Recently something from my office was binned by the cleaners. £X00’s worth of small items required for next week, not easy to replace (or fully catalogued unfortunately). Cleaner admits binning it, mis-read a note on it and thought it said bin it, so just a mistake but clearly not helpful. Cleaner offered to pay for parts personally but I don’t feel it’s fair on them to carry the burden personally (financially) and they were reasonably apologetic even if they did try to weasel out of admitting it at first. What do to? I don’t want to go blazing to their boss as it may end up with excessively unpleasant results for the cleaner in question, however we’re down box full of items and a stack of time. Think we’re just going to have to swallow it.

Insurance? depends how much money really.

Not worth the insurance route, I suspect excess would be larger, but as per all stupidly financed systems no other person will be willing to pay for someone elses mistake, the only way of getting it paid for would be to go to the cleaning dept’s head and ask them, which could well end up with the cleaner being fired by all accounts.

I’m waiting for someone to come on and blame you for not locking them away etc etc 🙄

tbh it should really come out of the cleaning budget not pocket but that would depend how understanding their boss is – I’m guessing not very?

Do you have sufficient autonomy to replace them yourself out of your budget?
If it was me I would do my best to avoid getting the cleaner into a position where they would lose their job.

Was it clear that they were not to be binned? That’s crucial to fault. Maybe the note-writer is at fault…

Their boss is known for not taking any nonsense and being something of a scary person – chap didn’t mean to inconvenience us, it was a genuine mistake (even if it was, to our eyes, blatently obvious that it was a box full of new and useful parts we don’t expect others not in the field to recognise that necessarily). I can replace it from our budget but it means missing out on some other items that were planned and it was a box of parts that you don’t buy specifically but you turn up to a job and grab from the box of spares you know you have. Looks like the only route open is replacing as we go, shame for the rest of the team who wanted the additional bits to help. 🙁

(cynic – the note was a question from another cleaner asking if the box was to be binned, the answer written on the bottom of it and left there to ensure all took notice, was “NO” and the other cleaner was told in person. At some point a change of cleaners has led to a mis-communication and the new one didn’t read the note, he thought it said the box was rubbish.)

Cleaner has messed up – you’ll not get them to pay, nor should you ask them to, but the consequence is pretty obvious. I’d mention it to the cleaning firm boss and let him sort it out. Whichever way you look at it, his firm has failed, and he needs to know this.

As for the cost of the tiems themselves? Your budget will take the hit, I’m afraid, unless the cleaning boss agrees to cover it. No other feasible way around this that I can think of.

In my old work, an lbs, old bike and frame boxes were binned once a week.

Somehow the boss’ recently re-sprayed Yates road frame ended up in a box among them…and went to the crusher.

That’s what you told him anyway, al? 😉

The cleaner shouldn’t be held personally responsible – mistakes happen – but the cleaning company should be expected to replace the parts. They’ll have insurance; what their excess is should be none of your concern.

I think a conversation with the cleaning boss to say what has happened should happen. BUT that otherwise, the cleaner has always done a good job, (if the above is true) you don’t want the cleaner sacked over this and that most importantly the cleaner fessed up to it straight away…this should mitigate in his favour. Ask the cleaning boss for compensation but stress that simply sacking the cleaners involved would make you reconsider re-awarding the contract to him/her the next time.

Lateral thinking…the disposed of item may not yet be in landfill…have you contacted the waste disposal firm? I had some experience in this years ago. You’d be surprised at what can be traced to what location. You never know.

Shit happens sometimes – just one of those things.

Lateral thinking…the disposed of item may not yet be in landfill…have you contacted the waste disposal firm? I had some experience in this years ago. You’d be surprised at what can be traced to what location. You never know

We checked the usual bins that they use, they were emptied by the council before we got to them, so I suspect they’re in landfill by now.

Unfortunately little old me has no sway in contract negotiations so can’t really protect the chap with that sort of option, looks like we’re just out of luck. I’ve no idea if this cleaner is good, they’re a stand-in from another building while our normal (great) one is on holiday. At a later date I’ll mention it to their boss and try to swallow the costs for now.

Ah right…still worth a call honestly. If the five-o suspect a body has been dumped in rubbish, the council (or local privately owned landfill site) can point them to the exact location of where rubbish from a certain shift will have been dumped. Obviously, yours is not a life or death situation, but like I said, you never know what help they may be able to give you. Get yourself one of these:

one of these outfits:

And get digging 🙂