I could cry from frustration. People have NO respect! *It happened again! But worse this time. Page

Ok. It's been a bad morning.

Early this morning, I stopped on my way to work to get a cup of coffee. I was inside for maybe fifteen minutes. When I went back out to my car, I noticed that my door magnet had been moved. I wouldn't have noticed, except that there is a thin layer of dust on my car, and I could see from the clean spot that the magnet had been moved about three inches to the right. Curious, I moved it back. Only to discover that some had smacked my car door with enough force to leave a large dent and chip off a bunch of paint. And then the guy had the nerve to move my magnet in hopes that I wouldn't notice! And this car isn't just some hoopti. It's a 2012 Mazda3 iSport with a custom paint job. And truthfully, I would not have been NEARLY so upset if the guy had just left a note. Some small token of remorse and apology. I don't even want to make him pay to fix it. Just a simple "I'm sorry." But no, instead he moves my freaking magnet and takes off.

And my morning didn't even end there. I go into my office building to find that my reception office is locked. For the second time in a week. And the key (the pin type, not a regular tumbler key) is no longer on my doorjam. I am somewhat frustrated at this. I am always the first one to the office, and am there anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours before anyone else shows up. This morning I got there at 7:30 (Office opens at 8). I take a deep breath and call the office manager. He explains that he decided after I left on Friday, he decided that it should be locked (we have never locked it before), so he locked it, and put the key in my co-workers office. I always am at the office before her. So I don't know where he found the logic to put my key in her office.

Anyways, I set my things down in the waiting room, and go back to the kitchen to start getting it ready for the day. This usually takes about five minutes, and includes making coffee, wiping the occassional crumb off the counter etc. I walked in to what looked like a ground zero. Over the weekend, staff had come in with some of our clients. Apparently, they made rootbeer floats. I know this becuase there was soda and melted ice cream, EVERYWHERE. No exaggeration. It was on the walls, on the floor, on the counter, on the appliances, EVERYWHERE. And it had been sitting there for almost two days. It looked like there had been a food fight. You can imagine how congealed and nasty it was. I looked a little closer to find that there were two overflowing bags of trash on the floor, in addition to a full trash can. There was loose garbage on the floor, on the counter, and even crammed into the drain in the sink. There were nasty dirty dishes that hadn't even been rinsed. There was cookie crushed into the carpet all along the hallways.

Understandably, my vision ran red. Between my car door, being locked out of my office, and now having to get on my hands and knees and scrub sugary goo off the walls, I am ready to cry with frustration. It took me more than an hour to get the place clean and unsticky.

Thanks for listening and sorry for the long rant. I just feel like I have worked too hard and too diligently to be treated with this kind of disrespect and disregard.

By any chance do you know who the staff was that made the mess? I would ask them point blank how they would like it if someone left their office or house in such disarray.

Cassie, I do not know who was the staff in charge, but I am working on finding out. I will absolutely be reporting this to my supervisor. I'm sorry, but cleaning up after my co-workers as if they are children is just not in my job description.

We have a Board member that comes in makes coffee, then stuffs her used tissue in a half empty cup. It is SOOOO gross!

Hang a sign that says that each person is responsible for celaning up after themselves.

Also, is there a cleaning service? Usually trash is emptied by them.

Rules at my work are you bring your own cups for coffee and may leave them there but you have to clean them and same with everything else in our 2 little kitchen areas here. We do have someone who cleans and empties trash everyday but we NEVER leave a mess like that for him to take care of. Sounds like it is time to make a poster with the kitchen rules on it and hang it up in there if people are going to be acting like that. I am sorry for your horrible day and hope today is much better!

Debi that is SO gross!!!


Sonoran and Featherfinder: There already is a sign up. A couple of them. And no, we don't have a cleaning service. I am responsible for keeping the office looking nice. Vacuuming, dusting etc. Things that build up over time but are not created by any one person.

Sadly, this is not the first time I have walked in to our kitchen looking like this. There have been several meetings to let staff know that I do clean, but I am not the maid. I don't have time to pick up after them. If they make a mess, they are to clean it up themselves, not just leave it for me. But almost everyone has gotten lazy and takes it for granted that I will eventually clean up after them. It's maddening. I mean, how hard is it!? If you spill something, wipe it up! Don't just let it sit there and get sticky and hard. If they would just clean up right away, it would take two seconds. But no, they have to leave it for me, so by the time I get to it I have to scrub it up. Ugh.

I feel really taken advantage of. A lot of times people here don't even refer to me by my name. I can't tell you how many times I have heard people say "oh just let 'the receptionist' clean it up/go get our food/etc etc. Even staff that have known me for years. It may seem petty, but it really bugs me. I treat everyone with respect. I work hard and get things done. Why can't I be treated with a little respect in return?

I did bring the issue with the kitchen up to my supervisor yesterday. He said he would follow up, but I don't think he was really paying attention.

Is it a part of your job title to clean up like that? If not I would stop untill they realize how much you really do and learn your name! That is completely rude for them to expect it of you. I am also the receptionist for where I work and I am expected to pick up extra work from others who do not want to do their own and order their lunch and make sure it is correct. I put a stop to all of it real quick. Also my office "was" the throw all for all their paper work and breakfast and lunch containers. Just stop doing what they expect you do be doing unless it is actually stated as a part of your job to do. No need for you to be a maid for people with no manners!

All offices have piglets. Here's how I deal with them:
1. Dishes left in the sink for more than a couple of days? Throw them away. Eventually all the dishes will be gone. Then they can eat out of a can over the sink.
2. If the culprit can be identified, bundle everything into a washtub and leave it on his/her desk with a note that says, "Oooops! You forgot to do your dishes!" By Monday their office will smell all sorts of nasty. Don't be afraid to do this just because they outrank you. No one needs to be cleaning up after anyone else unless it is specifically in your job description!

As for the car situation, see if you were parked where the store (or a nearby business) has a surveillance camera. In this day and age there is almost always a camera pointed at EVERYTHING!

Oh man I wish I had the cajones to do those things bunnylady! Even if I did work up the guts, the main offenders don't even have an office in this building. They are line staff that work out at the houses with the kids. Only the admin's, therapists, and a couple supervisors have offices here.

It is not in my job description, but I have always felt uncomfortable asserting myself in the workplace. The most I ever do about it is mention it to my supervisor, who always says that he will "follow up" without even looking up from his computer while I'm speaking. He is almost as bad as the rest of them. He once bought grapes and left them in the fridgerator for several weeks. He then made me clean the fridge out because the mold from HIS grapes had taken over.

As for my car, I did go back inside and asked if anyone saw anything. They didn't have a camera either So he is off scott free. Ooooh I wish I coulda seen him do it! I'da given him a piece of my mind!