DEALING WITH OTHER PEOPLES CHILDREN...??

[Miki]

[quote] I agree wholeheartedly, but if you don't do something then

don't gripe if the customers are outside your expectations.

 [/quote]

Griping makes the World go around and if you have read the B&B

thread over the years, you will notice my thoughts are always not how but how much ! Very few

people I know go to work and never gripe, I left the UK due to one too

many gripes about the M25 ! Sod all I could do about it, so eventually

we left, How many others suffer it everyday and  gripe away but they

don't leave do they, nor the millions of poor old souls stuck in dead end jobs..... [:)]

I can stand a lot of gripes and aggro, why ?  Well, because

they are all paying to stay here. It gives us a nice living, we close

for nearly 5 months a year and the intense period for kids and possible

stroppy behaviour, is pretty much condensed in real terms, to a very

short length of time indeed (it just feels longer I hear people say).

We get by, as they say.....................

[Wendy]

Abi, I sympathise as I'd be damned if I'd sit at a table with other people's kids as the parents are bad enough in my experience. I have found that kids these days are allowed to cross too many boundaries ie. calling adults by their first names. How about a good 'sshhooooosh!'.  They are just kids after all. If mum and dad complain afterward then explain the situation. There is a pecking order and kids are not at the top!.

[Cassis]

[quote user="wen"] How about a good 'sshhooooosh!'.  [/quote]

The sound of napalm firing from a flamethrower?

[Owens88]

[quote user="Cassis"]Nobody's griping.  Here's another way to deal with guests who get out of order.

[IMG]http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i26/cassiscassis/childcage.jpg[/IMG]
[/quote]

Are you sure that is not you after your 'niche targetting strategy  ' ?

[Coco]

[quote user="Cassis"][quote user="wen"] How about a good 'sshhooooosh!'.  [/quote]

The sound of napalm firing from a flamethrower?
[/quote]

I just love the smell of napalm in the morning, don't you Phil? [;-)]

Sorry, in a frivolous mood at the thought of losing this weekend's booking for two nights - now we don't have to tolerate 4 kids under 14!  And no, I'll never make a business woman.

Phil, I've also noticed that you're not on www.ourinns.org set up by Arnold, one of our forum members.  It's free and I've just had 200 euros worth of bookings from it.  Get yourselv on there!

[Tresco]

[quote user="wen"]Abi, I sympathise as I'd be damned if I'd sit at a table with other people's kids as the parents are bad enough in my experience. I have found that kids these days are allowed to cross too many boundaries ie. calling adults by their first names. How about a good 'sshhooooosh!'.  They are just kids after all. If mum and dad complain afterward then explain the situation. There is a pecking order and kids are not at the top!.[/quote]

What? I just don't understand this at all. Have you got any children, or do you know any?

 

[Owens88]

[quote user="Miki"]

Griping makes the World go around and if you have read the B&B thread over the years, you will notice my thoughts are always not how but how much ! ....I can stand a lot of gripes and aggro, why ?  Well, because they are all paying to stay here. It gives us a nice living, we close for nearly 5 months a year and the intense period for kids and possible stroppy behaviour, is pretty much condensed in real terms, to a very short length of time indeed (it just feels longer I hear people say).
We get by, as they say.....................
[/quote]

I hope you don't mind my editting Miki, no intention to misrepresent you.

I have read the B&B thread over a couple of years and noticed that not everybody is in to giving a 'service' to the customer, from the customer's perspective, not everybody is following the CdH model either. That is OK, diversity is good but I repeat my point from several posts above - somehow one must declare the expectations/style/rules/guiding ethos BEFORE the booking is taken, not with a set of rules on arrival or tut-tutting after the event.

FWIW I would not have dreamt of taking young kids to a CdH in the way that I understand the CdH model. I did take them self catering and I did take them to hotels (bigger, more things to do, eating is more flexible...).  I even struggle myself with the idea that I can drink wine when the host wants but can't get a beer when I want, but there I am hi-jacking my own para now !

BUT also I would never have allowed my kids to continually run roughshod over everybody's needs. There is a balance to be had.

I know that there are bad'uns out there. e.g. I have often flown Ryanair or equivalent and walked past complete rows that have been so thoroughly trashed with crisps and stuff that I believe it must have been a challenge to be so crass in just 2 hours. I do appreciate that there are extremes who are just antisocial, but they aren't all young kids, or Brits. I congratulate you  for coping with the rough and the smooth and making it all work for 7 months a year.

[Rosebud]

[quote user="wen"]Abi, I sympathise as I'd be damned if I'd sit at a table with other people's kids as the parents are bad enough in my experience. I have found that kids these days are allowed to cross too many boundaries ie. calling adults by their first names.[/quote]

So how do your kids adress people??

My friends kids call me by my name, I wouldn't expect anything else.  There's certainly nothing 'boundary crossing' about that.  What twaddle!

 

 

[Russethouse]

[quote user="Tresco"]

What? I just don't understand this at all. Have you got any children, or do you know any?

[/quote]

I think Wen has 5 children of her own!

 

[Wendy]

Yep, five who address adults as 'Mr' or 'Mrs', Auntie this or Uncle that. And who dont speak over the top of adults during conversations. I dont believe in the 'dont speak unless spoken to' thing but what they have are good manners. Basically Ive taught them not to pester other people. They pester me though:))

[Cassis]

[quote user="St Amour"]

Phil, I've also noticed that you're not on www.ourinns.org set up by Arnold, one of our forum members.  It's free and I've just had 200 euros worth of bookings from it.  Get yourselv on there!

[/quote]

Well, I was on there once, what happened?  I'll have a look later - thanks, Saint.

[Coco]

[quote user="wen"]Yep, five who address adults as 'Mr' or 'Mrs', Auntie this or Uncle that. And who dont speak over the top of adults during conversations. I dont believe in the 'dont speak unless spoken to' thing but what they have are good manners. Basically Ive taught them not to pester other people. They pester me though:))[/quote]

I agree Wen, a little respect is nice to see in kids.  A lot of our US visitors children refer to us as Mr Michael and Miss Sally - and not just the southerners.  A lady from Chicago explained to me that it is becoming a more acceptable way of respecting one's elders throughout the States now.  A little less formal than Mr and Mrs or Sir and Ma'am but not so presumptuous as a 5 year old addressing us by our first names when they have only just met us.

And it certainly beats "oy, you!" which is how I was addressed by the horrible, HORRIBLE 6 and 8 year olds who stayed here last summer, drove me to drink and almost caused me to ban all children!  And before anyone says anything, yes it is the parents who were to blame.  Dad was too busy reading his books and mum too busy making herself look lovely.. nails, makeup, hair, you know the type [:@]

[Cerise]

Hi can't agree - hate being called Mrs/madam/Auntie by anybody even 4 year olds - and even actual nieces or nephews.  I've got a perfectly good name and they can use it.  Respect is not to do with that but with the way they speak to you.

St Amour we too have had some loathsome children, but also some delightful ones.  As Miki says we all need a good gripe and this board enables us to do that  So can I moan about the crass adults I had here at the weekend instead please.  They were French not English so another stereotype myth out the door and if they ever want to come back we are FULL even if it is in midwinter.

[KathyC]

I think that adults get to choose what children call them, whether first names only, Auntie/Uncle or Mr/Mrs. In fact I think it's only polite for anyone to ask what the other person wants to be called; I hate call centres where they use my first name and will often correct them. Unfortunately, many parents assume that what pleases them (particularly if it's using first names) is the only way to do it and their children follow them.

[Ejc]

I agree that it's only polite to ask how people like to be addressed - I'm comfortable for my sons friends to call me my my first name - but expect that people I don't know refer to me a Mrs....

One of my pet hates before I left the NHS was the way other nurses would address patients by their first names  without ever considering how the patient actually felt about it.... but I diverge here

A little tolerance and respect  goes a very long way

[Just Katie]

Yes especially if they are old whilst shouting V E R Y  S L O W L Y two inches away from their ear.  Come to think of it that is exactly how I discipline my children.  Works though![:)]

[KathyC]

[quote user="Ejc"]

 

One of my pet hates before I left the NHS was the way other nurses would address patients by their first names  without ever considering how the patient actually felt about it.... but I diverge here

[/quote]

Yes, I was going to add that at the end of my post earlier. I'm also not keen on addressing the nurses themselves by their first names as seems to happen in some places.

[Jc]

My children call my wife and I "Mum & Dad";our Grandaughters and there are lots of them call us "Grandma & Grandad".When a salesman phones me and asks to call me by my christian name,he is told "Call me Mr. Cr**** or Sir".

[Coco]

[quote user="KathyC"]I think that adults get to choose what children call them, whether first names only, Auntie/Uncle or Mr/Mrs. In fact I think it's only polite for anyone to ask what the other person wants to be called; I hate call centres where they use my first name and will often correct them. Unfortunately, many parents assume that what pleases them (particularly if it's using first names) is the only way to do it and their children follow them.[/quote]

With you all the way here Kathy.  I actually wouldn't have a problem with the kids calling me by my first name as long as they were polite but I do find the "Miss Sally" thing quite endearing.  Likewise with call centre people calling me by my first name - they don't even ask if you mind!!  I remember one time when I called BT from the office to complain about something and they asked what my name was I told them it was Mrs B**** and they still asked what my first name was.. I reconfirmed that they could call me Mrs B*** my boss looked up and was quite surprised as I'm normally a pretty informal person but this was business and I was making a complaint.  I don't want some kid saying"hi Sally, and how are you today?"  Well I was fine, until BT got my back up!!!!  They're obviously taught to do this and do the "and how are you today" bit.  I don't want them asking how I am, I don't want to know how they are.  I just want them to do their b****y job!!!

Have a nice day y'all.... from a Grumpy Old Woman [;-)]

[Dick Smith]

I couldn't agree more! Especially if you are complaining or being 'formal' in some way. Once when confronted by a bank clerk aged 12 or so who wanted to call me Richard I sent him off to 'see if there was a grownup who could deal with me'. He wasn't happy, but he got me one. Who called me Mr Smith.

[Pads]

Thats right Mr Smith dont you settle for any ape-ing around[:)]

[Tresco]

I agree with all these posts. Perhaps I over-reacted to 'wens' posting style.[:)][:$]

[Honeybee]

I think it is a bit unfair that some people on the forum are lumping all British children together as being pests when eating in a mainly adult environment. We took our children out to eat from a very young age and they knew how to behave when doing so - talk to one another and us without using a loud voice, and sit nicely at the table. We always got compliments about their behaviour and they loved eating out. We could not afford to do it often so it was a treat and they appreciated it. We were always welcomed back to reataurants as they knew our children would be no trouble. I have experienced the loud, running about children and they are annoying but they are not always Brits. I have seen some appalling behaviour from French, German, Belgian and Dutch children both at home and abroad. Oh and then there are the Americans!

[AnOther]

Welcome to the forum.

Nice touch reviving a thread from 2006 [;-)]

[bubbles]

When our 3 children were little we always drove all the way down through France to our place in France (in a 2CV!)

We thought of it as a great adventure.

We invariably found that restaurants didn't mind at all serving three set menus and giving us 5 plates.

We found that a good idea was to go for the upmarket menu with 4 courses so that there was a good variety of food on offer and we would let the kids have first choice.

I still beam when I remember, at the end of one of our family feasts, a French couple at the next table made a point of complimenting us on the excellent behaviour and table manners of our children! (They would have been 3,6 and 8 at the time)

Little did they know what horrors they could be when they weren't being fed!