Campground Tales (original) (raw)

I just thought I'd kick-start the comm with a little post about some classics scenarios that occur at the campground. Now, if you know anything about working in a tourist area, you'll know that you can get some annoying people

all the time

every now and then and there can be some really stupid questions asked. Here are just a few examples of what I like to call The Classics.

**Note: This campground is located in Canada and is very close to the US/Canadian border, so many of our campers are American tourists.**

Scenario 1: The Currency Issue

Me: *rings up items* Your total comes to ___ dollars.
Tourist: Is that in American dollars?
Me: *pause* No, Canadian dollars. (We are in Canada)
Tourist: But what's it in American?
Me: Okay, well with the 10% exchange rate it will come to ___ US dollars.
Tourist: What??
Me: ..... O_o'

Scenario 2: The Exchange Rate Issue

Me: Okay, your total comes to ___ dollars.
Tourist: What's that in American?
Me: *calculates it with a 10% exchange rate* It'll be ___ US dollars.
Tourist: WHAT! ARE YOU TRYING TO RIP ME OFF??!!!
Me: Uh... no. 10% is pretty good right now, a lot of places do it at par or they only give back Canadian change. We give back American change and give a fairly decent exchange rate.
Tourist: You know what. Nevermind! I don't want it anymore if you're going to rip me off so badly!
Me: Okay..... *in my head: seriously???*

Scenario 3: The 'How Do We Get There' Issue

Me: *on the phone* Hello. [insert campground name here]
Tourist: Hi this is Mr. Smith here. We're checking in later today, but we need some directions. We're just at home now, how do we get to you?
Me: ....Ummm...Where are you?
Tourist: In Buffalo.
Me: Umm. I can't really give you directions in the States because I'm not familiar with the roads. But if you go on Google Maps, I can give you our address and you can go from there.
Tourist: You can't give me directions to your own place??
Me: Well, I can give you directions once you reach one of the border crossings, but I live in Canada, so I'm not familiar with all the US roads.
Tourist: *muttering* Okay, fine. What's the address of your place then?

Thanks to cheeves who reminded me of these:

Scenario 4: The Lost Tourist (Part 1)

Tourist: *on the phone* Hi, I just crossed into Canada and I don't know where to go.
Me: Okay, which border did you cross?
Tourist: The one into Canada.
Me: Alright, do you know which border you went through? There are three in our area.
Tourist: The one that goes from the US into Canada.
Me: Alright, did you enter Canada through the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge, the Rainbow Bridge or the Peace Bridge?
This usually ends in one of three ways:
1. Tourist: I'm in Detroit now. (which, btw is NO WHERE near us.)
2. Tourist: *says one of the three listed, then I give directions*
3. Tourist: I don't know. (Possibly the most annoying answer ever)

Scenario 5: The Lost Tourist (Part 2)

Tourist: *over the phone* I just got off the highway and I'm lost.
Me: Alright, let me see if I can help you. What exit did you get off?
Tourist: One that said Niagara Falls. I'm driving down a street, there are some stores on the left and a Tim Hortons
Me: ..... O_o' (note: there are Tim Hortons on almost every street corner)

That's all we have for now. Until next time... Happy camping!