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Check Your Own Bed Linen - Really?


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This shouty message was next to the TV on our last hire boat.  I say shouty because it was in capitals, although the reminder to return the boat on time on the same slip of paper was not.  I quote verbatim:

PLEASE CHECK THAT YOU HAVE THE CORRECT BED LINEN ON BOARD BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE YARD. CALL OUTS CANNOT BE MADE FOR INCORRECT OR MISSING LINEN.

I can't recall ever having a similar message from any other hospitality venue, be it hire boat, country cottage, hotel or whatever.  Perhaps I'm missing something, but in my world, that's your job boatyard, I've got my own checklist to keep me busy. Any thoughts?

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No quite sure what the big deal is, I guess it's in capitals to bring it to you attention. Let's say you wild moored on your first night and don't discover something is missing till dark. What would you expect the yard to do about it ?? It takes 5 minutes so no drama in my opinion.

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No.. I don't expect to have to check that items included in the price are present before I leave... whether it's a boating holiday or anything else.

Not too worried about the capital letters, that's really only an online protocol but it's not reasonable to say to a customer "we don't have time to check we have done it properly, so that's your fault now if you don't check"

Not a business model I would return to!

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In these Covid times the number of people due to hire the boat can change at the last minute as people drop out and others are added, original requests for double duvets become two singles etc. This information may not reach the cleaning crew who tend to work from a schedule printed off the day before.

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8 hours ago, Tyna said:

In these Covid times the number of people due to hire the boat can change at the last minute as people drop out and others are added, original requests for double duvets become two singles etc. This information may not reach the cleaning crew who tend to work from a schedule printed off the day before.

I agree but this  ere Mr Covid is getting the blame for every mistake, it is the excuse of the century.    Picnic boats used to be kitted out with everything you need,  now they provide nothing except if you are lucky a toilet roll and even if you are really lucky a fresh toilet roll and not half used.    Yet they are still charging the same exorbitant prices.  This time of year £280 for a day.    There is only 2 of us.   So a lot of readies.    So in a lot of ways their jobs are less.

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Whilst you might take umbridge at the capitals, let me be very clear. in 14 years of running a boat yard, the number of customers who even understood why we needed to know how many double and single sets of bedding they required could be as low as 5% in any given season. Most expected us to guess or just fill the boat with as much bedding as we could stuff in, having no regard for the fact that many beds could be singles or doubles and that we has ZERO idea whether Heather White was married to Andrew White or whether they were brother and sister or whether one snored horribly and was banished to the opposite end of the vessel. 

It was a constant battle with customers to get this information and whilst mistakes were rare (on our part) the battle was to get customers to understand. 

The other thing that was prevalent throughout was the fact that most customers read sweet fanny adams, so the fact that this drew your attention goes to show it worked.  

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I was going to say....

It may not be common in the hospitality industry but what hotel, holiday park etc would need to potentially drive for the best part of an hour and then have a long walk to deliver bedding?

Think of a boat hired in June which was picked up at 1pm from Ricko's and has moored for the first night at Herringfleet.

I can see why they'd say sorry but you'll have to come back to base for more bedding.

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People used to put things in capitals because it was an important message or meant to stand out and be read. Then along came the internet and anything put in capitals was the equivalent of shouting, which is fine, then people sometimes forget that they are not on the internet, but reading an important message that is meant to stand out and they feel they are being shouted at. I'm one of those annoying people who still use the full stop, even in text messages, apparently that is now seen as rude or abrupt in a text.

Pre Covid one of the things that used to annoy me was seeing a pub with all the tables laid out with cutlery, then along comes a family with a couple of kids who sit at the table and have a drink and the kids play with everything on the table and then they leave and the waiting staff come along and shuffle everything on the table back into place and the next unknowing customers come along and use that cutlery that has been previously man handled.

I'm guessing that if a hire yard filled an 8 berth boat with enough bedding for all the berths to be used, but only half of it was actually used, the whole lot would need to be taken off at the end of the week and laundered, which is a waste, likewise no one wants to leave with a lack of bedding, so bringing this important item to peoples attention seems absolutely the right thing to do. Making the message stand out also seems the right thing to do. It obviously did stand out enough to have become a topic on here anyway, so I guess it worked. 

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Could it not simply have been devised at a time when Covid was isolating many of the boatyard's staff, and as a result was causing out of the ordinary logistical problems in being able to deliver items away from the home location? If so, something to that effect added to the message would have made it softer and more acceptable to customers. 

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3 minutes ago, Meantime said:

I'm one of those annoying people who still use the full stop, even in text messages, apparently that is now seen as rude or abrupt in a text.

Glory be! No wonder much of what is posted now doesn’t make sense to me. Much of it comes across as gobbledegook! In 20 years time the English language will be unrecognisable. 

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While it's easy to aim at the business owner, this notice was clearly the result of provocation by the actions of at least one awkward customer. Customers can be the Devil's children. It wouldn't be beyond belief for someone to decide they need/want extra bedding then complain to have extra brought out to them.

I would check absolutely everything before setting off. Arriving at a hired caravan we were gasping for a cup of tea. As my wife reached for the teapot at the back of a cupboard it disintegrated, a large jagged piece just missing her foot as it took a chuck out of the floor covering. Previous occupants had clearly broken it and rather than confess, just placed it carefully at the back of the cupboard. We've had similar with broken beds too.

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Another storm in a tea cup in my opinion. Andy hit the nail right on the head, couldn't agree more. One of the first things we do is check the bedding, any issues it's sorted by the time your due for the off. Never had a problem on occasion we've required a couple of extra blankets, quick trip to the office job done. On most occasions we have sent in our bedding request pre arrival the beds are made up for us on arrival. As for getting offended by a few capital letters on a bit of paper...oh please. But hey it worked, didn't it...

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1 hour ago, vanessan said:

Glory be! No wonder much of what is posted now doesn’t make sense to me. Much of it comes across as gobbledegook! In 20 years time the English language will be unrecognisable. 

Txt spk (text speak) was devised at the time when everyone was aware of the number of characters and spaces comprised a message and our language became abbreviated accordingly.  Sadly it remains now even in written English, which along with certain common spelling errors (such as using ‘should of’ instead of ‘should have’ for example) annoy me intensely.

Perhaps I’m either a bit old fashioned or a pedant (or both even) and although I’m as capable of spelling or grammatical errors, I think we need to have more respect for our language, especially as our national identity became such an important factor in the Brexit debate.

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2 hours ago, CambridgeCabby said:

With the additional cleaning that is required and the extra time it must take any additional monies saved by providing “extras” must be more than eaten up 

Depends where you are hiring from but the words 'additional' cleaning is some circumstances needs to be desired.   A general cleaning in the first place would be a start.      Covid cleaning isnt carried out as it was earlier in the pandemic.  I have not noticed 'fogging' happening.    May be I have just missed it.

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1 hour ago, Mouldy said:

using ‘should of’ instead of ‘should have’ 

One of my pet hates too! 

 

1 hour ago, Mouldy said:

I think we need to have more respect for our language

Couldn’t agree more but I fear it may be too late. The damage is done now. 
😢

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1 hour ago, Hylander said:

I have not noticed 'fogging' happening.   

I can’t imagine how Richardson’s for example would have the equipment and time to do all of their boats on turn round days. I believe the general thought now is that Covid bacteria doesn’t linger very long on surfaces as first assumed so maybe the fogging has been abandoned. If anyone is really worried on taking over a boat, there is always Dettol Disinfectant Spray (other sprays are available). 

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1 hour ago, Hylander said:

I have not noticed 'fogging' happening.

It definitely didn't happen at NBD this year, cleaners were still onboard vaguely wafting mops after 4pm on our arrival day. In contrast Bridgecraft advised us beforehand fogging is done as a matter of course and no staff enter the boat after it's been completed.

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20 hours ago, NotDeadYet said:

This shouty message was next to the TV on our last hire boat.  I say shouty because it was in capitals, although the reminder to return the boat on time on the same slip of paper was not.  I quote verbatim:

PLEASE CHECK THAT YOU HAVE THE CORRECT BED LINEN ON BOARD BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE YARD. CALL OUTS CANNOT BE MADE FOR INCORRECT OR MISSING LINEN.

I can't recall ever having a similar message from any other hospitality venue, be it hire boat, country cottage, hotel or whatever.  Perhaps I'm missing something, but in my world, that's your job boatyard, I've got my own checklist to keep me busy. Any thoughts?

I now have that very same notice as my bookmark, courtesy of our holiday a couple of weeks ago...

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Can we not lose sight of the fact that you’re the customer?

Its getting to sound like fawlty towers. “You want what? Now?”

Just make up all the beds. All the time. 
it’s like when people complain of bad restaurant service and the owner says they are short of staff. 
Don’t care, not my problem. I’ve paid for service and that’s the level I want. Any less then close.  
If i plumbed in a new sink and the tap leaked would you pay the bill?

what I’m trying to say is get it right first time then no need for notes

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15 minutes ago, Cheesey69 said:

Just make up all the beds. All the time. 

And what if they are not all needed, then there are the saloon settees that pull out into beds, do you leave bedding behind for them just in case, and then have to wash it all whether it was used or not! Not exactly environmentally friendly is it?

 

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37 minutes ago, Meantime said:

And what if they are not all needed, then there are the saloon settees that pull out into beds, do you leave bedding behind for them just in case, and then have to wash it all whether it was used or not! Not exactly environmentally friendly is it?

 

Nothing about going on holiday is environmentally friendly. But what I really meant is provide what is needed first time. Make up the beds and then leave enough linen for pull outs. Then it’s down to you to correct your mistake and not moan when you have to. 
My point stands. I’m the customer, you’re the provider. I’ve paid for everything needed and expect to get it. Your job is to provide it. 
Anything less is not good enough. 

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