Chronicle of a Failed Reserve (or how dogs have more common sense than some humans) 🐕🤷♂️
Sometimes I seriously wonder if human beings have lost the basic ability to read… or if they are simply too lazy to understand the world around them. Because if not, I can’t explain what I experienced yesterday. And I tell it because, if I don’t let it out, I’ll burst.
It all starts well. A direct reservation from our website. Perfect. I send them their booking confirmation by mail, they receive the online check-in request, the WhatsApp with the entry codes, and also the very clear rules, both for customers and dogs. Everything as usual. All chewed up. Everything easy. 📩📱🐶
4 o’clock in the afternoon. The sacred moment of every day: the ironing. Yes, that glorious instant where the heat of the steam and the shirts become my zen therapy. And right there… the phone rings. 📞
-Yes, good afternoon, Mastorrencito, tell me?
-Hello… we have a reservation and we are at the door.
-Perfect. I have sent you a WhatsApp with the entry codes.
–Ufff! I haven’t even seen them.
(What do you mean you haven’t seen them? I sent them to you three hours ago!)
-Okay, it’s okay. The code is XXYYY.
-COOOOOOMOOOO???? 😱
(Look, even the neighbor’s cat heard that scream. I gasped from the kitchen).
-I repeat: XXYY, letter A for Antonio.
-Ahhh ok… see you now.
I take a deep breath. I return to my mountain of clothes to iron. But not five minutes go by and I hear screaming outside. Screams in capital letters. Human alarms.
-EEEEEEEAAAAAAAA… TAKE IT AWAY! 😱
I go downstairs, almost in slow motion like in the movies. What happened? A fire? A wild bear? A zombie invasion? No… worse: two humans scared by three curious dogs! 🐕🐕🐕
There they are. He and she, waving their arms as if shooing away wasps. And my dogs, so happy, had only come to sniff, to greet… to welcome the newcomers! But of course, the gentlemen were in full drama mode.
-Get out, you mutt! Get out!
(He whistled. The dogs came quietly, each one with its own pace, one sat down, another one sniffed a flower… and the third one had not even heard of the show).
-Good afternoon, everything ok?
-Well… you see… here being attacked by your dogs.
(ATTACKED? Really?)
-Excuse me? Attacked…?
-Well… they came at us.
-What’s the matter, don’t you like dogs?
-Yes, but not dogs that smell us…
(Excuse me? What do you want then, telepathic dogs?)
-Ahhh okay, I mean… dogs yes, but at an emotional distance. Very good.
I look at them. I am between laughter and sarcasm.
Look… with all the hotels around here that do NOT accept pets… you go and book the only one where dogs are loose, free and happy in the garden.
-But we didn’t know they were loose…
-What do you mean? I sent you an email, a message, a WhatsApp…
-It’s just that our son made the reservation.
-Ahhhh… of course. So talk to him.
-It’s just that this son of ours… I don’t know what he’s thinking…
(Ah, yes. The son’s fault. The star excuse.)
-Well, what do you want to do? Because honestly… if this already seems like a dog attack, you’re not going to be comfortable here. We have other clients with dogs, and they all walk in the garden without any problem.
(He looks at her. She makes a Turkish soap opera face).
-I’m not staying here.
-Perfect. No problem. But tell your son about it, okay?
-Yes, I’ll call him right away… sorry for the inconvenience.
-Nothing, good morning.
I’m on my way to the reception desk thinking: “Come on, let’s get rid of the bad feeling. Just another day”. But all of a sudden they whistle at me! WHISTLE AT ME? 😤
I am not a dog, nor a beach bar waiter. Being whistled at or having my fingers snapped at makes me sick to my stomach. SHIIIISSSSSSSS!
I turn around. The gentleman approaches with a “now I’m going to let you have another one” look on his face.
-Tell me.
-My son says he has already paid…
-Yes, he paid for one night with breakfast in a double room, second floor, 69 euros. And?
-Well… to give us our money back.
-I beg your pardon? The room is ready. The service is ready. If you decide not to stay, it’s your decision, not mine.
(He looks like a scolded child).
-Look, let’s do this: go to the Ana Maria hotel, which is next door. They are colleagues of mine. Tell the receptionist that you’re going on my behalf and ask him to call me. They’ll deduct what you’ve paid and I’ll deal with them.
-Ahh… how nice…
(In my head I could already see myself winning the game: when they see Ana Maria’s price, they will turn around. Checkmate, I thought…)
But I was wrong! 😱 Not only were they… theystayed two nights! And I, who had already made a commitment to the receptionist… I had to swallow the deal and deliver.
In the end, I stayed calm. No drama. But with a clear reflection:
👉 Is it so difficult to READ? Is it so complicated to understand what you book before you click? Where is the common sense?
Anyway… just another day in the rural adventure. The dogs, meanwhile, continue to greet the new guests with the same enthusiasm. And me… with WhatsApp in permanent copy-paste mode. 📲🙃
Reflection: It is not lack of information, it is lack of attention.
What happened is not a simple misunderstanding with a customer. It is a symptom of something deeper and more everyday: the disconnect between what people do and what they really understand. It’s not that they’re not informed. It’s that they don’t pay attention. Everything is written, explained, sent by mail, by WhatsApp, even simplified to the maximum… and still, many arrive without knowing the basics.
The problem is not technology, nor communication. The problem is the lack of responsibility when acting. Booking an accommodation without reading the conditions, without checking the messages, without asking the person who made the reservation… and then demanding changes, refunds or special treatment as if the fault was external, does not make sense.
And when that happens, the worst thing is not the discomfort of the moment, but the feeling that common sense is in retreat. That more and more people move on impulse and then blame others for their own omissions.
Moreover, there is a very clear contradiction: they want rural, natural, authentic environments… but without the natural component. They want rural houses without animals, fields without insects, mountains without mud, nature without noise. Everything filtered, controlled and comfortable, like a postcard without reality.
And when something breaks that idealized image, instead of adapting or recognizing their share of responsibility, they victimize themselves.
Therefore, what happened is not anecdotal. It is a sample of what happens when you lose the ability to read, to listen, to reason. And I am not talking about reading comprehension. I am talking about conscience and coherence. Because it is not so difficult to read a message. What is difficult, it seems, is to take charge of one’s own decisions.
From MasTorrencito we wish you a good day and may your dogs be with you!!!!
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If you want, you can see our vouchers for weekends, retirees vouchers, at an incredible price … enter www.mastorrencito.com or if you want you can read more history and anecdotes that have happened to us in MasTorrencito ….
