A while back I wrote a poor review of a park where the host lied to us about the 50A power being out and how we watched the town's police force invade the park to arrest one of the long-term occupants. Amazingly (with sarcasm), three new reviews appeared within a day or so; all were very complimentary with good ratings. The giveaway is that the first reviewer had zero previous reviews, the second one, and the third, two. These follow my review, which was my 250th or so. The park is the Friendly RV Park in Weed, CA. I realize that the editors have no way to confirm this practice, but it shows how prudent it is to read previous reviews and the experience of the reviewer.
Not withstanding the fact my expectations would be at an all-time low if I actually had to stay in a town called "Weed", what happened could have very benign explanations. It surely is possible that the 50 amp sites were out the day you were there. An electrician could have repaired them when you were not looking, at night, or perhaps the problem was not at the pedestals, but rather at a junction box or main breaker somewhere out of view. There would be no reason for them to deny you a 50 amp spot and then give them to others the next day. It may also be that those spots you were denied were previously reserved by those occupants before you either made a reservation or drove in looking for a site, and hence were unavailable for your stay. This seems the likely explanation since the sites were occupied while you were there. As for the police, who knows why they were at the park. It is quite likely it had nothing to do with the park, and the persons involved might have been the best park guests ever and only criminal when they were robbing banks or whatever. As for all the recent reviews, maybe the happy residents of the park asked what happened with the police and the power and the park owner explained the activities and then mentioned that someone posted a bad review. Then those happy residents took it upon themselves to post reviews that matched their experiences. And in all honesty, your review appears to be the one that is out of step with all the other reviews for the park. Reviews that were posted both before and after your bad review.
QUOTE(kcmoedoe @ Jun 15 2014, 02:41 PM) [snapback]36955[/snapback] Not withstanding the fact my expectations would be at an all-time low if I actually had to stay in a town called "Weed",... We visit Weed about once a year. My favorite feature in the town is the signage on the side of the bakery truck: Weed Bakery It's a Town, Not an Ingredient
If you where promised a 50A site...and didn't get it at check in ?? Why did you not just move on to another campground ?? Maybe the 3 favorable reviews where submitted by the long term occupants..... who where smoking weed ??
QUOTE(tiffinman @ Jun 15 2014, 04:33 PM) [snapback]36958[/snapback] Maybe the 3 favorable reviews where submitted by the long term occupants..... who were smoking weed ?? I sure wish I had thought of that! You are the man, Tiffin!
kcmoedoe, Wow - talk about looking for the silver lining....what happened was that we called and RESERVED a full hookup, pull-thru, 50A site. We ALWAYS ask for 50A since we have a 40' MH with W/D, DW, Fireplace, and residential refer. The host acknowledged our reservation, then escorted us to a site and left. When I went to plug in, I realized that the 50A plug had been removed and a cover placed over it. When I questioned the host, he replied "all of the 50A wiring is burned out". I told him I saw other sites with 50A plugs uncovered, he restated "sorry, all the wiring is burned out". A few hours later I watched as three motor homes pulled in, plugged into the 50A, and had no problem. And I asked them. I would have confronted the host after that, but once the police arrived, he and the rest of the residents formed a chain-smoking group of gossiping observers that I wasn't interested in approaching. Oh sure, the whole thing could have been a misunderstanding and after my review the park residents rallied around the owner with new enthusiasm since they'd never had a review before. But if you believe that you probably believe in the tooth fairy. Are you serious? Or do you just enjoy being contentious in defiance of the truth?
QUOTE(Meanderman @ Jun 15 2014, 09:07 PM) [snapback]36963[/snapback] kcmoedoe, Wow - talk about looking for the silver lining....what happened was that we called and RESERVED a full hookup, pull-thru, 50A site. We ALWAYS ask for 50A since we have a 40' MH with W/D, DW, Fireplace, and residential refer. The host acknowledged our reservation, then escorted us to a site and left. When I went to plug in, I realized that the 50A plug had been removed and a cover placed over it. When I questioned the host, he replied "all of the 50A wiring is burned out". I told him I saw other sites with 50A plugs uncovered, he restated "sorry, all the wiring is burned out". A few hours later I watched as three motor homes pulled in, plugged into the 50A, and had no problem. And I asked them. I would have confronted the host after that, but once the police arrived, he and the rest of the residents formed a chain-smoking group of gossiping observers that I wasn't interested in approaching. Oh sure, the whole thing could have been a misunderstanding and after my review the park residents rallied around the owner with new enthusiasm since they'd never had a review before. But if you believe that you probably believe in the tooth fairy. Are you serious? Or do you just enjoy being contentious in defiance of the truth? I wasn't questioning the accuracy of your review, though you have now added a lot of details that weren't given in the review. In the review you simply stated they said the 50 amp was not working. Given that limited information, it would be reasonable to assume it got fixed. With the added information you just provided it does appear they placed you in a site without a working 50 amp service yet did have other working sites in the park. Did they overbook their 50 amp sites, it sure appears so. For that, they deserve a bad review, but that doesn't mean they do it with every reservation they take. They may have, in fact, just plain overbooked the 50 amp sites and were too chicken#$@% to just plain admit it. I will still stick with my opinion that the police activity probably has nothing to do with the park and is most likely an experience others will never have. As for the posts that praised the park, I again will point out your review is the ONLY truly negative review for the park, and it has dozens of reviews, made both before and after your review. If a park gets good reviews before a bad review was posted and good reviews after a bad review was posted and doesn't have a large number of bad reviews most people, me included, just disregard that bad review. And yes, some people will post a review, even if they ordinarily don't, to either drive home a negative experience (how many bad reviews do we see here with only one or two other reviews ever posted by that reviewer) or right a perceived wrong, which could easily be the case with the reviews posted shortly after yours appeared.
I still don't understand why you would stay if they booked you a 50A site...they didn't provide it... then lied about it. When I check in I TRY to have the park host or someone show me my site before I pay.....I check for level....water pressure....and full electric. It's an inconvenience for the park......but if everyone did it then maybe they wouldn't try to pull the wool over your eyes. If they insist you pay first ....it puts me on guard. What I have done a number of times if they refuse to show me the site before I pay was to just use my deposit ( if it was required ) pay for one night....then decide if I want to stay after that. Also if they lied about the site accommodations maybe tell them you will need to run your generator all night.... bet that would help. Remember there is ALWAYS another C/G down the road.
