[nick202]

Originally Posted by bingoes

Just caught up with 4iB. Oh dear, £6.20 was quite cruel, even with a stained mattress and a filthy room that was a low blow.

For the sack of fairness, I think if someone does not stay then any payments from the ones that leave should be void and the percentage should be calculated for the remaining guests.

I feel for V&S this programme and their actions have done them more harm than good.

Exactly - it did seem grossly unfair that they still had a say in the scoring, and the £6.20 was more than insulting. However, the losers here will be V&S I'm afraid.

[ewoodie]

V and S shouldn't contributed further as they did not stay or have breakfast.

[whatever54]

Originally Posted by ewoodie

V and S shouldn't contributed further as they did not stay or have breakfast.

exactly, having not really experienced it how can they judge whether it was VFM. I think in situations like that yes let them go and give their comments at the final but payment should be null & void. They should have been MADE to attend breakfast, although I'm not sure how this could be done

[owllover]

I'm an insomniac tonight so thinking over the points made in this thread (which I love)...

All of these people have chosen to be in a service industry but some haven't given it enough thought. (No prize for who I'm thinking of atm). All of my life until I retired, I dealt with the public and throughout I learnt how difficult the public can be.

V and S were both nurses and have surely witnessed situations that I for one wouldn't know how to handle. They were, presumably, in charge. On the other hand I've diffused potential flare-ups and could walk into a roomful of strangers and break the tension when I was in charge.

It isn't only V and S, we've seen it all through the series. People have warmth and friendliness or they don't.

I really do think that's the starting point. I don't like to make personal comments but Saida had the most miserable face all through the week. I understand why but she made her choice so get on with it and make an effort to make people around you enjoy their experience. Moan later in private.

ETA. I would guess that part of Saida's unhappiness is that she made a wrong choice and doesn't know how to extricate herself.

I am the Queen of Assumption

[SolarSail]

Originally Posted by owllover

I remember her well gillie. She was an awful snob and didn't one of the couples have to be split because she only had a lumpy single bed in one of the rooms? She was blithely unbothered about the comfort of her guests and clearly living in reduced circumstances!

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showt...php?p=49436520

I remember that well, Three in a Bed, and her place was a 'private' letting arrangement. It's not listed now.

[Normandie]

Originally Posted by Bellamy

Is that as gross as it sounds? I can see, however, that it's a practical option.

Define gross.
Gloves, disinfectant and cloth is practical, efficient and cost-effective. If you analyse it, no less gross is flicking loaded crappy bristles around the upper reaches of the bowl and it's less effective - brushes don't efficiently get under the front rim of the loo, for eg. I don't use one of the rechargable disposible cloth brush thingies - consumables are expensive and more to the point here we have a sometimes sceptical septic tank - I can't flush them after use.

Originally Posted by Bellamy

As a matter of interest, Normandie, how much did you know before embarking on B&B (& D)? You've made the point - and FIAB reinforces it - that too many people simply try to transfer home making skills to what is essentially a business project.

I've worked in the travel industry on and off for 30+ years, mostly in sales and marketing but early on I managed central booking offices and worked in receptions of large holiday centres.

The b&b or small hotel owner, needs to be good at budgeting, analysis, sales and marketing (websites, printed literature) customer relations, administration: you have to run a - hopefully busy - booking office, sorting bookings, juggling rooms, confirming bookings, taking deposits, etc. And then the rooms themselves have to be - nowadays, if you want a reasonable return on your efforts - decorated, furnished and cleaned to a high standard and maintained that way.

If you think it appeals, you should try it. Definitely. But you have to really like people, be happy for someone else to take over at least part of your house and garden and make it theirs, be happy and motivated to help them at all hours of the day... even if you don't really like them. You have to manage them in a jolly way when they're being difficult- not wanting to vacate the room by 11am because their ferry isn't till 11pm but you have two new families due at 4pm. Or you can't ignore a couple having a raucous row at midnight when other guests in the next room retired to bed knackered 2 hours earlier. It's your job to sort it.

There's loads more I could say but in a nutshell, you're not going to get unhappy residents who can write income-damaging reviews on TA if your kids get a slightly stained - but clean! - pillowcase or you overcook the bacon or if the cat has had a furball on the stairs... guests have a different set of expectations - I'm not sure Toni, for eg, really got that... and that's a big difference between running a family and running a b&b.

[Normandie]

Originally Posted by tally

They should have taken a leaf out of my book, when, living in a real tourist trap I decided to put my school holidays ( the day job was as a teacher, while hubby ran fishing trips round the bay) to good use and rent out a couple of rooms for some extra dosh. Oh god, I hated it!

Bloody brilliant post !

[mathsbunny]

Originally Posted by rhumble

i didn't think i was gonna like Paul at the start of the week,,but he is actually a nice enough bloke

And his jaunty collection of bow ties have kept us amused all week

[Lizaj]

Originally Posted by Cherrybomber

Yes I think we all know, but Beirut is commonly used as an example of an uninviting war torn place. If one is describing a violent or chaotic scene one might say "it looked like Beirut". So calling a restaurant that seems risky.
The Lebanese Lounge might be better, or Big Berthas Bath House!
No? ok just a thought

Beirut 's imagine as war zone comes from that time of civil war and kidnappings etc but proir to that it was a playground of rthe ich and famous with a strong French flavour..a colonial paradise!
Many of the Lebanese restuarants that sprang up in the Uk were of course people getting away from the civil war. I was in our local one ,one friday night when a young British Asian rushed in ,asking where was the mosque. I had to tell him as the owner, George hadn't a clue..Arabic script can be misleading and yes there's lots of Lebanese Christians.(And yes the food's good!)

A friend went to Beirut a few years ago and many places have been rebuilt and lookig very splendid one more so let's hope the image continues to get more positive.

[tally]

Originally Posted by Bellamy

I've just read them both, and, on the face of it, the manager sounds as if he's got a point. They've also got overwhelmingly good reviews. People can sometimes be very blinkered over how their children behave.

Originally Posted by gilliedew

This was one of my pet hates when working as a Restaurant Manager. Diners did not look after their children and allowed them to run around the other customers tables. We were so busy and asked the parents if they could keep them in their safekeeping as hot coffee and food was being served and all it would take was a child colliding with a waitress and of course we would get the blame. In many cases, the parents were more interested in downing their drinks than supervising their children. It was not down to staff to look after them and several times parents had arguments amongst themselves because neither wanted to be with their kids. One of the less happy sides to restaurant work.

Originally Posted by M@nterik

Interesting comments on The Old Hall. Looks like a pair of irresponsible parents venting their spleen. The response is thoughtful and measured.

^ ^ ^ These points.
After an aeon dealing with 7-9 year olds on school trips my sympathies lie with the people who asked to be moved and the owners. The father who wrote the awful review sounds like the "rare, but they are out there" idiots who think that their children can run around willy nilly in a more formal setting.
Taking your children to a restaurant is all part of socialising the little darlings. They aren't too young to be taught proper behaviour. Running around, whether the place is empty or not is not acceptable. It's perfectly possible for 6 year olds to stay in their seats, it's not a playground.
The irresponsible parent damns himself for what he's written.
V & S could learn something from the owners' response. Very well put, calm and reasoned. I'm looking forward to seeing the place next week.

And UGH re the photo of the breakfast at Rutland Terrace. They look as if they've copied and pasted a photo from Google Images. It looks plastic and cold.

[Marthaa]

OMG - have just watched last 3 episodes of show this week.

V & S should not have brought up the fact they were not staying at dinner - should have been done before they left the b & b. Good for Ben for sticking up for Helen.

Have to say that Helen was very gracious in the final show down - how she managed to keep her cool is beyond me! Very unpleasant to watch.

[fiveinabed]

Originally Posted by tally

^ ^ ^ These points.
After an aeon dealing with 7-9 year olds on school trips my sympathies lie with the people who asked to be moved and the owners. The father who wrote the awful review sounds like the "rare, but they are out there" idiots who think that their children can run around willy nilly in a more formal setting.
Taking your children to a restaurant is all part of socialising the little darlings. They aren't too young to be taught proper behaviour. Running around, whether the place is empty or not is not acceptable. It's perfectly possible for 6 year olds to stay in their seats, it's not a playground.

In a 'child-friendly' restaurant that had a play-area a couple of years ago, I saw a waitress trip over a pair of discarded shoes, drop her pile of plates, and knock her front tooth out on a table as she fell. All because the parents allowed the child to leave their shoes and socks in the middle of the floor while they ran off to play in the ball-pit.
The play area has now been removed, and bloody good riddance.

[gilliedew]

Originally Posted by SolarSail

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showt...php?p=49436520

I remember that well, Three in a Bed, and her place was a 'private' letting arrangement. It's not listed now.

She banged on how her place had so many stars continually, yet the other guests found it less than clean. It was obvious she had had a spring clean before the Inspector had visited and let standards go when she cleaned it herself. She certainly played a nasty picky game and was quite hoity toity when told her place was not up to the standard of the star rating.

She was so nasty that it stayed in my mind and of course she had my picture, that didnt go down well with me

[SolarSail]

Marthaa, it was uncomfortable, thank goodness for the calm and the humour of Katie, Ben and Paul, didn't you just love how they cracked up over breakfast at Helen's, they seemed like they were having a really good time.

Originally Posted by gilliedew

She banged on how her place had so many stars continually, yet the other guests found it less than clean....
She was so nasty that it stayed in my mind and of course she had my picture, that didnt go down well with me

Quite a revelation wasn't it, do as I say not do as I do.

You didn't bin the picture did you?

They aren't too young to be taught proper behaviour

That's all there is to it really.

We took our two to restaurants, cinemas, theatres, and on long journeys from a very early age and never had any problems.
We taught them what was expected, what's appropriate and how you conduct yourself.

When they were in a park or a playground they could run free, when they were in a confined space they didn't do anything to upset or interfere with anyone else's enjoyment of what they were doing.

It's only considerate towards other people, but most of all we wouldn't have been able to stand it ourselves.

We had friends visit the other weekend and when they'd gone we were relieved and a bit worn out to start on all the cleaning up after their little boy, who'd exhausted us

[BirthdayGirl]

Originally Posted by fiveinabed

In a 'child-friendly' restaurant that had a play-area a couple of years ago, I saw a waitress trip over a pair of discarded shoes, drop her pile of plates, and knock her front tooth out on a table as she fell. All because the parents allowed the child to leave their shoes and socks in the middle of the floor while they ran off to play in the ball-pit.
The play area has now been removed, and bloody good riddance.

Whilst I was on holiday last December, my friend and I commented on how well behaved all the children were.

None of them were English

[gilliedew]

I still have the picture, I always liked it but it sort of took the shine off it knowing she had it as well, but I am sure it would have got right up her nose knowing I had it, so perhaps it isnt all bad, ha ha.

[Shrike]

Originally Posted by Marthaa

.Have to say that Helen was very gracious in the final show down - how she managed to keep her cool is beyond me! Very unpleasant to watch.

Forgot to mention this last night, but I disagree that she was very gracious. She was very good on the night but by morning she had obviously worked her way up into a self righteous rage (with some prompting from the production team?).
What I found disappointing was that whilst V&S handled it very poorly, there was no apology or explaination as to why Helen thought it acceptable to use her daughters old pee stained mattress for paying guests to use.

[JulesF]

Originally Posted by Shrike

Forgot to mention this last night, but I disagree that she was very gracious. She was very good on the night but by morning she had obviously worked her way up into a self righteous rage (with some prompting from the production team?).
What I found disappointing was that whilst V&S handled it very poorly, there was no apology or explaination as to why Helen thought it acceptable to use her daughters old pee stained mattress for paying guests to use.

I agree completely. V&S were terribly unpleasant about the whole situation, and undoubtedly handled it very badly, but on skimming over the last few pages of this thread, I began to think that I must have misheard Helen's comment about the pee. Do people think offering a urine-stained mattress (and mentioning that it was stained with wee in a super-casual, just-in-passing kind of way) is acceptable? Or did that fact just get conveniently passed over in favour of some of the very nasty and personal comments aimed at V&S?

[Cherrybomber]

Originally Posted by JulesF

I agree completely. V&S were terribly unpleasant about the whole situation, and undoubtedly handled it very badly, but on skimming over the last few pages of this thread, I began to think that I must have misheard Helen's comment about the pee. Do people think offering a urine-stained mattress (and mentioning that it was stained with wee in a super-casual, just-in-passing kind of way) is acceptable?

Perhaps skimming rather than reading gives the wrong impression, nobody has said its acceptable, or condoned it in any way.

Or did that fact just get conveniently passed over in favour of some of the very nasty and personal comments aimed at V&S

people usually make personal remarks about people volunteering for RTV shows.
Nasty? Really? Not just terribly unpleasent?

[Cherrybomber]

Originally Posted by BirthdayGirl

Whilst I was on holiday last December, my friend and I commented on how well behaved all the children were.

None of them were English

I am amazed that parents think child friend means that children may run amok.

Our child is only 14 months old so we don't take her any where to eat much except to family pubs for sunday lunch sometimes. That's because those pubs are usually noisy and bustling and if she is restless i can minimise how much disruption she causes, if she wont settle i go outside with her while the others finish.
By the time she is 4 or 5 I expect to be able to take her to nice places to eat and that she will sit and behave, while being part of the party as the children of my family and friends do

That review , by the father of the children, suggests that it should be accepted that children will run around a restaurant, I cant understand why he thinks thats the norm. At home i wouldnt accept children leaving the table to run around during dinner either.

[Cherrybomber]

Originally Posted by owllover

I'm an insomniac tonight so thinking over the points made in this thread (which I love)...

All of these people have chosen to be in a service industry but some haven't given it enough thought. (No prize for who I'm thinking of atm). All of my life until I retired, I dealt with the public and throughout I learnt how difficult the public can be.

V and S were both nurses and have surely witnessed situations that I for one wouldn't know how to handle. They were, presumably, in charge. On the other hand I've diffused potential flare-ups and could walk into a roomful of strangers and break the tension when I was in charge.

It isn't only V and S, we've seen it all through the series. People have warmth and friendliness or they don't.

I really do think that's the starting point. I don't like to make personal comments but Saida had the most miserable face all through the week. I understand why but she made her choice so get on with it and make an effort to make people around you enjoy their experience. Moan later in private.

ETA. I would guess that part of Saida's unhappiness is that she made a wrong choice and doesn't know how to extricate herself.

I am the Queen of Assumption

I too have worked in public facing services in a several guises and agree with you whole heartedly.
One either has those softer skills or one doesn't. You can learn how to behave but its a difficult thing to fake.

They were nurses we are told, I see little sign of them being natural nurturers, but I am content to imagine they worked in clean wards.

Your assumptions are clearly made as assumptions and not facts, and what you say has a logical consitency.

[theid]

I wonder if the fact that they were retired nurses made them a little more aware of the smell of vomit and more likely to check out a mattress? At any event SURELY in these circs you would call the manager to the room, explain the problem, and ask if they could help - by allocating you another room, for example? As several posters have mentioned, the shadow of the production team hovers over this scenario!

[idiot_box]

One of the retorts that V&S gave to one criticism was that they could not afford to lower their prices to reflect the standard of accommodation that they offer. Well dearies, I'm afraid that your business model is bust and you need to sell up sharpish. I think that they are well intentioned but way out of their depth.

[Marthaa]

Originally Posted by Shrike

Forgot to mention this last night, but I disagree that she was very gracious. She was very good on the night but by morning she had obviously worked her way up into a self righteous rage (with some prompting from the production team?).
What I found disappointing was that whilst V&S handled it very poorly, there was no apology or explaination as to why Helen thought it acceptable to use her daughters old pee stained mattress for paying guests to use.

Agree that she should have offered an explanation re the stained mattress but felt she was more gracious in her attitude than V & S were in relation to their feedback on the final show.

Also, if the smell was so bad they would have noticed it on first visit to the room surely. If I had been Helen I would have pointed out to them that she did show that room to the other contestants who found no smell at all. Fight fire with fire etc

She should never have had that mattress on a guests bed true but I think that V & S were totally out of order in how they handled the situation and ruined a nice dinner for everyone not just Helen and her friend.

[Christa Ellen]

Originally Posted by gilliedew

I still have the picture, I always liked it but it sort of took the shine off it knowing she had it as well, but I am sure it would have got right up her nose knowing I had it, so perhaps it isnt all bad, ha ha.

One of my pictures and a candle stick was in a programme too!

It's funny seeing them on TV! They were a pleasant couple though.

My picture:

http://www.jssgallery.org/other_arti...nnis_Party.htm