Another negative recommendation of an RV Park

[Medico]

This is the first time I have ever left a negative comment about a park, but I felt I had to about this park. I am refering to Ramblin Pines in Woodbine, Md. This is our second week long stay at this park. The park itself is basically OK, although pricey in my opinion for what it is. They do not offer discounts for weekly stays either. I had my daughter, 2 year old granddaughter and sister-in-law and brother-in-law visit from 3 PM to 7 PM yesterday. The park charged them $5 PER PERSON for a 4 hour visit. When I complained about it there response is that is the policy. (The policy states $5 for visitors. It DOES NOT specify $5 EACH). I then stated I was a bi-annual weekly camper and would not be back. Their response "Oh well!"

I cannot recommend this park. On my next visit I will be looking elsewhere. When I said I was going to post my negative comments to the various forums I am a member of their response was again "Oh well!"

The guest service demonstrated by the staff at this park and by the rules of this park was sorely lacking. I worked in guest services for several years and indeed taught our companies guest service program to ALL employees. This was an example of the exact opposite of what we taught and is an example of very poor guest service.

[kcmoedoe]

JamesBr wrote:
The "oh well" comes from the fact that there are next to no other options if you want a campground that is not 40+ minutes away from the Western suburbs of Baltimore. There are not many options for campgrounds until you get well outside the Baltimore-Washington Corridor.

The per visitor charges I notice usually becomes a policy to discourage those that use to get a site, claim 2 people at the site and have 10 guests show up and stay the entire visit. It stinks, but these are places of business and need to cover the cost of doing business or they will no longer exist.

The issue and you can read them all here is "why do I have to pay for this?" You have the lone traveler, the couple with no kids or pets, and then you have the other side of the spectrum of multiple dogs, or a large family and possibly a pet.

So where do you set the price for your campground? Do you shoot for the middle and hope you get more smaller groups then larger so you can stay out of the red? Do you charge the full cost of a maxed out campsite to everyone? Do you offer the lowest rate possible for the 2 person or less site, and have add ons for everything else? No matter what they choose, someone will not like it and think there should be a discount.

So true. That "Oh Well" probably stems from the fact the issue the guy had was a core business decision the park made. They aren't going to change it and more than if you went into McDonalds as a dedicated Vegan and told them you were never going to return if they didn't stop selling burgers made with meat. I am sure that park isn't going to change their entire pricing structure just because some guy doesn't want to pay the going rate for his guests. Not all customers are created the same. There are many businesses that believe the best approach to customer service is to bend over backwards for the top 25% of your customers, try and earn the business of the next 50% so that they become one of your top 25% and cull out the bottom 25% because that is where all your expense and trouble comes from.

[wilcamp]

We also have been to Whispering Pines. First visit with my parents in their TT, my DW, 2 sons, and I in our PuP, and brother, SIL, and two nephews visiting (Grandpa paid the fees). Another visit was an overnighter to break up our trip home from Chincoteague...didn't even unhook...no pets, no visitors, no issues. Thought this would be our go-to CG to visit brother's family, and as a mid-point for trips to Chincoteage/Assoteague. The next year, we called for reservations before leaving home, and were GRILLED about the breeds of the two dogs we were bringing with us. Our dogs are mixed breeds, and in our humble opinion calm and pleasant. They wanted to know what the breed mix was. We were told that if the larger dog, what we consider a huskey-mix, looked at all like a German Shepherd we would not be permitted to stay, due to their "dangerous breed" exclusion policy. My response was that if our vet couldn't tell for sure, how could one of their high school/college student employees at check-in have the supreme knowledge, or right, to label her as a "dangerous" dog, based only on visual inspection? Why should we risk the reservation deposit, only to possibly turned away at the gate, leaving us with no overnight accommodations?

This happened about 4-5 years ago, Whispering Pines have been on our boycot list since, and was given an unfavorable report on rvparkreviews.com. When I informed them that we would never again consider giving them our business, I got a similar "Oh well" response. My brother later explained to me that the management was rumored to be catering to the seasonal campers, and knew they had something of a monopoly in being one of the few CGs located so close the I-70 interstate exits and the Baltimore area. Evidently they really don't care about individual boycots from those who are offended by their policies.

[Drbolasky]

Medico wrote:

When I said I was going to post my negative comments to the various forums I am a member of their response was again "Oh well!"

This has turned out to be a most thought-provoking thread. Just to be clear, I spent nearly 12 years (PT/FT) in an over-the-counter retail establishment and understand full well what customer service is about. Methinks, however, the shoe would be on the other foot if the OP were the CG operator. All CG's have fixed costs and any discounts the CG owner grants to a customer need to be made up somewhere. That "somewhere" is the the pockets of the rest of us. Read "Action Line" in TL magazine; time and again you'll see that a manufacturer will cover a repair or replacement as a gesture of good will. That "gesture of good will" to keep some customers happy is passed on to the rest of us, period.

I'm not excusing the response of the CG staff. If any on this Forum have ever tried to book a site at most CG's in the Northeast during the summer months you know demand clearly outstrips supply. I have no doubt the CG will fill the vacancy left by the OP.

Finally, any business can choose the kind of clientele they wish to serve. If a CG wants to cater to the permanent resident who lets their RV rot on site (and we've all seen that) they will. If a CG wants to set age restrictions on an RV or the owners of the RV they will. Is that wrong? I guess it depends on who you ask.

To the OP - you have every right to exercise your freedom of choice.

[GaryWT]

So would this had been an issue at all if they said I will make a note for the owner and then after you walked out the note gets tossed in the trash?

Telling them you have been there a couple times and you will not be back is probably not a big deal because the next guy on the phone will take your spot.

We were seasonal for 11 years paying $3,500 a year and when we told the campground we would not be back, they just asked when our last day would be. They know the site will be rented.

As for the fact the guests did not do anything, it would be hard to say our fee is X but will your guest be going to the bathroom, looking at our trees, walking our trails or roads, going to the pool or anything else then it will be X + Y.

Anyway, in 24 years of camping I have yet to see a campground not charge a per person visitor fee.

[JamesBr]

The "oh well" comes from the fact that there are next to no other options if you want a campground that is not 40+ minutes away from the Western suburbs of Baltimore. There are not many options for campgrounds until you get well outside the Baltimore-Washington Corridor.

The per visitor charges I notice usually becomes a policy to discourage those that use to get a site, claim 2 people at the site and have 10 guests show up and stay the entire visit. It stinks, but these are places of business and need to cover the cost of doing business or they will no longer exist.

The issue and you can read them all here is "why do I have to pay for this?" You have the lone traveler, the couple with no kids or pets, and then you have the other side of the spectrum of multiple dogs, or a large family and possibly a pet.

So where do you set the price for your campground? Do you shoot for the middle and hope you get more smaller groups then larger so you can stay out of the red? Do you charge the full cost of a maxed out campsite to everyone? Do you offer the lowest rate possible for the 2 person or less site, and have add ons for everything else? No matter what they choose, someone will not like it and think there should be a discount.

[weathershak]

In my travels, I have learned to accept the extra fees. I make camping a fun time and am always in a position to splurge. Some examples.

Virginia State Parks charged us $5.00 per dog, we had 3.
Camp Hatteras, extra fees, even for cable.
Frontier town, extra fee for visitors.

We stayed at a CG that had a 1 dog per site policy. We had 2 at the time. I paid for the second site so we could bring both dogs. I had family stop over to visit and had to pay $16.00 for 4 add people so they could come and visit and watch us show off our laid back RV lifestyle. The end result in all cases was a great time and great memories. Its only money.

[imgoin4it]

I do not stay at parks that charge for "guests". We travel primarily to visit friends and relatives. When a brother or sister visits for an hour or two does not in my mind justify paying to sit in my coach and talk. If guests we going to use a pool and other amenities, then one should pay. Not otherwise. Fortunately the policy of paying for guests is primarily an eastern thing we don't worry about it muck. I have yet to find a park in the western part of the US that charges for guests. Probably some somewhere but not where I go.

[FunnyCamper]

my brother and his 2 kids visited us at a cg when we stopped near his location.
pool, free mini golf, river for tubing etc. all included in that $5 per person fee.

I paid the $15 to enjoy his company, kids had a blast, my daughter was thrilled to play with her cousins and well worth every penny.

come on, if $15 for a day of entertainment/visiting/use of all facilities is unreasonable then we have a problem!

we also did a weekend at great wolf lodge (indoor waterpark)
if anyone visited do ya think they were going to cut the cost in ANY way to allow use of THEIR facilities?

people think of cgs as 'all inclued for everyone we know'. it is not that way. they are a biz with 'facilities'. facilities cost to use point blank as with any other biz.

[M_GO_BLUE1]

I guess next time you stay somewhere you'll be making a point of reading the rules ahead of time...don't like the rules then use the wheels on you RV to move on down the road

...and $5.00 per visitor is not out of line and any visitor fee is standard to most, but not all, campgrounds

[pitch]

What would have the proper solution been for you? Would you have been any happier if they had engage you in twenty minutes of discussion, culminating in you still being wrong?
Would you have been made happy only if they dropped the extra charge?

[magnusfide]

Medico wrote:
I think what upset me the most was the poor reaction to my complaint. "Oh Well!" That's the same as take it or leave it. In the service and entertainment industry, companies make their livings off return guests, not new guests. If these industries had to rely on new guests, just imagine their advertising costs. The service we received when we lodged a complaint does not make me wish to return. Also these type industries rely on word of mouth advertising. Just look at the word of mouth advertising they are receiving now!

I agree with you. Customer relations and diplomatically dealing with the situation is as much value to a campground as it is to the UN if you want to stay in business. You aren't the only one who's had to deal with a poor attitude in that campground from the reviews at Trip Advisor. Happily there's two other options in the area and if you drive a bit, three. Capitol KOA had stellar customer relations when we were there. They were patient and very helpful; even went out of their way to be of assistance. They also have a jumping pillow for the kids if that's a plus for you.:W

[wbwood]

So the park is ok otherwise? Must be because you go twice a year. But because they have a policy of $5/person to visit it's not ok now? It didn't affect you before, but now it does. According to their rates page on their website it says per person fee. Sounds like $5 per person if they are there during he day. And $10 per person if they stay overnight.

And as far as the oh well part. Yes maybe they could of said sorry. Or just not respond at all. But if it's their rules and they are clearly posted, why complain. Or better yet if you did not see a per person comment and it said visitors are $5 then inquire if that is a per person or just $5 a day for all the visitors you want. And do it ahead of time. Even with out the per person statement, I readi it that a visitor is $5 and another one is another $5.

[FunnyCamper]

this is all over $15?

geez. most places are 'per person' for visiting. any rv person basically knows that.

and another posted it was right on their site stating per person.

so I understand the OH WELL being a sting, but I wonder how you treated them while complaining about their policy? maybe they were sick of ya 🙂 🙂

[kcmoedoe]

Veebyes wrote:
The extra charge for a few visitors resulted in a 6 year boycott of KOA from us.

And yet they are still in business and still use the add on fee structure in their pricing. Don Quixote would be proud.

[Medico]

I think what upset me the most was the poor reaction to my complaint. "Oh Well!" That's the same as take it or leave it. In the service and entertainment industry, companies make their livings off return guests, not new guests. If these industries had to rely on new guests, just imagine their advertising costs. The service we received when we lodged a complaint does not make me wish to return. Also these type industries rely on word of mouth advertising. Just look at the word of mouth advertising they are receiving now!

And for those that do not perceive a problem, you expectations are very low in the customer service department. I wish you well in your travels. Do not lodge any complaints because, "Oh well!"