The old wear n tear argument with small stains

[Matthew1808]

Hi All

I had two guests stay last night and make a bit of a mess with spilt coffee and resting coffee cups on a white laminate table.

It's not an expensive table but its dimensions made it hard to find. Online searching for the past hour I can't find one similar.

I took some photos and messaged the guests immediately to let them know of it.

I have tried several different cleaning agents on it but there is still yellowing and some light yellow rings.

It's not destroyed but it looks worn now.

Does this come under wear and tear? I did provide coffee cup coasters at arms length from the table, but they didn't use them.

It feels harsh charging them for a new table, but I don't know of any other solution except to not charge them.. is it possible to charge partially towards a new table? It's a laminate top so can't be repaired etc.

At this point I can either find a cheap replacement for under €50 or I can try to forget about it.

[Shelley159]

Hi @Matthew1808 

If the table top is easily stained by coffee, I would be worried that this is likely to happen regularly. I don't think you can bank on everyone using coasters, perhaps another table would cause fewer headaches, or a glass top over the table.

[Kia272]

@Matthew1808 Sorry, but it's just not practical to have a table- a place where people eat, drink, use dishes, etc. - that stains easily. Purely impractical, and absolutely not fair to put this on the guests. It's kind of like having something in your shower that gets ruined if it gets wet. 

I wouldn't have bothered to even notify them. That may come back to bite you. If fact, I'd message them again, apologize, and tell them not to worry about it at all. 

How has it not gotten stained before if you've been hosting for a while? 

Anyway, I'd move on. Hopefully you can find one in a similar size that's durable enough to have people eat and drink at it without having to worry about staining the table top. Maybe throw a tablecloth or runner on it in the meantime. 

Good luck. Kia

[Matthew1808]

Thank you @Shelley159 and @Kia272 , yes this is probably where my thinking is at also. The manner of it annoyed me as there was just no effort to soak up the coffee spillage or anything. And it's not a coffee table, it's a very low table under a low window. I have harder wearing furniture in the room which is at a height for resting coffee etc. 

But lesson learned, get a glass topped table or similar. 

I'm a bit disappointed the guests didn't bother replying to my friendly message letting them know about it, that's a first. I was expecting an apologetic message where I would've had little hesitation forgiving them and letting the matter rest. 

[Rebecca]

Hi @Matthew1808 👋

It's been a while since you posted and I'm wondering whether you managed to get a resolution to your question? What did you decide to do in the end? 😊

[Matthew1808 · Accepted solution]

Thanks Rebecca, in the end, there was zero response from the guest despite letting them know all was well and there would be no charge. I found that really disappointing and docked one point for lack of communication on the review, as well as one point for a lack of cleanliness in that there was little effort to clean spillage. Some might find that in itself harsh, but I think guests have to carry some responsibility for their actions in the homes they are staying.

[Rebecca]

Thank you for coming back and sharing the steps that you took @Matthew1808 😊

What do you think you'll do with the table, as you mentioned it looked a little worn now? Have you ever used one of those 'Magic Erasers' sponges? As a parent, I find these are pretty handy things to have in the cleaning cupboard. 😅