cooperlola
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Posts posted by cooperlola
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Had to Google bonobo Dick but no you're right, stick with the chimp! Transcendental bananas aside.
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Oh, sorry, now it's turned into a banana!
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Just wanted to keep us off the topic of bl**dy cleaning. Worked, I see.
Maria crap and Pop blighter mean nothing to me either. Sandy Denny forever.
Love the little red cross Phil, or is it Cassis, or Geordie?
Deb
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Awful. He can't sing can he -dreadful voice!
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It's still a good deal better than the deal I used to have with Orange. There I bought, say 10 euros worth of calls. After a month, if I hadn't used them up, the euros would just disappear unless I booked another month's calls. By the time I finally gave Orange up, I had accumulated over 150 euros worth of credit which I had never used. One call every six months seems like a good deal to somebody like me who rarely uses a mobile to call out. When I go back to the UK, I exchange it for my Tesco mobile SIM. I find it is then cheaper to call French numbers with the NRJ phone and English numbers on the Tesco one. The reverse seems to be true here, but to be honest, I haven't really made any serious calculations on that one. The charges (for internal and international calls) are available on both companies' websites.
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This is true. Cheapest pay as you go I have found with no catches about topping up on a regular basis.
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Ahh....http://www.flickr.com/photos/97986095@N00/238359765/ Much better subject than cleaning!
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Waddya mean welcome, Croixblanche, as if I havn't been defending my corner for the last 30 years or so? I'm not ashamed of describing myself as a professional, I was well paid for what I did and wouldn't have remained employed if I hadn't made more money for the companies I worked for. However, if you run a small business, you're probably aleady a marketing professional yourself to some extent because, like it or not, you're doing it all the time, even if you give it a different name. And by the way, I have never worked in the sales field so wouldn't feel able to comment.
At least Ford learnt that upholstrey that's easy to clean is a good selling point! (Gite owners to note.)I've never been a fan of so-called "Focus Groups" - the very name leaves me cold. My point was aimed, as you suggest, at a few people who seem to want to run a business around their own needs and not their customers'. So, we get back to the original point (there's an idea) - give your customers the option to either clean up themselves (and be on hand when you leave to agree that the required standard of cleaning has been met) or offer it as an optional extra - or god forbid, include a clean in your costs and therefore the price you charge in the first place.
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[quote user="Miki"]OK, I now take on board what you have all inputted.
Now I shall take a comfy body positioner and let the ball run up hill and see what has happened to it when it runs back past me again......let's see where the lines on the pitch end up and if they are still in the same place, heads will roll and hunters brought in, am I making myself crystal or is it opaque ? If the latter, we need to clarify where we cannot visualise.
So let's get ready to roll and let's see if when the ball re-arrives, it has snow or sun on it.
OK, feet to the ground heads to the desks, who'll start me at £200 per week in the winter, I have a bid on the phone, what's in the room.....
Mixed up, you bet I am, I could have sworn we were getting close to being right but instead of being sure, I'm all unsure again..................[8-)] [;-)]
[/quote]I beg your pardon. I don't speak or write like this (as, if you read my post I'm sure you know) and neither do 99% of the marketing professionals I have worked with. So called business gurus, influenced by get rich quick merchants, do talk like this but even they must do it well because some seem to make millions out of unsuspecting punters! But this is not marketing in the true sense.If you run a business and it's successful then you market it. You can't avoid it. When you choose a property in the first place you ask yourself if it's in a place people would like to stay - that's marketing. You ask yourself how much you can reasonably charge and still make the profit you want - that's marketing. When you ask yourself whether a room should have double or twin beds - that's marketing because you're trying to please the kind of customers your after. When you ask yourself where you should advertise to tell the right people who'll actually want to stay there - that's marketing. When you ask yourself if you should put out a few tea-bags, sugar, perhaps a bottle of wine etc for your customers' arrival - that's marketing. Should you provide a bar-b-q, bikes etc - that's marketing. Should cleaning be an extra, or included in the price? - that's marketing. You may not label it as such but that may just be because your definition is skewed by those who don't understand what marketing is. But believe me, doing it well pays dividends, and not just for those who provide sound advice on the subject.
And before you ask, I'm retired so this is not a plug!
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[quote user="Jon D"][quote user="cooperlola"]
If anybody running a business thinks that marketing is about US gibberish then they should think again. It's about learning to think like your customers . It's about setting prices that reflect costs. It's about making it perfectly clear, in understandable, uncomplicated and unambiguous language, the responsibilties of both the seller (of a product or a service) and customer before, not after, purchase.
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That must be where I am going wrong. I was labouring under the misapprehension that marketing was 50% gibberish and 50% putting the same old p**s in a different shaped bottle. Mind you, I worked in the oil industry so most of our customers simply set fire to our products, which could be pretty disheartening. And they hated us. And I was never in marketing, so I have no idea how it is supposed to work.
[/quote]I think you're mixing it up with advertising Jon! (Sorry, that's a bit unfair).Yes, must have been a b*mmer when your customers burnt all your hard work. -
If anybody running a business thinks that marketing is about US gibberish then they should think again. It's about learning to think like your customers . It's about setting prices that reflect costs. It's about making it perfectly clear, in understandable, uncomplicated and unambiguous language, the responsibilties of both the seller (of a product or a service) and customer before, not after, purchase.
My point is that all people are different. One person's idea of "clean" is quite different from another's, this is everybody's experience isn't it? One person's idea of "self catering" is different from another's. Basic stuff. But tell me this, would be interested to know what you all think : what constitutes reasonable cleaning in your book? Dust, for instance, accumulates on surfaces over time. When I leave a gite, should I dust? Cobwebs, should I remove them or leave it to the spiders who made them in the first place? If I find dirty pans in cupboards (it's happened) should I mention this to the owner so they'll charge the previous occupant, or just wash it up and use it? When I hoover, should I move the furniture and hoover underneath as I would do at home or just hoover the bits I've walked on?
The original post was interesting because the gite owner was not present when her guests left. Some suggested that having left early, then the guest should have cleaned on the Friday night. Then maybe a good idea would have been to carry out the leaving inspection on the Friday instead? Not perfect, but she would have got less of a shock and could have discussed some cleaning costs with them in person, and not been left with this problem when the people have gone and it's harder to solve. It seems to me that both owner and customer can reach agreement more easily if both are present when the door is finally closed and the key handed back.
As a renter, the best gites and cottages I have rented have been those where the owner came and said goodbye and we've had a look round together before we leave, then I tell them about anything I may have broken (yes, guilty, the odd cup/glass etc) and give them feedback (that's marketing speak for constructive comments) on any problems I may have had so that hopefully, it's solved for the next guests.
I wouldn't want to run a gite or a b&b because, yes, I think I would be quickly demoralised by the fact that people whose standards were lower than mine might abuse what I hope would be a nice place to stay in the first place. That's why I don't do it but I don't think that it's unreasonable to expect it to happen from time to time if it is the business you are in. It must be horrible but basically s**t occasionally happens.
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Thanks Dick. No, I don't run a gite but I've rented them. I was also in marketing for both retail and hotel companies at quite a senior level. I realise, everthing would be great if it weren't for the bl**dy customers. You should set your prices (for whatever product it may be) according to the cost of serving both the best and the worst kind of customers then you won't be in for too much of a shock. Don't you always hate it when you see the price of a thing adveritsed then read the small print and see that there are extras you can't do without that send the price up? Your customers feel just the same way. If you rent a cottage for a holiday, a holiday is what you want, not a job as a cleaner. Also, do you really feel comfortable in a place where you worry all the time that you might spill a glass of wine or a chip a plate? If I looked through the responses to this thread, I would quickly realise whose gite I would be happy to rent and whose I wouldn't. When you advertise your gite you should make it clear that only clean tidy people are welcome. Perhaps you would be better just taking adults? Or maybe just have a large sign on your doormate saying "Slobs not Welcome."
It's an old addage but a good one "if you don't like the heat..." Difficult customers are part of life, no matter what you are selling. "Think long and hard" was a good piece of advice.
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Do take care Jon. I have friends here whose UK buyers dropped out and they are still paying the mortgage on two houses after nearly 2 years because they have yet to find another buyer. They had signed the compromis so eventually had to complete on the French house, no matter how patient the sellers were!
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Thanks to all those who have stood up for us poor customers in all this. "Do the housework" "Get out quick" - blooming heck who's the client here? I understand that the houseproud amongst you may balk at this but sorry, I want a break from work, please! In all the places I have rented over the years, I have tried to leave the places reasonably clean and tidy but at the end of the day I am paying. Maybe factor the cost of cleaning into the price? or yes, offer the clean as an extra, then your clients will be in no doubt as to the fact that cleaning is their responsibility and not yours!
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Sell your house in the UK first and get going on the rest once you have a firm offer, doing all your research in the meantime. So many headaches can be caused if you end up with a commitment to owning 2 properties. If you are pretty sure of where you want to move, rent first and have a really good look round. We moved over here at the same time as a couple of friends (2 years ago) and they are still trying to sell their UK home with the result that they are constantly having to go back to the UK to work (they are lucky in that their profession makes this possible for them) to top up their dwindling coffers.
Open a French bank account too.
The rest of it, as said here, will come - don't panic! - that's the important thing. A lot of us have done it so it probably isn't rocket science, is it?
Best of luck.
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Around here, there seem to be quite a few new build properties popping up in ribons on the edge of villages - they're not housing estates but are close enough to the centre to meet Cassis's description. Could be the perfect compromise answer for you?
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I have a good tip for being sure to get onto "that road" through the industrial estate. When you go through the tunnel at Darentel, get in the slow lane and STAY THERE. Resist all temptation to change lanes after that and you will automatically end up on the correct road. Works every time.
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Oooo. Gp7 - this is turning into a real nostalgia thread. My best memories are of JC and GH in Lotus Cortinas. And David Piper in that 250 LM in the days when it was new! Thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen and it still has little great competition - Audi R10 anybody? We are seriously showing our age now!
On the folk front - guess I'd better toddle off to Brittany some time. Alan Stivell? - now that's music.
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Have seen the CanAm issue but not this month's. Have two superb books by Pete Lyons. Take me back... Wish I'd seen them in the flesh as opposed the odd Chaparal that's made its way to Goodwood. Oooo..
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John Lithgow is the name you are groping for!
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Well, I guess I meant we'd got off "Voitures" and back onto "Musique" (well, sort of..)
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[quote user="Salty Sam"]
Harley
Prevention is better than cure!
A good farrier will be invaluable in diagnosing the earliest signs of laminitis. If you are grazing your pony on rich pasture, you can also limit the intake by fitting a Greenguard.
Sorry, I can't help with insurance as our nags are in the UK.
[/quote]Green guard is a new one on me and I thought I had seen it all! More info' if poss please?
Thanks
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Old time, Country and Blues? Je crois que non!
Still, at least we're back on topic.
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Gotcha now Geordie.
deducting security deposit
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