As a veteran office worker I know how the cleaning staff usually works. When it comes to washrooms, if the cleaner is a female, then they wait for the men’s washroom to clear out before entering. They park the cleaning cart outside the door and then they put down that little yellow sign so dudes outside know not to go in. As for the dudes already in there, it’s handled one of two ways. First, if a dude is leaving the washroom, the cleaner might ask him if there’s still someone in there. Second, she might just politely knock on the door, open it part way, and say hello. Now, if you’re a dude still in there, it’s your job to say something or else she’ll just go in.
Now with those rules in mind, I bring you to my afternoon excursion to get a cup of coffee downstairs. I felt the need to urinate before getting a cup of joe so I detoured to the washroom first. There was no cart nor a sign outside the washroom, so I went in like normal. When I walked in, I saw one of the cleaning ladies by the sink, putting a paper towel into the garbage. Whoops, I guess she was either just starting to clean or just finishing, I couldn’t tell which.
“Whoops, are you just starting or are you just finishing up?”
Without a word, she silently waved me forward to continue my business.
“Oh ok, you’re done then. Thanks.”
With that she walked past me and out the door. Pleased that I didn’t have to go find another washroom, I continued my way towards the urinals. It was then I saw some dude was already in one of the stalls in the classic number two position. That was an odd thing to see. Why was the cleaning lady in the washroom to begin with then? Did she not care if anyone was already in there? Did you speak up but got no answer from the dude on the toilet? Maybe she did say hello and the dude was paralyzed with fear and could not say anything.
Like I said it was odd. In all my years, I’ve never seen a cleaning lady actually do any sort of cleaning while a dude was still taking a dump on the toilet. That was a first and maybe tomorrow I might even win the lottery.