complaint

[Francoise]

advice required

We have been letting our gîte for 2 years and received many compliments from our guests but now the unthinkable has happenned a guest has gone back home after only 2 hours claiming the place is uninhabitable.

He has sent us 3 pages of complaints and is asking for a full refund.

Whilst we hate to think any of our guests would be disatisfied we consider his claims unjustified and his actions extreme. We are however talking about a peak week which we could have booked 4 times over.

 

[Marie]

Surely the onus is on him to prove that the gite was uninhabitable, which I would imagine would be difficult if you have had guests both before and since!  He can't claim a refund simply because he doesn't 'like' anything about the gite, and as long as you have provided what you advertised, I don't see he has any grounds for a refund.  To count as "uninhabitable" in France usually means a derilict barn, or at the very least a great hole in the roof!! Check your terms and conditions, and if you're not sure of your standing, then get legal advice, but if no-one else has had a problem then it doesn't sound like he has much of a case.  Do you give out feedback forms to your guests?  If so, then their positive coments over the past 2 years will provide plenty of evidence to back up your case. Your other guests are your witnesses and he doesn't have any 'evidence' other than his own views.  I wouldn't give any money back without talking to my solicitor in this case.

 

Best of luck!

 

Marie

[Deby]

Hello,

This is our first season and every last one of our guests have loved the place and complimented our work.  However our current guests (leave tomorrow) are o.k - the husband is a bit arrogant and I just get the impression he is looking to find things to moan about which he has - he complained that the dustbin is overflowing and will attract 'beasts' - even though the house is 600metres away from it and we've just had a party of his guests (18 of them)stay for 4 days - hence overload of garbage! In the welcome guide I explain our communes recycling methods etc, but he thinks that this is not good enough!  I have a few expletives that come to mind when describing him.

My lesson which I have learned is once a t*ssp*t, always one. No matter what you can do some people will never be pleased - I keep telling myself this, but it is hard sometimes as I hate to think that someone isnt happy, but I just guess that is in their character.

Deby

[Chauffour]

Deby, Francois,

could you give me the name of the 2 unhappy clients...?

just in case they try to book with us next year!!!

[Fil]

hi,

I think if you let gites you get all sorts staying in them, not always nice, and obviously the more lets you get, the more of the less savoury type will pass your way.  We are also in our second year and have had a good summer but had the misfortune to get three not so good clients, two at the same time! 

I would say, do not give an inch to anyone claiming money back etc.  I am not sure what people expect when they come to a gite holiday, but we have had some who seem to think we are a hotel and need maid service, servile attitudes from all our family, us never (and I mean never) to leave our premises in case they need us, and that the few rules we have can't possibly apply to them, can they?

If we had had people like this in our first year, it might seriously have put us off, but fortunately it was this year, and all the lovely remarks in our visitors book give the lie to the bad guests.  I am sure yours does too.  If they are the only ones, there is nothing to worry about.  Ignore them. They are probably professional complainers who go out of their way to find fault.  Do not worry about them and do not pay them back even a penny.  They booked it and you could have booked it out to others.

I sometimes think a questionaire to send out to prospective bookers would be a good idea

1. Do you intend to go out sightseeing, the beach etc at least five days for every week you are here?

2. Are you thinking of bringing only dirty washing with you and washing it here?

3. Can your little boys pee in the toilet correctly?

4. What do you expect from a gite holiday in five short sentences please.

5. Are you expecting the countryside to be totally silent?

6. Do you agree with rules but think they cannot possibly mean you?

7. Do you intend to blame us if it rains?

8. Are you going to take the time to read our useful welcome pack?

Anyone got any other questions they would like to add to this?

Fil

[Russethouse]

>>3. Can your little boys pee in the toilet correctly?<<<

Just an observation - many BIG boys cannot pee in the toilet correctly ! :-(

[Francoise]

Thankyou all for your advice;

I don't think I need to name him as he informed me " I went abroad once before and I don't intend being caught that way again."

I take that to mean he won't be leaving the safety of his home shores again.

In the meantime I have answered his 101 complaints in an objective manner whilst biting my tongue very hard. We really don't feel he has grounds for complaint and he has only himself to blame for his overreaction in returning home. He was offered alternative accommodation at the time but he declined. He is now complaining that he was stranded in a foreign land with no alternative accommodation.

We have kept all our guest questionnaire forms and gathered other evidence just in case.

Fortunately our subsequent guests have been delightful and our confidence has been restored;

I think it really was a case of him booking a totally inappropriate type of holiday. 

Francoise

[passiflora]

Hi

 

I think you dealt with that very well.  Fortunately it does not sound like any of us need be worried for next year.  Phew

CaroleS (16)

[Thedunnes]

Hi

My thoughts are that this chap did not give you the opportunity to deal with his difficulties in a reasonable way.  If his problems related to the fact the he was expecting a 5* hotel and not a self catering property then it is hardly your problem. 

I would be fairly blunt if he responds to your reply with more whinging.  It is also worth noting that his only recourse to compensation is through the french legal system.  As he sounds very well travelled, he probably speaks french fluently - not.  Therefore if he takes legal advice in the Uk they will tell him there is nothing they can do as he has made a contract in france and he will probably disappear into his hole.

Stephen (19)

[Paolo]

Fil,

A few more to add to the questionnaire for prospective bookers:

9. Do you intend to take up smoking between the time of booking and arrival?

10. If you discover a long-lost family member between booking and arrival, will they be coming too and sleeping on the sofa?

10. Are you in the habit of wiping off your make-up on white towels at home?

Paolo

[Eskenazi]

Our last visitors' complaints included 'The toilet makes a

dribbling sound' 'The washing machine does not work'

(not until you switch it on, no...and they made this

complaint on the evening of their arrival...) and my

favourite, 'The fridge is too cold.' Some people are

never happy.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

[quote]Hi My thoughts are that this chap did not give you the opportunity to deal with his difficulties in a reasonable way. If his problems related to the fact the he was expecting a 5* hotel and not a se...[/quote]

"It is also worth noting that his only recourse to compensation is through the french legal system.  As he sounds very well travelled, he probably speaks french fluently - not.  Therefore if he takes legal advice in the Uk they will tell him there is nothing they can do as he has made a contract in france..."

I don't think that this is entirely correct. I understand that it is very important in a commercial  contract to define which jurisdiction governs the contract. It seems that you are at liberty to deem pretty much any jurisdiction you like (though this does not, of course, allow one to break the Laws of the Land by claiming that they do no apply!), no matter where you are, but the use of English Law under the jurisdiction of the English courts is commonly used. In my previous career it was used pretty much exclusively (even, it is worth noting, between a pair of French companies). The reason given for this is that English law is pretty user friendly. However, I believe that if you do not deem jurisdiction, you can find it being imposed upon you. In this case, since the customer was based in the UK and (presumably) the agreement was in English then he might have a pretty good case to bring the affair before an English court. It is foolhardy to assume that being in France could protect one from civil action elsewhere.

[Later]

I've just had a brilliant idea that would come in very handy for this kind of client.  It used to be possible to buy a laxative that would dissolve in water more or less without a trace.  Used as a tactical weapon against such a client it would (i) offer some degree of satisfaction to the gite owner and (ii) fulfil an expectation of the client. 

Of course, I'm definitely not suggesting that any of you would ever do such a thing. 

[Val_2]

I've read the posting and all the replies with interest. Can anyone confirm whether or not it's just the british holidaymaker who complains the most or are other nationalities as bad. We are in a different business,but just like this,we too get the british champion whiners and whingers who don't show their true colours until you are well into their job. It's a shame its not a perfect world where you can name these people publicly so everyone who lets accomodation in France will be aware if they get a booking them.

[passiflora]

Hi

I've just read your post Val and I am not convinced that people who moan really mean to upset you.  I have come to the conclusion that they like to  pass on information to help you improve and so I don't take offence any more. In fact some guests have pointed out a few useful things that I hadn't even thought of.

I have developed the gallic shrug over the year as between 10 and 4 on a Saturday I cannot possibly check everything.  Justifiably some guests complained about the very dead black stinking mess in the salad spinner that someone had left with the lid on and put back in the cupboard.  Had someone set this me as a test!!  Just something else I must remember to look inside.

We have had a few disasters this year with drains and also a storm in September where the chimney fell off and left a hole in the roof.  My experience has been that we have tried to do what we can to rectify the situation and made up with gifts - cognac or pineau and chocs go down well.  Several of our guests who have enjoyed such horrors at our property are coming back next year for more.  I  even e-mail a few with progress reports.

CaroleS (16)

 

 

[Diana]

Re the laxitive suggestion.

I would make sure they were nowhere near my 'facilities' when this was likely to take effect.

 

[GRT17]

[quote]I've read the posting and all the replies with interest. Can anyone confirm whether or not it's just the british holidaymaker who complains the most or are other nationalities as bad. We are in a diff...[/quote]

Further to Val2's comment;

we have French friends who have let their little house in Brittany for the first time this year. They were full of praise for their British clients who they said had been very happy and not complained about anything. They had a problem with some Belgians who complained about lack of heavy curtains although the house has shutters. From the French they had received nothing but complaints ! One French family in particular, who it seems were friends of theirs and the husband a Doctor! Nothing was right for them and they left after 24hrs and demanded a full refund on a 3 week let!

I have actually seen this house and will admit that if it were mine I would like to see it properly finished before letting it out. On the whole though not that bad and it is situated in a good position.

So who can tell? I don't think any one nationality is any more likely to complain than another.

Gill

[Mpprh]

Hi

I came across this complaint on the net :

http://www.holidayadvertising.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=52

No pleasing some people ?

Peter