diff --git a/internal/controller/user/reconcile.go b/internal/controller/user/reconcile.go
index 333ea92..d6b4ffe 100644
--- a/internal/controller/user/reconcile.go
+++ b/internal/controller/user/reconcile.go
@@ -377,7 +377,7 @@ func (r *S3UserReconciler) handleUpdate(
 		policyFound := slices.Contains(userResource.Spec.Policies, policy)
 		if !policyFound {
 			logger.Info(
-				fmt.Sprintf("S3User policy definition doesn't contain policy %s", policy),
+				fmt.Sprintf("S3User has unexpected policy not in definition: %s", policy),
 				"userResource",
 				userResource.Name,
 				"NamespacedName",
@@ -391,7 +391,7 @@ func (r *S3UserReconciler) handleUpdate(
 		policyFound := slices.Contains(userPolicies, policy)
 		if !policyFound {
 			logger.Info(
-				fmt.Sprintf("S3User policy definition must contain policy %s", policy),
+				fmt.Sprintf("S3User is missing policy from definition: %s", policy),
 				"userResource",
 				userResource.Name,
 				"NamespacedName",
diff --git a/internal/s3/client/impl/minioS3Client.go b/internal/s3/client/impl/minioS3Client.go
index 5f53b0f..7e54f7d 100644
--- a/internal/s3/client/impl/minioS3Client.go
+++ b/internal/s3/client/impl/minioS3Client.go
@@ -469,10 +469,11 @@ func (minioS3Client *MinioS3Client) GetUserPolicies(accessKey string) ([]string,
 
 		return []string{}, err
 	}
-	if len(strings.Split(userInfo.PolicyName, ",")) == 1 && slices.Contains(strings.Split(userInfo.PolicyName, ","), "") {
+	userPolicies := strings.Split(strings.TrimSpace(userInfo.PolicyName), ",")
+	if len(userPolicies) == 1 && slices.Contains(userPolicies, "") {
 		return []string{}, nil
 	}
-	return strings.Split(userInfo.PolicyName, ","), nil
+	return userPolicies, nil
 }
 
 func (minioS3Client *MinioS3Client) CheckUserCredentialsValid(
@@ -539,7 +540,7 @@ func (minioS3Client *MinioS3Client) RemovePoliciesFromUser(
 		}
 		s3Logger.Error(
 			err,
-			"an error occurred when attaching a policy to the user",
+			"an error occurred when detaching a policy to the user",
 			"code",
 			errAsResp.Code,
 		)