Site signage

didan
didan Forum Participant Posts: 3
edited April 2017 in Club Products & Services #1

If the new logo is supposed to attract more people my first encounter with new signage is very disappointing.  Arriving at Malvern Hills from the North the site entrance sign was completely invisible with the camping and caravanning club displaying a very dominating sign. This resulted in   Missing the entrance completely and another 20 minutes trying to find the site.  Eventually I decided to turn in and ask the opposition the way.  Once turned the tiny sign was visible.  However further signage was also difficult to see until very close.  Once on site further changes had me puzzled.  What on earth is a spruce.  Even the younger generation were puzzled.  Bins have been removed from service areas meaning a long walk with waste to the only two at areas available.  Toilet tissue is now located behind the toilets making it very difficult to access.  Have any other members encountered these problems on other sites or am I the only one disappointed.  I am a member of both clubs and up to now have favoured this one but am beginning to wonder !!

Disappointed Member

Comments

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,302 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2017 #2

    In answer to your question.

     A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea, a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the earth. 

    Did you mean spruce or is it a typo?

    Personally I always check the entrances on streetview before we leave. It does not guarantee you will have no problems, but makes it less likely.

  • JD6620
    JD6620 Forum Participant Posts: 202
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    edited April 2017 #3

    My first experience of a club site since the re brand was last weekend at the Norfolk Broads site.  I was a little puzzled, as some signs were green, some turquoise and some burgundy.  Some of the wardens were in the new colours and some in the old. However the site was immaculate and the welcome was warm and we enjoyed our stay.

    If I am going somewhere new I too check the approach via street view. Sometimes there are even videos on Youtube of the site and approach, not forgetting the good old paper maps as well.  So far we have never been caught out in all our years of touring.

  • didan
    didan Forum Participant Posts: 3
    edited April 2017 #4

    CI am not the only one to drive past the entrance. I have been caravanning for many years and this is the 1st time I have missed a site entrance.  A Spruce is apparently toilet block cleaning.  Malvern is a wonderful site, just the new signage that is a problem with signs not even fitting existing lists and boards.

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,302 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2017 #5

    Spruce is apparently toilet block cleaning.

    Fair enough I suppose, as in "spruce up". Perhaps a term in local use.

  • KerryS
    KerryS Forum Participant Posts: 4
    edited April 2017 #6

    The new CL sign is terrible, very easy to miss. The logo and writing is far too small and the whole thing is indistinct when driving and looking for it. When using a CL we use Google street view to help find it when driving but of course it will be the old sign that is seen now.

    I'm not bothered.  About the re-branding as such but these signs desperately need revising.

  • Navigateur
    Navigateur Club Member Posts: 3,880 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited April 2017 #7

    "spruce up". Perhaps a term in local use.

    Well, it is local to Scotland as well then!

     

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,302 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2017 #8

    The actual term is of course fairly common, although it is not something I would normally apply to a regular cleaning regime, such as in daily block cleaning.

  • heddlo
    heddlo Forum Participant Posts: 872 ✭✭
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    edited April 2017 #9

    We agree that the signage needs a look at they are almost invisible in some places.  We have recently returned from North York Moors site and due to roadworks in the area the site sign was just another white sign amongst many!  Ok roadworks are temporary but still the sign is very indistict and if it wasn't for the 'red gates' we may have missed the entrance ourselves.  In fact one poor chap did miss the sign and ended up going down to Falling Foss waterfall.  Anyone who knows the area will know how difficult that is trying to turn around a caravan in a full car park on a busy day.  Please CC try a drive yourself to a few sites, with a caravan in tow, and see for yourself!!!

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,302 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2017 #10

    Signage is one way of locating where to turn, another way is to have a good look at a map before you leave and perhaps make a bit of a sketch. The directions for NYM are adequate and if a map  was consulted, or better yet streetview, it is difficult to see how the chap you mention could mistakenly take the falling foss road, even if it was foggy. Signage is more important in areas where you have multiple camp sites, or turn offs within villages, where there are a multitude of roads. However, even in these cases you can't beat a decent map and a bit of research.

  • ForestR
    ForestR Forum Participant Posts: 326
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    edited April 2017 #11

     I agree with you SteveL. We have just been to Wirral CMCS where the site is down a long lane after the static site. The new looking sign at the top of the lane is very easily spotted but then it's a new old sign, 😃. The new signs on the gate were equally no problem and the maybe the mix of sign colours around the site at least provides a talking point.

  • HT11
    HT11 Forum Participant Posts: 100
    edited May 2017 #12

    I agree that the new signage is insignificant. We visited the York Beechwood site and the sign is on the roundabout. I know this in itself has previously been an issue for many caravanners but the new colours are weak and have made a bad situation much worse. Wouldn't it have been better to continue to  use the original green background colouring and just change the wording  to include 'MH'?

  • Takethedogalong
    Takethedogalong Forum Participant Posts: 17,040 ✭✭✭
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    edited May 2017 #13

    The new signage doesn't bother us, we don't rely upon a last minute glance to be aware of our destination!

    Regarding the toilet roll dilemma........unroll some and pull off prior to sitting, depending upon requirements?

  • JayEss
    JayEss Forum Participant Posts: 1,663
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    edited May 2017 #14

    The new signs aren't as clear from a distance as the old ones but they look quite smart. 

    I'm on a club site at the moment and the wording of the signs around the site is bizarre. Written to appear humourous by someone with no sense of humour?  Written as a test to see if we read them?

    The 8 year old in our group declared the one by the toilet block referring to jet packs as 'just stupid' accompanied by a magnificent eye roll. 

    More and better market research required for the future I think 

  • Rocky 2 buckets
    Rocky 2 buckets Forum Participant Posts: 7,101
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    edited May 2017 #15

    I think they mean the Car park SL, no sane person would take a C/van down to midge hall & the fosslaughing

  • Takethedogalong
    Takethedogalong Forum Participant Posts: 17,040 ✭✭✭
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    edited May 2017 #16

    Reliance upon sat nav, research has shown that brain tends to switch off, hence you get the unwary driving off cliffs, getting stuck on hump back bridges....or taking road down Falling Foss! Can't blame that on signage, turn is not that close to site!

  • Bakers2
    Bakers2 Forum Participant Posts: 8,192 ✭✭✭
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    edited May 2017 #17

    Just found this on FB

    Hi Ann. Thanks for your feedback (& glad you still love us!) We are collating all the comments about signage being hard to see from the roadside and feeding it back to our Regional teams. We know the logo will become as recognisable as the old one in time but we also need to consider if signage is in the right place. Many thanks ~Helen

    Amazed hat this thread has been running since 18 April no club response. Yet this FB reply to a comment. The comment was made 1054 Sunday and response around noon on minday, today.

  • Making Time
    Making Time Forum Participant Posts: 1
    edited May 2017 #18

    We have visited two site since the new logo was introduced and missed the signage at both. At Malvern many arrivals were turning into the Caravan and Camping club site by mistake and were then causing congestion as they tried to exit and turn right across the inbound traffic.

    The second a CL site in Devon had an small sign of the new style that had already faded and was barely noticeable.

    Are these temporary signs we are seeing which are small and faded? If not they need to be bigger and the colours need to be stronger.

     

     

  • obbernockle
    obbernockle Forum Participant Posts: 616
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    edited May 2017 #19

    We arrived at a club site Sunday and spotted a genuine Walls sign at the gate, no joke, the real thing! It didn't half make us laugh. Each time we drove out and back in we laughed again. I think laughing about the whole rebranding farce is just about the best thing we can all do. You certainly can't take it seriously.

  • AndSar12
    AndSar12 Forum Participant Posts: 1
    edited May 2017 #20

    Whilst welcoming the broadening of the Club name, we are very disappointed with the new Logo and signage which is virtually invisible on the road side.

    When recently visiting a CL, both signs were still erected side by side, but only the old one showed up clearly. The new one is totally nondescript and does not attract attention. If the old one had not been there, we would have driven past the site entrance!

    I accept that a great deal of research will have gone into the design of the new Logo, but I fail to see what it represents and appears to have been a wasted opportunity to promote the Club!

     

  • Aspenshaw
    Aspenshaw Forum Participant Posts: 611
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    edited May 2017 #21

    Not been a problem for us on the three sites and three CLs visited since the change over. The one at Chatsworth is visible from the Bakewell road before the roundabout, about 300 yards away. It's the coloured turquoise band that grabs our attention - that and using the site book so we are looking out for the site.

    I agree the logo and text is too small but the club seems intent on reducing the font size on everything.

  • DavidKlyne
    DavidKlyne Club Member Posts: 13,857 ✭✭✭
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    edited May 2017 #22

    We are currently at Seacroft. Coming from the Sheringham direction there is one of the old (bright green) signs in the corner of the site before you get to the site entrance perhaps 150 metres further on. Despite being hidden in the bushes it is more visible that the signs at the  site entrance. I wonder if any distance recognition tests were carried out before they decided on the new colours or did it just look good in the presentation room?

    David

  • LynetteG
    LynetteG Forum Participant Posts: 2
    edited July 2017 #23

    The new sign is so small, poorly designed and insipid I'm considering putting the old one back! I bet that rebranding cost a fortune too!