Have you ever had to deal with a bad review (ie Trip Advisor, etc) that was based on circumstances beyond your control?

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The Farmers Daughter

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And how did you handle it?
We are in a small river village. We have one road in and one road out, and we are on it. We have a bad review posted on TA about the traffic in front of the Inn. Usually I inquire when guests book to help assist in room recommendations, but its not always successful. This particular couple were trouble to begin with and complained constantly even though I did my best to make them happy. At the end of the day, they still felt it necessary to diss me on TA. Its my only bad review. What can I do?
 
is this generally a problem for guests? maybe these people were just in a bad mood to start. if the road noise is not something you hear about as a complaint form other guests, and you want to post a response, you could say that you look forward to the opportunity of speaking with all of your guests to best help them select a room that will meet their needs. i read a review and i'm not sure if the owner is on here or not as i can't remember whose review it was but they had the same problem with a guest complaining about the npoise from the road. i think the owner went as far as citing a traffic study on how many cars apss by in any given day and what hours too. that might be too much for you to sya.
if it is really loud and you do get comments you could buy a white noise machine for that oom. i saw those in a place we looked at - and decided not to buy because of those machines being needed - but they do work.
 
Whenever you get a bad review you need to reply to it. Nothing says "we don't care we got a bad review" then a bad review with no reply to it.
 
I agree with Mr. Design. However, don't go overboard trying to explain yourself or make excuses. If it's your first complaint, it may just be that they are hypersensitive. If you go on and on about the road, other people reading the review may get the idea that the noise is really terrible.
 
Write a simple and short owner's response, without negating every single comment they made. When owner's do that it seems to validate it more than anything else.
There is a BnB in NC that has a road out front of it and I saw a negative review saying it was this very busy highway! I laughed at that, as I have been there and it is a double lane winding mountain road, not an expressway.
The owner, however in response went on and on and on and it really turned me off and probably turns others off. I will post it here without the link so you can have a read. The review is short and the owner's response is way over the top. The main thing (which is near impossible) is to not take it personal. It would be better to NOT respond than to respond with a lengthy correction of the guest.
Cut n paste into a browser - I removed the link so they don't see all these click thru's coming from this forum - titeld : Way too nois y"
www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g49623-d80673-r7267720-Mast_Farm_Inn-Valle_Crucis_North_Carolina.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT
 
Also how many other glowing reviews do you have? If you have 35 great reviews and only one mentioning the road noise, then you can say something about it in a one line answer, thanking them for their comments. Again, read the one I posted on the same topic and you will see quickly how NOT to reply.
 
Write a simple and short owner's response, without negating every single comment they made. When owner's do that it seems to validate it more than anything else.
There is a BnB in NC that has a road out front of it and I saw a negative review saying it was this very busy highway! I laughed at that, as I have been there and it is a double lane winding mountain road, not an expressway.
The owner, however in response went on and on and on and it really turned me off and probably turns others off. I will post it here without the link so you can have a read. The review is short and the owner's response is way over the top. The main thing (which is near impossible) is to not take it personal. It would be better to NOT respond than to respond with a lengthy correction of the guest.
Cut n paste into a browser - I removed the link so they don't see all these click thru's coming from this forum - titeld : Way too nois y"
www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g49623-d80673-r7267720-Mast_Farm_Inn-Valle_Crucis_North_Carolina.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT.
might be the same one i read, sounds like it.
 
Write a simple and short owner's response, without negating every single comment they made. When owner's do that it seems to validate it more than anything else.
There is a BnB in NC that has a road out front of it and I saw a negative review saying it was this very busy highway! I laughed at that, as I have been there and it is a double lane winding mountain road, not an expressway.
The owner, however in response went on and on and on and it really turned me off and probably turns others off. I will post it here without the link so you can have a read. The review is short and the owner's response is way over the top. The main thing (which is near impossible) is to not take it personal. It would be better to NOT respond than to respond with a lengthy correction of the guest.
Cut n paste into a browser - I removed the link so they don't see all these click thru's coming from this forum - titeld : Way too nois y"
www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g49623-d80673-r7267720-Mast_Farm_Inn-Valle_Crucis_North_Carolina.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT.
OMG!!! The owner is a bit over the top in his responses!
Thank you for posting that.
 
Here was my response to a similar report on TA. As with your guest, this guest was extremely difficult, p***d off about everything, and never mentioned a concern about the noise while at our B&B.
As we note on our website, we are located a short walk from our downtown area, and mytown has not been 'rural' in over 250 years. We are a small university town located about 75 miles from bigcity. Had this guest mentioned an issue with the street noise we would have suggested that she keep her double (or triple) pane windows closed at night and make use of the clock/radio in each room which can provide white noise. We can only point to our high percentage of repeat guests as evidence that the noise at night is not bothersome to a great many people. If you are extremely sensitive to noise, please discuss that with us when calling for information or a reservation and we can help you with your choices.
 
Also how many other glowing reviews do you have? If you have 35 great reviews and only one mentioning the road noise, then you can say something about it in a one line answer, thanking them for their comments. Again, read the one I posted on the same topic and you will see quickly how NOT to reply..
Joe Bloggs said:
Also how many other glowing reviews do you have? If you have 35 great reviews and only one mentioning the road noise, then you can say something about it in a one line answer, thanking them for their comments. Again, read the one I posted on the same topic and you will see quickly how NOT to reply.
I have 18 good reviews and 1 poor one. I was told by another innkeeper to simply ignor it. To reply would be to draw attention to it when most people would read all the other good reviews and dismiss the poor one based on the accurate presumption that the complainer was just a pissy freak who had their knickers in a twist. (which was the case). The truth of it is, the poster has disgruntled because his favorite regional B & B was booked and we were 2nd choice.
 
Write a simple and short owner's response, without negating every single comment they made. When owner's do that it seems to validate it more than anything else.
There is a BnB in NC that has a road out front of it and I saw a negative review saying it was this very busy highway! I laughed at that, as I have been there and it is a double lane winding mountain road, not an expressway.
The owner, however in response went on and on and on and it really turned me off and probably turns others off. I will post it here without the link so you can have a read. The review is short and the owner's response is way over the top. The main thing (which is near impossible) is to not take it personal. It would be better to NOT respond than to respond with a lengthy correction of the guest.
Cut n paste into a browser - I removed the link so they don't see all these click thru's coming from this forum - titeld : Way too nois y"
www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g49623-d80673-r7267720-Mast_Farm_Inn-Valle_Crucis_North_Carolina.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT.
OMG!!! The owner is a bit over the top in his responses!
Thank you for posting that.
.
The Farmers Daughter said:
OMG!!! The owner is a bit over the top in his responses!
Thank you for posting that.
If you want to continue on the madness click on the 5 reviews that show POOR in their raiting and you will see pages of the same muck! Totally ridiculous, who wants to read that crap.
 
Here was my response to a similar report on TA. As with your guest, this guest was extremely difficult, p***d off about everything, and never mentioned a concern about the noise while at our B&B.
As we note on our website, we are located a short walk from our downtown area, and mytown has not been 'rural' in over 250 years. We are a small university town located about 75 miles from bigcity. Had this guest mentioned an issue with the street noise we would have suggested that she keep her double (or triple) pane windows closed at night and make use of the clock/radio in each room which can provide white noise. We can only point to our high percentage of repeat guests as evidence that the noise at night is not bothersome to a great many people. If you are extremely sensitive to noise, please discuss that with us when calling for information or a reservation and we can help you with your choices..
muirford said:
Here was my response to a similar report on TA. As with your guest, this guest was extremely difficult, p***d off about everything, and never mentioned a concern about the noise while at our B&B.
As we note on our website, we are located a short walk from our downtown area, and mytown has not been 'rural' in over 250 years. We are a small university town located about 75 miles from bigcity. Had this guest mentioned an issue with the street noise we would have suggested that she keep her double (or triple) pane windows closed at night and make use of the clock/radio in each room which can provide white noise. We can only point to our high percentage of repeat guests as evidence that the noise at night is not bothersome to a great many people. If you are extremely sensitive to noise, please discuss that with us when calling for information or a reservation and we can help you with your choices.
That is a very good, diplomatic response!
thumbs_up.gif

 
Also how many other glowing reviews do you have? If you have 35 great reviews and only one mentioning the road noise, then you can say something about it in a one line answer, thanking them for their comments. Again, read the one I posted on the same topic and you will see quickly how NOT to reply..
Joe Bloggs said:
Also how many other glowing reviews do you have? If you have 35 great reviews and only one mentioning the road noise, then you can say something about it in a one line answer, thanking them for their comments. Again, read the one I posted on the same topic and you will see quickly how NOT to reply.
I have 18 good reviews and 1 poor one. I was told by another innkeeper to simply ignor it. To reply would be to draw attention to it when most people would read all the other good reviews and dismiss the poor one based on the accurate presumption that the complainer was just a pissy freak who had their knickers in a twist. (which was the case). The truth of it is, the poster has disgruntled because his favorite regional B & B was booked and we were 2nd choice.
.
Ignoring it is always an option, and sometimes the right way to go. I took it as an opportunity to address the idea of street noise, because we are on a busy corner in town, and I don't want the next people who are checking in to be spoiling for a bad experience because of this review. I'd rather they discuss it with us when they make the reservation.
 
Write a simple and short owner's response, without negating every single comment they made. When owner's do that it seems to validate it more than anything else.
There is a BnB in NC that has a road out front of it and I saw a negative review saying it was this very busy highway! I laughed at that, as I have been there and it is a double lane winding mountain road, not an expressway.
The owner, however in response went on and on and on and it really turned me off and probably turns others off. I will post it here without the link so you can have a read. The review is short and the owner's response is way over the top. The main thing (which is near impossible) is to not take it personal. It would be better to NOT respond than to respond with a lengthy correction of the guest.
Cut n paste into a browser - I removed the link so they don't see all these click thru's coming from this forum - titeld : Way too nois y"
www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g49623-d80673-r7267720-Mast_Farm_Inn-Valle_Crucis_North_Carolina.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT.
OMG!!! The owner is a bit over the top in his responses!
Thank you for posting that.
.
The Farmers Daughter said:
OMG!!! The owner is a bit over the top in his responses!
Thank you for posting that.
If you want to continue on the madness click on the 5 reviews that show POOR in their raiting and you will see pages of the same muck! Totally ridiculous, who wants to read that crap.
.
I agree. I also notice that the guest gave a great rating for both the room and the cleanliness...the one rating was reserved for the location, the service and the Innkeepers themselves. That tells me that perhaps they let it be known AT THE INN that they were unhappy, and the Innkeepers responded pretty much as they did in their review response...calling the complaint "so much cannon fodder" and droning on and on.
It's bad enough if someone leaves a bad review about a situation that they never mentioned before they left. It's even worse when they DID give the Innkeepers a chance to make it right, and were treated badly in person.
That management response alone would make me NEVER consider staying at that place, I don't care how many good reviews they had.
 
It depends upon the management of the property. Some ignore all reviews, some answer all, and some only answer the really bad ones. It can be helpful if you can provide additional information on how the problem has been addressed or fixed.
 
Also how many other glowing reviews do you have? If you have 35 great reviews and only one mentioning the road noise, then you can say something about it in a one line answer, thanking them for their comments. Again, read the one I posted on the same topic and you will see quickly how NOT to reply..
Joe Bloggs said:
Also how many other glowing reviews do you have? If you have 35 great reviews and only one mentioning the road noise, then you can say something about it in a one line answer, thanking them for their comments. Again, read the one I posted on the same topic and you will see quickly how NOT to reply.
I have 18 good reviews and 1 poor one. I was told by another innkeeper to simply ignor it. To reply would be to draw attention to it when most people would read all the other good reviews and dismiss the poor one based on the accurate presumption that the complainer was just a pissy freak who had their knickers in a twist. (which was the case). The truth of it is, the poster has disgruntled because his favorite regional B & B was booked and we were 2nd choice.
.
Ignoring it is always an option, and sometimes the right way to go. I took it as an opportunity to address the idea of street noise, because we are on a busy corner in town, and I don't want the next people who are checking in to be spoiling for a bad experience because of this review. I'd rather they discuss it with us when they make the reservation.
.
muirford said:
Ignoring it is always an option, and sometimes the right way to go. I took it as an opportunity to address the idea of street noise, because we are on a busy corner in town, and I don't want the next people who are checking in to be spoiling for a bad experience because of this review. I'd rather they discuss it with us when they make the reservation.
one guest had me on the phone for 30 minutes trying to determine if the street noise would be too much for her on vacation. she lives in a very rural area where there are no cars or any other noise other than nature. the best place i could think to send her was on the water but i explained she'd still have to hear the train in the distance and any boats that might be going by. she was not in the least bit happy that it was noisy here. she probably shoul look more for wilderness trips or bring along a sound machine.
 
Also how many other glowing reviews do you have? If you have 35 great reviews and only one mentioning the road noise, then you can say something about it in a one line answer, thanking them for their comments. Again, read the one I posted on the same topic and you will see quickly how NOT to reply..
Joe Bloggs said:
Also how many other glowing reviews do you have? If you have 35 great reviews and only one mentioning the road noise, then you can say something about it in a one line answer, thanking them for their comments. Again, read the one I posted on the same topic and you will see quickly how NOT to reply.
I have 18 good reviews and 1 poor one. I was told by another innkeeper to simply ignor it. To reply would be to draw attention to it when most people would read all the other good reviews and dismiss the poor one based on the accurate presumption that the complainer was just a pissy freak who had their knickers in a twist. (which was the case). The truth of it is, the poster has disgruntled because his favorite regional B & B was booked and we were 2nd choice.
.
Ignoring it is always an option, and sometimes the right way to go. I took it as an opportunity to address the idea of street noise, because we are on a busy corner in town, and I don't want the next people who are checking in to be spoiling for a bad experience because of this review. I'd rather they discuss it with us when they make the reservation.
.
muirford said:
Ignoring it is always an option, and sometimes the right way to go. I took it as an opportunity to address the idea of street noise, because we are on a busy corner in town, and I don't want the next people who are checking in to be spoiling for a bad experience because of this review. I'd rather they discuss it with us when they make the reservation.
one guest had me on the phone for 30 minutes trying to determine if the street noise would be too much for her on vacation. she lives in a very rural area where there are no cars or any other noise other than nature. the best place i could think to send her was on the water but i explained she'd still have to hear the train in the distance and any boats that might be going by. she was not in the least bit happy that it was noisy here. she probably shoul look more for wilderness trips or bring along a sound machine.
.
MooseTrax said:
one guest had me on the phone for 30 minutes trying to determine if the street noise would be too much for her on vacation.
I wouldn't have had the patience to go on about it for 30 minutes. I tell them where we are, what options there are for rooms - some don't face the street and some have triple-paned windows - and that the clock/radio is also a sound machine for white noise. I also tell them I can't judge for them how much noise is too much, and if they have any concern about it they should really book somewhere else. That's too hard an issue to overcome, and when they arrive they'll already be hypersensitive. I don't need the aggravation.
I just had a couple arrive early - shocked that their room wasn't ready yet and then shocked again that there are no TVs in the room. They're gonna be fun for two nights.
 
WORSE than street noise is being out in the country with one lone dog barking at night. Continuous noise is much better than random noise imo. You can't win for fighting. Some guests do not like it when it is too quiet. To each is own...
 
I've been looking for a b&b in Savannah and I found this one, judging by the review responses I think I will shy away from this one!
www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g60814-d595729-Reviews-The_Confederate_House-Savannah_Georgia
I clicked to remove the link so hopefully that worked, if not let me know how to fix it, copy and paste to see it.
 
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