Sorry folks, it's been a while

Okay so I learned some valuable lessons this past month. First of all, sorry to all you folks who've requested more blogging. Thanks for your love, I certainly didn't expect it! Things at the inn have been really busy, as it's October, our highest traffic month, and I've been working like a dawg. Not too many wack happenings as far as the guests go, though lots of new things for me.

#1 Pleasing People Isn't That Hard
It's taken a while for this to sink in, but I've noticed that people will work with you if there's something wrong and you approach it in a practical way. For instance I have this Canadian couple here this week who have a baby. The baby's schedule has turned theirs completely upside down and they haven't made it to breakfast even once. Sometimes the dude comes down to have coffee, but I've only seen the chick once, and that was at midnight as we were all getting off the train from the city. The first morning they were here he came down from the room and asked it we could turn the heat up. If you're reading this and you're not in the Northeast, it's been raining for a week and I'm starting to wonder if anyone else is getting that winter depression from light deprevation thing like I am. So, the heat's being turned on for the first time this fall. The room where Canadians are staying has its heat controlled by the room next door. That's right, the room next door, (old houses, go figure), which is smaller, so their room heats up faster and then they turn the heat down to prevent their own roasting. I asked that room to keep their heat on for the baby and thought everything was fine. Well the next morning the Canadian dude came down, had some coffee, and then told me that his wife was upset and that their whole trip had been ruined because of the baby being chilly and waking up every hour. The thing is, they saw me on the train so late the night before, they knew I was awake, and they could have called and asked me to make sure the heat was on! I am not psychic. I only know when something is wrong when people tell me. So I told him that they could have let me know and I could have solved the problem. But they were switching rooms that day anyway, so I showed him the new room, told him they could move in right away if they wanted to, and where to control the heat in that room. And what happened? They moved right in and changed their minds that they wanted to stay. I'm always surprised when people take a stance that nothing can be done, but that when you approach their problem and attempt to solve it, they usually appreciate it and forget about it. In fact, it even seems better I think, since they see you are willing to make things right and take responsibility. Case in point, this helps out even when it's not YOUR fault. This leads me to the next happening of the week:

#2 People Are Fuggin Stupid!

The same couple as above did something really dumb the night they checked in. See, sometimes people are late checking in, way later than they thought they would be, and later than I'm awake. These people were coming in from Canada, and they got in around 10.45 pm. For someone who has to cook breakfast at 6 am, I certainly don't want to be seeing people that late, and given, even though we've already established that I'm a night owl, so therefore would be up, they don't have to know that! Right before I was done with work, I had to move another couple's car so that someone else could leave. I left the keys to the rental car on the kitchen counter so that they could be gotten at the next morning. I left the Canadians a note and went off duty. The next morning, the people who left their keys were looking for their keys, and they weren't on the counter. I spent about an hour going batshit looking for the keys. I looked in the clothes I had worn the night before, all over my apartment, the office, outside near the car and on the way to the house from the car, etc. I even called everyone who had left and asked them if they might have taken the keys by accident. I knew I had to find these keys, as this couple was booked in all week and this was just their second day here! I was finishing up a contingency plan which involved calling the rental company and getting another set of keys issued while giving the couple my mom's jag for the day when my brain started to think all sherlock style. I asked myself who had been in the kitchen from the last time I saw those keys. The only group I hadn't talked to was the Canadians. They were still asleep, as a matter of fact. So I went up to their room and knocked ever so softly on the door. The dude answered it all bleary and I apologized for disturbing them but could they possibly have picked up an extra set of keys last night? He actually remember picking them up and went to fetch them. I couldn't believe it! I had rescued the keys and happily presented them to their temporary owners. They asked if this had ever happened before and of course it hasn't. That's what got me so tense. The weird part was that after everything, the Canadian dude said he had picked them up thinking they were his room keys. But come on, doesn't a car key look a LOT different that a room key? What a dumbass.

Oh, and I started writing this blog this morning. I'm finishing up now that it's the end of the day, and I need to update you. The dumbasses left this afternoon, without even saying a word to me.

Lastly, let's talk about cancellations. This weekend is a BIG weekend at West Point, you know, the military academy that everyone goes to for free? Well I've been booked solid for weeks. Today I had a million check-ins, some people for this occasion, and some for this big blazing pumpkin shindig at a local historical house. It gets to be about 5 pm, and there's only one room that hasn't gotten here and they're supposed to be here between 12 pm and 2 pm. I called them up, and said I was checking to see if they were okay, since as I mentioned before, it's been raining cats and dogs for a week, and what time should I be expecting them? The woman was dumbfounded. She said they didn't know they had a reservation here! Now I know I sent her a confirmation email. I also know that these people had stayed with us over the summer, and that they had made their reservation then when they checked out for today. I went back and checked my sent mail in Outlook and there was her email, sent July 19. Our policy is usually that when someone cancels with more than a week ahead for us to rebook the room, it's no problem. If someone cancels with less than a week ahead, they get charged for one night. If someone doesn't show up, and they don't cancel, they get charged for their whole stay. We take a credit card number to guarantee the whole thing. Now for this woman to say that she just didn't know, and for me to take her at face, sorry voice value, that would just be stupid! Then she said that the reason they weren't staying with us was because our inn was lovely but that it was too expensive. She remembered me and the inn, so how could she forget her reservation? Then she laid one on me saying that they just couldn't afford to pay for the charge I was going to put on her card. I'm sorry, but they don't even pay for college. They could probably afford this, even if they had to pay it over the next month or so. And honestly, she's costing me over $500 and saying she's paying for services she didn't get to use. Sorry honey, it doesn't work like that. I then told her I'd try to book the room and that she'd have to pay for the difference if it doesn' get booked. That's a compromise on our end. I then called some other inns in the region and told them what had happened, and one innkeeper told me that the same thing had happened to her only last weekend, but instead of just one room, it was four! What is wrong with people? Why don't they realize what a B&B is? It's NOT a hotel. It's a small place, and we count on people to do what they say they will, just as we do on our end. Is that too much to ask? What would you do?