Tourist Etiquette

[betenoire]

So for those of you who don't know - my second job (I have two jobs! Ask me how!) is in a reservation centre for a ginormous hotel chain. Anyway. A couple of weeks back I got a call from an American. (I do believe I posted the condensed version a while back, the full thing is funnier)

Me: Thank you for calling ____ reservations. My name is Brandy. How can I help you?
Her: I want to go to Canada.
Me: Great! We have lots of hotels in Canada, where in Canada are you travelling to?
Her: Canada. On Victoria Street.
Me: What city and province is that in?
Her: Victoria Street.
Me: Do you want to go to Victoria in British Columbia?
Her: No. I want to go to Canada.
Me: ....okay. What were you going to Canada for? Was there an attraction you want to be near?
Her: I want to go see the falls.
Me: *lightbulb moment* OH! So you'd like to go to Niagara Falls, Ontario?
Her: No. I want to go to Canada.
Me: Yes, Ma'am. Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario which is in Canada.
Her: No. Niagara Falls is in New York. I want to go to the Horseshoe Falls.
Me: There's also a city called Niagara Falls in Canada, it's right across the border from Niagara Falls in New York. The falls on the Canadian side are shaped like a horseshoe so they got the nickname the "Horseshoe Falls".
Her: Are you sure?
Me: I'm Canadian.
Her: ....well. I guess you'd know.
Me: Yes.

The thing that makes this even worse is that she was from New York state, like Buffalo area or Rochester I think it was. So she should have fucking KNOWN that stuff.

[EnderD_503]

Originally Posted by betenoire

So for those of you who don't know - my second job (I have two jobs! Ask me how!) is in a reservation centre for a ginormous hotel chain. Anyway. A couple of weeks back I got a call from an American. (I do believe I posted the condensed version a while back, the full thing is funnier)

Me: Thank you for calling ____ reservations. My name is Brandy. How can I help you?
Her: I want to go to Canada.
Me: Great! We have lots of hotels in Canada, where in Canada are you travelling to?
Her: Canada. On Victoria Street.
Me: What city and province is that in?
Her: Victoria Street.
Me: Do you want to go to Victoria in British Columbia?
Her: No. I want to go to Canada.
Me: ....okay. What were you going to Canada for? Was there an attraction you want to be near?
Her: I want to go see the falls.
Me: *lightbulb moment* OH! So you'd like to go to Niagara Falls, Ontario?
Her: No. I want to go to Canada.
Me: Yes, Ma'am. Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario which is in Canada.
Her: No. Niagara Falls is in New York. I want to go to the Horseshoe Falls.
Me: There's also a city called Niagara Falls in Canada, it's right across the border from Niagara Falls in New York. The falls on the Canadian side are shaped like a horseshoe so they got the nickname the "Horseshoe Falls".
Her: Are you sure?
Me: I'm Canadian.
Her: ....well. I guess you'd know.
Me: Yes.

The thing that makes this even worse is that she was from New York state, like Buffalo area or Rochester I think it was. So she should have fucking KNOWN that stuff.

Lmao! I was expecting her to be a prank caller or something. But she was actually serious? God, that's sad.

"So you'd like to go to Niagara Falls, Ontario?" "No. I want to go to Canada."

Priceless!

[betenoire]

Originally Posted by EnderD_503

Lmao! I was expecting her to be a prank caller or something. But she was actually serious? God, that's sad.

"So you'd like to go to Niagara Falls, Ontario?" "No. I want to go to Canada."

Priceless!

Not a prank caller, either! She seriously booked a hotel room, I couldn't believe it.

Oh, and about that particular hotel I frequently get this question from people: "Now, that fallsview room...will I be able to see the falls from it"?

I always want to say "fallsview is our secret codeword for crack alley."

God. of COURSE you can see the falls from the "fallsview" room. Lordamercy.

[Kobi]

Originally Posted by betenoire

Not a prank caller, either! She seriously booked a hotel room, I couldn't believe it.

Oh, and about that particular hotel I frequently get this question from people: "Now, that fallsview room...will I be able to see the falls from it"?

I always want to say "fallsview is our secret codeword for crack alley."

God. of COURSE you can see the falls from the "fallsview" room. Lordamercy.

This one I can actually sympathize with. Tourism is about marketing.
We have ocean view rooms which are self explanatory. And we have water front rooms. This can mean it overlooks a pond, a stream, a pool, a flooded parking lot, a poorly functioning septic......always something to clarify!

[Camo Eagle]

OMG some of your posts had me LMAO.

I live in a suburb of San Antonio. SA gets prolly 1/2 of its income from tourism as well. Oh my dont get me started. LOL My fav is when Im asked where are all the horses & cowboys.

Just today I was walking behind a grp of tourists. As we walked along 4 or 5 of the grp of 12 were constantly throwing trash on ground. They were all eating and drinking, and the empty wrappers/cans just got tossed by some of them.

One of the older adult men was commenting on how dirty out city was, trash on street, etc. He went on to make a nasty crack about the slogan "Dont mess with Tx", at the same time that he threw his taco wrapper & can on the ground.
This was on a Military Post no less. The only reason there was trash laying around was bc an event was just finishing up, and jackasses like him left the trash.

Later all the poor little trainees & Privates will have to come out there and pick it all up.

[TickledPink]

Nashville is small and we get lots of tourists wanting to experience the "Country Music Scene."

So, all I gotta' say is I invented my own bumper sticker:

"Welcome to Nashville! Now go home!"

[LaneyDoll]

Originally Posted by TickledPink

So, all I gotta' say is I invented my own bumper sticker:

"Welcome to Nashville! Now go home!"

I have a friend in Illinois who is always sending me "redneck jokes" about the South. I always reply the same way "We don't mind those jokes, although they are lies. We will gladly suffer the stereotype to keep y'all out of here-anything to protect the beauty and serenity of our world."

[Peach]

Originally Posted by TickledPink

Nashville is small and we get lots of tourists wanting to experience the "Country Music Scene."

So, all I gotta' say is I invented my own bumper sticker:

"Welcome to Nashville! Now go home!"

I grew up on a small island in Canada, a very popular tourist destination. i worked in the local hotel bar, and we had tshirts made that on the front said WELCOME TO SALTSPRING ISLAND!

on the back, it said, NOW GO HOME.


I hated tourist season there, and I have to say, ignorant tourists are not limited to one country, its global! We dont have chain restaurants there, no golden arches etc......I was enjoying a quiet solitary walk one day, minivan loaded with kids, parents, barking dogs, and what was probably the entire contents of their house pulled up, music blaring, dogs barking like mad, and kids screaming, "hey, look, there is a local, you can tell, look at her shoes....hey you, come'ere, yeah, you...hippy girl............where is the closest McD's, well, if you turn around and take that ferry, drive 5 miles you will find one......yeah sure, liar, where is the one here on this rock. Well, fine, just joking, drive up this road, turn right at the next one, and follow it til you come to the Golden Arches, cant miss em

said road went up the mountain to the fire station lookout, 10 miles of potholes, washboard, unpaved road, so narrow even a VW bug might not clear the brush on either side of it. Dont know if they ever came out!!

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by hpychick

Gemme -

I say, by the time most people are comfortable [enough] with their bodies [to stroll naked publicly] no one else is.

Riiiight?

Actually, I was specifically referring to the emaciated bleached Barbie dolls and the famous beer-bellied-hairy-backed-hicks (a very special and famous breed of homo sapien in DB). The rest I was fine with.

Keep in mind, I wasn't talking about the beaches. Those folks were over on A1A and out of my way. This was strictly race week tourists I was commenting on earlier.

[Kobi]

People often think I am kidding or exaggerating when I mention how
seriously we take our ducks/ducklings here.

Check out this story:

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pb...WS11/110529727

[Hack]

I grew up in northern Michigan, in the heart of the tourist trap area, about an hour south of Mackinaw City, Mackinac Island, etc. We call tourists in that part of the state "fudgies" because they are all toting bags of fudge from the fudge shops that abound in that part of the state. A lot of my friends in college worked on Mackinac Island, where no cars are allowed. You get around by foot, bike or horse-drawn carriages. I remember they all loved the first two weeks on the island, but by the end of the first month, they all called it "Mack-atraz." We could always pick out tourists from "downstate," aka the greater Detroit area. One of my favorite encounters was once when my dad and I were driving somewhere, and we got stuck behind some guy towing his huge boat. That was fine, except he didn't raise the boat motor before he left, and his propellor was hitting the asphalt and throwing sparks as we drove north on US-23. Gotta be from Detroit, my dad said. When we got close enough while passing him, we could read the boat's name and port location on the back. Grosse Pointe (high-rent area of southeast MI). Sure enough.

That said, Michigan is a beautiful place to visit anytime of year. Check it out:

[LaneyDoll]

Originally Posted by Camo Eagle

Just today I was walking behind a grp of tourists. As we walked along 4 or 5 of the grp of 12 were constantly throwing trash on ground. They were all eating and drinking, and the empty wrappers/cans just got tossed by some of them.

OMG, I cannot stand to see people throw trash on the ground-I don't care where you are. Put it in a trash can, or carry it until you find one.

[Melissa]

Originally Posted by Camo Eagle

OMG some of your posts had me LMAO.

I live in a suburb of San Antonio. SA gets prolly 1/2 of its income from tourism as well. Oh my dont get me started. LOL My fav is when Im asked where are all the horses & cowboys.

Just today I was walking behind a grp of tourists. As we walked along 4 or 5 of the grp of 12 were constantly throwing trash on ground. They were all eating and drinking, and the empty wrappers/cans just got tossed by some of them.

One of the older adult men was commenting on how dirty out city was, trash on street, etc. He went on to make a nasty crack about the slogan "Dont mess with Tx", at the same time that he threw his taco wrapper & can on the ground.
This was on a Military Post no less. The only reason there was trash laying around was bc an event was just finishing up, and jackasses like him left the trash.

Later all the poor little trainees & Privates will have to come out there and pick it all up.

We live in Corpus Christi and I get really frustrated with the amount of trash that beachgoers leave on the beaches and in the parking lots. I don't know if they are tourists or locals and don't care. The city does just about everything but put their trash in the trash can for them: they give out recyclable bags, put out extra trash cans during busy weekends like Memorial weekend, all along the beach every few feet, even put out large dumpsters on the busiest beaches. Yet still, despite all this, people leave fast food bags and wrappers and balled up dirty diapers on the beach and in the parking lots. They make zero attempt to walk over to a trash can and throw it away. Me and Rufus walked over to the beach last week and I spotted multiple wrappers, bags and two dirty diapers. There are constant letters in the paper begging people to pick there trash up. I don't get it! Every Monday morning I watch the city come to the beach across form us and two city trucks spend half the day cleaning the beach and the parking lot after the weekend.

M

[Gemme]

The sad truth is that most people are egocentric little twits and whenever they go anywhere, it's just another opportunity to express that, especially for those who may feel they are not treated as well as they should be at home and, thus, take it out on the folks working at the destination location.