Memoirs of the Inn Keeper – No 1
Ever so often, I remind myself to keep notes on our experiences at the guesthouse – good or bad. I consider titling it Memoirs of the Inn Keeper. It could make for some interesting reading; sometimes funny, and other times not so funny. But memoirs they are, nevertheless.
When I first embarked on this journey – hospitality – little did I know the extent of having to run a guesthouse. I would think reviews will be very much part of my Memoirs. Initially we relied on reviews to guide us, following it religiously. Every review brought its own excitement or misery! One single review lacking 5 stars could be a setback and remain for a couple of days.
Like everything in life, one learns to become tougher. While we still regard every review, we no longer get upset that easily. We have learned to first evaluate the review, see if there is merit in it, and if so, we deal with it; we try and resolve it or improve on it.
Reviews are not a platform to slander, rather to encourage and support, show appreciation. There is a saying that in hospitality “things can go wrong”. But what to do when things go wrong, and what not to do? Staying at a guesthouse or hotel or inn should be an experience, mostly for enjoyment, at times encouragement, stimulation, and inspiration, whether you are there for business or leisure.
Writing a review requires skill, reason, understanding, appreciation, and insight; we no longer deal with nasty or vengeful reviews. Reviews also reveal character or the lack of it. There certainly are better ways to deal with something that was not to your liking.
Mostly reviews are helpful, or rather could be helpful, depending on how you look at it. Someone once remarked that we served the statutory cereals; this got me thinking…. statutory? I suppose that includes Rice Crispy, Corn Flakes, Wheat Bix, All Bran, and Muesli. Fair enough, but we also serve our own granola especially for the health conscious with no added sugar; citrus infused, cranberries, cocoa, and coconut, to name but a few. However, it seems the so-called statutory cereals remain popular, therefore they remain on the buffet.
What I regard statutory, would be the English Breakfast. The original English Breakfast stretches back to the 14th and 15th century. It was regarded an iconic dish in British Culinary Culture for the gentry – noble people or high social class, people of good social position including landowners and gentleman-farmers and was usually served to the attendees as a pre-hunt breakfast. The British thought it sensible to start the day with a healthy meal. Soon the English Breakfasts were enjoyed by the middle class.
Although our slogan promises that you will be treated like royalty, we have adapted an extended approach towards breakfast; we no longer serve only the English Breakfast – sometimes even royalty can get it wrong.
However, we still get complaints for not serving the English Breakfast per se. One review read that we force people to eat what we serve – a picture comes to mind of force-feeding ducks…
During a prolonged stay we offer a variety of dishes and never serve the same dish more than once to the same guest, only if they won’t have it any other way. We take on any challenge in the kitchen for those with specific dietary requirements.
We have extended our options for breakfast by adding a Medley of Sausages. Our pork sausages are made specially for us.
It is rewarding to read how people enjoy / rate our breakfasts, it makes the effort worthwhile.
