Embedded Files
Under legislated Health and Safety laws, all businesses in Australia have a duty to provide employees with a safe working environment, with this in mind Professional Holiday Homes has developed a policy for managing unacceptable owner behaviour.
Introduction
Professional Holiday Homes (PHH) is committed to providing a fair, consistent and accessible service for all of our owners. However, PHH has to balance this by providing a safe working environment for our staff to operate within and to ensure that our work is undertaken in an efficient and effective manner.
On occasions, owners may make unreasonable demands that could affect the service we provide to other owners, or communicate with us in a manner which causes offence to our staff. Where this occurs, PHH reserves the right to manage owner contact in an appropriate manner to protect our staff and to maintain the effectiveness of our service to other owners.
This policy sets out our approach to managing those owners whose actions or behaviour are considered unacceptable and are either having a harmful impact on our staff or their ability to provide a consistent level of service to other owners.
Examples of unacceptable behaviour are grouped under two broad headings, as follows:
Aggressive, abusive or offensive language or behaviour.
General unreasonable behaviour.
Aggressive, abusive or offensive language or behaviour.
All of our staff have the right not to be subjected to aggressive, abusive or offensive language or behaviour, regardless of the circumstances. Examples of this behaviour include, but are not limited to:
Threats and/or physical violence
Personal verbal abuse including derogatory remarks, rudeness, inflammatory statements or unsubstantiated allegations
Swearing
Inappropriate cultural, racial or religious references
Violence is not restricted to acts of aggression that may result in physical harm. It also includes behaviour or language (written or spoken) that may cause staff to feel distressed, threatened or abused.
General unreasonable behaviour.
On occasions, our owners may make unreasonable demands through the amount of information they seek, the nature and scale of service they expect or the number of approaches they make.
Some of our owners may not, or cannot, accept that PHH is unable to assist beyond the level of service that has already been provided. For example, owners may persist in disagreeing with the solution provided when there are factors that fall outside of PHH's control, or contact PHH repeatedly about the same issue.
The method or tone in which these communications are received may not in itself be unreasonable - it is the persistent behaviour in continuing to do so that is considered to be unacceptable. What amounts to generally unreasonable behaviour or demands will always depend on the circumstances surrounding the behaviour and the seriousness of the issues raised by the owner.
Examples of this behaviour include, but are not limited to:
demanding responses within an unreasonable time-scale
repeatedly contacting or insisting on speaking to a particular member of staff who is not directly dealing with the matter
The duration and / or the frequency of contacts (phone call, e-mail) made by the owner to our staff is excessive or disruptive. Examples include when an owner repetitively contacts us on the same day or when an owner repeatedly inundates us with long calls or long e-mails when it is deemed a satisfactory response has already been provided
sending duplicate correspondence requiring a response to more than one member of staff
persistent refusal to accept a decision
persistent refusal to accept explanations
continuing to contact PHH without presenting new and relevant information
continually questioning PHH's policies or procedures (e.g. pricing)
Blocking calendars to prevent bookings when the property is vacant and would ordinarily be available
Blocking calendars for owner guests for periods exceeding 30 days
Repeatedly failing to respond to PHH requests for information
Failing to transfer STRA registration prior to property go live (if applicable)
Refusing to provide amenities deemed as mandatory by PHH
Failing to ensure that property amenities and furnishings are maintained to a good standard
continually requesting services outside the scope of PHH's service
Persistently making the same complaint, despite the matter having been fully addressed / investigated
seeking an unrealistic outcome with intent to persist until the desired outcome is achieved
Repeating complaints about a previous or historical matter that cannot be undone or remedied
Repeatedly changing the nature or focus of a complaint or the desired outcome part way through an investigation or after a formal response has been provided
Requesting that PHH staff respond outside of regular business hours
Making derogatory comments regarding PHH's staff or services to a third party or in a public forum (e.g. social media or online review)
Threatening or taking legal action against PHH or instructing a solicitor to make a complaint against PHH
Contacting PHH to question the composition of guest groups observed on the owner’s CCTV, including the presence of unfamiliar vehicles which may belong to tradespeople, departing guests, or other visitors.
Available Restrictions
Where an owner communicates in an unacceptable manner, PHH may choose to provide a written warning via email.
PHH also reserves the right to restrict contact with the owner as appropriate.
In the event of breaches of this policy, PHH reserves the right to terminate the owner's contract.
Page updated
Report abuse