French Questions Questions Questions

[Joffan]

I let my apartment through a few sites and have noticed that the only people who pick up the phone and ask questions are French.

If they enquire by email there are always so many questions that as a poor French speaker make me squirm and run for the dictionary.

It would be good just once to have a French person enquire without me being given the third degree.

Anyone else have this problem?

(Sorry to all the French on this site, I don't want to upset anyone)

[kevsboredagain]

It's normal

[tavi]

More questions for you ..........

Is your property in France? Is your listing in French?
What are the questions?
Are they often repeated?
Could it be that you need to provide more information in your listing?
Can you create a template email in French (proof-read by a French person) that provides extra bits of info that you know the French like to have?

.........or maybe they're just calling you to check you're real? (I do find some people do that)

[kevsboredagain]

More questions for you ..........

Is your property in France? Is your listing in French?
What are the questions?
Are they often repeated?
Could it be that you need to provide more information in your listing?
Can you create a template email in French (proof-read by a French person) that provides extra bits of info that you know the French like to have?

.........or maybe they're just calling you to check you're real? (I do find some people do that)

They will still ask even if the information is available and they often like to phone.

[French Cricket]

Same experience here - the only phone contact I ever get from potential guests is from French people. It's still very much part of the culture to phone rather than email, and as to being given the third degree: well, have you never been in, say, a brico shop and observed that almost nobody will buy anything without quizzing the salesperson for at least ten minutes? French people still like to be sold to, whereas we more reserved Anglo Saxons prefer just to buy, quietly and in our own time

I rather like being able to chat to possible guests - I wish more people would do it.

[Circé]

Would you have written your post if such enquiries came from people using your native tongue? I expect you'd simply reply, maybe thinking 'you could have read that in the advert' but not saying so.
To me it seems that the problem isn't with your website or advert, it's with you & your lack lack of ability to communicate in French.
Maybe if you restricted your advertising to English language media you'd have fewer problems - but then also perhaps fewer bookings?
Maybe its time you paid for some one-to-one tutoring in French directed specifically at the langauge you need for your business?

[Francois]

To Joffan,

I guess that your advert indicates a phone number in France. By the way, do not be surprised if most of the calls come from French people.

I have a question (by means of this forum, not by means of phone ): What would you do if you would be a French potential guest to get additional information about your accommodation ?

Therefore, if your French is not enough fluent to answer to phone calls, you should remove the phone number from your advert...

Bonne journée

[Joffan]

Firstly I apologise to the French people I seem to have upset.

Circé - yes I would have written this had the majority of questions and phone calls came from someone English (my native tongue) my point is that it is only the French that make such demands.

There is nothing wrong with my website, it there were I would get questions from other nationalities as well.

I get 40% of my guests from France and my website is only in English.

French Cricket - I agree with all that you say except the chatting, I still find it difficult to speak on the phone and prefer to communicate by email so that it is in writing.

kevsboredagain - You're right it is normal, I just wanted assurance, thank you.

Tavi - The questions are random and not repeated. this mornings questions were

Does the apartment have a salad spinner, a pressure cooker and a blender.

Where can I go to swim in a river

Do I need to bring towels and bedding.

Will it be too hot in August for my 4 year old

Is the apartment air conditioned.

They also ask, how much, is it available, can I book for 3 nights, do you supply linen (all already on the website).

Francois - I would send an email, after checking that the information I need is not on the website. I live in France and so I put my phone number on the site so ANY guest can get hold of me but it is only the French that use it.

Thank you for all the replies - I guess it is just normal and I have to deal with it.

[Sigrun]

No, not only French phone, Germans do it too. Half of the people ask where my place is. It's writen on the website, ther is a map (google or mappy) but I think a lot of people just don't know how to reap a map!
Some other people phone to be sure the rental exists (in français: peur des arnaqueurs). Others just have simple questions like 'it is possible to pay at arrival".
I think, it is better not give a phone number on the websites. It is really not always easy to understand people in a foreign language who have different accents and use sometimes another word. (Try to buy a chocolatine in Paris ).

[GillianF]

I think perhaps the issue is that your potential guests want to be sure there is a rental, you are who you say you are etc.

There has been a lot of (bad) publicity of scams where an advertisers e-mail is 'hijacked', the guest sends money and then turns up only to find an advertiser completely unaware of them or their booking and payment.

[bornintheuk]

Its all very normal.
We had an inquiry by phone from the husband asking all sorts of questions, followed a few hours later by the wife asking pretty much the same questions ! Just checking on our answers ? or mistrust within the family ?

[Hells Bells]

I think Madame making sure Monsieur has asked all the right question.
I get phone calls from French, Italians and occasionally Dutch , but rarely any from UK enquirers.

[Blanche]

I took our phone number off our site because people would ring at the very last minute and it always turned out a disaster. They either didn't turn up or they led me to think they wanted three nights when on arrival they only wanted only one. (That's before we stated a minimum payment of three days).

[French Cricket]

I get 40% of my guests from France and my website is only in English.

It may be then that to some degree you've answered your own point.

If 40% of your guests are French, you really do need to have a French version of your website. You'll still get called, of course, but maybe you won't find yourself repeating things that could be found out from reading the details on a website. If your French isn't good enough to do it yourself (and please don't, under any circumstances, use Google translate!) then you could always use a translation service.

[kevsboredagain]

I get 40% of my guests from France and my website is only in English.

If 40% of your guests are French, you really do need to have a French version of your website.

+1
I paid to have mine done though an online freelancing website so didn't cost a fortune. It's paid for itself many times over.