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Are the hotel drinking glasses safe to use?
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About a month ago I saw one of our local news channels cover this very issue. It was disgusting! And they showed hidden cams of this type of footage from several large cities all over the country... in *5 STAR* hotels, no less! They even showed one where the cleaning lady put on a toilet glove, went into the bathroom, scrubbed the toilet, and then came out to the sink area and "washed" the glasses wearing the same toilet-cleaning glove and using *WINDEX* to clean the glasses!!! Awful!
I am waiting to see major litigation and/or pushes for new legislation over this sort of thing.
I am waiting to see major litigation and/or pushes for new legislation over this sort of thing.
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No offense bane, but you have got to be kidding about the legislation comment. The last thing we need is more stupid legislation. Just clean your own glass or don't drink from it. I haven't died from drinking from hotel glasses yet and I don't even clean mine. (I might start cleaning them now though.) I also saw the local news story a month ago and it was disgusting, but to suggest legislation....bane said:
On another hotel note, a business associate of mine told me several years ago that his biggest hotel fear is sitting on the chairs, especially the desk chair. He asked if I had ever thought about how many people have sat naked in those chairs!!! He said he lays a towel over every chair in the room because he figured they never clean the chairs and the last thing he wanted to do is sit where some fat, sweaty, hairy butt had recently been! Now this is the type of thing that should really be legislated..... JK.
-PW
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WOAH! That sounded like a bit of a flame!PW said:
It's all kewl though... I know how sometimes things come across online how we don't mean it. 8)
OK, first I didn't say that I SUPPORTED the legislation or lawsuit routes... only that I am expecting to see them.
Secondly, however, while I fully agree with the "we don't need more stupid laws" premise... I argue that NOT ALL new laws are "stupid" or "unnecessary". By that premise then, all PREVIOUS laws are also "stupid" and "unnecessary" since at one point in time they too were NEW laws. And thus, by that same premise, we would be promoting anarchy.
Also, by that premise, restaurants shouldn't have to have trained food handlers nor follow a certain code of cleanliness. Is that what we really want???
The laws we should be seeking to limit are those that infringe on INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS... however, CORPORATIONS should not expect to have the same freedoms as individuals. When I pay for a room, I think I have a certain Right to get what I paid for... and most would agree that cleanliness is part of that expectation.
On the flip-side, what argument can reasonably be used to say that a professional hotel chain should NOT be expected to provide me with a clean and reasonably healthy room for which I paid and thus entered into a contract with such expectations???
[EDIT: Additionally, the argument that one should clean their own glass in a hotel is hard to follow. I have never been in a hotel and seen a bottle of dish-soap provided at my sink with which I could wash my glass, nor a washcloth, towel, or drying rack. Additionally, I guess I should also clean my own sheets, tub, toilet, tables, chairs, and vacuum my own room immediately upon checking in???]
Maybe we shouldn't expect clean glasses in hospitals, restaurants, the dentist's office, etc, either. Maybe we should abandon all concern for public cleanliness and revert to Middle Ages European standards.
Expecting me to clean my own hotel glass because of a fear of any new laws is "the other side of the same coin" of passing new and stupid legislation that doesn't actually accomplish anything. Both positions do not improve our situation.
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Good. I guess I thought you were saying there should be legislation on this type of thing....I misinterpreted your post. "I am waiting" (your words) sounds like you are WANTING to see....not expecting to see. Sorry...bane said:
I didn't suggest there should be no "NEW LAWS." I did say "The last thing we need is more stupid legislation." Creating laws about drinking glasses in hotel rooms is SSSTTTTTUUUUPPPPPIIIIIDDDDDD LEGISLATION! Do you really want to pay taxes to enforce a law like this. No way!!! Pure Capitalism is much better at governing things like this than us paying taxes so the government can do it. The expectation on the room should be set and determined between you the customer and the company providing you a service. If you don't like their rooms, cleanliness, service, etc. take you dollars elsewhere. There will be plenty of good businesses that rise to the top because they understand that people are willing to pay to get what they want. All a good hotel needs to do is simply put out prepackaged plastic cups that have never been opened or used, then to customers that think a dirty cup is a deal breaker, they get what they want... a clean new cup. Just let capitalism work and keep the government out of business. Businesses screw themselves much worse by doing stupid stuff than anything the government can do to hurt them. Just look at Jack-in-the-Box or any of the other resturants that have had food posioning issues. The public outcry is much worse than anything the government can do to them. It took Tylenol years to dig out of the hole that they got in due to the contaminated Tylenol and they didn't even do it to themselves. Businesses that don't meet customers expectations don't last long.
When I sit down at a resturant table that is dirty, I simply wipe it off myself and probably won't ever go back. I don't think I need the government coming in and "inspecting" cleanliness of tables or drinking glasses in hotels and fining offending parties. I for one can clean my own glass if I think it is dirty or ask for a new clean glass in my room. I can wipe off my own table if it didn't get done to my expectation, then you can bet I will tell the company about it, and I probably won't ever return to there place of business with my money. IMO that is much more effective than any other course of action than government legislation.
-PW
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I agree with your restaurant table analogy.
And, in general, I agree with your argument that "pure capitalism" is better than mixed economy solutions (as I'm sure you've noticed in my other posts... I am no fan of mixed economies).
However, cleaning a drinking glass in a hotel room with a poop-contaminated glove and using toxic cleaners to clean that glass are exactly the same thing as putting rat poison and human feces in my meal order... both of which demand NOT ONLY a public outcry but harsh widespread criminal action.
So, while in my first post I wasn't necessarily arguing FOR government intervention... discussing this has helped me formulate my opinion on the matter much better and I have now realized that I actually DO support government action on issues like this.
As I said in my last post... since I can't always look at my hotel glass and determine if it has been cleaned (since some of them clean them with glass cleaners so that they will LOOK clean) then I am in the same situation as ordering a meal at a clean LOOKING restaurant and not realize that they have mixed in human feces and harsh chemicals. My only options are: order at restaurants and then GUESS which meals to throw away, never eat out, or expect some level of governmental standards to be put in place and enforced. I opt for the latter.
And, in general, I agree with your argument that "pure capitalism" is better than mixed economy solutions (as I'm sure you've noticed in my other posts... I am no fan of mixed economies).
However, cleaning a drinking glass in a hotel room with a poop-contaminated glove and using toxic cleaners to clean that glass are exactly the same thing as putting rat poison and human feces in my meal order... both of which demand NOT ONLY a public outcry but harsh widespread criminal action.
So, while in my first post I wasn't necessarily arguing FOR government intervention... discussing this has helped me formulate my opinion on the matter much better and I have now realized that I actually DO support government action on issues like this.
As I said in my last post... since I can't always look at my hotel glass and determine if it has been cleaned (since some of them clean them with glass cleaners so that they will LOOK clean) then I am in the same situation as ordering a meal at a clean LOOKING restaurant and not realize that they have mixed in human feces and harsh chemicals. My only options are: order at restaurants and then GUESS which meals to throw away, never eat out, or expect some level of governmental standards to be put in place and enforced. I opt for the latter.
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If you don't get what you expect, talk to management and the good businesses will quickly meet your expectation. And if they don't meet your expectation, tell them and go elsewhere. I don't think you should have to vaccum your own room and wash your own sheets, or clean your own glass either. I expect those things to be clean also. However if they aren't, I also expect the hotel to correct the problem and most will.bane said:
My wife and I stayed in Las Vegas a few years ago and Caeser's Palace. We had our 6 month old son with us and when we got checked into our room, my wife put our son down to sleep. The hotel was undergoing some construction and it was so noisy during the day that our son couldn't sleep. I called the desk and asked if there was any way they could move us to a different room that was away from the construction so our son could sleep. (Now do I really have an expectation that a hotel room should be peaceful and quiet during the day....probably not. It had never been a problem before.) Within 10 minutes a bell man was at our door and they moved us into and incredible complimentary suite. I must say it is the nicest hotel room we have ever stayed in. They apologized even though they really didn't need to as they had no way of knowing we would have a sleeping baby in our room during the day. They are a good business and they will always have good paying customers if they continue to have that type of attitude and mentality.
On another trip to Vegas with some of my employees, we were in a situation where all we needed was the absolute cheapest room we could find to checkin to late and leave early. We were only sleeping and wouldn't be spending any time at the hotel. I found the cheapest Days Inn I could online (by the airport) and booked 4 rooms sight unseen. Now I must say, it was the most absolutely disgusting room I have ever stayed in. I was in a situation were I couldn't go find another hotel to stay at, but you can bet the following morning as I checked us out, I had some things to tell the manager. I will never go back to the hotel, EVER, and I would dare say they will never get any repeat customers. Course, the other thing I thought, was hey I did get the cheapest hotel room I could find...what did I expect.
I guess the point of my mindless rambling is sometimes you need to communicate your expectations to the business you are dealing with. You also need to communicate if your expecations are not being met. The good businesses realize that it is the customers that determined their fate more than any other entity. Good businesses want to know customers expectations and will do everything they can to reasonably meet them. Keep the government out the businesses will do much better governing themselves in most instances.
Oh yeah, IMO it really isn't that hard to take a wash rag and rinse, wipe out and dry your glass if you are that concerned about it... The hotels certainly give you plenty of clean towels, wash rags, and hand towels and you can always ask for more. And I ceratinly don't think anyone should clean their own hotel glass because of a fear of any new laws. I think they should clean their own glass if they want a clean glass or want to ensure their glass is clean and the hotel won't bring them a new clean glass. I for one have sent back silverware at nice restaurants because it looked dirty to me. If you ask politely, guaranteed they are going to bring you the nicest, cleanest silverware they have got.
Only 80% of all Americans even wash their own hands after going to the bathroom and the percentage is decreasing... what does that say about us....? Maybe the government should post an inspector inside every public bathroom to enforce public sanitation cleanliness laws thus ensuring that all bathroom trips end with a good 30 second handwashing thus decreasing the chances of germs and sickness being spread throughout the countries population. This would certainly prevent more sickness than dirty hotel drinking glasses.
bane, I understand that you don't want to see legislation like this. I am not directing my tirade towards you in anyway, so please don't think that I am. I am just concerned that our world is to the point were we can even "expect" to see something like this happening. It is just plain stupid that there are people out there that want the governments hands in every aspect of our lives.
-PW
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Public outcry will kill a business faster than anything out there. If the public wants civil action I say let some dumb sucker go for it. Not sure anyone could win a civil case by claiming they got sick or emotionally scared from having a dirty drinking glass in their hotel room, but hey I guess they can waste their money trying if they want to. Criminal action, I'm not so sure about. It would be very difficult to hold anyone criminally liable for having dirty glasses in hotel rooms. I bet in most cases it is the individual maid that is simply not following hotel policy. I bet most hotels have written policies concerning the cleaning of glasses and the maids in most instances are probably simply not following the hotels policy. Now if a manager or someone knows they aren't following policy and turns a blind eye, maybe then, but most good businesses have good managers that will simply reprimand or fire the person who is not following policy. Seems like a waste of tax dollars to even try to hold anyone criminally liable in this case.bane said:
-PW
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PW,
Yes, I have seen the 80% figures regarding hand washing. The trend is certainly an interesting one. But I was not arguing for limitations on Individual Rights, I was arguing for reasonable controls to be placed on Corporations which are entities not by Right but by License. Because they are not natural entities they do not have inherent and inalienable Rights and are subject to reasonable controls. As an Individual I have an expectation to be able to decide for myself when I wash my own hands; as a waiter working at a restaurant I don't have that same freedom -- it is law and company policy pretty much everywhere to wash my hands and I must do so. After work I am a free Individual and can choose to not wash.
I agree with commenting to management. I too have sent silverware back and have complained about other types of service and have had the same positive experiences you have. However, I cannot always tell if a glass was properly cleaned or not. It is not always visible to the human eye. And without some sort of dish-soap I cannot even properly clean the glass. I guess I could probably use the bar soap but that is a little difficult to get rinsed out. Nevertheless, without some form of surfactant you can't properly clean the glass merely with water and a towel.
And if the public can't consistently and easily see that the glasses are clean, I doubt there will be much of a lasting public outcry. If the media stays on top of it, the larger chains will certainly suffer, but what about the smaller more local chains that likely won't receive media attention??? If I can't tell if their glasses are clean, I can't really protest the matter.
Yes, I have seen the 80% figures regarding hand washing. The trend is certainly an interesting one. But I was not arguing for limitations on Individual Rights, I was arguing for reasonable controls to be placed on Corporations which are entities not by Right but by License. Because they are not natural entities they do not have inherent and inalienable Rights and are subject to reasonable controls. As an Individual I have an expectation to be able to decide for myself when I wash my own hands; as a waiter working at a restaurant I don't have that same freedom -- it is law and company policy pretty much everywhere to wash my hands and I must do so. After work I am a free Individual and can choose to not wash.
I agree with commenting to management. I too have sent silverware back and have complained about other types of service and have had the same positive experiences you have. However, I cannot always tell if a glass was properly cleaned or not. It is not always visible to the human eye. And without some sort of dish-soap I cannot even properly clean the glass. I guess I could probably use the bar soap but that is a little difficult to get rinsed out. Nevertheless, without some form of surfactant you can't properly clean the glass merely with water and a towel.
And if the public can't consistently and easily see that the glasses are clean, I doubt there will be much of a lasting public outcry. If the media stays on top of it, the larger chains will certainly suffer, but what about the smaller more local chains that likely won't receive media attention??? If I can't tell if their glasses are clean, I can't really protest the matter.
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That is why I only use the foam cups that are in plastic, or drink fight from the fauset.Jeff Johnson said:
Tarzan
There have been several of these reports by news agencies lately. It seems to be the "new" thing to do. There's also an email going around to the same effect.Jeff Johnson said:
I travel a lot, often overseas to countries like India. While these reports make me sick and make me not want to go out of my house, the fact is you can only do so much. Some people go to extremes and ask for new sheets (in the package) or bring disinfectant wipes which they go over the entire room with. Personally, I think you just can't live this way. There are tons and tons of bugs out there in all places, and our bodies can cope with a lot.
I've been traveling quite a bit for 8 years now, and I've never gotten a really bad bug (like strep, aids, etc) from a hotel. I've been sick a few times, but I blame the crowded airplanes more than I blame the hotel rooms. I did get really, really sick (in the hospital on and off for a week) from food poisoning in an India Sheraton restaurant last summer.
There are so many other businesses that are just as bad. Restaurants routinely "clean" their tables with a dirty rag that has wiped tables for hours. Going to the DMV is a visit to the leper colony (Seinfeld's words). The state fair is an experience in itself. But I still go to all of them.
I like to see hotels getting in trouble for not cleaning the way they should be cleaning. Companies should be held to standard. But individually, I will only take a few basic, reasonable steps when I get to my room. Anything eccentric will keep you from traveling and seeing the world (or making any money, in my case).
I travel a lot as part of my job. I sleep in the hotel sheets and sit on the chairs. Do I really think these have been cleaned to remove 100% of germs and DNA from previous guests? No. But I have never, to my knowledge, caught an illness from staying at a hotel. I also drink tap water, eat hotdogs at Costco, and put ice in my Mt. Dew at the gas station. Sensationalist news programs would have me afraid to even leave the house if I put stock into all their "hidden camera investigations." Bottom line is, I take responsibility for my actions. I don't blame the store or the government for my problems and I don't expect anyone to go around "protecting" me and my family from germs, scam artists, or sex offenders. I take that responsibility into my own hands. Government regulations meant to prevent bad things from happening to us have the same effect as laws making murder a crime. The crime still happens, but it keeps the lawyers in business.
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Amen brother!T-Man said:
My wife and I were in Costa Rica a month ago and my wife wouldn't even drink the water from the Marriott we were staying in because the stupid lady at the place that gave us our immunizations had her all freaked out about it. We had lunch at some local resturant (was one of the best meals on my trip) and my wife wouldn't have any of the ice. She had to drink straight out of the soda can. I just poured my drink right into the ice and enjoyed my meal. My wife was also scared to death to eat at the place I picked but I insisted and neither of us died....
As someone else said, there is too much to enjoy in life to go through it being paranoid about every little stupid thing. Next time I am in a hotel I just may drink from the cup (without washing it) and then sit naked on the chair just for the thrill of it.... LOL.... probably won't go so far as to keep the comforter on the bed when I sleep, but thats just me.... :roll:
-PW
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Speaking from my own experience when I was on my mission in Brasil... I know for a fact that you can get intestinal worms from accidentally allowing a bit of the tap water into your mouth while taking a shower... nearly uncontrollably crapping my pants rushing to get off the bus on my way home, while bent over holding my gut in extreme pain as I speed-shuffled off the bus and down my alley and later following up with extremely painful stomach aches while taking the de-worming meds... I can tell you... drinking tap water or using ice in some of these countries is just not worth it! If it's been filtered, fine, but not straight from the tap!
I also don't have that much of a problem sleeping in hotel sheets, using the comforters, or sitting on the chairs of hotels. But I have an extremely big problem ingesting the contents of a cup which may have human feces on it or contains toxic substances. It's a matter of the DEGREE of unhealthiness... coming into physical contact with minor bugs in sheets is one thing... swallowing feces and toxic chemicals on glasses is quite another story.
I also don't have that much of a problem sleeping in hotel sheets, using the comforters, or sitting on the chairs of hotels. But I have an extremely big problem ingesting the contents of a cup which may have human feces on it or contains toxic substances. It's a matter of the DEGREE of unhealthiness... coming into physical contact with minor bugs in sheets is one thing... swallowing feces and toxic chemicals on glasses is quite another story.
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