Six years after I finish my BA degree, I start a new job as a Senior Investment Advisor at one of the largest financial institutions in Canada. Unlike my previous job, I get to have my own office which has my nameplate — also reflecting my position — on the door.
One day, I gave to stay a bit past office hours (9:00 to 5:00) to finish up some tasks. Just when I start getting ready to leave, the night shift janitors arrive to service our floor. Among the cleaning staff members, I recognize one of them as someone I went to university with. I do not approach her to say hi because: A) we just had one class together and we barely even spoke to each other, B) it has been a very long time since I last saw and heard of her, and C) she was a “mean girl” back then and enjoyed tearing people down.
I particularly remember [Cleaner] because, one time, the professor asked me an opinion-based question, which I answered. [Cleaner] disagreed with me and even said my answer was s***ty in front of the entire class. It did affect me, but not for very long because I eventually moved on and put the situation behind me.
Most people, like me, leave their office doors open. We have never had an incident where someone has reported something missing from their office. As I head out toward the elevator, I can see that [Cleaner] has reached my office to clear my garbage bins. I don’t think anything of it because it is part of her job to step into my office to do her work. When I am getting ready to pull out of the parking lot, one of the junior advisors calls me.
Me: “Hey!”
Junior Advisor: “Hi, [My Name]! I’m sorry for calling after hours. This might be a long shot, but are you still in the office?”
Me: “Well, I just got into my car at the building’s parking lot. But yes, technically, I’m still at work. What’s up?”
Junior Advisor: “I just noticed that my card case has been misplaced. I checked my bag and looked everywhere in my apartment, but it is nowhere to be found. If you can, would you mind terribly going back upstairs and checking my workstation and drawers? I would greatly appreciate it.”
Me: “Of course, that’s no problem. I am heading back up right now and will give you a call when I’m done.”
Junior Advisor: “Thank you so much! Lunch is on me next time whether you find my card case or not!”
Me: “No worries. Talk to you later.”
Junior Advisor: “Okay, bye!”
When I am back upstairs, I go straight to [Junior Advisor]’s desk. Unfortunately, I do not find the card case, but I decide to let one of the janitors know and ask them to hand it to the lobby’s security if someone from the cleaning team finds it.
As I make my way out, I notice that [Cleaner] is still in my office. From where I am standing, it looks like she is snooping around my desk. I manage to quietly sneak into my office and stand there for a good ten seconds. She opens one of my drawers, so at this point, I can confirm that she is snooping.
I wait for [Cleaner] to turn around and give her a “surprise”, but she is too focused and is taking her sweet time going through my stuff. I decided to break my silence.
Me: “Can I help you find anything?”
Cleaner: *Startled* “Oh, geez, you scared me! You’re too quiet. Oh, my God, [My Name], it’s you! I saw your name on the door but didn’t know that it was the [My Full Name] from uni. It’s so great to see you! Not sure if you remember me, but I’m [Cleaner’s Full Name]. We had a class together.”
Me: “Oh, hi, [Cleaner]. I can see that you have already done your job, which was clearing up my bins. Can I ask what else you were doing?”
Cleaner: *Nervously* “Oh, yeah, because I saw your name on the door… And I was looking to see if you have any cleaning supplies so I could wipe down your desk and disinfect your keyboard and monitors. You know, I want to go the extra mile with the service so I can get positive feedback.”
Me: “Uh-huh.”
I know she is lying. From what I’ve heard, the janitors are not supposed to be wiping up the staff’s desks and equipment. This is an add-on service that is not covered, and if someone from the building wishes to do this, they must submit a request form, and it must be approved by the property manager. The policy she is violating could lead her to dismissal.
Cleaner: “Look, I didn’t have to do this. I was simply being nice to an old friend.”
Me: *Firmly* “Right. Well, I’m going to ask you to stop. You already cleared the bins, and I don’t need you to do anything else.”
Cleaner: “Wow, okay. You don’t need to be so b****y about it. No good deed goes unpunished.”
I decided not to waste my time with her and just went home. I also called [Junior Advisor] to let him know I didn’t find his case card.
I don’t have any valuables in my office, so I wasn’t worried about stuff going missing. The next day, I told my boss about what had happened, and she agreed that [Cleaner] was only supposed to clear the bins. My boss emailed the property manager about the incident. They responded promptly.
Weeks passed, and my boss told me that the cleaning company addressed the situation by letting [Cleaner] go. Apparently, I was not the only one who had complained about her. Other tenants saw that she was taking office supplies from their units, and her own coworkers said that she would often help herself to anything in the fridges of the units her team was assigned to service.