When I was 18, I was working in the 5* hotel cleaning rooms and changing sheets to make some extra money while studying. The job was very bad paid 2 euro per hour, but sometimes guests would leave tips for us for the cleaning and usualy one tip was half of our day salary. We shared among the housekeeping girls and we were ok with it.

One day our manager came in and forbid us to enter the rooms after the guests checked out. He said he has to go in first to make sure that guests left nothing behind in the room.

It sounded reasonable as sometimes guests claimed they forgot some jewelery in the room and when we did not find it we were accused of stealing it. It was very uncomfortable for us, so we agreed that manager checking the room first is a good idea.

But from that day on we were not finding the tips anymore. Well sometimes there were 1 Euro left, but thats it. Of course first thing in my mind was that the manager is taking our tips. I wanted to make sure so I entered one room before he got in and saw a nice tip and box of chocolates on the table with the thank-you note for the cleaning girl. I left it the way it was. Then the manager got in and after checking it he confirmed the room is ok for us to clean.

When I came in again, of course the tip was gone and so was the chocolate box! I found it in the trash with all the chocolates eaten. UNBELIAVABLE!! I understand that everyone is after money, but this one was so shameless he even ate all the chocolates for the cleaning girl!

I got realy angry, but he was my boss and I was 18yo. I did not know how to confront him directly as it would mean to accuse him for stealing which was serious AND difficult to prove.

So I wrote a note: “You sneaky little b**tard, you go aroung bullying us for our work all the time and than you have balls STEALING the money ment for us?! Shame on you!! V.”

I put the note in the envelope together with some coins, closed it and I wrote “thank you Veronika” on it, so it looked like a note from the guest. (The guests knew our names as we left the notes with our names after the cleaning). I placed the envelope in one room just before the manager came in “to check it”.

I was thinking: if he wont open the envelope, no harm done as he never finds out what is inside. But if he opens the envelope which is clearly not ment for him, he gets exactly what he deserves. But the most satisfying thing was that he cant cover up once opening the envelope as there was MY handwriting all over it.

I was waiting in front of the room when he gets out. Well you can guess what happened :-) He ran out totaly furious, completely red, shaking and kicking the door. I was standing right in front of him, looking in his eyes, 18years old girl, he was SO angry but didnt say a word to me! I won..

Of course he figured out there is nothing he can do as he was caught in the act and doing anything about it would mean he has to admit he was stealing.

I found the envelope torn apart all over the room.. Next day, he invited me into his office offered me a drink (I did not realize it was ok to drink during a shift, but apparently most of hotel managers did) , he was apologising explaining how stresfull his work is and that he needed money for this and that reason. He pleaded not to tell on him promising that he will stop.

He seemed so scared and helpless I was almost sorry for him. I told him to be nicer to us, that everybody working here is under stress, I think he understood. He never escalated this issue any more, neither did I.

Anyway he was fired two months or so later, so I guess his habbits got him somewhere else.