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???

This. Charging her phone is totally
normal and it’s mean to begrudge a glass of juice. If she does a bad job fire her, but your thinking should change. You are setting a bad example about how to treat people of your children thought to mark the bottles.

Get rid for being a shit unreliable cleaner

NOT for charging phone or having a drink - if she was a good cleaner you wouldn't and shouldn't care about that.

No, I wouldn't begrudge her a drink and phone charging. Of course they shouldn't be eating food. But you don't seem that certain it was her.

I can't believe you've got your kids involved in this though?! WTF! You don't seem happy with her so get rid. But don't be telling your kids you think she stealing juice!

If you can afford a cleaner, then you can spare a few pence on electricity and some cordial. And awful things to be teaching your children.

Your cleaner is a human being, not a robot.

If she has taken the salmon, that's a bit off but again, does it really matter?

My cleaner helps herself to tea and any other drinks while she is working in my home. My DH often offers to make her a sandwich, but she never accepts.

You are being unreasonable begrudging her a drink of cordial.

It’s the middle of summer and she’s working at your house it’s not like she has cracked open a bottle of Prosecco and ran herself a bath.
A reasonable and adult approach would be to have a conversation with her about these things and to reinforce your own boundaries in a mutually respectful way and to then take it from there.

You absolutely shouldn’t be involving your kids, getting them to mark up cordial bottles to ‘catch her out’ and criminalise her. This is not a good example to be setting and this is not really the kid’s business anyway.

I always leave out cordial for my cleaner so she can help herself. And I wouldn't mind if she charged her phone.

I’m also astounded anyone looks at a bottle of squash so closely they can tell if some was drunk. Who does that.

That's WC usage of "snob", which is slightly different in meaning but it's absolutely fine.

Put your red pen down. Nobody asked you to mark posts.

The thing is -what else, much worse may she have done - like take stuff, perhaps jewellery or an object that you will not notice for a long time?.

Charging the phone is so minor omg and can be neccassary
As for your fridge, maybe just tell her what she can or can't have

I find it weird how people treat cleaners
Very sad
And yet construction workers are often offered tea or drinks
Why do you not value your cleaner?

I often think is this why some people treated slaves so badly
Some people thinking, how dare she eat from my food 😒

" get rid if her" Interesting choice of language.

Would it be used for other jobs?

Hmm. Let me put my monocle on for a moment... Why would your kids need to put a line on the cordial bottle if the cordial level was already so low? Or are you suggesting your cleaner is some sort of cordial-chugging monster?

How odd.....

Doing a poor job, fair enough.

Snagging salmon from the fridge, not on.

But squash and phone charging....perfectly fine.

My cleaners are fab and I treat them accordingly.

They know they are welcome to make tea/coffee/have sparking water/squash as they need (especially needed in this hot weather).

I also put out snacks of biscuits/fresh fruit for them to help themselves to.

At Christmas I get them both a hamper.

I would draw a line at rummaging in the fridge though...

Charging her phone is completely fine but eating the smoked salmon is not on.
not really sure on the juice, if a bit of squash or something there’s loads of fine but if there isn’t much/its something more expensive I don’t think it’s ok.

You realise you're talking about 1p -5pm here op?

Good grief. You cannot be suggesting f she’s a thief as she had some cordial?

The cleaner we use to have, I use to make her a drink when she arrived and she knew she could make herself a drink

She would then eat a quick sandwhich- Which she bought with her in ‘our time’ (She was busy, going from job to job ) - Not an issue

When she had her baby, she would bring baby with her

It’s a bit mean to begrudge someone cordial and phone charging, but it’s equally cheeky to eat the salmon.
I think the kids marking the cordial is tight as fuck though, how awful. I’d be having strong words if mine did something like that, but I want them to grow up learning to share and be kind.
You don’t trust her anyway, so sack her I guess 🤷‍♀️

Crikey! Do you think? Best get the rest of the famous five for a meeting! I vote we drape one of Timmy's hairs over mummy's jewelry box so we'd know if she'd disturbed it!

If you think she’s unreliable and does a bad job, by all means stop employing her, but I cannot believe you begrudge someone a glass of cordial or the use of a plug socket to charge a phone. You must be tighter than a duck’s arsehole.

Your kids set a trap to catch her out drinking their fucking cordial? Jeez.

These posts are weird
cleaners come to do their job and leave not go through your fridge
I wouldn’t begrudge squash, but I would be annoyed if they drink juice because it’s expensive

I dont see the issue with the drink - it's hot and I'd be fine with that. Charging her phone wouldn't be a.problem for me either. But eating stuff out the fridge would be an issue.

However the over riding thing is she isn't a good cleaner - so get rid!

Agree with the majority - fire her cos she's unreliable and not particularly good when she comes. The salmon thing is a bit weird too.

Wouldn't begrudge our cleaner or anyone else who comes to the house some squash or a phone charge.

Cannot believe you discussed this with your kids and allowed them to mark the bottle, what an awful attitude to teach them.

If she’s not doing a good job and is unreliable that’s one thing… firing her for charging her phone (wtf?!) or drinking some juice is ridiculous. As is getting your kids involved in “catching her out” - you sound awful. Our cleaner does a great job and I always tell her to help herself to any soft drinks in the fridge, fruit and biscuits.

Stop being a weirdo and ask her what happened to the salmon. Is the cordial an alcoholic drink? If so, she probably shouldn't be drinking it unless it's at the very end of her shift. Tell her this.

It probably never occurred to her that you would mind her charging her mobile unless perhaps you live in a bedsit with meter charged as used - in which case, tell her this too as she can presumably bring a battery to charge her mobile.