This afternoon, I braved the bitter wind from the north and went to Stromsburg city hall to ask for permission to remain at the campground till Monday (five nights total). I explained that I arrived earlier than planned because of the bad weather from the south, was waiting out bad weather in the north, and had plans with friends on Sunday.
I was told I have to be gone Saturday by noon (four nights) and that there are absolutely NO exceptions allowed. Four nights max.
I told them that they would not be getting much of a donation from me.
In fact, all they are getting from me in the donation box is a letter criticizing their common sense. The park is empty, the weather is terrible, and they didn’t just lose my donation. I’ll inform L of this and I’m sure as well as B&S won’t be giving this park money anymore if they stay here.
I’m looking at my options near Columbus since that is fairly on my route and still close enough to meet up with P.J. and her hubby on Sunday.
Your first mistake was you asked permission. Your second mistake was letting the refusal to extend your stay override your common sense also. You did get to use their facilities and they did deserve ‘some’ donation in addition to the letter of criticism.
They said, and I quote, “The first two nights are free. We appreciate a donation for the other two nights.”
I am giving them $5, which I do not consider to be a donation since it should cover the cost of what I used only. I had planned to give them $25.
They did construction right outside my site at 1 AM this morning (I should have taken video…), so that $5 is more than fair.
A note about the location of the campground could be included. Bad publicity runs through the RV community like you-know-what through a goose. It seems to take only a few folks to write to a place like this to give them food for thought. Under the circumstances – empty campground and bad weather – one wonders about their motives. I’d ask to speak to a “supervisor”, or call the City Manager’s office directly. The clerk may have just been following rules with no authority to extend your stay.
They are getting a letter with my payment that they have not only lost what I was going to donate on top of fair payment, but the town gas station and grocery stores lost sales. Then there are friends who are not going to give donations anymore if they stop here. Then there’s all the folks on this blog who know about it, the report at the Overnight RV Parking finder, and whatever I end up saying to the folks at the seminar this summer. This decision was bad for the town.
Again, if it had been a busy weekend and the weather good, etc., I would never have pushed the rules. I don’t even think I would have asked for more than the two days and I would have still paid them even though no donation would have been expected. But that’s really not the situation here.
And in case my previous comment wasn’t clear, heavy machinery worked around my site from about 1 to 2AM this morning. Coincidence? Unlikely. And I’m kicking myself for not getting some video. 🙁
I know that things are stretched right now – and you didn’t get the answer that you wanted.
But really, your staying there for 1/3 the cost of a Starkbucks (guessing, $5 – I haven’t been in one in a LONG time). As was Judie said, check with the city manager or even the local police. We broke down and spent a night in their “back parking lot” in Wisconsin. The chief even brought out coffee when he saw movement at 8:00. The clerk may have had “orders”.
Heavy machinery at night. They don’t like to run that at all. Each piece starts at $150 – 200 per hour. Night differential, +20%, Night safety -50%, even with the yard lights, vests, etc. and in bad weather?
It does not run for spite, it runs for an emergency or was set up long before you got there. Spite, it may seem like it, but I’m thinking that is a real stretch.
Starbucks, about $2 for what I get. And that’s what they’re getting per day. And btw, Starbucks is a huge TREAT. I have not had it since the drive down on the NY Thruway in November and I only ever usually get it if I need to use their power and wifi. I make very good coffee at home. Wow, the amount of assumptions about my budget is astounding.
As for the heavy machinery, it wasn’t in front of my rig before I went to bed, and the park was not in need of grading. I really can’t think of anything that needed to be done that badly to an RV park in the middle of the night.
And finally, if I didn’t have that meeting with P.J. on Sunday, I wouldn’t have been half as annoyed about getting an excuse to move on. But then I had to waste all that time finding another location on my route where we could meet.