Since most housewives work on the same property for months or even years, they get to know the house well, the owners, and how they like things to be done. This is why it is common not to tip the housekeeper who is self-employed. If you hire an independent house cleaner for a one-time or infrequent cleaning, many people won't tip, since they chose the price directly with the person. However, when the service ends, some people tip between 15 and 25% of the cost of the service for one-time jobs.
However, a self-employed house cleaner still deserves a 15 to 20% tip. Tipping freelance cleaners isn't as important as tipping cleaners who work for large agencies, but it's good to tip if you can. For many people, the practice of tipping is fraught with worry and anxiety. Do I need to tip my house cleaner? Will offering a tip be offensive? Wouldn't it be rude not to offer one? How much should I tip? The questions seem endless, so let me help you. Do I need to tip my house cleaner? There are no universal rules that cover a house cleaner's tip.
Standard practice varies depending on where you live, if you work for a company or an individual, how often you use your cleaning service, and the amount of work you expect to receive. And of course, it depends on you and your house cleaner. If you are going to tip your house cleaner, the following questions are usually: How often should I tip my house cleaner? Do I need to tip my house cleaner at every appointment? In an ideal world, you shouldn't have to ask yourself: Should I tip my house cleaner? Because your salary would accurately reflect the value of your work. Unfortunately, the reality is that we live in a much more complex world that may or may not value service work and pay for it accordingly. House cleaners from big cleaning companies like Amazon, Groupon, Molly Maids and Merry Maids don't expect tips, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't leave one.
When you're still determining how often you should tip the cleaner, consider the type of service you've requested. Let your house cleaner channel their appreciation for a job well done into something meaningful to them. On the other hand, employees of cleaning companies receive only part of the payment and cannot change the rates, so tips could be useful to them. You should also consider the quality of the work you receive from each cleaning service before deciding whether to tip your waitress.
If you hire a company to clean your house, ask how much they pay their staff and whether or not their salary is set on the assumption that the landlords will pay tips. If you liked the service, it would be great if you could leave a tip of 15 to 20% of the price you paid to the cleaner, or it could be higher if you consider that the work was excellent or that the house was very messy. Leave Christmas presents for your house cleaning staff in a holiday card and be sure to give it to them directly, or leave a highlighted note on the counter if you're not home when they clean. Cleaning houses for a living isn't an easy job, and everyone likes to feel rewarded for a job well done.
If not, you can also choose a well-thought-out gift to show your appreciation to your house cleaner. Now, while there are no strict rules about whether or not to tip the house cleaner, I can give you some guidelines. Some people bring the house cleaner a holiday gift; others give random small gifts “just because”. Ultimately, a cleaner in New York will receive a higher tip than a house cleaner in Chicago, Toronto, or Kansas City.
