Guests do not know how to use a shower?! I would like your thoughts...

Billie37
Level 3
Allen, TX

Guests do not know how to use a shower?! I would like your thoughts...

I have a new water heater and cartridges and I test hot water before every guest.  I have 4 grown adults, 1 child, 1 infant, and 1 dog staying in my Airbnb for a week.  They said that there was no hot water in one shower, then next message it was both showers.  The original message to me seemed like an emergency, but the guest was not responding quickly or giving much information.  I had a plumber come over the next morning and he was there for less than 5 minutes.  The plumber said he turned both showers on and the water was hot.  He said that hot water worked everywhere.  The plumber leaves, then the guest messages me saying that the plumber fixed the problem.  There was no fix.  The plumber told me the only thing he did was turn on the water and he actually turned the water heater DOWN because it was actually up too high (which I noticed before the guests checked in, but some people like it really hot).  The water heater is a year old.  The cartridges for the shower were replaced after the water heater was replaced.  There was/is no reason that both showers would not work.  They were saying the water was very cold, not even warm.  Also, one of the shower heads turns colors based on water temperature (red when the water is hot), and so it's not like the water temperature could be an opinion.  I would be less suspicious if the guest would admit "oh, we were turning the showers on incorrectly" but when they email that the plumber resolved the issue, it is a bit frustrating because there was no issue to resolve.   I can't help but feel the guests were trying to get some kind of a discount or something.  I would like to know what the community thinks.  How could 4 grown adults not know how to use a shower?

Okay, here is a lot more information (possibly unnecessary).

First it is a little suspicious because the guest has a local phone and local address but says he is coming into town from California.  He says he would stay in his own local house, but it is an Airbnb that is booked for the next 3 months.  However, his profile doesn't say he is a host.  He tells me his profession is a doctor and that he is getting married and his wife to be is a nurse.  I also trust him because he has two 5 star reviews from around December 2019.

So, here is how the conversation went:


Guest:
May 12 (Wednesday Night) 8:12 PM
Hi Billie,
I have a question/concern...we tried showering and we couldn't get the water to warm up... please help

Me:
8:16 PM
Hi [GUEST], it takes a minute for the water to get hot in the master bathroom. I tested all the hot water before you arrived, so it should be ok. Everything was hot and steamy! Also, the water heater is new. Which bathroom are you having the issue in?

Me: 
8:26 PM
This may be obvious, sorry if it is, but make sure the shower handle is pointed in the right direction. For the master bath, the handle should be pointed around the 8, if you pretended it was a clock (up a bit to the left if you’re facing towards it).

Guest:
10:41 PM
ok we'll try later tonight and I'll let you know in the morning. i tried for both rest rooms upstairs...i let each run for about 10 minutes and didn't get warm... my wife wasn't able to shower due to this in the morning... but we'll give it a try later tonight or first thing in the morning with your recommendations. thanks.
 
Me:
10:46 PM
Yes, please let me know as soon as you can. My handyman was prepared to come by tonight. He said he could stop by tomorrow at anytime tomorrow as well.

I appreciate the information about it not working in either shower. You should not have to let it run for 10 minutes. It should get hot within a minute or so. The only other thing I could think of is if a lot of hot water was used and the tank ran out. Then it would take a while to heat back up again. Yes, please let me know as soon as possible if there is a problem and I can stop by with the handyman as soon as possible.

Guest Thursday Morning, May 13th:
9:28 AM
Good morning Billie... yes both shower heads are still producing very cold water..i let each run for 5 minutes...please send your handy when you can.. just give me a heads up.

Me:
9:31 AM
Ok, thanks for letting me know. I apologize for this issue. I am going to try to get ahold of the plumber that installed the hot water heater first since both showers are cold. I’m guessing there is no hot water anywhere in the house? If I can’t get ahold of that plumber, I’ll call a different one.
Ok, Michael’s Master Plumbing will be there in 10 minutes. He’ll be knocking on the door very soon! I’ll head over too, just in case I’m needed.
 
Guest:
9:51 AM
ok thanks
 
there's hot water from kitchen and sink faucets... I'm out trying to pick up breakfast but I'll let my family know to edict expect the plumber...thanks for your quick response.... very appreciated
 
i just reached out to my family and they said that the water situation has been fixed... I'm very impressed. thanks again for your prompt resolution.

Me:
9:57 AM
Hey [GUEST], Michael just called me and said that the hot water is working fine in the showers. He said he went upstairs and tested both showers and everything is great!
__________
Okay, that's the end of the conversation so far.  
Red flags to me (maybe I'm reading into it too much): 
1) Guest messages "please help" at 8:12PM.  I respond within 4 minutes.  He doesn't respond again for almost 2.5 hours.  Doesn't seem like a desperate situation then.
2) The guest said at 10:41PM "my wife wasn't able to shower due to this in the morning" so I guess they had a problem that morning but never let me know.  They had checked in on the 11th and messaged me about no hot shower water at 8:16PM the next night.  
3) Strange that 4 adults couldn't work together to figure out how to get hot water out of the shower.  It's not complicated, but it is a one handle system, not two knobs.
4) The last red flag "the water situation has been fixed... I'm very impressed. thanks again for your prompt resolution."  There was no resolution.  The plumber literally went inside and turned the showers on and hot water came out. 

What do you think about this?  It seems strange to me. 


20 Replies 20

omg, I forgot about Puddles in Seattle, ha!

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Mark116  I don't get it myself, but there are people who seem to be totally oblivious to their surroundings. I have a friend who stayed with me for a month and drove me batty. She must have asked me a half dozen times where I keep the cutting board, even though it's always in the same drawer. 

 

She tended to wake up around 3-4 am, would read for awhile, then fall back asleep with the reading light on. No biggie, but then she would go out for the day, never noticing that the light was on. I asked her to please turn off the lights and turn the fan down to low when she was going out, but she never ever remembered. She would also sometimes use the kitchen after I'd gone to bed and then left the kitchen lights on when she went to bed. When I mentioned that, her response was "Oh, whatever, I'll give you some $ for electricity". It was preferable to her to pay for wasted resources than to be mindful for 15 seconds before walking out the door.

 

She also could never figure out how to work my front door lock, even though none of my guests has had that problem once I show them how.

 

She also broke several things and managed to get red paint from a painting project all over my terrace floor, some spots on the wall, the staircase, and all over the kitchen faucets. Which she never even noticed.

 

 

 

Ugh... you must be a very patient person.  This is more evidence for my hypothesis that people do things unintentionally and don't even notice things.  It's hard to believe, but we are all different.

 

By the way @Sarah977 I thank you soo much to your responses.  Your advice and sharing of your experiences is so valuable!  

@Billie37  I'm actually not that patient at all. And it seems to be my karma that I have a lot of those kinds of oblivious people in my world. That friend and I butted heads many times. We're kind of like sisters who fight and then make up. We are very different people.

 

Yes, you nailed it,  some people are detail people and some aren't at all. If I'm staying at a friend's place, and I take a plate or a pot from a shelf or drawer, it just registers somehow that's where those things are kept, it's not something I have to consciously remember. So I put it back in the correct place. 

 

Other people will just put things away randomly, they don't seem to notice or care that the bowls are stacked up here and the plates there, even though it's right in front of their eyes.

My observation has been that those people don't have that zen thing of "being present". They are always thinking about something other than what they are doing.

Mark116
Level 10
Jersey City, NJ

@Sarah977 @Billie37  As hosts we're probably hyper aware of all the little things.  Since our place isn't luxury, we try hard w/little subliminal things like making sure the chairs are lined up evenly, and that the dishes are similarly lined up and straight.  I go over the linens with a light to make sure there aren't any stains or hairs and pay attention to how the beds are made up.  I'm sure a lot of people never notice some of the things as they don't notice crumbs on the floor, stains on towels and sheets, etc. but clearly, when you actually break something or are looking at a crooked shade or have tied it up...you know you've damaged something.  

 

We've definitely had a fair number of guests who leave the place looking like no one has stayed there, so it can and does happen.  Children is a huge multiplier in damage though, sad to say.

I agree, I do a lot of that too with holding each towel up to the light, lining things up perfectly, etc.  So true with all of what you've said!

More tools to help you meet your goals

Resource Center

Explore guides for hospitality, managing your listing, and growing your business.