Should I grass on the "thieving" pensioners?

[natalie_1982]

At work we have two older (early 60's) ladies who come in and empty the bins and dust the cabinets. I have been here for 2 years and have had food go missing frequently that cannot be explained unless someone was coming in out of office hours including my Birthday cake, pre packed mango/ other fruit, packs of biscuits, packs of tea, jars of coffee and general bits here and there.

Yesterday I bought a punnet of strawberries to have with my brekkie this morning, I was last to leave the office last night and first in this morning (not counting the cleaning ladies) and my strawberries have gone.

Now, what do I do? I feel the people in our office have put up with this for long enough, but I don't really want to get the ladies into trouble because one of them is very quiet and does as she is told by the other lady who is bossy and pushes her around. I can't really have a quiet word as I rarely see them, they start usually long after we have gone home but I was thinking of sticking a note to the fridge along the lines of "gotcha!" so that they think twice about doing it again?

Your opinions would be appreciated ;-) Ta x

[PinkFizz]

God how awkward.Have you actually spoken to you colleagues and boss about this? I would all get together one day and agree between you to leave a specific item behind after work,like your strawberries.If you have all discussed it and know what the plan is then you can't blame each other.Then all check when you leave that it is still there - if it is missing in the morning you know beyond all doubt that is it your little old ladies and you can go to your boss and present the facts.

They must be mad if they think that nobody knows what they are doing! Let me know what happens!

[hannahjo]

That�s really awful, we have a similar situation at my workplace, I think the security guards are nicking our stuff although not quite to the extent of yours! It is tough knowing what to do, how about putting a polite sign up in the kitchen saying something along the lines of �all food in fridge is bought by individuals and is not for general consumption� hopefully then they�ll get the message and there wont be too much of a scene caused. If this doesn�t work you may have to have a word as then they�ll blaitantly be thieving its just not right!

Failing that we sometimes leave little �treats� for the thieves� an open box of jam doughnuts but with salt sprinkled on top� chocolates with marmite smeared on the bottom� that�ll teach them!

[Yorky Lass]

A bit childish I know but how about leaving notes on the fridge, cupboard etc with a list of items inside. As though you were checking expiry dates for them to be disgarded.

Who ever is taking the items would then know they will be missed.

[hannahjo]

I also write my name on my butter & stuff in a big black marker so its obvious its mine.

[Ethel]

You could put a big notice in a prominent position along the lines of:

"Sadly there has been several reports of food and other items going missing.
Please respect others property and ask before you take.
Yes, this does mean YOU."

This makes it obvious that people are aware of the thieving without accusing anyone in particular.
Hopefully it will make people think twice before helping themselves.

[Ethel]

Just a thought -

Have the cleaners been instructed to dispose of perishables left overnight?

[Drusilla1S]

I think you should report this to your immediate superior and insist something be done. Part of management is about dealing with issues that undermine the working atmosphere in a place of employment. Unhappy employees are less productive, so it is an issue beyond the loss of a few articles of food and you would not be over reacting by bringing it to the attention of your boss.

[spinchimp]

Flogging is the answer - twenty lashes with the cat o' nine tails.

[smudge]

When I was at work, I queried why we were getting through so many toilet rolls & cleaning agents in the loos. This might sound petty, but the re-ordering of them was getting more & more frequent!

It was discreetly brought to my attention, that one of the girls who had been with us for some years, was coming into work with just a small shoulder bag, but going home with a carrier bag & she hadn't been out shopping at lunch time either.

I had this monitored this over the next couple of weeks, then casually asked the suspect where she thought the items might be disappearing to. She immediately went bright red & responded with no eye contact & although she said she didn't know, the stealing stopped from then on - say no more!

[Champagne]

It's a tricky one, Nat. It's hard to point the finger unless you've got evidence. You have to either catch them in the act or find another solution.

I would buy a lock for the fridge door and make a point of locking it every night as I left/unlocking in the morning, then issue a memo to colleagues advising them not to leave individual food items etc. lying around.

[natalie_1982]

Thanks for all of yours anwers peeps, I have been in meetings all day so have not hjad chance to respond or speak with colleagues yet.

We have spoken in the past about the disappearing food, but it seems to petty to quibble over a packet of tea or whatever but when it happens so frequently it begins to get pretty frustrating!!

I will take your ideas on board and suggest them to the others in the morning, then let you know what we intend to do!

Oh, and my Shredded Wheat's were rubbish with no fruit on them ;-(

[Bangertree]

Grass on them? Its not grassing, theyre thieving swines. You work hard so they can pinch off of you? I bet they don't regret it while theyre scoffing your strawberries.

[Tweed]

Do what Ethel says, (both posts). It may be that they're instructed to dispose of perishables. Don't get the old dears into trouble.

[joko]

buy one of those dummy cctv cameras and put it in the corner of the room

then put a note on the fridge, announcing that it is there and also put the reason.

if you are 100% sure its these women and not a workmate happy to allow the blame to be on someone else, you can tell them all the truth.

until you get chance to get a camera though - do the suggestion of booby trapping the food

you could even get some food dyes and coat items with the same colour - like strawberries with red, dark chocolate biccies with brown etc so anything touched will stain their fingers, embarassing them.

you can buy alsorts of colours these days

i would also get some of those blue tablets from the dentist and bake or insert or crumble in food so that their mouths go blue, giving the game away too

[vicalncraig]

LAXATIVES will have the desired effect!!!