Risposta del proprietario:
We are really disappointed with the score given by this client. They simply advised us at the end of their stay that “We had an enjoyable weekend at Elms Farmhouse. Hopefully everything was found to be in order after our stay. Here are our bank account details {for returning the security deposit}”.
During their stay, we received only one communication from them with regards to any of their comments to say that the garden tables needed attention. We replaced all three benches with new items that same day. Our handyman erected one and said he’d need to come back the next day to erect the remaining 2 but was told by the client “don’t bother, we now have 4 and we previously had 3. We also have a BBQ tomorrow so please leave it until we leave”.
We make it clear in our marketing that Bedroom 8 is a restored attic room with only borrowed light and there are photos on our websites of the swimming pool enclosure. We currently do have a rabbit issue in the rear garden but there is very little we can do about this as the rabbits live in the surrounding fields that border the garden. We have never had any complaints regarding the noise level in the dining room but will install drapes to see if that makes a difference.
Our furniture is, in the main, either purchased from respectable auction houses or purchased new and is wholly in keeping with the nature of it’s use; that of a large group of people on holiday in an historic house that is not their own. We don’t spend fortunes on the furniture as this would make clients uneasy during their stay, in case they cause accidental damage. But we do buy items that are attractive and strong enough to last.
The Caterer is someone we recommend ……….
The hot water system does cope with the demands of 18 people within reason. If ‘emptied’ by high demand at a crucial time, the system takes 20 mins to re-supply hot water. Virtually all our clients manage to avoid hot water issues and there are electric showers in the house.
If someone from this group had called to advise us of the defective strip light in the games room, our handyman would have fixed it straight away. However, rather than call us to allow us the chance to correct this issue, the client simply chose to list it as a reason for marking down our property.
The pool decking area is cleaned regularly and was spring-cleaned only a couple of weeks before this client’s stay and is/was looking lovely for their stay. The doors did have some stains and these have now been removed. Again, this is something we could have attended to, had the client simply called us at the time. The swimming pool enclosure at Elms Farmhouse is a massive hit with virtually all our clients and we are surprised this group differed in that aspect.
Clients do not pay ‘extra money to have the swimming pool heated’. We, as a company, strip out the complete cost of all utilities charged for the house, and charge this as an accurate stand-alone figure. We do this for 2 reasons. Firstly utilities are a lower VAT rate so this helps keep this cost down for clients. Secondly, we hope that clients, in seeing what the actual cost to them of the utilities are, then respect the use of the heating, lighting, hot water etc, and attempt to keep the bills to a minimum. After all, it is the clients who ultimately pay for the cost of utilities through the rates paid. Our attempt to highlight this by charging this figure separately is welcomed by most of our clients, who all seem to ‘get it’.
We feel this client is correct when they say “it would not cost a great deal to make the property considerably much better”, but this is because the points they raise that are valid are, in fact, quite small matters and ones that would have been corrected at the start of their stay, had they chosen to call us then.
Nevertheless, the points we believe are valid have been passed onto our cleaning, gardening and maintenance teams and have been addressed.
Please, if you read this and want to book with us still, we ask only one thing: please do call us up to discuss anything you feel is in need of attention at the property during your stay, as soon as you notice it. Please don’t chose to not tell us and then complain afterwards. That helps no-one, including your group, during their stay.
Questa risposta rappresenta l'opinione personale del rappresentante della struttura e non di TripAdvisor LLC.
