# How to mop a floor in less than four hours. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 14, 2005, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-mop-a-floor-in-less-than-four-hours/312487 "2005-07-14T09:35:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-mop-a-floor-in-less-than-four-hours/312487/1 "2005-07-14T09:35:51Z")
Scene: Housewares. Time: 1:30 pm PST. _Customer picks up bottle of liquid soap. Liquid soap turns out to be uncapped and upside down. Customer doesn’t notice this until she’s left a three-foot long trail of soap on the floor._ Rilchiam: Oh, oops! No, just leave it…did you get any on yourself? Oh, good. Here’s a clean one. Yes, the register is up there. _Rilchiam goes to phone, pages housekeeping._ 1:45 pm. _Still no answer from housekeeping. Rilchiam tracks down Jim, from carryout._ Rilchiam: Can you do me a teeny-tiny favor? Call housekeeping on your radio? Customer: Miss, where are the All-Clads? Rilchiam: I’ll show you in one second! [To Jim] When they answer, tell them there’s liquid soap on the floor, against the wall, in front of where the utensils are. 2 pm. _Brooke is unloading new products, steps in soap._ Brooke: Aah! How long has this been here? Rilchiam: 'Bout half an hour. I paged housekeeping; I don’t know why they haven’t shown up. Brooke: Lotsa luck. Well, I’ll just put this cart over it for now. 2:30 pm. _Soap still on floor. Rilchiam finds Jim again. (He’s moved the cart, incidentally, but who knew it was going to have to be there that long?)_ Rilchiam: Did you get ahold of housekeeping? Jim: I tried, but they didn’t answer. Rilchiam: Great. _Rilchiam finds Sean (manager)._ Rilchiam: Can you page housekeeping, please? There’s liquid soap on the floor, along the far wall, in front of where the utensils are. It’s a real slipping hazard. _Sean calls housekeeping on his radio. **Rilchiam overhears him giving location of slipping hazard.** Rilchiam resumes duties._ 3:30 pm. _Rilchiam spots customer about to step in liquid soap. Customer almost falls, catches self on table._ Rilchiam: Oh wait…careful…oh. Customer: Ah! That shouldn’t be there! You should get a mop and clean it up! Rilchiam: Yes, I’m really sorry. You okay?..Okay, sorry 'bout that. _Rilchiam goes back to loading dock._ Rilchiam: Where can I get a mop? Gabriel: You can take one off the display, I guess. Rilchiam: No, I need one to mop up soap. Gabriel: Why don’t you page housekeeping? Rilchiam: **I have.** Can you call them for me? Again? _Gabriel pages housekeeping. No answer. No answer. No answer._ Rilchiam: Thanks anyway. _Rilchiam goes to office._ Rilchiam: Can you page housekeeping, please? There’s liquid soap on the floor, along the far wall, in front of where the utensils are. And a customer already slipped on it. _Laura pages housekeeping, first on radio, then on PA system. Rilchiam resumes duties._ 4 pm. _Soap still on floor. Rilchiam calls Laura, asks if housekeeping ever responded._ Laura: Oh, I sent her to Children’s. I’ll page her again and tell her to go to your register; you can show her where it is. _Rilchiam returns to register._ Rilchiam: Hey, guys, just so you know: if housekeeping shows up here, tell them there’s liquid soap on the floor, along the far wall, in front of where the utensils are. I just know the minute I step away, that’s when they’ll show up. Diane: Why would housekeeping be here? Rilchiam: Because that’s where Laura told them to go. Diane: Why don’t you call them yourself? Rilchiam: **They have been called. Several times.** Diane: What’s the big deal? Rilchiam: It’s a slipping hazard. Someone already has, in fact. Diane: How did soap get on the floor? Rilchiam: It spilled. Diane: Well, they’re probably busy. Why don’t you page them again? _Rilchiam, gritting teeth, pages housekeeping on phone._ 4:30 pm. _Sean passes by._ Sean: I just talked to housekeeping. She had her radio turned off; she’ll be here in a minute. 4:35 pm. _Housekeeping shows up, mops floor, departs._ I’m not sure who to be the most fed up with here: management, who employs one person to do housekeeping for a three-level store, the housekeeper who turns her radio off at random, Laura, for sending her to Children’s when I clearly stated the hazard was in Homestore, or Diane, who must have been a Swamp Tower guard in a previous life. I will note, however, that this is a common occurence; it’s happened before, with broken glass, even. If I had access to mops and brooms I’d gladly take care of it myself. But I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Rue\_DeDay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/41988e/32.png) [@Rue\_DeDay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rue_DeDay)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-mop-a-floor-in-less-than-four-hours/312487/2 "2005-07-14T12:29:34Z")
Well _you_ obviously couldn’t clean up the mess right **Rilchiam**. Technical implements like mops and brooms (and buckets and dustpans) are complicated and should only be used by professionals. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-mop-a-floor-in-less-than-four-hours/312487/3 "2005-07-14T14:13:56Z")
> [@Rue DeDay](#): > > Well _you_ obviously couldn’t clean up the mess right **Rilchiam**. Technical implements like mops and brooms (and buckets and dustpans) are complicated and should only be used by professionals. You must have missed this part: > [@](#): > > If I had access to mops and brooms I’d gladly take care of it myself. But I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-mop-a-floor-in-less-than-four-hours/312487/4 "2005-07-14T15:48:33Z")
**Bouv** : I think the point \*\*Rue De Day \*\* was making was that the company won’t give access to mops and brooms to floor/register monkeys, as they can only be handled by the \*\*\*specially trained \*\*\* cleaning staff… ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-mop-a-floor-in-less-than-four-hours/312487/5 "2005-07-14T15:56:50Z")
It’ll probably take a customer actually slipping and injuring themselves and suing the store before they make any changes. Hmm … I am in a bit of a financial mess, too bad I don’t live nearby. ---
**Author:** ![haardvark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@haardvark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/haardvark)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-mop-a-floor-in-less-than-four-hours/312487/6 "2005-07-14T16:35:46Z")
While unloading a delivery truck at mcDs years ago, we broke open a 5 gallon bucket of hand soap and lost about a gallon of it to the floor. Took AGES to mop that up. Mopping up soap just makes more soap. It’s like the miracle of the loaves and fishes. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-mop-a-floor-in-less-than-four-hours/312487/7 "2005-07-14T17:01:37Z")
I didn’t know that you worked at my hospital! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-mop-a-floor-in-less-than-four-hours/312487/8 "2005-07-14T19:55:47Z")
It’s the chronic not-responding that raises my ire. If someone had **answered** my page and said, “Well, I’m busy,” or “As soon as I finish the bathrooms,” that’d be one thing. But the idea that paging someone can be hit-or-miss is mind-boggling. In fact, I should have made a bigger issue of it last year, when I had to put paper towels down over wet vomit for a similiar length of time. And again, it doesn’t give me a cozy feeling to think that management gives “register monkeys” a HUGE song-and-dance about what a great place this is to work at, then hires one person for custodial duties and works them like a rented mule. However, I’m more inclined to sympathize with people who **do** their job, no matter how badly it sucks. Mr. Rilch gets one second chance if he doesn’t respond to a page. After that, _phhht_. And **haardvark** , I remember you telling that story, and I reflected on it more than once! But this was roughly 3/4 cup of liquid. The problem was that it was spread over three feet, along an aisle. Fortunately not a heavily trafficked one, but SFW?! I do **my** job; other people can bloody well do theirs.