Cleaner drank the juice, ate the salmon and charged her phone

[Shadow743]

I have a cleaner who has been coming for 2hrs a week for approx a year. She is unreliable, often texting the day before with a wide selection of reasons as to why she can't make it, and she doesn't always do a great job. I've been thinking about getting rid of her for a while but I have a lot of guilt around having a cleaner in the first place, as it feels like such a luxury and I feel like a bit of a snob for having one. I've come home whilst she's been there before and seen her charging her devices, noticed that the cordial seems to have been drunk and a couple of weeks ago, I'm sure (but can't be 100% certain) that she finished of the smoked salmon from the fridge. Today, my kids marked a line on the juice bottles as a little experiment and lo and behold, I've come home to find not only has she drunk the cordial, she's finished it AND put the empty bottle on the top of the bin.
Am I being unreasonable to be furious and feel like she's taking the mick now or am I overreacting to some minor issues which I should overlook because a little bit of juice and a little bit of electricity here and there won't kill me???

I agree. I am disabled now and have helpers. Everything I have in the fridge to drink/eat is in single cartons or tins or individual packs. No one has to eat or drink something that someone else has opened and used.

It is common sense. Any of my helpers can have anything they want to eat and drink, and I have lost count - without looking on the computer - how many are using my wifi and charging their phones.

My helpers stay a long time.

Fire her?

I disagree, obv.
Drinking beverages other than water in someone else's house when you're there to perform a service you're being paid to do is taking the piss.

Would you allow a plumber or electrician or painter to help himself to whatever he fancied from the fridge? Coke? Beer? Your iced coffer? Leftovers you were going to have for your supper that evening? Yogurt you bought for your children's packed lunches? Berries you bought to make muffins with?

Half an inch of cheap squash hardly even qualifies as a beverage, @mathanxiety

Get your kids to wee in the cordial, then she can drink as much as she likes , otherwise sack the thieving so and so.

I think it's fine for her to charge her phone but everything else is an absolute no and she's doing a crap job anyway. Get a different cleaner.

Dock her wages and sack her!

*I disagree, obv.
Drinking beverages other than water in someone else's house when you're there to perform a service you're being paid to do is taking the piss.

Would you allow a plumber or electrician or painter to help himself to whatever he fancied from the fridge? Coke? Beer? Your iced coffer? Leftovers you were going to have for your supper that evening? Yogurt you bought for your children's packed lunches? Berries you bought to make muffins with?*

If someone is working in my home, then I always offer them refreshments, and if they are going to be there on a regular basis, I would leave out coffee, tea, squash and biscuits/ cakes and tell them to help themselves when they have a break. Can't believe people think that someone you are employing doesn't deserve a cup of tea !

How many people on here charge their phones at work at their employers expense and would it be unreasonable for the employer to make it a sackable offence.
depending on how much juice was left in the bottle she may have decided it was part of her job to bin stuff and poured it away and binned the bottle. It sounds like this is more about her cleaning not meeting your high standards and you are trying to build a reason to get rid of her.

Amy, was your name Robsart before marriage? Curious!

@iknowitsjustme

Indeed it was.
😀

Maybe she noticed the mark on the bottle and her putting the bottle on top of the bin was her way of saying "yes, I've had a drink."

I wouldn't begrudge someone having a drink or charging their phone. If I had a cleaner, I'd tell them to help themselves to tea, coffee, squash etc. If I was a cleaner I don't think I'd finish off a bottle of cordial unless I could see there was another bottle in the house.

As a professional cleaner myself I would never ever eat food or drink unless I’ve been offered. I’ve been with my clients for years so I know that I can make myself a drink ie a cup of tea, coffee or water and they wouldn’t mind. I’d never drink any of their juice unless they offered it to me. As for her going in your fridge that’s awful. Definitely get rid of her.

As for having a cleaner I don’t think it’s a luxury we are there to help you! I’m always asking my clients if they need me to do anything extra such as making the bed or hanging out their washing. She’s made you feel guilty because she’s doing a bad job.

Be bloody unreliable or just not very good at cleaning is justification to get rid of someone.

Honestly, I think obsessing about whether they drink cordial or charge their phones is a bit bloody precious to be honest. Why would you begrudge someone a drink after doing a physical job?

Charging devices is reasonable. Drinking your cordial and eating your food is not. When I had a cleaner I told her to please help herself to cordial, in fact on hot days I used to pour her a drink with ice, or tell her to please have one if I was going to be out, she was only 18 and I felt a bit protective of her.
I would not have been happy if she drank my juice and ate my food without permission.
However, I really don't think I would have sacked her if she had, I would maybe have just thought perhaps she is struggling or something.
The only real issue is that she sounds like she is utterly shite at her job. That's sackable. I'm not really sure why you are focusing on the salmon and the cordial tbh.

I've been in a similar situation to you, hampered by middle class female guilt, and feeling ridiculous about it at the same time. The last straw was when I waited round the corner (I used to stay out when she was working) and caught her leaving not even 20 minutes after arriving. I'd suspected she wasn't doing the job. I was paying her for 2 hours.

I was so angry I had no trouble firing her right there and then and taking the key off her. I remember shaking with rage. We wouldn't put up with bad behaviour from dry cleaners or a plumber. You're paying her for a service and she's taking the p. Count to ten, feel your anger, and sack her straight away. You'll feel so much better.

People who work for you aren’t supposed to help themselves to the fridge. What next? I would not tolerate that kind of behavior and I’m not a fussy person. NTA and get a reliable cleaner.

That she didn't eat the salmon, she thought bit of cordial after two hours of hard work in the middle of summer wasn't particularly unreasonable, she cancelled for perfectly reasonable reasons like illness or a relative dying or something, she didn't cancel that often and her work is fine.

She absolutely could have a side.

I like my cleaner and she is very good at her job. My mum always served coffee and some snacks;cookies, pastries or cake to our cleaner, I do the same. I also tell her to feel at home and eat/drink whenever she likes. And, of course she can charge her phone. She has been very loyal and trustworthy. I really appreciate her help and show my appreciation in every possible way. It's not easy to find a good cleaner.

If you have offered drinks then it’s fine to help yourself afterwards. But to open your fridge and use it like a self serve buffet is wrong. If you hadn’t specified she could have the cordial then she shouldn’t be helping myself. It’s the trust. What’s next?

I also read the kids as putting a line on as the cordial the cleaner previously had been used a lot and they knew it wasn’t them and they were making a point, not that the OP told them to. If a new bottle of expensive cordial had been used up a lot a few days after I bought it I probably would say to my kids slow down a bit. Drink water a bit more etc . So it’s quite possible the kids wanted to prove to their mum it wasn’t them.