Super week but a question....

[Smiling JOe]

Without naming names, I bet you that I know exactly who you are talking about, seabreeze. He's nice to me on the times I frequent the place, but that is only because I am friends with someone for whom he has the hots.

Tumules, I guess you have to move here. During the season, I usually don't even bother with going to most local establishments for dining. I don't want to compete with the tourists, for the service that does exists and is often stretched thin. Even locals easily get overlooked in many places during the season. Service at the beach is a rare commodity these days, so just embrace it when you get it, and be sure to thank the person who does deliver the service.

 

[Kurt]

There are many people here who have attitudes that aren't welcoming, are unfriendly, or maybe even downright rude. But I don't think just because you visit here and "dump" money on them, that suddenly they're going to be friendly. That idea is unrealistic and could be interpreted as spoiled, or even a bit paranoid. Maybe the folks serving you get the same vibe. Why get upset if the checkout girl doesn't smile?

People who work in the businesses I go to here don't know if I live here or if I'm visiting, and I don't think about it, so maybe my awareness and expectations are different.

As has been stated on this forum before in different ways, SoWal is "different" in a way that is foreign and unsatisfying to some visitors. And may never have the type of high-priced resort service that some people who "drop" money on places are accustomed to.

SoWal may not be right for everyone.

 

[beachmouse]

98% of the tourists that come down here are wonderful people, and I enjoy watching them getting to have fun while they're here.

But the other 2% make me want to utter just about every word kurt's banned on these boards. I've had a tourist go off on me and start speaking loudly at me (almost but not quite a shout) in the middle of Publix for some utterly made up perceived slight. And yeah, the employees there took my side. I'm in there every week, and they know me well enough to know I'm not a jerk who starts things.

It's those 2% that tend to make everyone a bit wary about tourists until they do enough to show they aren't jerks. You can only try to explain the beach flag system to a harried mom with three kids under eight so many times before you get sick of having mom snap back at you that she paid for her week, and her kids are going to swim in the Gulf, darn it, red flag or not.

 

[kingfishn]

I was in Atlanta/B'Ham last week...let me break out my list....ohhhh, nevvvvvermind...~smile~

 

[Hop]

I agree with kurt..there seems to be a common theme of money and expectation. Any GOOD business is friendly and welcoming and makes people want to come back...

 

[GoodWitch58]

I'm not sure the lack of customer service is a Sowal problem...it seems to be everywhere. I do think we see more than our share of the "tourist with an entitlement attitude" around here though.

Let's all smile more often--it'd probably improve things!

 

[Kurt]

I'm not sure the lack of customer service is a Sowal problem...it seems to be everywhere. I do think we see more than our share of the "tourist with an entitlement attitude" around here though.

Let's all smile more often--it'd probably improve things!

A smile is just an upside down frown.

 

[organicmama]

I've been a tourist & now a resident..... Yes, the off-season is WAY better in terms of service. mainly because there are so many people everywhere! But, yes, it's good, in the fact that tourism does support livelihood here.

Two years ago, my family & I were in Seaside for the day & were starving. Not really knowing where to eat, we ended up in B&A that afternoon. I will say it hit the Top Three (number 2, to be exact) on my list of the worst service I have ever had, the others being at a high end restaurant in ATL (number 1) & 1 time at The Grit eek: a normally cool place) in Athens, GA. To date, I cannot bring myself to go back to B&A because the service was so unfriendly & downright rude. I normally don't feel that way about a place, as I only have these 3 instances that have stood out in my mind that can be seen as rotten service.

Other than that, everyone has always been at least polite. In Alpharetta, I could go to the same Kroger on Windward Parkway 4 times a week, not see anyone I knew & never be recognized by the front end cashiers. I love the fact that around here, you see familiar faces, even when you're a tourist.

Hope next time you have better luck!

 

[Smiling JOe]

Thinking a little more about this subject, one thing that comes to mind is that I am often asked questions when standing on the sidewalk, driving down the road, etc., and the people asking the questions seem so zoned out, that they could appear to be rude to some people. They are not warm with their greeting if they give one (usually they don't), and mostly they just jump right into the question, which comes off as demanding an answer. Last year, this seemingly demanding behavior gave me the idea for a tee-shirt, which would read:

Need Answers?
Want the Free Answer,
The $1 Answer,
or,
The $5 Answer?

I have yet to have anyone asking me questions, while I am speaking with someone else, say, "Excuse me. I don't mean to interrupt, but I am looking for .... Could you please help me with directions?" Quite often it is, "Hey! You know where ... is?" Gotta say it rubs me the wrong way sometimes, and while I haven't sent anyone in the opposite direction of their destination, after the fact, I sometimes think that it would be fun to do.

One other point of contention I have with tourists in the grocery store is that they, much more so than locals, tend to park their buggy in the middle of the isle as they discuss with the 5 or 6 people in their group, they type of items they need and want. They don't seem to be considerate of other shoppers.

I'm not in the service industry, yet I experience this almost daily down here. If the service industry staffers are getting this X10, I can imagine why they might not like their job.
​

 

[Smiling JOe]

In Alpharetta, I could go to the same Kroger on Windward Parkway 4 times a week, not see anyone I knew & never be recognized by the front end cashiers. I love the fact that around here, you see familiar faces, even when you're a tourist.

:funn: Most of the kids in the WaterCooler Publix say hi to me every time I go in. The managers always say hello. On the flipside, I always extend a smile and greeting to them, never waiting for them to speak first.