'AITA for sending away the girl who came to clean my house because she ate my cake?'
"AITA for sending away the girl who came to clean my house because she ate my cake?"
Own-Plant473
I 24F am married to my husband 28M and we have 1 daughter together 4F (Alaia). We both work a lot and I also work from home often. I needed cleaning so last week I called an agency and they send a girl over to clean the house and we agreed on 40USD an hour. (let's call her Eva).
So Eva who is around 19/20 years arrives at my house with her little sister 8F. I asked her why her little sister was here and she said she had no one else to leave her with. I wasn't very pleased but assumed she didn't have a choice and didn't say anything.
I showed Eva the play room of my daughter and said it was to be cleaned as well and her sister started staring around the room touching all the toys. I again didn't say anything. Eva started working and I went to my room to get ready to pick up a cake for Alaia and to pick Alaia up from school.
I heard a noise in Alaia's playroom so I rushed over and saw Eva's sister playing in the room and she broke a glass bowl that I had custom made for Alaia when she was born. At this point I was annoyed but again I held myself and told Eva to clean it and keep an eye on her sister.
I went out picked up Alaia's favorite cake with strawberries. It was a cake that had strawberries on only one side on the top and on that same side there were more decorations etc. I put it in the fridge and left again to pick up Alaia.
When we came back I was gonna surprise Alaia with her cake in the kitchen. When we walked in the kitchen I saw Eva's sister eating a big piece of the cake and exactly the part with the strawberries and more decorations.
I have never had an issue like this before. In fact, the cleaning ladies never open my fridge or anything cause they have no business there. I asked Eva what she thought she was doing and she told me "My sister was sad and really wanted cake so I figured she could have a piece."
Alaia started crying because she had been looking forward to her cake with strawberries and now the piece with strawberries were gone. I told Eva that it is not her place to figure whether her sister could eat something from my fridge without asking me.
She could have waited for me to get back because I told her I would be back. I told her that even if she did do this she should have not taken the whole decorated piece because she could've also figured that this cake was meant for my daughter.
Eva said that "You are getting mad for no reason just take the money from my pay." I told her she could pack her stuff and leave with her sister and she didn't have to finish the house cleaning. She had been at the house for only 2 hours but I payed her 120USD and told her to get out.
So I told a friend and she told me that I overreacted over a piece of cake and I should have understood the little girl. I again said that it is not just cake but it is rude to open my fridge and take out a cake that is not unboxed yet and eat it. I am wondering now AITA?
Edit: Eva was supposed to be there for 3 hrs and I sent her away after 2 but paid her 3hrs.
Here were the top rated comments from readers:
tahti_barbaloot
NTA for sending her away. Y T A for paying her what you did. When the bowl was broken you should have called the agency and asked if their insurance covered both the person cleaning as well as her sister. If their insurance covered the broken bowl, then you should have immediately filed a claim for the replacement.
If not, then the person cleaning is responsible for the replacement cost. Either way, you should have asked her to leave at that point. If the replacement cost was more than she had earned at that point then she leaves with no pay.
Since you didn't do #1 and the cake was eaten, you should have deducted the cost of the bowl and the cake from her pay. If it was more than she had earned then she leaves with no pay (and definitely no tip). Then you call the agency and report her.
The OP responded here:
Own-Plant473
The bowl was custom made and it was a big one wit lights in it and decorated with my favorite flowers. Besides that it also consisted from crystal stones on the bottom. So it was well over what she would have earned that day. Lucky the bowl was insured so I will get a new one. I just figured a 19/20 year old girl who needed money and wanted to give her a second chance.
bookreader-123
45 dollar an hour wow I'm coming to clean your house dan 🤣. But NTA ofcourse. The only time you open a fridge is if you need to clean it OR when the house owner says you can get a drink from the fridge. Also you only take a child with you when you ask beforehand or decline a job if you can't leave the child.
The OP again responded:
Own-Plant473
I keep my drinks in the fridge in my pantry and I told her she could get a drink for her and her sister. The fridge in the pantry is only for drinks so she had no business opening the fridge in the actual kitchen. Besides I told her that the fridges are not to be cleaned because I like to do that myself.
KitsiCode
NTA. When you booked your cleaning service you did NOT agree to having a child running around the home. Honestly, Eva is lucky you paid her at all, in my opinion. While I think it's a stretch to assume the cake was for your daughter unless explicitly stated, the food should not have been removed and eaten.
I've cleaned houses before and I've always either brought my own food or eaten before/after and the times I did have to bring my child I gave advanced notice and brought entertainment for him and made it very clear he was to sit quietly and not wander. Eva did none of these things for her younger sister.