A Park Owner Needs To Rant A Little

As my username indicates, I own a park in the western US. It is a mid-sized park very near a major National Park. My season is almost over and I need to vent off some steam. Every year I have some very trying guests but this season was a bit over the top. The VAST majority of my guests are great and many have become fast friends, but some are having me question the sanity of staying in busines. I can easily sell my park to developers for more than it is worth as an RV park, but I feel I provide wanted service. Some guests have me second guessing. I just need to point out a few facts and offer a little of what I face.

1) My WiFi may be free, but that does not guarantee that you can connect. I had a guest pound on my private residence at 2:12 AM demanding I refund his site charges because my WiFi would not work. After I woke up, I asked him to bring in his computer and I would take a quick look. I ran the computer's diagnostic program regarding internet connection and it pointed out the computer's wireless modem was turned off. After I switched it on the computer connected just fine. The guy muttered something about how that had never happened before and he trudged off. Imagine my surprise the next morning when he appeared at the office demanding his refund. He explained it must have been my system that magically reached down and turned off the modem button because it had never switched off before. He wanted a refund for the previous 3 days. I told him I would be glad tor refund the next four days he had sbooked and offered him and additional free five minutes to pack and leave.

2) I am not impressed with you calling me a thief, a rip off artist or any four letter word because you think my rates are too high. I am not holding a gun to your head forcing you to pay. If you feel my rates are too high, just go elsewhere.

3) Try to hit the toilet when going number two

4) If you want a refund because a neighboring dog attacked your dog, please let me know your dog was the one off the leash against our park rules and went up to the dog being walked on leash as we require.

5) If there is a power outage throughout the campground due to a storm, I cannot make your power pedestal work no matter how much you yell.

6) I would be glad to loan you any tool you need as soon as guy that borrowed it last year returns it.

7) We have sewer connections for your sewage, the grass is already fertilized

8) We must water our grass, sometimes water will get the grass wet

9) Our park rules do not special exclusion for you.

10) If you wish to advertise a pornographic website across the back of your RV take it to another RV park.

11) If you wish to post a review of our park on this website, be sure the review applies to our park. I know our pool is not covered in green moss because we do not have a pool.

12) As much as you wish to have a specific site, I am not going to request the current occupants move to another site so you can have it.

13) I know you bought that KOA card, but I am not a KOA park and am not going to give you a discount for it. I honor other discounts, but I will not give it to you if you are not a member of that particular club. It is not fair to those who paid to join Good Sam or AAA to give that discount to a non-member.

14) Please do not parse our rules, If we say we do not allow dog to be "tethered" unattended, "Chained" unattended is also prohibited. If the rules say no tents, free standing canopies or screen rooms it follows that "Canvas shelters" would also be a no-no

15) If your 15 year old steals 2 tee shirts from our store, it is not "kids being kids". Paying after the fact is not enough, I will give you the option of leaving or being prosecuted. Calling me profaine names will not improve your case.

16) If you drive off without unplugging your plug, unhooking your hose or disconnecting your cable I am not replacing your plug, hose or cable but I am charging you if my equipment is damaged. Again, cursing my employees will not improve your lot in life.

17) My cancellation and deposit policy is clearly stated at the time you make your reservation and is printed on your confirmation letter. I am not going to change it. If you do not plan on staying, don't make the reservation. You can thank the guy who cancelled his 1 month reservation due to a death in the family the day before his scheduled arrival. When his mail arrived three days later I called to get a forwarding address and his wife told me not to worry, they would be by later that day to pick it up. Now, we accept no stories and make no exceptions so you don't have to tell any lies.

18) Different rigs have hookups in different places, we have tried to place our connections as convenient as possible, but if you have an odd arrangement, they may not be as convenient as you wish. I am not bringing over the backhoe to move them to better accomodate your one night stay.

19) I can't stop the fireworks display on the fourth of July because you wish to go to sleep at 8PM.

20) Wind, rain, heat, cold, humidity, snow, sleet, ice, clouds, bright sun, sunrise, sunset and any other climatic event are not controlled by the office. I am not offering refunds due to the weather.

Thanks for listening, I feel better now. Hope to see you soon, provided you are not one of the above.

Westernrvparkowner

 

Great post! It's good the hear the other side of the story occasionally.

 

I agree with Denali. Enjoy your winter break and hopefully you will feel like opening up your campgroung for another season. I'll bet it is a great place and maybe the slobs will stay home next year.

 

QUOTE(westernrvparkowner @ Sep 10 2008, 06:11 PM) [snapback]13148[/snapback]

As my username indicates, I own a park in the western US. It is a mid-sized park very near a major National Park. My season is almost over and I need to vent off some steam. Every year I have some very trying guests but this season was a bit over the top. The VAST majority of my guests are great and many have become fast friends, but some are having me question the sanity of staying in busines. I can easily sell my park to developers for more than it is worth as an RV park, but I feel I provide wanted service. Some guests have me second guessing. I just need to point out a few facts and offer a little of what I face.

1) My WiFi may be free, but that does not guarantee that you can connect. I had a guest pound on my private residence at 2:12 AM demanding I refund his site charges because my WiFi would not work. After I woke up, I asked him to bring in his computer and I would take a quick look. I ran the computer's diagnostic program regarding internet connection and it pointed out the computer's wireless modem was turned off. After I switched it on the computer connected just fine. The guy muttered something about how that had never happened before and he trudged off. Imagine my surprise the next morning when he appeared at the office demanding his refund. He explained it must have been my system that magically reached down and turned off the modem button because it had never switched off before. He wanted a refund for the previous 3 days. I told him I would be glad tor refund the next four days he had sbooked and offered him and additional free five minutes to pack and leave.

2) I am not impressed with you calling me a thief, a rip off artist or any four letter word because you think my rates are too high. I am not holding a gun to your head forcing you to pay. If you feel my rates are too high, just go elsewhere.

3) Try to hit the toilet when going number two

4) If you want a refund because a neighboring dog attacked your dog, please let me know your dog was the one off the leash against our park rules and went up to the dog being walked on leash as we require.

5) If there is a power outage throughout the campground due to a storm, I cannot make your power pedestal work no matter how much you yell.

6) I would be glad to loan you any tool you need as soon as guy that borrowed it last year returns it.

7) We have sewer connections for your sewage, the grass is already fertilized

8) We must water our grass, sometimes water will get the grass wet

9) Our park rules do not special exclusion for you.

10) If you wish to advertise a pornographic website across the back of your RV take it to another RV park.

11) If you wish to post a review of our park on this website, be sure the review applies to our park. I know our pool is not covered in green moss because we do not have a pool.

12) As much as you wish to have a specific site, I am not going to request the current occupants move to another site so you can have it.

13) I know you bought that KOA card, but I am not a KOA park and am not going to give you a discount for it. I honor other discounts, but I will not give it to you if you are not a member of that particular club. It is not fair to those who paid to join Good Sam or AAA to give that discount to a non-member.

14) Please do not parse our rules, If we say we do not allow dog to be "tethered" unattended, "Chained" unattended is also prohibited. If the rules say no tents, free standing canopies or screen rooms it follows that "Canvas shelters" would also be a no-no

15) If your 15 year old steals 2 tee shirts from our store, it is not "kids being kids". Paying after the fact is not enough, I will give you the option of leaving or being prosecuted. Calling me profaine names will not improve your case.

16) If you drive off without unplugging your plug, unhooking your hose or disconnecting your cable I am not replacing your plug, hose or cable but I am charging you if my equipment is damaged. Again, cursing my employees will not improve your lot in life.

17) My cancellation and deposit policy is clearly stated at the time you make your reservation and is printed on your confirmation letter. I am not going to change it. If you do not plan on staying, don't make the reservation. You can thank the guy who cancelled his 1 month reservation due to a death in the family the day before his scheduled arrival. When his mail arrived three days later I called to get a forwarding address and his wife told me not to worry, they would be by later that day to pick it up. Now, we accept no stories and make no exceptions so you don't have to tell any lies.

18) Different rigs have hookups in different places, we have tried to place our connections as convenient as possible, but if you have an odd arrangement, they may not be as convenient as you wish. I am not bringing over the backhoe to move them to better accomodate your one night stay.

19) I can't stop the fireworks display on the fourth of July because you wish to go to sleep at 8PM.

20) Wind, rain, heat, cold, humidity, snow, sleet, ice, clouds, bright sun, sunrise, sunset and any other climatic event are not controlled by the office. I am not offering refunds due to the weather.

Thanks for listening, I feel better now. Hope to see you soon, provided you are not one of the above.

Westernrvparkowner



Outstanding, you must have a park in California.

 

Very informative post. The wife and I have discussed the possibility of purchasing or managing a RV park as a semi-retirement gig because of all the nice people we have met at camp grounds and RV parks over the years. We have noted the things we liked about a park and thought it would be great to apply that to our own park believing that others would enjoy it also. But your post brought forward the realization that even when some people are allegedly out traveling and enjoying themselves, they can be very rude, obnoxious, demanding, and selfish. Dealing with those kind of people have occurred all too often in my professional career, I certainly would not want to deal with that during retirement. Thanks for sharing.

 

Interesting post. It perhaps validates that there are always two sides to each issue.

 

1) My WiFi may be free, but that does not guarantee that you can connect.

Offering Free WiFi is considered a favor. No one can ever complain about a favor, only appreciative.

2) I am not impressed with you calling me a thief, a rip off artist or any four letter word because you think my rates are too high.

I agree. If someone doesn't like the rates, don't stay.

3) Try to hit the toilet when going number two

ugh.


10) If you wish to advertise a pornographic website across the back of your RV take it to another RV park.

Thank you for keeping your park family friendly!


15) If your 15 year old steals 2 tee shirts from our store, it is not "kids being kids". Paying after the fact is not enough, I will give you the option of leaving or being prosecuted. Calling me profaine names will not improve your case.

Was there an apology? I can see the parent's point of view on this one. If they tried to resolve the dispute by paying for the merchandise and apologizing, then kicking out of the park might be harsh. Getting the police to come out and scare the $%&*# out of the kids could be effective also, but under no circumstance should the parents be offended at the immoral actions of their children. Only apologetic.

16) If you drive off without unplugging your plug, unhooking your hose or disconnecting your cable I am not replacing your plug, hose or cable but I am charging you if my equipment is damaged. Again, cursing my employees will not improve your lot in life.

Mistakes happen, pay for them. If you damage the campground, pay for the repair!

I can understand your frustration, but don't let a few (or maybe even a handful) spoil your good intentions by running a nice campground. Those of us who respect you and your services do appreciate all you do (and put up with)!

 

Dealing with the general public can be very frustrating, I hope this vent has been a big help to you. I apologize for all the RV'ers who can be real A$$es.

1) My WiFi may be free, but that does not guarantee that you can connect. I had a guest pound on my private residence at 2:12 AM demanding I refund his site charges because my WiFi would not work. After I woke up, I asked him to bring in his computer and I would take a quick look. I ran the computer's diagnostic program regarding internet connection and it pointed out the computer's wireless modem was turned off. After I switched it on the computer connected just fine. The guy muttered something about how that had never happened before and he trudged off. Imagine my surprise the next morning when he appeared at the office demanding his refund. He explained it must have been my system that magically reached down and turned off the modem button because it had never switched off before. He wanted a refund for the previous 3 days. I told him I would be glad tor refund the next four days he had sbooked and offered him and additional free five minutes to pack and leave.

I would have charged him for computer consulting and repair at the off-hours rate.

2) I am not impressed with you calling me a thief, a rip off artist or any four letter word because you think my rates are too high. I am not holding a gun to your head forcing you to pay. If you feel my rates are too high, just go elsewhere.

I can't believe people have the nerve to complain about rates when they don't have a clue as to the cost of a campground's operation.

3) Try to hit the toilet when going number two

There are places that sell targets made just for the bottom of a urinal, believe it or not, it works. You might try this next year and see if it works for you.

7) We have sewer connections for your sewage, the grass is already fertilized

Yes, and probably fertilized by their dog too.

10) If you wish to advertise a pornographic website across the back of your RV take it to another RV park.

Yea, what the heck is wrong with people? By the way, send me that website.

11) If you wish to post a review of our park on this website, be sure the review applies to our park. I know our pool is not covered in green moss because we do not have a pool.

I read all reviews with a grain of salt.

15) If your 15 year old steals 2 tee shirts from our store, it is not "kids being kids". Paying after the fact is not enough, I will give you the option of leaving or being prosecuted. Calling me profaine names will not improve your case.

A fifteen year old thief will become a 25 year old thief.

Great post, thanks for sharing.

 

Oakman, thanks for your reply, however, unless you are wired real different than I am, a target doesn't really help aim what was "dumped" on the floor, if you get my drift. Your target only helps for a number about 1/2 of Number 2. Thanks again Westernrvparkowner

 

QUOTE(DRS @ Sep 11 2008, 01:12 PM) [snapback]13156[/snapback]

Very informative post. The wife and I have discussed the possibility of purchasing or managing a RV park as a semi-retirement gig because of all the nice people we have met at camp grounds and RV parks over the years. We have noted the things we liked about a park and thought it would be great to apply that to our own park believing that others would enjoy it also. But your post brought forward the realization that even when some people are allegedly out traveling and enjoying themselves, they can be very rude, obnoxious, demanding, and selfish. Dealing with those kind of people have occurred all too often in my professional career, I certainly would not want to deal with that during retirement. Thanks for sharing.


Hope I didn't totally discourage you. Most days owning a park is a great experience. However, remember that it is a business and needs to be run as such. Don't buy a park expecting it to be an extension of your RV vacations. If you are thin skinned and easily offended, an RV park is probably not going to be a good decision. It can be very painful to work for weeks planting trees and shrubs and flowers and have a guest tell you the park would be a better place if someone would get rid of all those trees and bushes and plants. They will tell you that if you didn't waste your time and money on them, you could lower your rates.

 

It is hard to believe how bad some campers can be. I esp like those who make reservations and then complain about the rates-- can't they read??? Where is your park-- I am heading west next year and might be in your area. I promise I'll be asleep at 2 am

 

WesternRVParkOwner, I was hoping that "2" was a typo. Apparently it wasn't, YUK!

 

WesternRVParkOwner, thanks for sharing with us your experiences. Its a sad state of affairs for sure. And I have seen a lot of rv parks close over the years and its not always the owners fault. Rude and crude people have caused more than one to say to heck with this. I hope you will hang in there for us who will be continuing to travel over the next 20 years.

 

Thanks for your perspective. Honestly, I can't see how most of the campground owners put up with the rudeness and such some campers put them through.

I still can't get over those campers who blame the owners when their vacation is ruined by bad weather and some actually want a refund???? Too funny!

 

My wife and I always wanted to own a campground. Maybe someday we will, so every RV park/campground we go to we treat it like we would want someone to treat our own. Its like going over someones house and being disrespectful, I just wouldn't do it. Treat it like it was your own!!!

 

QUOTE(RL36 @ Sep 14 2008, 01:46 PM) [snapback]13184[/snapback]

My wife and I always wanted to own a campground. Maybe someday we will, so every RV park/campground we go to we treat it like we would want someone to treat our own. Its like going over someones house and being disrespectful, I just wouldn't do it. Treat it like it was your own!!!



From a campground owner: And that is what every campground/rv park owner wishes their customers would do. Some do, some don't and it is the ones that don't that we rant about.

I have often said that when people go on vacation, they leave their brains at home. They don't just disrespect our property, but those of other businesses as well. Think about the waitress in a restaurant that has to put up with those kids that run rampant on your campground, and the only tip left - if one is left at all - is a couple of bucks which she has to share with the buser and who knows who else. (Just an example).

We had to get rid of tent sites because those are the people causing the most damage to the park and restrooms. We figured 85% of the time it took us to pick up our park was spent at the tent sites - and we only had 10. We have 85 RV sites.

I am glad to know that we are not the only owners in the boat with problem customers.

Thanks for listening.

 

You should really have this printed up on a sign and post it at the entrance to your campground!! I'm so sorry you have to deal with the occasional idiots. I have seen many reviews slamming campgrounds for ridiculous reasons. We go to a state park in South Carolina that is FULL of raccoons and deer. When I was there last time, people were complaining about the raccoons getting into their food and taking it all. Well, maybe they should have paid more attention to all the signs warning them that all food must be LOCKED up. Closing the lid on your cooler left outside hardly compares to "locked up".

 

When I made my list, I somehow forgot my favorite. Guests who ask for a shady site and then complain they cannot get a satellite signal. Now we have both shady and open sites, so it is not an issue of a satellite friendly site not being available, it is as if they do not know that trees can block satellite signals. Some people act like it is my fault, if I had planned better I would have raised satellite transparent trees. As we say here at the campground, Everyone wants in the forest, but nobody wants any trees!.

 

Hello weternparkowner,

Glad to have you on this forum; from my perspective as a fellow park owner, your posts have all been right on target. I have witnessed everything you have described and some worse.
The challenge for all of us in order to maintain our sanity is to not let the crude, the rude, and the ugly behavior of the 2% affect our attitude toward the 98% who are some of the finest people in the world. Keep smiling and keep your informed posts coming.

Doug