[Musicman]

Having just read about a cleaner being sacked for Gross Misconduct at the Post Office at Bangor in The Cleanzine http://www.thecleanzine.com/pages2/Filthy_cleaner.html I wondered if any of you had any stories of your own that you would like to share.

I'll kick off with one.

During the summer holidays I took my two kids to Twycross Zoo for the day. At one point I saw two cleaners in the disabled toilet/baby change appearing to remove a blockage in the toilet with a mop (I'm guessing that this is what they were doing as the mop was insterted several times into the pan). They then proceeded to mop the floor with the same mop. 

Disgusting, but at least it was a red one so they got the colour coding right. 

[*Chris Browne]

Ive got a few having been in the trade for about 22 years , heres a couple ,
Once as a supervisor i once spent 30 minutes looking for a male cleaner who i eventually found scrunched up in a cleaning cupboard asleep on the butler sink,the cupboard was about 3 foot by 4 foot
(he was small)
Another one which was funny was when a cleaner asked me to bring him a bottle of irritant, it took me a long time to find out what he meant :

chris

[jasonl]

Not gross but funny,,,, A lady cleaner vaccing a carpet, with a walkman on .... and the vac turned off, she could not hear.

[Jan K]

i've done that in the past and wondered why the vac wasn't picking up lol....stopped wearing one in the end

[*Chris Browne]

 admit it how many times have we vacuumed with the hose not connected...go on admit it!  lol

[Simon H]

Hi all

Found one of our pub cleaners asleep in a cardboard box in the cleaning cupboard clutching a 1/4 bottle of scotch!!

Also had to deal with a not very happy client when a new valeter washed his red (soon to be orange) BMW with floor stripper

Worst job I had was cleaning out tankers that had been carrying whats left of a chicken when Bernard Matthews has finished with it. No one else would do it I wonder why

Off to get my feathers trimmed now

Simon

[Jan K]

Simon, bmw + floor stripper = not happy client.............what a disaster!! I would have gone seriously off my rocker if that happened to my car! How did you manage to cope with that one?

Had to giggle and the cleaner in the box with the booze......not funny for you at the time I've no doubt, but funny to picture for me 

[Simon H]

Hi Jan

When questioned the valeter said ti was not his fault as he was dyslexic (didnt think to tell anyone ) but he did wonder why the water in his bucket was turning pink!!

Free car wash for six months and a friend in the body work business appeased the client

Best not to put these things through the insurance premiums high enough as it is

Simon

[Fox]

This one is really gross!

A couple of cleaners who worked in a transport depo came to me and said they were grossed out because they kept finding 'deposits' down the gents cubicle doors.

I had to go and speak with the client about this and was very diplomatic suggesting he remove all the dirty mags from the loos and ban them from being brought in.

The next day I recieved an email stating that he had dealt with the matter and forwarded the email that he had circulated around the building - it read

'Please do not w*nk in the toilets, anyone caught doing so will be subject to disciplinary action'

Fox

[George-Reid]

We have had bodies both human and animal.
I have dealt with a suite clean for an insurance company where the ex wife was raped by husband and the suite had four thats 4 diffrent body fluids on it.

One of the worst was 4 flats in a tenament the plumbing was all wrong, the bottom flat was vacant for around three months. the plumbing blocked up and the foul sewer from the three top flats dumped into the bottom flat for weeks until the landlord took some one round to view the property. By this time the sinks toilet bath were full and the hallway etc etc were covered in Human waste. We also had to clean the sick where the landlord threw up. Now that was a good earner.

We had a fish wharehouse where they battered the fish for a well know frozen food company their waste batter pipe burst and dumped into the basement which was around 100 by 300 feet it was two feet thick in batter we sucked it out with waste trailers then spent 4 days pressure washing and removing the waste then put down an anitbacterial we worked in their for a week it was not pleasent.

We had a pub which the waste pipe from the glasses washing machine broke and dumped into the basement for weeks untill the smell got to much to live with. We had to suck water for 2 days then crawl in to remove solied items only 2 foot roof space then place air movers etc . We had dead rats etc. Plus the sick from the cleaner who threw up over our extraction machine when she stuck her head into the basement.

Jobs like these do tend to put you off Tuna sandwiches for lunch
Cheers
George

[Jan K]

George, you must have no sense of smell to cope with all that 

[carloso]

hi  hi jan
 just seen that you have got religion( elevated to god status), not bad for a newbie not so long ago.
 i'll have to start going to confession more often, , might get me elevated as well
cheers

[Jan K]

Hey Carl!

Could look at it another way.......I have nothing better to do than sit here posting every day

[*Chris Browne]

I think one of the hardest jobs is telling a member of your staff that they smell, it dosnt bother me so much nowadays but in the early days it was hard
cleaners can put you off tuna sandwiches as well :

[Purity]

Was called by the city today, a owner of a home was on vacation in europe, got in an accident, wasnt able to get home for over 90 days, he was planning on a week trip. Well he had 12 cats, a lonely man of 78, now there are 8 cats left, I was there when the humane society was removing them, and the house has to be professionally cleaned before the owner comes home. The cats used the entire house as a litter box, as the other 3 litter boxes overflowed long ago. The cats hopefully can be treated, they are currently vile, explained as when they ran out of food they started  eating there own feces, and as the 4 cats died or were killed by the other cats,  they then ate the carcuses. A very sad situtation, the man had no family to call. The cost for this to remove and disinfect the entire house is $3500, the man only has $1250.00 so he will have to be financed by the city who picks up the balance, and adds it on to his taxes.  All carpet in the house has to be removed, alot of flooring cut, away, and a full disinfect. If you can imagine a cat smell, that is so strong it can be smelled for a block. Thats what this is. We bid on the job, and hopefully will receive it, will keep you posted.     



Thanks to i for Free Image Hosting

[Jan K]

Hey Purity!

Welcome to the board..................good luck with the bid, hope you get the job..............just as well I don't work for you otherwise you would be cleaning up after me too......that would make me sick, not sure if that would be before or after I had stopped crying for that poor man and his cats (I am a sucker for a sad, animal story)

Jan

[Purity]

Thanks for the warm welcome, Its terrible. I guess the gentleman was planning his whole life to see Europe, used his savings and  then this happened. Still in the city circuit hopefully a answer will be decided by the courts and the work can be performed, hes in rehab right now with his family in Georgia USA

[24-7 S C Services]

Hi everyone,

I have described my worst clean in a previous thread : -

http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=9681.0

However, talking about staff. Previously many years ago as ops manager of a large contract cleaning company. I received a phone call from one of our clients. They where a health club and we had a few problems with time keeping and staff not spending the allocated times etc (you all know what I mean). So a week earlier I placed two new cleaners in, they where to work 3 hours each. I worked the first three days with them, showing them the ropes, telling them the do's and don’ts etc and stressing the premises had CCTV and they check the tapes each day.

Well anyway, went down to see the manager, upon arrival I kindly asked him what the problem was, so we could rectify it immediately (two other cleaners waiting in the car). Well I was greeted nicely, asked to go through o the office, was poured a coffee and sat down. 'Now Andrew, the cleaning has improved and the time keeping is more acceptable now' he started saying. Good, I thought, until he invited me to watch the CCTV footage from the previous night.

The two cleaners arrived, started their work, then another two cleaners arrived and started helping them (ok, no real problem here I thought), then next thing, wham bang thank you mam, it was like on orgy, two where bang at it in the swimming pool, whilst the other two where bang at it in the hot tub.

I didn't know what to say. However, the cleaners where sacked for gross misconduct and I kept the contract purely by offering to do it myself.

Andrew

[Elite (Ben)]

when i used to valet i was called to look at a london style cab. After finishing his shift the driver noticed someone had S*@T in the cab and then proceede to spread it around a bit.  Needless to say i quoted very very high.

never got the job