The Black Informant

African-American culture, news commentary, politics

Paper cups please!


November 27, 2007 - Posted by Duane | Uncategorized | | 55 Comments

55 Comments »

  1. Now THAT is NASTY ! Thanks for the warning ! eeeeeeewwwwwwwwww

    Comment by VB | November 28, 2007

  2. even worse is that the few who wore utility gloves probably used those same gloves to clean the toilet.

    Comment by sss | November 28, 2007

  3. that’s the last time I stay at the paris hilton

    Comment by garvin | November 29, 2007

  4. thank you for this report on dirty glasses

    Comment by Noah | November 29, 2007

  5. Years ago I worked at a local hotel and we did the same thing. Dump, rinse, towel off and bag. We used to put the glasses in little bags that said they were sterilized. Often the toweling was done with a less than clean towel.

    Comment by Jen | November 30, 2007

  6. That is so sick! I will always request disposable cups everytime I go!

    Comment by Tiffany | November 30, 2007

  7. To # 5 Jen, and why then did you think this was an acceptable practice? Are you just ignorrant?

    Comment by Scott | December 1, 2007

  8. OMG! This is one of the most terrible things I have ever seen. I wonder how many people will attempt a lawsuit.

    Comment by Amie | December 1, 2007

  9. Piss off #7 Scott - why question the worker? Like housekeepers have a say in operational procedures. Management dictates how and when things are done…DUMBASS

    Comment by Jeff | December 2, 2007

  10. LOL ! that’s funny, so funny! but sad at the same time. When every single so bourgeois-ass will EWwwwxpress their disgust, nobody will even think about what’ll happen to these maids. They’ll get fired! Why! Com’on it’s obvious…

    Do you really think that they MAGICALLY ALL FORGOT to take the soap bottle, or ALL VOLUNTARY OMIT to put the dishes in a dish-rack for the dishwasher downstairs ? or simply they forgot to wash’em properly? …

    The supervisor will yell at them if they dare take the time to do that !

    For your information… there is NO SOAP FOR DISHES in the maids stockroom.

    How many rags .. are they allowed ( allowed is the right term here ) to use?

    few… very few for god know how much filth in how many rooms. No waste permitted…

    Neat?

    If it seems neat then it is. AMERICA IS A SHOW ! keep it running and you make money. Keep it running even faster and you’ll make MORE money.

    The actors are asked for beyond human strength performance?

    They gotta act for how long we don’t care that’s why they’re paid.

    So what if they’re paid way less than the minimum wage ?

    Hey if they don’t like it there’s plenty of other “illegals” who are ready to take their JOB. Just Over Broke that’s how they like their personnel, so they keep they mouth shut… Too busy fighting to survive so they feel lucky to have this JOB.

    I’ve seen it!

    Could u imagine that a maid in a “Embassy Suite” share the same salary than another from a low class Motel? Probably that the one in the low class motel have a better situation, because in this world, these women are asked to clean an astronomous number of rooms in a record time detemined by the supervisor. Moreover, it’s a flat rate system .. do more than, let say…, 20 rooms in 5 hours

    to get paid.

    n-y-way .. don’t wanna talk too much but … people are still doing slavery on behalf of the entrepreneurship !….

    Think about it! .. greedy entrepreneurs

    Comment by Justsa | December 3, 2007

  11. Yuk!!!

    Comment by Dane | December 4, 2007

  12. now my huntch is confirmed, I wondered about the glass glasses in hotel rooms. Something else to think about that happened to us is…We stayed at a Bestwestern in North Boston 11/23/07 and had white tissues in the box. After we had pulled 3 of them out the tissues were peach color; the manufacturer packaged color of tissues that should be in the box. So, obviously they had folded 3 white ones and put them in the box on top of the clean ones. Now, I am rearly sick, but I ended up with a cold 7 days after staying there. We did use the glasses too. Yuck! Thanks for keeping us safe with you checking on hotel practices.

    Comment by Terri | December 4, 2007

  13. I’m going to sue every hotels I went!

    Comment by Denis | December 4, 2007

  14. I have often wondered about the cleanliness of drinking glasses, cups and coffee pots in hotel and motel rooms. Being a skeptic at heart, I have in recent times begun washing them before using. After seeing this, there is good reason for my skepticism. Good gawd, flesh-eating bacteria!

    Comment by Sue | December 4, 2007

  15. One hotel where we stayed had a pizza box under the bed. M&M’s around the night stand and hair in the bathtub. Another had hair in the bed and blood on the pillows. We asked for a 2nd set of sheets and pillows. The 2nd set of pillows had blood on them too. We used the pillows in our car. And people wonder why I would rather tent camp!

    Comment by Susan | December 4, 2007

  16. For years friends have laughed at me because I wash EVERYTHING in EVERY ROOM with Clorox bleach towels and alcohol sanitizers.

    The bed spreads you lay on, although your sheets MAY be clean the bed spreads are washed MAYBE once a month.

    I throw them in the corner and inspected the sheets, pillow cases, wash the remote, door knobs, TV knobs, the works,…. and I mean I miss nothing!

    Who’s laughing now?? LOL!!!!

    Comment by Dan Atkinson | December 5, 2007

  17. Completely yucky and unethical, but not surprising. It’s one of many reasons I prefer to camp whenever possible. But for business trips or otherwise when I must use m/hotel, I always have my own reusable nalgene water body and a ceramic or hard plastic coffee mug. And I avoid contact with the bedspreads as much as possible. When travelling by car, I always have my own sheets & sleeping bag that I put on top of the bed. What a creepy, yucky industry hotels are - they act like they’re so customer oriented, but it’s all a scam.

    Comment by Ursula | December 5, 2007

  18. Make that, reusable nalgene water bottle!

    Comment by Ursula | December 5, 2007

  19. The travellers must revolt against these hotels and give them an economic lesson so that they wake up and do something about the unhygenic practices. Let the travellers fund such unbiased scrutniee of all hotels and let AAA/CAA approve them.

    It is too much to see the vedio. I have to carry my own water bottle. God knows what else go on!! Should we tip the hotel cleaners them for their dirty housekeeping??

    Comment by Ujjal Mondal | December 5, 2007

  20. Sue them for what? Besides being ignornat, which isn’t their fault, what could you POSSIBLY sue them for…the world is lawsuit happy and it’s as sickening as dirty glasses in a hotel room.

    Comment by Jake | December 5, 2007

  21. I read thru all the responses…the basic problem is as follows:

    1. Low paid employees don’t give a crap;

    2. Middle Management above the lower paid employees don’t give a crap…just get the job done as fast as possible and under budget;

    3. upper management only cares about the bottom line so they can their huge bonuses..;

    4. It ain’t just at the hotels…its a restaurants and the food industry as well….;

    5. Main stream work force in America is lazy as hell….;

    6. Get rid of all “illegal aliens immediately; hire Americans !

    6.

    Comment by BWL | December 5, 2007

  22. The less expensive rooms use disposable plastic cups that are wrapped. Go cheap.

    Comment by Nancy | December 6, 2007

  23. can you imagine if all of these items have white in front of them, instead of black? it would be considered racist and bigomist, wouldn’t it? aren’t we all supposed to be equal? this doesn’t look like it to me!

    Comment by cindy lopez | December 6, 2007

  24. #21 BWL is correct in some respects — it all boils down to $$ (not illegal aliens you ignorant bafoon — you think ‘Americans’ are ready to work as hard as newcomers to your country?).

    Instead of putting the onus on others for your safety & health, just take your own re-usable cups/glasses with you (basically, take responsibility for yourselves). And geezuz people, stop thinking a lawsuit is going to change the world for better.

    Comment by Trish | December 7, 2007

  25. Now I know why my husband frequently gets sick when we travel and stay at motels!! He likes using “real” glass for drinking; I drink bottled waer, FROM THE BOTTLE. I wonder what else is substandard and filthy….makes me wonder if sleeping in my car is a better option!!!

    Comment by Morgan | December 7, 2007

  26. Theres no excuse, no matter how much someone gets paid, they should have common sense and decent respect to others to not be so nasty and filthy. I could not find it in myself or anyone I know that would be so trashy nasty to do that. That is bull about towels, because they don’t know how many towels the room used. You can always get more. It is the person or persons who have done this is “Nasty Stupid Ignorant People”. The blame goes on the people doing it.

    Comment by gloria | December 7, 2007

  27. Think about carrying Peroxide soaked wipes in a plastic baggie with you and use them on everything. Peroxide is just as effective as clorox and not nearly as toxic. Also, I carry my own hand towel with me and use it on the pillow to sleep at night. When traveling by car I bring my own pillow. Looks funny sometimes carrying it into the hotel…especially an upscale one, but at least I know who drooled on the pillow before me.

    Comment by Diane | December 7, 2007

  28. Isn’t it a sick mess out there?

    From information passed to me, I will not use the pillows and when I take my own I always wash down the head board as the bed bugs and other crawly thing like to nest there.

    It is best to ask for extra clean sheets and if I am to stay an extended time, my bed linens are all new…..I demand it

    or I don’t stay. Using blankets and bedspreads a second time is not allowed!

    Anyway, we use a motor home now!

    Comment by Shirley | December 7, 2007

  29. to #12 Terri- the tissues you used were most likely new. The manufacturer puts peach colored tissues at the end of tissue box (like the ones used in hotels or Dr.’s offices) so you know the box is almost empty. The other 100 tissues are supposed to be white!

    Comment by pat | December 9, 2007

  30. Oh, this makes me want to VOMIT! I agree with #26. Nasty, nasty people.

    Comment by Stacy | December 9, 2007

  31. WTF, this is nothing but fear-mongering.

    OOH, they spray a glass with a “blue liquid labeled DO NOT DRINK” — guess what people, dishwasher soap is a blue liquid labeled “do not drink” too!

    Nothing typically goes into drinking glasses that isn’t water soluble. Germs and viruses do not survive on dry, sterile surfaces - like the surface of a glass that’s just been rinsed out and dried off. Just because a machine didn’t do it, and heavy chemicals weren’t involved, doesn’t mean something isn’t CLEAN!

    Comment by Mike | December 9, 2007

  32. As a Dermatologist, I can guarantee you that the glasses are not the worst risk you assume as a motel/hotel guest. THAT most egregious risk is the CARPET upon which you walk. I have treated virutally hundreds of cases of plantar warts, fungi, herpes and other infectious diseases on the feet of hotel “bare-footers” in 31 years.

    One guy liked to exercise in his athletic supporter in the morning, did some situps in a hotel room on the bare carpet, and came in a few days later with an enormous patch of herpes simplex infection on his buttock. He had never had this condition before a trip on which these exercises were done.

    Wart virus lives in the carpets at hotels for many months, and virtually every square centimeter of carpet contains some infectious organism in the drippings dropped by the renters before you arrived.

    Advice:

    1. NEVER go barefoot in hotel rooms or anywhere other than your very own home.

    2. Stand on a “clean” towel when showering in the tub or shower stall.

    3. “Flip-flops” may help control contagion.

    4. Do NOT touch walls of shower stalls and/or even the bathroom with your bare skin. These surfaces are virtually NEVER cleaned.

    5. Since even some PLASTICware is re-bagged (amazing, isn’t it?), make sure that all the plastic cups you use are in SEALED bags. Better yet, pack a cup in your suitcase whenever you travel.

    6. Do NOT use any exercise machines which touch your bare skin without sterilizing the surfaces with a Clorox Cloth or something else anti-viral/anti-bacterial first.

    7. Use the aforementioned “stand on a clean towel” technique for gym locker rooms and showers. Assume every person who has ever used a facility or a piece of equipment has some contagiious bacterial or viral condition.

    More later. . . JPB

    Comment by JP | December 9, 2007

  33. If you think these reports are bad, the next time you are in your hotel room put some water in your coffee maker…let it sit for fifteen minutes and then tip the water back into the sink..wait a few seconds and you will often see a goooey brown sludge come out right afterwards…I did this once and that was my last “Hotel room” coffee. Yuck and shame on the hotels who do not ensure quality cleaning practices.

    Comment by Kevin W | December 10, 2007

  34. to Garvin (post #3)…..Haaaa!!!!!!!!

    By the way, people, don’t think this sort of thing is limited to hotels. The whole world is gross in general lol. If you have a weak stomach you should never take a close look at what sometimes goes on in restaurants or hotels. Sad but true.

    Comment by JEL | December 10, 2007

  35. Think about it… unless a hotel housekeeper’s cart is chock full of clean glasses, there is NO intent on the hotel’s part to replace dirty glasses with ones that have been cleansed in a dishwasher.

    Comment by Mike | December 10, 2007

  36. I would have to say that the wages reflect the quality of work. Why are the cleaners ALL from another country? Answer…crap wages that locals won’t even work for. This is the result.

    Comment by Paul | December 11, 2007

  37. This is very disgusting. However, as we may all be aware quantity(not quality) is what is important in this day and age. With that being said they can get alot more rooms clean in a shorter period of time with these practices instead of using the quality they would prefer if they were to visit a location. Furthermore, knowing is half the battle and since we have been informed of these things we can properly prepare ourselves when taking a trip to either bring our own things or if we are comfortable enough clean the things provided for us before we use it!

    Comment by Nisha | December 11, 2007

  38. This is entirely gross- I am gonna tell everyone I know about this and then some. If hotels think this is alright they got another thing coming. Embassy Suites will hear from my lawyer.

    Comment by Mylyd | December 12, 2007

  39. if these hotels did everything necessary to leave rooms clean enough for u not to be disgusted, It would cost you more than you would be willing to pay…….so as simple as it is to clean glasses properly, apearantly it isn’t “cost efficient” ….thats just how capitalism works

    Comment by txc | December 12, 2007

  40. makes me feel like an idiot thinking a fun night out includes a stay at a hotel. I’m risking getting seriously sick! wonder what the room service prep video would look like! sickening.

    Comment by sue | December 13, 2007

  41. As a railroad engineer I have spent over 40 years traveling one way with the train to stay in a motel for rest and then bringing another train back home….needles to say many times the motel rooms are not clean….always look your room over before accepting it. If it’s not up to your standards get another room or have them re-clean it for you. If you just unpack and go to bed without looking the room over no telling what you will notice when you get up fully rested, and then it’s too late to bitch about it. Also I throw all the towels in a pile in the tub and the bedsheets in a pile so I know the next room renter will get clean towels and bedding…….It’s a little our fault for not demanding better service.

    Comment by Rusty | December 13, 2007

  42. I use to work as a maid in a well known motel in Ind. and we were allowed enough linens,towles,cleaning supply’s for the rooms we were assigned for the shift and a limited time to clean them the sheet,pillow cases,bedspread were not changed if not needed so the change of the items may occure once a week MAYBE. I’ll always take my towles,glass wear,bed linens when I stay at a motel or hotel since I know how they are cleaned. and its not the workers fault its the management GET IN AND OUT WE DO NOT PAY OVER TIME FOR ANY EMPLOYEE!!!!!!!!!!

    Comment by Shelby | December 13, 2007

  43. Good Lord. I’ve been in multi hundreds of hotel room in my years of travel and work. I’ve never had any problems. You guys make it sound like every hotel in the world do these practices. Sheesh!

    Comment by Dave | December 13, 2007

  44. Third world cheap labour only knows third world hygiene standards and that is why the problem exists.

    Comment by H.Schneider | December 13, 2007

  45. that is absolutely DISGUSTING a mean ewwwwwww i think i will use paper cups i mean who would of thunk o and thanx for the BIG warning!!!!

    Comment by Catie | December 13, 2007

  46. I own a fast food restaurant, and believe me we have such strict standards that I can at least speak for my own that we follow them to the tee. We are so concerned about food borne illnesses that you wouldn’t even follow these standards in your own kitchen or home.

    As far as a lot of money and pushing staff to perform quickly so that they do not follow the standards is something I believe society has pushed on the service industry. Everyone wants top of the line for bottom price and this forces businesses to be constantly checking how costly labor is to the dollar coming in ratio.

    I can tell you that I being a franchisee and manager of my restaurant I spend approximately 60-70 hours a week alone in my store WORKING on the line or wherever needed, PLUS whatever on paperwork in addition at home. I schedule extra people so that not everyone is feeling the almighty pressure to perform so quickly that we forget to serve perfect food and offer great customer service. My store is not as profitable as others that run it like you have to, to make the big bucks.

    Why am I not as profitable? It is because I pay 1.5 times more rent than anyone else that own the same franchise I do. I make up for whatever I can by ME being in there and slugging away. I never treat my staff like they are not appreciated for doing a good job, nor do I expect my staff to do anything that I don’t already do.

    People expect the best, at the least, and want it fast. That is what has happened, everyone is just too busy anymore.

    I would have like to have seen glasses on their cart to replace the dirty glasses in the rooms. The glasses should have to be transported to the kitchen dishwashing area. This is a no brainer to me.

    Comment by Janet | December 15, 2007

  47. #12 Teri….do you really think that if they don’t take the time to wash the glasses that they are going to take the time to shove 3 tissues into your tissue box??!! Geesshhh….the last three tissues in the box are a peach color to let the user know that they are about to run out of tissues and need to change the box.

    Comment by London | December 15, 2007

  48. Remember TRUST NO ONE! I spray everything when I enter the hotel. I only use the ones with NO kitchens and eat out. I am always nice to waiters and waitresses, I tip very well. I do send back silverware or dirty dishes. I use a straw and never let my mouth touch the glasses.

    We don’t want to go there about the BEDS, remotes, sheets, etc. GOD only knows where anyones hands have been.

    Comment by JB | December 16, 2007

  49. JENN - I think YOU”RE a dumbass….if someone told you to kill someone, you’d do it wouldn’t you?? I hate you.

    Comment by Nin | December 19, 2007

  50. Use only individually wrapped plastic cups, for sure!

    Comment by Cheri | December 19, 2007

  51. I am horrified I never for a moment thougght that the glasses/cups were not washed properly. I travel alot and stay in hotels approx 2/3 nights a week and will now be very diligent and request disposable. Now I know where all those unexpalined tummy bugs come form. Like #16 Dan I will now carry antiseptic wipes with me to cleanse before I touch.

    Comment by laura | December 19, 2007

  52. Germs are good for you.They develop your antibodies. Stop whining so much.

    Comment by peeter parsons | December 19, 2007

  53. Just for fun next time you stay in a hotel take a blacklight with you. Turn out all the lights and turn on the blacklight. when you shine it on the bed or in the bathroom all of the urine and semen becomes visible. And you thought dirty glasses were disgusting.

    Comment by Ryan | January 10, 2008

  54. Hotels don’t wash these glasses in a dishwasher. Have you ever seen glasses on a Maid cart?

    Comment by Dave | January 10, 2008

  55. This is only one of the reasons I don’t like staying in hotels. Have you ever wondered what’s on the blankets and bedspread? We stayed at a AAA rated Best Western (three stars) that had dried white stuff on the blanket, a busted open chain lock, and cigarette burns on the carpet, tables and drapes. I’d much rather rent a house.

    Comment by Judy | January 24, 2008

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