Check Your Own Bed Linen - Really?

[Meantime]

1 minute ago, Cheesey69 said:

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. 

I think I see why Andy retired now! 

[oldgregg]

12 minutes ago, Cheesey69 said:

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. 

And if the customer got it wrong on their form or the crew has changed since the boat was booked but the customer has forgotten to tell them? If a yard 'gets that right first time' but the requirements have changed then you've still got the wrong bedding.

I suspect from Andy's post that this happens. A lot.

That is why they ask you to check. It takes two minutes and it avoids disappointment.

[Vaughan]

42 minutes ago, Meantime said:

I think I see why Andy retired now!

I was wondering how to put that, but you have summed it up!

[andyg]

2 hours ago, Cheesey69 said:

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. 

The point your missing is the original post didn't say anything about anyone making a mistake. It's more a case of they were offended by the shouty note. Pram,toys come to mind and is it a real drama to have a quick check everything is how it should be. Let's face it a boating holiday is a different beast to staying on a holiday park or hotel, b&b etc etc. 

[grendel]

I am a draughtsman, technically all my drawings get done in a shouty voice as we always use caps. its seen as quite normal when chatting on teams when someone types ther message in caps.

[YnysMon]

The opposite is the case in my work place (Open University). Caps in Teams chat I haven’t yet come across, probably because we all been trained over a long period of time that it’s a big no-no. Mind you, as our teaching is done at a distance we have always put a lot of effort into training our students in the niceties of communicating remotely, so I guess that’s not surprising.  

[grendel]

when we are doing our drawings we are working almost exclusively with caps locked on, thus when the time comes to chat often we forget and just type away.

[Broads01]

7 hours ago, Cheesey69 said:

Just make up all the beds. All the time. 

No thanks, I wouldn't want that. Unnecessary additional work for the boatyard, unnecessary laundry costs and environmental impact and for saloon beds, unnecessary use of storage space to store bedding.

[floydraser]

1 hour ago, grendel said:

when we are doing our drawings we are working almost exclusively with caps locked on, thus when the time comes to chat often we forget and just type away.

..without looking at the screen so you've typed at least a sentence before realising. 

[CambridgeCabby]

Often a couple will hire a four berth boat and use a double berth each as the majority of older double berths are a bit tight to say the least .

How is the yard to assume the Mr and Mrs X are going to want four berths made up ?

[Vaughan]

Perhaps a bit "off piste" but I remember one of the times we hired with Richardsons, we arranged for a Sunday departure as we were at a wedding on the Saturday.  We had sent the arrival particulars and although only a couple we had asked for linen for two beds as we had guests joining during the week.  Mr & Mrs Wussername, no less!

When we arrived on Sunday morning there was only one set of linen, but a sailing dinghy instead!  When the instructor came to look after us he very soon got some more linen and we had a good laugh about the dinghy.  I said I didn't think I could get into one of those any more and I certainly couldn't get out again!

Seriously, you cannot second guess customers' requirements.  If you want good service it is very important to send in the arrival particulars and tell the boatyard what you want.  It is not a question of economy on laundry - if you want extra linen or extra pillows, they will gladly supply them.  Surely it is also common sense to check the inventory before you set off. You have signed for the boat and its equipment, after all.

[Mouldy]

From my own experience as a hirer, beds were made up for our arrival.  That may have been because we hired from smaller yards, eight of the last nine occasions was with Summercraft.  We used to send off the pre-arrival confirmation, by post until emails became more widely used, with party details, bedding and configuration requirements and car registration numbers as appropriate.  One year I forgot and received a polite email from Sue’s team asking me to reply ASAP with necessary information.

Obviously, we haven’t hired since the onset of the pandemic, so Covid related disciplines may affect the yards ability to make beds up, but surely it is the hirers responsibility to ensure that their requirements are notified in advance of their arrival to ensure that the yards have the best chance of fulfilling them.  The onus must then be on the hirer to check that there have been no errors.  The last time I checked, hire yards were staffed by humans and one of the key factors in being a member of the species is that we are all capable of making the odd mistake and I speak from experience in that regard!!

[SwanR]

15 minutes ago, Mouldy said:

 

From my own experience as a hirer, beds were made up for our arrival.  That may have been because we hired from smaller yards

 

It may also have been the case if you were hiring the platinum or elite boats. Back to that subject we touched on somewhere else recently … the overall package for a higher priced accommodation. It’s the same in caravans or it used to be. 

[NotDeadYet]

On 10/08/2021 at 08:59, Oddfellow said:

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.  

Perhaps I'm unusual - I read everything!  Even though odd bits of info are found here and there, not in one place. If it is so important to warn me about bedding, it perhaps should be stapled to my sign off sheet and pointed out to me.  At the end of the day this little strip of paper is simply the yard covering its you-know-what in case there is a cockup, never mind who is at fault.  Further to the fault aspect, I'm sure the boat hire business is not easy, and some clients are probably irritating in various ways.  However, it is a hospitality business and it is by no means the only business having to deal with issues - it's managements job to identify the issues and develop ways of dealing with them without defaulting to 'blame the client' mode.  Sorry, but that's not good enough.

[NotDeadYet]

On 10/08/2021 at 09:32, andyg said:

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...

I may not have made my point very well, andyg.  I check as much as possible and am aware that, once I set sail, I can't just ring down to reception for an extra blanket. However, having supplied the yard with full details of all on board and stated which beds should be made up, at their request and well in advance, why do they then need to tell me that, if the bedding's wrong, tough luck?  It's the attitude that's wound me up, not the capitals.

[NotDeadYet]

19 hours ago, andyg said:

The point your missing is the original post didn't say anything about anyone making a mistake. It's more a case of they were offended by the shouty note. Pram,toys come to mind and is it a real drama to have a quick check everything is how it should be. Let's face it a boating holiday is a different beast to staying on a holiday park or hotel, b&b etc etc. 

Rubbish - see my later post!

[Hylander]

22 hours 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?

 

With Covid all this linen on board would be going to a laundry anyway  - used or not used.  

[Meantime]

1 minute ago, Hylander said:

With Covid all this linen on board would be going to a laundry anyway  - used or not used.  

Which is exactly my point, no point putting on board anything more than is actually needed by the hirer for that week otherwise it is creating extra unneccessary laundry.

 

[Matt]

Once when hiring from Hearts in Thorpe we got about an hour up the river and thought it was time to put the kettle on and found no cutlery tray. Managed to get a signal so rang them. They duly popped out with the cutlery.

has said cup of tea and a short while later the toilet was used only to find it wouldn’t flush. Rang them again and out they popped to open the stopcock.

It was Easter so I guess we were the first hired of the season!

 

[Wussername]

I once hired a boat. Moored up miles from anywhere.

7pm came and one of the most catastrophic happenings ever. 

NO CORK SCREW !!

 

[Maxwellian]

We appear to have some different points of view on here, and that is fine, the world would be a very boring place to live otherwise. We have to realise that sometimes we are never going to change others viewpoints and just move on.

[andyg]

1 minute ago, Wussername said:

I once hired a boat. Moored up miles from anywhere.

7pm came and one of the most catastrophic happenings ever. 

NO CORK SCREW !!

 

How on earth did you cope,poor chap 😉

[Maxwellian]

10 minutes ago, Wussername said:

I once hired a boat. Moored up miles from anywhere.

7pm came and one of the most catastrophic happenings ever. 

NO CORK SCREW !!

 

Perhaps a video on how you got round the issue, bit like Robins tin opener one 

[Oddfellow]

23 hours ago, Cheesey69 said:

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

It's hard to get it right when people don't comply with your simple request to provide easy information ahead of time so that mistakes are not made. But, to err is human, so where's the hardship in just checking it over? 

Your analogy says the same thing as I have too: someone would have checked the sink to establish whether it did or did not leak..... 

[floydraser]

2 hours ago, NotDeadYet said:

 However, having supplied the yard with full details of all on board and stated which beds should be made up, at their request and well in advance, why do they then need to tell me that, if the bedding's wrong, tough luck?  It's the attitude that's wound me up, not the capitals.

I think you are misinterpreting their attitude. They are actually trying to make sure that whatever the circumstances (you made a mistake on the form, changed your mind, change of crew, they cocked up reading the form) there are no mistakes. It may not as subtle as you would care to see it but it gets the job done; they are communicating.