Beyond disgusting

[takeittakeit]

We are luckily enough to be in Paris watching some of the Olympics - it has been fantastic - bit hot and steamy, poor air con but waiters actually trying to understand my poor french rather than the usual dismissive look!

Staying in an average 4star hotel, air con average but it has been vv hot and humid. Old converted office type building, narrow corridors and 4 small rooms on our floor.

We came back last night to a stench - only way to describe it. Then realised what it was, the American family in the room opposite had left their childs diaper folded up on the floor outside their room - not bagged. Their door is opposite ours about 1.5 metres away.

Went into our room, aircon had not been on all day and it honked. Opened windows sprayed deodorant no luck.

At 2330 - had had enough, knocked gently on their door, baby crying so not asleep. Mum opens it with a second diaper in her hand, bent down and put it on the floor by the other one and then said can I help you?

Now fairly obvious at this point one of her DCs has the trots - but who in their right mind thinks it is ok, to wrap up your childs diaper and leave it on the corridor for other guests to smell.

I politely asked her to put them in the bin
REsponse : I can't they smell so bad.
ME: Why do you think it is OK to share your childs stinking shits with other guests by leaving them in the corridor - my room stinks
REsponse: this is normal in the USA
ME: Well normal in Europe is to bag them and put them in the garbage, can I suggest you do that and take them outside to a bin on the street.
REsponse: No way, it is too late and started to close the door
ME: You really are disgusting - and promptly kicked the diapers into their room before she shut the door
REsponse : you can't do that
Me: watch me, either you bin them or I will bang on your door every 5 minutes, wake up your kids until you do

Two other doors opened to see what was going on - both American families who defended their friends actions.

So I offered to bang on all their doors until someone put them in a bin.
Stand off - I raised my hand to bang on the door and one of the men picked them up and legged it down the stairs.

I have not smelt anything quite that bad for a long long time.

They called me all sorts of names but seriously this can not be normal American behaviour?

Well, I suppose there can be boorish louts everywhere. I haven't observed this bad behaviour myself, but I lived in a very progressive, liberal place. I don't know what it's like in less enlightened areas. My experience with Americans was very positive, and I did live there a long time. 🤷‍♂️ Not sure about Americans abroad. My holidays are mainly spent back there.

Agree @takeittakeit they should double bag and tie up the bags and find somewhere else to bin it

You could have been kind and helpful and totally changed the chain of events. But you chose a different approach.

It is absolutely NOT their job to pick up shit when there is a perfectly capable parent there to do that

Honestly the way people talk about and treat those in customer service on MN is awful

And if I was a hotel manager I would back up any of my staff if someone complained that they had been asked to do that

I don't understand the Aircon issue. Surely all the Aircon units are probably made in china?

😂🤣🤣😅🤣😂
Why don't you take Eurostar and pick dirty nappies as a kind gesture yourself?

That is not normal American behaviour, all my kids were born and raised in US and we went to lots of hotels on holiday. Bag them and into the bin always.
She's a minger and cause you didn't sound American she figured she could get away with saying you were wrong she was right.

YANBU! This is a disgusting biohazard if the child had a poorly tummy. My newborn caught gastroenteritis and my sister caught it from her by being in the vicinity while I changed her nappy. Absolutely disgusting behaviour.

There's a personal safety book written by an expert on personal safety. The author is a former Navy SEAL. It's hilariously entitled WHEN VIOLENCE IS THE ANSWER.

To explain the title, the premise of the book is that violence is rarely the answer, but when it is, it's the only answer.

Anyway, in the book, he addresses this scenario of confronting someone, and he says he promises the reader that it is absolutely not worth it. I wish I could remember more, but I read it awhile ago. But the gist was, walk away, it could easily get out of hand, you have no idea who you're dealing with, and confronting a stranger is absolutely not worth it, despite how good it might feel. I take that advice.

I'd have called Reception, not because I think staff should have cleaned it up, but because the family clearly needed to be supplied with some heavy-duty bin bags, air freshener, loo roll, etc.

It is more a matter of number and power of aircon units. Like in hot countries aircon in cars is ten times more powerful than in cars for the UK market.

That was meant to be a response to @Hibernating80

Employment laws are very strong in France. It would have been within the hotel's staff's right not to clean up baby shit.

As it is, the guy at reception said he gave them a bin. He was not rushing to clean it up and why should he?

Well done OP. I need the update!

I’m surprised low class American trash like that could scrape up the $$$$$ to travel to Paris.
Maybe they’re white trash with money, like Roseanne Barr described herself as being.

What a crock of shit.

Why should the staff sort it.. unfortunate but if your child is ill you clean up. It's unhygienic in the extreme to expose other people to the germs.

As the customer is dumping nappies in a public area the staff have to act. The hotel would charge an extra cleaning fee and could tell the customer to leave. The other customers are not there to clean up biohazard material. It’s the same if someone takes a shit or vomits in the corridor. The other guests are not there to clean it up. The staff clean up and the customer at fault pays a good amount to cover the cleaning.

Am heading to bed as another early start tomorrow.

People are forgetting, I have seen these families at breakfast the last 2 days -there were plenty of adults to help in their party, they were not on their own.

I do not hate Americans, rarely do confrontation but this is just gross and the only people responsible for clearing up the shit are those who put it there - not receptions, not my family - the owners of their childs shit.

I do not need validation this was more amused outrage that anyone had the balls to do this and think it was acceptable -irrespective of nationality -which they brought up not me.

Ewwww no way, that's fucking disgusting and a health hazzard to everyone else. Also why aren't they bagging the shit filled nappies? You aren't a thug, you've asked a very reasonable request, which should never have needed to be asked in the first place!

Not normal. Normal is to call housekeeping to ask for an extra garbage bag to put dirty diapers into. You then loosely toe the bag so you can put more into it and ask housekeeping to dispose of the bag the next day. You try and empty poo into the toilet if possible then roll diaper up tightly front into back then tightly pull tabs acrooss and secure. They won't leak or stink. It's a tightly wrapped little pouch. No decent person would leave a dirty diaper outside their door. No, it's not cultural in N Am. I'm Canadian, but have spent a lot of time traveling in the US.

All that stuff is available in shops.

If they're open at that time. And if a shop selling that type of stuff is nearby, and the person knows where to go.

We stayed in a Parisian hotel when my LO was about 8 months old. I had the dilemma of WTF to do with the nappies, and swiftly dispatched OH to the corner shop to buy bin bags, which we filled and took out with us to a street bin.

I get your drift OP but I would have very 'ceremoniously' bagged the diapers offering my open bag to "Modom" to dispose of the 2nd nappy. Then whilst her compatriots opened their doors would have offered to take any of their 'shitty stuff' too; whilst spouting a few mutterings regarding viva la france and how very handy those little brits can be, etc.

And looked them squarely in the eye whilst pointedly ignoring them over breakfast the next day.

But then I'm a classy bitch, me....

@takeittakeit The family putting diarrhoea filled nappies in a public right of way were massively in the wrong. Honestly, who in their right mind would do this. Apparently some on here think it's perfectly OK even though there was another adult in the room more than capable of removing them to a closed bin away from the corridor.

You acted appropriately and with restraint. You probably prevented the spread of further infection by your actions. Well done. I hope the rest of your stay is free of unwanted shitty odours and health hazards in the hotel corridors.