Lake In Wood Campground - Is it always like this?

[Gingerela]

Just visited Lake In Wood CG in Narvon, PA after reading how highly rated it is. While the grounds are beautiful and rather picturesque compared to others we've visited, we found the staff to be rather standoffish and bordering on rude.

While checking in, personnel was not welcoming or even friendly. The woman standing next to me wanted to pick a item up from someone who was camping there. She was told she had to pay $6. She then said she would just call the person and ask her to meet her at the gate to get the item. The man behind the counter berated her, telling her she was not allowed to do that and that she HAD to pay the fee. It was uncomfortable to hear this heated exchange. His tone was so hostile, you'd think the woman had stolen something.

As i stepped up to register, I was treated indifferently as a factory worker would treat a product on an assembly line. Not even so much as a 'Hello', or 'Thank you'. The following day, we visited the office to get some ice cream. The man behind the counter that served my husband his cone was very condescending to the point that I wanted to say something. The young lady standing next to him was clearly embarrassed by his attitude and less than stellar treatment of a paying customer. She was the only employee who smiled and was courteous the few times we had to go into the office/store.

It appeared to me the majority of the older employees were not happy to be there and we felt as though we were inconveniencing them with our business.

Given the popularity of this CG and the fact that it stays booked solid through Labor Day weekend, I can't help but wonder if others have experienced the same lackluster treatment. I'd love to return as we enjoyed the amenities, but we're hesitant to spend our money (and it's definitely not cheap) where we don't feel welcome and our presence is an inconvenience to the staff.

[answerswillvary]

This thread has gone way off topic.

Time to close it down.

Sandi (Moderator)

[Skid_Row_Joe]

soren wrote:
Sure gets old seeing the rather militant, hostile and odd opinions of those who need to not only need to make us all quite aware that they are campground owners, (and in at least one case. I have my doubts) and then have to jump into every CG related topic to tell us "how it is where I rule".

Isn't there another forum where this group can spend time impressing each other with their silliness, while sparing us the same?

X2
That's where our community of RVers need to pushback when we see them bringing their RV park owner with militant attitudes to we commoners that pay their bills while RVing.

[Skid_Row_Joe]

magnusfide wrote:
When you stated

SDcampowneroperator wrote:


Attitudes work both ways. Bring one, expect the staff to react accordingly.

this is clearly indicative of an emotional policy of retaliation, not service. Reacting is not professional. Your employees will cue from that and not provide professional service to the campers/guests. Your business will suffer.

Attending workshops on professional behavior and putting that knowledge into practice is what will make the camping experience both pleasant and profitable for all concerned. Friendly and professional service does not assume proclivities but rather engages the customer in a manner that sets clear standards for the staff and provides useful information and boundaries for the customer. All professional standards on behaviors reiterate as rule #1 that you and your staff need to leave your personal emotions out of the interaction equation.

Precisely.

I wonder if sdrvparkowner and westernrvparkowner are related:h
Unprovoked, sdrv brought the negative, arguementative attitude on this thread for absolutely no discernable reason. What's with some of these ppl?!

They both convey the negative attitude of; "my way or the highway!"

After enduring bad attitudes and unhelpfulness enough times on the road as an RVer since I was in my mid-30s, now in my mid-60s, I'm going to not accept it any longer.

[Dog_Folks]

soren wrote:
Sure gets old seeing the rather militant, hostile and odd opinions of those who need to not only need to make us all quite aware that they are campground owners, (and in at least one case. I have my doubts) and then have to jump into every CG related topic to tell us "how it is where I rule".

Isn't there another forum where this group can spend time impressing each other with their silliness, while sparing us the same?

Maybe we could start a "Dear Mr. Campground owner section?" Kind like Dear Marcus? That would be fun!

[soren]

Sure gets old seeing the rather militant, hostile and odd opinions of those who need to not only need to make us all quite aware that they are campground owners, (and in at least one case. I have my doubts) and then have to jump into every CG related topic to tell us "how it is where I rule".

Isn't there another forum where this group can spend time impressing each other with their silliness, while sparing us the same?

[magnusfide]

When you stated

SDcampowneroperator wrote:


Attitudes work both ways. Bring one, expect the staff to react accordingly.

this is clearly indicative of an emotional policy of retaliation, not service. Reacting is not professional. Your employees will cue from that and not provide professional service to the campers/guests. Your business will suffer.

Attending workshops on professional behavior and putting that knowledge into practice is what will make the camping experience both pleasant and profitable for all concerned. Friendly and professional service does not assume proclivities but rather engages the customer in a manner that sets clear standards for the staff and provides useful information and boundaries for the customer. All professional standards on behaviors reiterate as rule #1 that you and your staff need to leave your personal emotions out of the interaction equation.

[SDcampowneroper]

We and our front line staff of years have attended, yes even led discussion in hospitality seminars at state and national level.
Our goal, in our location, is not to maximize the bottom line through filling campsites with those who demonstrate an attitude that is not within our model.
We maximize our line and guest satisfaction by presenting a standard and recognizing those beforehand who exhibit proclivity to disturbance. To those, we react. Our many other guests satisfaction is of more concern than one fresh off the road who could not be mollified.
Thus, extemely rarely, we exersize our right to refuse service to anyone, only in the interest of the camp as a whole.

[magnusfide]

SDcampowneroperator wrote:


Attitudes work both ways. Bring one, expect the staff to react accordingly.

Professional behavior on the part of the staff is required regardless of whether the customer is in an off-day or not. Unless the customer is violent, properly trained staff are able to give the paying customer a better experience. This is the professional standard set by the hospitality industry of which RV parks are part and parcel.

Reading reviews of parks I pay particular attention (as do many others) to those reviews that relate staff cheerfulness and professionalism that helped the customer after a bad day on the road. Staff courtesy and professionalism engender customer loyalty and repeat business. Not only is it kind, but professional behavior is simply good business. Even if not being the recipient, there are always other customers who notice and watch how well the staff treats customers. They will most likely return if they feel customer service is professional and courteous.

There are seminars provided by various groups that provide training to owners and staff on maintaining a professional manner even with customers who are having an attitude. Taking these courses and putting the professionalism into practice will improve your bottom line.

[Skid_Row_Joe]

SDcampowneroperator wrote:
Wouldn't it be refreshing if the poster on any number the mentioned review sites was clear on their state of mind when arriving at their destination?
Sometimes guests arrive that have a bad day or two with mechanical,financial or family troubles. When that demeanor is carried into the camp how can anyone fault the camp staff for being brusque. We can sympathize, help out ,but not make troubles go away.

Attitudes work both ways. Bring one, expect the staff to react accordingly.

Not so. There was NO bad attitude by the customers. The bad attitude and rudeness was witnessed by numerous incidents on several occasions. You might want to re-read it?

This thread had nothing to do with the RVer having a bad day - it was all about the treatment received at the RV park.

My post two back describes one RV park in San Antonio, Texas where the obvious owner and her pal were shooting nasty answers at me when I stopped by to see if their park would be a good RV park for me while working and visiting San Antonio. The trouble is, is that there are any number of discourteous and yes, rude RV park owners and employees. Some appear to act as if you are interrupting their day by trying to give them business! Go figure! :h

I was almost run out of an RV park I was staying at for two nights when I dared ask too many informational questions from a more elderly than me woman. This was in League City, Texas on I-45 just south of Houston on the way to Galveston, Texas Beach right next door to the Cracker Barrel in June. I will say this once again - I am getting very, very weary of RV park personel with the bad, unfriendly, and sometimes nasty attitudes when we elderly RVers are spending our money, wanting only to get our questions answered in a courteous manner.

I'm going to start writing emails, and I suggest you all do the same. I'm tired of it, in all frankness!

[SDcampowneroper]

Wouldn't it be refreshing if the poster on any number the mentioned review sites was clear on their state of mind when arriving at their destination?
Sometimes guests arrive that have a bad day or two with mechanical,financial or family troubles. When that demeanor is carried into the camp how can anyone fault the camp staff for being brusque. We can sympathize, help out ,but not make troubles go away.

Attitudes work both ways. Bring one, expect the staff to react accordingly.

[eb145]

Interesting thoughts expressed here. Here are my thoughts on the topic.

I have found rvparkreviews to be very useful. I can read the reviews and find what's important to me. Comments about the staff are part of lots of reviews I have read.

I read in their posting rules that they don't want to identify individual people that gave bad service so if you want your service comments to get posted you need to keep the information general enough so that individuals can't be recognized. "Service and attitude was poor" should be OK to post, but "the young lady that checked me in on Friday evening of Memorial day weekend was chewing gum and talking on her phone..." might be rejected as someone at the park can probably identify the individual being discussed. Also, "the owner was rude..." probably won't make the cut either because a specific person is being criticized.

So please, make comments about staff attitude on rvparkreviews, just keep it general enough so that individuals can't be identified.

As far as customer service comments, I noticed that the reviews from camping early in the season (May/June) seemed to describe better service and attitudes from the staff than later in the season (August). I guess the summer staff is excited at the beginning of the season but many must get tired and burned out by the end of the season. As a teenager I worked at a summer camp for several years so I know the enthusiasm can diminish as the weeks go by. Anyway, that is my unscientific observation of rvparkreviews.

Ed

[2008Wildcat]

Yeah, once a year, they don't know me from the next guy.

The guy at the gate was nice and friendly, asked if I'd stayed there before, and then directed me tot he front desk to check in.

Girl at desk, although young and seemed fairly new, was efficient and knew what to do.

Another staff member then asked if I knew where to go....I knew where I was going, so I didn't need the escort that they were offering.

Again, not saying it is/was right or wrong what happened, but everyone has a bad day once in awhile.....so to answer the OP's title question, no, you just hit the bad day.

[soren]

magnusfide wrote:

2008Wildcat wrote:
Lake in Wood is, and always has been, one of the best in the area.

The OP's experience must have been an off occurrence. We've been going for over 7 years, at least once per year. The staff has always been accommodating, and pleasant. Could they have had a bad day? Sure. Are we all pleasant all the time? No.

There are many CG's in the area, and you have the right to choose from any of them.....

By and large "regulars" are treated with courtesy at campgrounds and as a regular of 7 years' standing, I daresay your treatment is based upon that.

There is no excuse for rudeness regardless of what kind of day or the status of the customer vis a vis repeat regular or newbie. Professional behavior is the standard in the hospitality industry whether it's a 5 Star Hotel or an RV campground.

You are correct about their being no excuse for unprofessional behavior. Unfortunately, you couldn't be more wrong about earning "regular" status by visiting once a year. We typically end up their 2-3 times a year, and I can assure you that they couldn't pick the DW and I out of a lineup, much less treat us any better due to our non-existent "status". This is arguably the nicest, and one of the most popular campgrounds in the state, not some Ma&Pa operation with two dozens sites, and a sweet old lady at the counter that remembers you from last year. It is expensive, well run and extremely successful.

[Dog_Folks]

I agree with the concern about RV Reviews. They solicit us, campers, to provide the very core of what the site proclaims to be about, campers reviews.

But wait, they want to selectively censor what is received, well beyond removing vulgarity, etc.

No thanks, RV Review. It is just not worth it today to do a review for you.