betoulle Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 We all love this job really & yes we do make friends for life who come back time & time again, but once in a while I think this would be a great job if it wasn't for the b****y guests - which was one of my reasons for leaving the medical profession after 33 years to start in this game........... (great job, but the patients can be very irritating...) Anyway, has anyone had either of these problems:a) we took a much needed few hours off last Sunday afternoon after the Saturday from hell - 23 people coming & going in our 2 gites & 4 B&B rooms - came home at 5pm to find B&B guests from 2 years ago had turned up on the offchance to see us, found us 'not at home' & went down to the pool for a couple of hours - our residents were not pleased on our return & my husband was to put it politely furious........we will not be seeing them again, but it does make you wonder how often it might have happened in the last 2 years without us being aware.....we have had other ex-guests turn up with friends to 'take some pictures' - an event reported to us by a very irrate gite guest on the 1st day of his stay with us..........moral of the tale - beware of getting too friendly with house-hunters, especially those doing restoration projects they may come back to haunt you......b)currently have 2 American ladies staying with us - a charming mother & daughter here to investigate their ancestry. Last night (11.30pm)we 'discovered' daughter sitting at our office desk.....very flustered & said she had been having problems with her cell phone could she possibly phone a friend in Paris - obviously thought we had retired for the night............I made the call for her & 'hovered'. Husband again furious & on further investigation he found someone had used our PC the night before. We do let guests have access for picking up emails during daytime hours when we are around to monitor use - most people bring their own laptops as we have WiFi. This however was done on the sly as she obviously used it & probably the phone too during the wee hours - time difference to LA being what it is..... no mention made in morning of 'Oh I used the PC last night' When we eventually retired last night we disconnected phone & PC for the night......... Question is do we confront her - looks like we dont trust our guests - something we have never had to do before & we dont normally charge for PC use as all our guests ask first & are never on-line for more than an hour. Its the underhand way it has been done that gets us - am not looking forward to the arrival of the next phone bill - something tells me there may be a few transatlantic calls.........We have decided to shut up shop for next 3 days & take some much needed time off - no B&B guests till weekend when we have a French 'do' staying with us - the French are easy we find (fingers crossed) they rarely use the bathrooms if staying 1 or 2 nights, so fewer towels to wash & will often put a set of pillows &/bedspread in the wardrobe, they are always very appreciative, pay by cheque & rarely ask for internet access...........& they come back year after year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 Oh boy is my blood boiling for you!. This is one reason why I think of our 'guests' as 'customers' and they are treated as such. Politely, friendly, but no familiarity at all as some will take advantage and step over that line. You must define very clearly that they are not part of the family or the furniture. Those people did a very stupid thing with your pool, if they had had an accident in your absence what would have happened?. How about a 'strictly residents only' sign for the pool? and can you lock the door to the room with the phone at night?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blanche Neige Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 "How about a 'strictly residents only' sign for the pool? "Good idea but the ex guests would probably consider themselves to be allowed as they have previously stayed there. "..............and can you lock the door to the room with the phone at night?" Excellent idea and I would be straight off to the Quincaillerie to buy a big lock .............and a "Private - keep out notice!" [:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blanche Neige Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 This however was done on the sly as she obviously used it & probably the phone too during the wee hours - time difference to LA being what it is..... no mention made in morning of 'Oh I used the PC last night' Can you check your phone bill online and when you present your final bill to the client add the charge for the telephone call to the States? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betoulle Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 Thanks for the vote of sympathy - will be putting a notice on the pool gate ASAP, but doubt it would stop the likes of that particular family - they only stayed one night for Gods sake, but as often happens with the house hunters they think you are their only friend in the village.....grrrrrr....... but I think that OHs attitude should have got the message across........very calm & extremely cold......As to the phone & PC we tend to work from our entrance hall during the season so we are around to answer questions, offer advice etc & be generally friendly - something our guests welcome as a rule. Rather than sit & twiddle the thumbs though we do our emails, accounts, bookings etc from that desk so there is always something to do & it doesn't look like I am being a formidable concierge...........from now on though it will all be disconnected when we are not around & the hotel in the village has just opened an Internet Cafe so if they are not wireless we will deny access from now on. As always the 1 bad apple spoils it for everyone - we learn by our mistakes, sometimes on a daily basis. Am looking forward to a day of sitting reading a book for an hour or two - once I have tackled the 2 days of washing & ironing of course.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyC Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 This illustrates how people's ideas about friendship can be one-sided. Would you have minded if ex guests who are "friends for life" had turned up and waited for you by the pool? Perhaps the ones who did it really thought of themselves as valued friends. That's not to make excuses for them, just another way of looking at it.Is there no way of finding out whether calls were made to the States so that you could bill them? Perhaps a quiet word with the mother might help, she'd then be able to tackle the daughter. Good luck with the padlock.Sorry, crossed posts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betoulle Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 we have a strict rule with all our 'friends' to please phone 1st to ask before 'turning up'- mainly cos we are so busy a lot of the time it is often not convenient to down tools for a social cuppa & the pool is strictly for residents only - we restrict our guests 'outside' visitors to 2 adults only & NO NON-RESIDENT CHILDREN ...............we have enough problems if we have old friends staying with us who use the pool - the gite guests often feel the pool is for their use only..........even we are not welcome sometimes...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 Hi BetoulleChange the settings on your PC so that you have to enter a password on startup - then no-one can use it unlesss you log them on. You can at the same time set up a separate restricted access for guests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 For the phone problem, either unplug as you have done or buy a cordless and take the handset(s) to bed with you. With the second you still have phone access yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betoulle Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 We do have a restricted access for guests which is what she used..........but in future if no laptop its the Internet cafe for everyone...........have changed the password today......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adriana Posted August 12, 2006 Share Posted August 12, 2006 [quote user="betoulle"] We do let guests have access for picking up emails during daytime hours when we are around to monitor use - most people bring their own laptops as we have WiFi. T [/quote]I hope you manage to tame your guests!Your remark about laptops and wifi got my attention as we have wifi too, but I haven't been able to give guests access.The wifi-connection is protected with a password and encryption, but even guests who have the password cannot get online. The connection asks for a hex value (?!).What sort of set up do you have to get around this problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betoulle Posted August 13, 2006 Author Share Posted August 13, 2006 Hi Adriana,I'm no Wi-Fi expert but I think your system is asking for the encryption key - a 10 or 26 character string depending whether you have 64 or 128 bit encrytion.........you(or the supplier) must have have entered this when you switched encryption on...............try to get into the Access Point set-up and check it or reset it.....Bon Chance..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adriana Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 [quote user="betoulle"]Hi Adriana,I'm no Wi-Fi expert but I think your system is asking for the encryption key - a 10 or 26 character string depending whether you have 64 or 128 bit encrytion.........you(or the supplier) must have have entered this when you switched encryption on...............try to get into the Access Point set-up and check it or reset it.....Bon Chance.....[/quote]I remember having to think up a pass phrase, which I duly noted down, but no string. I think that was done automatically.Do you give your guests both a pass word or phrase and a string of characters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betoulle Posted August 13, 2006 Author Share Posted August 13, 2006 Well, no .....because I haven't switched the WEP encryption on so users pick up the wireless network straight away when they boot up (Windows XP). I switch the network on and off by enabling MAC address checking (hardware address) which is secure as long as I remember to do it, otherwise the network is wide open to everyone!!I think WEP encryption is probably best and hand out the codes when user need access.......There should be an SSID - the network name you have chosen and the encryption key...........the users will detect the SSID automatically with Windows XP but they will still need the key.............suggest you get your supplier to reset it ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adriana Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 [quote user="betoulle"]There should be an SSID - the network name you have chosen and the encryption key...........the users will detect the SSID automatically with Windows XP but they will still need the key.............suggest you get your supplier to reset it .....[/quote]I'll contact the manufacturer (Belkin's ) who offer lifelong support (only I don't have their support phone number here).Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anton Redman Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 << the French are easy we find (fingers crossed) they rarely use the bathrooms if staying 1 or 2 nights, so fewer towels to wash >> Nice to have one's prejudices confirmed. Like Queen Vicotria we bathe once a month even if we don't need to. Sorry joke honest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Does that explain the clouds of perfume? [:-))]Unfortunately many of those who stay here both shower a lot and douse heavily in perfume. Worst of both worlds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Oh God, the perfume - what DO they use? It lingers for soooo long after they've gone1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 You're not wrong - best tactic is run and open all the windows then dash out again and let the air clear for an hour before venturing in to clean after a wedding party has left their bedroom! Do they mix their own, maybe? Or put on several at once? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 Dont know but I really hate anything that smells of musk, its the worst smell (well, it ranks up there with certain others) and so many people seem to like it. Our foyer still reeks of it after this morning, Im sure pretty soon an asthmatic guest will complain about such a thing because my Mum's an allergy sufferer and is still choking!.By the way, anyone else worn out yet?. We are considering putting a minimum '2 nights stay' thing for certain times next year as the overnighters have almost depleted our sheets and towels since last week. The owner of the 30 room hotel in the next village turned up at our door on Saturday desperately seeking some extra sheets!. We couldn't really spare them but I gave him a bag of singles and a bag of doubles. Felt so sorry for him as he has only just bought the place and has a slight air of inexperience in a way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted August 14, 2006 Share Posted August 14, 2006 I remember as a young teenager buying some men's cologne called 'Just Musk'. Dread to think what it must have been like as I wafted down the street, accompanied by the sound of deer in the distance calling after me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grays Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 [quote user="betoulle"]we have a strict rule with all our 'friends' to please phone 1st to ask before 'turning up'- mainly cos we are so busy a lot of the time it is often not convenient to down tools for a social cuppa .[/quote]YesIts really really hard when you are self employed and busy at all hours explaining to "friends" that it is an inconvienient time to pop around.We regularly seem to be subject to the "dreaded" car pulling into the courtyard, horn beeping, be it Monday,Sunday or Friday..whatever... anytime between 8am and 9pm sometimes even later, and always friends and aquaintances who know we are busy people but assume we will stop work for them for an hour to make tea and chat...even during a changeover day.I've had phone calls from bored friends asking what i'm doing, and have had to bite my lip to avoid screaming that i "was in the garden cutting the grass/cleaning the games room/showing the just arrived guests to their apartment/hanging up bed linen/cleaning a toilet. When of course what i'm really doing is answering the phone to you !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerise Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 Is it me, or are all the guests madder than usual this year. We are full, full, full BUT we have had far fewer long stays and like wen I am disappearing under the laundry and my guests seem to be omnipresent and very demanding. Have just had severe sulks from party who came back to ask me for bread as the boulangerie had run out (at quarter to 12 on a bank holiday - what a surprise!!) and I could only spare one baguette, have people who said how they were finding it awkward at breakfast because the other guests spoke French (even more surprising!!) and worse when they went to a restaurant they spoke French there too. And to cap it all some people have just come back and been offended by my refusal to cook them dinner tonight (they had said they were going to a restaurant) as they really can't understand why I can't rustle up a little 4 course number for 5 at a couple of hour's notice on a bank holiday. The French seem to be excelling in 'finding' children - after last week's extra baby, the party who are arriving on Thursday have suddenly telephoned to say they have an 11 year old that they weren't aware of at the time of booking, and seemed a little astounded that they were going to have to pay extra "What, even if we bring a sleeping bag?".Suppose I shouldn't be moaning as at least we are earning money but I feel really ragged at the moment. Got some long stays coming up from Thursday, so hopefully things will calm down a bit and they'll all go out to dinner and maybe I'll have time to speak to the acquaintances who as Grays say are accusing us of being 'anti-social' as we don't have time to phone for a gossip or pop out for an apero. This morning I had 3 phone calls from Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 No you are not alone we have been the same this year ,much shorter stays and some real pains. I had the family room free last night for just the one night and got a call requesting it but just could not face another change . Couple arrive last week at 6.45pm with 2 children in their teens, the first question was why did he not have 2 bathrooms in the family room, this had all been explained when the room was booked. He then came down 10 minutes later and asked me to book horse riding for the children that evening, said that I was sorry but that would not be possible, however the response was I still want you call to check.To be honest I was so knackered I just did not have the power to respond so phoned, of course the response was negative so he then said that he wanted me to call another stable by which time is was me that was laughing and suggested that maybe it would be best for him to make the call , but of course he could not speak any French so declined.I did ring , but it was my friend just to have a friendly word before i killed someone They then went for a walk and returned about 8 as I was going to serve dinner to the other guests, said gentleman came into the kitchen and said that after taking there walk and reading my guest book they had all decided to eat here this evening, his wife only ate white meat and the children did not like fish however he was not fussy and would eat most things.Needless to say I did not cook for them that evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miki Posted August 15, 2006 Share Posted August 15, 2006 And to think, for some years we throught we might well be the only B&Bpatrons who thought like this......It warms the old cockles to knowothers are no different to us ! Mind you, the French on one B&B forum, often speak in the same way as we do !!If it wasn't for the good guests, what would we all do....I am writing this while Tina is drinking and talking with a familygroup of 10 Brits, some of them live in Switzerland, the rest inLondon. They are staying 6 nights and have taken the whole place,including a room that no one is using but they paid for it ! They have been great, insisting that they all eat the same, drink the samewine and in general, trying and indeed succeeding, to be reallyamicable. I even gave them a bottle of winetonight....................free !! Got to go and sit down now.....[;-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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