Discontent Temper Tantrum…

Well, after lots of consideration, weighing the pros and cons, and talking with my husband, I quit the call center job. The level anxiety and depression the job was causing just wasn’t worth it. I know there are plenty of people out there that would just shake their head at me and have tons of thoughts about this, but, when it comes down to it, that is them, not me. Judge as you see fit. I’m good.

I feel, when it comes down to me having a mini break down every time I go to work, then it’s time for that not to be what I am doing for work. Princessy? Maybe, maybe not, and it isn’t really a matter of that. If something causes you so much angst, it’s time for something to change. Was my decision the right one? For me, yes, very much so.

SO, what am I going to do next to bring money into my little gypsy camp? I don’t know, but I will figure it out. I have been doing some cleans to keep money coming in, but that is changing, too.

Have you heard of Homeaglow? It’s a company that operates very much like an app for finding house cleaners. I love the concept, but the way this company does things feels very much like it is dancing on the line of unethical in ways. Let me explain why and you can decide for yourself what you think.

So, I have been getting cleaning jobs through Homeaglow for a couple of months now. I had signed up with them thinking that, on my days off, I could throw a clean in here and there to bring in a little bit more money. When I quit the call center, I immediately went to my account with them and opened up my availability. Since I had been getting notifications of available jobs to claim a lot while I was working at the call center, I figured this was a great way to keep money coming in while I find something else. Sounds like a good plan, right?

Anyway, I have done about 8 jobs through them, have 3 repeat clients, and have received only 5-star reviews. Great! Or, at least, I thought so. Last Saturday, I went and did a move out clean with my best friend (her job through her company, not Homeaglow) and realized I hadn’t had any clean notifications from Homeaglow for a couple of days. Odd. So, I hopped on the site to see if maybe it was just a glitch. When I got there, I found out they had blocked me from claiming new cleans. What??? Why is this???

The reasons given for a cleaner being blocked in Homeaglow’s help section are cancellations, complaints, and/or making the client feel unsafe or talking of drugs. Ok. I can see those as being good reasons to be blocked. The problem is I don’t fall in any of those categories. They have a link to request to be reactivated so I clicked that, filled out the form and inquired why I had been blocked. After you send in the request, you receive a message saying your request has been received and someone will get back to you within 1-2 business days. I have still not heard from them and am still blocked from claiming any new jobs. I sent in a second request on Tuesday night. Still nothing.

One of the things that really bugs me about this is that I know that I have not any clients that would have complained to Homeaglow about anything. Remember, I’ve only received 5-star reviews and the last two clients I had before I was blocked on Homeaglow actually want to hire me outside of Homeaglow because they just can’t afford Homeaglow’s prices, which brings me to the next thing sort of shifty, in my opinion, with Homeaglow.

Homeaglow charges a fee. That is not the problem. I completely understand charging a fee for the service they provide, but this is how Homeaglow goes about making their money:

I charge $24 an hour for cleaning. Homeaglow then charges the client $39 per hour – that means they are making $15 per hour for every hour I work, more on a first time client since I do not make my full amount unless it is a repeat client of mine. For example, if a first time client has requested me for a 2.5hr clean, I make $47.50 instead of $60, though the client is still being charged $39/hr. That one bugged me from the get-go, but I was thinking “no big deal. First clean discounted then my normal rates kick in,” but the more I learn about and experience Homeaglow, the less I’m ok about it.

The next thing that really bugs me about Homeaglow is their cancellation policy. If the cleaner needs to cancel a job for any reason what-so-ever –  sick, just got in a car accident, hospitalized, whatever, they are charged $15, no exceptions. If the client needs to cancel within the last 24 hours before a clean, they are charged the full amount of the clean, again, no exceptions. I can understand having a cancellation fee, but this seems a bit over zealous and…greedy.

So, I am blocked from claiming new jobs and one would think that, if the company doesn’t want me to work for/through them for whatever reason, they would re-assign the cleans I already have scheduled. Not the case at all. I have 6 more cleans scheduled through August. Unfortunately, they are going to have to re-assign those cleans because I truly do not want to work with this company anymore. I do not trust them or their integrity. Since the next clean I had on the schedule isn’t until July 14th, there is plenty of time for another cleaner to pick up the job and the client will still have their service provided.

What’s in store for me? I have no idea. I’m keeping my mind open. I feel like I am being pushed out of the old, away from something new that just wasn’t going to work long-term for me, and that it is time to take a broader look around at my options. I find myself really wishing I could have gotten the Animal Behavior College going – I’d be about halfway through the program by now. Yes, it is a source of discontent with me. I don’t know what to do with those feelings. There isn’t anything I can do about it.

I’m not in good head space, at the moment. I’m feeling a bit defeated though I’m trying to not acknowledge it and keep moving forward, there is a really huge part of me that just wants to throw a huge temper tantrum and give up. That’s a sure way to have things get worse, but I’m feeling pretty lost and like there is nothing that I do that is going to turn out right. I’m so sick of struggling, fighting to make things work, facing life on life’s terms, left foot right foot repeating it. I’m tired, a bit bruised and broken, and wondering why I bother trying to make my life better since it always seems to loop back to the struggle and fight. What’s the point? The good times in the middle? Yes, those are great but I’m usually too busy OCD mapping how to keep moving forward that I tend not to be able to find all the joy in them. Or, I start to find the joy in them and life comes and kicks my legs out from under me and then kicks out my teeth just to make sure I know it was there. Thanks, Life, I got the memo. You can go pick on someone else now.