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Original poster

Holiday complainers

33 replies

lovelygreenjumper · 01/10/2019 11:21

We've recently returned from an all inclusive holiday and whilst we were there quite a few people were complaining about the food. An number of other guests were telling everyone they met that they were eating out for most meals and would be keeping the receipts so they could get a refund from the travel agent. I overheard one discussion where a family were telling others that they had been using credit cards for meals so they would have a refund before they needed to pay for it. Some seemed to be taking great pleasure in the idea that they had a way to 'cheat the system' and to be honest I felt really sorry for the hotel staff as some seemed to be getting great pleasure from finding fault with everything.

There was no suggestion it was making people ill etc- they just didn't like it and felt there should be more choice/more familiar dishes etc. It was quite repetitive but we took the view that the hotel was quite small and not much more expensive than self catering so obviously it would not be 5* food etc and we budgeted to eat out some of the time.

Am I out of line for thinking these people will probably have gone home to big bills they won't get refunded for, so if they wanted 5* food they would have been better just paying more initially?

OP posts:
sarahjconnor · 01/10/2019 11:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

listsandbudgets · 01/10/2019 11:40

Familiar food? Half the joy of going abroad is that the food isn't all familiar.

I'd be amazed if any travel agent refunds just because they don't like it.

The only possible exception I can think of is if it was agreed that the hotel would provide for a particular allergy and it can't / won't.

I hope the travel agents tell them they're not getting their refunds.

Original poster
lovelygreenjumper · 01/10/2019 11:41

@sarahconnor I have no idea! There were quite a few groups around the pool sharing their 'knowledge' on this with everyone (even when we said we were not interested in complaining). They had photos which they claimed would be good evidence that they needed to eat out- some seemed to be going to the effort of waiting until dinner time, taking photos and then going out to eat. They were trying to talk other families in to doing the same thing, claiming that there was some (unspecified) rule being broken.

The hotel really couldn't win- one day people were complaining that there were no chips for the kids (as if this was a food group!) and the next taking photos and complaining there were chips every day.

OP posts:
thedevilinablackdress · 01/10/2019 11:44

Complaining is a hobby for some people.

BarbaraofSeville · 01/10/2019 11:53

See, this is why I don't take much notice of reviews. I have no idea whether the person writing the review has the same expectations as me.

A review that says 'the food was inedible, I couldn't eat it' could be saying that it was badly cooked, wrong temperature, potentially unsafe, etc, or they could be saying that there were too many bones, shells and vegetables and not enough beige and chips for their liking.

AdoreTheBeach · 01/10/2019 12:05

Totally agree with previous poster - to done, complaining is a hobby.

Last year we went to a great adult only all inclusive - was not cheap. Struck up a conversation with a couple sitting next to us who started to tell us how they complained about various things and what compensation they were getting. Frivolous things. We told them we thought the place was real value for money, were very happy and thought staff ratio/customer service excellent. They didn’t sit next to us at the pool thereafter.

thedevilinablackdress · 01/10/2019 12:12

Well Adore, you were spoiling their fun 😂

GeneHuntLover · 01/10/2019 12:22

We've had 2 AI holidays and the food was shite so we ended up eating out every night, never expected the holiday company to refund though.

Original poster
lovelygreenjumper · 01/10/2019 12:36

@AdoreTheBeach That couple would have fitted in really well where we were! I would love to know where these people usually holiday that has given them such high/specific expectations. Listening to the pool conversation at our hotel you would have been forgiven for thinking that, despite being a budget hotel, the norm was to have a la carte dining (including whatever specific processed crap familiar foods your children prefer) available 24 hours a day.

I'd rather just make the most of what's on offer and enjoy my holiday than spend a week moaning and plotting how to get my money back

OP posts:
SpoonBlender · 01/10/2019 12:42

Some people are shit, and will commit credit card fraud to support their shitty entitled cheapskate ways.

cathf · 01/10/2019 12:50

This is going to turn into a snobby stealth boast thread isn't it? Where posters compete with each other about how they would never eat anything but local food and how their children don't even know chips exist? Grin

Original poster
lovelygreenjumper · 01/10/2019 13:22

@cathf I really hope not- it wasn't intended to and I quite like chips

I'm just genuinely interested in whether all the energy some people I encountered put in to complaining, documenting their displeasure, and paying for extra food ever actually pays off. And if not, why on earth are people not only wasting their holiday doing this stuff but encouraging others to join them.

OP posts:
tectonicplates · 01/10/2019 13:26

It sounds they think they're more likely to be successful if other people complain too, then they can say "It wasn't just us. Clearly everyone else was unhappy too".

At what point can it be considered fraud?

I've made a couple of minor complaints about holidays and shops in the past, but only in the way of I'm just letting you know so that you can make things better for the next customer. I've never asked for a refund for that sort of thing.

SistersOfPercy · 01/10/2019 13:33

Half the fun of an AI is trying to figure out the mystery meat and fighting the russians for cake 😂
It's like sport.

Passthecherrycoke · 01/10/2019 13:34

They’re never going to get a refund. They sound thick 🤣

Totalwasteofpaper · 01/10/2019 13:37

I’d be amazed if they got a refund - sounds bonkers

MyCatPeedOnTheCurtains · 01/10/2019 13:38

I worked in tour operations for many years .
No way will they get a refund for meals. Not a chance.

HUZZAH212 · 01/10/2019 13:39

No chance they'll get a refund so I doubt they'll be quite so gleeful when that happens. Some people just like a good old moan. TripAdvisor is very full of them. It boggles my mind that some people seem determined to spend their holiday hunting down a cracked floor tile or wonky chair to photo and complain about 🙄

Butteflyone1 · 01/10/2019 13:43

Those people are going to be annoyed as there's no chance they'll be getting a refund.

I always use Trip Advisor to research hotels. I also know you get what you pay for in life, pay cheap and get cheap.

Some people are just sad individuals and have nothing better in life than to be miserable.

JengaNonConfirming · 01/10/2019 13:44

I've read reviews before, where people moaned that there wasn't a McDonalds right on the doorstep!

PerfectPeony2 · 01/10/2019 13:58

God my PIL are like this. They have a great life and go on so many holidays/ trips then all they do is moan that the food is bad/ they had a bad sleep etc.

Some people are just drains. Just be glad you’re not one of them!

Hoppinggreen · 01/10/2019 14:02

Many years ago I worked for a holiday company.
We could usually spot the ones who would be going for compo from the moment they boarded the bus at the airport on arrival

Original poster
lovelygreenjumper · 01/10/2019 14:06

@JengaNonConfirming I think I may have met that person! One of the complainers informed me that her holiday had been ruined because the hotel was 'no where near anything' so she felt trapped in the hotel all day and night. Granted the hotel was not in the middle of a town etc but there were plenty of bars etc nearby and it was a 10 min walk or 2 min bus/taxi ride (buses and taxis very very cheap) to the nearest large resort and a few minutes more to a number of towns/places of historic interest.

OP posts:
Dowser · 01/10/2019 14:27

We stayed in a three star all inclusive in Lanzarote in December
Food was ok and edible
Not what we’d normally go for
But you were well fed and no one was ill
Wouldn’t have liked two weeks there and we were a good way from restaurants so we did stay in on a night
( when it got cold and windy lol)

We go self catering...so much better and eat out every day

eurochick · 01/10/2019 14:39

I read a review of a hotel in the Maldives recently. The Maldives is renowned for its spectacular sea life. The reviewer complained that there were too many fish on the sea when they wanted to swim.

Bastard fish, swimming around the sea, inconveniencing poor innocent holidaymakers.

The moral of the story is, people be crazy.