Work Fridge Vent

[disykat]

I used an insulated bag with ice packs and carried it back and forth daily.

Why, why, why would anyone put an insulated bag in the fridge? That doesn't make any sense!

 

[Disney_Alli]

Think this is a good idea. If several people use the same refrigerator, not clear how the OP is certain it is one specific person. If you see someone not close it, that would be a great time to tell them. Communal refrigs are always an issue at our office, so most either bring a cooler/insulated bag or lunches that don't require refrigeration. Would hate to see what the refrig looks like at the home of several of these people LOL.

I am certain it is one specific person because currently my manager is on temporary leave and my swing shift is on vacation so during the 48 hours in question two people worked: Me and this other girl. Our office is roughly the size of a larger bedroom, the fridge is at one end and due to government regulations virtually no one else is allowed in the office at all. I was pretty sure I saw her not fully close the fridge when she was leaving for her days off but I didn’t fully realize the extent of the problem until she’d left.

I’ll be speaking to her in person on our next shift together but last night - having just discovered the issue and realizing that I suddenly didn’t have enough food for 12 hours I was frustrated and needed to vent.

 

[ronandannette]

Think this is a good idea. If several people use the same refrigerator, not clear how the OP is certain it is one specific person. If you see someone not close it, that would be a great time to tell them. Communal refrigs are always an issue at our office, so most either bring a cooler/insulated bag or lunches that don't require refrigeration. Would hate to see what the refrig looks like at the home of several of these people LOL.

Guilty as charged. In my own defense, I don't use the work fridge or inflict my issues on anyone other than my own family, who are themselves part of the problem and if they don't like the state of the fridge, are welcome at any time to clean it.

 

[OrangeBirdGirl]

I hate work fridges too. Always gross, people spill stuff and don't clean it up. If there is really a problem with the fridge latching (vs just that one person not knowing how to close it), I'd send an email to all in the department and say you notice it's a little tricky and you have to really make sure it closes good or else the fridge gets warms and it ruined your food. That way you aren't specifically calling her out. Plus it's a good reminder to others too.

 

[SharonZ]

I would buy my own mini fridge.

 

[seashoreCM]

It is important the the refrigerator be closed otherwise you have a health hazard.

I have been told that 34 to 38 degrees is the best temperature for the refrigerator main compartment interior.

I think a good rule to add is to require that every item put in the fridge be dated. Once the date has passed the item becomes fair game for anyone to take and eat. Also any undated item is fair game.

Aside from the previous paragraph if implemented, does your company or office have an employee handbook that includes the subject of stealing or damaging another person's properly? Failure to secure the fridge can be equated to this.

 

[amcnj]

Sounds like it is time for a sign on the refrigerator.

Regarding the smells, I found that a big culprit was people bringing back part of their lunch. The restaurants did not place them in air tight containers, so the aromas leaked out.

 

[_19disnA]

^^ We found at our office that signs on the frig didn't accomplish anything. The clueless ones who leave things in there too long, spill stuff & don't clean it up, etc.....................still do that even when told NOT to. Usually it's the same people who think all the rules in the office somehow apply to everyone else but not them................LOL.

 

[ronandannette]

^^ We found at our office that signs on the frig didn't accomplish anything. The clueless ones who leave things in there too long, spill stuff & don't clean it up, etc.....................still do that even when told NOT to. Usually it's the same people who think all the rules in the office somehow apply to everyone else but not them................LOL.

Yes, the office fridge is basically just a metaphor for life.

 

[cluvsdisney]

^^ We found at our office that signs on the frig didn't accomplish anything. The clueless ones who leave things in there too long, spill stuff & don't clean it up, etc.....................still do that even when told NOT to. Usually it's the same people who think all the rules in the office somehow apply to everyone else but not them................LOL.

It's always been my thoughts that if someone doesn't care enough about their work space to pick up dropped garbage, wipe up spills and close refrigerator doors, than they are certainly not going to pay attention to a sign.

 

[mrodgers]

^^ We found at our office that signs on the frig didn't accomplish anything. The clueless ones who leave things in there too long, spill stuff & don't clean it up, etc.....................still do that even when told NOT to. Usually it's the same people who think all the rules in the office somehow apply to everyone else but not them................LOL.

Clean your freakin mess up in the fridge, in the kitchen, in the microwave, in the toaster oven, shouldn't need to be rules. It's just that these people are pigs and nothing will change that.

We don't get a lunch break in the department I work in. You eat while you work, but there's a lot of rear end time because you have to sit and watch the computer monitors. But if something hits the fan, whatever you're doing you drop and deal with it, which means eating your lunch. At lunchtime I notice there's a chicken patty in the toaster oven. Wasn't any of the folk from today (there's only 3 of us.) Stuff probably hit the fan and he forgot about it last night (only 1 person on nightshift.) So I took a picture and posted it on Facebook tagging him, "Hey Earl, your mom said your chicken patty is done."

 

[Disney Doll]

Insulated bag or mini cooler with a couple of ice packs should do the trick. Then you don’t have to worry about the fridge.

 

[Kameron Milne]

Ugh, reading this thread brings back some seriously unpleasant memories of office fridge drama! I totally get the food safety paranoia, especially after bad experiences. For me, it was less about a door not latching and more about just... grossness. Like, mystery spills, forgotten leftovers that had become science experiments, and that lingering smell that clung to everything. It made lunchtime a daily gamble. I ended up bringing my own insulated bag for a while, but it's not ideal.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Wonder if the person still works there?

 

[jdb in AZ]

I would buy my own mini fridge.

DH had his own mini fridge, as did several of his co-workers, but their employer (state govt) complained about the $10 per year electricity usage. He was so glad to be able to start working from home, with our grown-up refrigerator.

 

[kyton]

2019! Talk about Holy Thread Necro