Humans....we are a strange unpredictable bunch

[Robin4]

Within 30 minutes this evening I got the worst review I have ever had, and also one of the best.

I don't stress about reviews any more, they just emphasise what a weird and diverse bunch we humans are.

Here was my worst......

And 30 minutes later came this one from a guest who arrived two nights after the one above!

So, there you go, I go from being a totally unsatisfactory Airbnb host to one of the best within 48 hours.

This is why it's no good taking any notice of the Airbnb review system....who is correct and accurate here? The first review or the second, they can't both be right. What do prospective guests learn from this? All they learn is to not trust anything they read.....it's sort of counter productive!

Until this evening out of 508 reviews I have only ever had three 3 star reviews and I have never copped a 1 star in any category before.

Never mind, it will be more than another 100 reviews before another 3 star comes along, whereas I know I can depend on another 90 5 star reviews in that next 100!

I guess it reminds me of that old saying...."You can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all the time"!

Cheers.......Rob

[Huma0]

@Robin4 

Corn on the cob? Down the toilet? Oh my.

And refund for not bringing a tablet? 

That's akin to saying something like, "I'm too lazy to shower so can I have a discount for using less water?" or "I only sleep four hours a night, so can I get a discount for using the bed less?"

[Robin4]

@Huma0 

Yeah, I couldn't believe the toilet one! The guest messaged me and said..."Sorry to trouble you but I think your toilet is not working, the bowl will not flush"!

I was super intrigued so I messaged back...."Oh, that's no good, do you mind if I come and have a look". The answer was ok so I went in there and sure enough there they were, like a couple of rabbits caught in the spotlight, 2 bloody corn cobs that would not pass around the bend. 

Now Huma, you can't call someone (particularly a guest)  that they are a full on idiot .....they don't take to kindly to that so I just said...."well bu*ger me, they don't make toilets like they used to but, I really would appreciate it if you restricted what goes in there to what you have actually eaten, there is a trash bin for stuff like that, I don't think toilet manufacturers gave much thought to dealing with un consumed corn cobs when they designed these things"!

We had a laugh, I put on the rubber gloves, removed them and Huma, I almost swear, the toilet heaved a sigh of relief!!!!

I know, you think I am kidding here....honest to God mate, I am not! The joys of being an Airbnb host!

Cheers........Rob

[Huma0]

@Robin4 

No, I don't think you are kidding.

I've not had anyone try to flush corn cobs down the toilet, but every now and then a guest does something that astonishes me.

Recently, it was the guest who was hand washing all her dishes and then putting them in the dishwasher because she thought it was 'extra storage for plates'. She was doing this for a month before I realised. 

I remember one guest who was supposed to have checked out and had given me the key, but then left the front door wide open and her suitcases outside while she went to post some postcards. The house is on a busy road in a fairly central London neighbourhood.

Then there are the guests who try to blow up the microwave or want to try the cat food or think that an expensive dressing table is an appropriate surface to chop up a watermelon on. Oh, the list is endless...

[Robin4]

@Huma0 

Just a few weeks ago we had another article that would not flush.....a used condom, no less!

I come back to my thread banner, "We humans are a strange an unpredictable bunch"!

They surely must have used the toilet a few times with the condom just bobbing around in there because we tried to send it on its way repeatedly and it would not disappear. I would be absolutely mortified if someone found something like that, that I had left behind! But we have had used nappies under the bed, piles of soiled tissues to deal with.

At least that's something we don't get from guests in their 70s!

Cheers........Rob

[Huma0]

@Robin4 

I am in my 40s, but even in my 30s or 20s, I would have been mortified too. Yet, I've had a guest who thought it was okay to leave condoms in plain sight for me to dispose of while cleaning her room DURING her stay. Perhaps you remember the thread I posted about the guest I call 'condom girl' because it didn't end there...

I had another situation involving a condom. I won't go into detail here. Let's just say that it was something I was not expecting as I had mistook the gender of the guests. I wasn't upset (perhaps it was my own fault for being naive), but it taught me to NEVER clean up after a guest without gloves on.

Just goes to show we all have very different ideas of what is and what isn't acceptable in an Airbnb. I think part of the issue is that people are often used to hotels where they just expect the maid service to clean up any kind of mess. They see much worse things than us, I am sure.

[Robbe0]

**oh my god,  I love you guys!!

[Colleen253]

“….you can't call someone (particularly a guest)  that they are a full on idiot ....🤣🤣🤣

True, and so unfortunate.

"well bu*ger me, they don't make toilets like they used to but, I really would appreciate it if you restricted what goes in there to what you have actually eaten, there is a trash bin for stuff like that, I don't think toilet manufacturers gave much thought to dealing with un consumed corn cobs when they designed these things"!”

@Robin4 You should win an award for that retort. Brilliance. 🤣

S.P.S. Had no idea it was more common than common sense, before I began doing STR. The P is for people, the S for syndrome. You guess the rest. 

[Robbe0]

After reading everyones Posts I can finally stop going to my Shrink (Psychiatrist-lol), I'm not crazy, or delusional.

I feel I have extended my life span on this planet in the last 30 minutes lol.

Robbe

[Kelly149]

@Robin4  My recent 2* overall (and then it was bad in every category EXCEPT even this noob kept the 5* for clean) private feedback to me said “I suppose it could just be me, but it seems like you’re a really bad host”. (He was bent out of shape bc I pointed out that he wasn’t being a very good guest.). Well, hmm, everyone before you 5*, everyone after you 5*…. Yah, I think I can see the culprit here. 

anyway, his public review says “host has a lot of questions”. Yes, I do and if that runs anyone off then bully for me. Also, as yours did, he had some red flags I ignored and he bolstered my resolve to no longer suffer gladly the abb fools. Bossy, bad question, picky, early arrivers get the Decline lickety split and I feel no remorse. 

[Robin4]

@Kelly149 

Kelly, I know how you feel! Look I say I don't get upset by the odd less than stellar review any more, I have enough in the hold to make the occasional one look a bit of a fool.

But that's not the point, you have been doing this for a long time Kelly, we have a lot of pride in not only what we do but, what we have achieved. We have met a lot of beautiful people and genuinely made the world a better place. Deep down it does hurt when we get a kick in the teeth for our efforts.

Cheers........Rob

[Helen744]

@Robin4 So upsetting,especially when you are blindsided like that.It just reinforces the nonsensical nature of the review system in its present form and that guests moving over from hotels really have little facility for independance  and expect a level of service that is not compatible with being in an Airbnb at all. All the best . Rock on . H

[Helen744]

@Robin4 and just to add to the discussion about hobbys . Mine is swearing currently H

[Gillian166]

I stayed in a place just a week ago and there was mould on the tiles, and still I left a 5* review. It's been raining so much on the east coast of Australia, the mould is just growing before our eyes, so I wiped it off and got on with my life.  I didn't even mention it to her, she hardly communicated with me,  is a fairly new host and her listing is lovely in many ways. As a host I know what we go through, and even though I've stayed in a few places I would never return to, and met a few hosts who I found personally challenging, I still give 5* unless something is truly wrong. 

It's so unfair when these newbie guests (or any guests) feel they can give you 1* for anything, sorry to hear @Robin4  but **bleep** if your attitude isn't inspiring!  Also wise words from @Laura2592  "If one review is detached and cranky, I figure that reviewer is detached and cranky." 

[Huma0]

@Gillian166 

At the last airbnb I stayed in, the host's communication was truly rubbish prior to the trip and, while she was polite enough while we were there, she was slightly grumpy at times, but that was no big deal. The bath/shower set up was cute looking but totally impractical and potentially dangerous for my elderly mother, as were the precarious stairs leading to the room, which wasn't mentioned in the listing. There were only a couple of hooks to hang clothes and the bed was one of the most uncomfortable I've ever slept in. The host said there was parking available for us but there was no way we could fit in the space.

However, there were lots of positives about the listing too. It was in a lovely old, historical building, the breakfast was excellent with lots of options, nothing much in the village but it was well located for places we wanted to visit and accurately described and everything was clean and tidy. 

Apart from communication, which I did mark down on, I saw no reason not to give 5* in every other category and overall. I didn't feel the need to mention or mark down on any of the other negatives mentioned above, not even the uncomfortable mattress. We were only there for two nights, so it was fine, and everyone has differences in their preference for mattresses and pillows etc.

I wonder though if I would be so generous if I wasn't a host...

[Gillian166]

@Huma0 

I wonder though if I would be so generous if I wasn't a host...

For me, i feel this is the case. In addition to a place I stayed in recently there was one last year that had a weird host, and again I just ignored that and gave her 5* all round. I suspect pre-hosting I might have felt that critiquing was what we are meant to do (certainly they way it's worded by abb "tell the host what they can do better"), but since having a better understanding of everything that goes into these things, I'm way more generous.