I can not keep up with expectations

Inna22
Level 10
Chicago, IL

I can not keep up with expectations

I leave cookies or some other sweets for my guests with a welcome note. Someone checked in on the second of this month. The only communication from the person: the cookies you left is best before may 2021. And a picture. Not even- thanks for the cookies but FYI. Two days past "best by". My husband said I should have told them they were second best. It is not like they are expired or have gone bad (they did not open the jar) and it is not like it is my fault. Who even looks for an expiration date on free cookies? I can see if they opened them and something was wrong! This may look like a long rant about cookies but I think they have become a symbol of everything guests these day are and are not.

31 Replies 31

@Gary920  You have missed the point of Inna's post. It isn't about being a responsible host, it's about guests having nothing better to do than complain about ridiculous things and being rude. 

 

The cookies were a complimentary gesture. If the guest was bothered by them being a day or two past the expiry date, no one was forcing her to eat them, and messaging the host about it is absurdly petty.

 

Not to mention she didn't even have the manners to message politely- "Appreciate the complimentary snacks, that's nice of you, just thought you might want to know they are past the expiry date in case you have more packages that might also be."

Susan1404
Level 10
Covington, GA

@Inna22- people don't understand that expiration dates are not an absolute.  Your guest was rude but manners seem to have gone out the door for the most part.  I've been fortunate to have great guests this year, but I keep reading about absurdities happening to other hosts.  Don't wrap them in plastic or foil either - too many are very germ-conscious and will be afraid you might have touched them with your bare hands.  I leave only commercially sealed snacks now, just to play it safe.

M199
Level 10
South Bruce Peninsula, Canada

@Inna22

 

10 years ago, I worked for a company that produced coffee, tea, hot chocolate, coffee creamer.

 

We had single serve hot chocolate packages for such a long time they went hard.  Yet somehow, my husband managed to  drink them all.  We also had Mac & Cheese that was more than 5 years past expiry.  We're still alive and kicking.  We know that anything dry is good well beyond the "expiry date", if stored correctly.  Would  I leave it for guests, not a chance.  Some, not all, Guests these days are way too self entitled.

Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

@Inna22 If the cookies tend to become 'expired' in the first place it suggests only a few guests eat them, and since they could be a source of guest discontent, they are a perfect candidate for the chopping block. 

 

Eliminate them - end of 'problem'.

Ann72
Level 10
New York, NY

@Inna22  I didn't know you were a cookie-leaver.  Join the Mean Girls - me and @Colleen253 - and don't give them anything.  😂  My guests haven't been that bad, either. 

 

Though there was the one who came all the way from Iowa for a 3-day honeymoon recently.  He wrote upon arrival, "Now we just have to figure out what to do for dinner!"  I gave him three options, each within a 10-minute drive of the cottage (which is advertised as a private getaway in the woods - i.e., not in town).  After he left he gave a 4 for location because "everything was so far away."

 

I'm quite sure that if there had been an expired date anywhere in the pantry, he would have found it.

 

 

The review would have then read - "Everything was so far away, and whatever was there to eat was expired". 

 

I still dream of the day an IQ of 40+ is a requirement to travel beyond one's place of birth.

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Ann72 

Ann, I once had a booking from a guest who was so enthusiastic about his stay. His message rambled a bit but, towards the end of it he said...."How far is your cottage from Mona"? I looked at that somewhat puzzled, what in the hell was Mona???????

I googled it and it appears Mona stands for the 'Museum of Old and New Art' and it is located on the Derwent river in Hobart Tasmania!

Okay, a bit of mapping here Ann.....

 

simple-vector-outline-administrative-and-political-vector-map-of-australia-R07ED3.jpg

 

I had to tell him he had booked a listing in the wrong state and Mona was 1,500 Kms  from my listing. 

 

He asked what attractions there were in my area and I told him of the vineyards and wineries, the steam rail preservation society, the national motor museum, the German heritage towns......so he proceeded with his booking.

But in his review he gave me a 3 star for location because my listing was not where he wanted it!

 

How many times do we have to tell Airbnb that location is not a viable rating option, before the penny drops?

 

Cheers.........Rob

@Robin4 @You do not know MONA???? I know MONA! People make a trip from all over the world just to see it. You should go if you get a chance. It is phenomenal

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Inna22 

Inna, yes I have subsequently been and you are right, it is truly amazing and I can understand why it is world famous. 

As you would know, as you descend into the bowels of the earth, the first exhibit you will come across is the water feature! This feature is computer controlled water droplets that spell words. You have no idea what the next word that drops out of the pipework will be.

Sarah, my eldest daughter was trying to get pregnant at the time and just as I pressed the photo icon the word it spelt was....'fertility'! 

Some of the exhibits take a lot to get your brain around like, the oil room.....

IMG20191011123232.jpg

You are instructed not to touch anything as you enter and It takes a while to actually comprehend what you are seeing. This is a photo taken from above.

This room grabbed me as well......

IMG20191011123452.jpg

and of course the room filled with the walls filled with plaster casts of vag*na's and the room with a mechanical reproduction of the human digestive system.....you feed a schnitzel in one end and a turd ends up coming out the other end, authentic smell and all! 

 

Yeah Inna, it is a truly unforgettable experience and I am sure is unique in the world.......but it's a long way from Mt Barker.

 

Cheers........Rob

@Robin4  LOL!  See @Fred13's remark.  If his dream were to come true, guests might be able to read maps!

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Ann72 

Now that's a strange one, @Fred13  ferries them out to Bird Island, not much chance of the guest getting lost. That's the one listing I thought a map would not be required!

 

Unless he sends them out to Bird Island in Sally the Swan!!!!

x354-q80.jpg

 

Cheers.......Rob

 

Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

Hahaha, good one @Robin4 . Say, how coincidental, I was just giving thought yesterday what water vehicle to add to the island so the guests (now 4-6 on the average) can all cruise together the entire 1-mile reef). A ha - a swan, why not. 😄

@Fred13 , it better have a toughened butt for that coral! Lol

Cathie19
Level 10
Darwin, Australia

Well @Inna22, you have some options.

- leave cookie

- don’t leave cookies

 

- leave the cookies in the original wrap - pristine but can be critiqued. 
- wipe off the best before date if still a safe item

- place the cookies in a little glass jar - looks authentic, presents shop cookies well and no best       before date anywhere……

 

- Eat the cookies yourself, without thought or sanction, whilst you write the next thread to us!  We would eat them with you! X

@Cathie19 I love the glass jar idea. The other options work too, particularly the one where I eat them