Builder has hidden poop in my floors!

moneyistooshorttomention

RiversTam wrote: »

I had the whole bathroom removed to remodel - but purposely left the toilet in place even though it meant the plaster wasn't 100%, so the workmen had a toilet.
I had thought I had been a pretty reasonable client but obviously not in their opinion. Well you live and learn - will never leave a builder unsupervised again.

It does sound to me like you were more than reasonable - but there are workmen who still seem to struggle with the concept of being employed by a lone woman (which I'm guessing you are?) and, at some level, are trying to "put us in our place" (which, according to them, is a lesser being to a man).

Sounds to me like he was doing a deliberate hidden get-back at you for being a lone woman and was going to just giggle to his neanderthal self at getting a hidden one in "back at you" for no logical reason at all. He may or may not have intended you to find this "hidden insult" - but, in his own tiny mind, he had "got one up on you".

Sounds like "It's not you - it's them" to me. Don't beat yourself up - you did nothing wrong.

bertiewhite

pleasedelete wrote: »

You are bonkers to waste valuable police time but i still cant believe that anyone could really be so stupid as to call the police.

Maybe it was just a formality? - Going through the motions if you like?

RiversTam

I'm not a lone woman, I have a husband and young child.
The workers have only been told what I say (because I deal with the gaffer) and we haven't really met them as we are at work while they work, so they know about me but may not know I have a family.

I think it's just upset me that someone has done this in our first family home, (and I've used the same company for most of the work so they have a lot of our money) and in the kitchen of all places.

I think if you're going to do something like that at least admit it when caught - not one of them has the balls to admit it though!

silvercar

theartfullodger wrote: »

I have heard it suggested this only happens if people feel they have been treated badly, someone has been banging on to them about how lucky they are or got an amazing bargain, or not accorded the respect they deserve:

Can you think of any reason why this might have happened?

Most people would probably not shout from the roof-tops about the incident..

pleasedelete wrote: »

You must be a poo troll escaped from Mumsnet (who have a big problem with perverts starting threads about poo so that they can get off on it)

I can't see why anyone would try to justify this behaviour.

It is totally unacceptable.

You employed human beings not animals.

moneyistooshorttomention

So not quite the same category as a lone woman - but it's been a woman (ie yourself) giving the instructions and, at some level, maybe the workman's "inner Neanderthal" disapproves of a woman being the one to give instructions (ie rather than your husband) and so it's still an attempt, at some level, to "put you in your place".

These things chip at one's confidence a bit I find and take a bit of "boosting yourself" to get back to normal confidence levels imo. But don't let it put you off being the one "in charge" in future.

LandyAndy

You said the joiner had done a sh.t job. Truer than you imagined.

Doozergirl

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

It does sound to me like you were more than reasonable - but there are workmen who still seem to struggle with the concept of being employed by a lone woman (which I'm guessing you are?) and, at some level, are trying to "put us in our place" (which, according to them, is a lesser being to a man).

Sounds to me like he was doing a deliberate hidden get-back at you for being a lone woman and was going to just giggle to his neanderthal self at getting a hidden one in "back at you" for no logical reason at all. He may or may not have intended you to find this "hidden insult" - but, in his own tiny mind, he had "got one up on you".

Sounds like "It's not you - it's them" to me. Don't beat yourself up - you did nothing wrong.

As a woman running projects and employing many subcontractors, this has only happened to me once when a surveyor asked for “the builder” and then “no, the real builder”. He outed himself immediately and was very quickly given short shrift. He didn’t last much longer with his company but that was because he was an idiot in general, not just with women. Nobody liked him.

I find that otherwise everyone is very respectful, more than they are of other men, in fact. I was nervous at first, but I would never seek to assume that anyone/everyone in a certain role would treat me like that because I’m a woman. I’ve always taken my own cars to be serviced etc and I’ve never been patronised in that environment either.

I did have an aerial engineer use an out of action toilet (no loo roll in the vicinity either) and leave a big poo in it. Upon discovering no flush, he just left it for us to snuff iut instead of asking for a bucket to flush it after discovering his error. Before he’d started, he showed himself to be sloppy and lazy when he couldn’t cope with idea of hiding his wires on a listed building. These people really do show themselves up quite quickly. OP, if the joiner has a generally bad attitude, he is probably your guy.

Builders can be naughty with their use of toilet facilities, but it’s always been where they pee, not where they poo, IME - that really is below most people. Boys just can’t resist getting their hose pipe out!

pimento

pleasedelete wrote: »

Investigating- what -taking DNA and finger prints?

What exactly is the crime?

You are bonkers to waste valuable police time but i still cant believe that anyone could really be so stupid as to call the police.

You must be a poo troll escaped from Mumsnet (who have a big problem with perverts starting threads about poo so that they can get off on it)

Please Google the definition of troll. I think you'll find that you resemble one more than the OP.

Presumably then, if the police won't be interested in poo under the floorboards of the OPs house, they won't be interested in poo through the letterbox of the joiner.

Re: the joiner, there are some very sick people about. I expect he is too scared to confront you and this is the only way he can exert any power. He probably kicks his cat when he gets home.

martinsurrey

pleasedelete wrote: »

If this is true and you are not a poo troll then you are a drama queen.

Any smell would be very short lived- a few days at most.

It was in a carrier bag- so presumably contained. Why do the wires need cleaning if it was in a bag? It will rot over time anyway and after a few days it would be hard. On reflection this story must be false.

You really think that this is worth police time and attention? What do you think they could have been doing instead of pandering to you?

I bet the police could hardly contain themselves with laughing!

it seems when it happens to the police they DO care

OP the police will RIGHTFULLY look into it as potential criminal damage.

Doozergirl

bertiewhite wrote: »

Maybe it was just a formality? - Going through the motions if you like?

I can’t believe you said that!