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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Appalled at actions of hotel staff

199 replies

Stopyourhavering64 · 24/02/2019 14:06

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 Shock...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 Sad

OP posts:
OftenHangry · 24/02/2019 15:26

Can all of you "deal with it behind the scenes" and "deal with it differently" actually say HOW would you deal with it if you were the staff?

DorothyZbornak · 24/02/2019 15:27

Or driven it out the countryside

Are you actually serious??!! Grin Grin Grin

That has to be one of the most batshit things I have ever heard on here. Should they have hired a limo for it, or maybe a 56 seater bus would have been a better idea, so that it could bring its mates along.

AuntieCJ · 24/02/2019 15:27

Not sure why you want to make a fuss. Mice are vermin, it had a quick death.

SileneOliveira · 24/02/2019 15:28

while they dealt with it 'behind the scenes'

And how do you suggest that they get the mouse from the bar into "behind the scenes"? Lay a trail of cheese perhaps?

Of course stamping on a mouse isn't ideal. But it is a very quick way of dealing with a problem and contains the needed cleaning to one place only.

NotTheFordType · 24/02/2019 15:31

OP that's horrible, I'm sorry you had to witness it. I keep pet rats and this would have really upset me badly.

Similarly, I know foxes are bastards for killing chickens etc but that doesn't mean I'd happily stand and watch a farmer blow the head off one when I'm out on a walk.

I know they are disease spreading little fuckers but I really don't think guests should have witnessed this.

MissTook · 24/02/2019 15:32

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
Grin Grin

Birdsgottafly · 24/02/2019 15:33

This is the same debate as, "hunting is barbaric, but yes, I eat supermarket meat"

They've tracked mice that have been released. They can find their way back from quite far away. If they don't, they die.

It's fine to say that you found it upsetting, but every hotel, leisure complex, housing estate, is built at a cost to wildlife.

It's really hypocritical to not want it bought home what our everyday choices, cause.

Cantusethatname · 24/02/2019 15:43

It is really hard to catch a mouse, I have tried several times when the cat has brought one in unharmed for the joy of torturing it to death inside. All you can do is open a door and hope and wait for it to go. The hotel didn't have this option

Lizzie48 · 24/02/2019 15:45

I wouldn't have a problem with this, because I see my cats doing far worse to their mice victims regularly. I would just be relieved that the mouse had been removed.

It would be a nightmare for a hotel to have a problem with mice, they had to deal with the mouse quickly.

Crunchymum · 24/02/2019 15:53

It's all a bit "Fawlty Towers" isn't it?

You said you were sitting near the entrance to the restaurant though OP, and no high end hotel restaurant want mice!!!!!

HoraceCope · 24/02/2019 15:56

Didnt the mice know this was a 5* hotel.

i knew someone who worked for rentokill, always going to the Dorchester!

Valanice1989 · 24/02/2019 15:57

This is the same debate as, "hunting is barbaric, but yes, I eat supermarket meat"

They've tracked mice that have been released. They can find their way back from quite far away. If they don't, they die.

It's fine to say that you found it upsetting, but every hotel, leisure complex, housing estate, is built at a cost to wildlife.

It's really hypocritical to not want it bought home what our everyday choices, cause.

I agree. People are saying that the hotel staff should have killed the mouse out of the guests' sight, or released it somewhere else to either die or become someone else's problem. In other words, they're not objecting to animal cruelty - they're objecting to the fact that humans had to witness it.

BestIsWest · 24/02/2019 15:57

I would also be disgusted by their actions OP.

Janedoe5000 · 24/02/2019 16:00

It wasn't ideal but it was a pest - it needed to die.

You should get over it.

HoraceCope · 24/02/2019 16:00

But they had to kill it, how would you feel if they had shrugged their shoulders and left it?

i am surprised they caught it though. they are very fast on their feet.

1forAll74 · 24/02/2019 16:01

No,this mouse death was not a nice experience to witness/hear, but it surely was just a very quick reaction from someone who needed to get rid of the mouse very quickly in the hotel bar.
It most probably was not a pleasing experience for a staff member either,who had to squash and splatter a mouse under a shoe on the tiled floor,and then clean up the mess afterwards.

I would just say, that it was an unfortunate event that night..for the mouse, and all the people there.!

HoraceCope · 24/02/2019 16:02

I find it very strange that the op was merely intrigued and were watching where it went
that was not my reaction when I saw a mouse!

princessTiasmum · 24/02/2019 16:06

My cats have brought mice in, i just get them by the tail and put them outside,why didnt they do this, cant bear cruelty even in those circumstances,

CloudyTuesday · 24/02/2019 16:21

"My cats have brought mice in, i just get them by the tail and put them outside."

Those mice must've been hurt or stunned. They're usually pretty fast!

Justaboy · 24/02/2019 16:22

I reckon matey did well to get the mouse dispatached like that it was all over quite quickly. They can do a LOT of damage mice, fine as tame pets but in the wild.

Still I'm sure theres lots of cat lovers here course OK for puss to rip them apart whilst still alive thought isn't it?

melj1213 · 24/02/2019 16:34

Anyway we were merely intrigued and were watching where it went....bar staff came over to see what we were looking at

YABU if only because you spotted a mouse in a hotel, right near the restaurant, and instead of alerting staff so they could deal with it, you just sat and watched it!

The staff did their best under the circumstances - got rid of the vermin as quickly and efficiently as possible, and unfortunately in this case it meant someone had to squash it. I have had mice in my house (thanks cats!) and unless they have been stunned/injured before the cats brought them inside then they are fucking fast and I have been unable to catch them, having to rely on them going out of an open door or waiting for the cats to either kill it or take it back outside to play with. If I had the choice of squashing a mouse or potentially letting it disappear while I found a humane way to get it out then that mouse is getting squashed.

fleshmarketclose · 24/02/2019 16:36

Pretty sure hotel staff did what needed doing and I don't suppose the mouse suffered anymore by being stamped on than it would have done being caught in a trap or poisoned. They didn't really have a great deal of choice and the mouse was going to be killed either that night or by pest control when they informed them.

GiantButtonsAreMyFave · 24/02/2019 16:39

I thought this post was either going to be about them not believing you that it was there or just shrugging and leaving the mouse to it. They dealt with it in a fast and efficient manor, you should be pleased it wasn’t left to find it’s way into the kitchen and help itself to your breakfast. Honestly some people! They even offered you a free drink, I can’t see anything worthy of a complaint?

BrexitIsComing · 24/02/2019 16:41

If you've ever seen a mouse caught in a conventional trap, the snap kind, you'll probably know they often don't just break their neck & kill them instantly. Stamping on it was probably a lot more humane, TBH. Although obviously not very pleasant for you to have to witness it... would you rather have witnessed a mouse being caught in a trap & scrabbling to get free before dying instead?

tillytoodles1 · 24/02/2019 16:46

My BIL used to work for a pest control company. They would catch rats and mice with sticky traps and them stamp on them with their boots. He said it was the quickest way to kill them.