The “voice”
of
independent accommodation providers

Sam had been retired from the army for two whole weeks and was now living with Joy in Sunfair.  Eve had suggested to Joy that she might close when Sam came home.  There would be adjustments on both sides, and it might be better if they had some time on their own first. Joy felt that Eve was right and she was glad that she had followed Eve’s advice.

Joy and Sam went on holiday for a week, a few days after Sam had arrived, and they spent the second week working out who would be responsible for which jobs and catching up on maintenance.  They had agreed that Sam and cooking were two words that did not fit in the same sentence, but Joy was sure that Sam, being naturally talkative would make an excellent waiter.  Sam had also made it clear that he was keen to decorate and do all the odd jobs and he had suggested that handling the accounts system and shopping could be his role as he had an eye for a bargain.  Joy was not sure about Sam’s eye for a bargain but she was quite happy to relinquish the role as she was not very good at book-keeping and it meant that she could concentrate on the cooking, cleaning, laundry and taking the bookings.  Joy wondered if this was the type of arrangement that most partners had.

Officially Sunfair re-opened yesterday, but Joy and Sam had no bookings, so this afternoon was the first time since Sam retired that he would be confronted by guests at his front door.  Joy hoped that Sam would open the door to the new guests so that she could see how well Sam would cope.  She had been listening for the door bell for the past half an hour, so that she could immediately busy herself elsewhere to ensure that it was Sam who let the guests in.  Her plan worked and she listened behind the door as Sam asked the guests if they would like a cup of tea in the lounge first.  She noted that he did not ask if they would like to use the toilet first.  She would have to mention this to him.  Apart from that she thought he did well.  She joined him in time to see him asking the guests to fill in the registration form.  She watched as he produced a tea tray, took payment, showed the guests where the public areas were, told them the time of breakfast, and a hundred other things that they were bound to forget.  Joy realised that she too bombarded guests with a list of details, that they were highly unlikely to remember.  She decided she would ask Sam to help her create an information pack that she could leave in the rooms.

As Sam led the new guests to their room, Joy felt pleased, Sam’s first working day had got off to a good start, the new guests Maisie and Tom Crump seemed very nice. They said they were grandparents visiting their daughter, who lived nearby.  Joy hugged herself and smiled. Persuading Sam to agree to running a B&B on his retirement from the army was going to prove to be a great idea and a huge success, then Joy thought about tomorrow and her expression changed.

Tomorrow the Fire Officer was coming.  Sam had already told her that he thought they would have a few problems to sort out.  Before Joy bought Sunfair a brand new fire alarm system had been fitted and Joy had assumed that there was nothing to worry about, but Sam had said that he thought all the fire doors would have to be replaced because they were not thick enough and did not have the strip seal round them.  Joy didn’t really know what Sam was talking about.  Sam also said that he didn’t think much of her Risk Assessment, which the previous owners left here for her.  When he first saw the Risk Assessment he said that it was not good enough, and that he would do a new one, but he hadn’t started it and yesterday the Fire Officer had rung to arrange a visit for Wednesday.

Sam had taken the phone call and confirmed that they would be there.  Joy wondered why he hadn’t put the Fire Officer off for a week or two, so that they could at least have produced a new Fire Risk Assessment. Surely Sam could have thought of some excuse, but that was not Sam’s style, he would let the Fire Officer come and then take it from there.

“It’s a useful visit” Sam insisted, so why did Joy feel anxious, was it because she had heard lots of horror stories about Fire Inspections?

Joy was also a bit worried because Sam had said that he was surprised at the low number of bookings they had in the diary, he said he would have expected more enquiries too. Joy thought they were doing ok, but Sam had been asking for bills and reading meters all day.

Tomorrow promised to be difficult.

Just then Joy heard a crash, it sounded as if it had come from upstairs, she ran to the staircase.

Joy was not sure what to do, a male guest was sitting in her breakfast room, singing to the radio.  Last night he had disturbed her three times, the first time to ask for a toilet roll when she thought he had plenty, the second time to ask her how to use the shower, and the third time, with a towel round his waist asking for another towel.  While all of these reasons could have been genuine, and if they were, Joy didn’t mind, she was becoming uneasy at his behaviour.

Joy left him singing and walked back in to the kitchen, where she deliberately retuned the radio so that it went slightly off the station, causing interference over the song “The Candy Man” that her guest Mr Dines had been singing along to. She reached for a glass to pour herself a drink of water and realised that her hand was shaking slightly.

For the first time since opening her new B&B, Joy wondered if she was completely safe, a female on her own with complete strangers in her house.

Her husband Sam would soon be retiring from the army and living here with her permanently.  If she told Sam of her unease, would he make her close until he was home for good.  He was on his way today, Joy wondered how long it would be before he arrived.  She decided that she did not want Sam to arrive and find her in a situation she could not control, she had always told him not to worry about her while he was away, she could take care of herself.

Joy emptied the remainder of the water into the sink, put the glass down, smoothed her skirt and steeled herself.  She walked back into the dining room, Mr Dines had stopped singing.  She smiled at him and said “Am I right in assuming, as you didn’t order, that you don’t want a cooked breakfast today?  Please help yourself to cereals and anything else you fancy on the cold buffet.  Would you like tea or coffee?

Mr Dines turned and studied her for a few moments.  Joy was fairly certain he was playing games and she lost patience.  “I’m sorry, Mr Dines, normally I would be happy for guests to enjoy a leisurely breakfast, but my husband is home on leave, and he will be arriving shortly, so I would like to clean the dining room and kitchen now, so that we have plenty of time together.  If you don’t want a cup of tea or coffee now, that is ok, you still have tea and coffee in your room.  Have you taken all you want from the cold buffet, as I am about to clear it away.”  Joy was aware that her breakfast time was not over, Mr Dines had about another 20 minutes but it was up to him whether he spoke up and pointed it out or not.

He didn’t speak up, he stood up.

“I’m not hungry” he said gruffly, and walked out of the dining room.  Joy heard him walking back upstairs.  He was booked in for tonight as well, but at least Sam would be here for the duration of his stay.  Joy quickly locked the dining room door from the inside, to prevent him from coming back in, and then checked that her office door was also locked from reception.

Joy tried to ring Sam on his mobile phone, the answer phone cut in, so she sent him a text message asking him how far away he was.  A few minutes later her phone rang, it was Sam, he told her that his train was just pulling into Southend Victoria Station, and he would get a taxi. He would be there in 15 or 20 minutes at most, Joy was more relieved than she wanted to admit to herself.  She busied herself cleaning away the breakfast dishes and cleaning the kitchen and dining room.

As she worked, Joy heard the front door slam, then shortly afterwards, she heard the front door bell.  SAM.  Joy hurried to the front door, a huge smile on her face.  Sam stood in the doorway, and swept her up.

“Well, what do you think of your new home?” asked Joy, when they had greeted each other like excited teenagers.  “Yes, you’ve done well, it looks good from the outside, I can see it has had a recent lick of paint, and I like the name plaque, a huge yellow sun with Sunfair written across the middle.  “Yes, I like that, it was inherited, I didn’t have it made.  Come into the office, while I put the kettle on, then I will show you our flat, it is on the top floor”.

Sam started to follow Joy, then stopped, he picked up a key lying by the vase of cut flowers and handed it to Joy.  Joy looked at it.  “Oh, it’s Mr Dines’ key, he must have checked out.  He didn’t say,  He was supposed to be here another night.  Let me just go and check his room.”  Joy tapped on the door of the room occupied by Mr Dines, there was no answer, she tried the handle, the door was open, she looked inside the room.  All Mr Dines belongings were gone, the room looked neat and tidy.  Joy locked the door and went back to Sam.

Sam looked up “a guest gone?” It was a question.  Joy nodded, “Yes, he has left early, I am not sure why, he didn’t say he was going, but I am not sorry to see the back of him”.  “Has he paid?”  Typical of Sam.  Joy shook her head, “no, I took a 50% deposit, which paid for last night, he still owes for tonight, it is too late for him to cancel now.”

“What will you do about it” Sam asked.  Joy thought for a moment and said “I will write it off, I don’t want to contact him, he made me a little uneasy.”  Joy promptly kicked herself, now Sam would want to know why.  He did.  Joy decided not to mention the previous night, she just told Sam about the guest singing to The Candy Man and ignoring her, and she told him how she had handled it.

Sam looked a little uncertain.  “I’m not sure it is right for you to be on your own with strangers, that has been bothering me, I must admit.”

Oh fiddlesticks Joy said to herself.  To Sam she said “No, its ok, it’s fine, I can lock myself in our flat, and it won’t be for much longer.

Sam wasn’t sure, but he decided not to pursue it at present, instead he said “Why don’t you take payment up front on arrival?”

Joy was glad to change the subject “I’m not sure, I have been wondering about that myself.  It is a nuisance when I have to break off in the middle of breakfast to take the remainder of the money, if someone wants to check out while I am cooking for another guest.  I haven’t had anyone check out without telling me before, but I just feel that some people expect to pay on departure, and if someone is not happy with the service, I have already charged them, when I might want to give them a discount”.

“I think you should take the deposit in advance, and the remainder on arrival.  You can always give a refund if is is appropriate.”

“I will log on to the forum later and ask the friendly lot on the forum what they do” Joy replied.

“What forum” Sam asked.  Joy told him about www.bedposts.org,uk, and how everyone had given her lots of advice, and how much she had come to rely on the forum members.

Joy decided she would post two messages on the forum later.  She would ask whether other members think she should have told Sam the full story, or whether she was right not to worry him, and whether it is a good idea to take the balance on arrival.

What do you think?

It was a couple of months ago that Joy opened her B&B, and although she was still new to the industry she was starting to feel a little less like a fish out of water.

She had quickly discovered that there were far more things to learn about running a B&B that she didn’t know than there were, things she did know.

Before opening, she had worried about whether or not she could cook enough breakfasts in the time she had set herself, and whether she would get in a muddle with double bookings, but she had soon discovered that the things that would throw her off course the most, would prove to be things like the comments in the guest book, how often she should change the towels, and whether or not being graded was essential for her business.

Today Joy didn’t care.  Sam was coming.

Sam had arrived back at his barracks in Colchester a couple of days ago, and had a week’s leave, he then had to report back to his barracks for two more weeks after which, he would be retiring from the army and coming to help her run their new business.

Joy looked at the clock, an hour to go before the first guests appeared for breakfast.  She took extra care with her appearance, and smiled to herself in her mirror.  She had suggested driving to Colchester to pick Sam up, but he wanted to come by train and gain an impression of Sunfair as a guest.  He said it was the only opportunity he would ever have of seeing it through guests’ eyes and it would be an invaluable experience.

Trust Sam to be practical, Joy thought, and recognised that it would take a long time before his training in reconnaissance and other military skills would enable him to think in a more emotional way.  She was sure it would mean that he would be the ideal business partner and that was why she had decided to wait for Sam to join her before making any major changes, like whether or not to seek a grading or take beds out of the family room.

Joy went into her dining room and started to lay the tables, she had dedicated one table to each of her rooms, this morning she was cooking breakfast for two couples who were in her two double rooms, and a single man who was in her twin room.  Her family room was empty, she had not let it since the first night when Mr Brown had demanded his money back.  As Joy laid the tables she thought about Mr Brown, she had sent him his deposit back but he had not responded,  At least he hadn’t (so far) left a bad review on TripAdvisor,

Joy went into the kitchen and started preparing the food ready for cooking.  She had decided from day one that she would only use fresh ingredients and she liked to bake her own bread.  Warm food smells soon enveloped her and as they wafted up the stairs, her guests started to come downstairs for their breakfasts.

The two couples sat down within a few minutes of each other and Joy was able to take four orders and prepare their breakfasts at the same time.  She could hear them talking to each other which was always a good sign.  Guests who sat in silence, she had discovered, were more likely to find fault with their stay.  She popped her head round the door to make sure that the two couples had all they needed, and she went back into the kitchen to start preparing food for her final guest.

Joy did not quite know what to make of the final guest, Mr David Dines the single man in the twin room who said he was in town to carry out inspections on arcade gaming machines.  Last night he knocked on her office door three times, the first time was when he asked for another toilet roll.  What had he done with the other two she had wanted to ask.  Then he knocked on her door about an hour later to ask her to show him how to work his shower.  She followed him to his room and realised as he opened the door that the room was in darkness, she quickly reached out and flicked the light switch.  For a moment she thought she saw a flicker of what was it, disappointment on his face?  No, she had imagined it.  She explained how to use the shower, asking herself if she had forgotten part of her usual patter when she first shown him to his room.

Shortly after that, he again knocked on her door with a small towel round his waist, saying that he had dropped his bath towel in the shower so could he have another one.  Joy glanced to one side of him and said she had a pile of towels she had just finished ironing, if he would just wait there a moment.  Joy left him standing in the hall outside her office and went to retrieve some clean towels, she opened the door and handed him two large towels and stepped back into the office, shutting the door.  Was it her imagination, was this man trying to make her notice him.  She had noticed him alright, but perhaps not in the way he had intended.

She hoped that the two couples would still be chatting when Mr Dines came down, she did not particularly want to be on her own in the dining room with him.  She wondered what sort of inspections he did on gaming machines, but she didn’t want to ask, he might think she was interested.

Joy heard the scraping of chairs and went into the dining room in time to see one of the two couples getting up to go.  Joy said “See you later, have a nice day” and turned to the second couple saying “More coffee” she wanted to add “please”.  “No, it’s ok, we are just finished, that was a lovely breakfast thank you.”  “OH, er oh, thankyou” said Joy, trying to sound relaxed.

Then she heard footsteps, Mr Dines came through the door as the second couple stood up.  Joy looked at him and smiled.  He totally ignored her and sat down at his table.  She went up to him and asked what he would like for breakfast.  He stared straight ahead and started singing loudly along with the radio…

The Candy Man can ‘Cause he mixes it with love  And makes the world taste good.

Joy did not know what to do,  Where was Sam when she needed him.  She felt quite out of her depth, was this man trying to impress her, or unnerve her, or was he just messing about?

What do you think Joy should do in this situation?

Joy and Eve stood outside the cafe, saying goodbye, and promising to meet up again soon, before they each went their separate ways.

Joy checked her watch, she had more guests coming in later, but there were not expected until early evening.  She decided that on the way home she would call in and see Fred in the Garage, and then she would go into her local Tourist Information Centre and introduce herself.

Joy pulled into the garage and saw Fred walking across the forecourt in her general direction.  She steeled herself to stand her ground.  Fred caught sight of her and waved.  She smiled and got out of the car, hoping she would not have a battle on her hands to get her car fixed.    Fred waited for her to walk over to him and to her surprise he said “look, about the other day, you caught me in a bad mood, another customer is trying to tell me I sold him a car with clutch problems, but I know he has misused the car.  I recall a mate of mine who trades cars saying that the beauty of selling to a business is that they can’t come back to you if something goes wrong.”

“I haven’t misused my car, perhaps if you have a look at it, you will recognise the problem and you will see that it can’t be anything I have done”.  Fred nodded, “yes, let’s book it in, don’t worry, I’m sure I can sort it out for you, I do value my customers really.”

Joy wondered if she should tell Fred what she had learned from Eve, but decided not to say anything.  She was not sure whether Fred would give her an invoice but she decided to wait and see, she could always argue later if she needed to.

Joy left the garage and drove towards the car park nearest to the Tourist Information Centre, she hadn’t checked the opening times, so she hoped she was not going to pay for parking, only to find the door locked.  Fortunately the TIC was open, Joy went up to a counter where two girls behind the counter were deep in conversation.  As she approached they both turned and smiled.

“Hello, I’m Joy Appleby, I have just taken over Sunfair B&B from the previous owner.  I have just come in to introduce myself and to let you know that I am accepting guests”.

“Oh, Hi there” replied one of the two girls, “I’m Mandy, actually we can’t pass guests on to you unless Sunfair is in our brochure”.  “Oh” said Joy, taken aback “how do I get Sunfair in the brochure?”

You can’t for this year, next year’s will be printed later this year.  You can go on our website though for a fee, here is a list of the rates”.  Mandy handed  Joy a leaflet.

Joy looked at the website, she was quite shocked to see how much it would cost her to advertise through the TIC, then she noticed something else “it says here that I must be Visit Britain or AA graded”.

“Yes, that’s correct, we must make sure that all the properties in our brochure have been vetted, we don’t do it ourselves so we rely on Visit Britain or AA gradings”.

Joy wasn’t graded, she didn’t think the previous owner was, and she hadn’t really thought about it.  She would have to go on the internet when she got home to find out how to apply for a grading.  She wondered what level she was, she suspected she was probably as good if not better than most of the 3 Star places she had stayed in, in the past.  Joy wondered whether most guests expected properties to be graded, or whether most guests didn’t care.  She wasn’t sure, and neither was she sure whether it would be better to apply to Visit Britain or the AA.  Joy hoped that she would have a better idea once she had studied their websites.  As Joy drove home she felt a little afraid of what to expect if she applied to join.  She had watched a television  programme a couple of times called “The Hotel Inspector’ and she knew that someone would check in posing as an ordinary guest.  She didn’t like the thought of that and wondered if it would be better to wait until Sam was with her.

Diddle-liddle-ding  Diddle-liddle-ding.  Joy heard the door bell, she checked her face in the mirror and went to answer the front door, there was no-one there, she stared at the deserted street.   Diddle-liddle-ding Joy woke with a start,  she was dreaming.  Diddle-liddle-ding – her alarm clock chided her again for not attending to it,  Joy felt the momentary trepidation she had felt on waking, at the deserted street she had been looking out onto.  She realised that she was probably worrying subconsciously about whether she could make a go of this venture and whether she could  attract enough guests to make her venture worthwhile.

As she sat up in bed Joy thought about her day ahead.  The first hurdle was cooking and serving her first breakfast for Mr and Mrs Jordan.   She had practiced her routine several times on her mother and Eve, who had been willing guinea-pigs, eating everything that Joy tested on them.  Joy had carefully worked out all her timings, Eve had deliberately tried to keep Joy talking to see if she could make her burn the toast that she knew was under the grill.  Joy had, according to her critical mother and her confidence building friend passed with flying colours.

Joy smiled to herself, this was a big moment for her and she knew she could deliver.  If the Browns had stayed yesterday, her first breakfast would have been for six people, she was glad in a way that she only had to cook for two on her first attempt. Joy showered and dressed and went downstairs to the kitchen and proceeded to get everything ready. There was time to spare before Mr and Mrs Jordan came down, Joy walked round the dining room, checking and rearranging the cutlery and straightening the table mats and the menu, she felt positive.  Joy need not have worried, breakfast went without a hitch and she was complimented on her cooking.

After Mr and Mrs Jordan left the table, Joy busied herself cleaning the kitchen and the dining room and just as she had finished in the kitchen the phone rang.  She hoped it would be Eve.

“Joy, Hi.”  Joy was pleased to hear Eve’s familiar voice.  Eve said “I think I have the answers you need, do you have time to talk now, or shall I call you a bit later on?”

“How about we meet for coffee in our usual place?” Joy answered.

“Yes, that would be great, if we can make it lunch time, say 12 noon” Eve replied.  “Anytime that suits you, noon it is.  I am longing to see a friendly face, you can tell me the the worst at lunch time”.  Eve and Joy chatted for a few more minutes and Joy watched from the window as the Jordans walked down the path.

Joy put the phone down and thought that’s good, now that they have gone out I can go and clean their room, then I can dust and vacuum through Reception, and then it will be time for me to get ready to go and meet Eve.

Joy was pleased to see that the Jordan’s room was quite clean and tidy, but she noticed that the used towels had been placed in the shower tray and were quite wet.  She felt slightly irritated.  Were the Jordans suggesting that she would not remember to change the towels so they had to make them damp, or is this what they always do?  Joy changed the wet towels for clean ones, cleaned the rest of the room and took the wet towels to the laundry room for washing.  She decided not to dwell on it, but she really did feel again that she was more unprepared and ignorant of what to expect from her guests than she could ever have imagined.

Joy reached the cafe ahead of Eve and found a table in the window.  She spotted Eve rushing up the road her arms full of flowers, a big envelope and her coat and scarf. Joy smiled, it was cold out there, it was typical of Eve to grab her coat but never quite take the time necessary to put it on.  Eve spotted Joy through the window and gave her a wide friendly smile.  Joy immediately felt better.  Eve was always just what the doctor ordered.

Eve placed the huge bunch of flowers in Joy’s lap and the envelope on the table, dropping her coat and scarf on a nearby empty chair in a casual way.  Eve was naturally attractive but wore no makeup and had scant regard for fashion, Joy on the other hand was quite particular about her appearance.

“Well” said Joy after they had ordered hot tuna baguettes and a glass of white house wine, “what did you find out, can I force Fred at the Garage to repair my car?”

“Possibly” replied Eve reaching for the envelope and pulling out a wad of paper with her untidy large handwriting all over it.  “Section 12 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act  provides that a person is dealing as a consumer if the contract is not made in the course of a business and the person does not hold himself out as doing so, and the other party does make the contract in the course of a business, and the goods are of a type ordinarily supplied for private use.  Buying in the course of a business means that the buyer is buying something that is an integral part of the business.”

“A car is not an integral part of my business” Joy interrupted.

“Exactly” said Eve, “I found the case of Symmans & Co -v- Cook where a firm of surveyors bought a defective Rolls Royce and the Court of Appeal said that buying a car is not an integral part of the business of surveying”.

“I wonder if I need proof of this, or whether I can just go in and see Fred and tell him.  I don’t want to fall out with him, he has done work for me before” said Joy thoughtfully.

“If I were you” said Eve “I would go and have a chat with him, tell him you have been into the CAB, and this is what you were told and you hope he can reconsider, then if he sticks to his guns, tell him you are going to consult a Solicitor “

Joy nodded, “That is what I was thinking.  What about Mr Brown, even if he is in the wrong I think I am going to give him his money back, I don’t want an ongoing dispute with my very first guests.”

“That’s probably a wise move” agreed Eve, “but if you did want to argue the point with him, the law on sale by description is quite clear, the description must be accurate or the buyer is entitled to reject the item.  You would have to satisfy a Court that your description was accurate, unless you are certain that you could do that, the cheaper option would probably be to give him his money back before he take steps to recover it.”

“Thanks for that, on reflection, the room is small. Someone on the forum said ‘everyone knows that cosy means small’ but how small is small?” replied Joy.

“What forum?”

“Oh, I found this fantastic forum www.bedposts.org.uk.  It is for accommodation providers, and everyone on there is really friendly and helpful.   I was reading the topic on there about Access Statements, I have done one, but I am wondering now if mine doesn’t go far enough, and some people have given room measurements in theirs.  If I had done that in my Access Statement, I could have told Mr Brown and everyone else to look at my Access Statement, disabled or not, to decide whether my rooms will suit their requirements.

The lady on the forum who said cosy means small works for CAB somewhere”.

“Whereabouts” asked Eve, but Joy couldn’t remember.   Eve went on “I am glad you have found a forum where it sounds as though there are a lot of people who will be able to give you some real help, I think you might need it from time to time until you find your feet.”

Joy was happy with her decision to give Mr Brown his money back, but she knew she was doing so for a quiet life, she was still unsure how small cosy is, and what was too small to be acceptable.  She would be interested to know if her family room was exceptionally small in comparison with others being charged at a similar rate.  She felt she needed to know as she would have to decide whether to take the childrens’ beds out or not.  This was an important decision for Joy, as this was the only room she had that she could offer as a family room.

Do you think Joy should keep her family room even though she knows it is very compact?

Joy retired at the end of a long first day in her new B&B in Southend, taking with her to bed, a cup of hot chocolate and a lot of uncertainty.

She went into her new bedroom feeling quite alone and missing her old cosy bedroom with its pretty pink and white curtains, and her co-ordinated covered comfy sofa at the foot of her old bed where she liked to lounge for a while reading a book or chatting on the phone, usually to Sam, in whatever country his platoon was currently stationed.

No point looking back, Sam didn’t like her choice of decoration and soft furnishings, “too girly” he called it.  He was coming home soon and he would prefer his home a little less frilly and fluffy, and Joy was anxious that he should settle down as soon as possible so she needed him to like his surroundings.

She looked round this room and sighed.  Magnolia, you can’t go wrong with magnolia, or so they say, but it didn’t feel as if this bedroom wanted to hug her like her old one.  She could probably get a nice cosy two seater sofa under the window she thought, but better to wait for Sam.

Joy then began to wonder whether most people decorate guest rooms in B&Bs in a very conservative way, or whether most look on them as their homes and put their own stamp on them, she wasn’t sure. She had been excited at the prospect of creating themed rooms, but what if they wanted to sell, would it be a bad idea?  What would Sam think?  They could ask the property agent who sold Sunfair to them, he should know.

She sat on the edge of the bed and sipped her hot chocolate, mulling over the events of her first day.  Joy was anxious about her car, she hoped she would not have to pay for repairs, the legal fees on the sale of her old home and the purchase of Sunfair had proved more expensive than she had budgeted for.  She wondered what Eve would find out for her, she knew Eve would ask others if she could not find the answer herself.   She shuddered slightly as she dwelt on her unfortunate run-in with the Brown family, and she had to admit that she felt rather sympathetic towards Mr Brown, he did have a point really, there was very little room between the beds.  She also thought about Sally Jordan wanting clean towels in the morning and she thought about the helpful comments she had received only a very short while later in response to her first post on the Bedposts forum.  What a great find the forum was, particularly on her first day, at least she had enjoyed one bit of good fortune today, especially as the two ladies who posted replies sounded really nice, as if they understood how confused she felt.  As soon as she had received a reply about Sally Jordan’s towels, she also posted about belligerent Mr Brown.

One of the ladies who posted a reply mentioned that she is a CAB volunteer, Joy thought she would have to remember to tell Eve when she phones in the morning.  This lady thought that Mr Brown was in the wrong, because he did not give Joy time to offer another room (not that there was a bigger room to offer) and everyone knows that cosy means small, but she also thought it was probably a grey area.

The other lady who posted, asked her if Sam knew that she had chosen a B&B, and did they have much privacy?  Yes, they had talked it over and they both thought it would be nice to do something that they could do together, having already spent most of their married life apart.  They were occupying the whole of the top floor which was a self contained flat.  This lady also advised Joy that it would be a good idea to think about how to phrase what she routinely says to guests on check-in, so that she is giving them information rather than asking a question, and according to her, there was already a discussion on the forum about towels, Joy hadn’t seen that, but she promised herself that she would make time tomorrow to try and read more of the comments already posted there.

Joy drained her mug of hot chocolate hoping that this new venture would prove to be the right choice. She was so excited when she woke up this morning, now she just felt anxious.  Perhaps, she told herself, when Eve rings in the morning we can arrange to meet for coffee tomorrow, Eve always made Joy laugh, and she smiled to herself just thinking about the fun they had shared over the years.  Eve had laughed when Joy told her she was thinking about opening a B&B with Sam, she had said to Joy “You’ll soon get the hang of it, but Sam will be as useful as a chocolate teapot, and you don’t need one of those at breakfast time”.  Joy amused herself wondering if she was going to find herself taking a leaf out of Sam’s chocolate teapot. She would also hopefully be able to talk to Sam tomorrow.  He had emailed her today to say that he was being sent out on patrol somewhere shortly so he would not be able to ring her today.  Joy was disappointed but used to it.

Just as Joy was nodding off, she heard voices from below, she awoke with a start, and realised she had heard Mr and Mrs Jordan coming in.  It seemed strange to her that strangers were walking around her home in the middle of the night, and lying there on her own in a strange bed in a strange room that she was now calling home she felt quite lonely.

If you are in business, beware of the Contract Killer.

Joy woke early, and stretched and looked round her new bedroom, she was feeling pleased with herself. For the first time in her life, she was her own boss, the proud new owner of Sunfair B & B, she looked out of the window at sunny Southend-on-Sea, and at the sea glistening in the distance.

My new website looks good, so does the new en-suite in the family room, Joy thought. It was just a pity that there was not so much room between the beds as there once was, but it couldn’t be helped she told herself.  Jim, her web designer had suggested that it was better not to show a picture of that room on the website as the photo she had made the room look smaller than it was. Joy had agreed. It was a good description that Jim came up with, he used the words “clever use of available space achieves a sense of cosy expansiveness”.  Joy was not sure what that meant, but it sounded good.  Little did Joy know that she would be confronted by two contract killers today.

2 pm already, there was a queue at the supermarket, and Joy was worried that she would not get back in time for the Brown family booked into the family room.  The car was playing up too, it was making a really funny noise from the rear.  Joy had a sneaky feeling that  Fred at her local garage may have sold her a very well used second hand car.  She had impressed upon him when she bought the car that she needed a reliable smart car for business use.  She would ring the garage when she got home, to ask them to take a look at it.

Joy put the phone down in a state of shock.  Fred at the garage was trying to tell her that there was nothing in their Contract about after sales care, because she had made a business purchase.   Joy had no idea what Fred was talking about.  Surely she was  covered under The Sale of Goods Act.  Joy decided to ring her friend Eve who works for the Citizens Advice Bureau, Eve would know what to do.

Before Joy had a chance to ring Eve, there was a knock at the door, the Brown family had arrived. They seemed nice enough, Dad Brown did all the talking.  Joy offered them a cup of tea, but Dad said he would like to see the room first.  “Of course”, said Joy, and led the way.

“Oh No!” said Mr Brown, “We are not stopping here, there’s no room to swing a cat.  Your website describes this room as expansive. Tell you what lady, it’s not expansive, it’s expensive.  It’s not worth half what you want to charge, take a couple of beds out and price it on just two people because that is all it’s big enough for.  I want my deposit back, I would not have booked if I had seen the room first”.

“I’m sorry you feel like that”, said Joy  “but I can’t give you a refund, the room is  exactly as advertised, it says on my website that it is cosy.”    “We’ll see about that, if you don’t refund my money now, you will hear from my Solicitor,”  Mr Brown replied.

Joy rang her friend Eve in despair, “Eve, I was so excited this morning, but I have had a terrible day, the Contract I thought  I had with the Garage has been killed, and my very first guest thinks he too can kill the Contract I thought I had with him. What is the point of being in business if there is nothing to protect me?”

Eve said “I’m sure there is long established legislation and Case Law on both of your problems.  Let me look them up and I will call you back.”  Joy thanked her and put the phone down feeling quite sorry for herself.

The door bell suddenly interrupted Joy’s moment of self pity, she looked at the clock, her next guests, feeling very unsure of herself, she went to answer the door.

What do you think Eve will say to Joy when she rings her back?   Please tell Joy what you think she should do?  Is it always wise in business to exercise your rights at the expense of a good reputation?

If you come back here shortly, you can find out what Eve has to say, and what Joy decides to do, oh and whether her new guests are happy with their room at Sunfair.