Dissatisfied Guests

[Mackyfrance]

We have just had some people stay in our gite. On arrival they ooohed and aaahed and said how lovely and beautiful it was.

10 days down the line, despite not saying a single word to us, they left leaving a 3 page letter describing the gite in some seriously unattractive terms which I shan't go in to.

I dispute everything they have said and the person who manages it for us, who met them during the week, said they were happy and saying how much they were enjoying themselves.

This all happened after they went to another area to stay with friends for a few days. My suspicion is that they decided they liked the other area better and wanted to try and get some money back so they could go and stay up there. Our area is very rural and very quiet with no much happening. The area they visited is much more lively and tourist oriented.

We have rented our gite out for 4 years and have not had one single complaint, and certainly nothing in the vein of this guest's comments.

What do you all think? He's after some sort of refund clearly.

[Jacqui Too]

Did he ask for one?

[JulieP]

This is a bit strange and must be upsetting for you after 4 years of successfully letting your gite.  We're in to our 3rd year with 3 gites now up and running and the only negative comments we seem to get are in reference to the weather as it's been so up and down even in the hight of summer.  I'm sure the day will come though when someone complains about something and I dread that day as I hate confrontation. 

 If the reason your guests complained is, as you say, to get money back in able to afford to go elsewhere, well that's going to be pretty obvious once you start querying the exact greivances of their complaints if the complaints are indeed unjustified.  You say your area is very rural and quiet - I just wondered if you make this point very clear with any advertising you do in order to avoid any misunderstandings when guests arrive.  If they have genuine complaints then the only thing I can think is that they're the type of customers who're too shy to tell you to your face.  The only way to find out is to have a chat with them.

The trouble with this business is we're all different and have different expectations so the best policy in my opinion is honesty.

Let us know how you get on once you decide what to do... Good luck!

[Catalpa]

[quote user="Mackyfrance"]

What do you all think? He's after some sort of refund clearly.

[/quote]

Don't take it personally - you've 4 years of satisfied guests. If you dispute all that these guests say then don't offer a refund - or even raise the possibility of one. You'll presumably need to write to them but be calm, professional and reasonably refute their comments.

[Eos]

In my experience, each year brings it's own quibbles which, in our case, have ranged from could we do something about all the workers that appeared in the village during the grape harvest to the situation where a guest had forgotten to put any water in the electric kettle before switching it on & telephoned for a replacement.

We had a complaint last year, not 10 days in but weeks after the season, not to mention the holiday, was over. In addition to the many unjustified complaints, the helpful decorative tips (ie all curtains need tie backs) and the racial remarks, two blown bulbs were brought to our attention. All our bulbs are checked at each changeover but, as most of us know, that doesn't necessarily mean that they are all going to work when next switched on. We provide ample replacements for such an eventuality and to have them handy on changeover day in case they are needed.

It emerged that the root of the problem was not the gite but the third party booking agent with whom the guest had an ongoing battle before arrival. Not an issue of which we were aware & nor was it anything to do with us. Something about a change of ferry port.

If they want a refund, they'll ask

[Clair]

On the same topic:

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1111793/ShowPost.aspx

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/545326/ShowPost.aspx

the other side of the coin:

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/785800/ShowPost.aspx

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/768328/ShowPost.aspx

[Owens88]

Firstly don't go all 'British' and assume a refund is needed.

We have had loads of happy renters and one or two 'litanies'. Funnily enough if people 'complain' its a litany. If they are pointing out a single defect it tends to be part of a positive message.

But all the feedback is useful. e.g. amidst one litany of generally off-the-wall stuff there was a comment about enough wardrobe space when we have 6 individual adults in (NB families even 2*4  have not mentioned it before) and so I added a wardrobe at the earliest opportunity.

 

I am always taken aback when people complain after the event but have not commented (locally or to us) during the rental. After all if something is wrong I want it put right for them and for the next renters.

 

p.s. We keep a stock of light bulbs freely available.

We also have backup stock of lighting/heating/fans/crockery/cutlery/bedding/gas/wine/water ....If only people ask. Our changeover team live only 1 KM away

 

[nimportequoi]

Was there anything that you advertised that you didn't provide? Was anything not working as it should be? Did you deliver on everything you promised? If so, then a refund is out of the question. They had the opportunity to discuss things with your gite manager and they didn't - it they had any complaints, they should have made them clear when they were there, not after.

[Clair]

When it comes to departure time, I make a point of always ask "Was everything as you expected? Is there anything you think we should have done better?"

If they do not bring up any problem at that time, they are deemed to have had a satisfactory stay.

In fact, my T&C say clearly that:

If

the Client fails to notify us of any problem or dissatisfaction prior

to departure from the Property, we will deem that the Client is

satisfied and therefore has no cause for redress.

[Callie]

Mackyfrance - if you have had 4 years of satisfied customers, then more than likely your recent guests are the problem, not you.  For heaven's sake don't offer a refund.  As another poster suggested, write a brief letter back saying that you are sorry that your gite did not find favour with them and that in 4 years your guests have been very happy with what you offered.  You can even wish them luck in the future.  Don't write any long explanations - if they weren't prepared to face you at the time, they couldn't have been as unsatisfied as all that.  A brief polite note is all that is needed ! 

Those sort of customers are, luckily, few and far between.  So don't let them get you down.  You can receive 100 compliments about your gite but it only takes one negative one to give you doubts.  Keep things in perspective ! !

Best of luck to you ![:D]

[cassis]

Why write to them at all?  It's only inviting a dialogue or, more likely, a dispute.  I would forget it.  If they haven't asked for a refund and you know their comments were unreasonable, why bother dragging it out. 

[PaulT]

SWMBO works for a hotel chain that promises a 100% refund if not 100% satisfied. The reasons for not being satisfied are very novel at times.

Others write a letter to head office and often get a refund.

You may have had one of these who delights in free accommodation.

Whilst at times there are justified reasons often it would seem that they are not - such as the TV does not work yet when she switches it on, hey presto it works.

You cannot please all of the people all of the time.

Paul

[Mackyfrance]

Thanks for all your replies. I've now had a further letter from him making different claims (cigarette butts in the bread oven although it's a non-smoking gite and there were none in there when I looked in it that day they arrived as it's a bit of a haven for spiders, my antique French linen sheets are not hygienic because  I can't wash them at high temperatures like 'French women do' (?). DOH, they are pure cotton so they CAN be washed at high temperatures, pool filter not working as he found a few dead insects on the bottom of the pool). He claims not to want a refund but his last letter said he would, based on his conversations with other expat holiday home owners in the Charente area to which he returned after leaving our cottage,  'report me to the relevant authorities' , whoever they may be. The Society for Drowned Insects perhaps? Cheers to anyone who gave him this advice!!

Yes, I do make clear that it is a very rural area and I can't really respond to many of his comments as there is no evidence of them. I did concede that the bathroom curtain had a small discoloured mark on it but that's hardly enough to warrant his vitriol! 

Husband has told me to ignore the latest letter and return his deposit, which I will do without deducting for the 4 hours of cleaning I had to do and the pool roller that he broke.

Clair, I'll add something similar to my T&C in the future.

[Jacqui Too]

[quote user="Mackyfrance"]
Husband has told me to ignore the latest letter and return his deposit, which I will do without deducting for the 4 hours of cleaning I had to do and the pool roller that he broke.
[/quote]

Are you sure that he isn't just making these claims as a counter claim ploy before you actually make a claim against him for the damage he did and keep some of his deposit?

[Catalpa]

[quote user="Mackyfrance"]

Husband has told me to ignore the latest letter and return his deposit, which I will do without deducting for the 4 hours of cleaning I had to do and the pool roller that he broke.

[/quote]

If a different guest had not left a list of complaints but had otherwise caused you 4 hours of cleaning and replacement of a pool roller, would you have made the necessary deductions from the deposit? If no, fine - but if you would normally make a charge you should do so on this occasion. It's a business.

My mind is wandering in the same direction as Jacqui's - he went on the offensive so that you might not feel you could ask for payment for their damage. And if you don't mention it, perhaps he can complain about the broken pool roller too - after all, it must have been broken on their arrival as otherwise, if it had been their fault, you'd have made a deduction from their deposit, wouldn't you. [8-)]

From what you say, in 4 years this incident is a one off - don't let it overshadow the rest of your season. [:)]

[Cerise]

Catalpa is right.  Ignore his complaints, deduct the damages and move on.  There are always one or two of these.  I'm still wondering what to do about the man who complained that frogs in the nearby river had prevented him from sleeping.  He demanded I do something about it.  I went down the river and I TOLD those frogs!!  They still didn't shut up[:D]

Don't dignify his complaint with a reply.  Even if the worst happened and someone from the local Tourist Office comes to say they received a complaint (and that is about the worst thing that could happen - dead insects not being a guillotine offence) then you know you have a lovely gite so it will be fine.  At our local TO we get the occasioanl whinger and the guy there just makes mmmm noises and then ignores.  We all know these people exist.  Think of all the nice people who have been and forget about him.  Genuine complainers complain nicely at the time.

[TWINKLE]

[quote user="Cerise"]

I went down the river and I TOLD those frogs!!  They still didn't shut up[:D]

[/quote]

[:D]

[woolybananasbrother]

Singing would have done it?[:P]

Complaints not made before the time of departure must always be viewed with suspicion, surely.

[TWINKLE]

 I would have asked the frogs for a kiss - that would have shut 'em up eh woolyb?[kiss]

[woolybananasbrother]

Yah, I didnt dare say it[:$]

[cooperlola]

[quote user="TWINKLE"] I would have asked the frogs for a kiss -[/quote]Hmm.  But you have to kiss a lot of frogs before the prince turns up in my experience, Twinks.

[Jo Taylor]

Absolutely agree with the others above who said he's on the defensive. We had this a few years ago, from a couple who broke the door off the cooker. We didn't deduct anything, the cooker wasn't new, wear & tear (wish we had, after the ensuing correspondence). After their return they wrote the long letter on their return to the agency through whom we were letting, detailing everything that was wrong, the first being "the oven door was broken". They also said the windows were too small (it's a 17th century cottage, not a Costa del Sol apartment), there was no shower curtain (surprise, surprise, there's no shower!) and that a bed they did not use 'would have been uncomfortable' (???). When they arrived, they were arguing, we heard more arguments during the week, she had a face like a weasel sucking a wasp. Mr W. said: "I suppose all the restaurants are French, don't they do English food round here?" and upon hearing that my lawnmower was playing up: "I suppose it's a French lawnmower!" Mrs W. left a comment in the visitors' book "Depressing area". Truth was she'd been dragged to Normandy to view the D-Day beaches when she'd rather have been sunning herself on the aforesaid Costa del Sol (though I expect something would have been wrong with that, after all, it's Spanish), and they attempted to get a refund. What they got was a flea in the ear. Agencies are well-used to spotting 'professional complainers'; ours states in the contract that any issues should be reported to the owner/caretaker at the time (we live next door), if they can't contact them then to ring the regional rep. The 'professional complainers' never do this. Genuine problems will be brought to your attention when they occur.

Ignore it - they can do nothing as long as your contract is sound.

Take your deductions before returning the balance of deposit, that's what it's for.