worse than I thought!

[tansy]

I can't remember where I posted before re my fear re the 2 Liverpool families arriving.....but I am afraid it was worse than I anticipated.

I have sent a very long email - giving her the option to settle in Euros or I will bank the cheque which will then incurr bank charges.

If I had charged for my time cleaning her extra cleaning bill would have come to 350 Euros! We calculate 5 hours cleaning (2 people 2 & half hours) we did in excess of 15 man hours cleaning yesterday!

I think they will cancel the cheque and I'll see diddly squat...I won't go into what all I found but if I say the loo in the ensuite shower room (lid up naturally!) was not flushed and someone had peed all over the seat & floor & left it for us, chewing gum stuck to the inside of the shower cabinet, orange peel, chewing gum & pop corn under one of the beds...chewed Pizza & chocloate all over the soft furnishings...there's more but I don't want to spoil your breakfast!

Our arrivals had to sit in the garden whilst we finished off - poor things have no seat covers, cushion covers or throws as I have had to bring everything home to wash...

Special off season offer...I'm not sure if i will continue doing 'specials'...attracts the wrong sort - I am very happy to give Forces personnel discounts as the place is always spotless...

My day had an upside though - our client in Utah Beach has booked for the whole of June next year - delightful American guests arrived and we have had an enquiry in for 2009!!

And found new cleaner as my right hand is going into hospital next week for quite major surgery...that was a blow when she told me...but posted ads in all the local supermarkets, before I had got home there was an enquiry!

Thank you - feel better for having a little moan...sorry Liverpool you're now in the same table as some of my other 'don't touch with barge pole' places

[alexia s.]

How awful, Tansy: I feel so sorry for you.
But you're right: people who come on reduced rates treat the property like something they've bought cheaply in a sale. Like you, I'm not going to do it again.
One other very important point to note is that you might as well not ask for a security deposit if you don't cash it. After all, if the people are honest, you don't need this security, and if they're not, you know that you have to cash it!

[Fraise]

Sorry this happened Tansy. I was going to reply along the same lines as Alexia so don'yt feel the need now. I think I said before that I wouldn't dream of NOT cashing the security deposit. At least you had good news as well

www.thepetitmanoir.com

[vrooje]

Wow For times like this I wish there was a hidden camera, so that I could see how anyone who considers themself normal/rational could justify making such a mess!

I say bank the check immediately. (Though that's probably difficult now.)

[tansy]

well I have heard from her..she says so what there was orange peel under the bed & one of the children must have used the loo....but I said we would be doing the deep clean...she's so upset she has cancelled the cheque...

So there we are - unless the deposit cheque is cashed it IS useless as I suspected...the people that care offer a deposit...the people that don't care don't send - so maybe that is the way to go - if you don't get a deposit offered and have to ask for it - request the cheque forthwith, cash it & re-imburse after?

I can't be bothered to answer her - what is the point?

[enid]

We have just had guests for a month. We tried to be good hosts - invited them for aperetifs the last night - leant them about 100 DVDs gave advice when asked (daily!) and then they left at the crack of dawn without saying goodbye leaving the gite in a real mess. Luckily it isn't booked this week so we can take our time putting it right. I agree with Tansy that it is best letting go and learning from the mistake.I just don't understand folks like the fossil hunter children and the peel under the bed Mums. Luckily I do believe they are the minority but they leave a bad taste. (I did a mistype and put Muckily instead of Luckily but there you go - perhaps that was the right word!)

[tansy]

Enid....in a way I'm glad you too have had mucky folk...i was beginning to think it only me that it happens to...either everyone keeps quiet - I am aware I am a bucket mouth that blows off...but that's me and I feel better for it!

But I am always amazed at folk...it got me thinking to my hotel days...I'll never forget some chap ringing down to reception and asking that the porter go out to buy some condoms and bring them up to his room...bearing in mind this was in the late 70's when folk still blushed in the chemist shop when they had to buy them over the counter! Some folk just have, as my mum says, a brass neck!!

I'm telling myself that is it for the summer now - it's just nice folk now!!

Chin up - it's like having a big wet fish slapped in your face...but I'm now indignant!

[enid]

Seriously - how do folks let people know what they expect at end of visit.The gite de france team recommend agreeing a time to inspect the gite before the end of the stay but I feel a bit uncomfortable with that. She also said to make it clear that if they didn't want to do any cleaning they should say at the outset that they will be requiring the cleaning service for which there is a fee 30-35 euros she suggets. How do you go about it. I don't want bad clients to set my modus operandi for all the others but I do want to get it right.

[tansy]

Enid - I too feel quite awkward - but this time I looked her in the eye as i waited until 9 p.m. to see them in and said we do the deep clean at the end of stay - please leave the house as you found it with everything in it's place etc. her argument now is that I said we do the deep clean! Also she is now all indignant about the deposit that I had never said anything about it....it's in our terms that they sign they have agreed to...

It really comes down to different standards...forces folk,American,Dutch and other continentals leave the house as I would expect...

I set out in writing along with some guide lines re the house - i.e. no smoking, please clean up childrens sticky finger prints at the time, continental chocolate & ice cream don't mix with soft furnishings and that we allow for a 5 hour cleaning time i.e. 2 people just over 2 hours...that is what I call a reasonable time to clean and make the beds up...so it's not as if I don't tell folk!

I've even had buckets of sand emptied in the porch way for the kids to play in...and left!

I'm interested what others say as well...maybe we should get Alan to take everyones bookings...he doesn't seem to have any problems

[Alan Knighting]

Tansy,

maybe we should get Alan to take everyones bookings...he doesn't seem to have any problems

I don't think so! My booking statistics wouldn't make everyone happy. It can only be a matter of time before I join "the club". It might even be happening as we speak.

Joan and I are just recovering from helping to arrange and accommodate 130+ visitors to a local English wedding. Our feet were seriously up when, this morning, I got an e-mail from an English couple who are already in France, sitting in an internet cafe, and desparately needing somewhere else to stay for the rest of week. Via their mobile phone I agreed terms from this p.m. through to Sunday. Did they find themselves in one of your "coal holes"? Were they thrown out of one of Alexia's "movie sets"? Only time will tell! I will come back on this one.

Regards

Alan

[paolo]

Our feet were seriously up

Nice image, Alan.

[vrooje]

Tansy, that's awful!

I would be tempted to send a list of all the unusual problems they left at the house and point out that it is mommy's and only mommy's responsibility to clean up her child's misplaced urination, and that it's her fault that she didn't read the terms & conditions. I wouldn't do it to get the check back, but just so that she wouldn't have support from my side for her "we did nothing wrong" opinion.

But that's because I'm young and immature.

Eventually I'd calm down and just try to be satisfied knowing they had to at least pay a fee to cancel the check. (Or hope so.) And I'd resolve to bank deposit checks from then on, and consider it a (possibly expensive) lesson and a great story to tell later on!

I wonder if it would be better not to mention at all that there will be any major cleaning once a guest has left. Or maybe it should be phrased as "we'll be in just to change the sheets and make sure nothing was left behind before the next guests arrive" rather than using the phrase "deep clean." It's absolutely true that you should be able to tell the guest what you'll be doing and still expect them not to leave you with a huge mess. However, for those people with the tendency to leave a huge mess anyway, it's probably best not to give them any excuse to do so.

I don't think the GdF idea is too bad... just asking guests to straighten up before they leave, but if they prefer not to worry about it they can pay a small fee. Although, that is getting into the realm of "hidden expenses," which I'm generally against. So I'm not sure on that one.

[Ciapolin]

You poor thing. It would make my blood boil too.

Wouldn't it be great if you could 'black list' them with other rental owners - I know it goes against privacy etc and is probably being petty, but it would give a moment's satisfaction

C-A

[la vache!]

Tansy,
I sympathise, its awful having guests like this. But for every bad one there are many good guests, just a shame they have different standards! Warning signs - big groups with lots of children, no grandparents and women who check in advance that there will be a hairdryer and full length mirror, you know they won't break a fingernail doing any housework!
I don't charge a supplement, but do ask guests in the information book on departure to make sure the house is in the same clean and tidy state that they find it. Most do, some don't (see warning signs above!), but I never mention a deep clean as Brooke says, this can be misinterpreted.
I had some French guests for l'Ascension who asked me how much a supplement for cleaning would be, as it was a short break I said 30€ but they insisted on paying 50€ as it is the going rate - in addition they left the place cleaner than most British guests do. French people insist on doing a tour before leaving to make sure you are happy with the place, thanks to good old G de F standards, but British people aren't used to doing this and who has got the time on a hectic changeover day anyway???

[Thomas BC]

Eeeeeeeeeeeeek!

Having just started out in this business these are the 'guests' I dread. I know they exist and everyone i meet tells me a horror story. I suppose that just comes with the business. But there is horror and there is HORROR. So far I have only had very good experiences (admitedly only a handful so far). But I do insist when I take payment (a month before arrival) that guests pay a deposit IN CASH ONLY. I dread asking for the deposit!! So like most of you have already mentioned I hate the thought of going through my Barn before they leave. Cringe....But it really should be done. Up until now I have asked if there are any breakages, anything I should know about. And fortunately so far its been all good news, with no surprises.

Somewhere I read/heard (sure it was here somewhere) that the 'host' asked the familly if they wanted to wait for a short while while she/he did the inspection and then handed back security deposit, or would they rather leave immediately and have the money posted back to them?

The bottom line is if someone wants to hide something they can and they will.....But we should remind ourselves, as others have said already, these people are in a minority!!!