A professional cleaner was lost for words after arriving at a client’s home to find a ‘game’ set up for her to test her skills.
Upon arriving at the couple’s home, the anonymous Canadian-based cleaner found a Post-It note challenging her to collect 100 miniature toy ducks that had been hidden throughout the rooms.
The cleaner captured photos of the note, an empty glass ‘collection’ jar the client had left her and several tiny ducks she’d collected in disbelief.
‘To our cleaner, we hid 100 mini ducks around the apartment,’ the pink, hand-written note began.
‘We do this to ensure a job well done! Please leave ALL ducks in this jar.’
The cleaner found the tiny toy rubber ducks on top of a taps, wedged behind a lounge, inside the pantry and buried in the soil of a pot plant.
Initially, the cleaner said she played along and collected 76 ducks – but soon afterwards had a change of heart, deciding it crossed a professional line.
‘[I later] sent the client an email explaining that I simply don’t have time for games; I’m there to work,’ she explained in a TikTok carousel.
A professional cleaner was lost for words after arriving at a client’s home to find a ‘game’ set up for her to test her skills
The cleaner shared pictures of ducks she found in various nooks and crannies throughout the house
‘If she doesn’t trust that I’ll do a good job, then she can find someone else (or do it herself, since she has the time).’
The woman added that her client responded – but not to apologise.
‘[She replied] something along the lines of “Cool, I thought it would be fun. I’ll find someone who can clean and handle a joke”.’
The post has amassed thousands of reactions from people outraged over the request.
Replies across all forums were overwhelmingly in the cleaner’s favour, with many labelling the bizarre challenge as demeaning.
‘As someone who is lucky enough to have a cleaner, I cannot imagine being so disrespectful to someone who makes my life so much easier,’ read one reply.
One suggested the cleaner should bill the clients ‘a $50 surcharge per duck’ because it’s ‘outside of the agreed upon scope of work in the original contract’.
Another added: ‘Clean the house, but leave all the ducks exactly where they are. They can go round and pick them up themselves. Do your job and don’t play their stupid game.’
The Canadian cleaner said she located 76 ducks, but soon after decided that the unusual challenge crossed a professional line
Others were simply bemused as to why the homeowners would go to such extreme lengths as a means to test their cleaner’s ability.
‘If you have time to set up a duck treasure hunt, you have enough time to clean your own damned place,’ read one reply.
A similar response added: ‘Imagine having the time to hide one hundred ducks, but not having the time to clean…’
Many agreed that the cleaner did the right thing by ‘walking away’ from this particular client – who was clearly showing themselves to be too demanding and difficult.
The stunt even earned the ire of Aussies after being discussed on a recent Triple M radio segment.
The incident was discussed on the Lu & Jarch show, with the afternoon drive-time hosts Luisa Dal Din and Jack Archdale also siding with the cleaner.
Luisa commented that it was extreme ‘micro managing’, while Jack agreed that it was ‘pretty condescending’.
A video of the segment was also shared to their @luandjarch TikTok account, with commenters wholly supportive of the cleaner – and incredulous at her client.
The cleaner’s duck collection test was even recently discussed on Triple M’s Lu & Jarch show, with co-hosts Luisa Dal Din and Jack Archdale wholeheartedly supporting the cleaner
‘I would have left a note saying I hid 100 pieces of cheese and then left,’ cheekily suggested one reply.
‘I’d spend the time finding ducks and not really cleaning,’ added another.
But a number of more serious online replies were stunned at the audacity and entitlement of the homeowner’s behaviour towards someone who’s simply there to do their job.
‘It is not a joke to waste someone’s work time. I would have walked out after reading the note,’ read one reply.
‘What entitled people. This is such a childish thing to do and a really insulting concept,’ agreed another.
‘Insulting you before you even begin. No thank you,’ said another person.
