We have a home in Brewster and have had wonderful renters who have nothing but posative comments.Some weeks we had as many as 10 people staying at the home and still all went well.
Our Guestbook contains posative feedback and wonderful comments.
Well today all that changed...
we were out enjoying life and recieved a voicemail message on the cell phone from the present renters complaining of Air Conditioners and bath mats.
The website is quite accurate to the homes accomidations and central air was not an accomidation in wich we offered
Mind you... the upstairs master has A/C and downstairs bedroom has 2 windows and gets no direct sunlight
She also complained about th bath mat that goes inside on shower floor.Saying it was filthy! Ok maybe shes right..??
A BATH MAT??
Is this a reason to call or a note on the table at check out will do justice??
Well after two hours of dwelling the call and what to say and how to remedy the problem ...I called her back.
Did I say they were from JERSEY??
Anyway i get her on the phone and discussed the air conditioner and details on website as I apologized for her inconvenience
and asked her to purchase a new bath mat (wich really isnt needed) and we will re~emberse her the price of new bath mat
she decided that was fine....
So then I said "Ya know ....Its funny that that room downstairs is so hott that fan in the window really cools the room off nicely"
And she replied " My husband and my son slept down there last night and couldnt sleep .....All of a sudden I hear her son Yell in the background "I SLEPT FINE"!!
And her Husband ...down stairs ???
So she said " i guess tonight we'll try the fan
Like you dint think of that last night while you were hot??( I though to my self)
the fan is the first option DUH
WELL..
Guess things arent good sometimes Even On Vacation!!!
So my question is would you complain over a bath mat being dirty??
Making a call 24 hours after renting the house ??. Or just leave a note or comment in guest book ??
Cheriberry

Some people prefer the phone conversation to the paper one. I would call for that reason, but not for a bath mat. Maybe she didn't want to permanently scar your guestbook.

Hey Cheri--
Read your post the other day but just getting back to post a reply now.

I too rent my Brewster home and would have had the same reaction to the call you received. I think I would just chalk this one up to stress. I'm guessing the mom who is renting from you was completely in charge of booking the vacation, prepping for it, packing and unpacking for it, etc. She spent 6 hellish hours in the car from NJ (don't bash her for that--it's my home state!) and arrived in Brewster on the hottest day in the summer (we were there--it was BRUTAL). Then she had to go grocery shopping. Basically she's at the boiling point. And she's hot. And I always find that it takes me a day to warm up to places that I stay in.

So she blows up over the air conditioning and a slightly used bath mat. She's probably calmed down by now. And if she hasn't, it's just her personality!

One more thought for what it's worth. We became renters again in early July as our house was under construction and not finished. Stayed in an Ocean Edge condo for a week. Being a renter again opened my eyes to some things I had not thought about in a while as a landlord. Little things like old carpeting and worn blankets and mattress pads give you a bad feeling for a place. It made me go out and buy new blankets for our house! I think we landlords can sometimes get blinders on to our own houses and try to save a few bucks. I'm not at all suggesting that you have....just was surprised myself at my Ocean Edge observations.

Good luck with the rest of the summer! Hope you get to enjoy some time in your house

She said it was too hot for her husband and son to sleep and yet her son yells out that he slept fine? Here's my take - she was LOOKING for something to complain about to get some of her money back. Otherwise, why say her son couldn't sleep if that wasn't really the case?

Hasn't this been posted already?

Here is your original post:

http://fodors.com/forums/pgMessages....ame=cheriberry

Well - last weekend WAS the hottest day of the year here in MA so I'm sure that heated up the situation...but yes- she could have called and discussed the problems in a more civil tone. On her part - if the web site days no central AC then - she should not expect it to be YOUR problem if it is hot. On the other hand...since I am a renter not a landlord - I can tell you - that we have rented places for LARGE sums of money - only to find dirty conditions and broken furniture, kitchen items, etc. I am not saying that your property fits this description - but many do and many misrepresent their properties on the web also. If I shell out $2000 for a weekly rental anywhere - I expect the place to be CLEAN when I arrive -- because if I wanted a dirty place - I could rent a motel for $69 a anight somewhere. Cottages that turn over week to week frequently have problems because some guests are not consciencous about cleaning before they leave. I applaud you for trying to resolve the situation calmly. But personally - I would not leave a complaint about a bath mat in a guest book. I would go buy a new one and let you know that I had to buy one. I think she handled it poorly and she is probably pretty embarassed by now.

Still offended by the Jersey comment, even with reposting this message.

I haven't figured out the point of the original post let alone the reposting.

Where is Brewster?

The fact that you don't think there should be a bathmat is appalling. I suggest you tell your renter to consider Florida for her next trip. We include bathmats in rentals here.

Funny, TG! I was curious as to where Brewster is as well.

BTW, even though I think this renter was trying to get something for free, I too would be grossed out by a dirty bath mat.

As long as we are discussing house rentals, how about bugs? We rent a house in Hilton Head every year (leaving a week from friday!) for $2000+ and I've been absolutely creeped out finding what I believe are "palmetto bugs" lurking in the dark (they seem to scurry when the lights go on). I don't mean droves - I see one a day maybe, but just the thought of them being there - ew! We don't have bugs that big in Ohio!!

snowrooster, there is absolutely nothing you can do about Palmetto Bugs. They are common in all the southeast so forget NC, SC, GA, FL, Miss, Tenn, ALA, La, Texas etc.

If we could find a way to do them in, we would.

Good lawd they drive me nuts.

GT, I was counting on you to respond as I know you are familiar w/the Carolinas. I pretty much figured that was the case. The rental company we go through has always been awesome so I guessed they would do something about it if they could! I'm still not excited about seeing these nasty critters again, but I'll just be careful not to wander through the house without the lights on at night (or else squish . . . ahhhhh!!!!).

Not to defend cheriberry, as I have problems with this story on many levels. But, for all of you complaining that you don't get this post, or the other (original) one, maybe you should check your facts. This one was posted 8 minute before the other one, therefore this is the original. Don't know why it's here twice, but this is the original all the same.

snowrooster, in all seriousness, addressing your issue with the palmetto bugs.

Firstly, we all have them. They make my skin crawl.

Secondly, they will not wait around for your to step on one. They are incredibly fast and you probably will not see one.

Thirdly and most importantly, keep wet bathing suits, towels, clothes and bathmats off the floor. They like damp dark spaces.

I really would not worry about them. Even on the outside chance you see one, it will be gone within a millisecond. As I said, they are fast and get the heck out of your way.

cheriberry, maybe you should just rent to people you know.

Or use a rental company to play middle-man. I realize you wouldn't make as much $$ off the rentals, but it would save you the headaches and stress. Personally, I'm more likely to rent from a reputable company than an individual so you might actual get more rentals this way.

Brewster is on Cape Cod on the bayside. It shares town borders with Yarmouth, Harwich and Orleans.

Brewster=Cape Cod.

And you know...from living on the hotel side of it, there is just no telling what the bath mat looked like. It might have been pristine. The guest was hot. It was miserably hot outside and there is no doubt in my mind that she had overlooked the NO A/C statement in the rental description and couldn't bear the heat. After all...this is the Cape. On a normal day, who would care. LOL

As to the rest of it, who knows, really! DH just told me an infuriating hotel story. Escalated complaint (meaning it went to corporate) regarding peeling paint, torn wallpaper, worn towels and sheets, the hair (always black) etc in DH's hotel. Very strange as they've just completed a major renovation. On checking, they find the person wasn't even a guest on the dates given. On further checking by corporate, they found identical letters, verbatim, sent by the same person on several other hotels in the chain. They weren't even clever enough to change the dates. No, they hadn't been guests. Who knows how many other chains got this identical letter--and how many comped nights this person may have received by those who didn't check their records? Stuff like this can turn the most well intended host into a skeptic in no time at all. I personally couldn't be in the business! Better he than me.

Cheriberry
I would never call...especially if you say the tub was sparkling.Most homes Ive rented on the cape dont even have Bath Mats.
I also agree bout the Jersey people
Have you seen them at the Boat Ramp?? Thats the worst
I try to be fair but its ALWAYS A Jersey License Plate !!

Boatman and cheriberry...Regarding the "Jersey" comments. I wouldn't go and bite the hand that feeds you.