Difficult interactions with EDF cleaner

[binkylilyput]

mariajoyofcleaning

Please be aware EDF members that the above person is very difficult to deal with indeed and now has ?20 of mine.

I will keep the story shortish (I am 100% certain she will respond on this thread with a very long rant about this situation because I have already received such communication from her).

Maria responded to my post looking for a one off clean. She specified that she would need a ?20 deposit to clean today (Thursday). On the 15th July she said she could keep a "provisional" booking for me and would need the deposit by 16th July 5pm to secure the booking.

Maria gave me a telephone number and then gave me another telephone number. Maria text me so I know she had my number.

I was not able to confirm/ pay the deposit by the deadline as I was waiting to make other arrangements etc. This was a house clean gift for a friend who is physically disabled and unable to do so himself (not that this is relevant but I want needing to finalise arrangements with him also).

I did not hear from Maria further so assumed all was fine- this was an error on my part.

First thing on Weds 17th July (around 9.30am) I put the ?20 directly into Maria's account.

A little later I logged onto EDF and found she had messaged me at 9.15am to cancel the booking (in a rather offish tone).

I replied at 9.49am to say I hadn't seen the message and had not realised she had cancelled the booking and so had just paid the ?20. I very politely requested that she refund this and provided my details.

I had not received any text or phone call advise me that the provisional booking was cancelled.

I have sent Maria polite, courteous emails since then explaining the error and that I would have never paid the ?20 if I had known she had cancelled the "provisional" booking.

I do understand that Maria had to take other jobs- that's totally fine. She also offered to make another booking- no way after the way she has addressed this issue!

The correspondence from Maria has been rude, accusatory, disproportionate and unreasonable...... and very ranty!

This post will surely lead to a long counter argument from Maria again I'm sure.

I'd say I've lost my ?20 because Maria shows no sign of good will or reasonable business interactions.

I would like to advise other EDF members to be careful with your dealings with this person.

Not pleasant at all.

[hazelnunhead]

I have used Maria for a spring / deep clean. She does make it clear that she requires a deposit, I also made an error but it was rectified with her.

Her cleaning was excellent, and she is a really lovely person. I would defiantly have her again to do a spring clean.

I am sorry that you did not feel this, but I am sure her terms say you can re-book, and if she has offered you an alternative day to clean then it is your choice whether you ?lose? the money.

Sometimes written communication can lack the warmth of face to face,and seem more direct or brusque.

I hope you both can resolve this.

[binkylilyput]

I absolutely agree with your thoughts there hazelnunhead. And going on a forum to complain is really not something I would normally do but I feel as though people need information when inviting someone into their home.

I can write off the ?20 (despite feeling as though it would be reasonable to refund given the circumstances- why would I pay a deposit for a cancelled booking?) but her communication has been very difficult and pretty rude in response to my very polite messages.

I quote one nasty comment: ?You have insisted on playing your games......?

For this reason I would not want re-book with her- I wouldn?t want to do business and have someone in my friend?s home who responds in this manner

[KidKruger]

It was a case of miscommunication.

No-one?s fault.

Just give the ?20 back, not being able to be flexible once in a while is not a virtue.

[KateFord]

Whilst I don?t think the OP should necessarily put this complaint on the forum (as text dialogue in a disagreement can sometimes appear unintentionally rude), I do agree with KidKruger?s wise words and think the ?20 should be refunded. Bad karma to keep it and sounds like too much bad blood is there now for a replacement clean. Even though Maria may technically be correct, it?s better to show some goodwill and be flexible, taking into account the circumstances of this particular case. Better to give it back so Binky?s friend can get a clean elsewhere. :) Surely posting responses and trying to limit the damage will take up more than ?20 worth of your time and energy.

KidKruger Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> It was a case of miscommunication.

> No-one?s fault.

> Just give the ?20 back, not being able to be

> flexible once in a while is not a virtue.

[binkylilyput]

I completely agree KateFord. For the sake of ?20 this is all unpleasant and silly really. I don't think I have ever gone public on a forum in this way. I generally like to support local business. I made the decision to post a thread after a number of private exchanges where I tried to be as polite and reasonable as I could. My decision to post was more because I think inviting someone into your home includes a good deal of trust and respectful interactions are important.

Anyway, the good weather is coming, as is the weekend so peace out to all! :-)

[dbboy]

For the sake of ?20, is it worth the damage to your business reputation?

[KidKruger]

Binky have you got your money back yet or is this situation still being regarded as a game to be won by the cleaner ?!

[tomdhu]

I think several points need to be mentioned here:-

1. To have a successful business, service providers would be well advised to accept that "The customer is always right". I have been in business for 55 years and it is a motto I have always observed.

2. For a client to have to resort to making this public suggests to me the client was deeply frustrated ad that the only way to get redress was to make it public.

3. The cleaner must now wish she had appeased the client. The adverse comments will certainly put other people off. Despite what the cleaner thinks, the client is ALWAYS right. She should refund the depositand issue an apology.

4. If the cleaner is at all professional, she will make her terms and conditions known to the clients before taking deposits. It could be by email or on a websit- it's worth the effort.

[KateFord]

By adopting this stance, however technically correct you may be, has probably cost you more than the original ?20. And I speak as someone impartial offering my advice. People might be put off using your service if they see this thread.

I just think you should give it back so Binky?s friend can get a clean and people will respect you more for making an exception and then you can move on.

[fishbiscuits]

I understand the frustration at a client failing to pay the deposit by the required deadline, and your decision to cancel seems reasonable. Nevertheless, if the deposit was paid AFTER the cancellation, it should be considered to be paid in error, and IMO should not be kept.

[binkylilyput]

Thanks all for the posts.

I am alarmed to see that this individual has now breached privacy and confidentiality by publically posting my name and street details on this thread.

Thankfully this person has not been conscientious enough to get my name or street correct! Phew!

It looks like I'm also being accused of posing as other forum users.

I have informed the EDF moderator and have asked that that particular post from the thread be removed.

I am so glad that I did not proceed with the booking- I would not trust this person into my home following the communication I had....... and even more so now I see she has no respect for privacy or confidentiality.

This has all gotten increasingly stressful

Edited to add: Just remembered this person also has my bank details. Admin please help!

[dbboy]

mariajoyofcleaning, I strongly suggest that you formally retract your false allegation against me, which is wholly wrong and misplaced, and apologise publicly on here, otherwise you are likely to find yourself in an even bigger heap of trouble than you are already in.

mariajoyofcleaning Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I reported this thread to the moderator asking to

> stop it.

>

> This group of users (binkylilyput, tomdhu,

> KidKruger, dbboy and very likely the person behind

> them, a certain Ms Karen Smith, that paid the ?20

> for the deposit related to a clean booked for a

> house in Turney Road) failed first to pay by the

> deadline in order to keep their original booked

> date and then failed to choose an alternative

> date.

>

> If they want to escalate the issue further, they

> can report me to Trading Standards, together with

> the attached evidence, so that eventually there

> is a chance to understand who they really are and

> what is their purpose in life, other than bullying

> the cleaner online.

>

> Thank you

>

> Maria

[KidKruger]

I can confirm that I?m not the same forum user as all the other names listed by the business owner as being part of a conspiracy to defame Binky, I?ve never met the other forum users listed and I?m sure I?ve seen most / all of them on other threads discussing other topics - so I doubt that activity was fake, just to build a posting history ready for this thread which no-one could have predicted would arise.

There is no conspiracy ! Yeah

What is actually happening is that independent forum users have commented on the situation as they see appropriate, based on what they have read.

It would seem the business owner regards the situation as adversarial, where to defeat is the objective.

Problem is, nobody wins when a customer is penalised for submitting a deposit for work that was not going to happen (by time the deposit was paid).

Small businesses (in fact ANY business !) will be aware of the leaking bucket concept, whereby a business loses customers from its book gradually, drip-by-drip, due to its behaviours or limitations of service.

This situation is a little bit worse than that because a potential customer(s) is being lost before even getting into the bucket of current customers!

Binky - I thought this would be resolved with a refund by now.

There is a sense of belligerent refusal here, and what with the comment about the above posters being the same person, I don?t think the capability is there to recognise alternative resolution apart from denial of refund.

Therefore you?re flogging a dead horse but at least you?ve achieved your initial aim of highlighting this to forum users (and you appear to have support/validation at least from other forum users).

[dbboy]

Have some posts from this thread been deleted?

[KidKruger]

dbboy - Looks like the business owner?s post which identified the lost customer has been removed (understandably), not sure about others.

[dbboy]

KK - yeah, mine as well

[binkylilyput]

Yes it looks like the post that gave my name and street name (incorrectly) have been removed, thank goodness

I long since wrote off the ?20. I'm far more concerned about the way it has been handled since.

If people search for this person they will no longer see the alarming post from her.....but hopefully enough to see what has gone on

I had no idea what I was getting myself into!