Staging Problems

[Celyn455]

Has anyone on here dealt with a guest staging an issue in hopes of a discount? I recently had a guest, (which I still have to review) contact me in regards to the toilet being clogged in the middle of his stay. I sent a plumber to the unit and the plumber found a toilet that simply hadn’t been flushed.  He thought it was strange but we disregarded it. I messaged the guest and let them know it was fixed. I received a message at 9:30 PM the same night saying it still isn’t working. I offered to swing by while they went out for dinner and take a look at it.  When I arrived I simply flushed the toilet and realized nothing was wrong with it. On the morning of checkout,  the guest told me that his experience was ruined because the toilet was overflowing in the morning again. I went to the property and once again found a normal functioning toilet and a dry floor.  I politely responded and said that when I arrived after he checked out the toilet was working properly but sorry for whatever inconvenience he may have dealt with. He then proceeded to say that he was going to ask for a refund from his bank, that it wasn’t fair he paid a certain amount for a broken toilet etc.  He never started a resolution case but left a review yesterday which I have yet to read bc I haven’t written one yet. Pretty sure it’s going to be negative,  I have photos and videos of the toilet properly functioning during my visits that I guess are useless in these situations lol. Questions for fellow hosts - 

Is this common & does anyone have tips for dealing with people like this? I’m also wondering how much detail to provide for other hosts when I leave him a review. 

[Laura2592]

@Celyn455this reminds me of a guest who kept asking for butter knives. I directed them to them and they said they weren't butter knives. I asked them to describe the knife they wanted and they described a steak knife. I directed them to the steak knives and they left private feedback to get some butter knives...

Either your guest was scamming for a refund or there was some legit problem with the toilet that they were not communicating properly. Sometimes low flow toilets have difficulty flushing. If your guest had some digestive issues it may have taken a few flushes to remove waste. This could be something that embarrassed the guest and perhaps they have a different type of toilet at home. Many people would not be comfortable describing their bathroom habits to a host so you have this odd exchange. This explanation is my "benefit of the doubt" possibility.

What is more probable is that the guest created an imaginary issue in order to get a free stay. It sounds like you did everything in your power to fix this problem. My review would be something like the following:

So and so was communicative and we got off to a good start. However I was concerned that they reported an issue with the toilet and asked for a refund. Upon multiple examinations of the problem by both myself and a plumber, the toilet was working properly.  We are still puzzled as to what the issue could have been, as we don't want any plumbing concerns for our guests, and worry that so and so did not fully enjoy his time with us due to this hiccup. Otherwise left the place in good order (if true.) We wish so and so the best.

[Fred13]

No need to over-analyze the issue;

The first time I would have asked them if they know how to flush a toilet.

The second time,  my question would have been what alien planet are they from? 

Obviously there won't be a 3rd time, not after the 2nd time.