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AIBU?

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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:
Gth1234 · 24/02/2019 18:43

Basil would have been hunting it with a shotgun!
It shouldn't have worried you, although it's perhaps a shame you witnessed what they did.

Gth1234 · 24/02/2019 18:44

PS. On reflection, I would have had the drink!

CloudyTuesday · 24/02/2019 18:51

I expect they wanted to kill it before it ran out of sight, possibly to resurface somewhere more public, defecating in the kitchen etc.

Bellatrix14 · 24/02/2019 18:51

@FrancisCrawford ahhh, didn’t even think of that when I posted it. I am now though. Poor Basil.

Alsohuman · 24/02/2019 18:53

Bet its mates are shitting in the kitchen right now.

gamerwidow · 24/02/2019 18:55

To be fair to the staff there is no nice way to kill vermin and at least thus death was quick unlike poison or sticky traps.

Lizzie48 · 24/02/2019 18:55

Basil would have been hunting it with a shotgun!

Haha, I can see it now. Basil loading the shotgun, then going to look for the mouse. He sees it, tries to shoot it but can't work out how to do it. The mouse disappears.

Then Cybill asks him, 'Basil, have you got rid of the mouse yet??'

Finally, Manuel steps on it. Right at the end of the programme, another mouse appears.

HoraceCope · 24/02/2019 18:57

Was the waiter Spanish

OhDiddums · 24/02/2019 18:59

I work in pest control and that was more humane than poison, traps or glue boards. The hotel probably didn't want anymore people than necessary to see it.

Lizzie48 · 24/02/2019 18:59

Yes, from Barcelona. He was hilarious. Grin

Lizzie48 · 24/02/2019 19:03

Actually, if it was Fawlty Towers, someone would have suggested bringing a cat into the hotel to catch it. And Basil would turn out to have an allergy to cats!! 😂

ChocChocButtons · 24/02/2019 19:04

They would be shut down by environmental health. Your unreasonable I’m afraid.

puppy23 · 24/02/2019 19:20

No that's disgusting and would really have upset me had I seen it

Walkingdeadfangirl · 24/02/2019 19:22

I imagine OP had just finished a lovely meal of Steak or Chicken. So happy for animals to be killed just not ok watching it happen. Isn't that hypocrisy?

Brilliantidiot · 24/02/2019 19:23

About the only thing I'd have done differently is clear the area so guests didn't see. Easier said than done though. We had an actual small fire in a bin from someone smoking in the toilets on Friday, fire alarm went off, no one moved. Even when told to evacuate. Not uncommon. They all want to finish their dinner or get another pint first and refuse to move. And by the time they'd moved guests the mouse would have vanished anyway, which would have led to the bar being closed until pest control could get there, and anywhere else it took off to.
You may have found yourself in a hotel with no bar or breakfast if they hadn't have done what they did, because if it's in the kitchen it's immediate shut down until it's sorted then all food binned and deep clean, same with the bar and not reopened until cleared by pest control. And of course mice are attracted to the smell of food, it'd have found the kitchen, they usually do.
Staff were quick and efficient and it should have been reported and dealt with by now.
I think that anywhere selling food and beverage has to have regular inspections and there is poison in specific places that are not allowed to be touched by staff, pest control only.
Not pleasant to witness but necessary unfortunately, for the protection of everyone.
And as for catching it and then releasing it outside, who's going to do that? The bar staff? Leave the bar unattended while they try? Or perhaps the chef? And then it's just going to probably make it's way back in anyway. And as for driving into the countryside and releasing it, I'm pretty sure the hotel management would be pretty pissed off at a member of staff just abandoning their post to go for a little drive into the country with a mouse. I'm sure other customers would have been overjoyed to have no bar/waiting/kitchen staff while that happened, being paying customers and all.

FrancisCrawford · 24/02/2019 19:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SlimGin · 24/02/2019 19:25

I agree with you OP. I work front of house in a 5* hotel and it would be so unprofessional for one of us to do that! Collect it in a box and take it away from the guests and deal with it where there are no guests around.

FrancisCrawford · 24/02/2019 19:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Weirdwonders · 24/02/2019 19:32

YANBU. It’s not even the best way to deal with it.
Does stamping on it mean no one has to clean it up either then, Brilliantidiot?

Lizzie48 · 24/02/2019 20:02

@FrancisCrawford Brilliant! And I can also see Basil trying hard to convince a posh hotel guest (who is really a con artist) that no there really isn't a mouse!! 😂

It does sound like it was gruesome to witness, OP, but I confess I would have been relieved that they had dealt with it.

I also would have accepted the offer of a free drink. Grin

DrReed · 24/02/2019 20:36

I’m quite impressed the barman was quick enough to get it, maybe it was already suffering the effects of poison.

Those saying they could be more humane, what do you think the pest controllers would do? You should see what happens the morning after a glue board treatment, when all the little buggers are still alive stuck to glue boards (unless they’ve chewed their leg off to escape). How do you think they kill them then?

I can imagine it would have been a bit shocking to see and hear but I can’t believe you didn’t take the comp drink.

greenpop21 · 24/02/2019 21:11

Not the way it should have been dealt with but I can imagine it was a hasty reaction in sheer panic to avoid what could have been ,many screaming , hysterical guests!

Butteredghost · 24/02/2019 22:38

I'm also impressed at the bar man's speed. Dare I say, he sounds... practiced Shock.

Sorry OP but I think YABU. It's not nice but there isn't a nice way to kill animals and it has to be done.

Brilliantidiot · 24/02/2019 23:03

Does stamping on it mean no one has to clean it up either then, Brilliantidiot?

Well obviously someone has to clean it up. 🙄
My point is that had they left it to go and get box/humane trap etc it would have vanished.
And Mice are attracted to the smell of food, including beer, had it made it's way behind the bar or into the kitchen then it has to be shut immediately and deep cleaned, after pest control have cleared the area, all stock that's out and not sealed removed and binned, all equipment from floor to ceiling sanitised. And the mouse would have been killed anyway. You cannot have mice running round food and beverage service and prep areas, and once they're in they need total removal or they'll stay.
Though I'm sure if the staff had explained to the mouse if it stayed put they'd take it to mouseville to live out the rest of it's days it'd have climbed in the box willingly.

HariboLecter · 25/02/2019 07:54

The reasonmiceand a mouse infestation the home is sodangerousmostly stem from the diseases they carry. ...Micecan contaminate food and food surfaces. They are a key contributor to spreading diseases and bacteria which can be risky and potentially lethal to humans.

I can't believe all the release it into the countryside comments mice will travel a fair old distance to get back to their nests.
I'm going to assume it was a house mouse rather than a field mouse, so it wouldn't survive very long outside anyway.
Whilst not ideal at least it had a fairly quick death, preferable to being poisoned.

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