RANT: Fecking horsey timewasters!

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pixie

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As some of you may know, I'm opening a livery yard. I'm so sick of people arranging to come up for a visit (at a time suggested by themselves as being most convenient to them), and then being an hour late or, like tonight, not turning up at all! No phone calls/text messages/emails... Nothing!
I'm a fairly patient and reasonable person. I accept that sometimes something will crop up. However, it takes no time at all to send a text message.. Do people nowadays just have no manners or common courtesy?
 
Not to make excuses for people not turning up, but I know the O2 network has been on and off all day as I've had no service on mobile so that could explain lack of text. Still rubbish not turning up though!
 
I'm an estate agent and half my viewers each week just don't show up. I take time out of my day to go to the property, drive there for 20 minutes using my own petrol... the least someone could do is quickly phone in and say they don't want to go anymore. But unfortunately people rarely think of others. :)
 
I'd be really angry if I was you, surely it's just common courtesy to ring and let you know.

You're probably better off without people like that on your yard though. :)
 
It's incredibly rude but unfortunately seems to be the way things are done these days. If I were you I'd keep whatever details they gave you so that you know what to expect if they ever contact you again.

There's just no need for bad manners.
 
When people ring you to arrange a viewing take their phone number/contact details.

its amazing how people suddenly develop some basic manners and give you a call if they change their minds about coming when they remember you have their phone number and you will be ringing to find out where they've got to if they decide to just disappear off the face of the earth and leaving you twiddling your thumbs at the yard in the dark waiting for them.

dealing with people. don't you just love it :rolleyes:
 
Yes, I always take full name, phone number and at least a basic address, plus description of horse(s) and where they are currently kept. I keep this information saved on my PC, along with info such as if they were late or didn't turn up. Building up a good list of names on who to avoid in the future anyways...
Even if o2 had been down, they could have either rung me from their home, emailed me or sent me a message through facebook.
Bah, I'm just really annoyed because I had to leave my 9 month old son at home with my husband. He went down for his nap just before I left the house (I live a couple mins drive from the stables), so I thought I'd probably be back in 30 mins tops in time for him to wake up. Only I'm waiting and waiting for these people who don't even bother turning up, so I get home over an hour later to find that he was really upset and had been crying for most of the past 30 mins :( Now I feel like a crap mummy :(
 
3BayGeldings said:
I'm an estate agent and half my viewers each week just don't show up. I take time out of my day to go to the property, drive there for 20 minutes using my own petrol... the least someone could do is quickly phone in and say they don't want to go anymore. But unfortunately people rarely think of others. :)
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Disgusting! Bah, people have no manners :/
 
Pixie why on earth do you feel like a bad mummy leaving your 9 month old son with his father? I left mine for whole weekends with his dad or grandmother when he was that age (not often but at least once) and whilst I missed him I did not feel bad. Used to leave him for 3 hours with my husband at 3 months to go and ride my horse! Give yourself a break Hun!

Back to subject I too have given up expecting manners from people just be prepared for the even worse people who say they definitely want to come to the yard and then suddenly back out very quickly or just going incommunicado when you ask them to commit in the way of money. When my friend and I set-up a yard we had at least 2 sets of people do this!

Good luck though all sounds very exciting :)
 
Exactly Tilda - just view it as a chance for father-son bonding. If you are breast feeding, just leave some expressed milk in the fridge.
Still seriously bad manners not to contact you.
 
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If you have their number why not just phone or text when they are 10 mins late. That way you aren't waiting if they have changed their mind, but can wait if they are lost or have been held up.
 
pixie said:
Yes, I always take full name, phone number and at least a basic address, plus description of horse(s) and where they are currently kept. I keep this information saved on my PC, along with info such as if they were late or didn't turn up. Building up a good list of names on who to avoid in the future anyways...:(
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Have you registered under the Data Protection Act and does keeping this data comply.

If not, you are breaking the law :o:eek::o

Sorry :D :D
 
If you have their tel no phone them today and tell them how you feel, I think a lot of this rudeness we see nowadays is because we no longer speak up and tell people "it's not on" which we used to do in the old days, so people learnt where they are going wrong.

ESP as a lot of youngsters these days have parents who do not reprimand them and so they do not learn basic etiquette in life.

Always bring a person up to your standard never drop down to theirs was what my mother always taught me.
 
Rockysmom does that mean we can no longer keep our little address book for Christmas cards, I don't think so, it also means company's cannot keep cv's on file but they do, where does it end!
 
putasocinit said:
Rockysmom does that mean we can no longer keep our little address book for Christmas cards, I don't think so, it also means company's cannot keep cv's on file but they do, where does it end!
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I guess the fact that its in connection with a business makes the difference.

If you are registered you can keep data like CVs if there is a reason to do so. But the law is about what you can use the information for, who you share it with and how long you keep it.

Keeping a blacklist wouldn't be a legitimate use I think.
 
personally I find that if I set a time and advise them that its a single slot appointment that they have to confirm prior to arrival usually does the trick. That way if they don't call you to say they are on their way you don't need to go and will save yourself a wasted journey :D

Whenever I've allowed other people to set the time at their convenience they usually think that means whenever they feel like it as I'm at their beck and call.
 
rockysmum said:
I guess the fact that its in connection with a business makes the difference.

If you are registered you can keep data like CVs if there is a reason to do so. But the law is about what you can use the information for, who you share it with and how long you keep it.

Keeping a blacklist wouldn't be a legitimate use I think.
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You are allowed to retain the info for your own use, it's sharing it that you run into issues....
 
Plus its only turning into a blacklist because of no shows, Op stated it was to keep track of interested parties when people ring. Why do posts on here always turn into a debate about something stupid such as writing contact details down! :-V
 
pixie said:
Yes, I always take full name, phone number and at least a basic address, plus description of horse(s) and where they are currently kept. I keep this information saved on my PC, along with info such as if they were late or didn't turn up. Building up a good list of names on who to avoid in the future anyways...
:(
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This is not writing a few names down. This is a business stating, on a very pulic forum, that they keep a computerised black list

Moon said:
Plus its only turning into a blacklist because of no shows, Op stated it was to keep track of interested parties when people ring. Why do posts on here always turn into a debate about something stupid such as writing contact details down! :-V
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I think it depends on how you read it? I read it as they keep a list of basic contact details and make notes on contact so they know where they are upto with each person -fair enough. But then op was making a flippant comment about how a lot of people are not showin up... but again i dont think op meant she is purposely writing a list of people to avoid aka a black list as she is writing everyones details down. I could be wrong but in the grand scheme of life, does it really matter? i wouldnt want to have a really unreliable livery that could potentially mess you around when it.comes to pay etc when you need to live off your business, but thats just me, im not writing a black list, i swear ;) X
 
Moon said:
I think it depends on how you read it? I read it as they keep a list of basic contact details and make notes on contact so they know where they are upto with each person -fair enough. But then op was making a flippant comment about how a lot of people are not showin up... but again i dont think op meant she is purposely writing a list of people to avoid aka a black list as she is writing everyones details down. I could be wrong but in the grand scheme of life, does it really matter? i wouldnt want to have a really unreliable livery that could potentially mess you around when it.comes to pay etc when you need to live off your business, but thats just me, im not writing a black list, i swear ;) X
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She actually says

Building up a good list of names on who to avoid in the future anyways...

Thats a blacklist whichever way you look at it

Was just pointing it out as she is new to the business. Might save her trouble in the future
 
Horseloaner - what a brilliant way of organising things and will be using it myself if need arises- can be used in all sort of situations.

Pixie - hope you are feeling a bit less stressed by now and have realised you are not an uncaring mummy at all.
 
OP I feel your pain! It's happened to me too: plus when you advertise livery and people DO turn up you know that its just a family outing for them, as they turn up with mother-in-law, friend, friend-of-a-friend, au pair, auntie, plus miriads of gawd-knows-how-many spoilt badly behaved kids who run all over the place making a helluva racket and climbing on haystacks, gates & fences. Then they leave saying they'll "let you know" - and you know that for them its just been one big family day out and they're not in the least bit interested in livery.

I advertised my boy for loan last autumn; and that's another way to attract every time-waster on the planet. I had one woman who made an appointment one day saying she'd like to come, then rang up at the very last minute (when I'd made the time for her - am self employed) to say sorry she couldn't come; then made an appointment for the next day - and lo and behold there was another excuse, another "family emergency". Then she rang AGAIN and said can I come on the following day.... and when I as politely as possible said "no" I had a ream of texts, e-mails and telephone calls saying how "sorry" she was and would I "forgive" her and she knew by psycic knowledge (sorry dunno how to spell it) that my horse would be "just right" for her and that it was all "predestined" that he'd go to her!! Blimmin people! So yes, feel your pain OP!

But don't worry, that right person WILL come along - eventually; and you'll be glad you hung in there. I've got the perfect livery at the mo; and yes, had to wait for her, but it was deffo worth it! :)
 
I tend to write things down, because I have an appalling memory and I don't think it gives a good impression if you confuse details such as their horse's name when they come to view the place. All the information is only for my own benefit.
Also, if someone wastes my time now, then I won't bother with them if they contact me again in the future. I only have a small yard, so I'd rather let it fill slowly, but with people that I can get on with.
 
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