(I work in a school as a custodian, and half the time, I get these exact people coming to me to ask the same question:)
Mother: “Excuse me, my child left their lunch bag here in the school and I was wondering where the lost-and-found is?”
Me: “The lost-and-found box is located at [Room Number].”
Mother: “Thank you!”
(The mother spends about 5-10 minutes looking for the lunch bag then comes back.)
Mother: “I found the lunch bag but I can’t find the Tupperware that belongs in it.”
Me: “When was the lunch bag lost?”
Mother: “Almost a month ago.”
Me: “Ah. See, I clean the lost-and-found box every week and if I find any food in a Tupperware container, I will usually throw it out because of mold and bacteria, not to mention the smell.”
Mother: “Why? Can’t you clean the Tupperware? I mean, you DO clean up the s*** in the washrooms, right? What makes cleaning Tupperware any different?”
Me: “I could do that if you want me focusing my time on your kids lunch boxes than focus on making sure the toilets and learning environment is cleaned. But, unfortunately, I am not being paid to do that kind of thing. If you like, I can look for other Tupperware in the lost-and-found and clean those and give them to you.”
Mother: “What am I, a charity case? I can buy more Tupperware!”
Me: “Okay, then. Sorry for the trouble.”
(Later that day I had a call from the office saying they had a mother complain about her Tupperware containers being thrown out. The office told her that I had no time to deal with such small problems like that. The next week, she came back and apologized to me and said she had a lot of stress in her life and she needed to vent out at someone. I told her it was ok; it happens to the best of us. She is now my biggest supporter and will get her kids to help pick up garbage outside now and then, trying to make my job a little easier!)
