Read on the internet yesterday that there had been quite a stir down unda, down New Zealand way. A group of twelve or more, an extended family, had been so unruly, unpolite, and unrespectful that media started to track their movements as they traveled through the country and I thought "It's about time!"
It's about time these sorts of people got called on that sort of behaviour because I definitely have been on the receiving end of it and did not fancy it. Like everybody else this has happened to, the ones on the receiving end never saw it coming.
And then 'it' was upon them. A moving train wreck. Noise. Debris. Odors. Discord. Like a storm it comes, messes with you for awhile, then off it moves, leaving you reeling in its wake.
Families can be like that when they're on the move. Customer service, 'customer care' oughta be forewarned so “Jolly Good, New Zealanders!” We can be like you, ready at the gate, prepared for their arrival.
Seems a proper traveler.
Aaron Birch- Unsplash.com
Families can view themselves as automatically having been granted more liberties than are given singles and couples. All three entities can also carry 'tourist entitlement'. I've seen various numberings of people barge into situations like they're taking over the place and suddenly everybody 'round has to make room. Family units, especially, carry momentum. Who's going to stand in their way? One person at the counter? Tourists (especially families) bring in revenue! They consume!
So what if the families have packed enough for an army, take up all the space, and could care less about any people on the periphery? Those 'others' aren't part of the tribe!
Also, children and teens are usually held loosely in their traveling parents' charge so those kids or their parents can't be held to standards of behaviour expected of solitary travelers or couples because those people aren't bearing the responsibility (or continuing the noble endeavor) of bringing children into the world. Such sacrifice! Grant these ones not a solitary boon, but endless forgiveness!
But 'twas not so in New Zealand. The media there caught onto this one family and would not let go. Whether this family's antics were fairly portrayed or not is unknown but what is known is that the family's behaviour gained worldwide attention. Finally, somebody somewhere drew the line. Like Gandalf, the media declared "This far and no farther! You shall not pass!”
"Our citizens are not to be targets for your low level scams! Don't leave trash on our beaches! Curb your wild children and adults, act appropriately, for we do not wish to harbor any fugitives from restraint!"
"While we don't wish to dampen tourist enthusiasm for our country, this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated!"
(Already many nervous innkeepers are no doubt aghast at how quickly this has spiraled out of control, at how rapidly it has gone viral. "Tone it down! Tone it down!" they are probably urging behind the scenes. "We need more tourist revenue, not less!”)
Ah yes. This is the sort of event that spurs further measures to come to pass. Tracking just might start to become employed, for business' protection, and the protection of the employees within those businesses. When you rate our hotel, we rate your family! Your family’s rating then gets added to your history and you'll be monitored along your way through the country because we can do it and problem travelers, while relatively rare, will be identified. Car rental companies would love to know about you beforehand, and resorts, eating establishments, airline stewardesses, tour operators, and others.
"Brace yourselves! The Wilsons arrive in five minutes!" could come over the radio or through headsets and for the first time ever we in customer service would be ready for you and yours. I, for instance, could look on the daily passenger manifest and see what flight your squad is arriving on and the time you'd be hitting the ground and moving my way or through my position. This would greatly lessen the shock and resulting trauma that comes from having to deal unprepared with the swirling vortex of disharmony that is the well documented hallmark of The Wilson Family.
To be fair, single travelers and couples would also be rated but being less gang-like, they're far easier to deal with, should dealing with them need to be done.
And all this discreetly, for we do enjoy the revenue you provide, though at times we wonder if we need revenue that desperately, or if pawning you off to others is an option.
The world has long departed from the genteel travel days of olde, where politeness reigned and courtesy flourished. What is dealt with now is volume. Numbers. Mobs. Crowds. Travel providers process people in, and process people out. Experience is what people want. They want a lot of it and so the travel and transportation world (hospitality industry) is modeled like a convenience store where people simply walk in, grab, and go. No waiting, no patience, no respecting the staff is required, it's all about me (and mine) and so off the travelers go, flyin' the ‘friendly’ skies, to who knows where and when they get there they walk in like they own the place, which they do, temporarily, 'cuz they paid for it.
And because they did, all of heaven and earth shall bow before them, or at least that was the way it used to be, until those brave folk from New Zealand said enough with this entitlement culture and endless forgiveness. Let it be known that we will tolerate you and yours up to a point. If you become a problem, you just might find your posse on TV!
(I personally would not like to be portrayed on the British press, who have sensationalized this case, as is their wont, to the extreme. So okay, this family, from all appearances and reports, is a band of louts and Artful Dodgers. But to hound them until they have to go into hiding? That’s unfair and should not be allowed. But, once you’re in the British press’ crosshairs, it’s already too late.)