Who can you trust? The Banker versus The Custodian!

Who can you trust? The Banker versus The Custodian

“HE’S A THIEF!” The bank teller yelled across the room as she distinctly pointed at the custodian, Mega Pete. Appalled by Kelly’s remarks Mega Pete’s body shook in mere embarrassment at what he just heard. There were several persons in the room including other tellers who were ready to leave the bank. It was the dawn of what happened to the realization of an act of theft - the confrontation between Kelly the teller and Mega Pete the custodian.

Kelly was known to be remarkably meticulous when counting money. She made it a habit to count the money in her purse each day after work. It was one of her daily rituals; an activity she loved doing just for the fun of it. She always liked to ensure that the money she came to work with, as against what if any was spent, matched up  to what was in her purse upon departure.  She was “a lover of counting money,” is how she was described by her coworkers.

Mega Pete, was a custodian hired by Kevin, the facility manager, to carry out the janitorial duties at the bank for the week. The bank often closed for business at 2.00pm. As a result all custodians had to report for duty by 2:30pm to prepare for daily duties. Mega Pete and his co-worker usually started to work as soon as the last customer left the bank. The commencement of the custodians’ work signaled the end of the bank tellers’ tour of duty with the public.

Mega Pete could not believe his eyes. It was black and gold with rhinestone embellishments. It looked heavy and full- full of many things to offer. It looked thick, fully stocked and sumptuous. It was magnetic, he was so drawn to it. Mega Pete looked at Kelly’s purse at her cubicle while she visited the restroom for the last time before she left. He began mopping Kelly’s work space but couldn’t resist the urge to interfere with the purse and kept staring at it. He looked left and right and saw that no one was near him; so he picked up the purse and began to rummage through it.

Kelly’s purse was flooded with hundred dollar bills. Pete’s eyes enlarged at the sight of the one thing he loved most – money! “One hundred wouldn’t hurt,” he muttered under his breath. Mega Pete quickly took it and gently placed the purse back exactly the way he picked it up. With no feeling of remorse nor guilt, Mega Pete continued mopping the floor area while he moved on to the other cubicle.

In a matter of five minutes, Kelly returned, picked up her bag and her purse. She proceeded to count her money, as it was her usual routine before leaving work. She noticed that a hundred dollar bill was missing. “I probably misplaced it,” she thought. She was exhausted by the requirements of a busy day at the bank and couldn’t wait to just reach home and get some much needed rest.

The following day Kelly vowed to be more responsible with her money. Instead of placing her bag on the top of the desk, she decided she was going to place it on the floor near her feet. Once again, Mega Pete’s eyes focused on Kelly’s bag. As soon as she went to the bathroom once again he decided to go dig for another hundred dollar bill. He was like a little kid at play. He loved the thrill of thieving. Mega Pete enjoyed the luxury of not having much people around. As such, he utilized it as the perfect opportunity to steal.

Kelly returned and picked up her purse and to her surprise only found $800 of the $1,000 she once had in it. It was the second time for the week that she realized some of her money went missing. After this second instance, Kelly came to realize that someone was stealing from her.

By the third day, she had a plan. “I would pretend to go to the bathroom and walk right back out!” she said to herself, hoping to find the culprit. Next day she came prepared. She walked slowly to the restroom, counted five seconds and marched right back out. “HE’S A THIEF!” she yelled as she saw Mega Pete’s hands on the handles of her bag. “IT IS HIM! HE HAS BEEN STEALING FROM ME!”

Co-workers who were at the back ran to the front of the room at the sound of all the commotion. Mega Pete’s body became still with fright. Embarrassed and ashamed were words that could barely reveal how he felt. He just could not believe that he was caught in the act. Upon hearing the news, the bank’s manager later called Kevin to tell him of the unfortunate incident. Kevin could not comprehend why the custodian he hired would do such a thing. With no time to waste, he immediately fired Mega Pete and had to get someone else to finish the contracted job for the week.

Kevin searched his contact list in the hope of finding someone reliable enough to replace Mega Pete. He scrolled until he came across the Lad named Stephen. Stephen was a very reliable custodian, eager to work even when called at the last minute. However, Kevin was not taking any chances this time. He insisted that all his workers going forward must have a certificate of good character, together with recent evidence of drug and alcohol testing and an excellent working background before being accepted as an employee.

To inquire about the Lad named Stephen, Kevin phoned the Lad named Nick to get information about his character. Upon hearing only positive things, Kevin proceeded to tell Stephen to organize his documents in order to begin working the following day. Stephen was very enthusiastic and assured Kevin that he will be an asset to the Company. Soon after presenting the necessary documents, Stephen was hired to complete the job at the bank.

Honesty and integrity are key ingredients in developing trust and trust is a key element in establishing credibility. In the janitorial sphere, many facility managers give custodians the benefit of the doubt. Often times they do not carry out a background check before hiring their employees. Basically, dishonest employees can cause embarrassment, disruption and inconvenience on jobsites. To avoid this, all facility managers should ensure that their custodians are not only competent in their respective field but must also possess a certificate of good character together with recent evidence of drug and alcohol testing.

The message in this story is that honesty is the foundation for trust;    you can't have one without the other. Workers must display leadership qualities at all times and words like sincere, truthful, trustworthy, reliable, principled, and genuine are usually on the list. These characteristics are the hallmarks of Positive Character Traits for a successful workplace.