This gal charges less than other house cleaners because she knows she doesn't do a great job and has no intention of upping her game. She figures there are clients who will put up with her half-hearted work because she works cheap. It sounds like you have pretty much fit into her plan. As you say, you only tolerate her because she's less expensive than her competition.

In recent years, I've hired people to help me on occasion with cleaning and organizing. I too got hit with sticker shock. What I learned is that the less they charge, the less they do.

Back in the 90s, I used to hear about all these immigrants who couldn't get work legally and were working under the table doing household chores for bargain wages. Well, I don't know where they all went, if they ever even existed. In 2020, I hired someone to clean just my bathroom, which was a bad mess, due to some work by my landlord and due to me being away for months. (Bad stains in the toilet, sink and tub from hard water.) The person charged me $100, but she did a beautiful job. People who are really good at this have no problem finding clients who will pay them a lot more than $50 to clean several rooms.

That's the reality. So your choice is to pay more or lower your expectations. I'm not defending this person you hired. It sounds like she is lazy and out to skate by, putting in little effort. I'm afraid that's what you get for what you're paying.

When I cared for my friend who was dying of cancer, the VA and the state were willing to pay for him to have home attendants to help. They were supposed to clean, cook and render personal care like bathing, etc. They were obtained through homecare agencies. You would not beleeeeeeve how little these individuals are willing or able to do. We had a series of them. An agency supervisor comes out and tells you all the help you're going to get from this person who makes about $14/hour. Basically, you get a sitter who might be able to heat up something in the microwave, IF you leave it all prepared ahead of time. As the personal care got more involved, I even tried hiring experienced nurse's aids for the same wage the nursing homes were paying. One of them failed to even take him to the bathroom all day. You find that you just can't drop the bar low enough.

It really is a scandal when you see how little many people are willing to work. That's why really good workers can charge quite a bit. Even wealthy folk will tell you that it truly is hard to get good help.