What is wrong with some people?

From the moment they step through the door your bookings become guests, and their experiences determine whether they ever come back.
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AngloDutch
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What is wrong with some people?

Post by AngloDutch »

We currently have two families from Denmark staying with us. We first thought, wow, what amazing English the adults speak (and write, as we had a lot of friendly email contact with them) and how nice that we have finally received guests from Scandinavia!

They arrived last Friday for a week's stay. I helped them pre-arrange bike rentals for their 5 children and even went with them last Saturday to the store to make sure that the bikes they received were suitably adjusted and tires all pumped up, etc. As some of the younger kids were a bit unsteady on the bikes, I even took them through the back lanes so that the kids could get used to riding them and so that their 5 year old wouldn't be run over by a truck on the main road back to our farmhouse!

We always hope that the attention and courtesy we show towards our guests would be repaid. Unfortunately you do sometimes get people don't you, who seem to be just incompatible with a holiday home.

It started on Sunday afternoon, when they said that they had gone through the 6 loo rolls we had left them between the 9 of them, including 4 adults, in less than 2 days. The amount of times per year that guests ask for extra loo rolls we can count on one hand, so I gave them 4 extra rolls, because, I thought Scandinavians might be used to a full stick of rolls in each loo.

It didn't end there as this was immediately followed by them showing us the garden furniture which they had said 'the parasol had broken'. The centre hole in one of our large plastic tables had been completely shattered and this had occurred because it seemed that they had left the two parasols open all night.

We had had a quite a lot of rain the night before and the wind had picked up as well. We were lucky that the other table had survived unscathed, but it could have been much worse. Because, if the wind had got underneath the parasol it could have easily been blown over the fence at the top of the garden and landed in the road which a lot of cyclists use. These are quite large parasols, and we ask in the guest notes to close them and remove them from the tables as well. There are anchors in the ground as well, but guests just move the tables and place them somewhere else.

So, we thought we were finished for the Sunday. But no, they knocked on the window that evening and said that the electricity had gone out in a part of the house.
I asked them which appliances they had switched on. They had the dishwasher, washing machine and dryer switched on together which, as we say in the guest notes, can overload the group, especially if a vacuum-cleaner and/or hair-dryer is added as well! I had referred to the guest notes and actually handed these to them when they arrived.

After resetting the fuses, the lights came back on in the kitchen and I noticed what an absolute mess they had made. Worktops and floor absolutely filthy and the kitchen was full of flies because the screens had been disabled. We have felt pads on the bottom of the legs of the chairs but I could see some of these just rolling around on the floor. We have a direct changeover this Friday and it looks like we are going to have quite a lot of clearing up to do if they don't do any work themselves.

When they arrived I had also explained to them about our recycling and that the green wheelie bin is just for green waste, yet they have been throwing plastic and paper into it as well.

This morning it continues, and my OH almost had a fit just as she was about to go off to work, when she noticed that they had taken the heavy bike racks off their cars and just dumped them in a flower bed, flattening most of the flowers, before driving off somewhere very early this morning.

Just one more day before they leave, and we can't wait! It's amazing how some guests can outstay their welcome by their actions, or lack of them, isn't it?
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Mouse
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Post by Mouse »

Unfortunately you do sometimes get people don't you, who seem to be just incompatible with a holiday home.
What a wonderful way of putting it!

Sympathies! Whenever I have guests like this (rare thankfully) I start on a belt and braces approach. So - the day before departure I give them explicit details of what they need to do. Personally I would also mention both the flower bed and the recycling. I would say how disappointed I was to find my flowers flattened and could they take care in future, I would ask them why they seem unable to comply with the recycling and add that you really need to understand as if they continue it is a lot of extra work for you on changeover.

I know many LMHrs don't like to directly talk to guests about these things, but I always find it helps bring things back on track when it is involving extra time on a changeover. The worry is always the things you can't see and so will be dealing with anyway.
The other Saturday we had to spend ages picking cig stubs out of the plant pots on the roof....we don't allow smoking on the roof terrace due to having blow up rubberised chesterfield sofas. It is on a sign on the door leading to the roof, and there's a no smoking sign on the wall near the seating area. It is something I can't see as we never go up there....so only after the guest has left. However if I had known I would spoken to them about it (my heart almost stopped when I thought of how easy there could have been a fire or something when I removed a cig butt from under the sofa!).

Fingers crossed Saturday goes well!

Mousie
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PW in Polemi
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Post by PW in Polemi »

Sympathies, AngloDutch.

Common sense dictates closing parasols when not in use - but then, we all know how many tourists omit to pack their common sense :roll: :lol:

As Mousie said, have a polite friendly word with them and show them the error of their ways. If you have taken a damages deposit, you can always retain some for extra cleaning/recycling, new flowers, new table/parasol.....

Good luck - and roll on Friday!
Dogs have masters. Cats have slaves!
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AngloDutch
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Post by AngloDutch »

Thanks, Mousie for the advice.

We do the changeovers ourselves (actually, everything else as well, including the washing and ironing), and, like many owners in the high season, when we have back-to-back changeovers months on end, groups like these give us so much extra stress.

We don't expect guests to clean everything before they leave, but we just don't understand the 'we've paid nearly EUR 1500 for our stay, so the owners should provide anything we ask for during our time at the accommodation, which we can do with as we want, because we have paid so much money, haven't we?' kind of attitude.

It has been 7 weeks since I broke my wrist on both sides and I am now trying to use my hand as normal.
This Friday will be my first attempt since May at making 10 beds up.
Poor Dutchanglo has had to do just about everything herself on the many days since then where we have had same day changeovers. I have been mainly getting in the way trying to hoover with one arm and been generally too slow. You just can't have that with a same day change, can you?
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AngloDutch
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Post by AngloDutch »

PW in Polemi wrote:Sympathies, AngloDutch.

Common sense dictates closing parasols when not in use - but then, we all know how many tourists omit to pack their common sense :roll: :lol:

As Mousie said, have a polite friendly word with them and show them the error of their ways. If you have taken a damages deposit, you can always retain some for extra cleaning/recycling, new flowers, new table/parasol.....

Good luck - and roll on Friday!

Thanks, PW....These guests came to us from HA.

We have stopped asking for a damage deposit on HA when we combined all our extra costs for an all-in price.
We at first did this because we noticed that fewer and fewer owner listings in our region were showing extra costs.

Also, as HA has so many local sites where you can't switch on/switch off certain extra costs per site, we didn't want to run foul of new laws in certain countries (Germany, for example), where we've heard that you have to show a total rate, including all your additional costings.
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Post by Beachcondo »

When it comes to the big recycling problem, I believe in text and pictures. It's the one thing that our guests have the most problems with in our Swedish cottage.

And it would be equally difficult for me to go somewhere else in the country, because it differs everywhere.

These Danes seem used to hotel living, and you need to tell them what you expect.
Danes are usually quite "robust" in their communication between each other (I've heard the same about the Dutch), and should be able to take it straight up.
Pessimists only get positive surprises.
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Post by gardenboy »

oh dear sympathies I feel your pain.

I have had the odd guest like this. I am afraid you have to understand the karma is in the giving of your time and not expect any feedback, if it comes accept it & appreciate it.

In these cases I just think to myself if I wanted constant feedback I d get a job in a pantomime. Over the years I have bent over backwards for a few people for them never to return.

Now I have wised up & try & be the absent host, if I hear nothing I assume all is well & they are enjoying themselves.

Good luck, they are off next week & I guarantee your next guests will be really nice.
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AngloDutch
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Post by AngloDutch »

Beachcondo wrote: These Danes seem used to hotel living, and you need to tell them what you expect.
Danes are usually quite "robust" in their communication between each other (I've heard the same about the Dutch), and should be able to take it straight up.
Yes, you're probably right there, BC. Actually they camped before they came to us, so it's probably not hotels they're used to!

Yep, the Dutch are known for their directness and it gets them into a lot of misunderstandings when they cross the frontier, especially with Anglo-Saxons!
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AngloDutch
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Post by AngloDutch »

gardenboy wrote:oh dear sympathies I feel your pain.

I have had the odd guest like this. I am afraid you have to understand the karma is in the giving of your time and not expect any feedback, if it comes accept it & appreciate it.

In these cases I just think to myself if I wanted constant feedback I d get a job in a pantomime. Over the years I have bent over backwards for a few people for them never to return.

Now I have wised up & try & be the absent host, if I hear nothing I assume all is well & they are enjoying themselves.

Good luck, they are off next week & I guarantee your next guests will be really nice.

Thanks, gb, I wish we could be the absent hosts, but we live on site. We are here for people if they need us but as many of us know, sometimes it is a little too easy for some guests to treat you as if you are the concierge at the Hyatt.

Our next guests this Friday are an American family and from experience, we don't get these kind of problems as they are mostly very respectful and very grateful for everything we do for them.
I normally take Americans out for up to an hour on a walking tour of our village and explain a bit about the history and what happened here during WWII.
More often than not they will leave a tip of up to EUR 100. I don't do the tour for the money but it gives us a big boost to see that the little extras that we lay on are so greatly appreciated!
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Post by Bunny »

Sympathies too. It is particularly upsetting when guests are blatantly disrespectful of your property - the squashed flowers would particularly irk me. I once had guests like this. For example, mother watched on as child was stood in the pot and clinging on to my bay tree. I just wish I had the good advice of others at the time, and was brave enough to have a word with them. Unfortunately, I didn't say a word and clearly the behaviour was prevalent throughout the cottage. It was the worst changeover I ever had. Fingers crossed for you.
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Post by Mouse »

Good grief anglo! What stress they're giving you! Total sympathies....and I agree, I think some people just go through life unaware if the impact of their actions :cry:

Bet they never get welcomed back a second time!

I'll be thinking of you Saturday

Mousie
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Post by brendan »

Nothing to add here except oodles of sympathy. Roll on Saturday!
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Post by AngloDutch »

Thanks to everyone for your support!

Well, yesterday was another interesting day and was actually the most stressful because we had the idea that they wouldn't pay for the bike hire.

After not being forthcoming with the bike hire (EUR 96) since last Sunday, I presented them with the invoice yesterday morning. I said that the shop had added EUR 15 for damage to a chain guard (which is a very reasonable flat rate considering some of the damage that occurs). One of the ladies said 'we are not paying, because we did not damage it.' According to them it just 'fell off'. I said that it would have been better if they had mentioned it to either us or the store as soon as it had occurred. Their reluctance to say anything didn't go down very well with the store and that is why they had been billed.
I said that if they gave me EUR 100 now then I would go to the bike store and pay for their bike hire anyway (we always do this as we take commission for the bike rentals) and talk to the owners.

Their response was that they were having problems getting cash from the ATMs as their credit cards were not being accepted and the ATMs seemed not to be functioning. I asked them if they had reported the failure of the ATM to the bank staff or if they had sought assistance from them. They said that the bank staff had told them to go to the ATM in the next village but they said that they hadn't got round to doing that yet.

At this point I was doing my best to conceal my doubtful expression until I could verify their story. On going to the bank branch in the village, it appeared that there had been a disruption to the ATMs yesterday but everything was working OK today.

The owners of the bike store let them off the EUR 15 as they said what can you do in a situation like this, when tourists dispute that they caused the actual damage.

The guests were out the whole day but when they returned at the end of the afternoon, they still did not have the money. I told them that the bank here was open for another 30 minutes in case they needed any assistance in getting EUR 100 out on their Visa card (in other words, get moving!)

They just grinned at me and I had the idea that it was going to be a repeat of our experience of a few months ago where our last-minute guests did their best to try and not pay the last EUR 50 they owed us for their stay.

Yesterday evening, we came back from doing the shopping in town and found that they had set up their tables, chairs and BBQ in our garden. It appeared that they had washing hanging out to dry on their side of the garden and didn't want the smoke of the BBQ getting in all the clothes!

'So, how did it go at the bank?' I said.

'Yes fine, we got some money out...' was the reply.

And.....? The suspense was killing......no, no money was being handed over, it seemed. Will this ever end?

I made sure I walked up and down past their tables that evening. Their meal seemed to go on half the night. Suddenly it came, 'If I give you EUR 100, do you have change?'

'No problem', I said. I grabbed the EUR 100 and walked off with it. I did give them their EUR 4 but left a whole hour before I did that.

They are leaving, so they say, precisely at 09.30, that's another 30 minutes from now.

I just wonder how the inside of the accommodation is going to look like......
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Post by Fleur »

Anglo - Dutch, I'm waiting with baited breath for the next update........Fingers crossed for a good outcome and a speedy, pain free departure of these inconsiderate guests.
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Bunny
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Post by Bunny »

So glad you got the money out of them. There's nothing that irks me more than people who can pay but simply won't pay. I think some people just enjoy the power it gives them. It sounds like they had absolutely no intention of paying until the eleventh hour just to make you sweat. I think in future I would take the policy of 'no money upfront - no bike hire'. Bet they won't leave a second early! Good riddance.....
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