I wish these people would just never go on holiday!!

[Brightlightmoon]

This is just a rant. I'm so sick of people!

I work in tourism (holiday rentals) and I'm sick of (unfortunately, mainly Brits) threatening legal action for absolutely EVERYTHING!

They book a property without aircon, it doesn't say anywhere on the listing that there's aircon nor have they mentioned any desire for aircon. They arrive, notice there's no air con and go fucking ape shit, threatening us in emails and text messages and phone calls, demanding all of their money back immediately or they're going to drag us through the courts. Same situation for anything else you can imagine - a washing machine breaks during their holiday (it happens, they don't break down on a schedule!), so they deem the property to be unfit for rental and not in line with the advertisement. We try and arrange for it to be fixed or for a new one to be fitted as soon as possible, but if we can't have it all done and dusted within half a day of their complaint, in come the threats and demands for full repayment.

I love my job, I love it so much, but fucking hell this type of shit gets to me.

This is a little disingenuous I think - or can you truly not see the difference between abusive, over the top, threatening to sue, shouty complaining and polite, respectful complaining?

That would be my idea of heaven! I always manage to find a holiday cat whilst we are away (we already have 3 at home so don't really need any more). There definitely wouldn't be any complaints from me 😀

I did a season as a holiday rep
We could spot the ones who would complain as soon as they got off the coach, we took bets and were usually right
For a small minority the whole point of being there was getting some money back

I'll never forget being called out to a villa I managed by a family who had arrived on a night flight. They had incorrectly set the internal safe and couldn't access their valuables. They had put ALL their money, credit cards, valuable tech, passports etc in the safe and then found they couldn't open it. Didn't think to check they could open it first!!!

We used to do timeshare-there were always cats around!
"The managers response was that "you could spend £50 for the things you need Hmm"
And then I suppose you could kindly leave it all behind for them, to save them buying it?

How frequently do the washing machines break down in the properties your company manages?

I agree that issues like demanding AC if there is no AC mentioned in the description isn't on, but if your washing machines are breaking down on a regular basis then something is amiss, and they have a right to complain. It's clearly an important part of a self catering style holiday and your company needs to take testing and maintenance more seriously.

Getting someone in to take a look at a broken washing machine and replacing irretrievable machines 'as soon as possible' is stressful for the customers and its not good enoigh. You should be offering a partial refund when vital amenities don't work and customers are forced to spend precious holiday time in a laundromat. People go on holiday to get away from stress.

Your machines should be the simplest possible to use and the easiest to repair. There should be clear instructions for use posted on each machine.

Agree with math. While rudeness and shouting isn’t acceptable when you are dealing with the public some are going to be difficult. Add in that they will have paid a large chunk of money for the property and likely to have been looking forward to the holiday for ages the stakes are pretty high. We once paid a fortune for a high end property the boiler broke so there was no hot water whatsoever for 4 days. The weather was cold and rainy too. 3 families with babies / toddlers. Owner gave us a full refund.

Mathanxiety Washing machines very rarely break down, it was simply an example. The issue for me if that if it does break down, I run around solving the issue as best I can but I'm limited to the resources in this area (such as everything shutting down in August) which some holiday makers don't understand, I think some of them expect the same level of service you can get in a large city, whilst sitting in a villa surrounded by kilometres of vineyards in the South of France, it's just not realistic. In regard to refunds/compensation, it's not my decision. I can (and do) try and convince the owner, but if the answer is no then I'm the one who gets the following abuse. For me, it's a lose lose so I simply pray that nothing goes wrong in August and that if it does, it's in a villa with a fab owner!

I understand why some may think that finding someone to come and look at the washing machine (or anything else) as soon as possible can be stressful and deemed not good enough, and I'd agree with you if this was in a bigger area with better facilities and services, but in rural Southern France it's the reality and I cant change that. I would expect most travelers to be aware of the difference in service over here and if they're not, to understand it once confronted with it.

This 100% - prices are through the roof, times are tight and people are spending so much they expecting perfection from their holiday.
At the same time customer service availability & levels are reducing.
Not an excuse to shout at you, but why people want more than ever.

In that case, it behoves your company to thoroughly inspect all the washing machines in mid July and get them ready for the French dead zone.

The holiday makers are not wrong to complain that the convenience they were banking on can't be fixed or replaced in August, which is when Brits tend to go on holiday (kids off school).

In the case of the AC, you need to state in large print that there is no AC provided.

You are left dealing with the falllout of other people's incompetence here. I would be pushing for changes to the website and for proactive maintenance if I were in your shoes.

It’s this whole culture of “because I’m worth it”. No one thinks of the other person now. It’s very sad.

Of course I can and in my job after saying: "I am trying to help but if you are going to continue to swear at me I am putting the phone down", I do it. In one of OP's posts she said she did the same thing. So who's being disingenuous?

People try it on. Some of them make empty threats and some of them get abusive. But some of them have genuine complaints. It's happened to me and unless you are very lucky I guess it's happened to you. Some of those people also get upset and given the attitude to people with genuine complaints shown by some on this thread I'm not surprised.

I can't imagine wanting to do any washing on holiday beyond rinsing out my bikini while taking a shower at the same time. But if I booked an apartment with a washing machine and it didn't work I'd expect it to be fixed in a reasonable amount of time or given a partial refund of my money.

Wouldn't you? Or are you happy to spend your hard-earned money on a holiday where things don't work and when you ask if you can have what you've paid for the agent tells you it's the local custom in August and to have a glass of wine.

If so you can rent my house next summer and I'll go somewhere else using your money.

Your company shouldn't expect people to be understanding about a broken washing machine, or aware of the difficulties of getting one fixed or replaced in rural France during the month when the French take off to see grandmere.

If there are going to be difficulties getting items fixed in August then you need to warn customers in advance so they can decide for themselves if potentially washing clothes in the kitchen sink is what they want for a holiday.

And you should offer a refund too. The lack of a washing machine means some woman gets lumbered with washing clothes by hand or the family spending precious time in a laundromat. YY cultural immersion is nice. But it's a pita to have to waste a morning. And they're paying for the amenity as well as the laundromat which might be a long way away.

Not great.

mathanxiety Owners usually come and stay in their properties before the summer and they check everything and report back to us. Owners who can't make it out before the summer ask us to check everything. Even with someone checking the washing machine before the summer and during the summer, shit happens. A kid decides to put something ridiculous in the washing machine - broken. Someone doesn't know how to use it and does something to break it - broken. My job is solve any issue that arises and that's what I do. But living in rural Southern France, sometimes even with the very best of intentions and the most proactive person, it's not possible. That's just something that people should realise before booking a holiday over here. It's a different culture, expect different service.

This is the part of the country where the local Boulangerie that's supposed to open at 9 actually opens at 11 because the owner decided to go to the market instead. Then stays open for 1 hour only because it's lunch time. Due to open at 3 but instead opens at 4.30 because their friend asked them to have a drink. Apply that to the vast majority of people down here and I do think it's unreasonable to expect immaculate service at the same levels as in the UK. I personally love it, but I've lived here my whole life. I try and provide UK level customer service but you can't reason with 45 year old Pierre who's been invited to a last-minute lunch and is closing his washing machine repairman shop for the rest of the day.

Mathanxiety Might I suggest very kindly that perhaps rural Southern France isn't for you then. You would, however, probably love places either further up North, or Toulouse if you're ok with a city - it's an absolutely fantastic place. It'll still be poorer service than you're used to, but mostly they're a bit more dynamic up there, certainly in comparison to our sleepy area.

but you can't reason with 45 year old Pierre who's been invited to a last-minute lunch and is closing his washing machine repairman shop for the rest of the day

😂😂 in tears at this OP!

This is how my hometown is like, and every now and then I wonder if it will ever change and become more… efficient, for lack of a better word. In a way, I really hope it doesn’t, there’s something very authentic about this way of living.

I'd say that if you're going on a holiday you should do your own research about the area and what it's like.

Anytime I've ever been on holiday, whether abroad or just a UK weekend break I look at reviews on various sites, look up the area and what's around the accommodation, travel time from the airport (as my travel sickness is awful) etc etc

I'm sure if I people are booking rural Southern France they either know what it's like as a place or would research it beforehand and find out what type of place it is

I assume a lot of complaints that OP is fed up with are from holidaymakers who either couldn't be bothered to do the research beforehand or did know what it was like but think that aggression will get them what they want.

Threatening legal action should be a criminal offence if you do not go through with it. Called threatening words and behaviour.

Robert Maxwell was a master at it, it is a form of bullying.

Additionally OP has mentioned several times they can't offer a refund as it's not their decision, they can try to convince the owner but if they don't want to refund the customer then there's jack shit OP can do other than apologise and send a gift.

This is how my hometown is like, and every now and then I wonder if it will ever change and become more… efficient, for lack of a better word. In a way, I really hope it doesn’t, there’s something very authentic about this way of living.

Honestly, same. You couldn't pay me to live anywhere else and I will never be angry at lovely Pierre who just wants to eat seafood at his friend's house 😂I do think that things are (very slowly) improving here, but at the end of the day you can't change centuries worth of "c'est la vie" attitude and nor would I want to. You make the best with what you've got!

I assume a lot of complaints that OP is fed up with are from holidaymakers who either couldn't be bothered to do the research beforehand or did know what it was like but think that aggression will get them what they want.

Yeah, this is very much what it boils down to and I have a running tally of horror stories about the number of geckos found in countryside 200-year-old houses. Hoping to hit 500 by next summer 😂

In the past some of my colleagues have called their bluff and simply said "go for it, good luck with the french legal system" and funnily enough all complaints have been dropped immediately. Note that the only people who threaten legal action are the ones complaining of cobwebs in the outhouse (that's out of bounds to guests) in a Chateau in the middle of nowhere, 1km away from the accommodation.

I feel for you. We once had the air con break though, and on day 3 I was a lunatic (probably from the heat) and did throw my toys out of the pram. It was Orlando in August and we were at the end of our stay and having to pack with no air conditioning was not ideal. I was super chill on day 1 and 2 but day 3 broke me.

Is it really reasonable to expect people to research “can my washing machine be repaired in August”?

If you’re paying full freight for a holiday villa then it’s not unreasonable to expect things to be fixed quickly. August or not, Southern France or not, you would expect an agency to have reliable service contacts to get problems sorted quickly. It’s a fairly basic expectation when you’re charging a fortune.

Why can’t you hire a handyman to be on call for all the villas in what is your busiest month with English tourists if this is a recurring issue? Shrugging and saying how adorable and French it all is that nobody works in August isn’t good enough sorry. Your owners are banking the cash they should use some of that to provide back up maintenance. Dh cycles far and fast most days while we on holiday so for us a washing machine is essential not a “nice to have”

It's reasonable to expect it to get fixed, it's not reasonable to expect it to get fixed the same day in Southern France. I have a network of people, but we all run around like headless chickens in July and August. I'm working from 9am to 11pm sometimes and I'm just a person who outsources the things that need doing (such as repairs).

Some of the people in my network work 7 days a week and sometimes from 5am to midnight just trying to fit everything in. They love it because they pick up all of the work that the people who go on holiday in August don't take, but it's a massive strain and it's the same everywhere.

We all help each other when we can, but if your "guy" is at another job 3 hours away and said he can pop by at 6pm, the renters (some) will then say "no because we'll be having dinner then, he needs to come at 2" so that counts him out when he was the only one available, next guy can only make it in 2 days time.

It's mass tourism down here and despite so many people working in the field, you struggle in August, it's the norm because at least 50% of the workforce are at the beach somewhere. Come September, all of the holidaymakers have gone home and we all breathe a sigh of relief.

Things get done, it just takes longer than some people expect.