House Cleaning Recommendations

[dsmandell]

I am recently incapacitated by an accident, and my house is a mess. I am looking to hire somebody to come in a few times and give everything a good scrub from top to bottom, and then maybe once a week for maintenance. This is in muang Chiang Mai (near Prathu Chang Puak).

I am not looking to hire a live-in housekeeper. Can anybody give me some guidance on what to offer a house cleaner per day or hour? Can anyone recommend someone who can come clean by farang standards? I have seen "cleaning" that involves throwing lots of water on the floor and pushing the dirt around, but I would want the floors swept and then mopped with soap. I have a small house (2 bed, 2 bath), but I have unfortunately let it go too long...

Thanks for any suggestions.

Cheers,

Daniel

[Thongkorn]

Sorry to here of your Incapacitation, I would look for Someone who is local, tell them what you want and make shore you watch them, Bolt every thing down and lock every thing up. its a case of suck it and see with Thais. No disrespect to Thais . Like most other people there are good and bad.200/300 baht is about normal. I suppose if you pay them and tell them you will give them a cash bonus at the end they may do Good job.

[dsmandell]

Sorry to here of your Incapacitation, I would look for Someone who is local, tell them what you want and make shore you watch them, Bolt every thing down and lock every thing up. its a case of suck it and see with Thais. No disrespect to Thais . Like most other people there are good and bad.200/300 baht is about normal. I suppose if you pay them and tell them you will give them a cash bonus at the end they may do Good job.

Thanks, I have never had anyone in to clean before, so I don't know what to expect. 200-300 is normal for what? A day?

I have asked at places in my immediate vicinity, but came up empty-handed. And since I cannot get out, I don't know where else to go. Are there any professional cleaning services I could just call and have come clean?

Cheers,

Daniel

[Thongkorn]

Sorry 200/300 per Day. Maybe you are not telling people what you are willing to pay . money talks.

[Patriciachas]

Sorry to here of your Incapacitation, I would look for Someone who is local, tell them what you want and make shore you watch them, Bolt every thing down and lock every thing up. its a case of suck it and see with Thais. No disrespect to Thais . Like most other people there are good and bad.200/300 baht is about normal. I suppose if you pay them and tell them you will give them a cash bonus at the end they may do Good job.

Thanks, I have never had anyone in to clean before, so I don't know what to expect. 200-300 is normal for what? A day?

I have asked at places in my immediate vicinity, but came up empty-handed. And since I cannot get out, I don't know where else to go. Are there any professional cleaning services I could just call and have come clean?

Cheers,

Daniel

i think their is a swiss lady called Fran who runs a cleaning business from in Chiang Mai .I do not have her number but may be other posters do .sorry to here about your disability.

[harrry]

I do not know if this helps but in the condo I am in they clean for75 baht an hour for a minimum of two hours. They do agod job too. They use their building staff so there is no travelling but it should give you agude to what is reasonable to pay.

[Maejo Man]

I think this is the post you at looking for.....

I highly recommend Fa's Cleaning & Housekeeping Service. Reasonable rates for an absolutely thorough and professional service. I am very impressed. Not a speck left unscrubbed, anywhere. Floors like an ice-skating rink. Fabulous.

[Maejo Man]

sorry forgot to include the original link

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Recommendati...l=fran+cleaning

[el jefe]

sorry forgot to include the original link

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Recommendati...l=fran+cleaning

I'll second that recommendation for FA's. Fran and her staff do a great job. Fran speaks English but her staff does not. One of the many advantages is that if you are on vacation for a week, or six months, you can skip the cleaning while you are away and then reschedule for the day before you return. You pay more than the standard rate but get much better work.

[Patriciachas]

sorry forgot to include the original link

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Recommendati...l=fran+cleaning

Thats the lady i was mentioning ,very good service.

[Oneman]

looking to hire somebody to come in a few times and give everything a good scrub from top to bottom, and then maybe once a week for maintenance.

Daniel -

I'm willing to lend you my maid for your project.

She'll clean from floor to ceiling, getting in all the nooks and crannies.

She'll go through the 'fridge and throw out any long-time left-overs that don't pass her sniff test for freshness.

While she's arranging your closets, if she sees any buttons that need sewing, she'll do that, too.

And, since you're not up to moving about, she'll jump on her motorcy and do your errands: shopping for groceries at TOPS, picking up your laundry, or taking a pair of shoes to be repaired.

As she works, you can expect to hear a steady stream of complaints -- in polite Thai -- that you should wipe the bathtub after you shower and you should not leave food out where it can attract ants.

If you do not understand Thai, maybe better for you.

If you do understand Thai, she's full of helpful and useful ideas for improving your household and your life.

And she has clear insight into "Thai ways", which I've found very helpful.

I don't take all her suggestions, but I've learned to listen carefully when she offers ideas.

She comes to my place one morning per week; about 4-5 hours.

I pay well above standard -- 100 baht/hour -- so she won't be tempted to leave me and go work for you.

But you don't need to offer quite that much.

If she was young and pretty, she'd make a superb wife, but she's not:

Age 40, married with a child, not at all pretty.

If that sounds useful, send me a PM with your phone number, and I'll pass it on to her.

Then it's up to her to contact you.

I believe she has open time, so if a few others are interested, can contact me, too.

-- Oneman

Chiangmai

.

Edited October 18, 2009 by Oneman

[sassienie]

I am recently incapacitated by an accident, and my house is a mess. I am looking to hire somebody to come in a few times and give everything a good scrub from top to bottom, and then maybe once a week for maintenance. This is in muang Chiang Mai (near Prathu Chang Puak).

I am not looking to hire a live-in housekeeper. Can anybody give me some guidance on what to offer a house cleaner per day or hour? Can anyone recommend someone who can come clean by farang standards? I have seen "cleaning" that involves throwing lots of water on the floor and pushing the dirt around, but I would want the floors swept and then mopped with soap. I have a small house (2 bed, 2 bath), but I have unfortunately let it go too long...

Thanks for any suggestions.

Cheers,

Daniel

Sorry to hear of your accident and hope you make a full recovery very soon.

As regards to a housekeeper, I would like to tell you of my experiences, to give you some idea of the risks involved.

From my post on ThaiVisa a year ago:

If you are a Farang, forget trying to employ a live in Nanny/housekeeper in Thailand, whether they are Thai or Burmese, it doesn’t work.

My wife and I decided to hire a live in lady housekeeper. Offering good wages, 9000 baht per month plus food, use of computer, days off etc.

The job involved some light house cleaning and looking after the home, 2 dogs if we stayed away for a few days and staying with me when my wife was away taking care of her elderly mother.

So I advertised in the job centre at Mai Rim Chiang Mai and in a Chiang Mai local Thai newspaper.

My wife was receiving scores of phone calls per day as a result of the ads.

Women from ages 17 to 60 were phoning for the job, plus ladyboys, gays, and guys offering girls they have on their lists from 14 to 30. Also girls asking if they could bring their children, mother’s and siblings. When my wife told them they would be working for me, a Farang, than the situation changed. Many were asking up to 20000 baht per month for live in. The younger the woman, the higher the wages. None of them had any doable checkable backgrounds or references.

Some of them were really bar girls looking for an assignment because business was down in the town. Others were from poor backgrounds encouraged by their parents or boyfriends to apply for the job, plus educated girls from middleclass families seeking any Farang to support them in a lifestyle they are used to. Most only interested in short time work, although they understood I required someone here long term. It was a ploy to get a lot of money quickly from some gullible Farang.

After interviewing about 50, we took on 5 girls, one after the other, not together. All tried it on for money, the, my mother has had a motorbike accident, sick buffalo etc and when It became clear that I was not falling for this, they soon became bored. Most left on their own accord, the others I had to throw out. One girl, I asked to leave after I saw her throwing a large boulder at my dog. That was scary, she actually held a knife up to me and kept nagging for money, although she had already been paid her wages up to the time I wanted her to go. In the end I had to give her an extra 3000 baht so as to make her leave peacefully.

Also worth keeping in mind: I was advised by my brother in law, who is a Thai lawyer, that there is a scam in which some girls who have police contacts, could say that the Farang touched them and threaten to report this to the police unless a lot of money changes hands, plus some have diseases such as AIDs and TB.

Not worth the risk and hassle or if you do decide to take on one of these girls, ensure she is well recommended and has some sort of references.

Of course we are going to hear of some success stories, but at these times of economic crisis, taking a complete stranger into the home is a dangerous practise, especially if it involves caring for young children or pets.

[Maccheroncini]

A way to meet an array of housekeepers is to visit on of the condos like Hillside and ask around for the regular house keepers there.  Some will  work part time after they knock off at 5 pm.  You get to see who you're hiring too.

[Oneman]

As regards to a housekeeper, I would like to tell you of my experiences, to give you some idea of the risks involved. ... If you are a Farang, forget trying to employ a live in Nanny/housekeeper in Thailand, whether they are Thai or Burmese, it doesn't work.

Since this thread is about finding a housekeeper, I will offer a strong counter point to that post above.

First, I must admit that 'sassienie' was one of the first names to qualify for my "ignore user" list, so, normally, I don't see any of his posts.

However, since I have an interest in this topic, I opened his post above.

Reading that confirmed my original decision to "ignore user", but it got me thinking.

I've been an employer for over 40 years.

In that time, learned a lot about how to find and keep good people.

Here in Chiangmai, I have hired five locals, in various capacities.

In addition, the staff in my condo building includes six more locals, a combination of Thai, Burmese, and hill-tribe.

(Those are hired by the condo management, not me, but they do things for me.)

All have been diligent, conscientious, and polite.

Each of them has gone out of their way to be helpful.

Quite a contrast to Sassienie's horror story above.

Why might that be?

Around here (Chiangmai) I observe plenty of good people, willing and eager to work.

It could be that Sassienie's problems with staff say more about him, than about the local people.

My purpose here is not to abuse Sasseinie, but there are some clues in his post that he handled this in the wrong way.

The most glaring example of that is he hired by putting ads in a newspaper and at a job center.

That approach is guaranteed to attract the bottom of the barrel in job applicants.

Shows lack of understanding about Thai culture.

That is simply not the Thai way of hiring.

Why not?

In a culture where honesty and rule of law are weak, local people depend on social networks far more than Westerners would.

They hire only "known" people, never strangers from classified ads.

That way, if any problem, the employer can go back to the network of relatives, neighbors, and friends, to settle the matter.

And, with network connections from the start, chances of problems are far less.

In that light, for someone who is a new-comer here, with no personal connections yet, Maccheroncini's suggestion makes good sense:

A way to meet an array of housekeepers is to visit on of the condos like Hillside and ask around for the regular house keepers there. Some will work part time after they knock off at 5 pm. You get to see who you're hiring too.

-- Oneman

Chiangmai

.

Edited October 19, 2009 by Oneman

[dsmandell]

Hi everyone,

Before this becomes a thread about the moral character of a nation, which I hope it doesn't, I want to say thank you to everyone who posted with advice. Oneman: thanks so much for extending the offer to hire your maid for the day. Since Fran's service was the first to be mentioned, and my need was somewhat urgent, I had already called her and scheduled her to come this week. She came to give me an estimate, and she was extremely professional. Her service is more expensive than other suggested rates, but not out of the ballpark.

Now does anyone know a handyman? Since I am finally getting around to cleaning this place up, there area lot of little jobs around the house that need doing, so if anybody can recommend a handyman, who has tools, I would appreciate their recommendations. It's small jobs: I have curtain rods that need to be cut down to size, and then drilled into the concrete and anchored above the windows. I also need to seal the grout in my tile floors, especially the bathroom, since I end up showering on a muddy floor from unsealed grout. It doesn't take a contractor to do these things.

Thanks again for your recommendations. I'll do a search for a handyman thread, but maybe start it if there isn't one.

Cheers,

Daniel

[sassienie]

As regards to a housekeeper, I would like to tell you of my experiences, to give you some idea of the risks involved. ... If you are a Farang, forget trying to employ a live in Nanny/housekeeper in Thailand, whether they are Thai or Burmese, it doesn't work.

Since this thread is about finding a housekeeper, I will offer a strong counter point to that post above.

First, I must admit that 'sassienie' was one of the first names to qualify for my "ignore user" list, so, normally, I don't see any of his posts.

However, since I have an interest in this topic, I opened his post above.

Reading that confirmed my original decision to "ignore user", but it got me thinking.

I've been an employer for over 40 years.

In that time, learned a lot about how to find and keep good people.

Here in Chiangmai, I have hired five locals, in various capacities.

In addition, the staff in my condo building includes six more locals, a combination of Thai, Burmese, and hill-tribe.

(Those are hired by the condo management, not me, but they do things for me.)

All have been diligent, conscientious, and polite.

Each of them has gone out of their way to be helpful.

Quite a contrast to Sassienie's horror story above.

Why might that be?

Around here (Chiangmai) I observe plenty of good people, willing and eager to work.

It could be that Sassienie's problems with staff say more about him, than about the local people.

My purpose here is not to abuse Sasseinie, but there are some clues in his post that he handled this in the wrong way.

The most glaring example of that is he hired by putting ads in a newspaper and at a job center.

That approach is guaranteed to attract the bottom of the barrel in job applicants.

Shows lack of understanding about Thai culture.

That is simply not the Thai way of hiring.

Why not?

In a culture where honesty and rule of law are weak, local people depend on social networks far more than Westerners would.

They hire only "known" people, never strangers from classified ads.

That way, if any problem, the employer can go back to the network of relatives, neighbors, and friends, to settle the matter.

And, with network connections from the start, chances of problems are far less.

In that light, for someone who is a new-comer here, with no personal connections yet, Maccheroncini's suggestion makes good sense:

A way to meet an array of housekeepers is to visit on of the condos like Hillside and ask around for the regular house keepers there. Some will work part time after they knock off at 5 pm. You get to see who you're hiring too.

-- Oneman

Chiangmai

.

Total nonsense.

I would prefer you to ignore all my posts, since it seems you can only respond with a form of sarcasm and in between the lines flaming.

Firstly, most Thai people I have met over here are descent and honest, and your comments about Thais having low priorities for honesty and that being part of Thai culture, is a derogatory statement to the Thai people and Thailand. These statements displays an arrogance on your part, therefore I can believe you have been an employer for 40 years, because there is a lot of arrogance in business.

I do agree now after my experiences that by putting ads in a newspaper and at a job centre is likely, guaranteed is a bit over the top, to attract the bottom of the barrel in job applicants. But unlike yourself, not all of us have the advantage of having company contacts and staff to do the hiring for them and can only use methods of advertising to whatever means is available for them.

I created this post of my experiences in trying to hire a live in housekeeper as a warning of beware, for the benefit of others, who like me, may not have had the experience or the advantages of yourself in trying to obtain the services of a live in housekeeper and see no reason why you should use this as an opportunity to respond with personal insults to me.

So in future please do ignore my posts, if you need to resort to insults in order to get your point across.

[mcgriffith]

Glad you all settled that.

I buy the usual scouring powders, floor cleaners, window stuff, squeegees/mops etc. at pretty much every store here- from a small soi mom n' pop, to the hypermarkets. And do it all myself.

I have had many maids/nannys/live-in-housekeepers in multiple countries over the last 35 years. I find, personally, I can do it faster, cheaper, easier and with less time constraints and schedules, if I do it.

But that is a single guy speaking. I totally understand the need for anyone with a house, or a large family, to employ someone good.

I look back with fondness to some of these hard working women who worked for me. One cared for my newborn son for the first 3 months, and cooked, and cleaned, beautifully. I was very sad when she left, for family reasons. That was in Lima, Peru, back in the 80's.

I would say most of the neighbors in my residence have a maid; never heard about any problems here regarding them. I'm sure all were referred, friend to friend, as mentioned above.

[dsmandell]

looking to hire somebody to come in a few times and give everything a good scrub from top to bottom, and then maybe once a week for maintenance.

Daniel -

I'm willing to lend you my maid for your project.

She'll clean from floor to ceiling, getting in all the nooks and crannies.

She'll go through the 'fridge and throw out any long-time left-overs that don't pass her sniff test for freshness.

While she's arranging your closets, if she sees any buttons that need sewing, she'll do that, too.

And, since you're not up to moving about, she'll jump on her motorcy and do your errands: shopping for groceries at TOPS, picking up your laundry, or taking a pair of shoes to be repaired.

As she works, you can expect to hear a steady stream of complaints -- in polite Thai -- that you should wipe the bathtub after you shower and you should not leave food out where it can attract ants.

If you do not understand Thai, maybe better for you.

If you do understand Thai, she's full of helpful and useful ideas for improving your household and your life.

And she has clear insight into "Thai ways", which I've found very helpful.

I don't take all her suggestions, but I've learned to listen carefully when she offers ideas.

She comes to my place one morning per week; about 4-5 hours.

I pay well above standard -- 100 baht/hour -- so she won't be tempted to leave me and go work for you.

But you don't need to offer quite that much.

If she was young and pretty, she'd make a superb wife, but she's not:

Age 40, married with a child, not at all pretty.

If that sounds useful, send me a PM with your phone number, and I'll pass it on to her.

Then it's up to her to contact you.

I believe she has open time, so if a few others are interested, can contact me, too.

-- Oneman

Chiangmai

.

Hi Oneman,

I would like to take you up on your offer of putting me in touch with your maid. I had Fran's cleaning service out here today, and I have to say it was the most superficial cleaning imaginable. It hardly made a dent and this was supposed to be "deep spring cleaning."

This is unfortunate, since I would have loved to have a service I could have come every week or two, but first I need to get it cleaned to the point where it is just a matter of maintenance.

My phone number is 081-366-3325. I have a guest coming tomorrow for a long weekend, and the idea was to have it cleaned before then, but best laid plans... so now I guess some day next week, if that would work for her.

Thanks again for the offer. I hope she is willing. I am happy to pay 100 baht per hour if she does the job.

Cheers,

Daniel

[dsmandell]

sorry forgot to include the original link

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Recommendati...l=fran+cleaning

I'll second that recommendation for FA's. Fran and her staff do a great job. Fran speaks English but her staff does not. One of the many advantages is that if you are on vacation for a week, or six months, you can skip the cleaning while you are away and then reschedule for the day before you return. You pay more than the standard rate but get much better work.

Thanks everyone for the recommendations. I gave Fran a call and she came by to see my place. To be fair, she thought that getting my house in shape, to the point I would just need a regular maintenance clean, would take three people for a half day, priced at 1200 baht. But because she had a pretty tight schedule, the best we could do was getting two people for a half day, for 850 baht. A half day started at 1pm, and finished at 4:30pm, so this worked out to about 120 baht per hour per person. I was okay with that for a serious deep cleaning. But, I would have to say it was superficial at best. Running a finger along my wood stairs still came up covered in dust, which shouldn't happen right after cleaning.

We had talked about scheduling a regular weekly cleaning, but certainly not if that's the deep cleaning!

My place still very much needs cleaning, so more suggestions still welcome!

[dsmandell]

Thanks everyone for the recommendations. I gave Fran a call and she came by to see my place. To be fair, she thought that getting my house in shape, to the point I would just need a regular maintenance clean, would take three people for a half day, priced at 1200 baht. But because she had a pretty tight schedule, the best we could do was getting two people for a half day, for 850 baht. A half day started at 1pm, and finished at 4:30pm, so this worked out to about 120 baht per hour per person. I was okay with that for a serious deep cleaning. But, I would have to say it was superficial at best. Running a finger along my wood stairs still came up covered in dust, which shouldn't happen right after cleaning.

We had talked about scheduling a regular weekly cleaning, but certainly not if that's the deep cleaning!

My place still very much needs cleaning, so more suggestions still welcome!

Okay, Fran has quickly responded to my dissatisfaction and asked for a second chance. Considering that they were overtaxed and pushing their schedule to the limit to accommodate me, it's the least I can do. I will report back on how it goes.

Cheers,

Daniel