Pool Problem

[vincam]

I have a problem and would be grateful for some advice... fast.

We have two English families here in two of our cottages.  They have two 4 year old boys and a variety of other small, younger children.  Because we have fenced gardens we suggest it is safe for children.  The mothers therefore simply open the door, release the kids and sit on their fat bums all day drinking tea... 

The pool has a fence with a gate and I have seen the boys climbing on this gate and rattling it.   They are determined to breach it.  I have told them off and asked the mothers to stop them.  The mothers have no control over the kids (no doubt ADHD or some other made up disorder and nothing to do with them being pants at parenting).

I resorted to telling the Mums that they must now also lock the gate with the key (but leave it in the gate).  The three times they have used the pool since they have not locked it!

I have now locked the pool and put the key on the back door.   I have written a little letter which I plan to ask the mothers to sign.  It is below.

What do you think?  It's the old thing of not wanting to offend people but I really am worried about the kids drowning and putting up my insurance premiums.

If they leave it open after this I shall ban them from the pool.  Problem is the Dads are a bit rough.  Will I be allowed to call the Police if they climb over or something?

Thanks for your help...

BBS

PS... NO THEY ARE NOT AUSTRALIANS

POOL KEY

 

Key is on hook on Back Door. 

 

Pool MUST be locked with key and Key returned

To hook when Adult is not within the confines of the Pool Fence.  No exceptions.

 

The fence is secure and conforms with standard NF P 90-306 but is not designed for continual aggressive attempts at access from unsupervised toddlers.

 

The fence is last line safety measure not first.

 

Thank you for complying with our rules which  are as  inconvenient to us as they are to you but designed to ensure the safety of YOUR children.

 

Please return all spare Pool keys (which can be found on the key ring).

 

  

I understand the rule above and agree that my party and I shall comply with it.

 

[Thebiga]

I think that is ok myself apart from letting them have a key. I think that maybe a bad move as you lose total control then and hand it over to them. You should always be in control.

I think that it would be good tell  them that it is a last warning and if it happens again then the pool is closed but with it in writing its a bit better all round. They should then see how serious you are. And if they don't take your word after that then close it. If they then kick up a stink then I would ask them to leave, If it got that far. I don't know what your terms and conditions state but if they do not follow them and the pool and its rules are in the terms then they must have signed that they understand them.

Rough Dads or not they will not want to see the Gendarmes. 

[Cat]

Do you already have a clause in your terms and conditions about pool safety vincam?  If not (for the future) it might be worth adding something along the lines of...

The owners reserve the right to close the pool at any time in the interests of safety.

 

 

[Iceni]

[quote user="vincam"]

It's the old thing of not wanting to offend people but I really am worried about the kids drowning and putting up my insurance premiums.

If they leave it open after this I shall ban them from the pool.  Problem is the Dads are a bit rough.  Will I be allowed to call the Police if they climb over or something?

[/quote]

1. The cottages are yours so you make the rules.

2. Why are you bothered about offending them ? Surely you don't want them back ?

3. Tell them in words of 1 syllable or less that they will all be banned from the pool if your rules are broken again

4. Hope that the deposit is sufficient to cover any damage they might do - sorry, forgot that you don't deduct from the deposit [:(]

5. Stop worrying about hurting peoples' feelings when they don't care about yours.

John - trained in Customer Service by Ryanair and other profitable businesses

[vincam]

[quote user="Cat"]

Do you already have a clause in your terms and conditions about pool safety vincam?  If not (for the future) it might be worth adding something along the lines of...

The owners reserve the right to close the pool at any time in the interests of safety.

[/quote]

 

Here is an extract from my Terms.  It has been shortened as I don't want to bore you[:)].  By the way, I know of at least 3 other owners who have copied my Terms almost in their entirety... It is not about my ability to draft legal docs... It is about not wanting to be rude to them I suppose.  I tend to be too polite and then, when people don't take heed too OTT ... Like most I just don’t want a big fight on my hands.

Terms...

Swimming Pool. The swimming pool measures approximately 12m long by 6m wide and has a varied depth of 0.6 to 1.8m.

Swimming pools in France account for a huge proportion of child fatalities. We are compliant with the latest legislation but only you can ensure the safety of yourselves and your party. The following rules apply to the pool. These rules are only common sense and we list them here for the sake of clarity.

No children under the age of 14 to be unaccompanied at the pool.

No diving, the pool is not deep enough.

No jumping from poolside onto floatation devices..

No glass (plastic drinking vessels are available free of charge).

No late night swimming unless agreed with Owners. (We never refuse, we just need to know).

No food to be consumed poolside.

No horseplay which is annoying to other Guests. Reasonable fun, water polo etc is not a problem.

No flotation devices other than those provided by or approved by the owners. If you want to use a flotation devise please let the Owners check it first.

No flippers (fins) or diving masks. Goggles are fine if not made of glass but must first be checked by the Owners.

No petting or overtly sexual behaviour.

No hanging of towels and swim wear on pool fence, apart from being unsightly this also is dangerous. The fence is designed to be seen through.

A shower is provided beside the pool and in the interests of hygiene should be used before and after every swim.

The Pool shall be open from Mid April to Mid October. This may be extended at the Owners' discretion dependent upon weather. The pool shall be available for use from 09:00hrs to 20:00hrs every day. This may be varied towards longer hours at the discretion of the Owners. So, if you want an early morning swim at 06:00hrs please just ask and we shall ensure this is facilitated.

The owners reserve the right to close the pool at their discretion at any time in the interests of safety or hygiene.

The pool gate must be locked when not in use.

The Owners maintain the highest standards in regard to pool hygiene, to do this it is regularly necessary to clean and treat the water. This is  not normally intrusive to Guests and the Owners try to carry out the maintenance when it least disturbs the Guests. Occasionally some disruption may occur and Guests are thanked, in advance for their understanding and co-operation.

I would show all of our terms but it is an extensive document.  Suffice to say, we have it covered in terms.

What is the penalty for drowning a brace of mothers in France?  Just joking... they are so fat it would be hard to submerge them and even if I could it would displace all the water![:'(]

We had another chat with them and they seem to be getting the message.  BBS

 

[Boiling a frog]

I would put a chain and padlock on the gate .I would not write a note to them

When they ask why the gate is padlocked tell them .

Then you have control  because it will be you the gendarmes come after if one of them drowns or injures them self.

Same situation last year with an 8 and 10 yr old whose parents let them run wild.

The parents and children were told three times about unsupervised use of the pool, eating and drinking at the pool.

The gate was then locked and padlocked .When they complained it was pointed out that they were not complying with the rules.