Feather Down Farm - last minute group split... Advice

[Nicky1234]

A group of 5 families has booked early in the year to stay with feather down farm and were advised that we would all be together. Now 2 weeks before our stay we have been advised that in actual fact we are being split up because a group of 2 wants specific tents and so it makes that field too small for us.
Anyone been to one of these farms and do you think it will be a problem, we have 10 kids between us, 6 and under, so I am worried that they'll disturb other guests (rather than all being together they'll have to find each other). Also though there is a brook between the 2 fields so we're going to have to shepherd them about and it seems such a shame they cant just roam a little free (poor loves get no freedom). Selfishly the adults won't be able to hang out in the evenings either...
Im also really upset that we have to split up as seems unnecessary and unfair...
Any thoughts/ideas/suggestions to put my mind at ease.
Thanks

Canopy and Stars look beautiful, and they have been so kids trying to help us out so thank you.

Also hope you have a fab mumsnet weekend nettletea, sorry we can't be ther but have a drink for me!

So glad you've found a satisfactory solution OP :) Bet the MD is kicking some arse at the moment, the PR damage must be pretty terrible! I'm sure things will be even better with a lovely hamper on arrival for you

Canopy and Stars look awesome and I certainly plan to try them sometime! Nettletea's place looks amazing as well :)

Another one here who was considering Feather Down Farms but is seriously about them now.

Frankly I don't think 20% off is anywhere near enough. It doesn't deal with the underlying problem - the tents are still split - never mind all of the crappy customer service that you've had to endure. FDF should be falling over themselves to ensure that you are happy now, and this strikes me as a pretty standard get-it-off-my-desk response.

The company will probably still make a healthy profit out of the booking and is now getting positive feedback.

I can only hope that they have been sufficiently scared by the outpourings of disappointment here to ensure that it never happens again. Although the fact that they've made such a measly offer makes me doubt their good will.

And they should stop using the "Feather Down Farm Days voted best by Mumsnet" quote. It is plain misleading in the light of this thread.

yes, that is getting on my tits. HQ should strip them of the award, i think.

Frazzled, I'm SO glad that you're happy and looking forward to your holiday now!

I'm sorry to say that I won't book with Feather Down Farms because of what it took to get some result. MD good owning up to mess-up though. Canopy and Stars, however, will get my business. What a lovely personal touch they offer.

It's the actions taken when things go wrong that makes all the difference imo. Not glamping, but for boutique hotels, I can recommend Mr & Mrs Smith for the same reason. A hotel messed up, they refused to deal with our issue. Mr & Mrs Smith customer care (well, it's one lady that dealt with it throughout) contacted them, spent ages on it, and got an amazing result. This is what FDF should have done in the first place, and what Canopy and Stars seems to offer too. Love companies like that.

I sincerely hope you get a few freebies thrown in,twenty per cent off is miserly.I would be the same as you and accept it because I wouldn't need any extra stress,but I do think you deserve more,some champagne and a hamper at least!

Me too on 20% not nearly enough. The whole tenor of your holiday has been changed, they admit they buggered up bigtime, I'd expect 50% and more, and for that to be swallowed by Featherdown Farm, not the farmer.
To expect you to cancel a hol for 20 ppl a minute before takeoff is insane.

Frazzled you are being very gracious. I hope you will have a lovely holiday.

Feather Down Farms still look very miserly and reluctant and agree with Aitch's breakdown of the rather crappy offer.

Still, have a lovely time.

And FYI Featherdown Farms, I'm on yr mailing list and mulling srsly for next year. You'd need a considerably bigger gesture than this to persuade me.

TBH, we're weighing a loss of under 5K against proper, lasting bad publicity amongst your core demographic. It would be a no-brainer for me.

I'm pleased the OP is happy with the outcome but it isn't much of an offer. The holiday still isn't what was booked - all families together. The set up will still be awkward and one family won't be in the same field as all their friends. Personally I'd have expected more from the MD getting involved.

Glad they've managed to sort something out, frazzled. Although agree that 20% off only feels good because the initial offers were so shocking...

I'm glad you've got something sorted Frazzled but I have to say I agree with the others - it does seem rather miserly. What still puts me off them is that they had to be pushed so hard to agree to this so it seems very grudgingly done. They could have done so much better and we'd all be on here raving about how great they are.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy your holiday and can feel a little more relaxed now.

Off to peruse the canopy and stars website.

Glad you've finally got a discount for all your massive inconvenience, stress and for the holiday not being the one you'd paid for (ahem, featherdown farms).

They're still utterly shit. But more than anything, I hope you have a lovely holiday and can put the stress, inconvenience and the fact that your group is split, behind you.

So glad it is sorted Frazzled, but still miffed about you being split up.

I still will not be booking with them.

Wow! I'm relieved for you, Frazzled. At least you got an offer - finally! - that allowed you to accept it and go on holiday. Though FFS, ringing the MD on his holidays to admit to this sort of mistake should have been one of the first things the underlings did...

On one hand, 20% off means that the excluded family are effectively holidaying for free because of the cock-up, which seems fair on paper, but of course they're part of a larger party and therefore the whole holiday is changed for all of them, regardless. Still, I hope you all have a wonderful time! Will you let us know who the nobs in the other field are how it all goes?

I'm afraid I still feel it's necessary to tell friends to exercise caution if booking with FDF.

Happy that this has been resolved, and that you're looking forward to your holiday again, OPs! Hope you have a really lovely weekend.

Thank you so much for all the positive comments on C&S - we do try hard to get things right...

C&S we'll be in touch for next year - definitely...

Wow, i just read this. We have never had a family holiday and were saving up for a FDF weekend. WIll be looking at canopy and stars instead now and keep an eye on nettle teas site too!

And maybe next year, through Canopy and Stars, you might be able to visit us!!
Hope you have a great time though, and dont forget to update us when you get back
xxx

Thanks for this thread, it has made me aware of Sawdays, the places look lovely!

Hope you have (or are having) a great time!

Mmmm, I initially mis-read the offer as being free tent for excluded family AND 20% off for party, (not that the free tent could be seen as an overall 20% off), which seemed a reasonable compromise.

Personally I feel that in this situation a magnanimous gesture was needed and this just wasn't it... it'd need at least 30-50% off for that, or a decent discount plus several free extras 'to make up for the stress that this unfortunate mix-up must have caused'.

I'd be interested to know if the babysitting is still included as its not being mentioned anymore. Also I'd be very surprised if the MD was really on holiday - surely its just a cop-out to explain why they've suddenly backed down when the issue seemed to be getting bigger rather than dying away as they'd expected.

How is it that when good customer service and going the extra mile is so easy to achieve Featherdown Farms have (still IMO) got this so badly wrong? Does anyone else remember the warm glow they got reading about Boden offering a free coat rather than accepting payment for it (when MNetters had clubbed together to fundraise for someone going through a traumatic time)? That kind of publicity and honest-to-goodness-compassion and decency can't be bought, you either have a company founded on those principles or you don't... sadly it seems for FDFs its all about the profit and not about customer service, which is hugely sad.

I'm pleased that they've reached a compromise that allowed the holiday to go ahead, but I still wouldn't book with them as they don't have the customer service I'd expect for the amount they're charging.

I'm still curious to know why letting the 5-tent booking down was preferable to shifting the 2-tent booking to the other field. They wouldn't have kicked off a massive PR disaster like we have, would they?

As 'generous' as a 20% discount may sound it still means that the lone family won't have the holiday they have been looking forward to.

Hope you have a good time frazzled and please come back and tell us how it was. I too was going to book one of these for next yr but sharent bother now unless they offer a nice special 20% code for all mumsnetters for one season? god loves a tryer....

Just had email from MD of fdf