another major dispute with awkward guests!

[Fil]

Hi,

I run gites very successfully (I think) and have a number of friends who do too.  One particular friend who shall remain nameless took a late booking for which she was paid by electronic transfer.  The booking was initiated on a Monday for the following Sunday and the transfer was not done until the Saturday, prompting a little disquiet in my friend as to whether the guests just might arrive without actually having paid.

However, they had paid, but did not arrive until late on the Sunday, when my friend was getting ready for bed.  She is very friendly and open, and happily showed them to their gite, to which they immediately turned up their noses.  There were a few very nit picking complaints made, including the fact that the gite was not french, and neither was my friend.  Why the guests should have thought this, when they had corresponded in english and transferred sterling to a UK bank account, I am not sure, but they claimed they did.

My friend was as placatory as she possibly could be as the tirade continued, the wife claiming the gite (my friend's best one) was substandard and dirty and that there was fluff (only a weeney bit, she showed me)on the broom (you should see my house broom - I have five dogs who should be bald the amount of hair I sweep and hoover up each day).  That was the general level of complaint.  My friend said that if the guests did not like the gite, then she was unable to do a refund as it was clearly stated in her booking conditions (the same ones I use) that unless she can relet, she is not obliged to refund and guests should take out cancellation insurance.  However, as a gesture of goodwill she did offer the second week back, even though she was doubtful of reletting it at such short notice.  That, she pointed out, would enable the disgruntled guests time to look for somewhere else. It wxs after 11pm by this time, and there were young children.

However at about 1pm the guests started very laboriously and long windedly to reload their car.  My friend could not imagine what they were thinking of, until several days later it occurred to us all that maybe the guests had done this sort of thing before, and they were calling her bluff, waiting for her to rush out and beg them to stay and offer them lots of money off if they did!  She had already given them a substantial discount as it was such a late booking, and they were calling the wrong bluff.  She is made of stern stuff.

Off they went into the night!  We were amazed at the story.  However, the next day she got an email from them claiming that her gite was infested with bats or mice!  Which of course it is not!  She was horrified, and immediately invited all the other guests in her gite to have a look and tell her if her nicest one was a dump or not.  They all agreed it was very nice.  I think it is lovely myself.  Nearly as nice as ours!

Now, her and my question (we have discussed this in depth) is - has anyone else had this sort of thing done to them?  Is it a scam?  What on earth else could it be?  Any ideas?

Fil (and fed up friend with dumpy gite infested with bats and mice!!!!! and fluff on the broom!!!)

[Artois]

Hi Fil and friend

We had a somewhat similar experience 2 years ago.

We had accepted a late booking and despite a heavy discount the guest kept finding reasons to request further discount.

Unfortunately perhaps, he arrived in our absence but we had arranged for friends to pop over to check all was well. He was seen by our other guests unpacking his car. They went for a walk and on their return he was packing to leave again claiming the house was a death trap. Our friends arrived on the scene and tried to resolve the situation. They offered to book him alternate accommodation but he refused.

The following day we received an hour long phonecall detailing his complaints and on asking him to put it in writing so we could deal with it he complained that he couldn't be expected to write to us when he should be on holiday sipping a glass of wine and relaxing.

However the letter duly arrived all 3 pages of A4. He detailed the tatty kitchen appliances (they must have been a good six weeks old at the time) A live electric cable (in fact a coiled up telephone adaptor) he took exception to the antique washbasin which other guests have complimented.The list was endless and he finished by saying he had been abroad once before to Greece and been "caught" and was not going to be caught again. He demanded a full refund and compensation including ferry fare. We know via our other guests he had already been offered a full refund by the ferry operator as his ferry was delayed.

There was evidence of a half eaten meal in the kitchen bin and our theory is he may have had a family row resulting in their dramatic departure.

We offered him a 25% refund just to get rid of him and to move on from what was a very unpleasant situation. We pointed out that it was merely because he did not enjoy his holiday and not because we were in any way to blame. We heard no more from him.

We didn't think it was an organised scam but someone clearly out for what he could get but now you have us thinking?

Good luck with the rest of the season.

Artois

[Pun]

Hi  Artois,

I have read your remarks and find two clear points that If I was in your shoes feel need looking at, (1) YOUR GUEST, and the full  refund from the ferry company,]

Ive used just about every ferry company going for the passed   8 years, Ive been delayed by all the said companys at one time or other and infact was refused a pre booked and deposit paid b.b in dover because I arrived after mid-night inspite of a 7pm france time crossing not getting me to dover until mid night,

this was not my fault but the ferry company, inspite of complaining to the ferry company in writing I got nothing, it,s in the small print they will not be responsable for delays due to weather, or fault out of there control "it was august, and the ferry was over booked for private trailers and caravans and only H.G.V. vehicles had been loaded that early crossing,

As far as speed king, we.ve had so many delays by them, we now no longer use them or should I say I wouldnt use them. but Ive not heard of any company giving refunds,

(2) We will be operating our own gite next year and if  only one point Ive learned that keeps coming up as a  no  no its the one I had the cleaner/or / a good friend do the change over,

It smells of the fact that your customer "the hard to please customer" is left to your friends. its your income, your gite and your standard thats to be read

not your friend/ cleaner ,

If you had been  on the job you would have been able to see for your self  the situation first hand and delt with it then.

I hope you take these two points in the manner Ive given them, you,ve put yourself in the awkward  path of  not being able to deal with a trying customer

no matter the reason they have given for leaving,

You say the death trap wire that was found was infact a telephone adapt/wire, he may not have known this, had you or your friend been in a gite and found what you thought was live wires laying around, would you except a second offer the same day by the same persons?

Had you been on site or your friend know what the so called live wire was, these people may have taken a step backwards.

[Wendy]

Fil, I think people like this make a couple of 'backup' bookings because we have had this type as well and they dont seem too put out when they decide not to stay. But they certainly like to throw in the odd insult or two before leaving. Dont refund. They are simply playing the field.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

[quote user="Artois"]

There was evidence of a half eaten meal in the kitchen bin and our

theory is he may have had a family row resulting in their dramatic

departure.

[/quote]

At around the age of 14 I had a ringside seat for something just like

this. We (parents, brother and I) were staying on a site with two

gites. On our middle Saturday, a couple arrived with two teenaged

girls. Great, thought I, possible exchange of bodily fluids scenario

could arise. Unfortunately it was not to be as they only stayed for 45

minutes. The parents had a far-ranging and vigorous row that had

(presumably) started in the car and centred around her adultery and his

inadequate sexual performance, threw all their belongings back into the

car, and drove off back into the sunset.

Nowt as queer as folk.

[Catalpa]

[quote user="Artois"]We know via our other guests he had already been offered a full refund by the ferry operator as his ferry was delayed.[/quote]

Um... that's unusual! The offered refund from a ferry company, I mean. [:-))] From what you all say, these families were odd on some level - what normal person would deliberately waste holiday time with behaviour like this? - and just because he told your other guests that he'd had a full refund by the ferry operator doesn't make it true. Am I right in understanding that even with partial refunds these people are out of pocket by walking away? So if it was a scam, it doesn't seem a very productive one. [8-)]

[Gardian]

No, there's a simpler explanation.

Whether the ferry refund bit was true or not, these sort of people are just 'the ***holes of the world' - and they exist in every country.  Nasty people, who rejoice in telling their 'friends' how they managed to get such-and-such off of this and managed to sucker some poor supplier in to providing a non-workable discount.  We all like to get a good deal, but as a man I once worked for, said, "There always has to be something there for both the customer and supplier." 

I'm warming to this now.  Our son (who works for a quite well-known Dept Store chain) says that people come back with kettles after 5 years and complain about the scaling that has buggered the thing up: and this in the Thames Valley, where it's just a bit chalky.  If they rant enough, it's not unknown for them to get it replaced: frankly, I'd show them the door.

Happily, as most of you say, these sort of people seem to be very much the exception, but if I was in the business, I wouldn't last a season without committing murder.

       

[Russethouse]

There is something that 'rings bells' with me and I suspect that either this 'I have been to Greece etc....' story is a good excuse or the same couple tried it on last year - I am pretty sure I have read this exact scenario before.

[Fil]

Hi,

my friend told me you had all replied.  She says thankyou very much.  It does appear that you are all in agreement in not refunding.  She says she has made her final offer to these people and having received no reply is considering it a refusal!  She has heard nothing more since she said this and is wondering if they are either plotting something more bizarre, or have given up since she mentioned libel and slander.

It is very interesting to know that other people with gites have dealt with similar situations.  I myself had a correspondence with a semi literate person who claimed to want to book three months for his family this summer.  I guessed straight away he was a scammer, but played him along a bit to see what he would do.  It all seemed to hinge around being able to put a plastic card printer in the gite - seriously weird!  What was he?  A card cloner?  Anyway, it was easy to spot him as he was so illiterate.  I felt like giving him a bit of advice - if you want to do a successful scam, learn grammatical english and how to spell!  He gave up. 

However, my friend said this customer seemed literate and was definitely a native english speaker.  You just can't tell can you?

Thanks for all the feedback.

Fil and friend (we are all now frantically making sure there is no fluff on any of our brooms in all the local gites)

[Chancer]

[quote user="wen"]Fil, I think people like this make a couple of 'backup' bookings because we have had this type as well and they dont seem too put out when they decide not to stay. But they certainly like to throw in the odd insult or two before leaving. Dont refund. They are simply playing the field.[/quote]

 

If they make a couple of back up bookings would thay not have paid the deposit for them as well?

They would have to be very sure of getting refunds to avoid a very expensive holiday.