Petty office behaviour!

[CrossCuts]

Newish job and I've been brought in to modernise the company.

Part of this is looking at the "client experience"

I feel it's important that when client(s) arrive in the office, we have clean cups, glasses etc matching and available immediately.

Employee (call her A) that was already here objects to everything!! She's been reassured 100 times that her job is safe, I'm an addition not replacement.

So, I went out bought new cups/glasses etc and put them in their boxes marked for client use. Another member of staff came into the office and said "oh right those are client glasses" and picked another glass. A then said well I'm using them, I asked why? There are plenty other non matching glasses and those are expressly for clients everyone knows and if we have 2/3 clients they all match.

Her response was well they're not expensive, true but they were just set aside for clients. I said they'll become worn, etc.... no they won't she said they're not dishwashed.

AIBU to say leave the glasses/cups etc and use the original ones? She also said when I was buying them, no need we've plenary of stuff, yes but not matching.

Matching mugs? I wouldn't care as long as the mug was clean.
However if the company is setting this aside for client use then she is breaking company protocol and could potentially be disciplined. Mention that to her.

Are you senior to her? You need support from your line manager - and a separate cupboard!

Cross-posted with Dragon, I actually agree with you CrossCuts that clients should be presented with matching crockery/glassware. First impressions and all that.

Wish I could have your job bet you're on mega bucks too!

Hide them in a different cupboard. It's what we have to do at work or there would never be enough decent cups available when we have visitors

She is playing a little power game with you. Stand firm.

YANBU - she is being petty. (no one's opinions on crockery matching or otherwise has any bearing - it's a decision you've made in the job you're doing)

I have a similar-ish issue with meeting arrangements. I always prefer to over cater training events we do - provide say 5 more covers of tea/coffee than the people we are expecting. My reasoning is that it looks very shabby to arrive last to a solitary clean cup, amongst people's grubby returns. Adding 5 x tea servings to the bill is usually less than £10, and means plenty of refills.

I have a trainer who ALWAYS pushes back on this because of 'the cost' and not needing more than precisely 22 or whatever. It's a very small cost in the context of the overall bill, and nothing at all compared to his primadonna expectations of hotels!

What's the management structure here? Her line manager needs to make it clear that her undermining your work will lead to disciplinary action. What a PITA.

In my office we had the crockery for meetings and visitors in a separate cupboard in the meeting room.
Staff used the crockery from the canteen.
It wasn't a big deal...This person is trying to deliberately annoy you.

I personally always used my own coffee mug which I took home every day to wash in my own dishwasher. Sharing the (filthy!) communal sponge in the canteen is grim 🤢 lol x

It's seems silly, but we have the same at work.

Having matching, well looked after things like that just adds the professionalism and care to a clients perception of you.

Just remind her everyone she uses them that she shouldn't.

scurry has it

Power games.

You have to win this somehow, it will set the tone for every interaction.

But there are more ways of killing a cat than choking it on cream... or something

Clearly this isn't about the mugs but you already know that!

Have you sat down with her to discuss her ideas for modernising? I'm speaking as someone who's currently feeling very antagonistic towards a new person who is making judgements without knowing the full picture. She refuses to listen and keeps reinventing the wheel. I feel like everything we did before her arrival is automatically crap.

Tell her that you authorised the payment / they came from your budget so you get to decide what to do with them. They are not her property so she can't appropriate them.

All of the above but the main one is power games...put stuff in a separate cupboard and ignore her if she carries on! If she still carries it speak to her line manager or if you are her manager HR?

@RedHelenB sorry am I missing something? What's my "mega bucks" salary relevance?

@MidLifeCrisis2017, honestly I totally inclusive of all staff members and encourage suggestions. But it's barriers all the way!

Well, you shouldn’t have entered into any dialogue with her at all. It is irrelevant how the glasses get washed.

There are separate crockery/glasses for client meetings (like basically every office, everywhere). That’s the end of it. No further explanation.

She’s just being a contrary cow. Sit her down, reassure her that her post is safe but she must respect that she cannot use the client stuff or you will have to mention it to the big boss. It’s not difficult for her, is it?

Randomly DH has just been saying that he's been in two meetings today one on site and one off site the one on site had their cups from the kitchen...random mugs and a glass that had awful dishwasher stains on the glass that was given to a client he was really embarrassed and apologised profusely to the client...he's now put in an order for new matching cups/plates and glasses without dishwasher water marks! He said the one off site had really nice clean glasses/cups with the companies logo on them and it looked much more professional compared to his random mugs and streaked glasses!