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
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Inna22  Well, you were obviously trying to poison your guest but she was too clever and foiled your plan 🙂

 

Yes, it could definitely be a fitting symbol of the current guest demographic. I'm surprised she didn't call Airbnb to report it and demand a full refund. I imagine she'll be sure to mention it in the review.

 

Expiry dates aren't that serious anyway. They are always earlier than the stuff is really good for, to cover the company's a**. A nurse friend told me there's not even anything dangerous about taking expired medication- it's just that it might not be as effective, having lost some of its potency.

 

About a year ago I found a bottle of organic apple juice in the back of my pantry that was 7 years past the expiry date. I opened it, the lid made that popping sound to indicate it had been well-sealed, I took a sip, waited awhile to see if it made me feel sick, and when it didn't, I drank the whole bottle. It was fine. You can tell your guest that.

 

Speaking of cookies, I've always been banboozled when looking at the ingredient list to see "coloring" listed. What color could cookies be if they didn't add coloring?

 

 

@Sarah977 I feel like organic should spoil faster because theoretically they’re not adding any preservatives. If you survived the juice, the guests would’ve been fine after my cookies. Plus they are not even expired they are  “Best by”. Which means that there is probably not a ingredient that wasn’t made in a lab so just like the pills, I think that they lose their potency 🙂

 

We never throw old medication out. If it expires, we use it as the “first dose”: for example kids have a fever, all we have left is expired medication, we can at least give them that until we can make it to the pharmacy. I’m sure some really organized stay at home moms out check their Tylenol bottles every couple months and always keep fresh on hand. Apparently car seats have expiration dates. My children have definitely been driving in those past expiration dates because we kept passing it onto the next kid. Oh, the things they can tell their therapist!

@Inna22  Those cookies will probably still be edible without causing any harm when you're a great grandma.

 

40 years ago, before the days of required car seats, I drove from Canada to Guatemala and back in my old Chevy van, my kids in the back which was set up like a camper, with beds and shelves, no seats, walking around, playing games, etc. They're all still alive. 

 

Expired car seats, hahaha.

@Inna22 @Sarah977 

Expiration dates for car seats?!?!?!? Learning something new everyday 😅 

Then again..... when I first realized that a thing called a baby wipe heater actually did exist and my pregnant friend wasn't joking.....🙄 😑 😶 😕 

 

@Jessica-and-Henry0  Oh you can spend tens of thousands of dollars on baby gear these days that modern parents consider essential. 

 

I carried my babies strapped to me with a sarong, bought great baby clothes at the second hand store (babies don't wear-out clothes), and breast fed them. Cloth diapers I washed. They cost me virtually nothing except some lack of sleep.

🙀

@Inna22 @Sarah977 

I always go straight to the discount corner first where all the items nearing the sell by date are when I go grocery shopping 😀 

Jennifer1773
Level 10
Brevard, NC

Hi @Inna22 , I personally think you are being environmentally friendly!

https://sustainableamerica.org/blog/food-expiration-dates/ 

We are really all going to need to get over ourselves... I'd take your "second best" and enjoy them :).

Colleen253
Level 10
Alberta, Canada

@Inna22 Life must be pretty unbearable for unhappy people like that. What petty nonsense. Just be glad you’re not them, and shake it off. PS, I’m mean and don’t provide cookies. I have not had problem guests like most, this past year. Maybe start being mean. 😜

Mark116
Level 10
Jersey City, NJ

@Inna22 Guests have become complete jerks.  I noticed a few months ago that the cayenne pepper had 'expired'...I don't think that is actually possible, for cayenne pepper to 'go bad' the only thing that would happen is it will lose potency.  But, I took it out and went through and took out some other spices that had expiration dates as well because I have no doubt that some enterprising guest would have found the expired pepper and demanded a refund.  Sad what Airbnb has become.  What started out as a great way to monetize your property and offer a completely new option for travelers has devolved into a game of 'gotcha' where the host always loses. 

Lorna170
Level 10
Swannanoa, NC

@Inna22   While I agree with the others that expiration dates are simply guidelines and many food products are safe to eat long after the sell-by date, best if used by date or any other date marking, know that many people LIVE by the date system and will throw away anything that is past the date. My own daughters will toss anything that has a date on it...without regard for use.  (No, they were not brought up by me to live by product dates).   HOWEVER, As a host, I would not want there to be anything in my cupboards that has a bygone date that would be upsetting to a date conscious guest. I would just take it home and use it myself.  

 

Emilia42
Level 10
Orono, ME

@Inna22 

I write on my resume that one of my great abilities is that I can eat food past the expiration date. (I can also hold a coffee cup without a sleeve.) Seriously, these are rarities in this day in age. People are so sensitive to dates. My family owns a local general store and you should see the look of horror and disgust on their faces when they "turn in" a pass-dated item from the shelf. I just roll my eyes and bring it home to eat at some point.

 

If I were you, and I've done it before, take the cookies out of the package and put them in a tin or a plate with saran wrap over them. No one will ever be harmed (or insulted.)  Or save yourself the hassle and omit the cookies altogether.

I have totally thought of doing that! Somebody might even think that they are homemade 🙂

Do you want to be right or do you want to be rich?  I ALWAYS check the dates on the cookies, snacks, and anything perishable.  If my guest is coming on June 1 and the milk says good if sold by June 4th, I leave that item.  If the date says best if used by May 31st, I take that item out.  And you are correct that it would in all likelihood still be good, I want my guests to have freshness.  I get so many good comments on my snacks and drinks.  It's worth the extra attention.