Saturday, January 19, 2008
Shower stalled
Once upon a time, there was a wonderful man named N. He cleaned my house. He still exists and is doing well, but is pursuing another line of work. I guess I should change that to "Once upon a time a wonderful man named N cleaned my house", but I'm too lazy to change it. SO. During this time of which I speak, I could come home from work on a day N had visited and the house didn't just look clean, didn't just smell clean, it FELT clean. You almost felt like you should go shower to be clean enough to be in this wonderfully clean house. The day N went away was a sad day for me. But I had hope that I would find a replacement. And I've tried.
First there was me. I don't do a very good job, but I'm cheap. After some months, I realized that I was getting what I paid for--not too damn much. So I found L. More expensive than me, but much cheaper than N. A happy medium, I thought. But L isn't much better than I am. She's a damn fine duster, but that's not really my housecleaning hot point. She uses half a tree in paper towels, something I find awful. If The Boy didn't make me, we wouldn't have paper towels in this house at all. I found that if I left L a detailed list, she'd usually get most of it. I don't want to have to leave a list. When I do, I really want everything on that list done. And done well.
Next was V. Cheaper than L or N, I was wary, but tried. One visit so far. Better than L, but still way out of N's league. What is the one thing that set N so far above? The shower. Specifically, the shower in the master bath. He cleaned it; so far, I can't tell that either L or V ever tried. Seems an odd thing to miss, to me. I mean, if you know you're cleaning for a childless couple, which shower is going to get noticed? The one THEY USE. So maybe, it deserves a little extra cleaning? Heck, at this point, I can't tell that L or V ever even noticed it at ALL (yes, I know I said it twice....) And if you're going to skip anything in the bathroom, don't make it the shower. Worthless as I am, I'll probably wipe off the counter top. The Boy will even brush the toilet on occasion. But the shower is a big job and one I don't like doing. One I don't like doing enough to PAY someone to do it.....so why isn't it getting done?
When N came to visit, I knew I could go straight to my shower and be able to see myself in almost every surface. The fixtures would gleam, the door would be shiny, heck, the walls would be so clean as to almost be reflective. But not since he left. Before I hired him, a mutual friend told him "You need to know that she's extremely picky and will want everything done perfectly". I was agahst that someone who had never been to my house, who had seen my avalanche of a desk would say that about me. I protested, "no, my BOSS is the extremely picky one, not me, I'm a pussycat!". Nope, he was right (and I've since told him that). I am picky and I want things done right. Especially the shower.
First there was me. I don't do a very good job, but I'm cheap. After some months, I realized that I was getting what I paid for--not too damn much. So I found L. More expensive than me, but much cheaper than N. A happy medium, I thought. But L isn't much better than I am. She's a damn fine duster, but that's not really my housecleaning hot point. She uses half a tree in paper towels, something I find awful. If The Boy didn't make me, we wouldn't have paper towels in this house at all. I found that if I left L a detailed list, she'd usually get most of it. I don't want to have to leave a list. When I do, I really want everything on that list done. And done well.
Next was V. Cheaper than L or N, I was wary, but tried. One visit so far. Better than L, but still way out of N's league. What is the one thing that set N so far above? The shower. Specifically, the shower in the master bath. He cleaned it; so far, I can't tell that either L or V ever tried. Seems an odd thing to miss, to me. I mean, if you know you're cleaning for a childless couple, which shower is going to get noticed? The one THEY USE. So maybe, it deserves a little extra cleaning? Heck, at this point, I can't tell that L or V ever even noticed it at ALL (yes, I know I said it twice....) And if you're going to skip anything in the bathroom, don't make it the shower. Worthless as I am, I'll probably wipe off the counter top. The Boy will even brush the toilet on occasion. But the shower is a big job and one I don't like doing. One I don't like doing enough to PAY someone to do it.....so why isn't it getting done?
When N came to visit, I knew I could go straight to my shower and be able to see myself in almost every surface. The fixtures would gleam, the door would be shiny, heck, the walls would be so clean as to almost be reflective. But not since he left. Before I hired him, a mutual friend told him "You need to know that she's extremely picky and will want everything done perfectly". I was agahst that someone who had never been to my house, who had seen my avalanche of a desk would say that about me. I protested, "no, my BOSS is the extremely picky one, not me, I'm a pussycat!". Nope, he was right (and I've since told him that). I am picky and I want things done right. Especially the shower.
