Hello?

I remember arranging with Kelly that a cleaner would come on Fridays, at 8 am, but I don’t ever remember getting the confirmation that this was going to actually take place (and I have subsequently learned that you need to really check, and re-check and re-confirm that things are going to happen, three times...) so I was going through some emails to find any confirmation, before heading off to work, when the intercom buzzer goes (exactly at 8 am), so I answer “Hello?” but there's no-one there, instead, the buzzer is still going, so I press all the buttons, calling “Hello?” all the time, but still the buzzer is going off. It stops, then starts again, so I pick up the receiver, press all the buttons and shout "HELLO" so loudly I expect they could hear that downstairs: who needs the intercom?

I guess the intercom doesn’t work either. It’s OK, just more teething issues.

I end up going downstairs to the concierge and the guard says that Duta is waiting for me – Duta is the cleaner. Fantastic!

Anyway, I show Duta around the apartment and explain what I want done, being quite detailed and I explain where all the cleaning stuff is, the air conditioning, and how the dishwasher works (in great detail) and she is just looking at it, clearly not getting what this machine is supposed to do. Anyway, I let her get on and she starts by taking a cup and starting to wash by hand! So I smile, ask her for the cup, put it in the dishwasher (which is full and needs putting on anyway) and after showing her where to put the powder in, I turn it on.

She is completely mesmerised by this and goes “wooooow” for about 2 minutes. After the cycle is finished, I call her into the kitchen and show her the results – hot, sparkling clean, dry dishes! Just like magic.

I don’t think Duta will be happy doing dishes by hand anymore…and I imagine that when she gets home, she’ll be demanding a magic dishwashing machine of her own.

The flat is spotless after she’s done, and she even tidies up all the things inside the kitchen cupboards, my socks in the wardrobe and arranges my toiletries into size order!