Ridiculous Tourist Complaints

[Smeghead]

The brittish paper Dialy Telegraph compiled a list of the 20 most ridiculous complaints made by tourists they could find records of, here are some of the stupidest ones in my oppinion.

"The beach was too sandy."

"No-one told us there would be fish in the sea. The children were startled."

"It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England it only took the Americans three hours to get home."

"My fiancé and I booked a twin-bedded room but we were placed in a double-bedded room. We now hold you responsible for the fact that I find myself pregnant. This would not have happened if you had put us in the room that we booked."

"I compared the size of our one-bedroom apartment to our friends' three-bedroom apartment and ours was significantly smaller."

"There are too many Spanish people. The receptionist speaks Spanish. The food is Spanish. Too many foreigners."

"We had to queue outside with no air conditioning."

"I was bitten by a mosquito - no-one said they could bite."

"On my holiday to Goa in India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don't like spicy food at all."


See I know that during holidays you should relax, but do people have to shut-off their brains as well?....seriusly?...

[Kdz]

I think those go beyond "shutting off the brain," because that implies there was something present in the first place.

Holy SHIT. They had Fucking SPACE JUMP!

[tamaness]

"can you fix my computer? My friend stepped on the screen."
"I'll need to send it out. it'll be gone about 2 to 3 weeks."
"I'm just in town for spring break."

[Graham]

We get a lot of tourists in Victoria, especially when the cruise ships dock during the summer. A lot of naval ships as well.
When Matt and I worked at the downtown EB Games, the following questions were raised by Americans or sailors.

"How much is this in real money?"
"If it buy the game here will it work in my PS2 at home?" (home being the US)
"If I buy the game here will it be in English?"

and, drumroll please...

"Do you sell video games?"

[tamaness]

I work for a consumer electronics retailer.

The phone call I answer most often is "can you transfer me to your electronics department?"

[zfubarz]

You know when i was younger i applied to a job at an amusement park. I think it's a safe bet that i dodged a bullet not getting that job.

[Cake]

"You gonna drive to Missouri? (from colorado)"
"No."
"How you gonna get there?"
"By boat."


(I was standing next to the cash register)
"Do I pay here?"

[Elomin Sha]

"Do you see chargers for phones?"
"We're a video game store."
"Where can I get them?"
"One of the two shops either side of this one as you leave."

Haven't had too many stupid questions other than where are the toilets and I just point at the sign nearby.

[ecocd]

"If it buy the game here will it work in my PS2 at home?" (home being the US)
"If I buy the game here will it be in English?"

Why are either of those all that unusual? Okay the English one is a real stretch, but if your only exposure to Canada is Montreal, because you live in the extreme northeast US, then it's a legitimate question.

"Will it work in my PS2 at home?" is also a legitimate question, because of the regional controls on everything these days. I'm fairly well-versed in the topic, but even I might ask under the, "it doesn't hurt to ask" policy.

[Cureless_Poison]

"How much is this in real money?"

Oh wow, that made my day. Thank you for that Graham, thank you.
And thanks to retarded Americans making the rest of their country look bad.

"How much is this in real money?" "Just because our money look's like monopoly money DOESN'T MEAN IT'S NOT REAL!!!!"

[Metcarfre]

Not really the same vein, but when I worked in a grocery store I once had an American gentleman ask where the liquor aisle was. I patiently explained to him that alcohol can only be sold by licensed vendors and government-run stores in B.C. He proceeded to become irate and yell at me about how stupid my store was. I again explained it was a law. He yelled at me, yelled at my boss, and then left.

Probably the best though, was downtown Victoria one summer's eve. One inebriated American;
"Hey, it's Canada, the cars will just stop for you!" (steps out into traffic).

SCREEEEECH BAM!

He was OK, but... man.

Oh yes, I once had a nice German couple ask me where they could see the bears? The real ones?

Conversely, when in the US once I successfully exchanged Canadian Tire money for greenbacks. Made $20 that way.

[Evil Jim]

Those complaints in the original link have to be fake. Please tell me they're fake. I have enough people to "put out of their misery" as it is.

[Smeghead]

I don't know if they are real or not; but it's a big established paper, and even SVT's (Swedish publicservice broadcasting) teletext had a story about it, so if it's fake then it's a nicely done fake.

But then as you've seen in this thread so far; the stupidity is everywhere, and there is no place to run or hide.

Would make a nice horror/end of the world movie: The Stupitity

[ptitqui]

'I'm running late, can you tell the station to hold the plane for fifteen minutes for me?'

'I would like to file a complaint because the driver came by while I was in the shower/washroom/grocery store'

[after saying they can't pick it up, can't be at home, and don't have an alternative address to send it to]
'The service is terrible, why are you being so difficult?'

[Matt]

"If it buy the game here will it work in my PS2 at home?" (home being the US)
"If I buy the game here will it be in English?"

Why are either of those all that unusual? Okay the English one is a real stretch, but if your only exposure to Canada is Montreal, because you live in the extreme northeast US, then it's a legitimate question.

"Will it work in my PS2 at home?" is also a legitimate question, because of the regional controls on everything these days. I'm fairly well-versed in the topic, but even I might ask under the, "it doesn't hurt to ask" policy.

Regional lockouts are continental, and anyone who uses consumer electronics that have them should know that.

and most of the americans asking about the game being in english are sailors on military ships, which typically make two stop overs in victoria a year while sailing the pacific coast. If you're in an english speaking town, on the english-speaking sideof the country, speaking english with the staff, buying games with english titles, how likely do you really think it is that the game you're about to buy is in french?

-m

[Kdz]

While I do mostly agree with you Matt, there are plenty of less-than-tech-savvy people out there who use such devices. One of my best friends being an example, but that's just because he never got bothered to be informed, he pretty much just uses his PS2 and not much else (he doesn't even have a computer!).

Similarly, I drive cars, but I'm no mechanic. Better than some, perhaps; I can change my own oil and other such sundries. But that doesn't mean I know the finer points.

[Sable]

I live in Alaska (All my stories start this way) which is a glacier-rich environment.

Glaciers, you see, usually look like this:



This is the Mendenhall Glacier, which is right in town. You can see, it's covered with rocks and dirts in regular striations, this is called glacial moraine and contains boulders occasionally the size of a house.

The number one question we get from folks looking at the glacier is:

Why don't you clean the glacier? It's dirty.


The dumbest question I have ever heard - and I have heard a lot - is...

What do you do with the glacier when it's not here for tourists?

[Smeghead]

What do you do with the glacier when it's not here for tourists?

Ok that's a winner in my book

[Yukikaze]

Probably the best though, was downtown Victoria one summer's eve. One inebriated American;
"Hey, it's Canada, the cars will just stop for you!" (steps out into traffic).

SCREEEEECH BAM!

He was OK, but... man.

Your free health care didn't extend to him, I hope? Be doing the world a favor if it didn't.

Ironically, though I live in one of the major Tourist Trap towns of the state(Boulder is a bit more touristy, as is another that I can't remember the name of), I have yet to be asked a stupid question by tourists.

George just lucky, I guess.

[Bob The Magic Camel]

"How much is this in real money?"

Oh wow, that made my day. Thank you for that Graham, thank you.
And thanks to retarded Americans making the rest of their country look bad.

"How much is this in real money?" "Just because our money look's like monopoly money DOESN'T MEAN IT'S NOT REAL!!!!"

I think the Aussies have the market cornered on the currency-looking-like-monopoly-money front.

If you're in an english speaking town, on the english-speaking sideof the country, speaking english with the staff, buying games with english titles, how likely do you really think it is that the game you're about to buy is in french?

-m

La Box Orange?

----

If there is one thing that's good about being in Norfolk (which for reference only has 2 roads leading in or out of it, both of which are single-carriageway) is that it's so inaccessible, out of the way, and uninteresting that tourists never come here.

[MrDys]

Not really the same vein, but when I worked in a grocery store I once had an American gentleman ask where the liquor aisle was. I patiently explained to him that alcohol can only be sold by licensed vendors and government-run stores in B.C. He proceeded to become irate and yell at me about how stupid my store was. I again explained it was a law. He yelled at me, yelled at my boss, and then left.

He's a doubleplus shitty American, as there are a number of states in the US that have similar liquor control regulations. He'd shoot himself if he stepped foot in Pennsylvania.

[Timelady]

Here's some more. I don't really get to meet tourists. I live in the wrong town for it, I guess. Worst thing that's ever happened to me was someone getting really mad because I wouldn't give them a video on reserve for someone else.

[The R]

Yeah I heard a lot of ones complaining about our 7-11's not able to sell booze. Even when calmly explained. But yeah I got pretty angry upon hearing from my friend who told me she had a customer complain that our money want real, or how she couldn't give change in US currency. You're coming to a different country for crying out loud. argh.

I think the best one for here in Victoria was this one family asking my friend "Which way to the bridge to Vancouver?" and upon him asking "what are you talking about? There's no bridge to Vancouver", they insisted that they came here from this "Bridge to Vancouver".

He tried to explain but they got really irate and demanded that he show them the way to the bridge to Vancouver. He just had to walk away.

[Alja-Markir]

Tourist In Toronto: "So uh, where's the Space Needle?"
Friend of Mine Who Is A Local: "Seattle?"
Tourist: "What? Look, I'm trying to find the Space Needle. That big tall building, looks like a needle?"
Local: "It's in Seattle."
Tourist: "That like some slang up here?"
Local: "No, it's a place name?"
Tourist: "Ahh, so it's like Paris, Texas."
Local: "No. The Space Needle is in Seattle, Washington. In the United States."
Tourist: "That's not true. Look, if you don't know, just say so and stop wasting my time."

~Alja~

[Matt]

If you wanted to not be a dick though, you could point them to the CN Tower.

-m