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???

Weigh her when she starts and when she leaves. If she's lighter, she's been working hard. If heavier, she may have had a glass of sugary drink, in which case I would log it with 101.

I would assume my cleaner would charge her phone and have a glass of squash!

Does she do a good job

I would mind if my cleaner ate food from my fridge. This is because I plan meals etc, and would be very annoyed to find some ingredients for tonight's dinner gone.

However, I would usually offer croissants or brioche or something from my Lidl shop to my cleaner as my kids eat so any of these I always have some in the cupboard. If I am in, I also make her tea and will stand and chat to her while i drink mine (she usually works around her tea), and I have let her know that if I'm not in she can take a brioche and make her own tea. She is there for 4-ish hours. If I'm in and I make myself a meal, I just offer her some. In my culture as long as the cleaner is in the house you just treat them like an equal, and I've continued that.

Maybe she's unreliable as she hates working for you?

What an unnecessary, bitchy comment.

So, i do think you are being unreasonable. I would let this cleaner go because she doesn't do a great job, but with the next one, I would state my preference around this, and I would also say, maybe just be kind about food and drink. Put a glass out for her, and say 'please do drink some water' if you don't want to share cordial, and maybe say, 'there are some Nice biscuits in the cupboard, or the bread is there, you can toast it etc, then the cleaner will know if they feel hungry there is something they can do about it other than 'steal' food or feel faint and ravenous! We all do get hungry when we don't expect sometimes, and a cleaner cannot pop out to the shops for a snack, and they won't have a friend who might say 'oh, I have some crisps in my bag'.

Salmon I can undertand (if ur was her, you're not sure)
But cordial and a phone charge, really?
You sound absolutely awful.

I feel “furious” after reading that kids are being taught such appalling values.

“Today, my kids marked a line on the juice bottles as a little experiment and lo and behold…”

If she's unreliable and mediocre the sack her.

I wouldnt have an issue with her having a drink or charging her phone. Eating your salmon is a piss take.

Why do I need to get over myself? You seem to think it’s ok to steal if it’s salmon from Aldi? But not if it’s jewellery? What if the jewellery box is from Aldi? Does that make it ok?

'charging her devices...'

If it was her phone, that would be fine.
If she is bringing a suitcase of devices to charge that would not be acceptable, nor would it be if it was an electric arc furnace.

Ooh, you didn't like it when your "mate" took a cup from the cupboard when you were making tea for you both? That is a bit strange.

The inverted snobbery dripping from the OP is absolutely puke inducing @Shadow743.

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.

I find this absolutely disgusting. One of the most disgusting things I have read on MN in a long time actually.

So you think it makes you a snob to have a cleaning lady (lol) and yet you actively encourage your children to ensnare her and treat her with absolute disdain?

You should be ashamed of yourself.

I'd let my cleaner charge their phone and help themselves to a glass of cordial. If she took for example alcohol, salmon or other food items without permission then it's cheeky.
But I think your relationship has broken down and you no longer really want her in your home.
So just politely let her go.

I agree. I always let mine make themselves a drink, that is normal. Charging her phone won't cost much.

If you can find someone who cleans your house better in two hours, for the same money, let her go but not for the other reasons.

There is no reason to feel guilty about employing someone to do your housework.

Why is she not allowed a drink?

Also, mark the toilet paper then you can tell if she's used your toilet.

Get a grip of yourself for feeling guilty having a cleaner. If she hasn’t been doing a good job and you’ve put up with her excuses for this long it’s on you.

But I’m flabbergasted that you’d deny her charging her phone, a bit of cordial or some salmon if she’s hungry. And your utter meanness has rubbed off on your delightful kids.

It is quite literally referred to as "diluting juice" in the States.

Making herself a drink and charging her phone isn’t a particular liberty - but eating food out of your fridge is not on. (In the same way, if someone says “help yourself to anything” they mean tea/coffee/soft drink and maybe a biscuit from the tin, not a bottle of a champagne or a whole chicken. There are norms around these things.)

I've come home whilst she's been there before and seen her charging her devices

The clearer cost the OP almost 0.4 pence by charging her phone at OP's.

If the cleaner does this 2/3 times, a whole penny will have been added to the OP's utility bill.

How absolutely shocking!!!!!!!!!

Bravo to the OP's kids (such chips off the old block!!) for marking a line on the juice bottles to catch the cleaner.

Oh that's a good idea.
I remember reading that Princess Margaret always felt the tv set when she came home and if it was warm she could tell the servants had watched something in her absence.
Sadly, you can't do that with new flat screen plasma tvs, which is a shame.

Things that would annoy me:

• The fact she is unreliable and cancels last minute/day before
• The fact that she “doesn’t always do a great job”
• Eating the salmon, that’s cheeky

Things that wouldn’t annoy me:

• Charging her phone
• Drinking a bit of cordial

I really can’t believe you would be “furious” that she charges her phone, that’s ridiculous . And that you enabled your children to make marks on the cordial bottle and then check to see if you’ve caught her out… I really don’t love that.

But I’d have got rid of her by now for doing a rubbish job of cleaning. I wonder if deep down that’s the only thing that troubles you really, and you can’t for real be that mad about the cordial and charging, you just feel bad about getting rid of her so are looking for excuses!

I think in this weather it's reasonable for her to take a drink. Cancelling last minute constantly isn't okay, this is why I use cleaners who drive.
I don't think it's right for her to eat food unless you have stated she is welcome to eat what she wants.
Based on this I would get rid.