The Value of a Friendly Staff

C-Bears - besides check in, how much interaction do you have with this person? Dos she do things that make your stay less enjoyable, or once past check in, are you able to enjoy your stay otherwise?

If this person managed a different CG than your Home Base that you otherwise enjoy, would she stop you from going there?

We spend a majority of the year traveling. Generally we will visit 15 to 20 campgrounds, most of which we have never been at before. I estimate that 90% of those CG's have a friendly helpful staff. There are a few that seem indifferent and not that friendly, then once and awhile we run into a CG clerk that is downright rude.

At some point during the summer we return to our "home base" campground to spend 2 to 3 months visiting kids and grandkids. This "home base" campground is managed by the rudest person that we deal with all year! She has never been an RVer, loves to be "in charge", and never has a kind word to say to anyone.

Due to the location and price of this campground we continue to put up with her, just like other campers there do.

Based on our limited experience, it seems that other RVers working as camp hosts make the best people to have working your front desk at the CG. They are generally more friendly, obviously understand your needs, and never seem to be in a bad mood.

Note to Moderator: this post is NOT the same as my previous one in V 2.0

I dont know why this post was closed and then the V 2.0 I started was closed and then this one re-opened. It seemed to me it was just actually getting to the heart of the topic. I also dont think this post was "too personal" Considering WRVPO's choice of handle and his often provocative customer service views.

WRVPO has his view and his view of things went right to the heart of the matter under discussion. His business philosophy was what was in question. Not him personally.

And this is a topic of great interest to so many as we all use these parks at one time or another. I think it is also good for WRVPO to hear what his potential customer base thinks. Whether he heeds that or not is up to him.

But as a representative of the RV Park side of things on this forum and by choosing his "handle" as "Western RV Park Owner" he has really set himself up for spirited discussions and should expect some flack now and then. If he didnt want this he would have chosen a different name.

As for customer service: The VERY FIRST WORD out of a staff or owners mouth when confronted by a customer complaint/problem or issue MUST be "I am Sorry". No excuses. No reciting of Policy. Then they should say: What can I do to make it better? Or if necessary explain politely to the customer why the problem is out of your control to fix if that is the case.

Additionally being a smart customer service person...you will LISTEN...your customers can often teach you alot. And it gives them a chance to vent their frustration which in some cases is all they need. When followed by an immediate apology they, in many cases in my experience, are satisfied and will be happier and feel that you have actually "done something about their problem" when in fact all you did was listen.

Further it doesn't matter what attitude your customer has when they stand in front of you. It is still your job to treat them with respect, civility and try your best to make their day a little better. They may be stressed out, tired, angry at GSRSA for not showing up for fourteen hours whatever. Why take it personally?

However I have no tolerance for a customer that is abusive, uses foul language or has lost control of their temper. But these are extreme cases and dont happen very often. Grumpy, tired, short, or just impolite is not enough to excuse bad service.

Do people read this forum? If just half of the rant posts are true and the flamers on here act the same way in real life, then I can see westernrvparkowner's point.

I do agree that staff should not be unfriendly - I have enjoyed talking to CG hosts and it is nice to have friendly staff in the camp store/ranger station to answer questions, rent canoes, but you can see that even the friendliest staff person can be drained by those customers who think they are king/queen of the CG and the the staff's sole purpose is to serve every whim with a smile and without question.

It goes both ways. Westernrvparkowner to me sounds like a guy who has experienced this baloney and doesn't put up with it. Personally, I have never experienced a rule or fee which I could not see the point of - or see that the origin was due to curb a bad behavior. You can complain about fees, but you also can find a CG that fits your budget. I have experienced people who don't think the rules apply to them and their attitudes when told otherwise. With a smile of course.

I do agree with the OP who said that is is refreshing to have a friendly person upon check in after a long trip.

BTW, all the state parks I have visited in Florida have excellent customer service!

Gene&Ginny wrote:
Interesting thread. It seems to me that the campgrounds I have been to that have friendly and helpfull staff at checkin are also the ones that are also clean and well run. Maybe that cheerfull attitude at the front desk rubs off on the campers who in return respect the property. I can think of 2 camprgounds that I go to that have very nice, cheerfull, and helfull staff and they also have the cleanest restrooms, clean and well graded sites and utilities that ALWAYS work. I do recall one campground with a grumpy owner at the front desk that also had the worst sites I have ever encountered.

I think staff/owners' attitudes towards campers show in how they treat them at the front desk AND in how well they maintain the campground.

The only time I've seen a difference is when the very nice young lady at the desk was an employee, not a decision maker for the inhospitable cg.

Interesting thread. It seems to me that the campgrounds I have been to that have friendly and helpfull staff at checkin are also the ones that are also clean and well run. Maybe that cheerfull attitude at the front desk rubs off on the campers who in return respect the property. I can think of 2 camprgounds that I go to that have very nice, cheerfull, and helfull staff and they also have the cleanest restrooms, clean and well graded sites and utilities that ALWAYS work. I do recall one campground with a grumpy owner at the front desk that also had the worst sites I have ever encountered.

westernrvparkowner wrote:
Doubt that a smile and a hearty "we are so sorry" will make you feel any better about a snowy Cable TV connection, dirty bathrooms and showers, low voltage or an unlevel site full of weeds, cockleburrs and dead grass.

Sure they will, if the apology is genuine, and there is some explanation.

95% of the people in a park have one interaction with the staff and that is when they check in. If there was a way to automate that check in, like an ATM or the self service line at the grocery store those 95% would happily avail themselves of that option, they have no inherent need for personal interaction with any staff. The staff is just not an issue to them, any more than your satisfaction with your hotel room is determined by the desk clerk.

This is true IF the staff is ok -- nice, or neutral. If the staff folks are obnoxious, it's a very big deal.

Besides check ins, most interactions guests at parks have concern problems or other issues. For people involved in those interactions, a satisfactory outcome is much more important than attitudes and personalities. Way too often a person's impression of cheerfulness, helpfulness and friendliness is determined by the outcome of issue. Get what you want, everybody is happy, if it doesn't go your way, there aren't smiles all around.

I'm sorry to hear that you have known people who are like this. In my experience they are in the minority.

Internet forums are no fun if they are not personal. Exchanging faceless data is useful, but is not the only reason we hang out here. But the particular kind of personal interaction that feels like an attack -- that's no fun either.

I missed the deleted posts in this thread, so I hope I am not unknowingly saying anything that rubs salt in wounds.

Since we now have 2 threads running on the same subject, I have cleaned this one up and reopened it.

The other thread is closed.

Please, Folks, clear away from personal attacks if you want this one to remain open!



Sandi

This thread has gone off track and getting personal. Its time to close.

westernrvparkowner wrote:

magnusfide wrote:

Shot-N-Az wrote:
You know, I stayed at a CG a couple of weekends ago that I would normally rate pretty low on rvparkreviews.com. However, the people who ran the place were extraordinarily nice, upbeat, and genuinely friendly people. Those people changed my entire outlook on the place.

Double ditto. Cheerful and helpful staff are the best asset a cg can have. No amount of upgraded amenities can make up for surly staff or campground owners.

Doubt that a smile and a hearty "we are so sorry" will make you feel any better about a snowy Cable TV connection, dirty bathrooms and showers, low voltage or an unlevel site full of weeds, cockleburrs and dead grass.

We can stop right there. I was not saying anything to the contrary. Of course the staff's attitude will not overcome that.