Ridiculous Tourist Complaints

Drop by and talk about anything you want. This is where all cheese-related discussions should go
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Fuzzyfreaker
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Postby Fuzzyfreaker » 19 Mar 2009, 11:32

"Thank you for calling GameStop where we buy and sell used games, how can I help you?"

"When are your open skating hours?"

"..."
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Postby CygnusX1 » 19 Mar 2009, 12:03

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

-m


actually the CN Tower stands out so much to the point where if anyone ever asked where it was (while downtown) it would be extremely hard for me to be serious and not be a dick about it
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Postby Alja-Markir » 19 Mar 2009, 12:12

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

-m


I suggested to my friend that perhaps that was what the confused fellow was looking for, but he doesn't agree. He also walked away before thinking to ask.

~Alja~
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Postby Wrai » 19 Mar 2009, 12:13

I use to work at a blockbuster in Alberta. People are... odd.

"Do you have movies?" Frequently started most phone conversations.

"I bought GTA4 from you guys a while ago. Now, I've lost the receipt and the instruction book, but I want to bring it back and get my money for it"

"I brought up one movie, which has the actual movie cover and title, description and in no way could be confused to be any other movie. But I was expecting it to be this other movie. Somehow. By magic. You gave me the wrong movie. Fix it, and give me more free movies for my stupidity"

Also, being from Australia just made people ask weird things.

"Was it hard for you to learn the language when you came out here?"

SeriousCustomer"Do they have grass in Australia?"
Me "That slang for something?"
SC "No, I mean grass. Grows on the ground, green. Grass"
Me" ..."

And, of course.

"I can't understand you, let me speak to your manager."
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Postby Alja-Markir » 19 Mar 2009, 12:15

Wrai wrote:And, of course.

"I can't understand you, let me speak to your manager."


"Good luck pal, he's a bloody Kiwi."

~Alja~
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Postby zfubarz » 19 Mar 2009, 13:20

Yeah I gotta say anybody who couldn't find the CN tower in Toronto would have to be blind I can see it from anything above the tree line where I am and I live about 50km away from it.

I think that gentleman must have gotten on several wrong planes.
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Postby Smeghead » 19 Mar 2009, 13:43

Alja-Markir wrote:
Wrai wrote:And, of course.
"I can't understand you, let me speak to your manager."

"Good luck pal, he's a bloody Kiwi."

~Alja~

Ok that would be an awesome response.

I've not had that much contact with tourists andstupid people. Mostly becouse I've spent 21 out of my 24 years in a small town that no one ever visited unless they came from an even smaller place. And 60% of the people in that town spoak finnish (and I'm not one of them), so I've never known if what they said were stupid.
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Postby the amativeness » 19 Mar 2009, 20:57

Graham wrote:and, drumroll please...

"Do you sell video games?"


No, just video games.
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Postby zfubarz » 19 Mar 2009, 21:03

that kiwi/aussie story reminded me of something great.

A customer from some other town one time, and was making all kinds of demands saying how things work different where he's from, and eventually got pissed off at the other employee that was serving him. He demands to talk to the manager, she comes over to talk to him and he starts complaining about the damn idiot immigrant girl serving him, he can't understand her, she's stupid etc. really being a total douche wad. i should mention the girl was born and raised in canada she's just got indian parents.

The manager tells him this and he gets irate. This is the part that rocks. word for word

"Who the ***** do you think you are, Who's your boss, i'm gonna call him and get you and this stupid immigrant fired."

my manager replies

"Good luck asshole, his name is Ashwani, want me to dial for you?"

I miss that lady sometimes.
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Postby Brad » 19 Mar 2009, 22:44

Normally I give Brits more credit, but I was at a car rental place at the airport one time (I live in Vancouver), and a British couple who had just rented a car asked me which road they should take to get to Niagara falls. They were under the impression that they could make an afternoon of it. Highway 1 I suppose.

Dear Europeans: If Canada was a Katamari, it could pick up every country on your continent and then proceed to make a planetoid that while would still disappoint the king of all stars, would be quite large all the same. We are bigger than Europe, Australia and most of Asia (though not combined). 14 Frances. But we only have three places worth seeing (Vancouver, St. Johns and Niagara (sorry Toronto, you blow))
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Postby Evil Jim » 19 Mar 2009, 22:51

Brad wrote:...a British couple who had just rented a car asked me which road they should take to get to Niagara falls. They were under the impression that they could make an afternoon of it. Highway 1 I suppose.

Hilarious. I would have just told them which interstate (or appropriate road) to stay on & wished them a fun trip.
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Postby Smeghead » 19 Mar 2009, 23:29

My brother works for a powercompany's customer support. I'm not sure how it is nowdays, but they use to have a more sound isolated room, a room that was user for one of their policies "The customer shouts at you; you shout back" this company could do that becouse they more or less had monopolly on the national market
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Postby Elomin Sha » 20 Mar 2009, 03:57

Brad wrote:Normally I give Brits more credit, but I was at a car rental place at the airport one time (I live in Vancouver), and a British couple who had just rented a car asked me which road they should take to get to Niagara falls. They were under the impression that they could make an afternoon of it. Highway 1 I suppose.

Dear Europeans: If Canada was a Katamari, it could pick up every country on your continent and then proceed to make a planetoid that while would still disappoint the king of all stars, would be quite large all the same. We are bigger than Europe, Australia and most of Asia (though not combined). 14 Frances. But we only have three places worth seeing (Vancouver, St. Johns and Niagara (sorry Toronto, you blow))


There are some stupid people in Britain who don't know were some places are. In our magazine called Private Eye they have Dumb Answers from British Quizes some regarding countries. I'll have to find some and post them up.
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Postby empath » 20 Mar 2009, 06:15

Brad wrote:Normally I give Brits more credit, but I was at a car rental place at the airport one time (I live in Vancouver), and a British couple who had just rented a car asked me which road they should take to get to Niagara falls. They were under the impression that they could make an afternoon of it. Highway 1 I suppose.


I remember, stuck in a waiting room years ago, reading an anecdote in the back of a Reader's Digest: Someone living in Georgia got a call from some relatives visiting from England. They had gone to a business meeting or something in Boston, and wanted to rent a car and drop by for the day. Despite explanations and warnings from the local, the would-be visitors were confident they'd see him/her soon. Hours later, another phone call:

"Erm, okay. We might be a little late coming by..." :roll:

This is just an example of sizes/distances/numbers that are too big for people to easily conceive. I took a bus trip from Alberta to Iowa; knew it would take three days, went through half a province and three-and-a-half states, and I'm not sure if it STILL clicked in my head how far it was I travelled. I do know I bought a trilogy of novels to read on this and the return trip; I finished the third on the second day of the outward journey. :)



Dear Europeans: If Canada was a Katamari, it could pick up every country on your continent and then proceed to make a planetoid that while would still disappoint the king of all stars, would be quite large all the same. We are bigger than Europe, Australia and most of Asia (though not combined). 14 Frances. But we only have three places worth seeing (Vancouver, St. Johns and Niagara (sorry Toronto, you blow))


Image Dude, you mean the one in New Brunswick, right? Gotta check it out, I guess.

(Seriously, I was born in St. Clare's, lived here most of my life, and am a Townie through-and-through, and I have to say: WHAT ARE YOU SMOKING? :lol: )
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Postby browncoat » 20 Mar 2009, 08:49

I just remembered three of the great questions our US exchange students asked when they were in my class, in Germany.
#1: "Do you know white?" - Yes, the color. They must have seen it a couple hundred times during their stay.
#2: "Why is Hitler your president?" - Um... that son of a bitch has been dead for 60 years, may he rot in hell. Also, he never was president.
#3, my favorite: "Do you have many problems with the border to China?"

Mind you, these people were visiting our country. I'm pretty sure they had at least one or two lessons in school about it, before they came here.
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Postby Dutch guy » 20 Mar 2009, 09:38

I've heard 2 americans complain it was too hot over here. They had heard the netherlands was cold and wet all the time. It was however the middle of summer and in the east part of the country out of the cool north-sea winds, and around 30 degrees C. There had been a heat wave for over 2 weeks by then.

Somehow tourists are often also very surprised dutch people don't all walk around in wooden clogs

Also, tourists over here seem to grossly overestimate the distances between towns. All major towns in the Netherlands are within cycling distance from another one. And on a good bicycle you would almost be able to cycle from the North sea in the west to the eastern border with Germany in a day. North to south would take about 2 or 3. In a car the drive from west to east takes about 2 hours tops. (If there's no traffic jams)
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Postby Matt » 20 Mar 2009, 10:06

Dutch guy wrote:Also, tourists over here seem to grossly overestimate the distances between towns. All major towns in the Netherlands are within cycling distance from another one. And on a good bicycle you would almost be able to cycle from the North sea in the west to the eastern border with Germany in a day. North to south would take about 2 or 3. In a car the drive from west to east takes about 2 hours tops. (If there's no traffic jams)


this would be a function of the fact that a significant number of those tourists come from a country where it would take days to cycle from city to city, and weeks to cycle accross country.

-m
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Postby The Jester » 20 Mar 2009, 11:20

When my mum was in Italy years ago she noticed some American near her looking at a restaraunt's sign advertising pizza comment, 'Gee, didn't we invent the pizza?'.

In the words of Jervis Cocker: "Everybody hates a tourist".
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Postby Metcarfre » 20 Mar 2009, 11:45

Matt wrote:
Dutch guy wrote:Also, tourists over here seem to grossly overestimate the distances between towns. All major towns in the Netherlands are within cycling distance from another one. And on a good bicycle you would almost be able to cycle from the North sea in the west to the eastern border with Germany in a day. North to south would take about 2 or 3. In a car the drive from west to east takes about 2 hours tops. (If there's no traffic jams)


this would be a function of the fact that a significant number of those tourists come from a country where it would take days to cycle from city to city, and weeks to cycle accross country.

-m


Then I guess we shouldn't find it amusing when tourists in Vancouver expect a trip to Niagra Falls to be a day trip?
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Postby TorachiKatashi » 22 Mar 2009, 09:19

God, do we ever get that here... xDDD

On top of the tourists, we get a lot of soldiers who end up stopping over here on their flights, and the majority of them usually end up coming through work (Here at the wonderful Micky Dee's xD).

This actually reminds me, if any Americans here could answer me this, it'd be really helpful. When I ask you if you own a debit card, does that make you think of the card you get from your bank to access your bank account, or a credit card?

Because guaranteed, every single one of those soldiers had a credit card, but when I asked them if they were using a debit card, they told me yes. It got really annoying, and by the sixth or seventh I probably sounded really condescending asking, "Are you sure it's not actually a credit card?" but I was just waiting for them to GTFO at that point. xD

I also oftentimes get Brits or Australians who will come up to the counter and ask for these really obscure jams and dipping sauces and shit, and get all pissed off when I can't even understand what they're asking me for much less to try and help them.

My favourite has to be last winter. I know even as I type this that it sounds not a word of the truth, but honest, I was standing right there as it happened. I remember serving the guy, this Indian guy with this really strong accent, came in and bought like... five Big Macs? Something weird like that? Left, apparently drove all the way home (in a snowstorm, none the less), then drove all the way back a couple of hours later, about five minutes before we were closing up the counter for the night. Storm in through the door, fuming, waving his receipt around yelling about how he's been ripped off. Obviously my manager automatically buts in to take over (they don't fuckin' pay me enough to deal with people like that xD), and you know what his beef was? He added everything up on a calculator, and his total had been rounded up to the nearest penny! We charged him an extra penny. Goes on for five minutes about how dishonest it is, about how in HIS home country, they round it down for the sake of the customer! This genius spent God knows what in gas driving all the way back here for his penny. So eventually my manager gets fed up and wants to leave - she was my ride home - and just whips out her wallet and yells, "Fine, y'know what? You want it so bad? Here's your penny." Holds it out to him, he makes a face and storms out - without his penny, even. I'll never forget that day.

One of my teachers, when she was younger, worked as a tour guide, and two of the stories she told me stand out in my mind. One was when she had a small group of tourists up to the top of Cabot Tower, and a man was hold his toddler out the damn window to, "Give her a better view." Anyone who has been up there knows how strong the winds are on Signal Hill, and it's a three-story drop to the rocks below if - or rather, when - she had fallen from his hands.

She also had a couple from Florida ask her where they should go to get a Newfoundland puppy to take home with them. Some people shouldn't own children OR dogs.
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Postby Elomin Sha » 22 Mar 2009, 10:01

I hope that penny covers his fuel bill.
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Postby tamaness » 22 Mar 2009, 10:24

TorachiKatashi wrote:This actually reminds me, if any Americans here could answer me this, it'd be really helpful. When I ask you if you own a debit card, does that make you think of the card you get from your bank to access your bank account, or a credit card?


A debit card is a bank card, which charges to one's account. Most of these cards are provided through a credit company, though, and can be run as "credit." In fact, many people prefer having their bank cards run through the credit system for various reasons. If it's a thursday and I want to run my bank card as credit, I know that the debit won't hit my account until after I get paid.

Some credit cards have Debit features in that you can borrow against your credit using a PIN, either at an ATM or a point-of-sale.
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Postby Fuzzyfreaker » 22 Mar 2009, 11:50

Walking down Orchard Road while living in Singapore:

"Oh thank God, somebody that may speak good English"

Well, I'm a pretty nice guy, so I wasn't going to correct his grammar, until this part came:

"Now, where can we find the ocean?"

So, being the kind gent I am, I assume that he's talking about a beach, or Sentosa... or something. Nope, he just wants "The Ocean".

So I point in all four directions, and walk away.
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Postby empath » 22 Mar 2009, 14:13

TorachiKatashi wrote:God, do we ever get that here... xDDD

On top of the tourists, we get a lot of soldiers who end up stopping over here on their flights, and the majority of them usually end up coming through work (Here at the wonderful Micky Dee's xD).

This actually reminds me, if any Americans here could answer me this, it'd be really helpful. When I ask you if you own a debit card, does that make you think of the card you get from your bank to access your bank account, or a credit card?

{Torachi's diatribe over the problems regarding "credit cards" vs. "debit cards" for payment at McDonalds}


As MadAldric said, the lines between the two are getting pretty blurry, but yeah, we obviously mean something different up here. Image

But you might just wanna say "bank card" or "ATM card" in future instead of "debit"; regardless of what management wants you to parrot off...


I also oftentimes get Brits or Australians who will come up to the counter and ask for these really obscure jams and dipping sauces and shit, and get all pissed off when I can't even understand what they're asking me for much less to try and help them.


Bah, that's your management's fault (I mean the fatheads way back at World Corporate Headquarters); they decided that 'Rotten Ronnie's' should customize their menus to suit the culture and cuisine of the region; those Brits/Aussies/etc CAN GET the weird sauces & condiments in the Mickey D's 'back home'. Image

For more info, pop "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald's_products_(international)" into your browser...

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I like your manager!

Honestly, there's arguing and fighting for a principle, but COME THE BLEEP ON!

Wait - all your prices are finite to the nearest cent; he was bitching about the sales tax?!? Guess what - I know it's too late now - but this is neither your fault, nor your manager's: it's how the Federal and Provincial Governments charge that sales tax. They decree that it'll be rounded up. I'd have loved to be a bystander there; I'd interject with this and give the irate customer the mailing address of the government ombudsman to air his complaint about how "Gouvernment du Canada" operates! :lol: "Sir, complaining to them is pointless; they HAVE to do it this way by Federal LAW; you'll have to take it up with the Canadian Revenue Agency..." :D

One of my teachers, when she was younger, worked as a tour guide, and two of the stories she told me stand out in my mind. One was when she had a small group of tourists up to the top of Cabot Tower, and a man was hold his toddler out the damn window to, "Give her a better view." Anyone who has been up there knows how strong the winds are on Signal Hill, and it's a three-story drop to the rocks below if - or rather, when - she had fallen from his hands.


:roll: Ohgeez. "better view", huh? Why didn't you just go out on the roof yourself if the view was so much better? Oh, wait; they restrict access of visitor dumbasses. :P

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And just for reference:

Image

This Signal Hill, with Cabot Tower sitting on the top of it. The cold North Atlantic is RIGHT on the other side of that hill, and St. John's Harbour visible at the bottom of the pic isn't much better; I don't recall ever being up there in thirty-odd years without SOME level of buffeting!

Wikipedia wrote:Due to high winds in winter (which can reach up to 110 km (68 miles per hour), it is generally preferred to visit Signal Hill in the warmer months of the year.
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She also had a couple from Florida ask her where they should go to get a Newfoundland puppy to take home with them. Some people shouldn't own children OR dogs.


Well, I'd need more info - they could be very good pet owners - but if I take the obvious assumptions (a Newfoundland will grow up to be about the size of an average black bear, and has a THICK coat - waterproofing, don'cha know?) they'd be turning the thing over to a pound before it's six months old. Don't even get me started about all the hoops and burro-cratic BLEEP they'd have to go through to essentially import a living animal (pet notwithstanding) from Canada to the U.S. (and we LIKE each other :lol: )
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Postby Yukikaze » 22 Mar 2009, 16:36

Hmm yes, to recap...

Debit cards in the US all have Credit features these days, most of us just get the debit card and use it as a credit card.

The nearest city to where I live is Manitou Springs. It'd probably take half the day to ride a bike down there, and we're right at the foothills of the Rocky mountains. That is, it's rather hilly. And when I say "rather," I mean "30%-50% grade everywhere, most hills between 6 and 100 feet tall." I think the next-closest city would take at least a day to get to.

Come to think of it, if you're restricted to bicycle access, you probably want to reserve an entire day just to go from the Chapel Hills mall(north, near where I live) to the Citadel mall(way down south mall, still well within city limits).

Having thought a bit about the soldiers that Graham and Matt used to deal with, something occurred to me. These guys go all over the world, and most of the places they end up don't speak English natively and run off a different region coding from the US and Canada. They probably expected it to be an English/Region 1 game, but were just making sure. I'd probably have checked the first time or two myself.

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