Casa Pacis

Bloopers

You may ask why we go through such an effort of compiling this detailed question and answer list pertaining to Casa Pacis.  After all, what could there be so special to this house?  You own your own house and know how to use home appliances and electronic equipment and whatever else is in there!  Sure, you do -- but read what other renters actually did:
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---  Cooking with an empty pot: what happens if you place a pot with a bit of water on the range, to steam your vegetables, turn on the cooking plate -- and then "quickly" go outside "just for couple of minutes"?  You guessed it:  the water will evaporate, and the bottom of the pot will then get so hot that it melts, and the molten solder will drip onto the stove-top, and ... and ... "But no," the renter responsible for this mess insisted,  "the pot was inadequate!"

---  Open Fireplace:  Our housekeepers discovered several inch-size burn holes in the area rug and below in the carpeting in front of the conventional open fireplace.  Renter: "Oh, a log fell off the grate, but nothing much happened ... ".  Indeed, several logs stacked on the grate can generate a roaring fire that can easily get out of control. Luckily the renters had not yet gone to sleep when the burning woodpile crumbled, and the house did not burn down ... 

---  Walking through screen doors:  When you are on the deck, at night, it can easily happen that you don't see that the screen door is closed, and you walk back inside right through it ...  Of course, that's the end of that screen!   "But no, the screen was old and fragile!"  or, "it was already broken when we came!"

---  Washing & drying laundry takes time!  If you start with washing your laundry just an hour before your departure time, of course it won't get done!  Renter:  "the dryer is no good -- and so we couldn't leave on time!" Or, another renter outright: "It was impossible for us to do the laundry! Yet, even worse, another renter folded the linens when they were still wet ...

--- Excessive dishwasher detergent: A renter notified us, "The dishwasher is leaking!"  Indeed, it will do that if too much detergent is used.  (The excessive foam will create an overpressure inside the dishwasher, and foamy water will be pressed past the door seal and drip onto the floor. A teaspoon of detergent is plenty for one load.  "Less is more!"

---   Plugged toilet: I have never understood why people throw items in the toilet of a rental home that they would never ever throw into their own toilet at home ... "But it's not our fault!" we hear.  (We once had to call a plumber, who had to take the entire toilet in the Casa Pacis MBath off its seat ... only to find that a pencil had lodged itself such that no plunger could unclog it ...).

---   Raccoons!  Renter: "Raccoons came into the kitchen and took remnants from our turkey!"  Yes, they are abundant on Sea Ranch and so clever that they will work en famille and push the screen door to the side to get inside (and only but surely poke a hole in the screen if that door is locked).  Therefore, keep your food items out of sight during the night and be alert when the glass door is open -- do not count on the screen door to keep out the raccoons.
 

All of these things can happen.  To everybody!  We can all make mistakes.  That's understandable.  But what is a lot harder to understand is when the people committing these bloopers would not live up to their mistakes and leave the problem for the next renters to discover, or blame us, or the materials or our facilities that they happened, in hope or expectation of getting their full security deposit returned ... 
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While there is perhaps still an element of humor in the above occurrences, we did not find any humor in the one below:

--- Not recognizing the credit card charge on a monthly statement is something that occasionally happens to all of us.  Usually a minute of reflection or a friendly phone call to the number given on the statement will startle our memory.  After all, the vast majority of such unrecognized charges turns out to be legitimate.  But one renter  immediately cried foul with PayPal for "false charges" and also canceled that charge with her credit card company.  It took just one day for PayPal to determine that the charge was legitimate, but their hands were tied until finally, eight months and over 20 e-mail exchanges later, the renter could finally be motivated to get back to American Express to unfreeze the legitimate charge ...