CF Tourists - is it worse ??

[WeWillLookBack]

We have just got back from a few days in Cornwall - we live in Devon, so spend a lot of time in both counties and are very used to tourists and holiday makers. We stayed in a 'pub with rooms on the beach, which was lovely. However - I am utterly gobsmacked by the level of CF we have witnessed in the 3 days. It feels like peoples entitlement is off the scale. I don't know how those in hospitality are dealing with it.

Wednesday - Woman went mental at the poor young lad serving in the beer garden - insisted she had booked a table outside. Very politely told her that they do not take reservations for the garden, just the restaurant. Screaming ' Are you calling me a liar'. He went in, and didn't come back out.

Friday AM - they serve breakfast for guests 8am-9.30am, then open for breakfast at 9.30am (lots of signs saying open at 9.30am). At 8.30am a group were outside - rattling the door. Member of staff opens the door, and lets them know they open at 9.30am. Lots of moaning - insisting they can have breakfast now etc. She says no - very polite. So he tells her it is disgusting that they allow guests to sit in the window eating when others can't ! ( and to make up for their error, they should serve them breakfast too)

Friday evening - Family of 6 rocked up - no space in the beer garden. Started shouting - so the owner came out. Man very angry - they had driven for 6 hours - and the kids needed feeding. The owner was great - polite but firm. The man actually suggested the owner walk around the beer garden and checked when people were leaving so they could secure a table. He said no. A lot of swearing. Asked to leave.

Drive home Saturday morning. Along a winding road along the coast - car in front just stops. Man gets out and stands looking at the sea. Single lane - so I cant go around him. After a few moments I beep - he stomps over to my car and says 'Can I help you' ... I say you have blocked the road - could you move please. To which he responds 'I am looking at the view - maybe you could just be kind' FFS !!!

I've been saying it for years

I am also on the NC500. I have had people knock on the door and demand to use my home toilet. My mil gets people camping in her garden in tents, her garden is next to a parking space. She found chemical toilets emptied into the garden. She recently arrived home at 10 pm and narrowly missed hitting a campervan in her driveway. Its long and thin surrounded by shrubs and trees. She could not see the camper van until she turned into the drive. She then had to wake the sleeping occupants because she could not get her car passed. They were very abusive.
I have seen photos of people camping in and around graveyards and people drying clothes on headstones. Heard stories of camper vans refusing to move to allow funeral cars in.

We have just got back from a few days in Cornwall - we live in Devon, so spend a lot of time in both counties and are very used to tourists and holiday makers.

Whilst I agree they were all CF, you are a tourist too, OP!

I think it's time for all hospitality to adopt a zero tolerance rule on behaviours like these. Pubs could have a polite but firm sign outside, I've seen some funny ones that make the point without being offensive. No one deserves to be abused at all and staff should be given the right to point it out when it's happening.

A little megaphone 'Table no 5 are upset that we've sold out of X they'd like us to go to the supermarket and get some more' I think it's time to shame these types of people.

The nc500 branding has done absolutely no favours for up here. I live on the route as well and it’s got worse during Covid as well.
Just this week a car park about 3 miles away was filled with camper vans and one of the group pitched a tent at the side of the road. The local supermarket had a campervan spend the night in the car park then on Sunday morning when dd went to work there they were out in the car park with tables and chairs having breakfast. If nothing else why on Earth do you want to spend your holiday in a supermarket car park?

Tourists have always visited the highlands but it’s just absolute chaos now and the entitlement of visitors and the mess they leave is ridiculous.
I wouldn’t have believed that people could behave the way the op has witnessed but I absolutely do now I see it every day.

What I think has happened over the last two years is that some of the people who would have gone to Spain, maybe Greece or Turkey for example, have had a holiday in the UK and their lack of decent manners and behaviour be inflicted on those in hospitality in the UK instead of other countries.

The idea of announcing such behaviour, providing it was clear that it would be done, is no bad thing. Only drawback would be how often your meal would get disturbed by it.

I was gutted they they came up with the NC500. Gorgeous and relatively quiet part of the world has been ruined by camper vans. The majority of the people who want to “tick” they have done the NC500 aren’t the kind of people who will travel sensitively and lightly

I've worked all manner of public-facing roles ever since I was 14, and during lockdown I had a job which had a small element of public-facing retail work - so nothing to do with tourists or hospitality.

At the start of lockdown I noticed a marked improvement in people's manners and behaviour. Lots of "stay safe" and giving people the benefit of the doubt. By about September 2020, I became convinced that the public had gone utterly feral. Totally vile behaviour seemed to become the norm. And also, I did notice an uptake in utterly stupid expectations. People have seemed to double down on stupidity in the last couple of years.

What is NC500?

That would be sweet! I love the megaphone suggestion. I think that should be brought in. Or have someone behind the bar read out the ridiculous requests over the tannoy system like "Would the owners of car registration THIS please go out and turn off your lights....and the people at table 5 have kicked off because they've requested something that our chef can't make as it's not on the menu and never has been and we've advised them politely it's not possible"

It's amazing what you can find out through Google these days www.northcoast500.com/

I live in a tourist trap and it really has got worse in the last few years. I think because prices have rocketed so much people expect much higher levels of service/ gratitude from people who live there. I recently had someone park on my drive, blocking me in. Parking is severely limited here (tiny fishing town, houses piled on top of each other) and people quite often rent out their drives so assumed one of my neighbours had done this and the driver had mistakenly parked on my drive instead. I went outside and politely explained and asked where he was booked to park so I could tell him where it was. He had young kids with him and started properly yelling and screaming that he’d been looking for a parking space for 20 minutes, the kids were tired and hungry and I could go and fuck myself if I was expecting him to move. Luckily my neighbours heard, they’re two massive blokes who came over and asked what the problem was and he reluctantly moved for them. It was infuriating.

This. Well said Bees. My son works at a well know beauty spot on the south coast. Certain people seem to treat everywhere as they have a god given right to behave as they please, without a thought for others or the surroundings they are in. I did a litter pick there the other day and was shocked to find a babies dirty nappy on the beach..a wild undeveloped place. When I commented to my son apparently it’s quite common. Don’t get me started on dog poo bags either. Staff are encouraged not to challenge visitors and be smiley all the time.

DD works in a large high street store at the opposite end of the country to Cornwall, only one day a week. Every time I pick her up she has a story about how a customer has been rude or awful. One week a customer was so horrible to her that she made DD cry by telling her how stupid and useless she was. DD's manager stepped in and told the customer that DD was only 16 and staff weren't there to be bullied and customer punched the manager. (And left before Police could get there).

Don't be so rude squashyhat

"Well, I didn't think the rules applied to children," she yelled. "Can't she just keep it?" Told no. She carries on with "So what you're saying is that now YOU choose what MY child drinks, is that it?" Like, you're giving a toddler Cherry Coke, frankly I reckon the security team would do a better job. @Eunorition this made me laugh.
What is it that makes CF's fall back on the Be Kind (whilst I'm being a twat) excuse! It's so transparent! In lockdown, the Knobhead next door put a banner on FB with the Be Kind logo. He really isn't kind, and made my life a misery when he lived there, including coming round and banging on the windows drunk to intimidate me during lockdown.

Anyhoo, I digress. I actually naively thought people would be better after lockdown! I had a wake up call. Realised my life was pretty good really, when I didn't get to do the things I normally do. I missed book club, coffee with my mates, the freedom to move around. I'm still grateful!

This is awful. I've been visiting the far north and northwest for 20+ years, and it is visible how much the NC500 has negatively impacted the area over the last 5-8 years or so.

We have a camper but stay in campsites and use proper public facilities. One thing I've seen in recent years is campers parking up right outside a campsite (but not paying to go in), and then feeling entitled to walk in and use the campsite facilities. I've also seen numerous campers parked right outside residential properties, they just don't give a shit.

It's appalling what is being done to the area, as it's so beautiful.

I feel the need to speak up for those of us with campervan who've been visiting the area for ages without causing any of these problems! It's the people in the vans that are the problem.

Sold up and left Cornwall last year . After 20 years of not minding the tourist season , I had enough and
couldn't stand the entitlement of people any longer . I must admit, I do think it may be the second home owners as you don’t have to be near one for long before you find out . 😉
One example , busy pub . No seats. We’re we’re finishing our desserts ( by The fire so a very good seat ) . A group of people stood right over us to ensure they got the table next. Stood there talking about their “strategy” on how they were going to “take the table” as soon as we moved . They stationed themselves both ends with there backs to us ready to slid in the moment we moved.

My friends ILs live on Skye and rent out a small self catering cottage.

Apparently this year takings have been down for the cottages and hotels as everyone is coming in camper vans, producing lots of waste and mess and not contributing to local economy by going out for meals and drinks ( mind you most of the establishments have limited opening hours as property prices have gone up so much due to people moving to wfh during lockdown, that the young folk have all moved away).

I work in the leisure industry and the CF is amazing with requests. 10:00pm call we want to goo out tomorrow, sorry we are booked up, why don't you cancel the other people to take us out? we don't work like that! wee will pay extra. ok £5k then! that outrageous!!!

in Cornwall the other week, just amazed by the tourists complaining, one marching back in to the cafe complaining the seagull had stolen his food and demanding a replacement.

Be kind to hospitality staff and owners, they have had a rough time over the last few years much worse than people are aware!!!!!

Ah yeh the general public . Knobheads. Currently selling my house. Seems to be a whole new breed of people out there at the moment.. nearly chucked a couple out front door last week. Entitled
, rude and forever talking about themselves and how important they are. People live in their own little bubble and think nothing else exists beyond them. Horrendous. Less people I come across the better

With the NC500, I feel that part of the problem is that a whole area has been commoditised by it (and even given a snappy title for marketing).

People rock up to "do the NC500" and feel that renting a van/motorhone means they own the place and can do what they like - it's viewed as a tourist attraction that they have paid to do, rather than an environment which is home to communities and a lot of wildlife.

This seems to be a prime example of entitled behaviour by you!
Person A doesn’t have information, so instead of using their own incentive to Google it, they ask on the thread. Fair enough, they can do what they want (obviously!)
Person B Googles it for them, and points out, not unreasonably, that they could have googled it themselves. But still provides the information for them.
And then you get stroppy and abusive and take offence because the information wasn’t provided in a matter that you deemed appropriate and “polite” enough.
Tell me, do you also call people names and get upset when interactions (between other people) don’t meet your personal expectations in real life?