Cleaner

[MadMac]

Now we have a cleaner lady charging 500B for half a day. Someone suggested that may be too much. What is the going rate to pay?

[JLT]

The going rate is whatever she can get someone to pay.

I think that 500 baht for a half day is far too much and that somewhere between 200 and 300 baht would be more realistic. We used to pay our cleaner 300 baht for maybe 3 hours, twice a week. However it became too tiresome to continually supervise her half-hearted attempts to work, encourage her to stop her chatting and to get her to clean to an appropriate (and carefully explained standard.

The other problem is of course, that once someone (a cleaner for instance) negotiates a disproportionate increase for themself it sets the standard for every other cleaner to ask for more.

All that being said, if you do find a good cleaner at the right price they are worth hanging on to.

[sappersrest]

Would you work as a cleaner for $3.85 or 2 pounds 50p per hour? Pay what you feel is fair pay peanuts you get monkeys.

[saakura]

If you are getting your (let us say, 75sqm) medium size condo cleaned once a week and the cleaning is thorough leaving the unit spotless and nice smelling and half a day means about 5hrs of work, then 500 Baht is ok. I have lived in 3 different condo units about 150-200sqm and paid around 800-1000 per cleaning. Used different maids, all from Isaan. Very trustworthy, they used a spare key. Never had reason to complaint, except one lady who was very bad and did not use her again.

[amexpat]

Would you work as a cleaner for $3.85 or 2 pounds 50p per hour? Pay what you feel is fair pay peanuts you get monkeys.

Could you rent a three bedroom, two bath house for $285 or 180 pounds where you come from?

[northernjohn]

The last time this came up about cleaners no one was worried about the cost. They were just trying to find one. Has there been an influx of cleaners?

[STUDMEYER]

Consider also that this cleaner isnt working for you regularly - ie its not a full time job. Theres lots of people that only want a part time mae baan ie 2-3 days per week. If you're not hiring her full time its got to be worth her while to come and work for you if shes putting off other opportunities.

That being said, an amazing mae baan that looks after your children, cooks, does the laundry and makes perfect sock bombs while cleaning to an excellent standard, and is friendly and trust worthy can be found for 450/day or less for a full 8 hrs.

If you have someone you like, whos doing a good job for you, suck it up and oay the extra 100 baht per day, you dont want to lose them.

Rgs

SM

Edited November 4, 2015 by STUDMEYER

[DogNo1]

My cleaning lady at a large hotel in Bangkok tells me that she makes 6,000 for about 150 hours of work. That's 40 baht per hour. I don't know how much she makes in tips. I give her 50 baht per day.

[worgeordie]

The house cleaners in my area receive,300 THB half day,400-500 THB

for full day,thats Thai customers,Farangs will give them more,

If you find a reliable worker,it would be advisable to pay them a bit more,

as its not easy to find house cleaners,and much more difficult to find a

good one.or you could just get your wife to do it,best to keep them busy

regards Worgeordie

[HaleySabai]

A house cleaner in my country is around 700b per.hr(and she is Thai)...so relatively, 500b for a half-day here sounds absolutely outrageous!

[MadMac]

Ok, thanks, so we are good. The house is 200sqm+. So she has something to do. Had another one here for 1000B before, wife thinks that is normal, I don't.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

The house cleaners in my area receive,300 THB half day,400-500 THB

for full day,thats Thai customers,Farangs will give them more,

If you find a reliable worker,it would be advisable to pay them a bit more,

as its not easy to find house cleaners,and much more difficult to find a

good one.or you could just get your wife to do it,best to keep them busy

Yes, this.

It also depends how often, and at what times.

We need a cleaning lady to come in at very irregular times, on random days of the week. It takes only 2.5 or 3 hours so that's less than half a day (well, maybe with travel time it's almost half a day) and pay 500 Baht, mostly because we need it to be worthwhile to her. Sure we could pay less, but then we'd likely find that she can't go certain days/times, or disappears altogether.

Plus she does a very good job and is honest and reliable, so I really don't feel like some kind of penny-squeezing effort to try and save 100-200 Baht. I'd rather say 'no' once or twice in a bar to a lady drink request.

Edited November 5, 2015 by WinnieTheKhwai

[amexpat]

Would you work as a cleaner for $3.85 or 2 pounds 50p per hour? Pay what you feel is fair pay peanuts you get monkeys.

A house cleaner in my country is around 700b per.hr(and she is Thai)...so relatively, 500b for a half-day here sounds absolutely outrageous!

"In my country..... "

"Back home....."

"Where I come from...."

Welcome to CM, Thailand, and Asia. I hope you get acclimated, attuned, adjusted to it one day.

Edited November 5, 2015 by amexpat

[MadMac]

It's actually not difficult to find, at least if you are in a Moo Baan, there are all kind of people jumping around and begging for some extra work. We had that one for 1000B half day. Too expensive. The current contact came trough facebook. So if you look around, there is someone.

[Mousehound]

1000Bht a day is how much my friend gets. He is Thai with a masters in engineering.

[sharktooth]

1000Bht a day is how much my friend gets. He is Thai with a masters in engineering.

But is he any good with a bog brush and a mop?

[sappersrest]

Would you work as a cleaner for $3.85 or 2 pounds 50p per hour? Pay what you feel is fair pay peanuts you get monkeys.

A house cleaner in my country is around 700b per.hr(and she is Thai)...so relatively, 500b for a half-day here sounds absolutely outrageous!

"In my country..... "

"Back home....."

"Where I come from...."

Welcome to CM, Thailand, and Asia. I hope you get acclimated, attuned, adjusted to it one day.

It's nothing to do with back home or in my country ,you pay what is fair in your own mind and what you can afford I can afford to pay well and my conciseness would not let me pay the daily min wage, So if it upsets you old timerst that those of us who pay a pay a living wage tough,my money and I will pay what i like. PS I am not a socialist and have lived here 2 years and intend to stay.

[MadMac]

Yeah, that is fair and also what I had in mind.

[DaamNaam]

300 a day for starters, then 350 if she does her job ok, or 400 if she does her job well. More than that and you should get all the knobs polished as well.

[MadMac]

Question was answered. 500B is fair and ok. 1000B is not.

Edited November 5, 2015 by MadMac

[Mousehound]

1000Bht a day is how much my friend gets. He is Thai with a masters in engineering.

But is he any good with a bog brush and a mop?

Don't know - I'll ask him. Could be time for a career change.

[amexpat]

Would you work as a cleaner for $3.85 or 2 pounds 50p per hour? Pay what you feel is fair pay peanuts you get monkeys.

A house cleaner in my country is around 700b per.hr(and she is Thai)...so relatively, 500b for a half-day here sounds absolutely outrageous!

"In my country..... "

"Back home....."

"Where I come from...."

Welcome to CM, Thailand, and Asia. I hope you get acclimated, attuned, adjusted to it one day.

It's nothing to do with back home or in my country ,you pay what is fair in your own mind and what you can afford I can afford to pay well and my conciseness would not let me pay the daily min wage, So if it upsets you old timerst that those of us who pay a pay a living wage tough,my money and I will pay what i like. PS I am not a socialist and have lived here 2 years and intend to stay.

I am not at all upset and I doubt the "oltimerst" are either. It's simply that....

Oh, never mind. I have decided to only converse with rational people. But congratulations on your stated affluence.

[sappersrest]

Not really sure of the point you you are trying to make please enlarge, the point I am trying to make there is a big difference between a minium wage and a living wage.Those of us that can afford it should try and pay a living wage .No matter what country you live in. good wage equals good staff as a rule.

[CMKiwi]

Not really sure of the point you you are trying to make please enlarge, the point I am trying to make there is a big difference between a minium wage and a living wage.Those of us that can afford it should try and pay a living wage .No matter what country you live in. good wage equals good staff as a rule.

I would somewhat agree with what you say, but this is Thailand and what you pay for is not always what you get.

My wife and I have employed local staff to work in 3 different businesses (Restaurant, guesthouse and a bar). On each business we have paid above the normal rate. Did we get better service from them? Hell no.

I learnt very early that you do not take on staff from "friends" recommendations. They are simply trying to dump off dead wood and make your business fail.

Don't get me wrong, I love Thai people but I don't trust them when it comes to business dealings. From my experience they are there to make money and to hell with friendships. That aside....I believe Thai business owners are in for a rude awakening when the borders are opened to the Chinese.

Then they may feel what it's like to be duped.

That aside...I still love the place

[nightbirdbs]

Is up to area i think i had a house 280sqm lin north, let clean 2 time per Week a half day and i payed 300thb sometimes just for 2 hour but was clean her Husband work @ a Farm 13 hour for the same. I think 500thb never mind.

[triffid]

Thais routinely pay 300 baht a day. I pay 600 baht a day (9am-2pm) 3 days a week - her workload isn't heavy given I'm single. I'm happy to pay what I do because a) I'm reasonably happy with her work, and I've found it hard to find maids and am reluctant to waste time looking for cheaper - even ignoring the fact that a replacement may not be as good.

Hope that info helps.