To not clean the wee up?

[lostintheour]

I work in a medium sized supermarket (4 tills) and we have no customer toilets - staff ones which are cleaned by cleaners not shop staff.

Today a child wet themselves in one of the aisles. My manager told me to clean it up with paper towels and I refused. It’s not part of my job description and I’m not cleaning up human waste - even if it’s a child’s.

To be honest the parents walking away and not offering to help was lazy and gross in itself but regardless aibu?

What does your contract say?

Where were your cleaners? Shouldn't they have been cleaning it up? I would have thrown some paper towels down, just to stop everyone else paddling through it and walking wee all over the shop....but if you've got cleaners, that's their job.

What would happen if someone smashed a bottle of olive oil on the floor? Surely that's a job for the cleaner, not the shop assistants.

Cleaners in hospitals aren't even expected to clean human waste so I wouldn't expect you as a supermarket worker! I'm assuming you haven't had the relevant trainings? And paper towels are absolutely NOT appropriate cleaning material for urine. YANBU

It depends on your JD.

I'd be very surprised if there isn't a bit in there about keeping the shop clean, and free of hazards.

Mind you, they should've told you to grab the cleaner's mop and a yellow cone.

There’s a difference between cleaning a broken bottle of wine and literal piss.

Please don't ever have children!! 😂 You'll be in for a massive shock!

I used to be a hospital cleaner (but don't call us that... official title is Hotel Services Assistant). We were not expected to clean waste on wards, but sometimes someone would vomit in a corridor. But if it was something we struggled with, then someone else would be asked.

I’m sure most people are fine with cleaning up after their own child.

Bit odd to not see the difference.

I doubt it's in anyone's contract to clean up human waste in a work environment where you don't expect it. It happens a surprising amount where I work. As the manager I usually clean it up myself. Someone's got to do it and I'm paid more. Your manager should have done the same. Gets a lot of good will and I find people will offer to take turns. Some managers have no interpersonal skills.

Who cleans up waste in hospitals then?

I totally agree that you shouldn't have to clean up human waste. And especially not with paper towels! You could be putting your health at risk. It should be cleaned up by someone properly trained and using the correct equipment.

I worked in a shop once and on one occasion a shop lifter came in and deliberately pissed in one of the aisles. It caused total uproar and allowed the shoplifter to get away with the stock he had come in for while everyone was running around not knowing what to do. I think the manager actually cleaned that up himself but he was quite a gung-ho type of guy.

No there isn't really, as long as you have the correct tools to do it.

So I don't blame you for not cleaning it with paper towels.

I would've asked where the mop is kept.

Why did security staff not stop the parents and tell them to clean it up?
It is the parents responsibility

I don’t get squeamish about this sort of thing so I don’t really understand why you couldn’t just clean it up.

What was the actual reason why you didn’t agree? I mean, not just “I shouldn’t have to”, but what? Is it: It is degrading? It might make me ill? It might get on my clothes and make me smell?

Whats the actual issue for you?

I agree that the parents should have cleaned it. I would have done.

@XenoBitch but who is this 'someone else'? When I was last in children's A&E there was all sorts of fluids/vomit. Someone has to clean it - so who does?

I would have told him to fuck off and do it himself. No WAY should you have to clean up some scuzzy kid's PISS with paper towels. FFS, I can't believe anyone thinks YABU!

On the wards, the nurses do. Well, they pick up most of it, and the cleaner does the rest.
In public areas, the cleaners do... but if they struggle with vomit etc then they wont be made to do it. There will always be someone else that is ok with it.
I used to be a cleaner in a hospital, and I could not deal with vomit at all.

Urine is sterile until it reaches the outside world. Really not a huge deal, although the parents should have dealt with it.

A cleaner who is ok with it. I could not deal with vomit. If someone had thrown up in my area, then another cleaner would sort it out.

This. ^ If the parents can't control their child, then they should be made to clean up the piss from it!

not sure where you expect parents to put their mop and bucket every time they leave the house with a child? you are outraged at being asked to clean up wee but expect parents to do this without any real cleaning equipment? they can't clean it up with baby wipes can they and lending them the shop's cleaning equipment is likely to be an insurance issue, so you are being ridiculous. i say that as someone who cleaned up alcohol-induced vomit all over a bathroom when this was definitely not in my job description but was asked to do as part of my job. i didn't whinge. i cleaned it up because I don't need to get over myself and realised there was no one else going to do it (after the culprit refused to own up and do it themselves). I don't think I am above cleaning up human waste. i don't think anyone is. i also peacefully cleaned out a bin full of wee following a house party. we knew who did it and it wasn't one of my guests but i still did it. I also cleaned up a lot of vomit after that party too. again, not my guests. didn't ask for a medal but maybe i should have.

Clinical staff - usually Healthcare assistants/CSWs or Nurses. They're trained to handle clinical waste. We could call a cleaner to fully clean/disinfect the area only after all of the human waste/vomit etc had been cleaned and removed. There are very strict protocols on how to handle them which I don't think OP is trained on. (No disrespect OP, just not part of your role!)

Yes the parents should have cleaned it up but how do you stop a child wetting themselves exactly?

What would you do if someone were sick or had diarrhoea? Just leave it for customers to walk around? Maybe put up a little SLIPPING HAZARD LOL sign?

My sister worked in a popular chain coffee shop and they had a clause about cleaning up bodily fluids in the contract. They had a special protocol and solution for it.

When I worked at McDonald's I had to clean the bathrooms sometimes if I was covering the cleaning staff. You need proper protective gear like gloves and sanitiser.