i dont get paid enough to do that

[JLRodgers]

*Somebody* has to clean it up. *Nobody* has it in their job description. Just who do you think is going to do it then?

Wouldn't janitors* have that in the job description?




*Or whatever term's used at whatever company.... I've seen one calling them sanitation engineer experts.

[crashhelmet]

Technically, the bacteria within fecal matter can be hazardous to your health, but only if it enters your own system like through your blood or your mouth. It's why it's very important to wash you hands properly after dropping the kids off at the pool.

i would think the only legality of it would get into whether or not your employer gave you the adequate tools to protect yourself while cleaning it up. i.e. rubber gloves, face mask, bleach, etc.

CH

[Dark Psion]

We had someone "explode" in our restroom once and as the Boss started to look in my direction I said; "If you want me to clean that mess up, you will have to clean up the one I make."

[Kiwi]

I'm not cleaning up piss, puke or poop ever. I don't think I could without puking myself.

I would rather be fired than do it. Does that make me a sucky employee? Maybe but to be honest I don't care. I am NOT cleaning it up.

When we found a dead bird at the craft store under one of the shelves my manager tried to get me to clean it up, I flat out refused, there is no way.

Personally I would think that anything that out of the ordinary should be done by a manager.

YUCK

[RootedPhoenix]

I don't know that someone who can't do it should be made to (like if you're going to puke if you do it, then you shouldn't have to), but I don't know that it's degrading to ask it to be cleaned. Somebody has to.

Of course, it's gross, though! I haven't a clue as to where these SCs get their manners from. Why make a mess with any one of those substances and then leave it? You made it, you clean it! Ugh.

[PepperElf]

of course the other notion is... if you're not paid to do it, then who IS?

cos ... you can't just leave it there. SOMEONE is going to have to do it.

just put on some gloves, and maybe a cloth around your nose. get out some heavy duty sanitizer and wash your hands really well afterwards.

and yes there are worse things to clean up than a kid's poop.
like being told to "clean up that pile next to the dumpster"... when said pile is food trash that's sat there in the hot Hawaiian sun long enough to be covered with wriggling maggots... yeah fun fun fun



granted im not trying to be mean to the people here who would honestly barf
just thinking of some of the people i use to have to deal with in the navy.

like some of the gals... cleaning berthing was a job everyone had to do eventually, but we would ahve some who would be entitlement prima donnas and go... "No that's a nasty job it's beneath me!" as if they were better than everyone else, that all the other women were "dirty" so it would be ok to make THEM do the jobs.

[JLRodgers]

So I'm taking it that companies don't have someone who's duties are listed as "janitor" anymore, and my town is the last one with those type of people?

I mean, it used to be a common thing, at least one person was employed to be the maintenance/janitor/"sanitation engineer expert" person at everyplace I've ever worked. While it cost a bit more money for someone not working the floor -- it saved more money than spent as the person would be constantly cleaning the place up during the day so the others didn't have to do it (one person 8 hours vs 8-25 people one hour extra). Not to mention it was drastically more sanitary as you'd all-but eliminate the chances for cross contamination of things - if nothing else but for actual training reasons.

[PepperElf]

a lot of places contract out for cleaning, but that's often x amount of times a week (like for offices etc)

the OP said it was a food court... so it depends if the mall had staff or if it was one of those eat-in places, which might have to support their own staff for cleaning.

[Jester]

It's stories like this that make me appreciate (again) the fantastic and thankless job the cleaning ladies did at the hotel I used to work at.

At The Bar, we have no janitor. We DO have a cleaning guy, but he comes in AFTER we close to clean the entire place. (And he does a fantastic job, by the way. We all love him!) So yeah, if something like that happens, SOMEONE is going to have to clean it. I hope it's someone with a stronger stomach than me, though!

At a restaurant I used to work at, management had a very simple, straighforward policy. Anyone who said "That's not my job" would be fired on the spot. Some of you may think that's a bit much, but frankly, I liked it. Why? Simple. Their philosophy was that the whole restaurant is the job of the whole staff, period. And frankly, I agree with them.

Now, as for the OP, if that was in a mall food court, I would imagine the mall would have a cleaning crew or janitor or something. Not having been there, I don't know. I DO know that if I am forced to clean something, my very first question once I have stopped whining is "Where are my gloves?" Because if they ain't giving me gloves to clean something like that up with, I ain't cleaning it up.

This has never been an issue at The Bar, and if it ever were, we always have gloves on hand. Our kitchen is staffed by very clean and conscientious cooks, thank you very much. Plus we often need gloves for various things not related to food. Like, say, cleaning.

[sanchopanza65]

The funny thing is, I AM a custodian and I apparently don't have to clean up vomit. I asked if I could avoid that duty during my performance review, and seemingly got permission to. A few weeks back, we had a kid throw up in the nursery, and the Christian Ed. director cleaned it up herself. I don't think she even knows I know about it happening.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Wouldn't janitors* have that in the job description?

It would depend on the situation. My company has cleaning staff in the stores (they're outside contractors) but they only come in the morning. They empty the trash, vacuum, mop any tile areas (but not behind the cafe counter), and clean the bathrooms (they used to dust, too, but they stopped having them do that and gave the employees Swiffers to use as they're doing zone maintenance). They're gone before the store opens. If a huge mess happens during the day, they wouldn't be around to clean it up. The company should have to provide proper gear, though. I would imagine there are laws to that effect.

That said, I have had managers let people go home an hour early (with pay) for volunteering to clean up a bad bathroom mess (personally, I'd rather stay the hour). I also don't think I've ever worked with a manager who would expect an employee to do that. I've seen them offer the option of leaving early and if no one took them up on it, they would do it themselves.

The worst mess I've ever seen was not a customer, though. The Starbucks next to Store1 has its own bathrooms, and they share a wall with the bookstore's receiving room. One day the pipes in their bathroom backed up and flooded the Starbucks. It was so bad that they had to rip out the carpet...which only covered the front half of the store; the bathrooms are all the way at the back (granted, it's not a huge space to begin with, but still). But it also seeped through the concrete wall and flooded several feet of our receiving floor. Luckily we were able to move most of the merchandise that was in danger, but there were a couple boxes of books that went straight into the dumpster. We had the professionals in to clean that up, of course, but the manager on duty was in receiving with a mop and a trash can trying to keep it at bay until they got there. That was fun trying to explain to the customers why Starbucks was closed. We also had to keep the receiving door open for several days with those big industrial fans going to dry the floor.

[chocoBug]

omg ive had to deal with that once! i worked in a card shop and this woman holding a green looking toddler bustled up to me and practically shouted at me 'do you have a tissue?! and i was like no.. and she said 'will my kid just barfed over your cards; cya'. surely enough the kid had thrown up allllllllll down the card stand every single one dripping in puke. I just left it; i get paid £3.15 an hour!! tbh though if you paid me a lot more i wouldnt have cleaned it...
bless ur soul!