Question:
I thought cleaning houses would be the perfect job for me. I was excited about being my own boss. I also figured everyone would love their housecleaner because they’d come home to a clean house, with dishes done, beds made, floors vacuumed and cabinets wiped down. I knew I’d encounter messes, that people would leave things for me to handle that they don’t want to deal with, but figured that wouldn’t be any different that what I put up with from my kids.
What I didn’t prepare for was how it would make me feel to be distrusted and disrespected. There’s one woman I clean for who spies on me. She thinks I don’t realize that she creeps up the stairs and looks in when I straighten her bedroom. Sure, she owns more expensive things than I do, but I don’t want her things and I would never steal. Then there’s the guy who told me before my first cleaning that he had secret cameras positioned throughout the house. I think he was warning me that if I stole something, he’d know. I don’t think he actually had the cameras, but his warning creeped me out, and I let him know I wouldn’t be able to fit his cleaning into my weekly schedule.
Then there’s the disrespect — the people who cancel with little notice. One client even told me when I arrived, vacuum in hand, on her front porch, “Oh, I forgot to cancel.” Then she just smiled while I stood there stupidly expecting her to say something like, “Well, come in and clean anyhow since you’re here” or “Let me give you something for your time.”
Yes, I had my time back, but there was no way I could put another paying client into that time slot, and she pulled that stunt on the week I planned to buy school supplies. Because of her, I wound up disappointing my kids. As I drove off, I figured she’d add a little something to what she paid for my next visit. But she didn’t. So that’s why I decided to write. I know I could create a late cancellation fee, but that doesn’t answer the deeper question: How do I deal with how it feels to be distrusted and disrespected?
Answer:
When new clients don’t trust you, it’s not you they don’t trust, it’s having a person they don’t yet know inside their home. Perhaps another cleaner stole from them or otherwise burned them. Don’t take their distrust personally, and don’t let it make you feel bad about yourself.
You can earn their trust with your actions. When you’re honest, accountable, professional and competent, you build others’ confidence in you and create trust. Keep your promises. If you say you’ll arrive at 9, show up at 9. If you make a mistake or forget to do something, say so. Our straightforward communications and our actions define us in others’ minds.
Be patient and let your clients get to know you. It takes time, effort and consistency to build trust. When someone says “I trust you,” it means “your behavior has proven trustworthy, I don’t need to worry that you’re hurt me, and I believe you’ll do your level best not to let me down.” With new clients, you might consider paving the way for them to trust you by providing reference statements from your long-term clients.
When clients don’t treat you with respect, drop them. You can’t afford clients who “forget to cancel” or who never learn to trust you. You’re a professional and deserve to be treated as one.