Theme Park bathroom question!

[Hippychickali]

Originally posted by SueM in MN
I actually "snapped" once from too many "sprinkled seats" and sent a woman back in to clean it up.
There was a long line in the bathroom at the Land in the lower area. From the waiting area, you can see into the stalls when the door open, so I knew that stall DID NOT look messy when the woman went in, but when she came out, she had not flushed and the toilet was covered with sprinkled toilet paper. I said "Excuse me, you need to clean up your mess." She said she "No English" and tried to leave. I just said, "You make a mess, you clean toilet" and she did go back in and flushed it, but did not get rid of her toilet paper. I said, "Not clean." She went back in, threw the toilet paper in the toliet and reflushed it, then she made a real exaggerated sort of "OK, are you happy now" gesture and turned to the crowd with a "this woman is nuts" sort of look. I said "That's good. Thank you for cleaning," the lady behind me gave me a pat on the back and the rest of the people waiting burst into applause. The woman slunk out of the bathroom (without washing her hands, but that's another thread).

Dirty bathrooms is a big pet peeve of mine also but I don't think I would applaud if I witnessed someone acting the way you did. Personally, I think this was very rude and you basically bullied this woman. I don't think that this is the way to deal with people who disrespect public bathrooms. I know I'm probably going to start something here but I had to say something. I think that the way you acted was just as bad if not worse than leaving a stall messy, imo.

Ali

 

[SueM in MN]

originally posted by Hippychickali
Dirty bathrooms is a big pet peeve of mine also but I don't think I would applaud if I witnessed someone acting the way you did. Personally, I think this was very rude and you basically bullied this woman. I don't think that this is the way to deal with people who disrespect public bathrooms. I know I'm probably going to start something here but I had to say something. I think that the way you acted was just as bad if not worse than leaving a stall messy, imo.

It was something totally out of character for me, so it was not something I planned or meant to do (or ever plan to do again). I'm usually the meek one who cleans up any mess that someone else leaves.
But after seeing at least one or two stalls in each bathroom left like that and cleaning up several already that day, I just had had it. I will be the first to admit that I bullied that lady, but if she had not left a mess, there would have been nothing for anyone to make a fuss over (and several other people had seen that the stall was clean when she went in and the mess she left with toilet paper all over).
And, if it had just been left unflushed, that would have not been a big deal either. I flush toilets all the time, because I can see how some people don't realize that allthe toilets don't flush themselves. And, I sometimes still clean up bathroom messes as long as it's not that bad, especially when it's in a small bathroom, where one stall out of commission makes a big difference.

 

[Baloo]

Please let's not turn this into a debate! This thread was going along nicely I'd hate to have to lock it..

Sue a would have been for you too!

 

[OCDPlanner]

What, am I the only person who travels with my own personal package of disposable seat covers, antibaterial lotion and a small can of lysol ?!?

While I might not say something directly to a person who made a mess, I'll admit that they can probably hear any comments that I might make "to myself" as they walk away.

OCDPlanner

 

[DizBelle]

Originally posted by WDWguru
This is a huge pet peeve of mine, too! Not that it makes it any less gross or rude, but fyi urine is actually sterile. Getting some on you won't actually hurt you or give you diseases. It's feces you have to worry about.

Too much information?!

Interesting information but I still don't want to come in contact with someone else's urine and I don't think I should have to.

 

[goofy4tink]

Funny but my dh and I were just discussing this last night!! I told him that urine is actually sterile also. Doctor's will tell you that you really aren't going to pick up any diseases from a toilet seat. But, I have to say that I have practiced the 'hover position' on occasion. My dd has forgotten to flush also since so many are automatic. I tell her to just assume they are manual and do it yourself. Also, I never touch the flushie thingie. Now, that's where those nasty little viruses are hiding out! There and the doorhandle of the restroom door!! Amazing to see how many people don't wash their hands and then leave. Or how many make a big deal out of they always wash but then go and touch the handle. I always use my elbow. Yes, go ahead. I know it's a little out there!!!

 

[DizBelle]

Originally posted by Hippychickali
Dirty bathrooms is a big pet peeve of mine also but I don't think I would applaud if I witnessed someone acting the way you did. Personally, I think this was very rude and you basically bullied this woman. I don't think that this is the way to deal with people who disrespect public bathrooms. I know I'm probably going to start something here but I had to say something. I think that the way you acted was just as bad if not worse than leaving a stall messy, imo.

Ali

Yep, you started something.....

I disagree with you. You have to call people on it when they behave this way or they will just continue to behave this way and get worse. And they will teach their children to behave this way. From her description, she was not rude and she even thanked the lady for cleaning her mess.

Does this mean that you don't have a problem using a dirty bathroom? Do you like to look at other people's unflushed waste and sitting on their urine.

How do you suggest she should have handled the situation? You've pointed out what you disagreed with but you didn't present an alternative course of action.....

 

[Hippychickali]

No, I don't enjoy using a dirty bathroom and think that most theme parks don't put enough money into keeping bathrooms clean. And I admit, it is annoying to use a dirty bathroom but demanding that someone goes in and cleans the stall they just used three times is a little excessive. If it was really bad, I would probably ask nicely if it were possible for the person to clean up their mess. But honestly, if they said no then I would probably shrug it off as being rude and take out my disposable seat cover, close my eyes, do what I had to do, and get on out of there. Personally, I only spend about 30 seconds in the stall anyway. I mean, if you know that this is a pet peeve then be prepared to deal with it. No need to fly off the handle.

Ali

 

[DizBelle]

This is not about pet peeves. This is about common courtesy and respect for other people.

We can all do our part to keep the bathrooms cleaner. The poor folks that have to maintain them should only have to replenish the toilet paper, paper towels, soap, vending, only occasionally sweep up and scrub and NOT clean up other peoples nasty, nasty messes that they shouldn't have made in the first place.

Just think about what Disney could do if they didn't have to spend extra money and manpower on cleaning up the bathrooms.

This is a problem these days. No one cares about putting extraordinary burden on someone else as long as their own burden is lightened. Today's mentality: "Who cares about YOU as long as I'm happy." This kind of attitude really frustrates me.

 

[StaceyA]

Even when I use one of the automatic flushing toilets, I won't walk out until it flushes, and usually they don't until you open the door, I don't trust it (am I sick?) I have to push the button to "make" it flush before I can leave...then of course usually as im walking out it flushes again, I just can't think that I might walk out and have it not flush and someone will go in behind me....

Is anyone with me on this, or am I the only one that does this!?

 

[NotUrsula]

You know, sprinklers can't aim to save their lives, which means that they probably hit their own clothing as often as they hit the seat. I frequently chuckle to myself when I see someone leaving a restroom with wet spots on the back waistband of her shorts.

I've always known that urine is sterile, but that doesn't mean I want to sit in a puddle of it. A few germs are not going to hurt me as long as I wash my hands afterward, and I'm not going to stress over the soles of my shoes, but I'm darned if I know how men tolerate the pervasive urine odor that public men's rooms have; are we not supposed to have more sensibility than that? When urine ends up on a surface that isn't regularly rinsed, it SMELLS!

 

[year2late]

Originally posted by WDWguru
fyi urine is actually sterile. Getting some on you won't actually hurt you or give you diseases. It's feces you have to worry about.

I have been a nurse for over 20 years. Trust me, not all urine is sterile.

 

[SueM in MN]

I'm going to add a little more information to the "getting the stall cleaned" story. I had just put what I thought was the essential information to understand what occurred to keep the post from being too long and avoid a long interchange of conversation.
First, I had seen the woman earlier in the food court at the Land. She seemed to understand and speak English quite well, although it was not her native language.
The toilet was not just covered with one paper toilet cover; there were multiple layers of toilet paper draped on the toilet. When she came out of the bathroom stall, I said "Excuse me, is that one out of order?" She said it wasn't and motioned me to go in. I was prepared to just wait for the next stall, but she motioned me to go in. I said, "No, it's not clean." She said something in a foreign language, pointed to me and pantomimed that I should clean it. I said, "No. I didn't make the mess. I don't want to clean it." She said "Yes", pointed at me and pantomimed again that I should clean it. At that point, it continues with what I had posted before, which was:
I said "Excuse me, you need to clean up your mess." She said she "No English" and tried to leave. (Additional information: Other people in line were saying that she needed to clean it the stall too.) I just said, "You make a mess, you clean toilet" and she did go back in and flushed it but did not get rid of her toilet paper. (Additional information: she flushed the toilet with a lot of large hand flourishes, like she was doing some huge magic trick and then pointed to me and pantomimed again that I should clean it.) I said, "Not clean." She went back in, threw the toilet paper in the toliet and reflushed it, then she made a real exaggerated sort of "OK, are you happy now" gesture and turned to the crowd with a "this woman is nuts" sort of look. (Additional Information: during the cleaning process, she used big, exaggerated hand motions, that made the whole process a production.)I said "That's good. Thank you for cleaning," the lady behind me gave me a pat on the back and the rest of the people waiting burst into applause. The woman slunk out of the bathroom (without washing her hands, but that's another thread). End of what I had previously posted

I did not send her back in 3 times and, as I mentioned before, I would normally have been the one just wait for the next stall or just clean it myself without saying anything to anyone. It wasn't a pet peeve that I was out to "get" someone on; before this, it was just a fact of life that some people leave messes and if I found it messy, I would clean it.
It is rude for someone to take one stall out of use in a busy bathroom with a long line of people waiting just because they have made a mess. It's also rude for them to expect someone else to clean it up.
I guess I would say it's an illustration that rude behavior sometimes leads to other rude behavior. In this case, the person who was rude was the one who someone was rude to in return. But, it did make me wonder whether some of the rude people in the parks are letting out frustration about something rude that happened to them earlier.

 

[SkylarKD]

I still think you did a good thing, in the circumstances.

 

[Barb]

StaceyA, I usually push the automatic flusher button, too. I'm not leaving the stall until it flushes either.
I think the automatic flushers are part of the problem. People think all the toilets are that way, so they leave thinking it will flush itself.

 

[Hippychickali]

Originally posted by SueM in MN
I guess I would say it's an illustration that rude behavior sometimes leads to other rude behavior. In this case, the person who was rude was the one who someone was rude to in return. But, it did make me wonder whether some of the rude people in the parks are letting out frustration about something rude that happened to them earlier.

As Austin Powers would say, "Oh no! I've gone cross-eyed!"

I understand your frustration, Sue. I really do. But as you said, you snapped. It happens to the best of 'em.

Ali

 

[UKAnnie]

SueM - Gotta support you here - you weren't being rude at all. Rudeness is impertinence and in my opinion you weren't being imperitnent, just assertive in making a perfectly reasonable request. If more of us were politely assertive (not aggressive) fewer people would be able to get away with unacceptable behaviour.

Good for you!

Ann.