Nice

A sunny day, and I took advantage of it by finding lots of outside jobs to do which meant I spent most of the day walking around the site in my shirt. Lovely. There's such a nice atmosphere at the moment. It's nice to be full of families and surrounded by happy children during the Summer Holidays, but it does tend to be a bit chaotic and stressful. Now we're back in term time, most of the people visiting are here for a relaxed break rather than a frenetic one, and there are lots of couples and lots of retired folk, here for the countryside and the beach and the natural surroundings. And as I'm not so flat out dealing with issues or inquiries I can spend some time with some of them and have proper conversations, rather than flitting from one thing to another and catching a few words here and there when I can.  I find it's a good way to get honest feedback about the sort of service we are providing. Online reviews are a waste of time because they're normally from people who just want to moan, and just like the sense of self-importance they get from posting their opinionated waffle on the internet (imagine people who do that!) Or they are written by people from competitors who want to invent stuff and bad-mouth you to provoke people to book with them, and not you. Or they're done by independent providers who get paid to slate your rivals so that you don't have to. And don't call me cynical and/or paranoid - I have actually met people who earn money doing that, and have been approached by companies who have offered to do it on our behalf. You really, really, really cannot trust anything you see or read online these days.
Anyway - back to the positivity. It is sunny, it is warm, I am relaxed, I am content, and I am looking forward to a family day tomorrow. Good times...

RC 28-9-24