To think an offer is an offer and shouldn't be retracted?

[Bearcrumble]

My mum is not very computer savvy so she asked me to find her a B+B for one night when she goes down to Dorset for a friend's 65th birthday party next month.

I had a look at the local tourist office's website and did a search - found a nice looking place with availabilty on the date and gave her the details. When she rang she was quoted £45 by the owner. Mum is a bit frugal and didn't want to spend that much so she said she'd think about it but it was a bit expensive. The woman seemed pleasant at the time and gave mum a couple of cheaper suggestions.

When mum turned up to see me today I showed her the photos of the place on my computer and the (4 or 5) alternatives. I said I didn't think £45 was that steep and she agreed that it was the nicest looking place and she'd go for it.

I rang to book it for her and the woman said "I remember. She said it was too expensive. It was a bargain. I gave her the names of some other places in her price bracket." I said I'd explained to my mum that it was the going rate and she was now happy to pay. The owner was adamant that she didn't want my mother simply because she'd said she didn't want to spend that much if she didn't have to and she wanted to shop around but may well come back to her. I was really quite disbelieving - handed the phone to mum - the woman reiterated that she'd offered mum a bargain and she'd turned her down so she'd decided not to let her have the room but to hold out for a double booking.

We found another place where they were very friendly (not as nice a building as the original one, but hey) and got a room for £40. I think we got a better deal as the woman who ran the original B+B was obviously not very nice - but I feel quite pissed off to be told that just because my mother wanted to see what else was on offer this woman took it as a slight and decided to be really quite petty and spiteful.

Being "in a snit" is not a protected characteristic in this country (fortunately)!

Goodness me... an unprofessional B&B lady! The customer is fully within their rights to check around for other prices.

An offer is an offer, not an agreement and your mother refused her offer anyway. She's probably sick of people trying to bargain her down and felt that your mother sounded like the moaner type who would cause lots of hassle and try to get money off at the end of it.

Thanks for the replies. My mum is always very polite (over polite if you ask me, she's the sort of person who says sorry when someone treads on her toes) so I know that she wouldn't have put the woman's back up from her manner - and yes, if the woman thought that she would be too much trouble she could have said the room had gone rather than tell me she didn't want to let it.

"I know that she wouldn't have put the woman's back up from her manner "

But she did though didn't she?

It wasn't her manner though, it was the fact that she doesn't have a lot of money to spend. She's on a state pension (and had to take early retirement because of ill health so doesn't get that much) and has to make do on a limited budget. When she realised that £45 was the going rate she came back to the B+B as she said she would when she first spoke to the proprietor.

Your mum was honest and told her her she didn't want to pay that very reasonable rate. There are many different ways of saying it, some could have offended even if that was not the intention. The problem with saying 'we are full, is that there is always a chance the person will want to book at another time. You didn't hear the conversation between your mum and her so really have no clue. Your mum was honest, she was honest.

She sounds very unprofessional. Your mum was probably better off at the other B&B.

She sounds less than welcoming TBH. A bit of a self-righteous sort who will lose business if she continues belittling potential customers.

OP, given that you searched the local tourist office's website, did you not get a feel for what 'the going rate' was for that area? Did you not pass that information to your mother? What price range for that particular B&B were listed? How did £45 compare to that range? Was it really an unexpected amount to your mother? Would the B&B lady, who your mother presumably told she had found on t'internet, have reasonably assumed that your mother would have seen £45 as a good deal?

Because TBH, every time I look for holiday accommodation, I know exactly what prices to expect because it's listed on the website I got the phone number from.

Yes, WhereYouLeftIt I did get a feel for the going rate and from the 5 places which had availability on the day she wanted I texted her the name and phone number of the one, which to me, looked the nicest and best value. I mentioned in the text that the price was "from £40".

She had nothing to compare it with as she just had my text to go by. She's nearly 70 and has perhaps slightly outdated ideas about how much things cost.

When she spoke to the lady she said it was a bit more than she wanted to spend so she'd try a couple of other places then get back to her if she didn't find anything more suitable. The woman seemed agreeable to that at the time.

When my mum came to see me yesterday (she'd had the conversation with the woman on Monday, so two days later) I could show her the photos of the places on my laptop and she agreed that the B+B I'd suggested was the nicest of the 5. Then we had the phonecall I started the thread about.

Ah she's had a lucky escape then! The woman showed herself to be small minded. I often call a few B&Bs in my search for the most suitable! I've never had anyone moan or be rude....in fact one couple, kept me a room bck though they knew that if I could get one closer to the city centre, then I would take it...I didn't take it in the end but they were fine!