(I am the new hire in this story, and I am working as an evening cleaner with two other girls, who have been there longer than I have. These girls are very unhelpful and right off the bat don’t like me because I take my work seriously while they spend most of their time slacking off and sitting in the office or even skipping some of their tasks so they can sit in the office for two hours until it is time to leave. Being that this is a cleaning job and only the three of us are in the building at this time, they expect us to clean every room until it is time to go home, and with all the tasks it is almost impossible to finish within two hours. One night, about five minutes after our shift has started, I go to ask my coworkers if I can borrow their keys to the paper towel dispenser, I notice they are nowhere to be found and my coworker’s car isn’t in the parking lot. I text them to see what is going on and this exchange takes place:)

Me: “Is everything all right? I noticed your car wasn’t in the parking lot and [Coworker #2] is nowhere to be found, either.”

Coworker: “Yes, everything is all right! [Coworker #2] was very tired and didn’t feel like cleaning so I took her to [Coffee Chain]. We’ll be back in five minutes.”

(I know my boss isn’t going to be too happy with them if she finds out about them leaving. My boss has made it clear we are not allowed to leave while on duty since it is only a four hour shift and there is no need to take a break, but not wanting to get anyone in trouble, I decide I am not going to say anything. An hour goes by and I notice they are still not in the building and two hours later, when I finish all of my assigned areas and go to clock out, they are in the office, drinking their [Coffee Chain] drinks. When I grab my things, one of my coworkers speaks up.)

Coworker #2: “Where are you going, [My Name]?”

Me: “I am finished with my rooms and I am clocking out, as it’s the end of our shift.”

Coworker #1: “Oh, I didn’t realize it was time for us to leave! Did you clean our rooms as well?”

Me: “No, I didn’t. I had my own rooms to worry about. You should’ve thought of that before you clocked out, went to [Coffee Chain] for two hours, and sat in here for another hour.”

Coworker #2: “We didn’t clock out. [Boss] doesn’t care if we have to leave and don’t clock out but now we’re going to have to stay later because of your laziness! You should stay, too.”

Me: “That is not my problem. You two sat in here all night. I am not staying. I cleaned my assigned area and I am going home.”

Coworker #1: “Wait until [Boss] hears about this! We’re supposed to be a team!”

(Having enough of them constantly slacking off, I left, went home, and immediately sent an email to my boss explaining what happened. The next morning, she looked at the cameras and caught them leaving the building, not coming back for two hours, and sitting in the office for another hour, and also saw me cleaning my assigned areas like I was supposed to. It turned out my boss *did* care that my coworkers left the building without clocking out, because the next night, I went in to find out they were going to be let go!)

(I work as a house cleaner. I work individually, in very large fancy houses, and spend a whole day working on cleaning a house. This particular house has a housewife with too much time and money on her hands, who enjoys hiring people to criticize, humiliate, and harass them. I am in one of the upstairs bedrooms vacuuming when my arm gets grabbed from behind. This already has crossed a line with me. I spin around and pull my arm away. The “lady” of the house looks furious.)

Lady: “You didn’t clean the mud room bathroom yet, did you?”

(I have, because she asked me to, so I tell her I have.)

Lady: *face turning red* “NO, you didn’t. The toilet hasn’t been cleaned; it’s disgusting.”

Me: *confused, because I know I cleaned it* “I’ll check when I get back downstairs. I have a little bit more to do upstairs, then I’ll check on my way out.”

Lady:  “No, come with me right now.”

(Annoyed, but resigned, I follow her downstairs. All of my cleaning supplies are upstairs as I don’t have time to grab them. We get to the bathroom and, indeed, there are s***-stains in the toilet, obviously from a recent “drop.” It was not there when I had cleaned it an hour earlier.)

Me: “I’m sorry, but I cleaned the toilet. This must have happened after I cleaned it.”

Lady: “How dare you call me a liar! I’m the only other person here and I didn’t do it. You’re going to clean this up right now.”

Me: “I can re-clean it on my way out after I finish the upstairs, if that’s okay. My cleaning supplies are upstairs.”

(Before I can stop her, she grabs my hand and shoves it into the s***-streaked toilet, using it like a toilet brush.)

Lady: “You’ll do it now.”

(When I finally realize what is happening, and the initial shock has worn off, I stand up, wash my hand, walk out of the house, get in my car, and drive away, leaving all of the companies cleaning products and expensive vacuum behind. The next morning I go into the office to face the consequences for my actions and get my walking papers. My boss gives me a big hug when I walk in.)

Boss: “That woman called after you left and tried to get you fired. She called me every name in the book, and relayed to me how she had to force your hand into the toilet to teach you a lesson. Then her husband interrupted the phone call to correct his wife. It seems that he had actually come home while you was upstairs, and had taken a giant s*** and left the mess, but didn’t tell his wife he was home because he wanted some peace and quiet before dinner!”

(As my boss relayed this I started crying. My boss then asked me to go back to the house to pick up the gear I left. When I knocked on the door, the client answered without a word, turned around, and walked back into the house. On her way, she gave a big, angry kick to the expensive company vacuum cleaner and hissed, “b****” under her breathe. I drove back to office instead of my first client for the day and quit on the spot. I vowed to never let anyone treat me like that ever again. It’s never worth the money.)

(I clean houses for a living. This particular client is a little old lady wanting a once-off spring clean.)

Lady: “Would you like a tea or coffee?”

Me: “No, thank you, but I will take a glass of water if you are offering.”

Lady: “Sure! I will be right back.”

(She comes back with a glass of water and a slice of cake.)

Lady: “Would you like some cake? It’s really nice!”

Me: *eyeing it off* “Does it have gluten in it?”

Lady: “Oh, no! I don’t put any in my cakes. Try it; it’s really quite nice.”

Me: *not entirely convinced* “Did you put flour in it?”

Lady: “Of course I did… It’s a cake.”

Me: *sighing* “Flour has wheat in it; therefore, it has gluten in it. I’m gluten intolerant, sorry.”

Lady: “Are you sure?! It’s really very nice.”

Me: “I’m sure it’s quite lovely but it’s not worth the pain.”

Lady: “Are you sure?”

Me: *sigh* “Yes, I’m sure.”

Related:
Free Of Gluten, Free Of Thought Part 3
Free Of Gluten, Free Of Thought Part 2
Free Of Gluten, Free Of Thought

This story is part of our Celiac Awareness Day roundup!

Read the next Celiac Awareness Day roundup story!

Read the Celiac Awareness Day roundup!

(My job involves emptying the sanitary bins in women’s toilets, as well as replacing other hygiene-related matters. I’ve seen some random things left in bins, such as belts, cups, uneaten sandwiches etc. I arrive back at my yard when my boss comes up to me.)

Boss: “You’re going to have to go back to [Business] as they’ve just called saying one of their bins is full and smelling.”

Me: “It can’t be. I was there this morning.”

Boss: “I can only go by what they’ve said. Just unload the waste on your van and head over there, please.”

(I arrive on site, open up the bin, and immediately evacuate and call my boss.)

Me: “You’re not going to believe this, but someone’s actually pooped into the bin.”

Boss: “You’re joking?!”

Me: “Nope, just removed the lid and used it as a toilet.”

(I am looking for a job after being unemployed for two years while schooling. I get a call back from a maid service and the woman schedules an interview at a coffee house. I’m 100% sure I’m at the right one as it is the only one in the area. I show up to the interview 15 minutes early and find an empty coffee house. I wait for a half hour and no one dressed professionally comes in and no one tries to approach me. It would be obvious to the interviewer when she came in that I am her prospect as I’m the only one at the tables and the only one dressed professionally. It’s extremely obvious that I’m waiting for someone. I decide to call the company.)

Employee: “[Company]. This is [Employee]. How can I help you?”

Me: “Yes, I was scheduled for an interview with [Owner]. It was supposed to be fifteen minutes ago, but so far no one has showed up.”

Employee: “Oh, wow. Let me try to call her personal cell phone to see what’s going on and I’ll make sure someone calls you back.”

Me: *I make sure she has my number* “Thank you so much.”

(I continue to wait for another half hour to no avail so I decide to leave. I never receive a call back about the missing interviewer so I email the service explaining I had an interview and no one showed and to enquire why no one ever contacted me as they said they would. I quickly receive a reply.)

Co-Owner: “You did not get a call back because you were a ‘no-call, no-show’ at your interview.”

Me: “No, I showed up 15 minutes early and waited an hour. In fact 15 minutes after the interview was supposed to start I called [Company] and talked to [Employee] and she assured me that she would figure out why [Owner] had not arrived and call me back, which she never did.”

Co-Owner: “You were put down as a ‘no-call, no-show.’ That’s why we didn’t return your call.”

Me: “So, let me get this straight. I call and try to inform you that I am indeed there for my interview while my interviewer is not, but you won’t call me back because I wasn’t there?”

(It takes a while for the reply this time.)

Co-Owner: “[Owner] says you never showed up. Are you sure you were at the right place?”

Me: “100 percent positive. It’s the only [Coffee House] in the area and I was the only one sitting at the tables as well as the only one in professional dress. I do not appreciate the accusations when I myself called your company to inquire the whereabouts of [Owner]. I also have a receipt proving I was there 15 minutes early. [Owner] has wasted my time and money, both of which I have very little and could barely afford to drive to this interview.”

Co-Owner: “I suppose I can set up another interview as long as you don’t ‘no-call, no-show’ again.”

Me: “Don’t bother. Obviously you aren’t listening to me. I was not a ‘no-call, no-show.’ I have proof that I was there as well as a phone record of my attempted contact. I have no desire to work for a company that throws people under the bus before even receiving an interview. Obviously [Owner] forgot about my interview and lied about it.”

(A couple weeks go by and I receive another email.)

Co-Owner: “It turns out that [Owner] did forget your interview. Would you like me to set up another with her?”

Me: “I have already expressed how I feel about working for your company. Please do not contact me again.”

(I got two more interviews within a week of the first missed one and by the time I got that last email I had already been hired for a much better job.)