November 5

Today, I check our reviews.  We have been doing well lately and all the comments are very positive.  The French people wrote:

Rien à redire. Que du positif . Excellente adresse. Fortement recommandé. (According to Google translate, this means: No complaints. Only positive. Excellent address. Highly recommended.)

The Germans who stayed about a month ago were also happy:

Sehr gute Betreuung, zuvorkommende Bedienung, umfassendes und sehr gutes Frühstück! Küche genügend, Bett komfortabel, ruhige Lage. (Very good care, courteous service, comprehensive and very good breakfast! Kitchen enough, bed comfortable, quiet location.)

Let's hope Google translate is being honest!  One of the things that booking.com asks guests to rate is our location.  I think they may be referring to the setting itself - garden, noise, proximity to other houses and the like.  However, so many people rate us according to how close we are to where they wanted to go.  We have in the past only received a 5/10 for location with the comment that we weren't close enough to the Victoria Falls road or NUST.  No responsibility is taken for the fact that they should have chosen a place on the Vic Falls road or next door to NUST.  No, we should have moved our entire property closer to where they wanted to be.

I dread reading our reviews.  Long ago, I realised people can be very sweet and nice to your face and assure you that they are quite happy and comfortable and in need of nothing and then write a review in which they list all the things you never did for them.  A young Australian couple were like this.  When they arrived, the man played around with Rolo quite a bit.  I tried to call Rolo away and he told me to leave him because he was having such a good time.  Later that day they came and asked for directions to the nearest shops because they wanted to buy bottled water.  I said that if that's all they wanted, I could give them a couple of bottles that we had in the cupboard to save them the walk.  They seemed very chirpy and we had a good chat.  Come the review, they wrote that Rolo had been a handful and that they were very put out that they had been expected to supply their own bottled water when the tap water was clearly undrinkable.  I had assured them that we all drink tap water and are perfectly fine. Maybe they didn't think I looked perfectly fine!

Another man suggested we supply coffee beans.  I have never been to a hotel where this is provided, never mind a B&B.  Someone else suggested a variety of magazines.  I don't know, maybe I am just weird, but that's the sort of stuff I would buy myself.  I can't imagine going to stay at a hotel, phoning reception and asking if they have the latest copy of Vogue because I need something to read whilst I drink my filter coffee.