To complain about the office cleaning lady?

You need to take it to the building facilities manager, but framed as a problem with the cleaning schedule / systems rather than a personal issue with this person. (Confidential meetings are interrupted, rather than saying that Shirley bursts in on meetings; doors are left open with confidential information unsecured rather than Shirley always leaves doors open, that sort of thing).

I think if a company wants their cleaning service in during business hours for whatever reason they will understand that not EVERY room will be able to be cleaned at each and every visit due to client activity.

While it seems pretty obvious to most people that a room in use would not be cleaned that time. It sounds like this information has not been relayed to the cleaner who has been told what the the usual job spec is without adding the obvious instruction to leave any rooms in use for meetings etc.

She will not feel able to alter the spec without instruction so just goes blasting through whatever.

Seems easy to resolve with a new plan if the owner of the cleaning service could be asked to add to the cleaners' job notes to leave any rooms in obvious use and leave the doors closed of x y z rooms.

If she THEN fails to follow the new instructions it's worthy of a complaint to the cleaning company but at the moment it just seems she is following the job spec to the letter regardless of client activity as she thinks she has to.

The problem is that you’re in someone else’s building. You do not represent her employer or manager, so she’s only going to do what her manager has told her to do, not some here today gone tomorrow random (the message that The Customer Is Always Right is rarely communicated to cleaners because it’s rarely relevant). Talk to the facilities manager, nicely, and get them to change the arrangements in some acceptable way.

I clean offices if a room is in use I go back later if it's still busy I do it the next day. Make a note of it incase anyone complains the room is not cleaned and I can tell them why. I used to work after hours but now have to work during hours and it's a nightmare. She def shouldn't be doing that. As a cleaner you're meant to be invisible and work around people. That's what I was always told anyway. People will sometimes see me and say it's ok come in and then I do but never without being given the OK.

Weird. The problem is probably with what her company has been contracted to do, when and in how much time. Or, they are trying to cut corners. The basics you describe may not have been explained to her - by the building manager, or more likely by the cleaning company she works for.

Honestly raver ive never known a cleaning person not on seeing a room being used doing something else and coming back later. Its basic manners. Complain op she not respecting that someone else is using that room at that time.

I’d approach the building manager but frame it as a complaint about the schedule/ general arrangments rather than a complaint about the woman cleaning.

It isn’t about who’s work is more important it’s about the room being already in use. OP would doubtless be equally annoyed if she was having a meeting and someone barged in to start a different one.

You'd be surprised how many companies prefer cleaners in during working hours. Its because they don't have to worry about us being key holders or locking up securely.
I used to do it and yes, you should knock and ask if its ok to clean in a room.

She won't be in charge of her cleaning timetable. Speak to the building manager but don't complain about her because this will all be stuff she is told to do in order to get the job done.

Oh and she always asked "do you want your desk done today?" so if we were busy trying to meet a deadline or something we could say no but otherwise we would go and make a coffee or whatever.

At my last job the cleaner used to come in during business hours twice a week. It was a small company, 4 of is in the open plan area downstairs and 4 in offices upstairs. She would always ask if it was ok before hoovering the open plan bit and would stop if she saw one of us on the phone, and she never just barged in if the office doors were closed. I get that she probably has a family or another job to get to, but a bit of thought and etiquette wouldn't go amiss.

Such as clean meeting room x. Dust conference room y. Why should she not do this because of you? Oh yes. It's because you feel your role is more important

I've read some nonsense on here but that's almost prize-winning. Yes it's a cleaners job to clean things but you don't barge into confidential meetings or shove into people's offices when they're on the phone and start hoovering. Imagine if you were sat in a meeting room being told you were going to get made redundant or asking for time off after a bereavement and someone was dense enough to insist that was the only time the windowsills could possibly be dusted? Any other workplace and that kind of behavior would have you out on your arse with very good reason.

I used to work in a hospital - open 24/7 so there was never a particularly 'good' time for the cleaners to be in the office, but we made sure we left the meeting room diary open so they could see when the rooms would be empty, they knocked before entering offices and everyone in the open office would pick up bags etc and nip off to make tea or get water when they were hoovering around desks.

talk to management, ask that she cleans after office hours.

Our cleaner is there during office hours. It's ridiculous she's a shit cleaner as well.

What her her hours?
are you working later than usual on these occasions?

our cleaner used to get pretty pissed off when the offices were still busy on his shift.

Like you she has a job to do. Such as clean meeting room x. Dust conference room y. Why should she not do this because of you? Oh yes. It's because you feel your role is more important. She prob has a family to get home to and dosnt want to wait until you have finished your meeting to dust.

The thing is though, in an office environment confidential meetings and performance reviews are more important than cleaning being done at that specific moment in time. Stupid to try and pretend otherwise. It's also absurd to suggest that these activities can take place with a cleaner in the room! You're also conveniently ignoring the other problematic things like her leaving doors open.

I find it very odd that a cleaner is in during the day - every office I've been in has them come in after hours, so totally understand why you find it surprising and difficult OP. I think that since you've tried to address it with her directly and it hasn't worked you should escalate it. Hopefully it will encourage her to be more considerate - or, if she's not the right cleaner for the role, that's just something that happens sometimes.

YABU - you do not get that her job is to get the cleaning done under tight timelines. You are asking her to knock on your door and wait each time to get access to your room. The door being left open is likely a way she shows each room done. If you don't want to be disturbed can't you put a sign on door to say 'do not disturbs' - she's not a mindreader. Of course that means your room won't get cleaned that day.

I'd explain to the building manager that the current situation is not working out and ask if adjustments can be made to her cleaning hours so that she cleans before/after work (ideal) or at least morning/afternoon only, so you can plan client meetings for a safe time of day. I've never worked anywhere where cleaners were around in office hours either tbh.

As for leaving doors open, she is BU about that and needs telling to sort it out!

And what Twicker said ^^

I wouldn't want the cleaning lady in while I was getting my performance review, either, so I suppose the same goes for my employees ...
Sorry I know it’s not funny but I had to just LOL envisaging the cleaner butting in to someone’s performance review ‘and the state she leaves her desk in, waste basket always overflowing, crisp crumbs all over the floor...’

You don’t neccasarily need to complain to he building manager so much as talk to them to agree a plan that works for all. They management can deal with any attitude issues you just need a service agreement with them.

That's a load of shit Raver, you can't be that thick. It is not ok for anyone to burst into a room with a closed door, anyone, but anyone armed with hoover, ffs. Definitely complain. And don't worry about her having kids and bills, she clearly isn't so why are you?

Presumably she works to a fixed schedule so can you not just work around her? For eg we know a certain area gets hoovered at 8am Tuesday mornings so there no point expecting to use it until 8.30 that day. Usually cleaning staff have a lot of space to cover in a very small amount of time so any disruption to this will mean she can’t get it all done (and cleaners often work more than 1 job, so late finishing somewhere not only means issues with organising childcare/personal life but may also mean losing the other job too)