Professor Alice Roberts...

I think we need put this into perspective she is a 'lady driver' this gives a certain amount of leeway regarding driving instructions. This will not only include driving the wrong way but also the following: parallel parking, a larger rear view mirror for lipstick application and of course map reading.

The biggest issue with new vehicles is they removed the pull out manual choke, now they have no where to hang their handbags.

Please can some one send me a tin hat. Daz :imoutahere:
 
GJH said:
But did the warden shout, yell &c? A tweet (especially phrased as it was) is only hearsay, not evidence :) It seems the only part we can rely on was her own admission that she was in the wrong :)
We've stayed on several CC sites and never once had any problems with wardens, the exact opposite in fact.
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We have shared the same experience as you re wardens for many years. However in the last 12 months have come across a couple of them who did have an unpleasant attitude.
In answer to your question no I don't know for a fact she was shouted at, if she was though, its wrong. Just saying.
 
laird of Dunstan said:
I do sometimes volunteer for archeology projects and her name came up in a recent conversation about the time team series , I find going on digs hard work but enjoyable ,being a man I often get the mattock work..
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But the compensation for male volunteers is archaeology's best-kept secret - that it's predominantly female. That was my favourite archaeological discovery back in the days of my youth.
 
Does CC mean concentration camp ?
Must go visit one and see if I can antagonise one of the gestapo to get a reaction.
Hard to get a good slagging match going nowadays, be fun on a wet grey day !
 
We used this site many years ago, so can't comment on the present wardens.. but when we were there it was Dick of (Mo&Dick fun members) who was the warden..
We loved our visits and went back several years in a row.. Dick was laid back, the site was impeccable, peaceful and well managed.. and it's a fabulous location..

It's is a Members Only site .. no toilet block .. Max length 9mts.

Extracts from Reviews on UK Campsite..

* The wardens are the best we have come across; nothing was too much trouble.

* The Wardens were very friendly and helpful and always ready to help with any enquiry.

* the wardens were friendly and helpful,

* Upon arrival the warden was very helpful and efficient and we were able to select our pitch from the ones that were available.

Similar reviews on the Caravan Club site

* very well run site by cheerful and knowledgeable wardens.

* Wardens were friendly and helpful.

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Also she isn't an archaeologist. She's an anthropologist.
 
ScotJimland said:
Judging a warden by one twit tweeting on twitter .. ?

There are two sides to every story..

If she had a genuine grievance, the Club is where to complain .. NOT social media..

time she climbed down from her platform.. :rolleyes:
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Yesss.. thats a good idea.. Complain to CC and get black balled ! ( she might end up being ousted any way due to the tweet )

OK.. being a bit diplomatic here..
To be sure there are many many wardens who do a fine job.
The sites are always immaculate ( though bloody expensive )
Probably the majority of members are happy and never fall foul of wardens who are not exactly helpful..

BUT !
Where ( as in a particular site ) there has been one complaint you can bet there have been others.
When CC become aware of a problem, instead of addressing it, they do at best nothing, at worst berate the customer not the warden

A wardens job is extremely difficult.. It is one of those jobs where you have to constantly bite your tongue and smile even when you want to rip the customers head off

If a warden cannot do that then it is time he found a job more suited to his or her persona

An absolute classic example ( from personal experience )
I am sure the majority of users of Sheepcote valley site at Brighton have few issues.. However..
Both my son and I had an awful time at the hands of the wardens.
We pitched up and as usual one of the wardens came along and supervised where we went.
It was US who pointed out a concern about spacing ( my hab door and therefore awning were on the drivers side ) saying that when we both had our awnings out the space was less than recommended..
We offered to swap sides so the awnings pointed away from each other.
No, you are fine
What if I face in on the pitch rather than out, that would then put the awning where standard brit vans would have them.
No, you are fine and we do not like motorhomes pointing in.

So we plot up.. Spend 30 odd minutes putting up the awnings etc etc.

Just sat down and ANOTHER warden marches up..
Oye.. You cant park there. You are too close

But sir, ( best diplomatic voice and all that ) your colleague assured us this was fine even after we pointed out to him it may be an issue

Don't care 'mate' you have got to move

So we ( Darrell and I ) looked at each other ..

Just then number one guy marches up.. Number two says to him, did you put them there ?

No ( !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! )
They say you were ok with the awnings out..

No ( !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! )

You will either have to move or leave.

By this time, what with the blatant lies, I was spitting feathers.
Darrell just said leave it dad, we will move.

A few days later we are about to leave.
Someone needed something from the town.
Went in the office and asked if it was ok to park in the arrival bay until about 11am .. ( this was early April, during the week and the site was almost empty )

No, unless you pay another day ..

At which point we left, with Darrell confirming they would never see another penny in membership fees from him..

Darrell contacted CC when we got home and raised the issues.
The response ?
The rules must be obeyed.
IF what you report is true ( emphasis on the if making it sound that he was just lying ) then the warden was correct insisting you move

But what about the first warden saying we would be ok ?

I cannot respond to that as there are no witnesses

Now that folks, is personal experience, and based on that I would suggest the chances are at least 50 50 the warden was being a nob of the first order..

You see,, it is all down to the individuals experiences of CC and their perspective of what has happened.
While something may make a warden apoplectic, it is, surely, part of their job to be the best diplomat possible.. yet it does seem there are many wardens of CC sites who delight in wearing Adolf's clothes !!!
 
Jaws said:
I am continually amazed that anyone should be even slightly shocked at any behaviour demonstrated by so many of the caravan club warders ( no that is not a mistake )

Many of the warders are a disgrace believing them selves to be something special.. And members of the management team I have had the misfortune to deal with are little better.
They bring a new level and meaning to the word arrogance
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Exactly why we are no longer members, I don't understand how they accept a job that requires them to deal with people on a daily basis when they have no people skill at all and just appear to be intent on making every ones life a misery. I can only assume they are all ex Sargent Majors who can't get a job any where else.
I'm not particularly a fan of sites at the best of times but CC sites really are the pits.

3-4 years ago we were going to the Winchester hat fair nearest site was the CC one so we booked in there. Got suck in a traffic jam for over an hour (Goodwood Festival of Speed turning out), tried phoning the site dozens of times to let them know we would be late, but they don't answer their phone.
We arrived at 8:07pm the warden was standing outside reception I walked up to him and said " good evening I'm Mr B sorry we are a bit late been suck in a traffic jam, I did try ringing you" the wardens reply "You can't come in here you are late (pointing at his watch) no entry after 8:00" tried reasoning with him but not possible with little Hitlers, then he told us to park on the late arrive area outside the gate and said we could connect to EHU over there (at least 50m away).
Settled down for the night after much muttering, a visit to the l0o block nice leaking urinal no one have even bother to cordon off. Next morning awoke to the aroma of their over flowing cesspit.
Yep CC sites certainly are the pits.

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Jonkil said:
Does CC mean concentration camp ?
Must go visit one and see if I can antagonise one of the gestapo to get a reaction.
Hard to get a good slagging match going nowadays, be fun on a wet grey day !
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Sure fire way to invoke a good debate with the warden is to drive around the site with the grey waste open. (y)
 
There may be trouble ahead la la la
 
Everyone should avoid driving the wrong way on a one way campsite road out of respect for people using them and to avoid inconvenience, whether celebrity, landed gentry pop star, model, vicar etc. its the same for everyone.

Wardens, in cases where someone inadvertently goes the wrong way simply have to inform them and ask them not to do it again in a polite manner without shouting or display of histrionics. Where someone goes the wrong way on purpose, the same applies with the codicil that they may be asked to leave the site if the behaviour continues.

Simple as that isn't it?

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jockaneezer said:
I don't think the phrase "do you know who I am?" is in her vocabulary. She's done a couple of programmes on various science/anthropological things and was a presenter on Coast. Kind of like a female Prof Brian Cox, but easier on the eye ;)
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Oh, I don't know, doubt I'd climb over him to get to Ron! Only for the conversation you understand....:whistle:;)
 
Have to say, our most recent of experiences with the CC was dire. We booked a CC in Essex to visit Ron's cousin who was visiting from Canada. We had the caravan then, and used the satnav as we sort of got lost. We inadvertently ended up in a narrow lane, where passing drivers (understandably annoyed at having to squeeze past) screamed abuse at me (and I'm not exaggerating) only to say that there was a width restriction at the other end of the lane so we would have to turn around. I was extremely upset by the time we finally got out, as I had been the target of some really extreme abuse. When we finally arrived at the site I was still tearful. The lady warden was busy when we arrived, telling another camper that the nearest shop was a 5 minute walk away. (We found the shop she had mentioned but Usain Bolt couldn't have run there in 5minutes!, took us 10 in the car!)
When I explained about our journey she shrugged and said "well, you're here now. Shouldn't have used the satnav."
Her equally uninterested partner/husband then showed us a pitch. We asked if there was one that wasn't under a tree as it was raining, but he said 'If you wanted choice, you should have come yesterday. It's this or nothing.' What a lovely attitude, being as we had been booked for several weeks to arrive at that time on that day! He then cycled off, without even bothering to tell us where the water was, or toilets or anything!
Later, we drove out to visit Ron's cousin who he hadne seen for many years. We knew the gate was locked at 11, so ensured we left in good time. However, the traffic there was still heavy even that late, and we arrived at the gate at exactly 11, just as Mrs Warden was about to padlock it. As she was actually there, we asked if she would be kind enough to just let us past before locking up, as it was raining hard and was a very long walk from the reception car park to our distant pitch. No, rules are rules, we had to drive back to reception then trudge through the rain to our pitch.
Needless to say, we will not be returning to that site, and with apologies to all the lovely Essex peeps on here, even to Essex!
 
I went there a few years ago and pitched on the lower level by the water point at the end of the video. The assistant warden told me to drive to it the wrong way as it was quiet and more sensible than disturbing everyone else.
Not all wardens have off days!
 
We have two car parks where we do our main weekly shopping, both of which are clearly marked out with direction arrows and no entry signs. Almost every time we go there somebody who either isn't observant enough to see the signs or (usually by their reaction when challenged) too full of themselves to think they apply to them will be driving the wrong way and almost every time there is a near miss.
I wonder how many realise that if an accident does occur they will be judged the one at fault because of going the wrong way?
 
without all the facts, simply based on past experience of CC site wardens. I would have some sympathy in principal for the proff on this one! just on the balance of probabilities:rolleyes:

plus she has a nice rack and great bone structure....:giggle:

proff.jpg

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iandsm said:
Everyone should avoid driving the wrong way on a one way campsite road out of respect for people using them and to avoid inconvenience, whether celebrity, landed gentry pop star, model, vicar etc. its the same for everyone.

Wardens, in cases where someone inadvertently goes the wrong way simply have to inform them and ask them not to do it again in a polite manner without shouting or display of histrionics. Where someone goes the wrong way on purpose, the same applies with the codicil that they may be asked to leave the site if the behaviour continues.

Simple as that isn't it?
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Could not agree more
She made a mistake.. We cannot possibly judge if the oops was deliberate or simply an error
Making a mistake is not an excuse for someone to either shout or be rude.
 
GJH said:
We have two car parks where we do our main weekly shopping, both of which are clearly marked out with direction arrows and no entry signs. Almost every time we go there somebody who either isn't observant enough to see the signs or (usually by their reaction when challenged) too full of themselves to think they apply to them will be driving the wrong way and almost every time there is a near miss.
I wonder how many realise that if an accident does occur they will be judged the one at fault because of going the wrong way?
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GJH said:
We have two car parks where we do our main weekly shopping, both of which are clearly marked out with direction arrows and no entry signs. Almost every time we go there somebody who either isn't observant enough to see the signs or (usually by their reaction when challenged) too full of themselves to think they apply to them will be driving the wrong way and almost every time there is a near miss.
I wonder how many realise that if an accident does occur they will be judged the one at fault because of going the wrong way?
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No one is suggesting rules should be deliberately broken. We are talking about people who appear not to have manners or diplomacy working in a position where perhaps they should have. Clearly, as shown by the many examples on here, the cc have a problem with the attitudes of quite a few of their wardens.
 
parknride said:
No one is suggesting rules should be deliberately broken. We are talking about people who appear not to have manners or diplomacy working in a position where perhaps they should have. Clearly, as shown by the many examples on here, the cc have a problem with the attitudes of quite a few of their wardens.
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I totally agree that people should keep the standards due to the position they hold but, as Jim said earlier today, if she had a genuine grievance then she should have complained to the CC not used Twitter. It makes me wonder whether the warden really did fall below standard or whether she just didn't like being caught.
No doubt wardens have been at fault at times but in the case of many complaints I have seen the "fault" has been simply that they would not pander to what the complainant wanted.
 
GJH said:
I totally agree that people should keep the standards due to the position they hold but, as Jim said earlier today, if she had a genuine grievance then she should have complained to the CC not used Twitter. It makes me wonder whether the warden really did fall below standard or whether she just didn't like being caught.
No doubt wardens have been at fault at times but in the case of many complaints I have seen the "fault" has been simply that they would not pander to what the complainant wanted.
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Like it or not, in the modern idiom many people will use social media channels to report poor service, bad experiences or general dissatisfaction etc (as is their right within reasonable bounds). This is why large companies are also investing in messaging across those same social media channels.

The CC probably need to be cognizant of such, train their staff accordingly and keep up with the times!

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RowleyBirkinQC said:
Like it or not, in the modern idiom many people will use social media channels to report poor service, bad experiences or general dissatisfaction etc (as is their right within reasonable bounds). This is why large companies are also investing in messaging across those same social media channels.

The CC probably need to be cognizant of such, train their staff accordingly and keep up with the times!
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Yes, they will use social media.

It seems, though, that when the choice of words is of the type used by the Twitter under discussion it tends to be that it is the complainant at fault :)
 
I'm making no claim as to where fault may lay, just that organisations such as CC need to be aware that poor customer service may be reported via such. Better to avoid in the first place where possible.

Whilst of course I don't know her, I personally doubt that Prof Alice Roberts would indulge in such commentary if devoid of some basis in reality.
 
There is a trend these days, with a lot of anecdotal evidence, that people are getting a far quicker and more satisfactory customer service response by calling whoever it is out on Twitter than by contacting them directly and privately. Most companies seem to find it far harder to ignore a public complaint than a private one. One example being the stories on this thread of the responses given by the CC when people have contacted them to complain. I can't see them replying like that on a public forum.

Never had reason to to it personally but I wouldn't hesitate if I needed to.
 
RowleyBirkinQC said:
I'm making no claim as to where fault may lay, just that organisations such as CC need to be aware that poor customer service may be reported via such. Better to avoid in the first place where possible.

Whilst of course I don't know her, I personally doubt that Prof Alice Roberts would indulge in such commentary if devoid of some basis in reality.
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Always assuming that poor customer service did actually occur and needed avoiding :)
 
GJH said:
Always assuming that poor customer service did actually occur and needed avoiding :)
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Indeed, this is all anecdotal, we will never know the content of the claimed exchange, assuming said exchange did take place.

Regardless, companies such as CC need to be customer service/social media aware and have mitigation strategies for exposure caused by public criticism delivered via the likes of Twitter. This is now standard practice, whether for the better or not is completely open to opinion/perspective.

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