Morticia
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 22, 2008
- Messages
- 17,771
- Reaction score
- 685
Here's a question for all of you...how do you separate yourself from the business? I don't mean taking a vacation, I mean how do you not take guests personally?
An example of something that should have been a no brainer but I got 'me' mixed up with 'the inn'- Guests who have been here a couple of times were here again this weekend. They had their daughter and the daughter's friend along and the parents were out shopping and the teens were here alone. (Teenagers, so not a big deal.) The kids were wandering around as kids will do and I found them somewhere they didn't belong. I was startled to see them coming out of the basement and said, 'Please don't go down there again,' and I walked away. I figured that was that.
No, that was not that. Apparently the girls were so upset they didn't even want to eat breakfast in the morning. They told the parents this on the way home Saturday. She emailed me today and demanded an apology for speaking to the girls about something that was not obviously 'off limits' to guests. Hmmm, the basement is a guest area? See? I'm taking it personally. Because there was no signage saying 'keep out' or 'do not enter' the mother is saying I had no business telling them not to go there again. Or, no business speaking to them at all.
So, how do you separate yourself from the inn to make a reply that will keep a good customer but let her know that the girls were in the wrong? Or do you even bother letting her know the girls were in the wrong? To me, the fact that they were upset means that THEY know they were in the wrong and they want mommy to make ME feel badly for catching them out.
BTW, this is not the first time I've had a situation like this. I lost the last guest because I did take it personally. I was affronted that I was expected to apologize to the kid for the kid's poor behavior. And it's tough to lose a guest over a moment's poor decision on the part of the kid and my inability to get over myself!
I'm looking for a way to put myself into 'front desk' mode. It's just a job, it's not me personally, you know what I mean.
An example of something that should have been a no brainer but I got 'me' mixed up with 'the inn'- Guests who have been here a couple of times were here again this weekend. They had their daughter and the daughter's friend along and the parents were out shopping and the teens were here alone. (Teenagers, so not a big deal.) The kids were wandering around as kids will do and I found them somewhere they didn't belong. I was startled to see them coming out of the basement and said, 'Please don't go down there again,' and I walked away. I figured that was that.
No, that was not that. Apparently the girls were so upset they didn't even want to eat breakfast in the morning. They told the parents this on the way home Saturday. She emailed me today and demanded an apology for speaking to the girls about something that was not obviously 'off limits' to guests. Hmmm, the basement is a guest area? See? I'm taking it personally. Because there was no signage saying 'keep out' or 'do not enter' the mother is saying I had no business telling them not to go there again. Or, no business speaking to them at all.
So, how do you separate yourself from the inn to make a reply that will keep a good customer but let her know that the girls were in the wrong? Or do you even bother letting her know the girls were in the wrong? To me, the fact that they were upset means that THEY know they were in the wrong and they want mommy to make ME feel badly for catching them out.
BTW, this is not the first time I've had a situation like this. I lost the last guest because I did take it personally. I was affronted that I was expected to apologize to the kid for the kid's poor behavior. And it's tough to lose a guest over a moment's poor decision on the part of the kid and my inability to get over myself!
I'm looking for a way to put myself into 'front desk' mode. It's just a job, it's not me personally, you know what I mean.