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Post by Maria Lurdes (Milu) on Jul 13, 2016 1:12:08 GMT
Lambada, I love your response - listen lady, just cancel and get it over with, I have other guests who'd be happy to be here.
I find that when I take a hard line like that, the guests usually back down. It's happened before where a guest has given me a litany of trivial complaints (no dish cloth, ran out of toilet paper, the hot water ran out after 10 people showered, there was a stain on the carpet, etc) and kept complaining even after I'd addressed everything - so I said "I'm so sorry that you feel this place is not as you wanted. Feel free to cancel, I'll make sure you completely refunded and I'll drive you to your next place -for the guest to say no, no that's fine that's fine we just wanted you to know. Yeah, gfy.
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Post by CC on Jul 13, 2016 1:15:43 GMT
Yes, odd, superhostnyc. Mine who complain beg to stay but have all these complaints...a setup for a refund request for sure.
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Post by lambada on Jul 13, 2016 5:53:50 GMT
Lambada, I love your response - listen lady, just cancel and get it over with, I have other guests who'd be happy to be here. I find that when I take a hard line like that, the guests usually back down. It's happened before where a guest has given me a litany of trivial complaints (no dish cloth, ran out of toilet paper, the hot water ran out after 10 people showered, there was a stain on the carpet, etc) and kept complaining even after I'd addressed everything - so I said "I'm so sorry that you feel this place is not as you wanted. Feel free to cancel, I'll make sure you completely refunded and I'll drive you to your next place -for the guest to say no, no that's fine that's fine we just wanted you to know. Yeah, gfy. Milu, you're exactly right. See below response from her: To clarify, I am not looking for a refund of any type or to move out- you asked for feedback and I thought it was only fair to let you know my opinion of the condition of the unit now. I am happy staying and intend to at the price point already paid.
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Post by lambada on Jul 13, 2016 14:58:07 GMT
I would review "the guest had irrealistic expectations. I did not find out which ones but obviously it looked all different to her than to all other guests and the recent photos. i felt very offended by the tenor of ger mails but unfortunately she did not take up my offer to cancel with full refund. I regret to have hosted her and do not recommend her. The palace hotel could be just approbriate. " Don't take it to heart, I have had such guests, luckily on newspaper ads without reviews. The walls were not straight enough and the corners not rectangular. A dangerous place where you could see wires in a hole - if you climbed on a chair and stuck your finger in, nothing would happen, as the wires were not connected to anything. We then put a blind over that security concern. She will leave a bad review, better depict her as foolish in advance. And ina short, biting answer. Thank you, Helga. That was helpful. I was confused when I heard back from her. NO ONE ever had that kind of concerns over the Studio. The most I got is, can I please have extra towels. I guess there is always a first time. Annoying since I was actually going out of town yesterday and had to delay in case she canceled, but she didn't.
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Post by lambada on Jul 13, 2016 15:07:26 GMT
Did you have a chance to visit the unit and check it after the cleaners were there before the guest checked in? And if so was the cleanliness up to the usual standards that your other guests have given 5 stars for? Some guests are less flexible with conditions such as the age and wear of furnishings and surfaces, than other guests are, and will be annoyed if there is a difference in what the photos show, than what they find in person. It sounds like she felt that some of the furniture and surfaces were not as spotless as she had assumed. In the review i might mention that she expressed concern over a tile in the shower which was long-term cracked but perfectly safe, and also disappointment about some furniture being a bit warn and for these reasons she was unhappy. And that you are not sure if you would feel right recommending this guest to most hosts as her standards might exceed what is generally provided. Pretty truthful in all. I happened to be home when the cleaning was done, so I did check the Studio and everything was as clean as it always is. There is nothing wrong with the place - it was completely remodeled 3 years ago, with brand new appliances. And definitely nothing wrong with the furniture, which I bought brand new just 3 years ago as well. I got 115 five-star reviews. The only different things from the picture was the bed cover since I now use quilt cover that we can wash after every guest. And she did shut the blinds - I saw it myself on the way up to my floor. That was 9.30pm. And she emailed me at 10.30pm, saying she didn't know how to shut the blinds. And the crack on the (back) of the glass tile, which is up on the shower wall and no one even needs to touch that since it is very tall. But even if you touch it, which of course I did, it is just a smooth surface since the crack was on the back. In short, I know what this was about: She wants a refund. For no reason. I'm sure she pulled this a few times before. The mistake was that she shouldn't have done that to a host like me, who's been hosting for many years with over 400 five-star reviews (I had previous listings), as 1 bad review wouldn't affect me as much as it would her, who only has 2 good reviews.
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Post by Mabel on Jul 13, 2016 15:19:18 GMT
So she was angling for a refund then changed her mind and clarified that she didn't want a refund? Did she pursue anything after that? Really weird. I would still go with either Helga's or my suggestions for review of her.
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Post by Mabel on Jul 13, 2016 15:30:17 GMT
Helga that's hilarious.. that a guest would climb up the wall and stick their finger in the hole!!
Lambada, i once, in a response to a ridiculous review, mentioned that the readers may view some of my other reviews in order to draw their own conclusions about the credibility of the above guest's comments. Guest didn't like that much, but I think it was effective.
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Post by lambada on Jul 13, 2016 16:07:05 GMT
Typical. It's so easy for people to cry "dirty." That's what's gonna hurt us the most. But where are their pics of all this dirt? Where are the details in their descriptions of this dirt? Exactly! I actually peeked thru the blinds to see where she put her stuff since she said she couldn't use the counter nor the table since everything was so dirty. But the blinds were shut (see, she could shut them no problem!).
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Post by lambada on Jul 13, 2016 16:10:42 GMT
Helga that's hilarious.. that a guest would climb up the wall and stick their finger in the hole!! Lambada, i once, in a response to a ridiculous review, mentioned that the readers may view some of my other reviews in order to draw their own conclusions about the credibility of the above guest's comments. Guest didn't like that much, but I think it was effective. So she was angling for a refund then changed her mind and clarified that she didn't want a refund? Did she pursue anything after that? Really weird. I would still go with either Helga's or my suggestions for review of her. Yes, Grace, that's what I would do - click on my profile to see other guests' reviews. I'd also mention that I question her motivations. Re. the refund, I think she got a bit worried when I was pushing her to cancel and I'd give the full refund. That was the last email I got from her, saying she's intending and happy to stay. Definitely a good thing to call her bluff!
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Post by Inanna (Shaun) on Jul 13, 2016 21:42:47 GMT
Helga's review word for word! It would most likely even be endearing to prospective guests. You know, I have had some guests like that, not a lot since I yell all over my listing that this is an old house. I think your guest projected her dream vacation onto you and is perhaps allergic to reality.
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Post by lambada on Jul 13, 2016 23:24:00 GMT
Helga's review word for word! It would most likely even be endearing to prospective guests. You know, I have had some guests like that, not a lot since I yell all over my listing that this is an old house. I think your guest projected her dream vacation onto you and is perhaps allergic to reality. I honestly didn't think she found anything wrong with the place. She must have pulled this stunt to get a refund from previous (newly) hosts. And it worked. And she tried with me, but didn't work since I had no problems with her canceling. I saw this happens in restaurants quite often. People eat their food, and then complain about it so they don't get charged. And I worked in (5 star) hotels and saw quite a few guests pull this kind of things. Unfortunately, it mostly works.
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Post by Inanna (Shaun) on Jul 14, 2016 2:17:09 GMT
That's horrible. I worked in restaurants also, and caught a few guests putting their own hair in their drink. I wish that US businesses would not capitulate to such behavior. Good thing yu called her bluff. Writing her review should be a good time.
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Post by helgaparis on Jul 14, 2016 11:43:17 GMT
There are 2 kids of those guests. The type who will make up a complaint to get a refund. I take it as a sportive challenge to never pay a cent to those and respond with irony at the opening of the hostilities, with sarcasm if they don't give up.
Then there are the really crazy ones, who may have a serious problem with a cracked tile. Mrs Monk. On a good day, I consolate those, on a very bad day, when my defenses are down, I try to find solutions, which may infuriate them more. On such a day, I could propose to stick a bamdaid over the cracked tile to protect herself from any danger. To take a transparent one for sensible skin. With all my humour, I often don't get it, when people have such problems and fears, that they are just a step over the brink, and jump into solution mode. Comes from living between artists and sales people.
In this case, with the insistance that she did not want refund, you might have a highly neurotic guest. Nobody wants those, but we are then in the discrimation debate again.
As for strategies, if Mrs Monk is already in residence, the hard rebuke works, that everyone already used. Reality crashing over their head. It's just unpleasant for the host too. What I learned from a young friend from a very rich family., when she had to handle irrational drmands (and she had a much lower treshold than I): stay very cold, distant and high and mighty, look down your nose (even by text). And say "no, this demand cannot be met" or "this service / request is not included." No excuses, no expression of regret, no explanation = no handle to get hold of you. The no explanation part is hard for chatty persons like me, but explaining implies excuses to most people and then they grow. Ah, she did no reproaches either. It just was absolutely clear, that whatever concerns the other person had, were their concerns, of no interest to her and she wanted exactly that (whatever it was) and would get that. On better days, I think of her and emploi the technique conciously. It works quite well and leaves the other party less frustrated. Teality check too, but like coming into a cool rain - no use to blame the rain.
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Post by Maria Lurdes (Milu) on Jul 14, 2016 12:19:47 GMT
"What I learned from a young friend from a very rich family., when she had to handle irrational drmands (and she had a much lower treshold than I): stay very cold, distant and high and mighty, look down your nose (even by text). And say "no, this demand cannot be met" or "this service / request is not included." No excuses, no expression of regret, no explanation = no handle to get hold of you. The no explanation part is hard for chatty persons like me, but explaining implies excuses to most people and then they grow. " This is absolutely perfect strategy, and I am also a naturally chatty person, so I'll have to gird my loins Clearly I have to learn how to "quote"
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Post by High Priestess on Jul 14, 2016 12:39:19 GMT
Milu, to avoid having your own comments included in the quote, just keep them outside the "quote" brackets in the reply -- type your comment after the "/quote" that appears in brackets.
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