To think some people just have no manners?

[clevercleaner]

I work as a cleaner for a company who own properties all over the country and I cover my area which has around 15 in total. The company are currently only letting key workers book but some of things I’ve seen over the last couple of days have left me in shock. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had my fair share of messy cleans and it’s just part and parcel of being a cleaner but it really has made me realise that some people have 0 respect for other people’s properties. My boss agrees but of course he’s not the one who has to clean up after these people. I think what makes it worse is that it is “serviced accommodation” so the guests literally see no one during their stay. I have a close friend who also rents a property out via the same website and she’s said that she’s never had these problems, the only difference is that she greets the guests on arrival and as their leaving so I imagine they feel more inclined to tidy up/leave the property in decent condition.

On Friday morning I arrived at one of the properties to a disgusting smell right outside the front door which turned out to be wee. Not only that, but there were several fag butts scattered across the driveway so obviously the guests had been having a cigarette outside and just couldn’t be arsed to use the toilet upstairs like a normal human being so decided to use the driveway instead. It took 3 buckets of water/bleach to wash the smell away and I was incredibly worried the next guests might turn up and be able to smell it. I imagine, it’s not exactly something you want to smell when turning up to a holiday home.
The very same people decided to tie the bin liner up once full but left it in the kitchen bin and just carried on throwing rubbish on top so I had the pleasure of having to scrape all the rotting food from the bottom of the bin as well. Other things included poo on the bathroom floor and all over the toilet seat (we do provide toilet brushes so no excuse imo).

I wish I could say it was just this one set of guests but unfortunately it’s not the case. I’ve walked into rooms where the guests have stacked all the furniture on top of each other (god knows why) which can be back breaking and dangerous having to move it all back on my own. I’ve found condoms and used sanitary pads in beds and used cotton buds scattered all over the bedroom floor and underneath the beds. I once had to change a bed where it was literally covered from head to toe in what I believe was period blood (I did report to my supervisor so he checked the CCTV and the guest looked fine when she left the next morning apparently). Other things include people leaving food in microwaves/ovens or on plates in the sink (can they seriously not be arsed to scrape it into the bin? It takes 2 seconds!).

I appreciate I’m a cleaner and my job is to clean, and I want the guests to enjoy their stay. I don’t expect them to wash the dishes or change the sheets before leaving but surely the examples above are just ridiculous and down right lazy?. Not to be completely negative, we have had some lovely guests who have left the properties spotless and even stripped the beds before leaving and taken the rubbish out but of course we’ll always have a handful of people who take the piss. I just don’t understand how they don’t feel embarrassed when leaving a property in such awful condition. I worked in a hotel 3 years ago and never experienced messiness to this level.

AIBU? I don’t get paid enough!

Eww poor you. I wonder if those people actually treat their own homes like that, or are they deliberately being so disgustingly dirty due to some twisted idea of 'getting their money's worth'?

@Sparklingbrook, of course you do those things, because you're a normal, considerate human, most of us would do the same. I used to work cleaning offices, not the same thing as holiday accommodation at all, but even there I was surprised at some things. Offices occupied by middle class professional women, yet they would drop food on the floor (carpeted) and let it get stepped on and trodden in, rather than bend down and pick it up. They would leave the microwave filthy inside and the sink full of dirty dishes (often in minging dirty water) and washing up after them was not my job!
@clevercleaner, I think you're right. There seems to be this entitlement; 'someone else is paid to do that, I'm too important to pick up the food I've just dropped.' Yes, most things I was paid to do, but skivvy after people too lazy to wash their own mugs wasn't one of them!

I used to work in my company's housing team so managed the booking of serviced apartments for employees on assignment. I could write a book about some of the disgusting things found after people exited their properties. Sometimes the mess/damage was caused by cultural misunderstanding of what was allowed (bbq on the coffee table anyone? Or throwing buckets of water over yourself in the bathroom, causing flooding) people would often cause damage eg iron burns to the carpet, scratches, stains etc and completely deny knowing anything about it. Some people are pigs.

"They had a young baby and the bins were full of a weeks worth of nappies."

OK, but had you told them where full bin bags could go? Where I live, I can't take my bin bags out until it's bin day or I get a fine so if I was somewhere else I'd need to know if there's a specific place to leave full bin bags.
Nappies on the floor not on, of course.

"So I strip the beds, put towels in the bath, clean the kitchen/bathrooms, run the dishwasher and put bins out at the very least before leaving."

How does putting towels in the bath help? And how would you put bins out if you don't know whether they go? Wouldn't you get a fine for putting them in the wrong place or wrong day?

@Macncheeseballs they are holiday homes, similar to air b&bs but we're currently only letting key workers stay at the moment. There are quite a few guests who work away during the week. We had emergency plumbers in one last week.

@Gwenhwyfar .. Personally I would say that putting towels in the bath is a massive help, it saves me having to go around the entire house searching for dirty linen/towels to bag up as there all in one place. I'm not sure about other companies, but all our properties have large waste bins right outside the front door so easy for guests to dispose of any rubbish if it gets full. We also provide a booklet with any information the guests may find useful which also details where the bins are located (if they haven't already noticed).

It’s easier to scoop up all the towels if they are together in the bath, rather than hanging in different places all over.

Pal cleans holiday places has a company....

They ask people NOT to wash up, unless there is a dishwasher there.... As she lost count of number of times people had :helped' by washing up... And most of the crockery had bits of food on it... And smeared glasses.... So just easier to do it as part of servicing.

We rented a cottage a few years ago through an agent and just before we left, having hoovered, stripped the beds, wiped the sides, did the dishes, emptied the bins, our dog decided to have a poo. No problem, bagged it, even hosed the patio area down, it wasn't until we were halfway down the M6 I realised I'd forgotten to bin the poo and had left it by the back door! I was mortified. We'd met the owners and they'd left us a home baked cake, homemade jam and lemon curd...and I left them a bag of shit.

Tried to get contact details from the agency so I could apologise but obviously they can't give them out. I asked them to pass an email onto them but I never found out if they did. I was so embarrassed that I've never booked the cottage since despite it being perfect.

Ahh that's a shame @UnfinishedSymphon but obviously a genuine mistake. I'm sure had you been able to get in touch with the owners and explain, they would have understood. You sound like very lovely and considerate guests

"It’s easier to scoop up all the towels if they are together in the bath, rather than hanging in different places all over."

Ah, OK. I imagined them being on rails in the bathroom, which is where I'd leave them, not all over the house.

"We also provide a booklet with any information the guests may find useful which also details where the bins are located (if they haven't already noticed)."

OK. Last Air BnB flat I was in didn't say anything about the bins and I wouldn't just improvise.
I did get told off by my travelling companion because I used two sides of a double-sided bin and he said that would require both bin bags to be taken out. Fair point, but it had not occurred to me.

"They ask people NOT to wash up, unless there is a dishwasher there.... As she lost count of number of times people had :helped' by washing up..."

Yes, I used to clean somewhere where every cup, utensil, etc. had to be put back in a certain place so washing and putting them away in the wrong place didn't really help.

Disgusting.
I don’t even leave self catering accommodation without doing all dishes, hoovering & cleaning the bathroom etc.
Some people have no shame.

So sorry you have had such horrible experiences. These people are just scum to expect anyone else to lean such filth. It is so disrespectful. Do they get an extra housekeeping charge levied? If that happened as a matter of course maybe it would encourage these filthy basta**s to clean up their own mess. No one deserves this, you’re a saint and I personally think your employers should be doing more follow ups on this behavior.

How does putting towels in the bath help? And how would you put bins out if you don't know whether they go? Wouldn't you get a fine for putting them in the wrong place or wrong day?

All the dirty towels/bath mats in one place is v helpful. Not left in each bathroom over different floors.
Any towels not in the bath and still folded are clean.

Also it's fairly easy to work out where to put the rubbish, (in many SC places as previously said there's a folder of info)you don't have to actually put the bins out. Unless it happens to be bin day of course.

That said I do hate places with lists and lists of rules and little notes stuck everywhere. One such place said 'This is the air conditioning switch but you won't need it'.

@Ispini there is £100 booking deposit which they lose if the property is trashed or takes longer to clean than normal. Of course I don't see a penny of it though. I'm only paid minimum wage, nonetheless I do enjoy the job and it's lovely seeing the transformation from an absolute shithole > clean and fresh

That’s awful; I was going out with someone once who in a hotel just threw all his sweet and food wrappers on the floor “because the cleaner will sort it”. I went off him after that as I felt it just showed such deep disrespect to do that and expect someone to do that just because he could.

The only thing with the deposit is that if it is a large group of people, a £100 between all of them isn't a lot to lose really so I don't think it makes a huge difference in all honesty.

Sadly i'm not surprised. I read a thread once about hotel cleaners which was just as disgusting.

It's everywhere though. I've been in many NHS staff-only toilets and the state some people leave them in is just disgusting.

"That said I do hate places with lists and lists of rules and little notes stuck everywhere."

I could have done with more info at the last one I went to. I couldn't understand why the heating wasn't coming on until she explained it was underfloor heating and would take time. If I'd known that, I would have put it on straight away rather than waiting until I felt cold.
When I was asking about the towels, I wasn't imagining a large house with different bathrooms on different floors.

All the places I have stayed have given me a contact number so I have just texted with any questions.

Usually there's a folder though with all the info. I especially like the ones whether other guests have put recommendations for places to eat etc.

Manky fuckers. Sorry you had this to deal with, OP. I feel wound up for you! It's so unfair. And I for one would never in a million years leave this for someone else.

Is it Air BnB that the owners rate the guests? Maybe they should start that everywhere.

The last time I stayed in a serviced apartment was on holiday and I got my period the first day, and so was on all week. It got on towels etc but can’t be helped, and I did leave a used sanitary towel on the floor next to the toilet as they didn’t have a little bin in there, we were running late to head out for the day and thought nothing of it. Obviously intended to tidy it up later.

However, the cleaner came unexpectedly while we were out and tidied up, I thought there would only be cleaning after we’d left at the end of the week so I was absolutely mortified. I would never have just left used products or bloody towels for someone else to go around picking up after me, and would have made sure before we checked out everything was bagged and put up as neatly as possible. I’m not someone who cleans the apartments to a standard I would in my own place, as like others have mentioned you are paying to stay there, but I would at the very least make sure everything is put in the bin, wash dishes, put used towels in a pile etc.

I can’t believe that anyone would just leave poo smears or actual poo on the floor?? The thought of using the bathroom each day and potentially stepping in it would have grossed me out enough to clean it up let alone leave it there for someone else to!