My cleaning lady broke something

Jewishmom8

Wed, Feb 27 2019, 7:50 am

after my cleaning lady left today I saw that she broke something. I have plastic movable window blinds, in Israel its called a movable tris, and I saw that two of the slats were snapped off. I know for sure they were fine this morning before she came. I think she was cleaning and they snapped off.
I don't know what to do now. I guess I am upset because she didn't tell me. I don't think I would ask her to pay or take money. I think its bothering me because she should have said.
what do you think about this. Did anyone have a cleaner that broke something? How did you handle?

groovy1224

Wed, Feb 27 2019, 8:02 am

She probably didn't tell you because she was scared for her job.

If you are sure it was her (I.e., no little kids in the house that could otherwise be the culprit), maybe tell her the next time to please let you know if something breaks. Explain that you know mistakes happen, and that you're not mad about the blinds but that you just care about her being honest. If you say it nicely, hopefully you won't have this issue again.

amother

Sienna

Wed, Feb 27 2019, 8:11 am

I once had a cleaning lady that would break something literally every time she came. A lamp, clock.. small things. I was desperate so I kept her. Till she broke so many things including my vacuum, I had to let her go. Some are just clumsy and careless.

thunderstorm

Wed, Feb 27 2019, 8:21 am

My cleaning ladies have broken my blinds on more than one occasion. I never said anything. I know that these things happen and the same thing could happen if I was the one cleaning it. She did it accidentally, not on purpose. I would let it go.

amother

Wheat

Wed, Feb 27 2019, 8:27 am

I told my cleaning lady that if she breaks something or notices something is broken, she should please tell me so I can get it fixed or replace. This gives her an out to report things to me, and hopefully, minimize blame. She will still sometimes not tell me if she drops a glass or mug, which I find interesting because I do that all the time, so I say nothing.

amother

Olive

Wed, Feb 27 2019, 9:27 am

If you are considering charging/docking her for this, I would advise you to ask the halacha. In many (most?) Cased a cleaning lady cannot be held accountable and made to pay al pi halacha.

causemommysaid

Wed, Feb 27 2019, 9:47 am

My cleaning lady also doesn't tell me when she breaks something. She must be afraid I'll get mad. I never say anything. It's not worth it. I like her too much.

amother

Papaya

Wed, Feb 27 2019, 10:37 am

amother wrote:

If you are considering charging/docking her for this, I would advise you to ask the halacha. In many (most?) Cased a cleaning lady cannot be held accountable and made to pay al pi halacha.

I'm not saying I would go that route, but just curious about your statement - why do you say that in most cases she would not be halachically accountable for breaking something?

amother

Lilac

Wed, Feb 27 2019, 10:41 am

She's probably scared to tell you because she doesn't know what your reaction will be. I've had cleaning ladies break things over the years. Very infrequently, and they always let me know. I never penalized anyone as it was always accidental. Usually they felt worse than I did about what had happened and I ended up reassuring them that it's not a big deal.

33055

Wed, Feb 27 2019, 10:42 am

My cleaning lady knows to let me know if she damages anything.

We are working on having her tell me when she runs low on supplies. This is a source of frustration for me when she doesn't let me know until she runs out and can't do the task.

We are also working on her asking me where something goes instead of stuffing it some place.

amother

Olive

Wed, Feb 27 2019, 10:46 am

amother wrote:

I'm not saying I would go that route, but just curious about your statement - why do you say that in most cases she would not be halachically accountable for breaking something?

I'm not well versed in these halachos at all, but I do know that it has something to do with the type of "shomer" (guardian of your object) shes considered, and also about how it broke (in the course of her doing her job, or did she decide to play catch with your vase?).

ShishKabob

Wed, Feb 27 2019, 12:00 pm

OP, I think it happens sometimes. I wouldn't say anything unless it happens again. Is it very delicate that can break easily?
Most cleaning help will not inform you if something breaks. I said most. The exceptional ones will.