Woman Asks House Cleaner For A Discount Because She Noticed Her Using Their Sink To Fill Her Water Bottle
The house cleaner's response was classy, courteous, and a very appropriate amount of petty.
PeopleImages.com - Yuri A / Shutterstock Cleaning your home can be relaxing at times, but more often than not, it’s a chore that nobody looks forward to. So, for families that can afford it, outsourcing housework can be a game-changer.
Not only are house cleaners extremely helpful, but families are fighting over finding the “perfect fit,” especially as house cleaners are quickly hitting capacity. In fact, house cleaners experienced over a 20% growth in demand over the past year.
But, despite being in high demand, one woman felt disrespected after cleaning her client's house. Everything seemed okay until her client sent her a “thank you” text. While she started by praising her for a job well done, unfortunately, the message didn't end there.
The client asked her house cleaner for a discount for using their tap water.
“We're wondering if you could give us a discount next time?” the client asked in a text message. “We saw you refilling your water bottle from our sink. It seems not a big deal, but our water bill is high, [especially] with our new pool.”
"Looking forward to seeing you again," she ended the text.
Although this client seemed appreciative of the woman’s work, even requesting that she come back every month, she still attempted to milk her for a few extra cents. And a few cents is far from an over-exaggeration, seeing as the average gallon of tap water costs around just one cent.
Even if the woman filled her 32-ounce water bottle with tap water 10 times, the cost wouldn't so much as equal a dollar. Despite their apparent wealth in hiring extra help, the woman seemed to be trying to take advantage of the house cleaner.
Anyone cleaning an entire house while wearing a face mask and gloves is sure to work up quite a thirst, and the house cleaner likely didn't think twice about filling up her reusable water bottle in the sink. However, the client clearly took issue with it and, as a result, the cleaner was forced to confront the unexpected reality of this privileged client.
Photo: Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock
Thankfully, the house cleaner stood up for herself and refused to tolerate the client's entitled attitude.
In her polite response text, the house cleaner ‘fired’ her clients — asking for their Venmo to send a few cents for the water.
While many comments were outraged over this discount request, the house cleaner’s response was graceful, polite, and a very appropriate amount of petty.
After thanking her for the compliment on her cleaning, she explained that the physical activity required was strenuous, especially because the family had turned their air conditioning off. “I have to be hydrated because it wouldn’t be fun if I passed out in your home,” the woman wrote back. “Please send me your Venmo or PayPal for the reimbursement.”
In the end, the woman politely explained that she would not be back to clean their house again. "As far as me coming back again, it seems like we're not a good match," she wrote. "I wish you good luck and good health."
Demand for house cleaners will surely work in her favor to replace the client, but regardless, she shouldn’t be working for anyone ignorant enough to ignore her basic human needs.
People who have worked in similar positions said this entitled behavior is surprisingly typical for many ‘wealthy families.’
Although not all families who hire cleaning help are wealthy, many who can afford the luxury are — and comments suggest that they’re not the easiest clients to deal with. Some users shared specific interactions they’ve had while cleaning wealthy clients’ homes.
“I worked as a cleaner and a ton of people are like this,” one commenter wrote. “It’s sick. It’s a human right to have water, employee or not.”
Photo: Just Life / Shutterstock
Although many people related to the harsh reality of being a house cleaner, and the tendency for clients to lack basic empathy, several comments provided a sliver of hope.
“Awful. My cleaning lady can take anything she wants, including helping herself to cold bottled water and drinks in the fridge,” one woman claimed. “She does the work that we don’t want/don’t have the time to do, so we appreciate her endlessly.”
While empathy lies at the heart of the entire conversation, people are quick to call out this wealthy woman’s hypocrisy. However, they both deserve some grace. Whether her client was spread too thin financially or simply hadn’t hired a cleaner before, she deserves respect.
But the house cleaner also deserves respect and empathy while she does her job.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a news and entertainment writer at YourTango focusing on pop culture and human interest stories.