Service to clients - how far would you go?

[Maddie]

If you had a client staying with you who was ill (not an emergency), how far would you go to arrange medical help for them?

1. Find the telphone number of a Doctor and give it to them together with directions to his location?
2. All of the above and make the appointment for them?
3. All of the above and actually take them to the appointment?
4. All of the above and actually go into the appointment with them as you find they speak not a word of French?
5. All of the above and stay during the entire duration of treatment (say 5 hours of a Sunday spent at a local hospital - for blood tests, ECG, X-ray, urine samples, drip etc) and act as an interpretor for the client, Doctor and Nurses?

I recently went as far a number 5 and have now seen altogether far too much of my client. (if you get my drift!! )  Am I a mug or is it what you would have done too?

PS I got no thanks for my efforts and they are still complaining about the weather!!!  

[sue702]

I think what you did was over and above the call of duty, having said that I would have probably done the same. It is extremely disappointing that they have showed no gratitude but I wouldn't let that stop you doing it again for someone else, imagine yourself in the same position and what help you would need. If you are ill you are very vulnerable and need all the help you can get. However, I would be too busy to help these people next time.

Sue

[Quillan]

We had a young family stay and the little girl climbed on to the roof of the car then fell off on to the gravel driveway and cut her head.

We always have a first aid kit, clearly marked for guests to us in an emergncy, so I tried to clean it up a bit. This all happened at about seven O'Clock at night so I found my doctors home number and gave him a call, explained what had happened and asked for a emergency home visit. He came round, charged the guest 30€ callout and told them to follow him to his surgery where he gave the girl a couple of stitches.

It was the first time anything like this had happened so I was not to sure what to do but it all worked out in the end. I didn't get much thanks either and to this day I don't know how and when the stitches came out and if she made a full recovery.

I think that now I know I can call the doctor out when I need to I will in future. I would leave the guest to it with the doctor. The one thing I have learn't in France is don't say anything in front of the guests just in case they try to use it to claim insurance or whatever.

[GRT17]

Nicola

Do as you would be done by, even if you get no recognition or reward. Perhaps one day, someone else will do the same for you.

I think you all, Nicola and those who have posted replies, have the right attitude.

bon courage

Gill

 

[Debra]

[quote]Nicola Do as you would be done by, even if you get no recognition or reward. Perhaps one day, someone else will do the same for you. I think you all, Nicola and those who have posted replies, have t...[/quote]

I agree.  But how awful are these people??!!  I would be sooo grateful if someone helped out in this way if one of our family were hurt on holiday and I just can't understand this kind of behaviour at all!

[Maddie]

Yes, I would probably do the same again, regardless of whether they thanked me or not, as it is how I would like to to think I would be treated myself.  However, I would have been a lot more grateful than these folk have been.

Funny isn't it?  I've had folk staying with me who've bought me bouquets of flowers and had their children draw special cards for me for doing something simple like having a chocolate easter bunny for each of the kids when they arrived.  Yet others - nowt - not that I expect anythng, they have already paid afterall.

Takes all sorts!

[LesPonts]

When we stayed in a B&B many years ago my husband had to go to the doctor. Our hosts pointed us in the direction of the doctor's surgery and left us to it. We were happy with that and didn't expect any more of them. For us it was one more adventure to look back on. Isn't that why even the smallest phrase book has a section on "visiting the doctor/pharmacie"?

It would be a different situation if the problem was more serious and required an urgent trip to the hospital etc. 

[Teamedup]

As they are leaving, dare you be very french and hold your head high and tell them straight how lucky they were that they had you to help them with their medical crisis and ofcourse you had not been expecting thanks, followed by a prompt auvoir and bonvoyage. At which point, head still held high, you turn and walk off and get on with something else.

 

I would have done the same as you incidentally.

[Maddie]

[quote]As they are leaving, dare you be very french and hold your head high and tell them straight how lucky they were that they had you to help them with their medical crisis and ofcourse you had not been e...[/quote]

Tempting, very tempting!

 

[Marie]

How lucky they were that you were there and prepared to put yourself out for them.  Having had to take my mother-in-law to casualty last week after a nasty fall, I dread to think how she would have managed if I hadn't been able to translate for her.  The doctors and nurse were fab and tried to speak as much english as they could, but medical vocabulary can be tricky, especially when you are badly shaken and being fed pain killers. 

I leave a full page of medical, pharmacy & dental contact numbers in our information folder - again the result of experience a couple of years ago when my husband fell ill when we were staying in someone else's gite.  They weren't in, and it was a bank holiday, and despite several phone calls to PPP who we are insured with, the best advice they could give was to drive to the nearest hospital 20 mins away. After a bit of searching in an old annuaire I found on a bookcase, I managed to locate a local GP who was round within 30 minutes. Of course leaving numbers doesn't help if your guests can't speak french, and we're not based in France so can't help personally, but might speed up the process if they could manage a few basic phrases.

If I had been in your place I would probably have done the same, but the lack of gratitude is shameful. Manners maketh man, and such like!

 

Marie

[shauna]

Hi Mrs MDR, in answer to your question "what would you do"? l can honestly say that two years ago when l started this awful business l would easily have gone to no 5 and beyond as you yourself so kindly did. Now, well, what can l say, except that l am almost John Cleese incarnate at the moment, therefore, with that in mind  l would reluctantly go to no.1  secretely hoping that they could not return until the day of their departure!  l would also claim that my French was limited to ordering a coffee and that l would certainly be liable  to suffer a major panic attack upon entering any medical establishment and witnessing any horrendous eqipment etc thus rendering myself more of a liability than themselves!!!!  l hope my first posting is not too much of a shock to anyone but does anyone know of any dogs looking for a lovely farmhouse and private pool to rent for next season?  Kind Regards Shauna p.s. l used to be really nice!!!!!

[Poppy]

Shauna we know what you mean. We used to be nice too, but a lot of knives in the back have changed that. Our Gite was spotless, obviously lots of stories, but cant forget the one who complained about a tiny bit of dust from woodworm and demanded a refund. This was on the outside terrace and beams only 2 years old. Also the ones who left because we would not completely empty and change the water in our 11x5 metre pool because there was a lizard in the skimmer.

Knives have also come from so called friends, but the world keeps on turning and there appears to be a lot of bridge building going on at the moment. I wont be cynical and say  'perhaps they want something'. Guess we have just been unlucky.

Hubby says he would prefer cats to dogs but I dont mind.

Jan

Lost in the Lot

[Anton Redman]

Just imagine what it would have been like if you had not <<Given it five>> and he or she had dropped dead on your doorstep.

[shauna]

Hi MikeJan, my God l cannot believe that someone left because of a lizard in the skimmer! lt makes me feel relatively lucky! As you so say so many stories. l heard someone say this season that their guests had complained that there were bats outside! They apparently left in disgust saying that they would never have booked the Gite if they had known that bats flew around OUTSIDE at night!! We really ought to run a competion for the most outrageous reason for leaving or a refund! Yes and as you say being nice in this business is not only virtually impossible to sustain but it would seen downright stupidity!  Please don't take all this too seriously as l do not want to start a ranting thread here and anyway l have guests leaving and new ones arriving on Saturday. A great time has been had by all and l will be charm itself when l meet my new arrivals Sat afternoon and wish them a very happy week!!!!  Regards Shauna.

[shauna]

Dear Anton, l am so sorry l forget to reply to your question about what l would do if having not proceeded to no. 5 my guest "had dropped dead on my doorstep". Well, fortunately at the moment we have some building work in process and a resident cement mixer to hand, so providing l could dispose of the "body" before the arrival of the next guests and preferably during nightfall in order not to alarm the resident "live" ones, l would be quite happy to put this down as part of "room service" and of course return their deposit in full. Because after all, l do consider myself to be a very decent and honest kind of person.

[Clair]

[quote]If you had a client staying with you who was ill (not an emergency), how far would you go to arrange medical help for them? Find the telphone number of a Doctor and give it to them together with dir...[/quote]

Last summer, we rented the gîte to an English family and the young mother-to-be (8 months gone!) told me she was not feeling 100% and was having trouble sleeping. I offered to call for an appointment and drove her to the village whilst her husband kept an eye on the young son.

She asked me if I could go in with her to translate, which I did whilst the doctor was examining her behind the curtain.

I also gave my address for the blood and urine test results.

They were very grateful, asked us to the gîte for drinks and dinner and sent us pictures of the baby girl who arrived safely a few weeks after their return to England...

This summer, I have had a request (GB visitors) to call the doctor for a home visit one evening and offered to stay to translate, an offer which was gratefully received.

This is not something I would do for French-speaking guests, but I know I would feel out of my depth in Spain, Portugal or Italy, so I do whatever I think is necessary to reassure my vistors...

Clair