One hotel guest revealed that she and her fiance were given a double bed instead of two singles, leading to her becoming pregnant. Photo / iStock
One hotel guest revealed that she and her fiance were given a double bed instead of two singles, leading to her becoming pregnant. Photo / iStock
On the surface, working in the travel industry seems like the ideal job - living among sun, sea and sand - but the reality is often more about long days dealing with disgruntled tourists.
For a customer who has spent all year saving for their two-week break, no niggle is too small to complain about, even if it makes no sense at all.
Travel operators and hotel staff have been sharing the most ridiculous grievances that have crossed their desks from British customers travelling abroad in recent years, with often hilarious effect.
The comments, which have been shared on the Twitter page
, range from a guests who complained about the weather in the UK being too nice while they were away, to the airport bar being closed at 7am.
Unsurprisingly, food and drink were common themes among the list of complaints, because sampling the local delicacies and unwinding with a few cocktails are key highlights of most holidays.
But some of these criticisms levelled at staff severely test the famous hospitality mantra that "the customer is always right".
These included one holidaymaker who complained about the policy on children's meals, saying: "The restaurant said "children eat free" but my 19 year old daughter still got charged for her meal."
Meanwhile, another criticised the tipping policy, saying: "It was expected that you tipped the waiters even though the hotel was all-inclusive."
A customer complained that the airport pub wasn't open at 7am to serve him beer. Photo / iStock
One traveller was frustrated before he had even left the UK, after complaining that: "The bar wasn't open so I couldn't have my 7am airport pint."
And another made the criticism that: "The gin and tonics were a bit too heavy on the gin side."
For other travellers, the disappointment in their holiday came when the weather or the geography wasn't as they expected it to be.
For example, one guest complained that: "The weather at home was nice whilst we were away so the whole holiday seemed a bit pointless," while another reported: "We went to Barcelona in January and it wasn't very hot."
Other criticisms seemed to show very little preparation on the part of the customer, like when one revealed: "We put our towels out to dry on the balcony and they just froze." - complaint sent to a skiing resort.'
One guest claimed that the volcano near the town they were visiting didn't feature any lava and therefore must be just a mountain. Photo / iStock
Another guest showed that they had paid very little attention during primary school geography lessons, when they claimed: "You said the town was next to a volcano, but we went and there was no lava. I'm pretty sure it was just a mountain."
And one guest appeared to have very little knowledge about the culture of different countries when they complained: "Too many people in Germany only spoke German."
When it came to accommodation, despite all the good intentions of hotel staff, sometimes nothing could be done to make a customer's stay comfortable enough, especially when it came to a good old cup of tea.
Like the grievance of one guest which read: "Although the brochure said that there was a fully equipped kitchen, there was no tea strainer in the drawers,' while another complained: "The kettle was too big for the sink and I had to use the cups to fill it up one cup-full at a time."
But while many of these complaints beggar belief, there are some criticisms that customer services receive that make you wonder how the member of staff manages to keep a straight face.
One customer complained that they hadn't been informed there were no toilets on canoe boats. Photo / iStock
Like the guest who complained: "My fiancé and I booked a twin-bedded room but we were placed in a double. I'm now pregnant," or the man who reported: "We went on a canoe trip but were very disappointed that no one told us there would not be a bathroom onboard. It was very inconvenient."
And finally, the guest who protested about the hotel room that featured: "A Do Not Disturb sign on the back of my door in my room. I was confused and thought the staff had locked me in."
