to expect my cleaner not to throw out mine and DCs supper for this evening?

[Babbity]

Mumsnet lentil soup was cooling in a lidded pan in our (very cool) utility room when I left for work this morning. Came back this evening - no soup to be seen. Not in fridge/freezer/anywhere in kitchen. Pan cleaned and hanging up. Has she really thrown it out?? I am furious.

She probably didn't think you would leave food you were planning on having, in your utility room. I know I would have assumed it was waste! Perhaps in future, label it or pop it in fridge or something?

she saw what she thought was a dirty pan of cold food, disposed of it and washed the pan. i would not be furious, and would remind myself to leave post it notes on future dinners, to ensure that the same does not happen again

exactly hecate !!

genuine mistake, not worth getting cross over. though obv very annoying!

I probably would of done the same, it was left in the utilty so she may of though you had left it there because it needed throwing out?

Make a note next time-will save you being furious.

i;d be furious if she had broken something/burnt the house down/not turned up, but not for doing something like this

maybe you should not cook food that looks like it is fit for the bin !!

OK, maybe I am BU. But it was a full pan of soup; I'm not so slovenly to leave empty plates and dishes out for her to clean - it's nowhere near the sink where I'd usually leave the occasional dirty plate that I didn't have time to do. I am just a bit bewildered as I thought it was so obviously untouched (ie no food up the sides to suggest it was leftovers). She's not the brightest of women; though perfectly pleasant - I perhaps should have realised from previous issues that I really need to spell things out to her. Shall use a post it next time.

Just have chicken dippers ,chips and beans

why the ? this is genuine. I am probably just stressed as I'm on my own with the children this evening as my husband is out, and I thought I had supper all sorted so that I could come home from work to whack it in the microwave for us all. I'll just have to do something else. thanks for the advice.

Is it not done to gripe about this sort of thing? (I'm quite new here; I may have inadvertently committed a MN sin)

I had sympathy until you started criticising her intellect.

YABU, it was a genuine mistake, just cause she's not a mind reader doesnt mean she's stupid! Every house has different systems and you cant expect her to know yours without being told.

Personally I'd be alittle miffed. It sounds liek it was pretty obvious it wasn't leftovers. You wouldn't generally take leftovers from the kitchen to the utility room would you? Iwould have thought they'd stay in the kitchen to be poured down the sink/thrown in the bin.
Maybe use pst its in future, just to be on the safe side.
PS. anyone else intrigued by the "previous issues" comment? Or am I just nosy curious??

Oh I see. She has been quite tricky so far but she's reliable and nice so I don't want to lose her; she just keps doing (to my mind) quite daft things. Not every cleaner can cope with a dusty old house full of toys etc, so we're grateful she's with us. I do find that unless I spell things out by leaving long notes she will forget to do things - like not cleaning the floor or the bath or the loos, but instead spending ages piling up clothes or moving papers around. If I don't write it all down she seems to forget to do things; but I guess I have to tell her what not to do too. Fair enoughski.

haemomum - nothing exciting really; have given an example above. She tends to do unimportant tidying things in rooms that don't get that dirty, whilst missing out what I would say are obvious things from rooms that do. But I should be grateful that I can afford a cleaner etc etc - and she does turn up every week for which I'm eternally grateful. I suppose I did sound malicious but it wasn't meant - she's nice but scatterbrained which is quite frustrating for me.

I don't see what's wrong with Babbity saying her cleaner's not the brightest of women; some people are, some people aren't, it doesn't have to imply a generalized prejudice against cleaners or anything.

I for one didn't take it as that. Just feel it is rude.

She may be your cleaner but that doesn't mean she is beneath you!

I would be extremely annoyed about this. Don't understand how anyone can mistake a full pan of soup for something that should be thrown away. I often leave similar stuff in our laundry as it's the coolest part of the house.

FWIW before my cleaner comes I tidy absolutely everything away (and I mean everything) even any clothes I have out for say mending or any other reason. Otherwise she wil spend as much time as possible tidying and folding clothes rather than actually cleaning.

Where did I say she was beneath me?? - she is providing me with an important service for which I am grateful. I just thought it would be common sense not to throw out something that (I thought was) obviously not leftovers. But clearly I was wrong. She has done a number of things which to mind show a lack of common sense but I don't think she's beneath me. It was perhaps something I should have thought but not posted as it has clearly needled people. (or better, to have not thought it at all, but too late for that). It would have been rude to say it to her face, but I didn't.

I have had a few cleaners in my time - some are "career" cleaners, some were making do, others were students or SAHMs making a bit of extra cash for their children. None of them has been quite as flaky as this one, so I certainly am not tarring all cleaners with the same brush. I have done my share of crappy jobs in my life, and it used to and still does infuriate me when people assume that (say) all waitresses or barmaids were thick - when patently not true. If I acted like a numpty on quite a regular basis, though, I might have given my customers cause to think I was thick, and that would have been fair enough, as they only had my actions to base that opinion on, not my A level results.

Babbity, I really don't think you said anything remotely offensive or indeed controversial.

Personally I find it pretty bizarre that someone would go into someone else's hosue and take it upon themselves to throw away a full pan of soup. As you say, it does suggest a certain lack of common sense.

In any case, she does try, and I'm sure she was only trying to help, so I guess I just have to suck it up. I'd rather have a cleaner who's reliable and follows instructions (but requires heavy micromanagement), than one who doesn't turn up or steals stuff or any number of other more objectionable behaviours. I rather suspect I was tired and hungry when I got hom, and overreacted somewhat at the missing lentil soup (which I was really looking forward to).

Thanks for the perspective, everyone. Cheers.