OH *insert multiple swear words of choice here* - nightmare!

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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French Cricket
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Post by French Cricket »

The trouble is Nemo that the guests that are going to be cancelled are not the OD guests. So they won't get involved.
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Post by Sam V »

French Cricket wrote:The trouble is Nemo that the guests that are going to be cancelled are not the OD guests. So they won't get involved.
No! It IS the OD guests to be cancelled. Nemo is on the right track with all of this!
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Post by kevsboredagain »

Nemo wrote:
kevsboredagain wrote:When I suggested that a backup system was useful to protect against human errors I was mocked and informed that PIMs is sufficient.
There is no back up system in the world that will prevent human error kev. As e-richard has said, it's down to having two booking systems running alongside each other which is unavoidable now when advertising with the big listing sites. No matter what the back up system was, whether it was a notebook, excel spreadsheet or management software, it required manual input from Sam to realise that the first booking had actually taken place.
I have to disagree. I had almost the same 3 weeks ago because someone booked on Airbnb while I was on holiday and I forgot to enter it into my systems. As I'm paranoid about making mistakes and of calendar syncing failing, I quickly check my adverts about once a month to see the calendars all look good. It was then I spotted my error. Cross verification is just one way of reducing my errors, of which I make plenty.

I'm not being critical of the error but when something like that happens, it should make you look at how a change in procedure can prevent the same thing in the future. If you just take the attitude "oh well it's human error" then it WILL happen again.
Last edited by kevsboredagain on Thu Jul 14, 2016 11:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by French Cricket »

Sam V wrote: No! It IS the OD guests to be cancelled. Nemo is on the right track with all of this!
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Ah - sorry - had got wrong end of stick!
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Post by Nemo »

kevsboredagain wrote:I'm not being critical of the error but when something like that happens, it should make you look at how a change in procedure can prevent the same thing in the future. If you just take the attitude "oh well it's human error" then it WILL happen again.
I doubt anyone here, least of all Sam, would ever say "oh well it's human error" after this. Can you begin to imagine how she's feeling right now knowing she is going to have deal with the fall out of cancelling someone's summer holiday a week before it's due to start? I'm quite sure she'll look at how it could be prevented as would any of us in the same boat. This just doesn't help her at all right now and this thread should be to help her, not criticise and say I told you so, which I'm afraid is how you came across when you criticised PIMS (although it could have been any system that any of us uses, I'm aware that perhaps you didn't mean to single PIMS out.)

Maybe you could start a separate thread yourself to discuss this problem and how it can be prevented? As e-richard says, it will become more likely the more the listing sites try to take control and we all have two or more systems running alongside each other, as inevitably all of us here will. It will only be if you advertise on one site and use their booking system that this could have been prevented. That's not any of us here.
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Post by Mouse »

I agree nemo. This is something we all dread and as control is taken from us the chances of it happening is increased.
We can learn together how to avoid this situation if possible.

Sam. ...I agree with nemo, put this back to the guest and advise them to go back to OD and cancel whilst you're trying to find a replacement property. Let's see if OD can really sort this out.....in theory it should be much easier for them given the number of properties they have at their fingertips.

Fingers crossed for you. ....it will be awful for you to have this conversation but with the monies paid via a 3rd party I don't see any option (and I'd explain that too)

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Post by kevsboredagain »

Nemo wrote:
kevsboredagain wrote:I'm not being critical of the error but when something like that happens, it should make you look at how a change in procedure can prevent the same thing in the future. If you just take the attitude "oh well it's human error" then it WILL happen again.
I doubt anyone here, least of all Sam, would ever say "oh well it's human error" after this.
When you say that „no backup system could prevent human error” then there was an implication there that this this error was not preventable. The explanation of the situation indicated otherwise.

There are 2 issues in this thread – an error in booking procedure and how to handle the error. This is similar to the last booking error thread I mentioned. I was personally only addressing one of those issues, which is the part about making an error, as I did in the last thread. That does not mean the other issue of dealing with the problem is not important, it just means I had no useful advice or even opinion with regards handling it. It’s certainly not something I’m good at, which is perhaps why I do everything to avoid it. Just because the handling of the problem is important does not mean the cause of the problem should not be discussed.

I was not critical of PIMs but in the last thread about making a booking error, I was also shot down for daring to suggest the error could have been prevented by using a different procedure. There was a strong implication that the handling of the error was far more important and it was clear that any discussion about how to avoid a similar error in the future was not welcome.

I therefore don’t see much point in a separate thread and I'll say nothing more.
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Post by Ben McNevis »

Sympathy to you, Sam.

When it happened to me recently, I narrowly escaped a domestic incident by not informing Mrs McNevis about it until the bounced guests had been successfully re-booked.

I hope that you get a good outcome.

I think that a thread about ways to prevent double booking would be a great idea. I guess it should go into the "Bookings" category. I've double-booked twice in the twenty plus years that I've been doing this and it's my second biggest fear.
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Post by Sam V »

Thanks for all your sympathies, I'm not dead yet! I'm now curious Be to know your first fear?

Update; I considered the advice to call him but decided that I did not want to land this in his lap and he then loses the plot with me then I'd just get emotional and crumble, I'm no good with direct confrontation !

I've emailed him explaining the whole situation, the cancellation option, etc and details of the two villas with link/photos attached that I can offer so far. I've asked him to either email me back or call me later today, even offered to call him back if my mobile cost is an issue. This way I feel he can take it on board and hopefully be rational.

Here's hoping!
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Post by Ben McNevis »

Good luck! My first fear, of course, is people trashing the place.
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Post by Sam V »

Well, I've had a reply and my manager has also found another available property I'll foward to him

Sam

First of all I am extremely concerned regarding this situation given that the booking and initial payment was made on 2 Dec 15 with the balance being paid on 16 May 16. Given how efficient the booking service appeared to be ( although impersonal ) it is clearly a shambles.

Whilst we are extremely angry that this has happened one week before departure we will look at the alternatives and make a decision within the next few hours as we have booked flights and will not be able to get a refund

I will ring you between 6 and 8 tonight.

Regards

AP
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Post by Sam V »

... Also, I am, if it comes to it, prepared to pay some extra for a replacement villa. How much extra should I 'offer' or just accept to pay out and should that be all I'm obliged to cover? I will of course offer him a good discount if he wants to book with us next year or following year.
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Post by pete »

I have nothing helpful to offer but I do feel for you, keep your nerve, xxx
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Post by Casscat »

Sam I can feel your horror and embarrassment - this is not a situation anyone here wants to run up against. I hope there can be a resolution which the guests find acceptable, but in their shoes I'd be feeling pretty murderous I have to say. Having a 'book with confidence' guarantee would not offer me any consolation with flights booked, cases packed and the demob happy vibe washing over me. However 'there but for the grace of god...' etc. because it could happen to any one of us, even SuperKev with his spreadsheets because I have to assume that he is actually human :wink:
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Post by Sam V »

💫💫✨🌞💃💃💃💃🌞✨💫💫

Break open the champagne! Put the head back on the chicken! (Which I nearly had to do 30 minutes ago when I caught my dogs chasing one of mine around the garden it having escaped!)

I just had a surprisingly pleasant convo with Mr AP who has already gone ahead and booked one of the villas I suggested for him. He gave me a 10/10 for helping to get a solution, he's happy now. I've told him I'd email him my offer of a future booking with a discount. We've agreed I should cancel the booking and I will make sure he gets a full refund!

.. Right back to that booking cancellation...
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