A Feud Over Food

A few months ago I had a unfortunate episode with a co-worker. Over the weekend the staff refrigerator was left ajar and the frozen foods and other foods were items were unthawed and spoiled. My teaching partner and began cleaning out the refrigerator and throwing away the spoiled items. I found a partially eaten sub sandwich left in the microwave and assumed that it had been left there over the weekend also, so I threw it away.

Later in the day, around lunch time, our bus driver came in and inquired about a sandwich that she had left in the microwave. I explained that we had cleaned the refrigerator and that I had found the sandwich in the microwave and had throw it in the thrash along with the other spoiled foods. The bus driver said that it was her sandwich she had put into the microwave before making and her bus run and had planned on eating it later. She was upset with me and said that I should have waited to ask her. I explained that I had asked around to see if any one claimed it, and also asked my Center Manager about it. She was not aware that it belong to anyone and told to go ahead and throw it away. My first thought was that it had been left their over the weekend, therefore it was probably spoiled. I found it odd that a cold cut sandwich had been left there intentionally to be eaten hour later. Besides we have guidelines about labeling, and dating our personal foods, and where they can be stored per Sanitation and company policies, and she surely was not following any of them, or taking any of the blame for her sandwich getting tossed.

I apologized and said it was not done intentionally, but there was no name or date on the food, and that food is not normally left in the microwave. Well attitudes lingered all day and into the next day, with under the breath remarks about touching other people's belongings. I apologized again the next day telling her I was sincerely sorry. She finally accept the apology, however I did not feel it was genuine.

I suppose I should have been the bigger person, been more sensitive and offered to buy her another sandwich, but I just did not feel as if I had done anything wrong at that point.

Besides, I was in a classroom not able to run out and purchase another sandwich. How could I have better handle this? I guess I could have given her some money to buy another sandwich, but would that have solve the problem? I could have asked her what could I do to make her feel whole. I should have put myself in her shoes. Maybe that was all the food she had for the day. I ask my colleagues "How should I have handle this?" "What suggestions can you offer me for refining my conflict management skills?"