Do you tip house cleaners?
Do you tip house cleaners?
Seattle’s Green Cleaning Fairy
Tipping is the practice of an individual voluntarily leaving additional payment as a way of rewarding someone for doing a good job. The person receiving the tip is generally attentive, thoughtful, and has honestly made your experience more memorable. It can be nice to give someone a couple of extra bucks for their effort.
Tips and their amount can vary based on the culture and norms of where you live. For example, here in the United States, it is common to tip 15 to 20 percent when you eat at a restaurant. But it doesn’t stop there, because most Americans know you should tip 15 to 20 percent at bars, taxis, hair stylists, restaurants, and pretty much everywhere else.
However, there are some rare situations where no one knows what you’re expected to tip, or if you should even leave a tip. One of those rare exceptions is when you hire a house cleaner. It can be tough to figure out whether or not you should tip your house cleaner because there are a lot of factors you need to consider before you make a decision. You might have found yourself in this situation and have no idea what to do. Do not worry and end your google research right now because you will find your answer in this blog.
To get straight to the point
Tipping your house cleaner is entirely at your discretion. Many house cleaning businesses do not require tips. Nonetheless, keep in mind that tipping your house cleaner is a very kind gesture and goes a long way.
Why even tip them?
Firstly, it would make sense to dive into the reason why our tipping culture is the way it is. A big reason for our tipping culture in North America is because of how much the workforce gets paid which is often the minimum wage. The way it works is that when they combine tips with their pay it will be above the minimum wage. Essentially, by having a large percentage of their income come from tips, it incentivizes them to do a better job. The same thing applies to most cleaners in the cleaning industry. You see, most home cleaners are getting paid the minimum wage. So they may heavily rely on tips to make a living wage. Therefore, if you’re in a good financial position and you’re able to tip your house cleaner, then you should definitely do it. Especially if they surpassed your expectations, were very thoughtful, and overall made your experience unforgettable.
Giving them a tip will not only put a smile on their face but at the same time, they now have an incentive to clean your house the same, amazing way they did the next time they come. It’s honestly a win-win situation for both parties.
At the end of the day, house cleaners know what they signed up for. So they do not expect a tip. It would be a very kind gesture if you give them a tip, but they truly do not anticipate a tip.
What Can I Tip Them?
Generally, homeowners tip their house cleaners cash money. Take into account that a few cleaning businesses don’t allow their cleaners to accept cash tips. If this is the case, your cleaner will respectfully reject your tip, so you shouldn’t get offended. There are alternative options instead of tipping cash. For example, you can bake them cookies, write them a thank you card, and anything that will show your genuine appreciation.
Some people offer their cleaners food and beverage when they arrive at their house. Others write their cleaner a positive review because they know it could result in their cleaner receiving more jobs and a raise. In all honesty, any type of kind gesture would mean a lot to your house cleaner. It does not have to be money necessarily.
How much money are we talking about?
Now, when it comes to deciding the amount of the tip, there are a few things to consider.
One thing to consider is the frequency of the service you are getting. For instance, if you hire a house cleaner for a one-time service you can provide them with a 15-20% one-time tip.
Remember, 15 to 20 percent is the same tipping etiquette you would follow with other service providers. It’s essentially a good rule of thumb to follow.
On the other hand, when you hire a cleaner for a recurring cleaning service you probably won’t feel comfortable with tipping your cleaner 15% each time they come. Don’t worry, your house cleaner most likely will not expect a tip every single time they come to your place.
A viable course of action for this situation would be to provide them with a decent tip every two weeks or at the end of the month. This would only make sense if you request the same cleaner come to your house every time.
But let’s say a different cleaner gets sent to your place each time. It would not be fair if you tip one cleaner a month’s worth of work since there are other cleaners that deserve some of their fair shares.
In this particular case, it would be reasonable to tip each cleaner a small amount instead of tipping one cleaner a large amount at the end of the month.
Now, suppose a team of cleaners arrives at your house to tackle your cleaning project. Should you tip each of them 15%? No, you do not have to tip them individually. Just like when you go out to eat at a restaurant and you do not tip every single waiter. Typically, you tip only one waiter. The same concept applies here. It’s completely fine to leave a small tip for all of them.
What if I hired a self-employed house cleaner?
Self-employed house cleaners are individuals that clean houses on their own terms. They do not have a boss and set their own prices. This means they get to keep one hundred percent of the earnings for each home they clean. So clearly tipping these independent cleaners is not as important as tipping cleaners that work for cleaning businesses since, in theory, they make more money.
But honestly, it all depends on how you see things because the majority of self-employed cleaners go through a lot of hassle. You see, they have to find clients on their own, buy their own supplies, and be liable for any accidents that may occur while they’re working. They do not have it as easy as cleaners that are employed by large cleaning businesses because these types of cleaners already have their schedule set up for the week. They also get the cleaning supplies from the business and are protected from liabilities by their company’s insurance.
When all is said and done, it’s still nice to tip them if you can.
Be Considerate
Let’s say your home is a complete mess. I’m talking about there are crumbs all over your floors, dirty dishes piling up in your sink, dust building up in your furniture, and garbage is just everywhere. So you hire a house cleaner and they clean your house to their maximum potential. After some time what might have been deemed impossible becomes possible. To you, it felt like a few minutes have passed, but to your cleaner, it felt like an eternal eternity. During that time they were able to restore the cleanliness in your house. It was not easy, not easy at all but thanks to their meticulous work you can finally see where things are in your house.
In that example, do you think it would be fair to tip that cleaner 15%? Think about it. They went above and beyond and exceeded your wildest expectations. Is 15% fair?
Listen, all I am saying is you should consider tipping more. Everyone knows how hard it is to clean a home, but only a few people know how hard it is to clean a dump.
What about during the holidays?
Needless to say, 2020 has been nuts. The best thing we can do is look forward to what is ahead and speaking of that the holiday season is among us! The holidays are all about spending time with the ones we truly love and hold close to our hearts. During the holiday season is when our generosity spikes and we feel like giving to others. One of those people may be your house cleaner.
What would be a nice gift to give them? Usually, homeowners give their cleaner a $100 Christmas bonus. Other homeowners write their cleaner a thoughtful holiday letter to show how much they mean to their family. The options are endless, but regardless, everyone loves to feel appreciated and recognized for their hard work, especially during the holiday season!
In the grand scheme of things, there is no universal rule for tipping house cleaners. It all boils down to your personal discretion and what you view as being fair. But there are some suggestions you can follow if you’re having trouble deciding whether or not you should tip your house cleaner.
If you are in a position to tip your house cleaner, you should do it. You are not obligated to do it by any means, but just because something is not required does not mean you should not do it. At the end of the day, it would be a nice thing to do for someone that literally scrubs your house so you can feel better.
A good rule of thumb would be to tip 15 to 20 percent of the total bill. If you believe your cleaner deserves more, you are more than welcome to give them more. Any amount of tip is greatly appreciated.
Many house cleaners do not expect a tip. But it would be nice to recognize their hard work with any token of appreciation. You know what they say, there is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.
Our cleaning staff understands the concept of tips very well so if you decide to not leave a tip, do not worry! We will not label you as the client that doesn’t tip and we will not treat your house worse compared to a client that does tip. Seattle’s Green Cleaning Fairy’s cleaners will always strive to provide you with the highest quality of cleaning. Our workers do not need an incentive to perform a good cleaning job since they already do that naturally. However, if you do decide to leave a small amount of gratuity after a cleaning job, we would be forever grateful! Any amount is appreciated ❤️
Feel free to ask for a quote today!