What I will not miss...

[Wendy]

This post is really geared towards those B&B/Hotel/Gite owners as we are nearing the end of the crazy season.

I will not miss pulling a tangle of seemingly two foot long hairs out of the plug hole in the bath. Or the wash basin sink. (Why do women brush their hair over the sink and then leave it so clogged?)...

having to make heavy use of the toilet brush which many guests seem to ignore the existence of...or

removing pubic hairs from the bathroom mirror...or

cleaning the bath/basin only to find one very long BLACK hair still clinging to the side...or

getting up at 6.30am to do breakfast for guests who 'MUST leave at 7.30am' only to be still waiting for them to come down at 8.30/9.am...or

cooking dinner for that couple who inform you early on that they 'eat anything' only to have them say at the last minute 'I am gluten-free and she is vegan'..or

guests who book a room that clearly states is for two only and yet turn up with 3 kids...or

getting out of bed at 2.am for idiots who are banging on the door after you told them very clearly on the phone, and by email, that you CLOSE UP at 11.pm!...and

parents who excuse their childrens' appalling behaviour by saying...'They have been stuck in the car since we arrived at Calais this morning'...and they have arrived after driving 9/10 hours non-stop since Calais. WHY...WHAT FOR!!!!.

Feel free to add.

 

 

 

 

[Bugsy]

[quote user="wen"]

.................................removing pubic hairs from the bathroom mirror...or........................

[/quote]

 

[+o(]

.

.

[mint]

Wen

I do feel for you.  But, speaking for the "other side" as it were, I do try to pick up all the long black hairs (how embarrassing, why does my hair have to shed itself all over the bath and/or shower) and I will strip the bed if I have time.  My husband has been known to buy and replace a worn out battery in the alarm clock.  If we are only staying the one night, we try NOT to use all the clean towers, leaving some obviously unused.

We normally bring a present such as fudge from the UK or toys  and books if we know the family of the chambre d'hote have children.  We creep in and out and, if we are likely to be late, we tell the proprietors.  The only time that that went wrong was when we went to an operetta, didn't realise that it wouldn't start till well after "diner", went on till 12 midnight (amateur production) and we were worrying about keeping the proprietor up when we got back.  We found that monsieur le patron had indeed stayed up to ensure we'd get back into our rooms and was adamant that he would have had to stay up anyway; he was an unconvincing liar!

How many lovely, lovely tales we could tell about the owners of chambres d'hote or Logis hotels.  Happy days; almost wish we were still househunting and winding up in some "place" or other of an evening and HOPING that it would be OK.  To be frank, in 9 times out of 10, it was more than OK, it was BRILLIANT!

[Wilko]

Hi

Speaking of early breakfasts...........where do you all draw the line..5.30am, 6.30am ??

Rgds

Wilko

[Wendy]

This is where you really have to get tough. After such incidences last year, and the year before, I swore I would never again break my rule of breakfast being 8.30-10am. But thing is you get elderly couples and the like who are sooo nice and you just feel you want to accommodate them.

The earliest was at 5.30am for a 'bird-watcher' from Lyon who wrote us a bad cheque and several since for supposedly '7.30am departures', who did not leave before 9am.

Well, after nearly four years in this business I am as tough as nails now.  If people want to leave early, then they can do so on an empty stomach. I do not care anymore. Coffee/croissants are freely available at the airport, and sandwiches can be bought on any Ryanair/Flybe/BMI Baby flight. They need the profits.

I am fed up with getting up at daybreak to lay out breakfast only for them to wander down an hour or two later and say they are running too late to sit down and eat. Mind you, we make them pay the night before and they get no refund on the pre-paid but not-eaten breakfast. Their fault not mine.

I no longer do 'early bird' brekkies, and never will offer them again, my day is long enough as it is.

 

 

 

[Ian]

It'd be alot easier without those pesky guests. 

[Ormx]

You see this is why I hate staying in B&bs and chambre d'hotes. This is what I feel the owners are thinking when they are really smiling and wishing us a pleasant day. I'm afraid your post has put me off even more and you'll put yourself out of business with that attitude.

[cooperlola]

Happily, the o/p is typical neither of your average b&b/gite owner, nor of most of us here!  I have spent many a happy holiday in rented accommodation and can honestly say that two of my greatest friends here are the French couple from whom we rented regularly before we moved over.  Take no notice of wen; best not, really....  The raising of people's backs is a tradmark!

[londoneye]

Ditto - also spent many happy holidays in gites, and now good friends with people we stayed with.   And, being so gives us a good indication as to how they really feel about their guests, because they no longer have to be nice to us for money (well only free meals!), and can say what they like about the guests to us, as friends.

Their comments are totally favourable about their guests (unless of course they really get guests from hell, even then they are always aware that no guest is pure bad, just some have slightly annoying habits!).    They, of course, sometimes get a little fed up with having people on their doorstep 24/7 in season, but generally they seem to LIKE their guests, and enjoy them being there.   I would suggest that is why they are successful gite owners.   If you really don't much like people it is difficult not to show it, and people do really want to be where they are welcome, rather than be regarded as an annoying necessity in order to make a few euros every year.

[Cerise]

I make breakfast for my guests when they want it within reason.  Had some lovely fishermen who had breakfast at 5.30 but they did have to put up with the sight of me in my dressing gown!  Most of our guests are lovely, we enjoy having them stay and many come back.

BUT - I have noticed that people are becoming more inconsiderate.  Many people have VERY high expectations and really would like us to be an hotel with 24 hour service only cheaper.  Realistically it is getting towards the end of the season, we're all tired and I think owners come on here for a good rant to save them being unpleasant to their guests.  Perhaps they forget that the guests could read this forum (and maybe we should have a private rant bit where they can't).  I think wen's post was like that - I'm sure she has had lots of nice guests but the one's for whom you prepare dinner and then they phone to say they have decided to stay out, those who spray the walls with suntan cream and those who think you are some kind of doormat do stick in your mind at this time of year!  Last week I had people who complained that I was out when they arrived at 14.00 despite having been told that if they wished to arrive before 16.00 I needed to be informed.  When I pointed that out (politely) they said "Well we never expected you to go out!"  Actually they were OK afterwards but at the time I really felt like telling them to get lost.  I find that many people are put out that rural France doesn't have the facilities they are used to (no launderette, no internet cafe, no supermarket open all hours) and sometimes that is all my fault!

I like our guests generally and they like us too if the number of presents, invitations to stay and return visits are anything to go by.  But we are all human and like a moan occasionally.  If you have a busy B & B you get a huge cross section of humanity through the doors and like people everywhere they are good, bad and indifferent.

[mint]

As guests, we have always felt just that "guests" and, because these are not hotels, we are very conscious of the fact that the owners have to work jolly hard for what we consider a mere pittance.

We are very aware we are in someone else's home and we observe all the conventions.  We come down for breakfast at the prescribed times and never stay dallying at the breakfast table because we know the owner has to clear up and then go about their own business.  We are careful not to spill anything anywhere to the extent that in one b & b we stayed at, I would not let my husband eat chocolate on the bed because it had a snowy white counterpane.

We often take some small present from the UK, fudge (which seems greatly to the taste of the French) or perhaps some shortbread.  We pay in cash rather than a cheque.  We once stayed with a family and, because we knew beforehand that they had 3 children, we took some typical Welsh toys for the children.

The b & b owner we stayed with in our village (where we eventually bought) has been SO helpful  since our arrival.  He called to see us and wished us well.  When we had problems at the mairie, he arranged for us to meet up with the mayor and came along to help with the translation.

So please don't be put off b & b's.  They are wonderful value for money and you meet some really nice b & b owners.  In fact, I don't think we ever came across a disagreeable one in the 3 years that we searched for French property from a wide area ranging from Brittany, Normandy and Sarthe in the north down to where we now live in the Charente.

[Reg]

I have read this topic from the start and I am finding it hard to see why it was first posted to start with... am I alone?

I dont like swimming - so Im not a lifeguard.

I dont like heights - so Im not a window cleaner

I dont like picking up dog crap - so Im not a road sweeper.

So.. if you dont like the jobs you have to do to keep your guests happy... why do you do it? Do something else.

I love staying at B&Bs in the UK and the rest of Europe. Its a fantastic way to see behind the scenes of the corporate tourist trade.

Let me know your website if you still think guests are a pain in the backside and I'll make sure I avoid you next year.

Reg

 

 

[Quillan]

[quote user="Reg"]

I have read this topic from the start and I am finding it hard to see why it was first posted to start with... am I alone?

I dont like swimming - so Im not a lifeguard.

I dont like heights - so Im not a window cleaner

I dont like picking up dog crap - so Im not a road sweeper.

So.. if you dont like the jobs you have to do to keep your guests happy... why do you do it? Do something else.

I love staying at B&Bs in the UK and the rest of Europe. Its a fantastic way to see behind the scenes of the corporate tourist trade.

Let me know your website if you still think guests are a pain in the backside and I'll make sure I avoid you next year.

Reg

[/quote]

No your not alone but probably not for the reason you think. I believe that whatever you think of your guests you should never show it because you never know who is watching. Somebody may have left somebodies B&B's thinking what lovely hosts and what a wonderful holiday they have had only to have the whole memory destroyed by hearing, seeing or reading that the owner of the B&B has gone round saying they are a bunch of inconsiderate pratts.

Let me ask you this though Reg. I assume you work or have worked? That being the case you are a lucky man never to have been p*ssed off with either an employee, employer, the job, getting to or from work, not always being able to take a holiday when you would like to and never woke up thinking that you wouldn't like just one day off. You really are a very, very, lucky chap in fact I would go as far as saying that you are probably quite unique. I can also say I have read the posts and I can't see anyone saying they don't like running their B&B.

This business is hard enough with more B&B's starting up every day it seems without people making smart comments about the type of guests they have and how they don't like them and how inconsiderate they are. It takes on average three years (and sometimes more) to get a B&B up to it's full potential and a few words typed or said in a couple of seconds can destroy consumer confidence putting it back years. Worse of all we all get tared with the same brush as at least one poster here has already stated. This is a service industry and like all service industries requires a smiling, helpful, nothing is to much trouble attitude and you should always remember it's the guest that's putting the money in your pocket. A service industry is just that, supplying a service. Apart from when things go wrong, like planes being cancelled, motorway accidents, cars going bang, many potential 'problems' can be overcome with clear and concise communication at the time of booking saving any possible grief (for both parties) during a guests stay.

[Reg]

Hi Quillan

I agree with the points you are making in your last message.

Yet, I never stated I have always been happy with everything in my working life... but I would not send an email/listing to my potential customers stating what I dislike... :-)

As with any business, it takes time and effort to make it work. I agree. I dont see why having a pop at me though will make you feel any better. Im simply trying to add my opinion to this topic and feel that in a great deal fewer words than you, I can make my point.

I hope that the majority of the readers out there took my opinion as just that. Nothing more.

Reg

ps. On a lighter note. If you ever want to hear about some of the ... people... I've worked for, Im more that willing to get it off my chest :-)

[mint]

Reg

I am sure you understand that some people get very defensive.  But, I  personally like your post very much and I think you make your point very well indeed.

There will always be people out there with a lousy attitude to their work and/or life in general.  It's their outlook really and they will definitely reap what they sow.

I may come across as being very naive and possibly a bit "polyanna-ish" but I truly think that your life is what you make of it and it will come good or bad as YOU CHOOSE TO VIEW IT.

If everything is terrible and not what you'd like, you have basically 2 options:  re-think your attitude and convince yourself that you can live with what you have or, alternatively, just quit what you're doing and find something else to do that will fulfill you and make you happy.

Sermon over but, Reg, I think you've got it right.

[mint]

Reg

Have sent you a pm.  Keep letting us have your thoughts on topics on the forum.  It's nice to have new people posting!

[Quillan]

[quote user="Reg"]

Hi Quillan

I agree with the points you are making in your last message.

Yet, I never stated I have always been happy with everything in my working life... but I would not send an email/listing to my potential customers stating what I dislike... :-)

As with any business, it takes time and effort to make it work. I agree. I don't see why having a pop at me though will make you feel any better. I'm simply trying to add my opinion to this topic and feel that in a great deal fewer words than you, I can make my point.

I hope that the majority of the readers out there took my opinion as just that. Nothing more.

Reg

ps. On a lighter note. If you ever want to hear about some of the ... people... I've worked for, Im more that willing to get it off my chest :-)

[/quote]

Sorry Reg, only the central paragraph was aimed at you the rest was aimed at B&B owners that pass these sort of comments in public.

Many B&B owners like their job and I am one of them. We all have reason to have a moan sometimes but it should be done in private and not on a public forum and certainly not in front of perspective or past guests. Your post came over in such a way that I personally felt you were saying that because some owners had a moan they didn't like the job so they shouldn't do it which is not correct. As I said, you are right in that there was no need for this thread because we should not say these things in public because it damages the industries image.

[whitey]

Thank goodness there have been some replies from "happy" B&B owners. I read the initial thread and the old saying "if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen" came to mind.

It's great to here some of the more positive thoughts from B&B owners and from some of their travelling guests. We have stayed in many a guest house in france and have always found our hosts friendly and positive very welcoming.

Pity we don't know the web site for the initial posting...............I would make sure to actively avoid staying with them. To all other guest house owners, keep up the good work !!!!

[Framboise]

Is it not as case of being "what YOU make of it", be it B&B, restaurant etc?

Many moons ago I had a pub with my former husband (long story zzzzz), who promptly left me to get on with it accompanied by a toddler and a tiny baby.  NOT ideal.

However, I have to say that whilst it tore me to pieces having to care for two little kids and run that business, it was a life changing experience for which I created my own Mission Statement,  long before they became all hip & right-on.

                                   "Being nice to people you hate"

I think this applies to most service industries such as B&B / pubs / cafes / restaurants /hotels etc., because effectively you invite people into your home as  guests, irrespective of whether they are acceptably nice, friendly, clean and courteous, let alone whether or not YOU would consider them to be "friends", BUT you have to treat them as hospitably as you would these same "friends".   Its a case of paste on that smile and get on out there since your whole business depends on the projection you give to your customers - and yes, there were some customers in the pub that I utterly despised yet they would never have known that fact - but if you cannot do this then really you are in the wrong business to start with.     

Maybe the original poster had just experienced one of those days when they wrote what they did?    Anyway, I have been out of the licensed trade for twenty years now and would never consider going back to it after my own personal experiences [blink],  so I guess you can say that I will not be opening as a B&B in the near future knowing all I know!!   Each to their own though.

[Wendy]

Reg, if you really want to see behind the scenes of the tourist trade then grab a toilet brush, soap and gloves and I will happily show you next April. I remember a very similar thread like this posted  last year in which many people in this trade happily replied and sympathised with each other. Reg, I could add a few things to your list from my perspective...and they are very simple things that many people ignore and hence my complaints.

Bins are placed in rooms to be used. Rubbish looks better in the bin than under the bed and on the carpet.

Bidets are not toilets.[+o(]

Once again...bidets are NOT toilets!.

Toilets have a flush mechanism... it's not rocket science to work out how to use them.[+o(]

Toilet brushes have a use...need I say more?.

I do not run a dog kennel, so why do guests treat it as such?

I shouldn't have to clean up crap; my guests are humans not dogs...show me the difference.

I don't like heights either, yet I clean windows from very high ledges.

I do not like whinging whining people, yet I greet them with a smile.

It must be common habit for people to regularly stuff toilet paper, kleenex, condoms etc down their bathroom sinks at home so who am I to complain when they do it at my place whilst on holiday?.

Why do I expect people to respect my establishment when they are 'paying guests' and can do whatever they like?. And I have discovered that the job is only as enjoyable as the guests are.

But what right do I have to complain?. I am only the owner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bob T]

If I had wanted to start a B&B then I would try and put up with the work and the mess that comes with running such a business. There are many things in life that we don't want to do, but we do them to earn a living.

I would never treat someone elses house worse than I would treat my own, but, if I am paying for a B&B for a night then I expect that by staying there I will make some mess. If I leave a hair in the sink, I am paying good money for that to be removed at a later date, by the person who I am paying.

On our travels we often stay in cheap hotels around France. For €45 for a double room, we have no problems with the owners moaning about any mess that we have left, and €45 can be loads cheaper than many B&Bs.

When we moved here we could have spent loads of money buying a Gite/B&B, but decided to buy a smaller, cheaper house and live off the money that we had left over. Anyone could do the same. Many took the choice of running a B&B.

If the little things are starting to niggle you now, what is going to annoy you in a few years time?

[mint]

Nice, balanced reply, Bob T, and I couldn't agree with you more.

We love staying at B & B's and small Logis hotels, however, because we find them a bit more "personal" (though not personal abuse, you understand) than the big hotel chains.  And we HAVE met some lovely proprietors some of whom have become friends!

[Just Katie]

[quote user="Jura"]

I do not like whinging whining people, yet I greet them with a smile.

[/quote]

Black? Kettle? Pot?[:D]

Chip? Shoulder?[:D][:D]

Seriously though, I have stayed in small B&B type places in France on only 3 occassions.  I think in 2 of these 3 instances I may have been a little unfortunate in my draw and, I felt as though I was encroaching on the owners and, their privacy and also, that I was not welcome.  Anyone would have thought (as seems to be the case with wen ooops.. Jura) they were doing it for a favour and not for a living. 

I think I would only ever stay in places like this out of pure necessity.  However, although I am sure there are many delightful B&B owners out there, it is just too much of a chance to take. You see, I also work hard for 48 weeks each year, I never moan about it and although I don't need to clean toilets or pull hair out of plug nor would I choose too for a living, my career has its own 'perils and pitfalls' which are the nature of the job I'm afraid just get on with it or, take on something else that you can cope with.

[Quillan]

[quote user="Just Katie"]You see, I also work hard for 48 weeks each year, I never moan about it and although I don't need to clean toilets or pull hair out of plug nor would I choose too for a living, my career has its own 'perils and pitfalls' which are the nature of the job I'm afraid just get on with it or, take on something else that you can cope with.[/quote]

That's the thing, some owners seem to forget that the people who are paying them work very hard and their holiday is something they look forward to and have worked for. The greatest pleasure for me is when people leave with a big smile, well rested and come back again. It's good for them,  it's good for me and it's good for my business. I am very sad to hear that your experience of B&B's in France have not been as you would like but there are owners out there who strongly believe that their guests are king/queen and nothing is too much trouble. To tar us all with the same or similar brush is not really fair because we are not all the same.

So for those that whinge here is an example, Katie won't be staying with you, me or anyone else who has a B&B. That's at least two potential customers lost. So when less people come and stay in your B&B's next year you might want to reflect on this thread and try and work out why, it should not be to difficult.

[cooperlola]

I used to work for a chain of wine merchants - although not in the front line.  I remember on my first week, going round with the MD. At one shop, before we went in he said to me, "We inherited this manager [we're about to meet] when we bought the shop.  What he doesn't know is that I'm about to sack him."  When asked why, he said, "Well he runs things OK but he hates customers.  He just doesn't belong in this business."  Sums it up, I'd say.  I've stayed in loads of lovely rented places, and some real b*mmers, and the attitude of the owners certainly affects the way one feels about their properties.