We have really great customers for the most part, so it's not easy to find something to complain about. But we had a customer a few days ago who left a polite note that they were leaving because we did not have cable hookups and therefore didn't have "Full Hook Ups" as advertised. I was under the impression that Full Hook Ups meant Water/Sewer/Power which we have at all of our sites. We also are in an area where satellite reception and over the air channels are available. In addition to that we recently upgraded our wifi. We haven't seen a need or demand for cable and we are always upfront about the available options here. I'm just a little confused/irritated that someone would think we are misleading them because our ads say we are Full Hook Up. I'm done venting now, thanks for listening .
I have the same impression as you, but I think others can expect much more. Water, sewer, and power is what I expect for full hookups. We rarely watch the TV ourselves, but are interested in the WiFi, We both now have tablets with phone internet service now. I think this is becoming much more common.
I agree, I've never expected "Full Hookup" to mean anything other than water/sewer/electric. Cable and WiFi have always been extra amenities.
Maybe this was a younger person who never got to experience the olden days when there was no cable or wifi, and so full hook-up meant only E/W/S. If all he has ever known are campsites with cable and wifi, he may think they must be available to be considered a FHU site.
WES is what has been my expectations for full hookups. My interest for cable has declined over the years, the only time I seem to enjoy cable is when my favorite teams are playing. Mike
Power, Water and Sewer has always meant full hookups to me too. Last time out I hooked up the Cable simply because it is routine when available but the TV was never turned on. Now that many places require you to add a decoder (ugly box) it's just too much of a problem. I too would much rather a strong WiFi signal. Darrell
We try to have a private campsite as much as possible, however one time we were parked next to a big rig. This guy had a mountain of firewood which apparently was green wood. This man started a smoky fire right next to the front of our rig and it was drifting our way. We could not sit out or be out at all. The fact that I am allergic to smoke only made it worse as our site became terribly smoky without any wind to blow it away. This man started the fire and went inside his rig. No one was out w the smoke. We finally could not take it as it was smoking up our rig and so we approached this man and asked politely if he would either put out the smokey fire or get it to be a real fire as it was disturbing us. I also mentioned I was allergic. Well this guy stated he paid for the spot and he will keep his smoky fire going as long as he wants and if we don't like it we should go inside and turn on the air conditioner. We tried again to reason with him but to no avail. We went to the office and explained the problem. They were not interested. We left the next morning and will not return. We feel the staff should have resolved this problem. What has happened to being considerate of your neighbor ? How would you handle this problem at your campground? What can we do the next time someone interferes with our camp.
I sympathize for what you have gone through, green fire wood is a pet peeve for me. With the Asian longhorned beetle problem here in the north east and the fire wood transportation restrictions that go with it, campgrounds and campers need to be more aware of selling/burning DRY fire wood. That said I'm guessing the campground wouldn't offer another site for you?? some times it's a tough call for a campground to ask some one to put out a fire because of to much smoke, who's to judge on how much smoke is to much. especially if your camping neighbor is staying with in the campground rules. Mike
We don't care for smoke either, and it was very inconsiderate of your neighbor to have a fire so close to your RV and then go off and leave it. However, if we stay at a campground that allows fires, I do not feel like I have the right complain. The people who have fires are only doing something that they enjoy and that is allowed. It would be like taking kids to a place that has lots of activates for them and then having your neighbor complain because the RV next to them has kids. Kids are noisy; fires are smoky, so if you really want to avoid something you do not like, you may just need to stay at parks that do not allow those things.
We enjoy campfires....I do mean FIRES not smoke...there is a huge difference. As we belong to a large club we camp a great deal. Every rally has a big campfire which we all sit around and enjoy! I did say campfire not camp smoke. Everyone should be considerate of their neighbors in every aspect, dogs barking, noise, smoke, etc.We all pay for our camping and expect to have a fun time w/o nuisance invasion.. Lets all enjoy the beauty of the parks we camp in and leave our sites cleaner than when we arrived.
As new managers of a park in Arizona that we have been coming to for a few years now, I have a question I would like help with. We close the office at 6pm and open at 8:30am. As customers and now managers at this park we have seen people come in long after hours and go self park even tho we have signs that say "No self parking". How do you all handle these type of people who don't care about the rules?
I have a sign on the office door that states that everyone must check in BEFORE parking at any hour and a phone number is there for them to call and an outside phone for them to use. We also leave one light on in the office as well as the outside porch light on. We have had a couple of people that don't bother to check the office at all and, since I'm close to the office and hear them go by, I will go down and ask them if there was a problem checking in. Our hours are 10 AM to 7 PM and many will leave before that without even trying to pay. I have caught a few that claimed that the owner told them just to park and pay later. Funny thing is, the owner they are talking about by name, hasn't been around here for 7 years and died 2 years ago.
As somebody who has done this myself sometimes, put yourself in their position. Late at night and hard to turn around and it is late. You see a sign that says closed. You are tired and don't want to get back on the highway. Plenty of empty spots. I have left a note and said I am in site number 16 and see you in the morning. If that doesn't work for you, have you phone number displayed and be ready to answer it right away. Even if you have the 6 PM no checkins displayed on all your advertising, people frequently won't see it. I have seen signs telling people to find a spot and see me in the morning. we were in the lodging business for 10 years and had this happen many of times. I always loved the extra money. Remember when dealing with the public, you are the one who has to be flexible. Since you are manager instead of owner, discuss with him. If I was the owner, I would be glad to give you something extra for each one. In this era of online reviews, customer service is key. Several good or poor reviews can cost you a lot of money.
Bluebird Bob: The answer is probably expensive but I see it work at the Texas park we Winter at. A Self-Park overflow. Our Winter home has numeric pad controlled gates. You know, when you lean way out the window and wish your fingers were longer. At 7:00pm the gates are closed. There are lit signs directing late arrivals to the overflow section which is really just a big turn-around with power pedestals only. You encounter the overflow parking before you are stuck at the downed gate. That way motor homes aren't unhooking their tow to turn back.
I think necessity drives the "rules breakers" and frankly as a camper (not an owner) I routinely arrive after 6 PM especially if the park is the destination for several days. I will push hard on the travel day so that even if I arrive later, I can wake up in the park. While I would not ever consider arriving after 9 or 10 PM (usually quiet hours) I wouldn't think twice about pulling in at 8 PM. Typically I have found that if I have a reservation and arrive after the office closes they have left a note to go ahead and park (or I will leave a note that I have...). It's important to consider who your clients are. Those still working often leave after work or late afternoon to hit the road and will arrive after dinner but they are still customers and if you can find a way to make accommodations for them they will feel more welcome and more inclined to return year after year.
We were at a park recently where the office closed at ~6pm but RVs could be brought onto sites as late as 9pm. Both times were clearly posted. That was a nice compromise to accommodate people who arrive late without subjecting others to late at night noise. Even though people like Janet are polite and wouldn't come in late, that's not true of everyone. Having a rule like this is easy to enforce if there is a gated entrance since the gate can be set so that after the "quiet time" only guests with registered gate codes can enter.
Some people come in late intentionally and slip out early to avoid paying. I know there are not that many but some do. Any time we went to a park after hours we stopped at the office to look for a sign to see if we could register and deposit cash in a drop box, if they wanted us to park and they would collect the next day or if you were to call to get someone to check you in at any hour. I would never just assume that we could self park since most parks will have signs giving instructions on what to do late at night.
