Tonight I was doing my usual job of attending the check-your-own-damn-self-out lane. I saw a guy – nondescript, overweight, late 30-ish – set a bag of dog food and a box of fireplace starter logs on one of the terminals belts. “Oh, please don’t scan the shipping label on the box and make me walk out there,” I thought to myself. It was prescient thinking as there was no way I would have touched that box after I got a closer look at him.
When he was scanning his items, he turned slightly and I could see blood pouring out of his nose. He was using his sleeve and hands to wipe the running blood. His gray sweatjacket and the dog food bag (poor doggy) was streaked with blood. His chin and cheeks were smeared with blood. He did not seem alarmed, embarrassed or apologetic. He did not hurry or ask for tissues.
I am not afraid of blood or vomit, but I was so alarmed by the sight of actual hot human blood being smeared around my workplace that I was almost catatonic for a few moments. When I noticed that there was blood on the floor and the terminal, I called a manager over to get maintenance. When no one showed up another manager donned gloves and used paper towels and Windex to clean up the blood. I kept repeating, “We need a bloodborne pathogens kit and a bucket of water with 1 part bleach and 10 parts water.”
After 45 minutes of staring at a plastic bag stuffed with blood soaked paper towels, the maintenance lady finally showed up, mopped with dirty water and did a half-assed job of wiping off the terminal. I pulled rubber gloves on, sprayed the entire area with Lysol and refused to take off my gloves for the rest of my shift.
It’s one thing to not see a contaminant, but after you’ve seen a full on human hemorrhage in your workplace, how can you ever touch it again?
And should I rat all these people out for not following biohazard cleaning protocol?
*From G4′s “Web Soup”
October 18th, 2009 at 7:14 am
I sometimes wish I were maintenance so I could be in charge of cleaning. I don’t have the gag-reflex for it though XD
Maintenance needs to be doing a better job, but I think with their (how can I say this politely?) obvious mental shortcomings, I’m not sure it’s possible.
Thanks for the heads up, but which side was it on? Gm? Lol.
That’s pretty disgusting that they only cleaned it up with Windex. I think they should be “ratted” out, no matter how busy the store was, that’s just being down right lazy.
I think you should use your newsletter to passive-aggressively voice that people need to be cleaner. People, and I mean Associates, should be covering their fucking mouths when they cough or sneeze, no matter where they are. Where washing your hands for more than 2 seconds, is a good thing, and using soap is a plus.
Who is over the Maintenence dept, by the way?
p.s.
I noticed the sign on the bathroom door, “Employees must wash hands with soap and warm water before returning to work.”
So…we have to go back to the break room and use the sink? Because Lord knows we don’t have warm water in the bathrooms!
October 20th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
I told AM “H” today. She was visibly disgusted at the tale and agreed that it had not been cleaned properly. But will she do anything? Like make sure that maintenance has the proper cleaning supplies? I’m going to wait a few days and if I don’t see blood kits on the spill stations and in the cleaning carts, I’m going to… scream bloody blue murder.
Do you want to know exactly which terminal it was or would you rather not know?
Hot water in the bathrooms would be great, but it’s never going to happen. We’re not that important. I would just be happy if people washed properly with soap and washed their hands after they sneezed! Yuck! (Did you see the last newsletter? I said you should sing “Happy Birthday” to yourself while you wash to time yourself.)
AM “W” is over maintenance. Does that tell you anything? I’ve never met a more wishy washy milquetoast manager.