“Sam, stop barking please.” Stop barking please? Did that lady just say “please” to her dog? Darryl and I were out for a walk along the path behind our home on a warm, fall day. It felt more like spring than fall. The snow crunched like styrofoam beneath our feet. A lady and her child, all bundled up for a walk, were in their backyard. Their Golden Retriever barked at us as we passed by. Canadians, being extremely polite, always say please, sorry or thank you, even to our pets. Are we overly polite when we write travel reviews?

Write Travel Reviews

Writing travel reviews for accommodations is important. It is valuable for fellow travellers to see how regular, everyday people experience a place they want to visit. Reviews on sites such as TripAdvisor or Booking.com should be helpful in making a final decision on accommodations. Was the place clean? How was the check-in process? What is the location of the property? Is it convenient or is it remote? People should give an honest opinion and not be swayed by outside factors. I have become jaded.

Finding the Perfect Place to Stay

During our European sojourn, we spent a short time in Lille, France. We were headed for Belgium to stay with relatives so a stop in France close to the Belgian border was in order. While looking for a place to stay, we came across an apartment with fantastic reviews. The overall rating of this flat had a number in the high 9’s, which is high when you write travel reviews. The place was “absolutely fabulous!” Based on the reviews, and pictures of the apartment, we chose this location over another.

Where to Stay

Communications with the Owner

Communication with the owner of the flat was good prior to our arrival. Pepe (not his real name) sent us one communication stating that because of our status in a certain program, we would receive a complimentary beer or wine upon arrival and to let him know our choice. A welcome gift? How delightful! Most places did include such items just to say welcome, without the host announcing it in an email. I responded to Pepe’s email and said my husband liked beer and I liked wine and we looked forward to meeting him soon.

The Arrival

We arrived at the flat and Pepe was waiting for us. We needed a blue parking disk for the street to prevent a parking ticket. No problem, as Pepe told us in advance that he would provide us with the parking disk to avoid a ticket.

We continued up to the apartment for our walk through. When I say we continued up, I mean we continued way up. The apartment was on the fourth floor with tremendously narrow steps and no elevator. We are in good health, so this was not an issue for us, but what about people who can’t climb stairs? This inconvenience was not mentioned in the listing. It was a real pain to carry luggage up the four flights of stairs. Also, the lighting was incredibly poor so it was a struggle to find our way in the halls to the light switches so we could see the way to our apartment door.

The Walk Through

The apartment itself was clean; however, awfully small. The kitchen was so tiny that a mouse could hardly turn around in it. There was no counter top space. Preparing a meal would have been next to impossible. The kitchen was well stocked with items and cooking utensils but it was just not practical for use. The table area was fine for toast and coffee in the morning. There was a small sitting area with a television. The bed was located adjacent to the sitting area. The sleeping area was also tiny. My husband would bang his head on the wall when bending over to get in or out of bed. The windows opened inward. I had to duck underneath the windows when they were open in order to get around the bed. The bathroom was clean and exceptionally well stocked, it even came with condoms. Oh, la la! That was a first!

Outside the apartment, a screeching noise from the tram ran right outside our window every ten minutes. It was annoying and disruptive to sleep.

Settling In

As we settled in to spend our first night at the apartment, I noticed our complimentary bottle of beer and wine was not in the fridge. I emailed Pepe to inquire and he promptly replied because we were not members of the special program we did not qualify for the gift. He also said prior arrangements had not been made to provide the beverages. Interesting. I guess he didn’t get my email. Well no big deal, we had some drinks with us anyway from our previous travels.

Our stay in the apartment was a short one, two nights to be exact, and for that we were grateful. After the fabulous other flats and pensions we had stayed at, this was by far our least favourite. It was just too small for our needs. Yes, it was clean, and cleanliness is the most important feature. We just didn’t like the place or the location.

Departure

Our time in France had come to an end. We packed up, locked up, and headed to our car. A few steps after locking the front door, I turned to Darryl and said, “We still have the blue parking disk in our car. Oh well, can’t do anything about it now so I’ll message Pepe to see where to mail it when we get to Belgium.”

The Review

Throughout our travels this year, we have faithfully filled out the review requests sent to us by the websites we book through. To stay true, we completed an honest feedback report on the room we stayed at in Lille, France. Our final rating came to an overall of 7.1, which we felt was not bad. Pepe didn’t agree.

A few days later, we received a message from Pepe via communications through the booking site we used, “I am a little pissed off at the bad review you gave me.” Wait. What? Pepe was taking this personal. He went on to say we were only mad because he didn’t give us the beer and wine and our conduct was not what he expected from Canadians. He also accused us of stealing his blue parking disk.

Well, Pepe, now you have pissed off a Canadian. We were sitting in our relatives garden enjoying a beer when we received the email. Darryl and I were both shocked. Did he really just swear at us, insult us as Canadians, and accuse us of theft? Who responds to a customer’s review in that tone? This guy must have brass balls. After the shock wore off, our blood began to boil. What nerve. Body temperatures rose. A discussion erupted with our relatives about the ignorance of Pepe’s email. Voices cracked with anger and disbelief. Heartbeats raced. Consensus was reached that Pepe was out of line. His conduct had to be addressed.

Responding to a Jerk

With shaking hands, I sat down to write my response. The email was frank and honest. If he can’t take criticism, maybe he shouldn’t be in the hospitality industry. His reaction to our review was uncalled for and not the way a businessman should treat customers who write travel reviews. The unprofessional behaviour was reported to the booking site we used. Pepe responded again. Wasting time bantering back and forth would do no good. I ignored him. He wasn’t worth any more energy. Returning shot for shot with this guy would only fuel the fire. Goodbye, Pepe. I hope you are happier with your next review.

The reaction from the owner has made me hesitant about completing future reviews. Reviews are important and they are an opinion. A person needs to be able to feel safe to report honestly.

Do You Write Travel Reviews?

My question to you is this: do you write travel reviews and if you do, is it an honest one? Do you rave about a place because you were told what to say? Do you use phrases like “please”, “sorry” or “thank you” in your review? Are you overly polite to a fault? Do you give a place mediocre reviews because it was your honest observation? How much do you trust the reviews you read on booking sites? “Please” comment below with your (honest) thoughts. Thank you and I’m sorry if I offended anyone with this blog. But be careful… don’t piss me off. After all, I am Canadian.

All pictures in this post are taken by Charlotte, yours truly, as always, unless otherwise stated.