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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be a bit annoyed that my cleaner made herself a cuppa?

544 replies

kwaker5 · 19/08/2009 20:01

Have had a cleaner for about 8 weeks. On first visit I offered her a cuppa as I was having one but she declined and said she always brought her own drinks with her [pointed to cool bag].

I usually let her in and clear off with the DCs while she's there but last week I came back a bit earlier than normal and noticed she'd made herself a brew.

I'm not really pissed off but it's niggling at me. Isn't there and unwritten rule that they shouldn't go in your cupboards/drawers?

OP posts:
MorningTownRide · 20/08/2009 15:52

LMAO! What? What am I doing? You really need to explain!

iceagethree · 20/08/2009 15:53

kind of not remembering what you've said

it's ok, i think the debate is over now, have a nice evening

OhBling · 20/08/2009 15:54

I'n no longer responding to the OP - I thought I made it clear that i was picking up a point that was being discussed with Kitty?

MorningTownRide · 20/08/2009 15:56

Ha ha I get the last word.

Really iceagethree. I said nothing of the sort and you can't find an example.

aristocat · 20/08/2009 16:03

Saw this yesterday and thought it was a troll

I thought it was too daft to be real

kittywise · 20/08/2009 16:28

bling, I suspect it has more to do with my expectations than you simply always having hard working cleaners.

If your thoughts are that it is ok to stop work and make yourself a cup of tea whilst someone else pays you for it than our standards and expectations are clearly very different indeed.

if you think like that then of course your cleaners are always going to be hard working aren't they]wink]

Stayingsunnygirl · 20/08/2009 16:58

Like I said earlier, kitty - for me it's about the quantity and quality of the work that gets done, and if that is achieved with a teabreak then that works for me - I appreciate that it mightn't work for you.

I do feel that a bit of give and take can be a good thing, because I felt that my cleaner went above and beyond the call of duty, which more than made up for the teabreak.

kittywise · 20/08/2009 17:17

Also, I have asked my ex cleaner about this whole business.
She said to me that she thought it was not on to take a break before three hours working as a cleaner, totally unnecessary, that no one needed to that. She thought 4 hours was a reasonable time frame.

She also made the point that if you are thirsty you should drink water not tea .

She thinks that it is a very British thing to do to always want to stop for tea breaks and it is a kind of national laziness, any excuse not to work.

kittywise · 20/08/2009 17:19

stayingsunny, I agree with you there and things do vary depending on circumstances.

TheFallenMadonna · 20/08/2009 17:20

ROFL at kitty and the water rather than tea

We showed our cleaner where the tea and coffee were before we showed her where we keep the cleaning stuff. Do you think it is a guilt thing?

iceagethree · 20/08/2009 17:23

it is very much a guilt thing

why feel guilty, I don't know

Thunderduck · 20/08/2009 17:23

It's generally sod all to do with being lazy.It isn't unreasonable to want a refreshment while one is working.
Very generous of you to allow them a sip from a bottle of water though. I do hope you're counting the seconds spent doing just that, the hand that's holding the bottle isn't being used to do the work that you paid her for.

Perhaps all cleaners should have nosebags fitted instead, that'll keep their hands free in order to do what they're being paid for.

kittywise · 20/08/2009 17:25

No I said my cleaner said you should drink water NOT tea if you are thirsty. Please take the time to read the post properly, not just skimming.

iceagethree · 20/08/2009 17:27

reduce it to the absurd and it's SO easy to think you're in the right

most people live in the real world

kitty has never suggested anything so ridiculous

kittywise · 20/08/2009 17:28

thunderduck, stopping to make tea whilst working is not working hard. If you are thirsty you can , as my ex cleaner says, sip water as you go along.

serendippity · 20/08/2009 17:28

kitty you just get more looney.
It is so totatly nu to have a cup of tea while you are cleaning someone elses mess.
It is so nu to want a cup of tea at any time.
It takes 5 minutes to boil a kettle, and who says the cleaner will sit down while it cools?? You take sips while you are doing something.
"4 hours solid cleaning is a reasonable enough time for a cup of tea"?? Give me a break.
And a cup of tea.

kittywise · 20/08/2009 17:30

yes indeed iceagethree, yes indeed

Thunderduck · 20/08/2009 17:30

But sipping that water means that they have to remove a hand from the brush or duster in order to take a drink. Surely that isn't acceptable?

iceagethree · 20/08/2009 17:30

plus, it's the whole helping yourself thing

you need to know, in yourself, if you think it's ok and if it's a fairly standard way to go, and o on

so you DO need to think about it and make a decision about it either way

this reminds me of "my au pair is part of the family"..

kittywise · 20/08/2009 17:31

no serendipity, it's not reasonable. You ask any employer.

it is lazy behaviour

TheFallenMadonna · 20/08/2009 17:32

I did read it properly kitty. I realise it was your ex-cleaner you were quoting, but I (rightly I think) thought you were doing so with approval.

TheFallenMadonna · 20/08/2009 17:33

Ah OK. Thirsty. I get you...Oops.

Thunderduck · 20/08/2009 17:33

And do you inspect their water bottles to ensure that they haven't sneaked in anything intended for those above their station? Flavoured water possibly? Evian? Perhaps they even have Perrier. Something they might actually enjoy. It can't be allowed.

kittywise · 20/08/2009 17:34

thunderduck you are silly and absurd as iceagethree says

Thunderduck · 20/08/2009 17:34

Why thankyou. I do try.

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