To have asked colleague to pay for my coat?

[GreenSnot]

Office based job. Colleague was flying around the office on a wheeled chair on Monday, I’d asked her to stop twice but she carried on. Then she ended up wheeling over my coat which was on the back of my chair (but partly on the floor). The coat got tangled in the wheels and ripped. It was a Barbour coat so not cheap but not massively expensive either. I said “you should pay something towards me getting a new one” and she said “oh chill out, it shouldn’t have been on the floor”. I said “you shouldn’t be flying around on the office on the chair!” Anyway another colleague charmed in and said she’d knocked a dent into the filing cabinet last week after crashing into it and she should offer to pay for that too.

Now a number of colleagues have taken her side and have started taking the piss like dropping a tea bag and shouting “someone needs to pay for that” etc etc

Was I unreasonable to ask her to pay towards my coat?

@SheldonesqueTheBstard the woman on the chair is clearly an idiot. Nobody's disputing that. But she damaged the coat without colliding with OP which means the coat was trailing far enough to be a trip hazard.

I'd fold my coat under my desk if I couldn't use a coat stand, particularly if it was long.

I'm the kind of idiot who can trip over thin air.

People saying why was the coat on the floor, have you never worked in an office/call centre/somewhere you work on office chairs? The coats go on the back of the chairs and constantly slip off, everyone is always readjusting them or picking them back up or telling someone their coat has fallen off. Only about a third of the places I've worked in have provided somewhere to actually hang them up.

To victim blame the OP that this is her fault is honestly just bizarre. You colleagues behaviour wasn't appropriate from work and should absolutely be contributing to the cost of repair/replacement.

@SheldonesqueTheBstard

It is like I said before though girlmom is there any need to be that close to someone’s chair if there is room to spin around on a chair?

If because of covid there is nowhere to hang coats, why wouldn’t you hang it on a chair? We are still keeping a distance from others.. It shouldn’t be anything like a trip hazard unless it drapes 4ft across the floor.

And in this instance it wasn’t even a trip hazard but was damaged by someone fucking around on a chair.

Exactly this. It shouldn’t matter if a coat was trailing a bit on the floor - this wasn’t an accident where someone walking by tripped over it. It was caused solely by someone arsing about on a chair and obviously going at some speed if she wasn’t able to stop in time.

I would take it as a life experience. Your coat was partially on the floor.

In a perfect world she wouldn't be zooming around and your coat would have been hung up..or draped fully on your chair.

In reality this happened and you are both at fault. Laugh at others when they " bully" ( tease) you about it..." fake laugh and say..Good one John..you are a brilliant asshole.
It will soon die down. Shit happens.

No. She sounds like a immature child, is she even old enough to be working there?

I’m a similar idiot girlmom

Which is why I don’t go near to folk, their desks or anything else because I’m bound to wallop into them.

It is like I’m a size 8 in my head or something ridiculous.

I’m far from a size 8.

Speak to your manager or HR. If I'd damaged someone's coat I'd be mortified and would offer to pay for repairs, etc.

And I wouldn’t be folding the coat and putting it on the floor because I have a good idea where my colleagues’ feet have been and what they may have been in. 🤫

She sounds irritating and the type of person people absolutely haven't missed sharing an office with! But I doubt she will pay half, whether she should or not is irrelevant to what she will actually do.

To victim blame the OP that this is her fault is honestly just bizarre.

She's not a victim of crime or assault. Her coat was ripped. Yes, her colleague was an idiot. But it's a good idea to guard against idiots and that means not leaving things you value partially on the floor. If you leave something where it's likely to be damaged, then I really don't think you can consider yourself a victim if that thing gets damaged.

@SunnydaleHSAlumna

You colleagues behaviour wasn't appropriate from work and should absolutely be contributing to the cost of repair/replacement.

OK.. yep she should... win the battle lose the war...
How is she going to collect it? Sue? continue to make a fuss?
I'm not getting it? Oh I absolutely agree.
But collecting it is just another thing altogether. It will further cause polarizing in the work force.
Am I missing something here?

@Telebonn

She sounds irritating and the type of person people absolutely haven't missed sharing an office with! But I doubt she will pay half, whether she should or not is irrelevant to what she will actually do.

Absolutey THIS! 100% That was exactly what I was trying to say. Chalk it up and move on.

OMG she sounds like an utter twat. And a few of your work colleagues do too. I'd be so tempted so say 'oh do go fuck yourself' if someone dropped a teabag and said 'oops I better pay for that now!' What a bunch of c*nts.

@GreenSnot As a few posters have said, I would be reporting her childish behaviour to the manager. I do feel for you, having to work with arsehats like this.

@SummerWhisper

You should really put in a grievance and make a claim against the company. She sounds like a bully who will only take the piss out of you no matter how right or reasonable you are.

This

Very ableist. Not her fault she’s in a chair and you should be respectful to her condition and keep your belongings in a safe place

I say tip her out of it next time she decides to behave like this, it’s an office not a play ground

Very ableist. Not her fault she’s in a chair and you should be respectful to her condition and keep your belongings in a safe place

It's in OFFICE CHAIR not a wheelchair @Gemmathecat

God, she sounds annoying.

@Gemmathecat

Very ableist. Not her fault she’s in a chair and you should be respectful to her condition and keep your belongings in a safe place

Well it is her fault she chose to spin around on an office chair .

This sounds ridiculous of her. As for your coat it shouldn’t have been on the back of your chair, but hung up surely.
I doubt you’ll get anything from her but a bad atmosphere in the office.

Is 'you should have hung it up' going to be the new 'cancel the cheque'?

@Gemmathecat

Very ableist. Not her fault she’s in a chair and you should be respectful to her condition and keep your belongings in a safe place

What the hell are you on about?

Her behaviour was poor, and really should be brought up to management so they can address this with her and discuss appropriate work etiquette. However your coat was partially on the floor. I don't think you can ask her to pay for it, when it being ruined is equally your fault for not looking after it correctly. Would you be expecting somebody to pay for it had they tripped over it and it ripped. Would you be have been willing to pay towards someone's medical bills if they'd tripped over it and injured themselves?

She sounds like an annoying twerp.

@iklboo

Is 'you should have hung it up' going to be the new 'cancel the cheque'?

Yep.