To report the cleaner

[EmotionalLimbo]

I'm a PhD student and work in a doctoral school office with several other researchers, all doing our own thing. It's a wonderful quiet space and we're very lucky.

Well quiet that is until the bins are emptied every afternoon. I'm not sure if the person who comes in is a cleaner because I've never seen her do any cleaning in this office but she might do in other parts of the building.

She's just so loud. She's talking on the phone using Bluetooth earpieces so it looks like she's talking to herself. It's so distracting and it's not a work conversation because it's a foreign language.

I've contacted the estates people to ask them to tell her to stop as it's annoying everyone but nobody dare say anything. It's not my job to tackle her.

AIBU?

Shame on you. Really. As if you couldn’t just ask her like a normal human being. Glad it made you feel better!!!!

Why did you not just ask her? It’s more embarrassing to have to be called to to your managers office.

And you keep avoiding answering how long she’s there.

Fellow students then - would you have wanted them to do to the dean and ask them to have a word with you? No, you’d expect them to speak to you……..

Pardon the pun, but it's an academic argument because it's never going to happen with any of us. Sorry.

How on earth can you say that - seriously???? As some who has done research - I can tell you other people have been irritating. It’s normal just to say something not go to their superior. What would you do when you’re in the world of work and not cocooned as a student?

You come across as so superior.

And you still haven’t said how long she’s there……….because it’s likely less than 10 minutes, in which case everyone will agree you’re completely unreasonable……..more so because you didnt have the guts to just simply ask her nicely, you wanted to go above her. You know you also wasted her managers time too - if you’d had that short simple conversation with the woman it would have been resolved much more easily and much more quickly.

Blimey, she comes in and empties the bin. She’s not jabbering away all day!
You work in a quiet office with other people who you said were annoyed by the chatter too and not one single person was adult enough to have a quiet word with her? Baffling.
Instead, you fired off an email to her supervisor. What is the world coming to when people are incapable of face to face communication?

That's impossible to say. Maybe you make a funny noise when you clear your throat, maybe your perfume/aftershave is too strong, maybe you don't wear deodorant and have BO. There are a million reasons a person might annoy/disturb another person, and most of the time they wouldn't even realise.

The question was hypothetical, surely you understand that - especially given that you have a developed critical ability. The poster is asking you to put yourself in someone else's shoes, but you seem unable to do that.

In light of all the replies, and as you did ask if you were unreasonable ...would you do the same thing again in the future?

What an unpleasant attitude.

I think you seem affronted that this woman has dared to speak a foreign language in your rarefied presence.

The "attitude" is because we don't interact in sufficient depth to get on anyone's nerves. Nothing more. 10/10 for your unpleasant attitude of calling xenophobia though.

Hopefully they won't disturb anyone anywhere else on the campus now when they're working

Thank you @thecatdidit for your voice of reason.

It speaks to your professional attitude. The cleaner's supervisor agrees that the person in question needs a quiet word about phone etiquette.

Well, the manager wasn't around to witness it, but in these set ups the cleaners are right at the bottom and must be spoken to when reported by one of the "higher ups".

I'm a student. I'm not higher up than the cleaner. This is a really silly thing to say. Many people have said things like this and it's nothing to do with status. There IS no status. We want a workspace that works for everyone.

If that was true though you’d know something about someone you see every day…..instead to communicate something basic you’ve gone to the Estates department and her manager …that’s not seeing her as an equal

If this was true, why didn't you just speak to her like a normal, no status person? You want the workplace to work well for you but clearly not for her.

You want the workplace to work well for you but clearly not for her.

Since when is speaking loudly on personal calls in a shared workspace a reasonable expectation by anyone who is supposed to be doing a job, including a cleaner. That is cloud cuckoo land.

The cleaner is out of line and the manager should deliver better training to their staff and explain to this cleaner how to behave at work.

It is not a question of seeing someone as an equal. That has nothing to do with this.

It is a question of someone not behaving in a way which is expected of them at work. The appropriate person to address this is their manager.

The OP gives it away in the title of the post

”report cleaner”

Not read all replies sorry, but OP, I would just make eye contact with her, put my finger up to my lips and ‘shush’. Thats discreet and she ought to get the message.

Please don't shush her. She's not a child.

Really? She’s acting like one.

Agree entirely

very patronising

Since when is it impossible for an adult to have a conversation with another adult colleague, especially as the OP wants the workplace to work well for everyone? How odd to think that it is necessary to report her to her manager.