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Shall i write a bad review?

25 replies

magicscares · 28/10/2013 17:24

Unsure of whether or not to review a B&B we stayed in recently That we were unimpressed by.
We arrived 3 hours after check in time, informing the owner that we were on our way. When we turned up the bed had not been made & the room not cleaned. The owner asked us if we wanted her to vacuum & was slightly put out when we said yes please!
She then told us that there was no blind for the skylight which is directly above the
bed, so basically the room gets really light as the sun rises. Fine, as dd would wake us anyway, but I would think this to be a pain if we had been able to have a lie in.
The whole house was untidy- the kitchen surfaces all piled high with dirty dishes (she'd had friends staying the night before). She decided to leave the tidying til the morning so even finding a clean glass to drink from was a challenge. I don't have qualms with the cleanliness of her home for personal use, but the owner treated us very much as though she was doing us a favour, rather than as though we were paying customers.
The owner smoked in the house- we wouldn't have chosen this with dd sleeping in the next room.
In the morning we were hurried out of the bathroom as the owner needed to use it. We weren't offered breakfast, until we had our coats on and the front door open she said- don't you want breakfast? Yes, we should have asked earlier, but she was so obviously avoiding offering even a cup of tea, we just decided to get on our way.
On leaving, the owner was keen for us to return another time. We kept things brief & didn't comment on our experience. All in all we were disappointed to have spent £60 on the stay.
The website have now sent me a review request & I don't know whether to ignore it, or write an honest response.
The owner was obviously having some personal difficulties & so it could just have been a bad weekend for her. We really felt as though we were in the way the whole time.
I had Made the booking based in the rave reviews on the website, so ours would be the only negative one.
What do you think?

OP posts:
givemeaclue · 28/10/2013 18:34

Yes I would. Also on tripadvisor

quoteunquote · 28/10/2013 18:38

It sounds as if she has given up on her business anyway.

magicscares · 28/10/2013 18:44

Thanks for your responses. So you don't think I need make an allowance for the personal difficulties she's having? She

OP posts:
magicscares · 28/10/2013 18:46

Sorry posted too soon...
She told us briefly that she was struggling with some personal issues. I'm inclined to think she was behind on the cleaning etc due to friends staying though.

OP posts:
AnyWetCuntweaselsInTheFuckerGr · 28/10/2013 18:48

No - don't - but if she's through an agency or similar, drop them a line - and ask them to check on her (or pass on that you were a bit bemused by her unreadiness).

DaleyBump · 28/10/2013 18:48

Bad review all the way. You did not have an enjoyable experience, a bad review is perfectly acceptable.

IDontBowlOnShabbos · 28/10/2013 18:49

Wow that sounds like a nightmare break! I don't know how affective one negative review will be If there are a lot of positive ones.

You said she was keen to get you to stay again why didn't you mention all the problems at that time?

To be honest if she's having personal troubles I personally wouldn't leave a bad review, especially if going by the other reviews it's usually a nice place to stay. I might email her though to explain why, that way she knows she's lost customers and might make more effort next time.

Rattitude · 28/10/2013 18:52

I would put a review (on Tripadvisor). You can just be factual and maybe mention in her defence that she had some sort of personal issues that affected the quality of your stay. Unfortunately, these days, hotels and restaurants cannot afford to be complacent.

magicscares · 28/10/2013 18:56

We probably should have discussed it with her at the time. We felt awkward, in the way & a bit sorry for her. We kept things very brief when leaving, when she was suggesting we made a booking in future we didn't respond, hoping that would be obvious enough.
We had paid several weeks in advance.
I'm hesitant to write a bad review. partly because everyone else who stayed there seems to have really enjoyed it. Either we're fussy, or she was having a bad weekend!

OP posts:
Rattitude · 28/10/2013 19:53

Some reviews on some websites are fake so I would not worry about going against the grain.

It looks as if it fell well below the standards that one should expect. You need to be honest with your assessment of the place.

I sometimes find it difficult/impossible to write a bad review if the people running the place are really lovely, but it does not look as if it was the case. Write a review to help out future people who might consider staying in this place!

Rattitude · 28/10/2013 19:55

However, because I am a bit of a coward, I sometimes wait a couple of weeks before writing my review so that it cannot be specifically associated with me. Wink

mummymeister · 28/10/2013 20:33

write the review. its really important for the rest of us to know about places like this when we try to book. she is running a business and should be professional about it whatever her own problems. people like this rely on you not being bothered or too worried to write a bad review. please do it to warn the rest of us.

comewinewithmoi · 28/10/2013 21:12

Bad review. It's business.

MistyB · 28/10/2013 21:16

Perhaps email her and set out how your expectations were not met and see what she says. If she offers you a refund, then don't leave a review. If she does not, leave a factual review.

blossomblowing · 30/10/2013 07:26

yes agree with misty, ask her WTF was going on that day, and does she really want you to write an honest review. sounds like a terrible experience. and let us know what happens next!!

tribpot · 30/10/2013 07:30

If she was having personal difficulties that affected her ability to offer the service you had paid for, she should have cancelled you. A B&B without breakfast?!

Branleuse · 30/10/2013 07:52

yes i would

Purple2012 · 30/10/2013 07:57

I always review. In fact I have just done my first bad one after a recent holiday. Reviews are there for people to see your honest account.

FrightRider · 30/10/2013 08:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

magicscares · 30/10/2013 08:13

Ok thanks everyone, I will contact her first. She is trying to sell the business, so very obviously has given up. I forgot to add there was no heating either! So very cold overnight Hmm

OP posts:
tribpot · 30/10/2013 08:22

Unfortunately it sounds like she may not have much business to sell Confused Very sorry for her, and hope she can find something more suited to her.

LIZS · 30/10/2013 08:45

Keep it factual. Were you the only guests ? Maybe she should reconsider whether opening off peak is worth the disruption .

ballstoit · 28/12/2013 19:02

Yes, bad review and also contact local environmental health regarding the smoking. It's illegal in premises used for business (and really grim).

frenchfancy · 01/01/2014 16:34

Honest reviews are important. It may be her business, but other people are in the same business and customers need honest reviews in order to choose where to stay.

ksrwr · 02/01/2014 10:27

i think you should. mention the smoking as that is really important for some people.

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