Number of choices for hot breakfast in the morning?

[GoodScout]

Got this email from a happy guest yesterday:
"We had a wonderful time celebrating our anniversary in your little town! Our room was beautiful and very comfortable. Thank you Darren for help with finding us a great hike to take with Moley! My only suggestion to you to make your B&B even better would be to improve your breakfast options. I worked in 2 bed and breakfasts while I was in college and I just love the feel of staying in a very warm and homey place when I am away from home. Paul and I always seek out B&B options when we travel and in comparison with other places we have stayed, your limited breakfast menu was a negative for us. For suggestions on how to improve in this area, consider checking out the breakfast menu at [our competitor] next door. All things considered though, we had a great time and would recommend The Phineas Swann to others.
Couple of things:
1) We offer an entree each day that rotates (pancakes, waffles, french toast, eggs benedict, crepes, etc.) and always offer a second choice - eggs to order. This is in addition to all the continental offerings on our sideboard (yogurt, fresh cut fruit, cereal, oatmeal, juice, baked goods). How many of you offer more than two cooked offerings each day?
2) Our competitor clearly must have done a sales job on this couple when they came over for dinner during their weekend stay. They don't have a breakfast menu per se since they don't offer it to the public, so they must have found out the couple was staying with us and done a sales pitch on their great breakfasts. Any wonder we discourage our guests from having dinner next door?
3) At no time did the couple ask for anything else. They enjoyed our blueberry pancakes and blackberry stuffed french toast without complain.
So should we be offering more cooked options? Or change anything we're doing? It's the first time we've ever heard this feedback, but we're always listening. Thoughts?

 

[Generic]

I have a very small kitchen. We offer just ONE choice. We switch from sweet to savoury each morning and if you are here for 14 days you get 14 different breakfasts.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

That's ridiculous. You're not a restaurant, you're a b&b. I swear, the worst guests are those who have been in the b&b industry in any way (and that includes Air)! It took a lot of arrogance on their part to even write that to you. If they didn't like the way you do your breakfast which is very typical of a b&b, they should have kept it to themselves and go somewhere else next time.
So sorry you had to hear that negativity.

 

[BananaE29]

That's ridiculous. You're not a restaurant, you're a b&b. I swear, the worst guests are those who have been in the b&b industry in any way (and that includes Air)! It took a lot of arrogance on their part to even write that to you. If they didn't like the way you do your breakfast which is very typical of a b&b, they should have kept it to themselves and go somewhere else next time.
So sorry you had to hear that negativity..

That's ridiculous. You're not a restaurant, you're a b&b. I swear, the worst guests are those who have been in the b&b industry in any way (and that includes Air)! It took a lot of arrogance on their part to even write that to you. If they didn't like the way you do your breakfast which is very typical of a b&b, they should have kept it to themselves and go somewhere else next time.
So sorry you had to hear that negativity.

I agree completely. It took a lot of guts for them to do this - I guess you can be glad it wasn't done in a review, but still. Your breakfast options sound wonderful to me, and is much more than I offered. I'm sure this is the first of this type of complaint or "suggestion" for you, so I would just shrug it off as picky PITAs.

 

[TheBeachHouse]

Sounds like the neighbors are kind of d!cks (if I may speak plainly.)
Your breakfast sounds top notch to me.
I've been floating the idea of one entrée to my hubby for awhile based on what I read here. Sweet one day, savory the next. (As of now, we put out both eggs and a sweet entrée every day.)
You have a full continental plus a great chef's special PLUS the alternative of eggs. No need to worry.

 

[user 26]

Does the place next door offer a breakast menu? Just curious.
No, you are doing fine. You offer exactly what I offered though I did not publicize the eggs because people would ask for eggs on the side in addition to cook's choice, not instead of ...
My Response would be ....
'So glad you enjoyed your stay with us and would recommend us to your friends. Happy Anniversary!'

 

[JimBoone]

My feeling is that I appreciate and encourage suggestions and comments from guests as it educates me. If one asks, others may have been thinking the same and didn't comment, now that doesn't mean I able or willing to follow through on their suggestions, but it does educate me, my parting email says something along the line of "be honest with me, I don't bite", I want to know what they were thinking (even if I don't agree).
We don't serve breakfast so I don't claim any right to an opinion in that area. My one bed and breakfast experience as a guest served a wide variety of food, sort of family style, to a larger group of both adults and children, that fit me well, but seems a different experience from what most here offer.

 

[Jcam]

Sounds like the neighbors are kind of d!cks (if I may speak plainly.)
Your breakfast sounds top notch to me.
I've been floating the idea of one entrée to my hubby for awhile based on what I read here. Sweet one day, savory the next. (As of now, we put out both eggs and a sweet entrée every day.)
You have a full continental plus a great chef's special PLUS the alternative of eggs. No need to worry..

from previous conversations - they are, whenever phin's guests go there they try and poach them and bad mouth P - not on. P won't play their nasty game

 

[TheBeachHouse]

Sounds like the neighbors are kind of d!cks (if I may speak plainly.)
Your breakfast sounds top notch to me.
I've been floating the idea of one entrée to my hubby for awhile based on what I read here. Sweet one day, savory the next. (As of now, we put out both eggs and a sweet entrée every day.)
You have a full continental plus a great chef's special PLUS the alternative of eggs. No need to worry..

from previous conversations - they are, whenever phin's guests go there they try and poach them and bad mouth P - not on. P won't play their nasty game
.

I do remember stories of this place. They hurt themselves in the long run.
Grateful that it works entirely different here. town businesses support each other to the betterment of the town in general. Inns, in particular, are quick to recommend other inns.
When an inquiry comes in wanting a pool, I know exactly where to send them. If the pool place hears from a prospect wanting a water view, they will refer them to us.
That isn't everybody, of course. There is one inn, in particular, that refuses to join the group and works for himself alone. He happens to have the most perfect location for an inn in this town. So he doesn't feel he needs the community.

 

[Morticia]

We have ONE cooked entree in the morning. There are other places in town (the ones that get the rave reviews) where they have a menu. We've had complaints and extremely put out guests who could not order exactly what they wanted.
My take is that we do what we are capable of doing, we let the guests know in advance EXACTLY what to expect in re breakfast, and we let folks choose to have a full menu or cook's choice by opting for where they stay.
If your guests wanted a menu they should have stayed next door.

 

[Specific]

Actually, I like your way of doing things: 1 main cooked choice (french toast, strata or whatever), but if someone doesn't want the main offering, you can offer them 2 eggs, poached, scrambled or over easy... nothing complicated.

 

[Specific]

Actually, I like your way of doing things: 1 main cooked choice (french toast, strata or whatever), but if someone doesn't want the main offering, you can offer them 2 eggs, poached, scrambled or over easy... nothing complicated..

Oh no... not poached... too much work!

 

[JBloggs]

Couple of things:
1) We offer an entree each day that rotates (pancakes, waffles, french toast, eggs benedict, crepes, etc.) and always offer a second choice - eggs to order. This is in addition to all the continental offerings on our sideboard (yogurt, fresh cut fruit, cereal, oatmeal, juice, baked goods). How many of you offer more than two cooked offerings each day?
So should we be offering more cooked options? Or change anything we're doing? It's the first time we've ever heard this feedback, but we're always listening. Thoughts?

NO.
You aren't a restaurant. And isn't breakfast complimentary?
How about NOT offering a second choice? See how the rest of us do business. Were they hinting they wanted to have a list like you mentioned above, each morning, to choose from?
I stayed at a beachfront hotel that had breakfast as part of the package, each day we have the same two choices, likes yours, but they never rotated. If we stayed a week, we had choice a or b. And believe it or not, we were happy to have it! We enjoyed it, we even tipped every morning. I bet those folks didn't.

 

[Lee2014]

Actually, I like your way of doing things: 1 main cooked choice (french toast, strata or whatever), but if someone doesn't want the main offering, you can offer them 2 eggs, poached, scrambled or over easy... nothing complicated..

Oh no... not poached... too much work!
.

Oh no... not poached... too much work!

I want two poached eggs when I came your way! With Gluten Free toast! Soy Milk! No nuts mind you… Oh, and gluten free, milk free, macarons, too!

Oh, by the way, I hate that stuff, I just want it since its supposed to be healthy…….So instead, I'll eat the bacon, pancakes,…. Well, you get the picture……

 

[gillumhouse]

I serve "Cook's Choice" based on stated diet BS. I rarely announce in advance what that will be - have been known to switch gears on what was planned as I got up in the morning.
I had 6 ladies here last night. They asked what was for "breakfast in the morning or is it a surprise". I told them that since they were here only one night, I had only one chance to impress them with breakfast. That I had decided to not make eggs because everyone makes eggs (adding that my sour cream & chives with 3-cheese egg bake was wonderful, but it was eggs) so I was going to serve Baked Oatmeal. They seemed very pleased to hear that. This morning I found out why - they are not fond of biscuits & gravy and were fearful that was going to be on the menu. Told them that if they were here 5 nights or so it probably might be one morning since there would be a different breakfast each morning, but not on the one morning.
They loved breakfast. Banana chocolate chip muffins, a huge bowl of fruits, bacon, OJ, pear, and blueberry-pomegranate juices (had just a little of the b/p juice, not enough to use as the non-citric), and they almost finished off the baked oatmeal.

 

[Tom]

One cooked entree, discussed briefly the night before to clear up food issues and pick a time for service. We serve 5 rooms and are obviously not a restaurant. Will generally do eggs to order, and yes, poached eggs.

 

[Silverspoon]

You are fine....right in line offering a main with eggs as a substitute. You are not a restaurant. How dare those neighbors lobby your guests to stay with them. I certainly would cut them out of any restaurant suggestions I made to my guests! Shame on them.

 

[JBloggs]

We served a whole house (6 rooms) a great breakfast, no choices. Although I did put platters of fruit out for them to help themselves to whatever they liked. I guess that offers a choice. No GF, No Diabetic, No Vegan, No Vegetarian, No Non-Pork, so quiche and potatoes today it was! Filled with all sorts of goodness that they all enjoyed. What a pleasure to cook a full meal fo ra change instead of piece-mealing it per guest. Ahhhhhsome feelin'
Goodbye MrS GF, and good riddance.

 

[GoodScout]

Actually, I like your way of doing things: 1 main cooked choice (french toast, strata or whatever), but if someone doesn't want the main offering, you can offer them 2 eggs, poached, scrambled or over easy... nothing complicated..

Oh no... not poached... too much work!
.

Actually, we have a microwave egg poacher that works wonderfully -- except when i forget to pierce the yolks and we have an explosion!

 

[2cat_lady]

I'm with the majority--sweet/savoury rotation. After I've served them their freshly baked item along with their fresh fruit, I announce the hot entree of the morning along with planned sides. Then I'll ask each table (only have four) if they'd like toast on the side, if it's savoury. At that point, guests with either yay or nay the meal or sides. If they ask for something like scrambled eggs or such, I tell them I'd be happy to do that for them but they'll have to wait until I've taken care of the other guests since my oven and cooktop space is limited and I am set up for the planned meal. Then, at the end I'll do them. No one has ever minded waiting, doesn't bother me to do it and they're happy. I've had a few ask in advance and I tell them they'll spoil the surprise. Of course this is when the forgotten allergy comes out but it's rare at that point. Other than that, no choices but mine.
Boo hoo to them to require a choice. That's what hotels and restaurants are for.