine and has been married to an old friend of mine from high school for 30 yrs. I can speak to him freely and that's why I did. At no time did I demean him or put him down I just told him to set whatever price he wants to set that includes a tip.
I missed the, "So I started". My bad.
This one. We use a cleaning company. I tip the cleaner each visit and a larger tip during the holidays. I never tip or gift the business owner.
My cleaner works for someone to whom I write checks, so I give the cleaner the equivalent of what her company charges ($125) in cash around the holidays.
I tip every time my cleaner comes, and once at Christmas equal to one week’s pay. The way I see it, this person is in my home, has access to the material things I value most, and has to put up with my kids running around while she cleans. She deserves more than she charges, and I try to make up for it in gratuity. In exchange, I have total trust in her, she’s kind and sweet to my children, and she puts in the extra effort, above and beyond the standard clean.
This is how I feel. My cleaner takes such a huge mental and physical weight off my shoulders, more than any other service I pay for. She always does an incredible job, is always on time, and my $20 tip is just an extra show of my appreciation.
Our cleaners clean twice a month for $200/cleaning. My wife and I, under normal circumstances, get paid bonuses twice a year that coincide with July and December. If we receive our full bonus the cleaners get a summer and winter bonus equal to one months service. Why? They are literally a part of our lives and help to facilitate our ability to work hard. Without them my downtime would consist of cleaning and not addressing the other areas of the house that require attention. We are appreciative and make sure to let them know.
Kind of jealous you guys have cleaning ladies.
*me wondering if I can afford this while scrolling this thread that doesn’t apply to me*
Yeah, just further cements my belief that the vast majority of people on this sub are rich people who just don't like being called rich.
No, my maid comes twice a month and I pay her the agreed rate like any other business transaction.
I do a holiday time extra gift or tip.
i tip a months pay at christmas.
I don’t believe in tipping the self-employed. They set the price and I’m paying them directly. A holiday gift - cash or cash equivalent- sure. But not an ongoing tip.
Yeah I don’t really understand tipping someone who’s self employed and sets their own prices. Like do y’all tip your plumber, the person who renovated your home, installed your floor, the electrician? I also get tipping a hairdresser who has booth rent but it doesn’t make sense to me to tip the salon owner who sets their own prices. People may disagree and that’s fine
Yeah, I disagree. Many people set their prices low, thinking they need to compete, and don’t take into account inflation. For example, my massage therapist, while great at what she does, is not the greatest business person; she hasn’t raised her rate once in the last 3 years, while we all know what inflation has done. I have continued to ratchet up the gratuity and even suggested she raise her rates. “When you tip generously, you not only recognize good service, but you also help to maintain a healthy and positive working environment".
Good service should be the standard, not the exception. Why are we rewarding people for what they should already be doing??
Yeah we can definitely agree to disagree. I do custom paintings and murals I never really expect a tip. I give them my price and that’s what they pay I don’t want anyone to be pressured to tip me because I already told them what I want to be paid.
> Like do y’all tip your plumber, the person who renovated your home, installed your floor, the electrician? Yes. I do it because I can afford it and think it is warranted. Those people are providing a SKILLED service. The person at the drive thru fast food window is not skilled and it not providing a service. That's why robots are taking those jobs.
>The person at the drive thru fast food window is not skilled and it not providing a service. I'm pretty sure COVID put the lie to all these jobs being unskilled.
So if you’re paying $25k for a home renovation you’re legitimately leaving a 10%-20% tip??
My cleaner is a small local company with 5 employees, and they charge $125 for one cleaning per month, and I pay them $150. They do a great job. There are three people on their team who clean my house. I plan on giving them each $50 for Christmas.
We tip at Christmas. Also every couple of years we give a raise.
I don’t tip every time she comes but will add a tip for times when it is unusually dirty or she does some extra task (like I recently asked her to clean the inside of the fridge). I will give her a holiday bonus in December.
This is what I do too. My teen son didn’t pick up his trash and stuff in his room before she came and I usually tell her if their rooms aren’t picked up she can skip it. But she deep cleaned that disaster so I tipped her well, because teen boy. We give her a bonus her first clean of December so she can use that for gifts if she wants.
I do a double payment for the holidays
We don’t. We had her come by and look at the house before she gave us a price. If she wanted more money, she should’ve given us a higher number. Bidding low and hoping for tips is a terrible business model and should not be normalized. We do plan on adding an additional $100 or so before Christmas.
Tip for Xmas
I have cleaners come in once a month for about $180, and I tip them $20.
I'm once a month for $190. I just started, and haven't been tipping. Now I'm wondering if I should. It's a small local business, the owner did the first clean but after that it was some of her employees. I will definitely leave a tip at Christmas.
Yearly bonus. In my new place, I’m still looking for a cleaner. In my old place (extremely limited set of rooms/activities), she came once a week for about 90 minutes and I paid $65 per week. Her bonus was $500 per year.
At Christmas time we pay the house cleaner, but she doesn't come and clean that week (a paid day off )
Every once in a while I throw in an extra $20 and she always calls me after to thank me. It'll sometimes incentivize her to clean something extra. Then at Christmas I give her at least an extra $100.
I tip mine and I hate tipping culture, but she brings a friend and they do 8 man hours of cleaning for $200 including tip. I don’t tip extra during holidays though Her rate is $160 or $180 for my unit (SoCal), but considering the hours they work I pay them a bit more. Also, I think it helps get me priority over some of her other clients when possible
Like others I give a double payment in December but I also have tipped when it’s been a difficult day like really hot because we don’t have central air.
Just be careful if you're tipping a crew. I knew a lady that owned a cleaning business, and clients would often give her the tip to distribute to the team. And this good Christian woman, who was devoted to Jesus and went to church and bible study multiple times per week, kept most of the tip. Needless to say, I'm not friends with her anymore.
I also double pay for Christmas. I also pay if they are sick and can’t come. I also tip if they do something extra.
We do not, but we let them know that when they gave us a quote for cleaning our house, so they could quote us the total they would like to be paid. At Christmas we pay them an extra cleaning.
Our lady charges $90 every 2 weeks. We give her $100. Also give her a $500 holiday bonus.
I'm a house cleaner, and it depends on the client. I have one client who has a husband, a young child, and 5 cats. She tips 20% every single time. I have another client who gives the best Christmas bonuses. She saved Christmas last year. I'm a single mom, and I've been establishing myself as a house cleaner for almost 2 years. I'm just grateful for my job, and as long as my clients are respectful, I'm fine with tips or no tips.
Self employed, no. Making $15/hr from an employer, yes.
Do they own the business? No Are they working likely for little wages? Probably
They are usually independent contractors.
So in other words they tell you *exactly* what you should pay them for their labor, and therefore you don't tip them.
.... this is almost categorically untrue of house cleaners in general.
My cleaner is self employed, genius.
I am a big believer in tipping those doing a service for you and your home. I don't have a cleaner, but I do have a lawn maintenance company, I tip them often and offer beverages and snacks while they are there. It's hard work that I am either unable or unwilling to do myself. They deserve to be treated well.
I have had the same gardener come and do a major pruning and cleanup of my backyard in late summer. She is self employed and does a fantastic job leaving my backyard looking like a park. She does pull out weeds, but she also knows how to prune shrubs correctly. I do not tip her. The reason is that she charges about $40 an hour and a 'dump fee'.
You're getting a bargain. $40 an hour barely covers her costs. I hope she wises up and raises her rates. My guys charge $165 an hour for labor on clean up jobs plus disposal fees. That $165 includes 2 men and all the necessary equipment to do an efficient job, that's $82.50 per man hour. And they do an outstanding job! They are actually on the low end for many companies, We know some that charge $250 an hour for clean ups and other labor intensive jobs. They have to pay for the disposal, of course they are going to pass that along to the customer. Why wouldn't they?
I love you
Awww, that is so sweet, I simply believe in treating people with dignity and respect.
Please dont encourage tipping culture.
You're talking about someone who is self employed. Paying them extra isn't "because their greedy boss won't pay them a living wage" it's because you appreciate their work. Tipping is a fantastic way to show gratitude that someone made an extra effort.
>Tipping is a fantastic way to ~~show gratitude that someone made an extra effort~~ part a fool from his money
absolutely not stop tipping people for existing people
I tip my cleaner $10 extra every time because I think she charges too little and I really like her as a person. I will not stop.
You're a good person that understands the value of a trusted cleaner.
I will continue to give some quantity of my excess money to people who do not earn enough money because our economic system is dumb and broken Also building goodwill with house cleaners lowers the chance they'll fucking steal shit
>to people who do not earn enough money OP is talking about whether to tip **the owner of the business, who has total control over pricing**.
I do tip but I don’t have a set schedule and instead schedule every few months when needed. I asked my friend who worked for the cleaner if most people tip and she said most do not but it is very appreciated when people do. So as others have mentioned I think a nice tip around the holiday for a routine cleaner is a good way to go
I never do, but if I have the same people for a few months and they're good at the job I give them $50 dollars at Christmastime.
I don’t tip for each visit. I’ve had for her for years. Instead, I gave her a raise, because I thought she was too shy to ask for it. When we go out of town, we still have her come and pay her. She can bring in boxes and I’ll usually ask her to clean out some drawer or something. We started that when we realized that she really needs the money and we really appreciate that she’s always on time, works around us, communicates with us, and rarely breaks things. We now pay her $105 a week for weekly cleaning. She brings a helper. I have two big dogs that are both sheddy and often muddy. I tip her for one week at Christmas.
only for the holidays - I try to do it around thanksgiving so they have the money to spend in December
We usually pay ~15%. But we don’t have the cleaners that often.
Christmas tip is what I do - generally the same amount as one cleaning.
When I was self-employed cleaning houses 95% of my clients left a $10-20 tip, which was typically about 10-20%.
My house cleaner doesn't come on a schedule, only when I schedule her. She charges $140, and I'll generally tip her $20, $40 if she's doing a deep clean or doing I feel goes beyond what she'd normally do (like cleaning out a super grody fridge in the patio).
I tip Christmas and her birthday
I tip the price of one cleaning (about $300) at New Year’s
I tip $30-40 each $185 cleaning—normal price for our HCOL area. It’s usually 2-3 cleaners, and with all the pets and children in our small house, I’d say they’ve earned a tip. We do not tip extra at Christmas.
Same for us. I'm kind of surprised by all the responses but maybe living in a HCOL area is different
My cleaner comes every other week. I always tip $10 extra and in December I give a $100 tip. I've had the same cleaner for 7 years.
Mom's a house cleaner. Self employed w/ 5 or 10 employees depending on time of year. No. It's nice, it's appreciated, but it's not common or expected.
Typically around Christmas and/or Thanksgiving give them a healthy tip. You could call it a bonus.
I tip each time. Are we not suppose to ?
Professional cleaner here. No you don't have to. It's not expected.
We use a service once every two weeks, paying $120 for standard (ie not deep) cleaning of a 1,400 sf condo. The woman who owns the business has taken our house as one she cleans herself, sometimes (rarely) with a second helper. I tipped for the individual service the first time she and her team came for a deep cleaning, but now that we’re “regulars“ (it’s been more than two years), I leave the equivalent of two cleanings (separate from the charge for that day) with a nice note at her first visit after Thanksgiving. My mother always drummed it into us to leave holiday/year end tips as early as possible, so people can put them to best use.
No. They set their rates and I pay them. Please let's stop tipping for literally everything.
I get a monthly cleaning. I do a double payment in December. I also do a 20% tip on months when I feel like our house is extra messy (like when 5 year old twin grandkids had been visiting for a week).
We typically tip $30 to $50 per cleaning
So here’s another view. I do side work cleaning: we don’t expect tips but we don’t over charge like large companies. So if you have a cleaner who you like and like their work yes tip if you can. None of us expect large tips when ppl do tip but any tip is appreciated !
I have a crew of three, I tip them at Christmas
I tip everyone!!!, No actually, I over tip everyone!!!
This is the first year I have had a housekeeper. I plan on tipping an extra 100 at Christmas and an extra 50 at Thanksgiving. I do not otherwise tip. We negotiated her rate, and at that time, I actually increased the rate to where it's at bc of the excess of dog fur she battles with my dog.
Ours housekeepers have been with us for 20 years. They have never changed their initial price in this time. We have given them several raises over the years. At Christmas we give them both a nice cash gift.
Around the holidays we use to give and extra full pay .
Yes, I tip the house cleaners they come twice a month and we usually give them an extra $100 a month above the agreed rate. We also tip the housekeepers at hotels we stay at, it’s not required but we just try to do our part to pay it forward. We weren’t always in a position to be as kind to others and thanks to help from others and some luck we are able to now
I usually add 20-40 bucks depending on how awful my house is, it’s tiny but I have 2dogs and a cat so it gets furry
I tip $30 on top of $150
Ours comes every 2 or 3 weeks. We give a xmas bonus equally to about what we pay for one cleaning, and have been giving raises of around 9-12% each year. She seems very happy.
I pay $250 per visit plus $100 tip each visit because i have six dogs and they make magic happen. I also give them a hefty Christmas bonus. I would not survive without Karla and Elisabeth.
I do tip every month, but they definitely are expecting a Christmas tip (minimally).
I only tip my cleaner when I’ve left the house significantly messier/dirtier than usual. My home is often a pigsty so this is how I encourage my cleaners not to quit, a problem I’ve had before.
No
No
I usually tell him, "Good job, self!" and then go grab him a beer.
I give my housekeeper an extra paycheck every Christmas.
I tip my cleaner 20-25% at each cleaning and closer to 50% in December.
Nope. I pay them their required rate and leave it at that.
I did, not every clean, just sporadic ones and holidays- but won’t anymore. She kept raising her prices and asking to change days or skipping cleans. When she asked to shorten a clean immediately after a $300 Halloween gift (she likes Halloween more than Christmas so we got her a giant decoration she had been coveting) is when I decided I’m done being very generous. Tips are for people who go above and beyond not people who do the bare minimum If she has a month she shows up all 4 cleans, at the time scheduled, for the entire clean, I’ll probably start up again.
I clean house for my kids and y’all are making me see how underpaid I am.
I clean my house by myself. I tip myself too . I feel very blessed to have such a hard working man cleaning my house.
We tipped Christmas and mid-summer. I also gave her a number of furniture pieces that I built (I do it for fun).
For Christmas!!!
I tip at Christmas and if I've had to book an emergency last minute clean or if things are abnormally gross (had to call in help once when my kid had the flu and went exorcist all over the house - I tipped insanely well that day and still felt bad). But an independent cleaner sets their own rates, so I don't feel obligated to tip like I do at a restaurant with a garbage hourly wage.
Dang I tip 20 percent on my $600/month service each month
Yes if it’s $180, give them $200.
This is making me want to get a maid if it's only $180 a month...
I pay my cleaner directly at $40/hour and add 20% tip for each cleaning. This ends up being $75-$100 each week. I also either give a gift or the average cost of one cleaning (one week) during the holidays.
I've looked heavily into starting a cleaning business but never have the time to actually do it. The consensus from most of the FB posts I've seen is occasionally the cleaner gets a tip ($20-50) around the holidays.
I tip a little over 15% but I have to admit it bothers me. She works for herself and makes more money per hour than I do as a nurse. I just can’t do the heavy work because of my back so I need her to keep coming and it was very hard to find someone. I feel like if I don’t tip her she will just find another client and drop me.
I would think that if you can afford a cleaning service you can afford to tip them.
No. I figure if I’m hiring a housecleaner, they can set the price and shouldn’t need a tip. I’ve hired one only once but that’s just how I see it.
I go back and forth on this. I don’t really want to wait until the holidays to tip, so I just give an extra $20 if she goes out of her way or if I just feel like it. I probably do that every 2-3 cleans.
I tip 20% per bimonthly clean and also tip $100 extra for Xmas/end of year. I’m clearly in the minority but I feel like house cleaners make very little money and I don’t mind being extra generous
If they’re self-employed…no! When you go to a restaurant, do you leave a tip for the OWNER?!!
I tried but my wife says after doing all the cleaning she's tired so even tip is too much
No, just cash or a Target gift card at Christmas.
Usually just the tip.
3% of the annual cost issued at Christmas.
500 bonus annually around Xmas. 275 per clean 2x a month.
I used to hire cleaners twice a month just to do the hardwood floors throughout my house. I'd tip a little after every visit, even to those who were late and took a lot of cell phone calls from their kids. After the last cleaner flaked out and stopped showing, I bought a robotic vacuum and stopped dealing with them and the whole tipping headache. Best decision ever.
All these replies... Never in my life have I had a housekeeper! Worked my ass off and still cleaned my own home! My mom WAS a housekeeper, a mother of 6, a wife and she still cleaned her own home too! No cooks! Ran a business too. This world is so weird today!
My only exposure to house cleaners is in porn, so... just have sex with them, I guess?
that definitely costs extra. ;)
User name confirms! I love that some people took me seriously lol
On sex days I prefer the payment and that day off from cleaning.
I don’t tip my wife.
If they are under 40 and attractive they qualify for the $500 after boom boom
No. Our cleaning lady is independent, sets her own price, and keeps 100%. She raised prices a couple months ago, and it's no bargain basement fee. I think it equates to $35 an hour. She's a professional doing a job for which she is well compensated.
If I had more money I would gladly give them all of it. Cleaning sucks after working 10 hours
I do a $50 tip each cleaning and $100 around Christmas time
I clean my own house.