We read a lot about the caravan park industrys attempts to close-down free camping. We tell each other about it and that is good, but we need to remind the people who provide and maintain these sites how valuable they are to their community.
Send an email letter of thanks to the CEO of the local council or Club responsible for that free camp and copy it to the Chamber of Commerce and the local newspaper. Maybe it was so nice you spent an extra day there. Tell them how much you enjoyed the pub/club meals, what excellent service you got when you had a problem with your rig, how helpful the pharmacy was, or any other good experience you had.
Get them thinking about how much money you injected into their community while you were camped at their free camp.
Why not walk into the office of the local newspaper and tell the editor/reporter the good news. Most small-town newspapers are so desperate for copy that they will write a story and include a photo of you and your rig parked in the free campsite.
We might all be pleasantly surprised what a little bit of subtle flattery and a thankyou can achieve.
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BJC
"A year from now you'll wish you had started today."
I've just had 24 hrs in Coolgardie WA
They're got a great little RV stop over area in the old now-unused railway station carpark
Spent just on $100 with 2 visits to the IGA, then $35 at the pub for 2 meals, then $12 at the laundromat
Popped into the ladies at the info centre - and it's a heap more than that ,,,, it's the local meeting zone for many people
All good - they were quite happy with the feedback
After a reasonably very ordinary morning of NO customer service at the local Holden Service Reception due to a faulty lock on my Colorado Canopy, that by the way I was told on Monday it was fixed, I had to leave the car with them for yet another day, I came back to settle down and fill in the day without wheels.
I opened up my poota and find your topic BJC. THANKYOU. What a good topic, very pleasant indeed. Sure is nice to see good comments after the last week of some very ordinary stuff on this great forum.
I have sent a couple of letters off to local authorities thanking them for a great location and service to the community and travellers. Just early this year I sent a letter of thankyou to the water authority in charge of Greens Lake, Central VIC. I am still to recieve acknowledgement and it would be nice for them to do so. Maybe they need to look at internal systems.
We are very quick to complain but very rarely say "Thankyou".
So......Thankyou again BJC.
You will be pleased to know I have passed around a pic of your AV to my head braves with instructions to look after you if they come across you and NOT scalp you my friend.
Keep Safe out there
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Live Life On Your Terms
DOUGChief One Feather (Losing feathers with age)
TUG.......2014 Holden LT Colorado Twin Cab Ute with Canopy
DEN....... 2014 "Chief" Arrow CV (with some changes)
I have prattled on about this some time ago and I will re iterate, local Govt Authorities can spend a large sum of rate payers money to put in a Dump Point (Up To $10k) then add toilets etc. All in the hope or gamble that RVers may stop and spend a dollar or two.
If you have stayed at an RV stop that is supplied please email them and tell them that you enjoyed it (that is if you have enjoyed it) and also hint at what you spent in town. It is also a good idea to chat to the locals and politely tell them that you are passing through and you loved the RV stop.
Local Authorities get an enormous amount of people who are will to complain and give negative feedback but they really get their rocks off on good positive feed back and it shows the locals that they are doing the right thing.
Again, it really is a big deal so get on the emails and let em know
I dont have much to add but to simply endorse this thread. I have been "on the other side of the counter" and IMHO a little bit of gratitude goes a long way to building the reputation of an interest group. It passes the test of self interest a well as being the decent thing to do.
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And I somehow rather fancy that I'd like to change with Clancy ..
If a small town (or even a city) has provided great service or facilities for Nomads, we always drop into the Info Centre or Council Office and tell them.
We also ask if our feedback will be passed on beyond the counter staff - some actually have a short form they ask you to fill out which goes to the shire CEO or Mayor - praise costs nothing more than 10 minutes of time and helps to ensure these facilities remain.
We stayed in a very small town not far from Coolgardie and the CP was run by the shire. Well presented, cleaned every day and about $80 a week. Ate at the local pub for lunch or dinner each day and became really friendly with the staff and a few locals. They love Nomads as we spend money and they are always keen to hear stories from around the country
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
A little bit of flattery goes a long way in SOME PLACES. Unfortunately our experience is that many Shire Authorities have a policy of not replying, even to positive feedback.
eg. We emailed Hillston Shire & never heard from them. A few months later we stayed at Hillston & were at the Shire Offices getting tourist info. We mentioned our email & were told that they never reply.
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Cheers Desert Dweller.
Our land abounds in Natures gifts. Of beauty rich and rare.
Keith - youre right about some shires who don't reply.
How difficult is it for someone there to construct a standard email which acknowledges and thanks the writer for their positive comments ? All they do is put the recipients email address and name in it and hit SEND.
Conversely, I sent a highly critical email to the Esperance (WA) Council over various issues. I didn't expect any reply, but about 5 weeks later got one back from their CEO. It was courteous and went through each of my complaints listing what they intended to do (or not do) on each of them. Most, he said they would do whatever and gave a timeframe that these would be completed in.
They were things like better parking for caravans close to the shopping areas rather than having to park 3-4km away and then cart heavy bags of shopping back (common in towns, even ones like Mildura that has a lot of RVs through it each day), poor signage to find the Info Centre, no long parking bays for RVs at the Info Centre, poor service and lack of merchandise in the Info Centre and poor signage to most of their CP's.
From memory the only thing they weren't going to remedy was parking at the Info Centre as there was no scope to create any. However, they will budget in the 2018 budget to re-locate the Centre and provide plenty of long parking. Obviously a CEO who had worked most of his time in private companies which embraced customer service
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
Things must have changed I reckon as I was in Local Goverment for just over 25 years in my previous life at management level and it was policy to reply to every form of contact by anyone. Even just a quick reply to acknowledge there contact then a further follow up letter if needed.
I was lucky as I never had an upset member of my community at the end of the day. I also listened to what my community told me.
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Live Life On Your Terms
DOUGChief One Feather (Losing feathers with age)
TUG.......2014 Holden LT Colorado Twin Cab Ute with Canopy
DEN....... 2014 "Chief" Arrow CV (with some changes)
