I Hate to Be So Cynical, But . . .
Posted on September 1, 2010 - Filed Under Guatemala, Personal | 7 Comments
A while back, I posted that our laundry detergent and a bottle of fabric softener had gone missing. Some of you suggested it might have been taken and to tell you the truth, I didn’t want to think about it because that would most likely mean it was our maid that was stealing. She has been absolutely amazing with the boys and we have had very few problems with her, so I really, really didn’t want to consider that as a possibility.
The Monday after I was frantically looking for the laundry stuff and after Irving had called her at home to ask if she’d seen it, our maid miraculously discovered the laundry soap at the bottom of a laundry basket that both Irving and I had checked. It was odd, but I thought maybe we’d just looked too quickly and missed it. The fabric softener didn’t turn up at all.
Then Irving got a call to go play a gig and when he went to iron his shirt . . . no iron. Anywhere. He went and scoured his family’s house because they have a tendency to borrow it. But they had two new irons and he couldn’t find ours anywhere. The maid said she hadn’t seen it in months . . . which could easily be true since we haven’t used it in ages.
And now, over the past week, a bag of pasta and two bags of salt have disappeared, as well as a couple of rolls of toilet paper. These are all things I KNOW I had and didn’t use myself.
Today I mentioned the missing stuff (she’d already brought up the salt, saying she couldn’t find it) and her eyes went big and she started to babble about the salt again . . . which seemed awfully suspicious to me.
Today our maid asked for her vacation, all 15 days of it. Irving said it would be a week since she works part time and has been with us for a year, but she insisted that I had offered her a full half month back when we were going to Canada. Irving told me this later and I pointed out that I had offered to pay her half her wage while we were away for the month to come by and check on the place and dust a couple times a week . . . not as her vacation.
In the end, we decided she can have the 15 days, but we’ll be looking for a replacement. Now that we have the washing machine and Irving is here all day, we really only need someone to come in and do a quick clean, wash the dishes, etc. so someone who comes in three times a week would probably be more than enough.
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7 Responses to “I Hate to Be So Cynical, But . . .”
Talk to Me, People!
Sorry to hear about your trouble, it does seem to be pointing to your maid given her strange behaviour. But all credit to you for wanting to believe the best in people. Hope it’s resolved easily!
Why can´t people be honest? I really hate it that people take for granted that they can steal from their employer. They figure if you have money to pay for a maid, you´re rich, so you have to spread those riches around.
I agree that you only need someone to clean 3 times a week. Make sure there is someone there while the maid is there and don´t be shy about checking any bags she takes with her. Be sure to tell her that NOTHING disappears in your house.
Well, at least now you know she is not the right person to leave in charge while you’re in Canada!
Sorry to say this, but it’s certain that woman was / is stealing from you. Asking for the paid vacation time is the tip-off. She knows you are on to her and she knows she is going to be fired and the “misunderstanding” is just another rip. I hope you didn’t give her the money, and just let her go. I agree about checking the bags before she leaves. I would never have thought to do that, or had the nerve, but it’s the right thing to do.
I’ve had a few thieves around me in my life and I NEVER wanted to believe it. Talk about living in denial! It cost me thousands of dollars ultimately, and then I was the one bad-mouthed all over town. I should have called the police and they would have went to jail. The last time someone robbed me (neighborhood boys in the U.S. that I had done “everything” for, and they did it the first time I went to Guatemala), I DID call the police. Imagine my shock to find out it was them! They went to jail for 10 days, and guess what? I have a fence up and no one robs me anymore. Ever.
I have never, ever had anything go missing with the people who take care of my place in Guatemala, and if it ever happened, I would know where to look. When my ink ran out of the printer while I was gone, I was very angry about it. Now they know they can use the printer but it has to be refilled at their cost. They do it and we’re all happy.
Good luck. I’ve learned the hard way don’t keep anyone around when things are gone. Let them go and you’ll find that everything stays right where you left it… whenever I have those kind of “premonitions” and find myself counting my money since I was “sure I had more money yesterday” it’s the thief at work again. Get them out!
Someone wrote that you shouldn’t let her watch your house when you guys are gone, and I highly agree. She knows she is under the radar and wants time off to cool things off or find new work. If you let you watch your house for a month-be ready for a disaster when you come back. Why don’t you guys put something out-just see if it goes “missing” maybe a couple of things and both you and your husband agree not to touch the items (maybe soap or toothpaste) and then you will get your answer
Definitely be ready to let this one go, and when you hire a new maid, be sure to inform her why the last lost her job! One thing I always did with employees is to tell them that they could use some of my laundry soap, only enough to do her own laundry. I even told her she could bring her laundry to my place to do it when she does our laundry… she would sort our stuff by colors to wash anyway, why not make sure the loads were full? Same with salt, sugar, coffee, or anything like that. A little bit for her own personal use was ok with me… BUT.. she had to tell me! I would only get upset if I went to use a product and it was gone or empty. I never set specific limits, but it might be an idea to consider. I also insisted that I be told if something breaks.. my first maid would ‘hide’ broken glasses and things and was scared to tell me at first. (She had been abused by a previous employer). I had to reassure her that I was ok with accidents, but I had to know if something was broken so I wouldn’t get upset when I couldn’t find it, and could replace it as needed!
Bummer – it’s so disappointing. I just had a maid quit about 3 weeks ago, and I honestly wasn’t too upset about it, because I had a feeling she was taking things. I know it sounds crazy, but it seems like all our coat hangers have disappeared. :/ And little things like you said – the toilet paper seemed to be going awfully fast. The funny/sad thing is, I’d have happily given her anything she asked for.