response to bad review on TA?

[RFSitters]

We just had a 3 star review from a guest last week who stayed while we were out of town at the wedding. Basically she had booked 2 rooms for 2 nights on a Wednesday/Thursday and then at the last minute had to change to Thursday/Friday nights so we didn't have the same rooms available and she came in knowing she would have to change rooms.
Our innkeeper called me Friday morning (the day they were supposed to change rooms) saying the woman was unhappy, neither couple wanted the second room, etc. She said they were all very high maintenance, they hadn't eaten any breakfast (despite the special breakfast she had made them to accommodate their dietary needs) and seemed to be just "done" with our area in general and ready to move on. I told her they were welcome to check out but they were responsible for the full room rate, that we would try to re-sell it but if we couldn't they would get no refund.
When we got back to town I actually had ANOTHER guest who was here at the same time call me to say how much she enjoyed her stay and especially our innkeeper, and that she had witnessed this woman being very abusive to the innkeeper. Our innkeeper is a great fill-in for us, I know she handled the whole situation decourously but it was nice to hear it from the other guest.
At any rate, the 3 star TA review came yesterday and it says NOTHING about the charge, it does say why she didn't like the second room, but she basically says everything was "ok"...reading another review of hers (for an inn whose keeper I believe is on this forum!), she LIKED just about everything there but also gave them only 3 out of 5 stars!
Basically, I think her review sounds "cranky" and the overall tone conveys her personality...so I'm going to let it go and hope it gets buried quickly. I just don't feel like there's anything to respond to in the actual review..

Being the other keeper of the inn from that troublesome guest - we will keep each other's secret identities secret, hmm, Innsider - I can vouch for your innkeeper and your guest's views of the TA report. That particular guest was demanding and difficult at check-in and aggressively confrontational the next morning - I was really glad they were only here for one night. And I was sure we would be getting a lousy TA review out of them. I thought it would be worse than it was.
I believe she was put out because we had a full house that night and they had to take our least desireable room - but she knew that in advance. She was nasty to our other guests. They also sprang to my rescue after hearing her complaining. Our experience with the couple traveling with them was better - they seemed more personable. Maybe after another day of travelling with her they went over to the dark side, too.
I laughed when I read your comment that she liked everything here but still only gave us 3 stars. I thought she complained more about us! Just goes to show how personally we all take all this stuff. (Clutter! I could show her clutter...) I will respond one or two of the items in the review, briefly, and not worry about the rest.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

Houdini, no clutter whatsoever at your B&B. That is a misnomer if ever there was one! See when I read stuff like that I immediately know she was the PITA from heck. No doubt about it. I tell guests when they ask about bad guests - "You know that relative who is ALWAYS difficult, ALWAYS miserable? Well sometimes she goes to a B&B."

 

[Don Draper]

We just had a 3 star review from a guest last week who stayed while we were out of town at the wedding. Basically she had booked 2 rooms for 2 nights on a Wednesday/Thursday and then at the last minute had to change to Thursday/Friday nights so we didn't have the same rooms available and she came in knowing she would have to change rooms.
Our innkeeper called me Friday morning (the day they were supposed to change rooms) saying the woman was unhappy, neither couple wanted the second room, etc. She said they were all very high maintenance, they hadn't eaten any breakfast (despite the special breakfast she had made them to accommodate their dietary needs) and seemed to be just "done" with our area in general and ready to move on. I told her they were welcome to check out but they were responsible for the full room rate, that we would try to re-sell it but if we couldn't they would get no refund.
When we got back to town I actually had ANOTHER guest who was here at the same time call me to say how much she enjoyed her stay and especially our innkeeper, and that she had witnessed this woman being very abusive to the innkeeper. Our innkeeper is a great fill-in for us, I know she handled the whole situation decourously but it was nice to hear it from the other guest.
At any rate, the 3 star TA review came yesterday and it says NOTHING about the charge, it does say why she didn't like the second room, but she basically says everything was "ok"...reading another review of hers (for an inn whose keeper I believe is on this forum!), she LIKED just about everything there but also gave them only 3 out of 5 stars!
Basically, I think her review sounds "cranky" and the overall tone conveys her personality...so I'm going to let it go and hope it gets buried quickly. I just don't feel like there's anything to respond to in the actual review..

Being the other keeper of the inn from that troublesome guest - we will keep each other's secret identities secret, hmm, Innsider - I can vouch for your innkeeper and your guest's views of the TA report. That particular guest was demanding and difficult at check-in and aggressively confrontational the next morning - I was really glad they were only here for one night. And I was sure we would be getting a lousy TA review out of them. I thought it would be worse than it was.
I believe she was put out because we had a full house that night and they had to take our least desireable room - but she knew that in advance. She was nasty to our other guests. They also sprang to my rescue after hearing her complaining. Our experience with the couple traveling with them was better - they seemed more personable. Maybe after another day of travelling with her they went over to the dark side, too.
I laughed when I read your comment that she liked everything here but still only gave us 3 stars. I thought she complained more about us! Just goes to show how personally we all take all this stuff. (Clutter! I could show her clutter...) I will respond one or two of the items in the review, briefly, and not worry about the rest.
.

Thank you Houdini, for that reassurance about this particular person! I was SO upset getting that phone call from our Innkeeper...she is a dear woman of 65 and just so sweet...the thought of someone looking down their nose at her just made me so angry. BUT she is originally from the NY/NJ area and I am quite comfortable that she can pull that out when she needs to and can definitely take care of herself!
I'm just thinking back now...this woman made a Webervations so I never spoke to her originally, and even when she requested to make the date change she did it via email and that was how I responded to her...I could tell just from her emails that this was the kind of person she was. I too honestly expected the review to be MUCH worse than it was...especially because she had to pay for two nights here though she only stayed for one...but she never mentioned it.
I was going to respond, but then noticed that the very room she complained about here has a glowing review just underneath hers, with pictures and all. DH just wants me to let it go. I just hate having that one be the first on the review list though!
BTW, love your area and would dearly love to spend some time at your "cluttered" inn when we get a chance...if you ever get a hankering for a "simple" breakfast or a "claustrophobic" guest room, I hope you'll head our way

 

[Copperhead]

We just had a 3 star review from a guest last week who stayed while we were out of town at the wedding. Basically she had booked 2 rooms for 2 nights on a Wednesday/Thursday and then at the last minute had to change to Thursday/Friday nights so we didn't have the same rooms available and she came in knowing she would have to change rooms.
Our innkeeper called me Friday morning (the day they were supposed to change rooms) saying the woman was unhappy, neither couple wanted the second room, etc. She said they were all very high maintenance, they hadn't eaten any breakfast (despite the special breakfast she had made them to accommodate their dietary needs) and seemed to be just "done" with our area in general and ready to move on. I told her they were welcome to check out but they were responsible for the full room rate, that we would try to re-sell it but if we couldn't they would get no refund.
When we got back to town I actually had ANOTHER guest who was here at the same time call me to say how much she enjoyed her stay and especially our innkeeper, and that she had witnessed this woman being very abusive to the innkeeper. Our innkeeper is a great fill-in for us, I know she handled the whole situation decourously but it was nice to hear it from the other guest.
At any rate, the 3 star TA review came yesterday and it says NOTHING about the charge, it does say why she didn't like the second room, but she basically says everything was "ok"...reading another review of hers (for an inn whose keeper I believe is on this forum!), she LIKED just about everything there but also gave them only 3 out of 5 stars!
Basically, I think her review sounds "cranky" and the overall tone conveys her personality...so I'm going to let it go and hope it gets buried quickly. I just don't feel like there's anything to respond to in the actual review..

Being the other keeper of the inn from that troublesome guest - we will keep each other's secret identities secret, hmm, Innsider - I can vouch for your innkeeper and your guest's views of the TA report. That particular guest was demanding and difficult at check-in and aggressively confrontational the next morning - I was really glad they were only here for one night. And I was sure we would be getting a lousy TA review out of them. I thought it would be worse than it was.
I believe she was put out because we had a full house that night and they had to take our least desireable room - but she knew that in advance. She was nasty to our other guests. They also sprang to my rescue after hearing her complaining. Our experience with the couple traveling with them was better - they seemed more personable. Maybe after another day of travelling with her they went over to the dark side, too.
I laughed when I read your comment that she liked everything here but still only gave us 3 stars. I thought she complained more about us! Just goes to show how personally we all take all this stuff. (Clutter! I could show her clutter...) I will respond one or two of the items in the review, briefly, and not worry about the rest.
.

Thank you Houdini, for that reassurance about this particular person! I was SO upset getting that phone call from our Innkeeper...she is a dear woman of 65 and just so sweet...the thought of someone looking down their nose at her just made me so angry. BUT she is originally from the NY/NJ area and I am quite comfortable that she can pull that out when she needs to and can definitely take care of herself!
I'm just thinking back now...this woman made a Webervations so I never spoke to her originally, and even when she requested to make the date change she did it via email and that was how I responded to her...I could tell just from her emails that this was the kind of person she was. I too honestly expected the review to be MUCH worse than it was...especially because she had to pay for two nights here though she only stayed for one...but she never mentioned it.
I was going to respond, but then noticed that the very room she complained about here has a glowing review just underneath hers, with pictures and all. DH just wants me to let it go. I just hate having that one be the first on the review list though!
BTW, love your area and would dearly love to spend some time at your "cluttered" inn when we get a chance...if you ever get a hankering for a "simple" breakfast or a "claustrophobic" guest room, I hope you'll head our way

.

Innsiderinfo wrote: I was going to respond, but then noticed that the very room she complained about here has a glowing review just underneath hers, with pictures and all. DH just wants me to let it go. I just hate having that one be the first on the review list though!
It won't be first for long...just keep asking others to post...it will be buried in no time with other's raving about your place...
Just goes to tell ya, some people ARE hotel people!!! Hopefully that is where she will book in the future...

 

[RFSitters]

We just had a 3 star review from a guest last week who stayed while we were out of town at the wedding. Basically she had booked 2 rooms for 2 nights on a Wednesday/Thursday and then at the last minute had to change to Thursday/Friday nights so we didn't have the same rooms available and she came in knowing she would have to change rooms.
Our innkeeper called me Friday morning (the day they were supposed to change rooms) saying the woman was unhappy, neither couple wanted the second room, etc. She said they were all very high maintenance, they hadn't eaten any breakfast (despite the special breakfast she had made them to accommodate their dietary needs) and seemed to be just "done" with our area in general and ready to move on. I told her they were welcome to check out but they were responsible for the full room rate, that we would try to re-sell it but if we couldn't they would get no refund.
When we got back to town I actually had ANOTHER guest who was here at the same time call me to say how much she enjoyed her stay and especially our innkeeper, and that she had witnessed this woman being very abusive to the innkeeper. Our innkeeper is a great fill-in for us, I know she handled the whole situation decourously but it was nice to hear it from the other guest.
At any rate, the 3 star TA review came yesterday and it says NOTHING about the charge, it does say why she didn't like the second room, but she basically says everything was "ok"...reading another review of hers (for an inn whose keeper I believe is on this forum!), she LIKED just about everything there but also gave them only 3 out of 5 stars!
Basically, I think her review sounds "cranky" and the overall tone conveys her personality...so I'm going to let it go and hope it gets buried quickly. I just don't feel like there's anything to respond to in the actual review..

Being the other keeper of the inn from that troublesome guest - we will keep each other's secret identities secret, hmm, Innsider - I can vouch for your innkeeper and your guest's views of the TA report. That particular guest was demanding and difficult at check-in and aggressively confrontational the next morning - I was really glad they were only here for one night. And I was sure we would be getting a lousy TA review out of them. I thought it would be worse than it was.
I believe she was put out because we had a full house that night and they had to take our least desireable room - but she knew that in advance. She was nasty to our other guests. They also sprang to my rescue after hearing her complaining. Our experience with the couple traveling with them was better - they seemed more personable. Maybe after another day of travelling with her they went over to the dark side, too.
I laughed when I read your comment that she liked everything here but still only gave us 3 stars. I thought she complained more about us! Just goes to show how personally we all take all this stuff. (Clutter! I could show her clutter...) I will respond one or two of the items in the review, briefly, and not worry about the rest.
.

Thank you Houdini, for that reassurance about this particular person! I was SO upset getting that phone call from our Innkeeper...she is a dear woman of 65 and just so sweet...the thought of someone looking down their nose at her just made me so angry. BUT she is originally from the NY/NJ area and I am quite comfortable that she can pull that out when she needs to and can definitely take care of herself!
I'm just thinking back now...this woman made a Webervations so I never spoke to her originally, and even when she requested to make the date change she did it via email and that was how I responded to her...I could tell just from her emails that this was the kind of person she was. I too honestly expected the review to be MUCH worse than it was...especially because she had to pay for two nights here though she only stayed for one...but she never mentioned it.
I was going to respond, but then noticed that the very room she complained about here has a glowing review just underneath hers, with pictures and all. DH just wants me to let it go. I just hate having that one be the first on the review list though!
BTW, love your area and would dearly love to spend some time at your "cluttered" inn when we get a chance...if you ever get a hankering for a "simple" breakfast or a "claustrophobic" guest room, I hope you'll head our way

.

She booked us via phone, but DH took the call. But we had the same experience. No mention of dietary restrictions on the phone - but when she checked in, now she's lactose intolerant. Told her about breakfast times - find out from the other couple later that they have to be in your area for a tour at 9:30. . So I agreed to an earlier breakfast - since they couldn't eat the casserole I was making for everyone else, anyway. Then they hardly ate anything. Very snotty with me in every interaction - a few bigoted remarks about our location and state, ignoring me when I answered the question of travel time as if I didn't exist, and so on. I was a little excited to meet the other couple as he is an actor on a soap I used to watch. He and his wife were chatty and personable, after I stumbled over recognizing him. We had a severely sprained ankle in the house in the group and he jumped right into his 'doctor' persona. But even before I met the husbands I came back and told DH she was a ***** on wheels.
She seemed happiest when she made us miserable. It must stink to have to live your life that way. I felt sorry for the group to have to travel that way - no fun. Of course she wouldn't mention having to pay for the second night - then others would know that it was a revenge TA posting.
We will talk offline. I haven't been to your area since I was a child and I have heard how much has changed recently. And you are welcome here anytime, even amidst the 'clutter'!

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

WAIT! Lactose intolerant? Especially to cheese? You guys are freaking me out, I wonder if this is the lady I had here! They said they were headed your way. Let me reread where you said she was from, could it be, dare I say it, Bay Area CA?
Okay all cleared up - diff PITA, same state.
Sorry Oceans and others out West...it is what it is. You are used to it there, we have guests from all over, and certain parts of the country - south, midwest, for example would never stir up dissention during their stay. They go with the flow. I had guests for 4 nights and day 3 I saw she didn't eat the ham, and finally figured it out. She never mentioned no pork and maybe simply forgot, and just pushed it aside each day. It really was no big deal and I appreciated the way she handled it. She didn't carry her plate storming the kitchen doors to remove it!

(PS I grew up in CA and have many rel's there still - including Bay area)

 

[swirt]

We just had a 3 star review from a guest last week who stayed while we were out of town at the wedding. Basically she had booked 2 rooms for 2 nights on a Wednesday/Thursday and then at the last minute had to change to Thursday/Friday nights so we didn't have the same rooms available and she came in knowing she would have to change rooms.
Our innkeeper called me Friday morning (the day they were supposed to change rooms) saying the woman was unhappy, neither couple wanted the second room, etc. She said they were all very high maintenance, they hadn't eaten any breakfast (despite the special breakfast she had made them to accommodate their dietary needs) and seemed to be just "done" with our area in general and ready to move on. I told her they were welcome to check out but they were responsible for the full room rate, that we would try to re-sell it but if we couldn't they would get no refund.
When we got back to town I actually had ANOTHER guest who was here at the same time call me to say how much she enjoyed her stay and especially our innkeeper, and that she had witnessed this woman being very abusive to the innkeeper. Our innkeeper is a great fill-in for us, I know she handled the whole situation decourously but it was nice to hear it from the other guest.
At any rate, the 3 star TA review came yesterday and it says NOTHING about the charge, it does say why she didn't like the second room, but she basically says everything was "ok"...reading another review of hers (for an inn whose keeper I believe is on this forum!), she LIKED just about everything there but also gave them only 3 out of 5 stars!
Basically, I think her review sounds "cranky" and the overall tone conveys her personality...so I'm going to let it go and hope it gets buried quickly. I just don't feel like there's anything to respond to in the actual review..

Being the other keeper of the inn from that troublesome guest - we will keep each other's secret identities secret, hmm, Innsider - I can vouch for your innkeeper and your guest's views of the TA report. That particular guest was demanding and difficult at check-in and aggressively confrontational the next morning - I was really glad they were only here for one night. And I was sure we would be getting a lousy TA review out of them. I thought it would be worse than it was.
I believe she was put out because we had a full house that night and they had to take our least desireable room - but she knew that in advance. She was nasty to our other guests. They also sprang to my rescue after hearing her complaining. Our experience with the couple traveling with them was better - they seemed more personable. Maybe after another day of travelling with her they went over to the dark side, too.
I laughed when I read your comment that she liked everything here but still only gave us 3 stars. I thought she complained more about us! Just goes to show how personally we all take all this stuff. (Clutter! I could show her clutter...) I will respond one or two of the items in the review, briefly, and not worry about the rest.
.

Thank you Houdini, for that reassurance about this particular person! I was SO upset getting that phone call from our Innkeeper...she is a dear woman of 65 and just so sweet...the thought of someone looking down their nose at her just made me so angry. BUT she is originally from the NY/NJ area and I am quite comfortable that she can pull that out when she needs to and can definitely take care of herself!
I'm just thinking back now...this woman made a Webervations so I never spoke to her originally, and even when she requested to make the date change she did it via email and that was how I responded to her...I could tell just from her emails that this was the kind of person she was. I too honestly expected the review to be MUCH worse than it was...especially because she had to pay for two nights here though she only stayed for one...but she never mentioned it.
I was going to respond, but then noticed that the very room she complained about here has a glowing review just underneath hers, with pictures and all. DH just wants me to let it go. I just hate having that one be the first on the review list though!
BTW, love your area and would dearly love to spend some time at your "cluttered" inn when we get a chance...if you ever get a hankering for a "simple" breakfast or a "claustrophobic" guest room, I hope you'll head our way

.

She booked us via phone, but DH took the call. But we had the same experience. No mention of dietary restrictions on the phone - but when she checked in, now she's lactose intolerant. Told her about breakfast times - find out from the other couple later that they have to be in your area for a tour at 9:30. . So I agreed to an earlier breakfast - since they couldn't eat the casserole I was making for everyone else, anyway. Then they hardly ate anything. Very snotty with me in every interaction - a few bigoted remarks about our location and state, ignoring me when I answered the question of travel time as if I didn't exist, and so on. I was a little excited to meet the other couple as he is an actor on a soap I used to watch. He and his wife were chatty and personable, after I stumbled over recognizing him. We had a severely sprained ankle in the house in the group and he jumped right into his 'doctor' persona. But even before I met the husbands I came back and told DH she was a ***** on wheels.
She seemed happiest when she made us miserable. It must stink to have to live your life that way. I felt sorry for the group to have to travel that way - no fun. Of course she wouldn't mention having to pay for the second night - then others would know that it was a revenge TA posting.
We will talk offline. I haven't been to your area since I was a child and I have heard how much has changed recently. And you are welcome here anytime, even amidst the 'clutter'!
.

Hmmm .... all this reminds me of a feature request for booking systems

 

[RFSitters]

We just had a 3 star review from a guest last week who stayed while we were out of town at the wedding. Basically she had booked 2 rooms for 2 nights on a Wednesday/Thursday and then at the last minute had to change to Thursday/Friday nights so we didn't have the same rooms available and she came in knowing she would have to change rooms.
Our innkeeper called me Friday morning (the day they were supposed to change rooms) saying the woman was unhappy, neither couple wanted the second room, etc. She said they were all very high maintenance, they hadn't eaten any breakfast (despite the special breakfast she had made them to accommodate their dietary needs) and seemed to be just "done" with our area in general and ready to move on. I told her they were welcome to check out but they were responsible for the full room rate, that we would try to re-sell it but if we couldn't they would get no refund.
When we got back to town I actually had ANOTHER guest who was here at the same time call me to say how much she enjoyed her stay and especially our innkeeper, and that she had witnessed this woman being very abusive to the innkeeper. Our innkeeper is a great fill-in for us, I know she handled the whole situation decourously but it was nice to hear it from the other guest.
At any rate, the 3 star TA review came yesterday and it says NOTHING about the charge, it does say why she didn't like the second room, but she basically says everything was "ok"...reading another review of hers (for an inn whose keeper I believe is on this forum!), she LIKED just about everything there but also gave them only 3 out of 5 stars!
Basically, I think her review sounds "cranky" and the overall tone conveys her personality...so I'm going to let it go and hope it gets buried quickly. I just don't feel like there's anything to respond to in the actual review..

Being the other keeper of the inn from that troublesome guest - we will keep each other's secret identities secret, hmm, Innsider - I can vouch for your innkeeper and your guest's views of the TA report. That particular guest was demanding and difficult at check-in and aggressively confrontational the next morning - I was really glad they were only here for one night. And I was sure we would be getting a lousy TA review out of them. I thought it would be worse than it was.
I believe she was put out because we had a full house that night and they had to take our least desireable room - but she knew that in advance. She was nasty to our other guests. They also sprang to my rescue after hearing her complaining. Our experience with the couple traveling with them was better - they seemed more personable. Maybe after another day of travelling with her they went over to the dark side, too.
I laughed when I read your comment that she liked everything here but still only gave us 3 stars. I thought she complained more about us! Just goes to show how personally we all take all this stuff. (Clutter! I could show her clutter...) I will respond one or two of the items in the review, briefly, and not worry about the rest.
.

Thank you Houdini, for that reassurance about this particular person! I was SO upset getting that phone call from our Innkeeper...she is a dear woman of 65 and just so sweet...the thought of someone looking down their nose at her just made me so angry. BUT she is originally from the NY/NJ area and I am quite comfortable that she can pull that out when she needs to and can definitely take care of herself!
I'm just thinking back now...this woman made a Webervations so I never spoke to her originally, and even when she requested to make the date change she did it via email and that was how I responded to her...I could tell just from her emails that this was the kind of person she was. I too honestly expected the review to be MUCH worse than it was...especially because she had to pay for two nights here though she only stayed for one...but she never mentioned it.
I was going to respond, but then noticed that the very room she complained about here has a glowing review just underneath hers, with pictures and all. DH just wants me to let it go. I just hate having that one be the first on the review list though!
BTW, love your area and would dearly love to spend some time at your "cluttered" inn when we get a chance...if you ever get a hankering for a "simple" breakfast or a "claustrophobic" guest room, I hope you'll head our way

.

BTW, I never knew the name of the place they were going to next; didn't even know if it was another B&B. I told DH I would have called ahead with a warning if I had known.

 

[scrambled_eggs]

WAIT! Lactose intolerant? Especially to cheese? You guys are freaking me out, I wonder if this is the lady I had here! They said they were headed your way. Let me reread where you said she was from, could it be, dare I say it, Bay Area CA?
Okay all cleared up - diff PITA, same state.
Sorry Oceans and others out West...it is what it is. You are used to it there, we have guests from all over, and certain parts of the country - south, midwest, for example would never stir up dissention during their stay. They go with the flow. I had guests for 4 nights and day 3 I saw she didn't eat the ham, and finally figured it out. She never mentioned no pork and maybe simply forgot, and just pushed it aside each day. It really was no big deal and I appreciated the way she handled it. She didn't carry her plate storming the kitchen doors to remove it!

(PS I grew up in CA and have many rel's there still - including Bay area).

Sorry Oceans and others out West...it is what it is.

No worries. I am 6 hours north of the Bay Area. I get a lot of people from the bay area and all over actually. For some reason I get a ton of people from Illinois, Texas, Florida, Washington, England and other places all over the world. Oh I just had some people from Virginia I think only 1% of the guests I get are PITA's.

 

[Don Draper]

WAIT! Lactose intolerant? Especially to cheese? You guys are freaking me out, I wonder if this is the lady I had here! They said they were headed your way. Let me reread where you said she was from, could it be, dare I say it, Bay Area CA?
Okay all cleared up - diff PITA, same state.
Sorry Oceans and others out West...it is what it is. You are used to it there, we have guests from all over, and certain parts of the country - south, midwest, for example would never stir up dissention during their stay. They go with the flow. I had guests for 4 nights and day 3 I saw she didn't eat the ham, and finally figured it out. She never mentioned no pork and maybe simply forgot, and just pushed it aside each day. It really was no big deal and I appreciated the way she handled it. She didn't carry her plate storming the kitchen doors to remove it!

(PS I grew up in CA and have many rel's there still - including Bay area).

Ha ha ha...that would have been TOO funny if she had hit all three of us!
CA peeps more often than not turn out to be PITA's with us, just can't put my finger on why. Usually they are the late check-ins who show up having read not one word of our confirmation, policies, etc. Everything's always a great surprise to them! But we have had some fabulous guests from there as well. Our webmasters are CA natives and are two of the nicest and most genuine people I've ever met.
This stuff always seems to come in waves...CA is taking a break for us for a while, right now everyone is from MA and CT...and they bring their own very unique set of characteristics as well!!!
Wherever they're from I'm grateful they're here...thanks for helping pay the bills!!!

 

[Don Draper]

We just had a 3 star review from a guest last week who stayed while we were out of town at the wedding. Basically she had booked 2 rooms for 2 nights on a Wednesday/Thursday and then at the last minute had to change to Thursday/Friday nights so we didn't have the same rooms available and she came in knowing she would have to change rooms.
Our innkeeper called me Friday morning (the day they were supposed to change rooms) saying the woman was unhappy, neither couple wanted the second room, etc. She said they were all very high maintenance, they hadn't eaten any breakfast (despite the special breakfast she had made them to accommodate their dietary needs) and seemed to be just "done" with our area in general and ready to move on. I told her they were welcome to check out but they were responsible for the full room rate, that we would try to re-sell it but if we couldn't they would get no refund.
When we got back to town I actually had ANOTHER guest who was here at the same time call me to say how much she enjoyed her stay and especially our innkeeper, and that she had witnessed this woman being very abusive to the innkeeper. Our innkeeper is a great fill-in for us, I know she handled the whole situation decourously but it was nice to hear it from the other guest.
At any rate, the 3 star TA review came yesterday and it says NOTHING about the charge, it does say why she didn't like the second room, but she basically says everything was "ok"...reading another review of hers (for an inn whose keeper I believe is on this forum!), she LIKED just about everything there but also gave them only 3 out of 5 stars!
Basically, I think her review sounds "cranky" and the overall tone conveys her personality...so I'm going to let it go and hope it gets buried quickly. I just don't feel like there's anything to respond to in the actual review..

Being the other keeper of the inn from that troublesome guest - we will keep each other's secret identities secret, hmm, Innsider - I can vouch for your innkeeper and your guest's views of the TA report. That particular guest was demanding and difficult at check-in and aggressively confrontational the next morning - I was really glad they were only here for one night. And I was sure we would be getting a lousy TA review out of them. I thought it would be worse than it was.
I believe she was put out because we had a full house that night and they had to take our least desireable room - but she knew that in advance. She was nasty to our other guests. They also sprang to my rescue after hearing her complaining. Our experience with the couple traveling with them was better - they seemed more personable. Maybe after another day of travelling with her they went over to the dark side, too.
I laughed when I read your comment that she liked everything here but still only gave us 3 stars. I thought she complained more about us! Just goes to show how personally we all take all this stuff. (Clutter! I could show her clutter...) I will respond one or two of the items in the review, briefly, and not worry about the rest.
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Thank you Houdini, for that reassurance about this particular person! I was SO upset getting that phone call from our Innkeeper...she is a dear woman of 65 and just so sweet...the thought of someone looking down their nose at her just made me so angry. BUT she is originally from the NY/NJ area and I am quite comfortable that she can pull that out when she needs to and can definitely take care of herself!
I'm just thinking back now...this woman made a Webervations so I never spoke to her originally, and even when she requested to make the date change she did it via email and that was how I responded to her...I could tell just from her emails that this was the kind of person she was. I too honestly expected the review to be MUCH worse than it was...especially because she had to pay for two nights here though she only stayed for one...but she never mentioned it.
I was going to respond, but then noticed that the very room she complained about here has a glowing review just underneath hers, with pictures and all. DH just wants me to let it go. I just hate having that one be the first on the review list though!
BTW, love your area and would dearly love to spend some time at your "cluttered" inn when we get a chance...if you ever get a hankering for a "simple" breakfast or a "claustrophobic" guest room, I hope you'll head our way

.

She booked us via phone, but DH took the call. But we had the same experience. No mention of dietary restrictions on the phone - but when she checked in, now she's lactose intolerant. Told her about breakfast times - find out from the other couple later that they have to be in your area for a tour at 9:30. . So I agreed to an earlier breakfast - since they couldn't eat the casserole I was making for everyone else, anyway. Then they hardly ate anything. Very snotty with me in every interaction - a few bigoted remarks about our location and state, ignoring me when I answered the question of travel time as if I didn't exist, and so on. I was a little excited to meet the other couple as he is an actor on a soap I used to watch. He and his wife were chatty and personable, after I stumbled over recognizing him. We had a severely sprained ankle in the house in the group and he jumped right into his 'doctor' persona. But even before I met the husbands I came back and told DH she was a ***** on wheels.
She seemed happiest when she made us miserable. It must stink to have to live your life that way. I felt sorry for the group to have to travel that way - no fun. Of course she wouldn't mention having to pay for the second night - then others would know that it was a revenge TA posting.
We will talk offline. I haven't been to your area since I was a child and I have heard how much has changed recently. And you are welcome here anytime, even amidst the 'clutter'!
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Hmmm .... all this reminds me of a feature request for booking systems
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C'mon Swirt: get busy on creating www.RottenGuest.com.
Just picture it, we could have a system like the Rotten Tomatoes movie ratings, we could have an interactive feature that lets you actually THROW the tomatoes at the person's avatar, we could post full name and contact info so these PITA's could never make a reso at ANY b&b, EVER!
It'd be FUN!!!!!
Ah, California dreamin'...

 

[muirford]

WAIT! Lactose intolerant? Especially to cheese? You guys are freaking me out, I wonder if this is the lady I had here! They said they were headed your way. Let me reread where you said she was from, could it be, dare I say it, Bay Area CA?
Okay all cleared up - diff PITA, same state.
Sorry Oceans and others out West...it is what it is. You are used to it there, we have guests from all over, and certain parts of the country - south, midwest, for example would never stir up dissention during their stay. They go with the flow. I had guests for 4 nights and day 3 I saw she didn't eat the ham, and finally figured it out. She never mentioned no pork and maybe simply forgot, and just pushed it aside each day. It really was no big deal and I appreciated the way she handled it. She didn't carry her plate storming the kitchen doors to remove it!

(PS I grew up in CA and have many rel's there still - including Bay area).

Sorry Oceans and others out West...it is what it is.

No worries. I am 6 hours north of the Bay Area. I get a lot of people from the bay area and all over actually. For some reason I get a ton of people from Illinois, Texas, Florida, Washington, England and other places all over the world. Oh I just had some people from Virginia I think only 1% of the guests I get are PITA's.
.

I think only 1% of the guests I get are PITA's.

I always say that, as well. The problem is when you meet 1500 or so people each year, that's at least a dozen PITAs. Unfortunately, the ones that impact you the most are those PITAs!

 

[Morticia]

WAIT! Lactose intolerant? Especially to cheese? You guys are freaking me out, I wonder if this is the lady I had here! They said they were headed your way. Let me reread where you said she was from, could it be, dare I say it, Bay Area CA?
Okay all cleared up - diff PITA, same state.
Sorry Oceans and others out West...it is what it is. You are used to it there, we have guests from all over, and certain parts of the country - south, midwest, for example would never stir up dissention during their stay. They go with the flow. I had guests for 4 nights and day 3 I saw she didn't eat the ham, and finally figured it out. She never mentioned no pork and maybe simply forgot, and just pushed it aside each day. It really was no big deal and I appreciated the way she handled it. She didn't carry her plate storming the kitchen doors to remove it!

(PS I grew up in CA and have many rel's there still - including Bay area).

Sorry Oceans and others out West...it is what it is.

No worries. I am 6 hours north of the Bay Area. I get a lot of people from the bay area and all over actually. For some reason I get a ton of people from Illinois, Texas, Florida, Washington, England and other places all over the world. Oh I just had some people from Virginia I think only 1% of the guests I get are PITA's.
.

I think only 1% of the guests I get are PITA's.

I always say that, as well. The problem is when you meet 1500 or so people each year, that's at least a dozen PITAs. Unfortunately, the ones that impact you the most are those PITAs!

.

I think only 1% of the guests I get are PITA's.

I always say that, as well. The problem is when you meet 1500 or so people each year, that's at least a dozen PITAs. Unfortunately, the ones that impact you the most are those PITAs!

When guests say, 'Do you ever get guests who are a problem?' I respond that 99% of the guests we get are wonderful and the other 1% make for the best stories. 'Let me tell you what happened last month...'

 

[Copperhead]

WAIT! Lactose intolerant? Especially to cheese? You guys are freaking me out, I wonder if this is the lady I had here! They said they were headed your way. Let me reread where you said she was from, could it be, dare I say it, Bay Area CA?
Okay all cleared up - diff PITA, same state.
Sorry Oceans and others out West...it is what it is. You are used to it there, we have guests from all over, and certain parts of the country - south, midwest, for example would never stir up dissention during their stay. They go with the flow. I had guests for 4 nights and day 3 I saw she didn't eat the ham, and finally figured it out. She never mentioned no pork and maybe simply forgot, and just pushed it aside each day. It really was no big deal and I appreciated the way she handled it. She didn't carry her plate storming the kitchen doors to remove it!

(PS I grew up in CA and have many rel's there still - including Bay area).

Sorry Oceans and others out West...it is what it is.

No worries. I am 6 hours north of the Bay Area. I get a lot of people from the bay area and all over actually. For some reason I get a ton of people from Illinois, Texas, Florida, Washington, England and other places all over the world. Oh I just had some people from Virginia I think only 1% of the guests I get are PITA's.
.

I think only 1% of the guests I get are PITA's.

I always say that, as well. The problem is when you meet 1500 or so people each year, that's at least a dozen PITAs. Unfortunately, the ones that impact you the most are those PITAs!

.

I always say that, as well. The problem is when you meet 1500 or so people each year, that's at least a dozen PITAs. Unfortunately, the ones that impact you the most are those PITAs!
I could not have worded it any better...you are dead on!