Received Monday, March 26, 2007
Perspective & Opinion
Things My Insane Employer Has accused me of stealing over the course of 9 months in her employ.
I say accused as in,
She: "Nanny, have you seen my X?"
Me: "No"
She: "Nanny isn't it strange how things just up & disappear?"
$100 Gift Certificate to Baby Gap
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (more than once)
Cigarettes
Lighters (both inexpensive and expensive)
wireless headphones
one pair of Abercrombie Corduroy Jeans
tin of "expensive" pistachios
Emerald and pearl Bracelet
Michael Stars T-Shirts
White floral silk clothes hangers (many)
Brown Leather jacket
Little boys Velcro Sketchers sneakers
a multi pack of thank you cards
Down Comforter (white)
Dido CD
Bean and Bacon Soup, in a can. More than once!
Pink & Black cashmere sweater
Giuseppe Zanotti Gold Strappy Sandals, size 7 1/2 *
She: Nanny, have you seen my gold strappy sandals?
Me: No
She: There size 7 1/2.
Me: No
She: They're Giuseppe Zanotti.
Me: Um, no.
Alexander McQueen Sandals in black, size 8 (similar conv. as above)
computer backpack
computer mouse
Cell phone charger (for her phone, even though she was by then aware I carried a different)
I made this list because on Friday afternoon, Mrs. X accosted me in the kitchen and asked, "Have you seen my fondue set?"
Me: No
She: "It's ceramic"
Me: No, haven't seen it.
She: I guess it's gone and walked away on it's own.
Me: (silence)
I left work Friday in a foul mood. By Saturday afternoon, I was livid and realized I just could not take this woman anymore! I wish I could warn the next nanny what she was in for! There should be a public service database for those such warnings! She never had a single complaint with regard to how I treated her children or how I did my job, but she didn't hesitate to accost me on a regular basis regarding "missing items". Good riddance!
PS This list is INCOMPLETE!
21 comments:
Wow, that's ridiculous. I know how you feel, not in the stealing sense, but in bad employer sense. People here have no idea how difficult parents can make our job. Props to you for getting the hell out. :)
I had a similar situation with my current employers over an aero bed, they were constintly asking if I had taken it or given it to a friend and "forgotten" until I got fed up and spoke up for myself, maybe thats what you need to do as well instead of just leaving, just tell her that you do not appreciate the way she is always implying it was you and that you do not appreciate it and should it continue, then you will be free to leave.
UMMMM...HMMMMM...this whole posting seems rather random
I understand that you've gotten to the end of your rope, and I don't blame you if you can't work for this mother any longer.
I do, however, wonder what would have happened if you confronted her with your list months ago. How do you think she would have reacted if you said, "You frequently seem to be implying that I've taken things from the house. That makes me feel like you don't trust me." It could be that she really doesn't know that she does this to you so often.
I think it's always best to remain proactive when it comes to our jobs. You're as responsible for the enviorment you work in as the mother you work for is.
I don't think it's random. It's definitely not a nanny sighting, and is on the Opinion section. I'm an employer of two part time nannies, and a great employer at that but I do know many nannies who have very difficult work environments caused by their employers!
117,
your comment seems rather random.
I work for a PR firm in NYC and things turn up missing all the time. I hate when I am asked where something is, even though in my environment, the person doing the asking may ask 20 people and the item is more than likely just been misplaced. I would HATE to be accused like that of stealing. Especially by a pretensious, classist fascist!
Oh come on, you know you made fondue last night in an ornate ceramic fondue pot. :0)
Sounds like a wacky boss you have there. Or had there.
Tell me, did any of the said items ever turn up anywhere? And if so, did you ever hear "sorry?"
I had an employer like this once. If she smelled a perfume, she would ask, "is that my blah blah blah perfume". She would look at my lipstick and ask "Is that my XXX lipstick". If she saw me with a letter in my hand, she would look at the stamp and say, "is that my stamp". I think she had some sort of mental defect because aside from that, she was actually pretty decent. But for whatver reason-maybe because she grew up poor and married rich, she assumed everything I had was hers. Therapy??
OMG: I know exactly how you feel! The last people I nannied for (the first and last: I went back to center-based childcare after them, they left such a bad taste in my mouth) were always doing this!!
They would let their two year old play with their valuable jewelry and their expensive cell phones and pagers and then act like it was my fault when it was missing!
Furthermore, before I took the job with them, there was an inner-city girl who I was a mentor to through her school and before I took the job I asked them if I could continue with her coming to their house with me, never unsupervised of course, for a few hours a week. They thought it was a great idea until they found out she was black. Then the mother said, "I don't think it would work out: if something went missing, I would be afraid that she had stolen it."
Some people are trash, even though they think of themselves as the cream of the crop!
My employer is so wasteful that she orders things in duplicate, big ticket items like shoes and jeans. If anything ever goes missing, she just assumes it's because she has so much stuff. Then she buys it again. And again. By the time she finds it, she has three of them. Then she ends up giving the extra to me.
Didn't litlle miss supermodel Naomi get in trouble for attacking her maid over a missing pair of panets? How pathetic. I wouldn't blame you if you quit without a notice. Who would want someone always looking at and wondering if you're a thief? Ridiculus.
My MIL is like this-she misplaces things all the time and then complains that the nurse's aid she has took them. it's outrageous!
Well, if you provided a few clues about the witch, maybe you would be able to forewarn other nannies. What a shrew. Yikes.
So how much of that stuff did you actually steal?
I remember when I was in college and worked in a sandwich shop, and out of the blue my boss asked me to come to her office and then accused me of stealing $50 from the cash register, and fired me. She was SO smug and sure of herself in her accusation. I burst into tears (I am the kind of person who couldn't even take a candy bar from a store when I was a kid, have NEVER stolen or taken anything that did not belong to me and literally would never dream of it) and she took this display as further proof of my guilt.
She said something similar to what this nanny describes, at one point: "so I suppose this $50 just got up and walked away...hmm, that's funny." Dripping with sarcasm. I know exactly how this nanny feels and I definitely could not work in such a situation.
7:49 must be her former employer. Good luck with your stereotyping and paranoia...I doubt it makes for a happy life or a good relationship with your employees.
That woman sounds like she has some serious issues. You are well out of there. You will find a better job, GL.
Wow -- you got a great haul there. How much do you want for the fondue set? Actually you should start asking her about your stuff. Say something like, "hey, where's my briefcase full of diamonds???"
LOL What a funny idea! Accuse her of swiping your mundane stuff (My shampoo is down 2 inches!)and then move up to weird items (My dignity is missing), finishing with "Have you seen the children? I left them right in there? They're size six and eight. No? They didn't walk away by themselves..."
your previous employer is whacked!
what's her problem?
your previous employer is whacked!
what's her problem with blaming you for everything that she loses?
lol .. tell me about it . i work for a family for 3 years now .... they have 3 kids . btw. i got all this stupid questions all the time . and the worst thing is when i get messages during my weekends off ... with crazy questions like this . honestly .... I'm getting sick of it . but what i always do is just to answer - no i haven't seen it . if i know that i didn't take any of their stuff why should i get in to it . non of my business. they should know me ... 3 years its a long time ... and the best thing is they always finding stuff ( which they think they were gone) after all . just annoying ... seriously i would quit the job if they will accuse me for stealing anything .
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