Unhappy guests

[Macarw]

Had a few problems with the van - got some last minute guests for half term, they booked over the phone the day before. They asked about heating, and I told them we only had the gas fire in the living area. Heard nothing from the person that looks after our van, but a week or so after they left the van got an e-mail to say they enjoyed their stay but had had a problem with the oven - the door wasn't fitting properly and they tried to cook a joint and the caravan filled with fumes and was making their eyes water.The door was taken off the oven by the person that looks after our van and this left them without an oven for the remainder of their stay. (Less than 2 days)They also say they had to scrub the pans (but didn't complain about this at the time of their stay). They also complained that it took them ages to get the van warm.

This is the first complaint we've had. We think they are just after a refund even though they haven't asked for one. We don't think the pans were dirty. So we wrote back saying that it was circumstances beyond our control, and we did what we could but couldn't get the oven fixed before they left the van, and we were sorry that they felt the cold, but they were told when they booked that the only heating was the gas fire. She then replied saying that the had to throw food away as they couldn't cook it, and that they had problems with the tv - and that we had advertised a dvd player and freeview and there was only a tv/video there. Unfortunately that was true as our tv/dvd had stopped working, it was being dealt with, but having no bookings thought there was no urgency to get it repaired until next season, and then we ended up with a late booking. The person looking after our van put a tv/video, and said it was working perfectly and the guests didn't complain about it at all while they were there. He also doesn't think that there is anything wrong with the oven, the door was a bit wonky but it always has been. He's going to have to cook something in it to test it as he can't find anything obviously wrong!! We've send another apologetic e-mail, and are waiting to see what response we get - if we do end up giving a partial refund we are torn between offering a percentage off a hol next year (that they may not use, and also we don't really want them back) or sending them a cheque for the pies, wedges, chips and joint - which was the food they had bought - all of which by a strange coincidence couldn't be cooked on the hob or in the microwave!

Obviously we want our guests to be happy (they did say they had enjoyed their stay!) but as we told them about the heating before they booked, we don't think the pans were dirty, and we don't think there is anything wrong with the oven we think they are just trying it on. We do agree about the tv, but they did not complain about that while they were in the van,

Anyone got any thoughts?

[Maddy]

Half term wasn't very nice here and if I had kids and a stack of dvd s it would have annoyed me if it hadn't worked ( but there again a quick trip to tesco would have bought a budget one for £12). Can they leave feedback against you anywhere in a review ? if not I'd leave the ball in their court. If they were regular customers I'd offer a discount on their next visit.

[dasboot]

Sounds like they are trying it on.With the staycation in full swing perhaps this was their first ever van hol and had higher expectations.Wouldnt the oven door issue been picked up on the gas appliance check or is the oven not included.I wouldnt do anything at the moment as they may be a decent family just pointing out faults and not expecting any kind of recompense.However if they do expect some kind of refund,by not hearing from you in the near future,you will soon learn if they intend to do anything about it.

[dasboot]

...just a thought... Do you think they may have watched the watchdog programme the other night and its given them ideas?

[arronbrook]

Oh dear should I post my opinion here I hate to upset anyone but I would have been unhappy if there was a dvd advertised and not found one working on arrival - if told when making the booking well fine. As for the oven door I use my oven a lot and it would have annoyed me not to be able to use the oven although I see it would be impossible to rectifiy at short notice I think if I was renting my van out it would have been something I would have took care of at the beginning of the season. These are the two points which you did know about and some people would be upset at not finding what they expected. I would say if you feel they still got good value for their money at whatever you charged for that week then just let it go but if you feel guilty at not meeting their expectations then I would salve my conscious by sending a M & S gift voucher as a good will gesture - let them buy some nice pies !

[Lazybum]

Thats quite interesting in that they have complained about things AFTER they have returned home. If it was such an issue that the oven was not working properly then they should have called you as soon as they realised there was a problem. I wouldnt expect to stay in any accomodation where I wasnt able to cook.
Common sense tells you that if it takes a long time for the van to warm up, just leave the fire on - we do in ours during the late season.
I think they are trying it on, dont give any refund as they should have contacted you sooner, and if as they say it didnt spoil their holiday then they'll be back wont they?

[Macarw]

Which watchdog programme was that dasboot?

We have already replied to them, but they have not asked for a refund or anything, just added further issues to their original complaint which was just the oven and the fact that it took them ages to get warm (although they had been told the only heating in the van is the gas fire) and that they didn't feel the pans were clean enough. (they do get watermarks due to the hard water but we are sure they were not dirty).

arronbrook, thanks for your comments. I agree about the tv issue I had forgotten about the dvd/tv combi, as we'd had no bookings since the beginning of Sept, otherwise I would have mentioned it. However had they complained about it while they were in the van we could have arranged to put a dvd player in - the local Tescos sell them for less than £20!! However this was not mentioned in their initial complaint, which makes me think that when we didn't immediately offer them a refund or anything they came were looking for other things to add to their complaint.

As for the oven, we are not convinced that there is actually anything wrong with it - we have had no complaints before. Bearing in mind that they are low pressure gas appliances too, maybe it took much longer to cook their joint than they expected too, and because of that presumed that there was something wrong. We will get it serviced before next season.

(My mother in law who works in customer care for a holiday company said that if we did find that there was something wrong as far as we know they may have damaged the oven door themselves).

As it was a late booking they paid £299 for 3 adults and 3 children for half term week. I felt that was a fair price - especially as Haven prices were significantly more.

However if they ask for a refund we are considering a 'goodwill gesture' of maybe an amount to pay for the food they say they threw away - a gift voucher sounds like a good plan! Or a percentage off a further holiday.

[Macarw]

Lazybum

They did complain about the oven toward the end of their holiday (they had less than 2 days left) but the other complaints were in an initial e-mail, and then more complaints added to a subsequent e-mail.

[dasboot]

Which watchdog programme was that dasboot?

We have already replied to them, but they have not asked for a refund or anything, just added further issues to their original complaint which was just the oven and the fact that it took them ages to get warm (although they had been told the only heating in the van is the gas fire) and that they didn't feel the pans were clean enough. (they do get watermarks due to the hard water but we are sure they were not dirty).

arronbrook, thanks for your comments. I agree about the tv issue I had forgotten about the dvd/tv combi, as we'd had no bookings since the beginning of Sept, otherwise I would have mentioned it. However had they complained about it while they were in the van we could have arranged to put a dvd player in - the local Tescos sell them for less than £20!! However this was not mentioned in their initial complaint, which makes me think that when we didn't immediately offer them a refund or anything they came were looking for other things to add to their complaint.

As for the oven, we are not convinced that there is actually anything wrong with it - we have had no complaints before. Bearing in mind that they are low pressure gas appliances too, maybe it took much longer to cook their joint than they expected too, and because of that presumed that there was something wrong. We will get it serviced before next season.

(My mother in law who works in customer care for a holiday company said that if we did find that there was something wrong as far as we know they may have damaged the oven door themselves).

As it was a late booking they paid £299 for 3 adults and 3 children for half term week. I felt that was a fair price - especially as Haven prices were significantly more.

However if they ask for a refund we are considering a 'goodwill gesture' of maybe an amount to pay for the food they say they threw away - a gift voucher sounds like a good plan! Or a percentage off a further holiday.

watchdog 11/11/10 macawr. Teakbank started a thread on here about it some time ago.It was about certain haven parks.It just seems a'bit odd to start complaining now a couple of weeks after their break thats all.

[Macarw]

Maddy,

I had forgotten about the problems with the tv - unfortunately as we don't use our van ourselves at the moment we are not popping back and to as I'm sure a lot of you do, so we can't sort little things like that out and have to rely on the person we pay to look after the van to do it for us. It wasn't a priority as we were nearing the end of the season and we had no more bookings - this booking was taken the day before they arrived.

We do have a website which people can leave reviews on, we only started it this year, and a couple of people have put positive reviews on alread. I'm not sure how much control we have (if any) over the reviews which are put on there -we were happy to get some positive ones, and haven't looked into whether we can reply to them or edit them.

[Macarw]

Thanks - will have to try to get it on i-player - we don't get normal tv out here in sunny Cyprus!!

[Teakbank12]

Which watchdog programme was that dasboot?

As it was a late booking they paid £299 for 3 adults and 3 children for half term week. I felt that was a fair price - especially as Haven prices were significantly more.

However if they ask for a refund we are considering a 'goodwill gesture' of maybe an amount to pay for the food they say they threw away - a gift voucher sounds like a good plan! Or a percentage off a further holiday.

TBH £299 for a late booking on a basic caravan is rather a lot!!
We advertise those weeks at £325 on a D/G & C/H van & dropped the price to £250 as a late booking (inc throwing in 2 passes).

People do expect everything to be working & a lot of comfort for their money.

[springhay]

TBH £299 for a late booking on a basic caravan is rather a lot!!
We advertise those weeks at £325 on a D/G & C/H van & dropped the price to £250 as a late booking (inc throwing in 2 passes).

People do expect everything to be working & a lot of comfort for their money.

Sorry to hi-jack this thread somewhat but I have read with interest because this will be my first season sub-letting...but its the thing with passes again..How do you throw in two passes? Arent they all photo id so none transferable. I find this a stumbling block with my pricing - never sure to how to structure it to compensate for the extra they will pay for passes.

Unhappy guests? I'd just send them £100 back. Over and done with. Keep your reputation and you've still got £200.....

[Lazybum]

Back to the Haven thing, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but when you book through the Haven website I think you have an option to pay extra for a radiator. So even if you book through them and dont pay extra it is going to be mighty cold.

[Goldixpcx]

I have to say if they can leave a review then its not worth the risk! I would do like someone else said give them back £100 they will be happy won't leave you a rotten review which could end up costing far more in the long run and as you werent expecting the money £200 is still a bonus sometimes we just have to suck it up you can never please all of the people all of the time there will always be one!!!! as as you admit they are right about a few points just do it as a goodwill gesture it will keep them happy and you can stop thinking about it! :)

[fontaine]

TBH £299 for a late booking on a basic caravan is rather a lot!!
We advertise those weeks at £325 on a D/G & C/H van & dropped the price to £250 as a late booking (inc throwing in 2 passes).

People do expect everything to be working & a lot of comfort for their money.

same here and my van is dg ch 3 bed
that time of year 240 for late booking and everything works with no complaints at all in fact no complaints at all all season

[indianwells]

I agree with a couple of the others. Send them a cheque for a hundred quid, say you're sorry their holiday didn't go as well as they would have liked, and move on, but be gracious, that way you hold the moral high ground and although it may not seem like it, you will feel a lot better doing it this way. You will get the odd guest that is a PITA but to be fair this particular lot did have a couple of issues.

I ran a hire fleet of 55 caravans for 18 years and although we were always striving for the highest standards it was inevitable we'd have the odd hiccup. I used to try and find excuses why I shouldn't give a partial refund when a guest was less than happy but eventually I realised it just wasn't worth the hassle and possible loss of future bookings when a few quid would put things right and make everyone happy.
Of course there are those who will try it on every time but they are few and far between. Just put it to bed, close your van down and look forward to Christmas!:)

[Macarw]

Thanks for your replies guys!