Scuseameo...you cant come in here with a little reference about Moon Face and not let us know how you got on...weve been really worried
...how are you 
Noise disturbance from fiesta - how much deduction?
Thanks Ros, but I have been a good girl and updated you all on the original cafe thread, better not creep on this one 
Don't waste energy on things you can't change.
Costa de la Luz apartment rental
www.ownersdirect.co.uk/spain/S5386.htm
Costa de la Luz apartment rental
www.ownersdirect.co.uk/spain/S5386.htm
Just an update on the status of our guests!
The husband telephoned again last night with a list of complaints!
1. when he arrived there was no welcome pack - this I had already apoligised for, the message got lost between me and our agent, I thought I had let her know but couldn't find the e-mail in my sent items, so obviously didn't. In any case when they arrived she met them with a bottle of wine, bottle of water and some fruit - free of charge!
2. The noise from the fiesta - have apologised for this but as previously said, we just didn't know!
3. Problems opening the front door - agent has shown him 3 times now how to open the door and my husband talked him through it on the phone. When shown he can do it OK. won't let his wife open the door for some bizzare reason
3. Says there is noise from builders nearby - we state on our website that there is some building work going on nearby. His wife asked about this before she booked and I quite clearly stated exactly what was going on. Basically there are some more new houses around the corner from our house that are in the final stages of construction - mainly interior work. Nobody else previously has complained about noise, in fact this guy said the builders finished early while the fiesta was going on!
4. Has had a couple of poor meals locally - how is this our fault? We give a list of restaurants locally and highlight the ones we particularly like. His problem is that he wants to drive to restaurants. In the details of our house we state that Vejer has narrow streets and that the old town is 10-15 minutes walk away.
He wanted to either get a refund for his 2nd week and move out or get a refund for his first 5 nights stay. If he moves out to a hotel it is obviously going to cost him quite a bit more!
After much discussion we have agreed a discount of £100 which is about 3 nights rent. We also reminded him that although his holiday spreads 2 nights into our next pricing period we charged him the lower rate and we agreed to a late check out on their final day because no-one else is going into the house that day.
I really don't know what more we can have done. I only hope he doesn't write anything in our guest book!
Happily yesterday I had an e-mail from our previous guest saying how much they enjoyed their stay, how lovely the house is and that they would use us again! Did quote this to our disgruntled guest but he wasn't impressed!
The husband telephoned again last night with a list of complaints!
1. when he arrived there was no welcome pack - this I had already apoligised for, the message got lost between me and our agent, I thought I had let her know but couldn't find the e-mail in my sent items, so obviously didn't. In any case when they arrived she met them with a bottle of wine, bottle of water and some fruit - free of charge!
2. The noise from the fiesta - have apologised for this but as previously said, we just didn't know!
3. Problems opening the front door - agent has shown him 3 times now how to open the door and my husband talked him through it on the phone. When shown he can do it OK. won't let his wife open the door for some bizzare reason
3. Says there is noise from builders nearby - we state on our website that there is some building work going on nearby. His wife asked about this before she booked and I quite clearly stated exactly what was going on. Basically there are some more new houses around the corner from our house that are in the final stages of construction - mainly interior work. Nobody else previously has complained about noise, in fact this guy said the builders finished early while the fiesta was going on!
4. Has had a couple of poor meals locally - how is this our fault? We give a list of restaurants locally and highlight the ones we particularly like. His problem is that he wants to drive to restaurants. In the details of our house we state that Vejer has narrow streets and that the old town is 10-15 minutes walk away.
He wanted to either get a refund for his 2nd week and move out or get a refund for his first 5 nights stay. If he moves out to a hotel it is obviously going to cost him quite a bit more!
After much discussion we have agreed a discount of £100 which is about 3 nights rent. We also reminded him that although his holiday spreads 2 nights into our next pricing period we charged him the lower rate and we agreed to a late check out on their final day because no-one else is going into the house that day.
I really don't know what more we can have done. I only hope he doesn't write anything in our guest book!
Happily yesterday I had an e-mail from our previous guest saying how much they enjoyed their stay, how lovely the house is and that they would use us again! Did quote this to our disgruntled guest but he wasn't impressed!
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Hells Bells
- Posts: 13173
- Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 8:42 am
- Location: French Alps
- Contact:
Linda, you just can't please some people, no matter how hard you try. We once arrived at a resort at 10 o'clock in the evening with two hungry teens. Owner apologised that there was a fiesta on that evening, and the restaurants would only be serving tapas. By 11.30 we were stuffed full of free food, and drinking cheap gin and lemonade in the square. We had a great night. Owner was surprised to see us there, as ''none of his other English guests liked the fiestas"
Seems to me a classic case of 'you can't please all of the people, all of the time' Linda.
Not being able to open a door properly and not liking the restaurants is nothing for you to give any more thought to. The fiesta, forgetting the welcome pack and building, well, yes, as said before could be something for you to consider more carefully in the future but you did warn them about building work anyway.
Looking back I see they only paid £450 for 2 weeks, so £100 is I think, more than generous.
Hand over the dosh, make a note of anything you can do to avoid the same thing happening again and place in the file of life/renting, marked 'experience'
Not being able to open a door properly and not liking the restaurants is nothing for you to give any more thought to. The fiesta, forgetting the welcome pack and building, well, yes, as said before could be something for you to consider more carefully in the future but you did warn them about building work anyway.
Looking back I see they only paid £450 for 2 weeks, so £100 is I think, more than generous.
Hand over the dosh, make a note of anything you can do to avoid the same thing happening again and place in the file of life/renting, marked 'experience'
Don't waste energy on things you can't change.
Costa de la Luz apartment rental
www.ownersdirect.co.uk/spain/S5386.htm
Costa de la Luz apartment rental
www.ownersdirect.co.uk/spain/S5386.htm
First of all I think you should find out when the fiestas are, even villages have web sites and you should inform people so people who really want complete peace and quiet can choose to come or not.
BUT, people who come to Spain have to accept that it is a totally different way of life and they are the foreigners. Ferias/fiestas are long loud and raucous and who knows, if the miserable gits had gone along to it they might have enjoyed themselves.
Tell them to stick to Eastbourne and buy a sun-lamp for next year.
BUT, people who come to Spain have to accept that it is a totally different way of life and they are the foreigners. Ferias/fiestas are long loud and raucous and who knows, if the miserable gits had gone along to it they might have enjoyed themselves.
Tell them to stick to Eastbourne and buy a sun-lamp for next year.
You don't have to write something on every thread, do you?
Oh Linda, I really feel for you. 
It seems that you have 'one of those'. I think you have done more than enough to try and help. Many of his complaints are not down to you at all. Fiesta and local restaurants. Does he want blood?
I'm glad you have come to an agreement. Don't let this upset you, go by the good responses you have had and believe in them.
I am waiting for this to happen to me, I know it will come eventually because there is always 'one of those' around the corner. I will probably Cry, scream, and then get really angry that I have done all I can do to give them a good holiday and they've thrown it back at me. We can only do our best. But as the saying goes:
'You can't please all of the people all of the time.'
Who was it that said that?
Ruth (Queen of the cliches, That's french isn't it?)
Edit: sorry Prtridge we posted same time, you get the title of Queen of the cliches
It seems that you have 'one of those'. I think you have done more than enough to try and help. Many of his complaints are not down to you at all. Fiesta and local restaurants. Does he want blood?
I'm glad you have come to an agreement. Don't let this upset you, go by the good responses you have had and believe in them.
I am waiting for this to happen to me, I know it will come eventually because there is always 'one of those' around the corner. I will probably Cry, scream, and then get really angry that I have done all I can do to give them a good holiday and they've thrown it back at me. We can only do our best. But as the saying goes:
'You can't please all of the people all of the time.'
Who was it that said that?
Ruth (Queen of the cliches, That's french isn't it?)
Edit: sorry Prtridge we posted same time, you get the title of Queen of the cliches
Linda...Party is right...
Close the book on this one! You've done your best to make things right and the £100 discount is a good compensation for the fiesta noise the first week.make a note of anything you can do to avoid the same thing happening again and place in the file of life/renting, marked 'experience' ....Not being able to open a door properly and not liking the restaurants is nothing for you to give any more thought to.
Just sounds to me that you're doing everything right!Happily yesterday I had an e-mail from our previous guest saying how much they enjoyed their stay, how lovely the house is and that they would use us again!
This guest moved from the "possibly credible' drawer to the "definitely not credible" drawer the moment he started blaming you for his own choice of restaurant food.
This is a grown man and you are not his Nanny, neither are you providing daily Concierge services to open the door for him. For that, he needs a hotel. Also unjustified is the complaint about the building work. You disclosed this possibility and had a long discussion about it with his wife prior to accepting the booking.
I am reminded of another saying, "don't reward bad behavior" , so to my way of thinking, the person who ought to be getting the $200 is not them, it's your agent, for his/her patience in handling some very difficult people.
Obviously they are never going to be happy whatever you do, so when you receive the next complaint, I am inclined to think the answer is to remind them they are free to leave at any time, then point them to the most expensive 5 star hotel in your area and suggest they would probably be much happier there than continuing to stay somewhere which obviously doesn't suit their needs.
This is not a flippant remark, I am being serious. What you are offering really does not suit them. He has said as much repeatedly from the start, so I think you really do have to accept that is the situation. It doesn't reflect poorly on your place, I'm sure it's lovely, it's just not for them and a refund is not going to make them like it any more. What they need to do is leave and the sooner the better.
You can't win this one, sorry, at least that's my opinion based on my understanding of what's going on.
This is a grown man and you are not his Nanny, neither are you providing daily Concierge services to open the door for him. For that, he needs a hotel. Also unjustified is the complaint about the building work. You disclosed this possibility and had a long discussion about it with his wife prior to accepting the booking.
I am reminded of another saying, "don't reward bad behavior" , so to my way of thinking, the person who ought to be getting the $200 is not them, it's your agent, for his/her patience in handling some very difficult people.
Obviously they are never going to be happy whatever you do, so when you receive the next complaint, I am inclined to think the answer is to remind them they are free to leave at any time, then point them to the most expensive 5 star hotel in your area and suggest they would probably be much happier there than continuing to stay somewhere which obviously doesn't suit their needs.
This is not a flippant remark, I am being serious. What you are offering really does not suit them. He has said as much repeatedly from the start, so I think you really do have to accept that is the situation. It doesn't reflect poorly on your place, I'm sure it's lovely, it's just not for them and a refund is not going to make them like it any more. What they need to do is leave and the sooner the better.
You can't win this one, sorry, at least that's my opinion based on my understanding of what's going on.
Last edited by A-two on Wed Apr 25, 2007 10:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Normandy Cow
- Posts: 2687
- Joined: Sun Nov 28, 2004 7:14 am
- Location: Normandy
- Contact:
I totally agree with Joanna on this one, and I take back what I said in my earlier posting where I seemed to err on his side. Yes, I agree that noise disturbance at night can be the worst thing, but it appears that aside from this, this person is one of those who just looks for things to moan about...
Life is too short to worry about them any more. I think you have done your best, and if that's not good enough for them, then too bad, let them go elsewhere.
Just go and have a read through your previous guests' comments just to reassure yourself that yes you are an owner who cares, and some people will never be satisfied.
I think all of us have been in your situation at some point, and we are all feeling for you. Just think, in a couple of days (or even sooner hopefully!!!) they'll be gone, all this will be a distant memory, and you can get on with your life.
Life is too short to worry about them any more. I think you have done your best, and if that's not good enough for them, then too bad, let them go elsewhere.
Just go and have a read through your previous guests' comments just to reassure yourself that yes you are an owner who cares, and some people will never be satisfied.
I think all of us have been in your situation at some point, and we are all feeling for you. Just think, in a couple of days (or even sooner hopefully!!!) they'll be gone, all this will be a distant memory, and you can get on with your life.
..as you say Debk Trust JoannaTrust Joanna to net it out perfectly. Well said.
debk
....I agree with all the above comments and you really shouldnt dwell to much on this ...I think hes looking for things now....so let him know hes free to flit off if he likes.....
and seem to happen at the drop of a hat...sometimes so I think its not always easy to know when theyre happenning...people who come to Spain have to accept that it is a totally different way of life and they are the foreigners. Ferias/fiestas are long loud and raucous
Try not to dwell on this Im sure evreyone else who stays will be fine[...well nearly everyone
and if not were all here to talk you through it.....Thats whats great about here isnt it 
Joanna yes you are soooo right!
We had guests like that for 8 weeks from Jan. They had admitted beforehand that they had never done anything like this before (rented out privately) and had always gone to a hotel in the past
They complained about everything from the weather to the sky tv going off now and again. They didn't like the area. They got my keyholder out numerous times to 'fix' the tv (when it had gone off he kept fiddling with the settings) to fix the door (as they had trouble getting in but there was nothing wrong with the door!)
I was a bag of nerves the whole time blaming myself for them not enjoying themselves. When they left the TV didn't work at all, there was an error on the screen,the enginner said the only way that could happen is if someone goes into the menu on the TV and 'plays around in the ith the settings' Cost me 50euros. I didn't take it out of his damage deposit but with hindsight wish I had done! And after reading Joannas comments realise nothing was my fault at all, they were never going to be happy!
So thank you Joanna, I will remember for next time to be more firm and not get so upset!
We had guests like that for 8 weeks from Jan. They had admitted beforehand that they had never done anything like this before (rented out privately) and had always gone to a hotel in the past
They complained about everything from the weather to the sky tv going off now and again. They didn't like the area. They got my keyholder out numerous times to 'fix' the tv (when it had gone off he kept fiddling with the settings) to fix the door (as they had trouble getting in but there was nothing wrong with the door!)
I was a bag of nerves the whole time blaming myself for them not enjoying themselves. When they left the TV didn't work at all, there was an error on the screen,the enginner said the only way that could happen is if someone goes into the menu on the TV and 'plays around in the ith the settings' Cost me 50euros. I didn't take it out of his damage deposit but with hindsight wish I had done! And after reading Joannas comments realise nothing was my fault at all, they were never going to be happy!
So thank you Joanna, I will remember for next time to be more firm and not get so upset!
Last edited by roxytoo on Thu Apr 26, 2007 11:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
Joanna is right that you can't win with this client. We all want our clients to have a good time and it is because you are a caring owner that you have been concerned about him.
Perhaps we should all learn from this and not be too quick to offer compensation - just say we will get back to you with an offer of compensation or something. I would tend to offer too much if I were in your shoes I'm sure - but then I was born with the thumb print of guilt - anything that happens anywhere near me I put my hand up to take the blame. (Memo to self' Toughen up!!!'(
Perhaps we should all learn from this and not be too quick to offer compensation - just say we will get back to you with an offer of compensation or something. I would tend to offer too much if I were in your shoes I'm sure - but then I was born with the thumb print of guilt - anything that happens anywhere near me I put my hand up to take the blame. (Memo to self' Toughen up!!!'(