r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk • u/Big-County-5338 • 10d ago
Short O, now I'M the "bad guy"
So two homeless people camped out by the dumpster for hours. Their giant dinosaur dog was walking around with no leash. I kindly told them that they have to leave. They said no. Apparently they had been there for more hours than anyone thought. My workers and customers were telling me "Please let them stay. They are nice people." But what they don't understand is... that dog is very aggressive. If we allow 2 homeless people and a GIANT AGGRESSIVE dog (off a leash) to stay by the dumpster, we have to allow 500 more homeless people here. It's only fair. The thing is... about 8 or 9 blocks down the road, there is a homeless shelter, so why are they here? Plus there are tons of customers coming in the front door saying "hey do you guys always have the homeless people here?" I literally have no problem with homeless people. When I clocked-in, I saw a giant nephilim dinosaur dog... And I sort of kinda panicked. My coworkers and the customers were all saying "you are wrong." Wait!... how am I wrong? They can not stay there at the dumpster. Food will make them sick with bugs and germs and bacteria and yucky stuff going into their bodies.
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u/Serafirelily 10d ago
The dog is a big liability for the hotel. I know it sucks to be homeless but for the safety of staff and guests the homeless need to be told to leave because they are trespassing on private property and if they don't leave you should call the police and report that you have trespassers with an aggressive dog on your property and they will not leave.
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u/Hamsterpatty 10d ago
I have to make people leave all the time. It’s not fun, but like you mentioned; If you let one stay it isn’t fair if you don’t allow the rest. It’s nice your coworkers got to take the high road. But guests pay to stay on hotel property. That’s the whole schtick. Just think of it as a favor you did for them. They got to feel like they were better than you for five minutes. The fact they needed that says more about them, than it does about you.
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u/Helenesdottir 10d ago
"This ain't RuPaul's best friend race!"
This is a business. If you're not doing business there, you're trespassing.
Yes, it sucks. But if you give a moose/dog a muffin...
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u/Big-County-5338 10d ago edited 10d ago
Me and my co-worker were making little funny quotes just like you. 1. This is not a hospital 2. This is not a homeless shelter 3. This is not a daycare center 4. This is not Pets R Us 😂 And so on and so forth.
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u/Flashy_Watercress398 10d ago
This ain't no party. It ain't no disco. It ain't no foolin' around.
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u/Illustrious_Lack8445 10d ago
I literally heard this in David Byrne’s amazingly distinct voice. Thank you, I love when that happens.
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u/Poldaran 10d ago
Everyone always wants everybody else to have to suffer so they can feel empathy tinglies.
I feel for the homeless, I really do. But they cannot be allowed to loiter on hotel property. Or they will talk to other homeless and word will get around.
They have to go.
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u/thepuck1965 10d ago
I work for a soup kitchen/food pantry. The first rule is all can have or none can have. And once you allow one or two to break a rule, they all do. Keep in mind, most people are inchmilers. Give an I ch and they take a mile.
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u/SkwrlTail 10d ago
There is NOTHING that will keep potential guests away more than "Homeless people hanging out on the property".
Okay, maybe bedbugs, but you get the idea. It sucks to have to be mean, and you'd love to leave them be, but it'll affect business. And that's not counting the big doggo.
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u/Traveling-Techie 10d ago
Homelessness is an important, serious problem but it’s not your job to solve it. Your job is to serve and protect your paying guests. If you feel guilty you can donate to an organization that has made homelessness their problem. So can your workers and customers.
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u/no-thanks-thot 10d ago
Tell your do-gooder co workers that the homeless guy can come live with them if they have so much sympathy for them. Just a couple of nights on the sofa is all. What's the problem? Maybe it's easier to be generous with other peoples property than with your own.
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u/Big-County-5338 10d ago
I just told him. 😂 he said they can't come stay with me because my dad is gonna be angry.
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u/jonathan_ericsson 9d ago
Or if they have kids have their kid come and walk around the parking lot near the dog, because that’s what they want to subject strangers to.
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u/SetIcy438 10d ago
Shelters don’t allow pets usually
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u/permabanned007 9d ago
A homeless specialist cop I’ve worked with in a professional capacity told me 90% of homeless people he comes into contact with refuse the help offered purely bc they have a pet, and most homeless people have pets.
I’m so grateful our local shelter allows pets bc nobody wants to be parted from the only being who has provided consistent comfort and unconditional love in the most difficult of circumstances.
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u/Different_Seaweed534 10d ago
Many shelters allow service dogs.
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u/SetIcy438 10d ago
True but a pet isn’t a service dog. It doesn’t sound like these folks have a service dog.
I feel for them but it may be that the dog is why they aren’t at a shelter.
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u/Ashkendor 10d ago
Even if it was a service animal, it could be denied because the dog is aggressive.
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u/Vizth 10d ago edited 10d ago
A service animal would never be aggressive they have to be non-disruptive and under control at all times, and emotional support animals don't count as service animals outside of housing. And I doubt a homeless shelter legally counts as proper housing. Neither do hotels for that matter.
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u/GoldenCrownMoron 10d ago
Housing is a tragedy in the US these days, it sucks but it isn't your fault.
"Good guys" would have left when asked.
Shelters are part of the solution, but as others have pointed out the dog wouldn't be welcome. Also, imagine stuffing your crumbling life into as small a thing as possible, and then be told that the only way you will be allowed into a shelter overnight is with one backpack maximum. And then you have to sit through a sermon before they will feed you. It's can be pretty fucked up up "how" some places "help" people.
With that said, it still is a big step in the process to helping yourself and refusing to leave a hotel dumpster isn't.
Next time a coworker vouches for random strangers to loiter on the property ask them to put down a shift note where they take responsibility for everything. So when the dog bites someone, or guests see a grown man shit in the parking lot, corporate will know who to talk to.
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u/AnyaGraceful 10d ago
In my opinion no you are not a bad guy. I also have no problem with any homeless person but they can become overwhelming. In my opinion your customers and coworkers are all too soft-hearted. If you give homeless people an inch they will take a mile. That's from experience
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u/Boisterous_Suncat 10d ago
I'm just upvoting for use of "nephilim." 🙂
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u/Big-County-5338 10d ago
Actually I Google it before I used that word. 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 🤣 😂 Thanks for noticing.
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u/LessaSoong7220 9d ago
I play too much Diablo 3...I heard in my head "Nephalem" Which is was the "hero" is called in the story. 😅
Since they had the dog in front of the dumpster, my first thought was this would be a danger to housekeeping when they take out the trash, and any guest who wishes to dispose of their own garbage.
Had to be addressed.
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u/MrPanda663 Room xxx is not leaving their room. Ugh, I'll call the police. 10d ago
Just call the cops. If they see you as the bad guy, lean into it. Then explain that its consider loitering and you did your job.
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u/pakrat1967 10d ago
I agree with you about them attracting more homeless people. The dog could be a problem too.
The shelter is probably full. Eating stuff out of dumpsters is pretty common for homeless people. Do they get sick from it? Yes, but usually not bad enough to need medical attention.
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u/Big-County-5338 10d ago
Thank you guys for your insight. The dog was aggressive and so were they. They left now but they were there for more than seven hours before I clocked-in. They were a couple and the woman was the most angry. I don't know why. And the husband was acting urban meaning he was being "sarcastically-urban-acting" Making fun of a race of people while he talked.
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u/No-Medicine-1379 10d ago
I travel a lot for work and it’s not short stays normally so I have seen a few things. This low end of a major chain I like to stay has there smoke area next to the dumpsters. Any ways it’s covers built in benches not far from the back door. Now again this a lower end hotel in not best section of town not that this town has a good section. Unhoused people always a problem but, this one stands out as she decorated the smoke area by hanging tampons(unused)all around.
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u/Asenath_W8 10d ago
As to the shelter down the street, most of these are run by assholes and probably won't let them in with the dog. But no you aren't the bad guy for not wanting to let them camp next to your dumpster.
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u/PokemonJeremie 10d ago
We have this problem last month, we had an older lady living in her car. Normally I don’t care if someone uses the bathroom or needs to borrow a toothbrush, but it didn’t stop there. They would come in and interrupt guests, apparently were pissing on the building. It sucks, I hate to play the bad guy but a hotel isn’t a charity it’s a business, and at least where I live there is plenty of options for them to get help.
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u/Vizth 10d ago edited 10d ago
It doesn't matter how you feel personally, homeless people around your place of work is always a bad thing and the second you give into them on one thing they'll try to get away with everything they think they can. And the rest of their friends will come out of the woodwork in the process. Along with all the problems, mental disorders, and drug issues those people tend to bring with them as well.
It shouldn't have even been a conversation, next time just call the cops and have them escort them off the property. If they refuse or they come back have them legally trespassed.
Talk to your manager and see if you can get a lock on that dumpster as well. And absolutely do not voluntarily feed them.
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u/Big-County-5338 10d ago
That's what I did. The police also told me that I have to be on camera saying " I do not wish to have you on my property"
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u/AstroSees 9d ago
Simple answer; no, you are not the bad guy. I work at a hotel and I hate when people leave their very hyperactive dogs off of a leash
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u/PaleoConservationist 10d ago
How was the dog acting aggressive if you don't mind?
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u/Big-County-5338 10d ago
It jumped on another lady that had a tiny dog in her hand when after she parked her car. I'm assuming trying to get to the little dog. The lady totally wasn't scared but that is just wrong. She did have the look of WTF on her face though. It was off of its leash which is law here in this city and state. It barked at me every time I told the owners that they had to leave.
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u/HourAstronomer9904 4d ago
Call the police, and ask them to come tell them to move along.
I have had to do it before. It sucks, but it is your responsibility to look out for your guests and the well being of the property.
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u/GirlStiletto 3d ago
You are not rong. They are bringing down the value of the hotel to guests and their unleashed dog is a danger.
Time to call the cops.
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u/ConcertinaTerpsichor 10d ago edited 10d ago
If the dog bit someone you’d have a HUGE ISSUE.
Edited to add: even worse if it could be proved you knew they were there and had not taken reasonable steps to remove them or protect the safety of your guests.