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very sad

Arkteia

Ideal_Rock
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So I was leaving my office when a Hispanic cleaning guy from a company whose services our building uses stopped by our front desk. He is nervous and his English is halting. For a while I could not understand the situation. Apparently, he was cleaning an office upstairs and a cheap pair of earphones dropped off the table and was sucked into his vacuum and then the vacuum backpack. The next morning the guy who owned the earphones came in and complained, there was a long conversation with the cleaning guy, and he finally found it in his vacuum backpack! The earphones are so cheap, probably 50 cents in a dollar store, of a type one could buy for $ 3.00 on internal lines and gets for free on international ones. So obviously, there was no use for this guy to steal them, all the more so that they were using in his vacuum backpack and he could have taken them out if he saw them and needed them. The situation ludicrous because lots of pricey stuff lies scattered around offices here, and in mine, there are also stones and rough! And nothing ever disappeared.

He asked us to write a letter for him, he does not know how to write in English. We did, and I also added that nothing ever disappeared from our offices. I am afraid that he will get fired, though. They may not be doing the best cleaning job (although this one, is quite good), but they are treated like dirt! One of them walked into an office at 9 pm, someone was in psychotherapy, the guy started vacuuming, the therapist got upset, complained, the guy got fired! Someone was just disliked by someone, got fired. I feel so bad when they ask me if they can clean the office if I am staying late, I am mild and do not feel good when people look at me in fear. I presume they are legal immigrants and have job permits since they are employed by our office management company. I just do not know what else to do because the office management has its own policy. I presume I have done all that I could. It is sad that these guys are treated like dirt, though.
 

AGSHF

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May 7, 2004
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147
Crasru,

That's a heartbreaking story. It's a long shot, but is there any way you can get the identity of the complaining party? Perhaps a direct appeal to this individual, who must obviously be a heartless idiot for not backing off his complaint when it became obvious what happened, would be the best shot. I simply don't understand someone whose ego would not allow him to see how his error could have devastating consequences to someone's livelihood.

I've had similar experiences as yours when I'm late at the office; I try to at least say a simple thank you.
 

mrscushion

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Can you talk to the complainant directly, asking him to back off his complaint?

It is really sad that hardworking people like that do not get treated well and can be made disposable at the drop of a hat.

The best you can do is appeal to your co-workers to try to get some sense into them and also be really nice to these workers when they're around the office.
 

dragonfly411

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I'd write the letter for him, and go to hr directly with the situation.
 

ame

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OMG. I REALLY hate people lately. This poor guy did nothing wrong, it was an accident, and someone has to make a huge damn ordeal out of it. How about not leave your crap laying around?

I am glad you are appealing on his behalf, I hope your letter, etc., help him out.
 

iLander

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ame said:
OMG. I REALLY hate people lately. This poor guy did nothing wrong, it was an accident, and someone has to make a huge damn ordeal out of it. How about not leave your crap laying around?

I am glad you are appealing on his behalf, I hope your letter, etc., help him out.

This. Everyone is so prissy (I change a couple of letters when I'm really ticked) and such big babies. People need to get over themselves.

Lord, I could just rant for hours on this theme. . .

Crasu,

If you don't go to HR and go to bat for this person, who will? What do you have to lose? If I were there, I would do it. But not everyone is the same, so I understand if you are shy. It was nice of you to write the letter.

If he stays, a small Christmas card/tip would bring a big smile ($20).
 

NewEnglandLady

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I'm really glad that you helped him write the letter and hope he doesn't lose his job over something so petty. I can't believe anybody would complain about a pair of cheap earphones. Especially when they found him in his vacuum bag and it was obvious that it was an accident.

Hopefully more people will come to the cleaner's defense if it comes to that.
 

Circe

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I would bet dollars to donuts this is less about the complaining party, and more about some glass-stomached middle-management type taking sadistic glee in a petty display of power. With jobs as tight as they are, people become disposable - you can fire somebody for an infraction as minor as this and know you'll have a line of applicants out the door.

It's lovely of you to write a letter. If you can figure out who's in charge of the hiring and firing, it might make more sense to address them directly, and hope they're having a reasonable moment ....
 

Amys Bling

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Terrible... :(
 

D&T

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what an awful situation, its heartbreaking to hear this especially when it happens to hard working people who try everything they can to not break the law and provide for their family.

We were immigrants ourselves, and my mother was a housekeeper for a large chain hotel a long time ago, She fell in the bathtub while cleaning and hurt her back really really bad. Instead of making it known to her supervisor, workers comp and all that stuff she held it in and kept it quiet as she feared to losing her job and worked the rest of the day and every day with an extremely hurt back, never took a day off. She has since left the hotel a long time ago but her back has not been the same since the incident :(sad It saddens me to hear of this stuff.

I hope you can help him keep his job talk to the property manager in charge of hiring the janitorial staff for the building. It sucks to work in fear :((
 

MichelleCarmen

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Those cheap earphones are so tiny and can easily fall off a person's desk. Really, the guy who owned them should have kept them in a drawer or a safe place so stuff like this wouldn't happen. Maybe he's never vacuumed before so he doesn't realize small things get caught in them ALL THE TIME.

Hope all works out for the cleaning guy!
 

smitcompton

Ideal_Rock
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Feb 11, 2006
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3,254
Hi,

Please speak to the property management company. A phone call to a Vice-President will probably do the trick. He/She will take your comments seriously. Just explain the situation and of course use your own title. It does make a difference.


Annette
 

chemgirl

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Sep 16, 2009
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Eep, I've vacuumed up several pairs of those earbud things in my own home. Its so easy to do!

I really hope this guy doesn't lose his job over something so silly and obviously accidental. I can't imagine living in that kind of fear. How stressful must that guy's life be if something so small can get him fired?

I'm glad you wrote him the letter and I hope it works!
 

Arkteia

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Circe|1319212764|3044811 said:
I would bet dollars to donuts this is less about the complaining party, and more about some glass-stomached middle-management type taking sadistic glee in a petty display of power. With jobs as tight as they are, people become disposable - you can fire somebody for an infraction as minor as this and know you'll have a line of applicants out the door.

It's lovely of you to write a letter. If you can figure out who's in charge of the hiring and firing, it might make more sense to address them directly, and hope they're having a reasonable moment ....

100% true. I have already noticed it. I shall call the guy from the management company on Monday and talk to him about the incident. I know his phone number, but today no one was in. He is one of these guys that pretends to be nice, but I think Circe hit the nail on the head here.

Thank you all for supporting me, I'd hate to see him leave. I shall also tell that he did a very good job. It is useless to talk to the person upstairs because I think that if anyone could accuse someone of stealing a cheap pair of earphones (that might been stolen from an airplane, as I suspect), it is useless to appeal to their sense of fairness. I think that if I just say that this guy does a great job cleaning my office and I like him it would be a good counterbalance.

D&T, what a sad story about your mother...
 

Verdy

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Jun 20, 2011
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319
I really hate society sometimes when I see things like this. He was just doing his job, and he might get fired for that? Simply because someone else wasn't responsible enough with his personal belongings? I'm pretty sure those earphones could have been easily replaced even by the cleaner, the incompetent fool didn't have to make such a scene about it. But like Circe already stated - it's all a matter of who's above who, and who can take who down. It sickens me when I hear about such things, a measly pair of earphones being accidentally sucked up by a vacuum isn't the end of the world, so why would you be so arrogant as to go and complain about it? My parents work in a similar type of job, and about a month ago my mother almost got fired for sitting in a COMPANY bought chair that was meant for all employees to use. Another employee claimed it was "HER" chair and yanked it out from under her, needless to say, she brought "witnesses" to "prove" that my mother had mistreated her during the incident. The company even refused to watch the film on the security camera that was there when it happened. I hate seeing people mistreated for things that they aren't at fault for, things that are irrelevant and minuscule. It's vile and disgusting. :nono:
 

Arkteia

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So I called the manager and told that nothing of value ever disappeared from my office. He said, thank you, but I do not know what the results will be. I feel that I did what I could but what decision they have made, they have made. It is obnoxious that they treat people that are inferior this way.
 

ame

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I don't think he's inferior. I think that they feel he is because he is an immigrant (which they are too frankly), he is a "lowly" cleaning person, and they know he has no power to fight and win. I really hope you are able to help him. Geez I hate people.
 

Skippy123

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crasru, that is so sad and frustrating to hear. Can I say I am soooo glad there are people in the world like YOU!!! You have a big heart! I get upset when I read stories like this. My heart goes out to the man; you did what you could. I hope they keep him, I really do!
 

Arkteia

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ame|1319565788|3047370 said:
I don't think he's inferior. I think that they feel he is because he is an immigrant (which they are too frankly), he is a "lowly" cleaning person, and they know he has no power to fight and win. I really hope you are able to help him. Geez I hate people.

Sorry, I did not mean inferior, I meant, speaking poor English, being a Hispanic immigrant, having a low-paid job... Depending on it.

Skippy, I do not think I have a big heart, my evening receptionist was as astonished by the situation as I was. I posted it here because I knew I would get support from you guys... Thank you.
 
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