Published by Fiona Patterson  · 4m  · 

In Dreamcatchers we love systems. We believe that systems are the foundation of any business that runs smoothly.

Of course we make mistakes and sometimes we get things wrong but if you check out our reviews we manage to create an experience that people are delighted with almost always. It is our utmost priority.

Today we had a hiccup.

I had a nice morning weeding my flower bed and Ross was busy working on other things. The cabins were clean and ready – everything was good to go.

One of our systems is that we go and do our final checks at 2 pm once the team has left. We check that we have not missed anything and everything is looking great. It gives us plenty of time if there are any issues that need to be resolved.

Today, a series of events created the perfect storm at Dreamcatchers.

A guest had requested a change to their booking which we are always happy to accommodate if we can. Whoever changed the booking forgot to update the rota – an easy mistake. Then Ross and I got engrossed in a conversation and all of a sudden Ross jumped and realised it was 2.30 pm. He was half an hour behind. Not a real problem. The guests arrive at 3 pm and there is seldom anything to do during our “sweeps”.

I pulled on my boots and walked him up the garden to the cabins and I branched off into the woods with Olive (our wee dog) for a walk. He had 2 cabins to check. I offered to do one but he declined “I have plenty of time Mum, no problem”.

He checked the first cabin – perfect – 2.45pm. He got to the second and because the cleaning rota had not been updated it had not been cleaned – CODE RED! The guests were potentially due in 15 minutes.

He raced back to the house to get the clean linen and the cleaning products sending me a message to please come and help – of course, I had not taken my phone.

Luckily Olive and I were only away for half an hour and arrived back at 3 pm (guests arrival time). Chrissy (previously part of the “Dream Team”) was in the garden. He kindly came with me and we sprinted to the cabin to assist Ross with the changeover – our fingers were crossed that the guests would not arrive sharp at 3 pm.

With 3 pairs of hands and luck on our side, we managed to have the cabin looking beautiful before the guests arrived.

We retired back home to have a large drink of water and wipe the sweat from our brows! Panic over. Another successful day at Dreamcatcher Cabins – just!