This week has been half term and the campsite has seen many
people come and go for a weeks camping.
The majority of these people have been quiet pleasant and
nice and glad to have a break away from the stresses and trials of modern life.
Unfortunately there is always one exception to the rule.
Enter Mrs Utterbitch:
Mrs Utterbitch is a professional complainer. If something is
wrong she will complain about it. Even when something isn’t wrong, she will
find a reason to a have a moan.
Things do go wrong from time to time and it is part of my
job to put things right and sort stuff out.
However, Mrs Utterbitch is as her name suggests an utter
bitch.
Nominative determinism it’s called.
Firstly, the office is open most of the day for campers to
buy milk and bread and biscuits and ask for directions to local attractions and
the like. 5:30pm the shop shuts but I still make myself available for
emergencies (see notice on shop door for instructions)
7:30pm the door bells rings. Mrs Utterbitch is standing at
the door, arms crossed.
“THE INTERNET IS NOT WORKING!!!” she screams at me. I
don’t know how she managed to actually shriek the three exclamation marks, but
she did.
“Oh.” Said I. “Let’s see if can’t sort that out for you.” I
can be quiet polite when I have to be (honest).
Mrs U brought her 10 year old laptop to the shop, while I waited,
and I promptly got her online to the FREE WIFI I supply FREE OF CHARGE.
“There you go.” I cheerily said. “All sorted. I think you are
struggling to get the signal because you have one of those covers over your
caravan window.” I explained. “They are lined with aluminium, which is stopping
the signal getting through.”
“THAT IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!” She shouted adding a hurumph
for good measure.
“Well, you can always
use the barn if you need to get access to the net.” I offered.
“I AM NOT GOING TO SIT IN A BARN TO USE THE INTERNET!!!” yelled
Mrs Utterbitch.
I sighed inwardly (which is probably why I have hiccups) “It’s
not actually a barn. It’s a communal room we have recently built for campers to
enjoy. It heated and has comfy seating and tables…” but I was cut of mid-sentence
with this astonishing retort.
“I AM NOT THE SORT OF PERSON WHO SITS IN A BARN!!!”
Wow.
“It’s NOT a barn it’s…” but before I could finish:
“IT’S FINE!!! I JUST WON’T BOTHER!!!” and off she stormed.
If that wasn’t bad enough, she came the next morning. Stamping
her feet toward the shop as I was sorting the morning papers. Half expecting
some form of apology – I soon realised I could not be further from the truth.
“THE HAND DRYER IN THE LADIES IS NOT WORKING!!!” Howled the
she devil.
“Hmm….” I mused, not wanting to suffer a conversation with
her. “I’ll have a look and sort it out. Thanks for letting me know.”
I promptly ventured into the ladies washroom (which is
always left a fucking disgrace by the way) and put my hand under the hand dryer
to test to see if it worked.
Guess what…
Yup! It was working. The woman was outwitted by a hand
dryer.
That really should have been the end of the matter – but I
should have known better.
This very evening at 7:30pm just as I was enjoying my first
curry of the year, the door bell rang.
There she was… again. The same frown. The same folded arms
of defiance.
With my mouth still chewing a bit of Naan bread and Chicken
Tikka Jalfrezi I asked how I could help.
“THE LIGHTS ARE NOT WORKING IN THE LADIES!!!”
“Stupid question, I know, but did you try the light switch?”
I asked.
No reply came and she stormed off back to her van.
Guess what happened when I tried the light switch.
Yup. The lights came on.
Of course they did.
Mrs Utterbitch is bloody idiot.
Thankfully she leaves tomorrow and I have already taken her
camping fees.
Some people do not deserve decent customer service.
But as I say, she is the one exception to the rule and the
rest of the people on site have been very well behaved and capable of using
light switches, hand dryers and the internet.
In other news I have made a new friend. He is called Tony One Shoulder, because he only has one shoulder. He gets lost a lot and seems to
know a lot about men who live in castles and invented the spinning wheel.
I could tell you all the things I have learnt from him like,
what button does what on his new remote control, or what the “man with the face
from TV’s Time team” said on the news 6 months ago about the road in
Gloustershire that ISN’T a Roman road…. But I’ll save those for another day.