The Thoughts and Questions of a Retail Worker

Mop Lady

My work is open 24/7 with the odd exception of being closed at Christmas or shutting early new year. Due to this cleaning in constant. Mopping up a spillage here and there. Sweeping up odd fries. Clearing trays and cleaning tables. Emptying bins. Something is always needing cleaning.

Therefore I find it odd to hear the complaint: "You shouldn't mop when customers are in"- Really it baffles me and I internally respond " Would you rather slip on a clean floor or a greasy, grimy one?"- The answer is clear to me.

I'd rather do my job right with a wet floor sign than lose my job over an unclean floor.

One time I was mopping the bathroom as the floor was starting to look untidy. A woman emerged from a cubicle and told me I had to dry her a path so she didn't skid out. Fair enough. I politely told her I wanted to quickly finish mopping the small stall so I could then dry mop. She stuck her nose up in disgust and tutted. Frustrated I dried her a path. Now... Dry mops are good but I'm no miracle worker, it doesn't instantly dry the floor back to it's old self. No, it takes time. Time this woman clearly didn't have.

I didn't let her words phase me and once she was gone I finished off mopping the toilets and hall.

However, letting it go wasn't going to be so easy. I walked back into the dining area only for my colleague to tell me a women complained that "some girl had soaked the floor and that mopping shouldn't be done when customers are in the restaurant". Hearing this made my blood boil. All I was doing was my job. Did the woman expect me to magic everything clean.

I went to my managers and told them if a woman complained I was simply cleaning the toilets. One manager joked saying " I could no longer mop". This made me smile, my managers are a great lot and having a laugh with them helped me feel better that day though the complaint still ticks me off.