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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Cleaning Rota in the office

71 replies

HopeS01 · 21/10/2013 13:47

I'm outraged a bit miffed (to say the least!), and I need some unbiased opinions as to whether or not IABU...

I work in a fashion retail head office. We have a communal kitchen. The Cleaner comes at the end of the day, every day. The receptionist has been sending constant reminders about the state of the kitchen; dirty dishes left in the sink, tea bags on the worktop, cereal in the plughole, out of date food in the fridge etc. etc. Disgusting. I feel sorry for the poor girl, but it is falling on deaf ears. No improvement.
Today, a Cleaning Rota was circulated. Every department (excluding senior management) is expected to take part and clean the kitchen at 2pm daily, when it is their turn.
I have refused, and have been notified that there will be consequences.

Is it reasonable to expect people (who are not employed as cleaners) to clean up after the scruffy b*stards who leave the kitchen in this state every day? Am I being unreasonable to refuse on the grounds that A) it is certainly not in my job role to be cleaning the communal areas (I tidy my own desk area and wash my own dishes!) B) I am too busy; I already work early every morning and late every night without a full lunch break to get my work done

NB: I don't know how to say this without sounding snotty, and I know this isn't exactly relevant because no one other than the cleaner should be responsible for this task, but I am not a junior member of the team. I feel a little over qualified to be unblocking the plug hole of someone else's breakfast Blush (I do enough of that at home!)

OP posts:
Fleta · 21/10/2013 13:48

YANBU

I wouldn't be cleaning up the office after anyone else unless I was employed as a cleaner.

BrianWont · 21/10/2013 13:49

YANBU. This would be a Red Line for me. The nerve!

HeeHiles · 21/10/2013 13:50

I agree with you - why can't people clean up after themselves? One boss I had bought us all mugs with our names on them - so we all knew who wasn't washing up after themselves!

IfYouLoveSomebodyLetThemSleep · 21/10/2013 13:51

Yanbu, surely they should be finding out who is making so much mess and punishing them, instead of making everyone else suffer?

Original poster
HopeS01 · 21/10/2013 13:54

THANK YOU! I'm so pleased you all agree. I was ready for a flaming and lots of "Why do you think you're too good to clean?" I DON'T! I'm just not employed to clean.

Brian, you're right! I can't believe the nerve.

OP posts:
chirpchirp · 21/10/2013 13:54

YANBU. It's not going to address the actual problem that certain people aren't tidying up after themselves.

What's the set up in your office. Are bowls and mugs provided or do people bring their own. Whenever things start getting a bit lax at my office the manager will come and confiscate any mugs/plates/bowls left in the sink and you have to go to them with your tail between your legs and apologise for being such a scrotty bastard in order to get your mug back.

pinguwings · 21/10/2013 13:54

You may be overqualified but you and your office have proved you are incapable of cleaning up your own shit. Of course you should do your bit and maybe the message will filter through rather than the poor cleaner being stuck with it all. YABVU.

cantspel · 21/10/2013 13:54

Tell your manger to remove all cutlery, cups and plates from the kitchen and then if people want to eat they will have to supply their own which they need to take home at the end of the day.

WhoNickedMyName · 21/10/2013 13:56

I thought for a second there we worked in the same office - but I'm not in fashion retail. We've had a similar thing e-mailed out and I have point blank refused to be a part of it.

YANBU. Everyone should be responsible for cleaning up their own mess.

Neither is it the cleaner's job to wash up dirty dishes left in the sink, remove tea bags from the worktop, unblock the plughole of cereal, etc, etc. It's up to the lazy feckers that have made the mess in the first place. I'd hate to see the homes of some of the scummy folk I work with.

HereComesHoneyBooBooDragon · 21/10/2013 14:00

I worked in a similar environment. Are cleaners were instructed to bin all food stuffs and containers (ie lunch boxes, flasks etc) at the end of each day.

We had similar slobs. The cutlery and and all plates were removed.

It made a massive difference, once their own stuff from home was getting binned.

QuenellefireAndDamnation · 21/10/2013 14:00

YANBU

Our cleaner is on holiday for two weeks and the kitchen area looks like something off the Young Ones.

I always wash my cup and glass up and wipe the kitchen surface after I've used it. I would not be happy to have to clean up after some of the adultchildren in our office. If they can't wash a cup (or cereal bowl Hmm) up they should have to go without.

But it's the same everywhere I have worked. After over twenty years' experience of it I have come to the conclusion that if the management aren't prepared to pay for enough cleaning they can take responsibility for making the idle bastards in the office clean up after themselves.

Ragwort · 21/10/2013 14:00

You have the time to write an outraged posting on mumsnet about this (in work time Hmm ?) - you do sound a bit precious, of course it's a pain but if everyone 'mucks in' then everyone is being treated as an equal. Just do it. I feel a little overqualified to be unblocking a plug hole - Get Over Yourself.

Wonder where you work, I was at a retail head office 20 years ago with exactly the same problem Grin.

Original poster
HopeS01 · 21/10/2013 14:01

Cantspel I suggested that.

The plates, bowls and cutlery are provided (but I bring my own because they always have crusty food left on them Hmm). I suggested that they are removed, and as Chirp said, people would have to go and ask for their things!

Ping I have not proved that I am incapable! I do clean my own things up! I don't even use the company's facilities, why should I have to clean up after the lazy people who don't?

OP posts:
Original poster
HopeS01 · 21/10/2013 14:04

Ragwort, I knew it wouldn't be long Hmm, thanks for your input but in this case I have to disagree. I'm not precious, and I'm not a skivvy either.

OP posts:
fuzzywuzzy · 21/10/2013 14:06

YANBU, I think this must be the norm for fashion retail!

When I used to work as a salesgirl we had a rota put up by management as the kitchen was disgusting, I never ever used it myself so felt really angry at having to pretty much be skivvy to others who were too lazy to wash up their own utensils and bin their own rubbish.

Matters came to a head when everyone (except me as wild horses couldn't induce me use that kitchen) contracted a red rash type thing along with a high temperature....I think they got a cleaner in and management also started pitching in.

VodkaJelly · 21/10/2013 14:07

Ragwort, she doesnt sound precious to me at all. Our kitchen is a bombsite at work and I would refuse to clean it either. Some of the lazy fuckers leave dishes dumped on the work tops above the dishwasher.

But I dont drink tea or coffee - so never use a cup (I drink water from a water fountain and the glass never leaves my desk), I dont use cutlery/bowls/plates as I go home for dinner.

Sometimes I dont set foot in the kitchen at work for weeks, so why should i clean up after the grubby bastards who dont clean up after themselves?

Original poster
HopeS01 · 21/10/2013 14:09

Fuzzy, Grin I'll add that to my list of reasons not to take part

OP posts:
CoffeeTea103 · 21/10/2013 14:13

Yanbu, everyone is adults there and should know the basics about cleaning up after yourself. If you clean up and wash whatever you have used then you are perfectly reasonable to refuse cleaning up someone else's mess.

runningonwillpower · 21/10/2013 14:14

Hope - I feel your pain.

Where I work, some people think it's ok to leave manky banana skins, tea bags and general debris on a plate and just walk away.

Oh yes, and those oh so helpful folk who think they've done their bit if they soak their dirty plates in water. Because some other poor git has to fish their plates out of the water that's now cold and scummy.

But I'd go with the rota thing, at least for a little while. It's one way of ensuring that the culprits at least take a turn. Maybe, just maybe, they will learn better habits if they are forced to address the issue and deal with other people's leftovers.

TwoLeftSocks · 21/10/2013 14:15

Do senior management also use the kitchen, why are they excluded from the rota?

I like the idea of removing all the plates etc. If the lazy ones know that someone's going to be along at 2pm, they'll just leave even more mess.

enriquetheringbearinglizard · 21/10/2013 14:16

I can see what you mean about the receptionist being at her wit's end trying to sort the issue out, but who's decided that this is a good way to achieve it and what are the 'consequences' of non compliance?

I can't see how it's going to change the habits of the people who are making all the mess in the first place. It's also not the best use of the talents and time of staff who are being paid a higher salary.

ChilliDoritos · 21/10/2013 14:20

YANBU at all, I would hate that too!

Years ago when I was a teenager I had a job in an office where we had a 'kitchen cleaning rota' just for the female staff! Lots of the men were very messy and left the kitchen in a state but it was the women that had to clean up after them!

freddiefrog · 21/10/2013 14:20

YANBU. I wouldn't do it either.

We had the same situation where I used to work. I was only part-time and never actually used the kitchen so refused to clean it.

In the end, they removed all the crockery/mugs/cutlery/etc and only allowed stuff that was named. Everything else was binned. It soon stopped people leaving it a mess

Original poster
HopeS01 · 21/10/2013 14:21

Twoleftsocks I have no idea why Senior Management are not expected to help probably because they ask newbies to make their teas and coffees so they never have to step foot in there

Running maybe you're right, but I'll be so tempted to leave my mess for them! Grin

OP posts:
kiriwawa · 21/10/2013 14:22

Get rid of all the supplied crockery and the cleaner bins anything that's left in the sink. It's the best way of getting people to clean up after themselves.

Dirty people!