Appalled at actions of hotel staff

[Stopyourhavering64]

Just back from spending a night in a 5* city centre hotel to visit dd at Uni.
Had a lovely meal out of hotel and came back for a drink in hotel bar ( approx 10pm) we were sitting on sofas near entrance to bar ( which is also adjacent to hotel restaurant) when dh said...there's a mouse under the sofa I was sitting on!...first of all shocked that a mouse was in hotel as floors are all tiled/ marble and no obvious signs of where it could have come from
Anyway we were merely intrigued and were watching where it went....bar staff came over to see what we were looking at...by this time dh and dd had gone to the loo, leaving me with dd's bf having a drink
Barman reappeared with 3 other members of staff, who then proceeded to hunt the mouse....( all this was happening behind our back)....there was suddenly a commotion and one of the staff stamped on the mouse - loud enough for me to hear it squeak ....by time I turned round again he'd stamped on it again ...completely sqauashed it
Dd and dh returned from loo, they missed what had occurred ( all this happened within 5 mins)
I was disgusted by hotel staff's actions but didn't feel like confronting them at the time as I was so taken aback and don't like confrontation . Bar man then came over and said would we like a complimentary drink ...I said no thanks and said goodbyes to dd and bf and went off to room ....horrible end to a lovely day
When we were checking out dh mentioned it to staff and they said they'd mention it to management...dh uses this hotel chain for business on a regular basis ( the main reason we'd used it, as he accrues loyalty points) and is asked for feedback...he'll be taking it up with their management but wwyd in these circumstances
Obviously mice in hotel is not desirable but the actions of the staff was barbaric ...I now feel cowardly for not having said anything at the time

You are the first person (I think) to mention a phobia.

Hotels and restaurants also get into serious trouble if they have vermin infestations.

I was upset when my cat had a mouse in the garden a few weeks ago - I would have found that distressing too.

Tulip my comment was in response to you mocking people who are scared of mice.

Just an fyi.

Every food busines, which includes hotels with restaurants and bars have a regular pest control inspections. All is written up in a special diary which the place needs to be able to produce asap when asked by hygiene inspection. There is poison in different places, all places noted in the diary and cannot be moved, and it's checked and refilled regularly. Pest control was 100% notified that there was a mouse on premises and they will come and check everything. But not at 10pm at night... Unless it's a swarm of 100 mice.
There is absolutely nothing else the staff could have done. If they let it roam, they would end up in newspapers "OmG saw a mouse in a hotel!".

I’ve caught mice before (with my hands) and I have a cat who used to be quite the mouser. But I would still find this horrible. It might be quick for the mouse but they need proper pest control and they certainly shouldn’t be stomping on them in front of guests - or anyone.

I once caught a mouse by standing on its tail and then put it into an empty Pringles can. I was then able to take it outside, away from the house and set it free. DIY humane mousetrap.

Agreed, it's not nice

But what would you have thought if they hadn't dealt with it?

What would you have thought if they moved you off the sofa so that they could put down traps (by which point the mouse would almost certainly have left anyway)?

They did recognise that it was an unpleasant experience for you, by offering you a complimentary drink - which you refused

I'm not sure what else you expected to happen

I wasn’t talking about the staff being scared, it’s the reactions on here!

Yes it’s not ideal but on the surface it appears to have been one mouse.

I’m more worried about all the other germs and secretions that I can’t see to be honest!

Well I say worried, apart from the usual hand washing etc what can you do?

My point was that if you are truly phobic about something, that’s very different than just being scared of something.

The tone of most of these comments did not suggest phobia to me.

And no, I don’t understand being scared of mice.

It’s not very nice but im not sure what else they could do? Catch it and travel to the country side to let it free? It’s awful but I don’t think they have they had a choice.

I'm with you OP I think that's outrageous. And if I had heard that I would have taken it up with them immediately. I would now be contacting their complaints department. You don't want a free room but you do want staff to treat a creature humanely and you want their procedures looked at.
Yes, mice are vermin but to stamp on it just shows a complete lack of empathy or caring. I cannot believe that in a 5* hotel there was nothing else they could do.
Complain! Complain! Complain and let us know how you get on.

Maybe not the nicest thing to hear, but a mouse in a hotel, especially the bar/restaurant side, isn't just "not desirable", it's not because some people are scared them, it's a major health issue & a major business issue.

My spouse works nights in a hotel and, alongside what OftenHangry said, protocol even if a mouse is just seen involves calling the person above him even if it's 2AM because they both have to make a report if one is seen, pest control will need to come in to check for entrances first thing in the morning, and any further signs, if there are droppings or anything, it may involve the entire parts if not the whole of the restaurant or hotel being closed and gutted to be cleaned and dealt with. And that's not thinking of what could happen if the mouse got into the food...

Really, while I wouldn't want to overhear it either and it would be great if one of them was a really fast mouse catcher, I really don't the staff could be reasonably expected to do anything else -- and likely would have been in a lot of trouble if they hadn't. I wouldn't want to get the staff in trouble for doing their best in a bad situation.

The staff member dealt with the problem quickly and efficiently. If anything, you should have told management that they have great staff.

It's not about being phobic of anything.

it's about the fact that mice are notoriously unhygienic and have NO place in a hotel. The staff had a duty to deal with the mouse as soon as it was spotted. That doesn't mean coaxing it, chasing it around in the vain hope it goes outside or anything else. It means getting rid, pronto.

It's the "awwww, poor ickle wickle mousey with it's ickle lickle whiskers, call it a taxi and send it to the Cotswolds" brigade who need to give their heads a wobble.

On the face it does seem brutal but tbh the traditional mouse traps are barbaric half the time the don't kill instanly and mouse left withering to die.There back legs still going on bar trapping them.They couldn't just leave it unpleasant to see but wouldn't make a big deal about it

@BigcatLittlecat or maybe it shows the strong desire to keep their job (imagine management finding out they left the mouse be and waited for pest control with humane traps) and not have hysterical customers screaming to every newspaper about mice in a hotel.

I'm really surprised by the amount of people saying they wouldn't be bothered by watching and hearing a mouse be crushed to death? I would be traumatised too OP, totally unacceptable!

@witchy89 everyone would probably be bothered, but what else could do stuff do at situation like that. Can't catch it, must kill it unfortunately foot was a split second decision. No one just stopms on mouse for fun (actually someone might, but that's a different discussion).

I would have complained if they hadn't despatched it!

There is no humane way to deal with mice other than a quick death.

If you release them outside they return to their nests, they can return home from quite far away, a couple of kilometres (although they risk being killed by predators as they make the journey). If you release them further away they just get killed by predators or die.

More humane than a mousetrap or poison really. Instant death is much preferable to hours of suffering.

Yes I would be disgusted too OP.Still a living sentient being .Should not have been dealt with in that manner and I would have an issue with the staff member.

OK it' was probably a shock but I'd just get on with life. We do seem very divorced from the realities of life and death these days, food is a good example. I can't believe all the people suggesting you should catch and release mice. All that does is transport the problem to other people.

I'm with you OP.
In a five star (or any star) hotel, I would not expect the staff to flap about like that in front of customers. Only exception, if it were a lion, or something likely to do me immediate harm. I would prefer them to distract me with complimentary drink, while they dealt with it 'behind the scenes'.
Where's there is one, there are likely to be more, better off dealing with it properly and not executing it in front of paying customers