wrong directions

[PepperElf]

hey it helped me find the antique store yesterday, the one having the 50% off sale on everything

[Shamus]

I remember once giving a customer the wrong directions to a nearby theme park, and the poor guy wound up in another state. I'm a tad dyslexic, and directions...well, I'm just terrible with them.

That customer backtracked, came into the store, and was none too pleased with me. I explained the situation and apologized, and, thank goodness he was actually pretty decent. He accepted my apology (Yes, people still do that.) and I had a coworker give him the correct directions. I can think of more than a few customers I've had that would demand nothing short of my head mounted on a pike.

[thehippie777]

I've had ppl claim they got wrong directions from me, even with a map of the area & vast details. It usually happens because they decided their ideas were better lol Luckily none of them have claimed such a thing as your SC did.

And for these dumbasses who think they should get the manager's number at will? How would they like if their company did that??? I had an angry guest at the desk once & made the mistake of dialing the manager & just handing the phone over without at least vaguely explaining the situation to him. I was a little razzled at being yelled at.

[Alpha Strike]

Guest: Dave, I am livid

I was starting to wonder where you were - I miss your "train-wreck" stories!

We just see "getting a bit lost" as a bonus tour Found some good bookstores/cafes that way. The way my dad figures it is, we're on vacation so don't have any schedule.

Agreed! I always enjoy going to new areas - as long as I'm not on a schedule - and exploring the "off the beaten path" places and just generally exploring my surroundings.

[LibraryLady]

I'm so sorry for you, Dave.

As we see it, a vacation is a time to chill out and enjoy what we have. Sometimes, things don't work out exactly as we expect but that's part of the experience. We go on vacation to learn about places different from our home.

We've been on a cruise ships stuck between two hurricanes. We sat down with other pax and traded horror stories of worse cruises. It was like tales around a campfire with a nice, warm bar at your elbow and a nice, hot shower waiting for you in the cabin.

On other vacations we've gotten snowed in and couldn't get home when we wanted to do so. On one such, our flight was canceled due to a Blizzard. We were put up at a hotel near the airport. It just so happened that the same hotel was playing host to a traveling Country-Western show. You can bet the conversation in the bar that night was amazing. So was the Karaoke.

We were supposed to spend a wonderful week in Barcelona. It poured rain almost the entire time but we still got to visit excellent museums and eat spectacular food. We came home very happy. Catalans are extremely good at making visitors happy.

Travel is always a crap-shoot. You never know what you're going to get but unless you find yourself in a real disaster, there are always good things to mine from it if you have an adventurous spirit and a decent imagination. At the very least you'll come home with good stories.

It's too bad, Dave, that you seem to get stuck with people who don't have any spirit of adventure and want their vacations to be exactly what they have at home. I pity people like that. They miss so much.

[tamezin]

At my hotel, there would have been no excuse for that kind of suckiness. First of all, we have complimentary maps of Denver. One of them is even printed by the hotel chain so it shows locations of all the different brands. All I have to do is point to the yellow dot that represents my hotel and they're set.

Additionally we have two computers in the lobby for guest in case they might need to mapquest.

Sorry, you can't use Denver as an example. It is one of the easiest Cities I have ever been in barring Salt Lake City, to get around in. Lucky you.

[Pagan]

Additionally we have two computers in the lobby for guest in case they might need to mapquest.

Sometimes though, MapQuest will send you the by the "great circle route". Whenever I've looked for directions that have me going east, it sends me around the block. Apparently, nobody has figured out that Corrales and Coors are the same street (they change names at Alameda).

[Wenchie]

Speaking of google maps... check out these directions from my city to Tokyo.


I especially love #27 where it tells me to kayak across the Pacific to get to Hawaii. And then #41 where I am supposed to kayak from Hawaii to Japan.

[Nyoibo]

I've yet to find somewhere in the US that I had trouble driving around in, seriously, they have good signage.

Now Adelaide suburbs on the other hand *shudder*

[MannersMakethMan]

I especially love #27 where it tells me to kayak across the Pacific to get to Hawaii. And then #41 where I am supposed to kayak from Hawaii to Japan.

You should think yourself lucky they gave you a kayak! Going from London to New York was fine up until

23. Swim across the Atlantic Ocean (3462 mi).

29 days later, you were in New York! Sadly, this is now disabled, and you can't drive any further than Greece from the UK.

[protege]

Reminds me of when I was driving home from Scranton last September. Yep, another model-railroad trip Anyway, during one of the tours, I noticed a sign for Centralia, PA. I'd been there roughly 20 years ago, but the highway wasn't open then. For those who don't know, Centralia fell victim to a massive underground mine fire in the 1960s, and was largely abandoned by the mid 1980s. Since then, most of the town has been torn down...but the area still draws tourists...most of whom are curious about the damaged highway (Route 61 was closed at one point, and since bypassed), as well as to see smoke rising from the ground... Pretty cool, actually

Where was I going with this? Oh--when I left Scranton, I thought I'd swing by that way, and take a look. Problem is, that nobody in the hotel could find it! Why? Centralia has no zip code now (lost that in 2002), meaning it's impossible to find on the 'net. So, rather than lose my temper, I simply asked if I could get directions to Ashland, PA...the nearest town.

They quickly printed off directions, and I was on my way. Of course, before leaving Scranton, I picked up a state map. (With some of the roads closed because of the mine fire, I wasn't sure what to expect. Often, closed roads don't show up on the 'net.

With all that said, did I get lost? Nope. Drove south to Ashland, into Centralia, walked around a bit, shot some photos, then headed back north towards Scranton and I-80. Added about 2 hours to the trip home, but it was worth it

[smileyeagle1021]

Sorry, you can't use Denver as an example. It is one of the easiest Cities I have ever been in barring Salt Lake City, to get around in. Lucky you.

and people still get lost... if I had a dollar for every time I had someone get on the 201 instead of 80 west, or the 215 instead of 80 west... and don't even get me started with the people who don't understand the addresses... you want to go to an IHOP, the closest one is 310 west 2100 south... oh... too many numbers for you... well I"m sorry you are too stupid to understand numbers and direction and the same time... you go to the street that is 21 blocks south of Temple Square and just over 3 blocks to the west... as a hint, 15 runs about 5 blocks west at that point so exit at 2100 south and go 2 blocks east. My senile grandmother could find her way around the city

sorry for the threadjack

[dalesys]

I was getting gassed once in Salt Lake (33rd South, just of I-15) and some poor soul at the next pump was asking the route for New Orleans - He'd left Los Angeles that morning....
{{{Well, ya know the last 600 miles? Do them over again.}}} my thought.

I have no idea how he explained the detour to his carload of wife & kids.

"Honey, I just realized that we *HAVE* to see Yellowstone on the way."

[Pagan]

Speaking of google maps... check out these directions from my city to Tokyo.


I especially love #27 where it tells me to kayak across the Pacific to get to Hawaii. And then #41 where I am supposed to kayak from Hawaii to Japan.

Tried from Albuquerque, it sends me up to Washington, too. I wonder why it doesn't route us down to somewhere in California. Seems like a straighter shot to Hawai'i.

I've yet to find somewhere in the US that I had trouble driving around in, seriously, they have good signage.

You've never been to New Mexico have you? I've lived in ABQ for 10 years and still have problems. Then there's Santa Fe with the drunk donkey streets....

I was getting gassed once in Salt Lake (33rd South, just of I-15) and some poor soul at the next pump was asking the route for New Orleans - He'd left Los Angeles that morning....
{{{Well, ya know the last 600 miles? Do them over again.}}} my thought.

Wow, almost 700 miles in one day? That's pretty good.

What's scary is that couldn't have been the first time he had stopped for gas.

Not to mention, get yourself on I-10 and stay there doofuss! Guess he didn't know that north-south interstates end in "5", east-west end in "0"?

[smileyeagle1021]

I was getting gassed once in Salt Lake (33rd South, just of I-15) and some poor soul at the next pump was asking the route for New Orleans - He'd left Los Angeles that morning....

first off you were brave enough to use 33rd south (you can tell which street I don't like )

and also... how does one confuse the way to Salt Lake with New Orleans... I'd think the sign saying "welcome to Utah" would give it away