Site Arrival Etiquette
When arriving at a site that has backed up vehicles is it correct to wait in your vehicle until the queue has moved on or do you park at the back of the queue, get out and check in?
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I tend to ask my wife to stand in the queue as it means I can pull forward as outfits in front move on. It can be very dangerous on some sites if you're at the back and leave your outfit without a driver as units coming in behind you can become stranded on the road.
Having said that, many sites will ask you to wait in the car until called forward, and others will come to you, take your details and then ask you to pitch and then return.
I would say, don't leave your outfit stranded at the back of queue. Those arriving behind you won't be happy.
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Exactly as TimboC and HD says for me.
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Even with the relaxation of many of the previous COVID precautions I doubt the site staff want a large group of people waiting in reception? I tend to wait in the queue at least until there is only one unit in front of me. If there is no one behind me then I might wait until I am the front of the queue. This, of course, depends on whatever system the site is using. Sometimes at busy times the warden will wait at the barrier and check you off on his arrival listing. In that case I just follow the instructions I am given. With the increasing payment first thing on day of arrival I suppose that will speed up check in? What I don't think is acceptable is for people behind me to rush out of their vans to jump the checking in queue. Many site staff are onto this.
David
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Using the new booking system last year with the payment going through on line we were expected to stay in our van, we were ushered through by the site manager who was outside by the gate with site details etc. We still had to go back to tell them our pitch number and collect a gate card etc. but people who had opted to pay on the day had to go to the office so were delayed slightly due to the longer process. That was on a site with a two lane entry, I presume on single lane entries you could be held up by those in front who have opted to pay on the day?
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I presume on single lane entries you could be held up by those in front who have opted to pay on the day?
Hopefully they will all adopt the system at Castleton, which we visited in November, which would avoid that. We were met outside and given site details etc, however because ours was a pre deposit booking the Manager held on to OH’s membership card, until she went back and paid. Otherwise everything was the same as those who had pre paid on the new system.
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If the concept of taking full payment from members even before they get to the site is really to be seen as based on speeding up entry, then some official authorised system is needed to keep the queue moving when a difficulty occurs such as machine not being able to read customer's card or the computer system refusing to believe they are a member. Probably a lot of people would think that letting them drive through and sort it out later was a sensible approach.
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I have had more than one disagreement with site managers over this question.
Some sites have signs requesting that people do not book in until they reach the front of the queue. Some have signs saying drivers should remain with the vehicle until they reach the front of the queue. Those two instructions are quite different. Most sites have no sign at all to either effect.
This is something I have felt strongly about for a long time; I've often thought about raising it myself but I've never plucked up the courage being mindful of the arguments matters like this can cause.
In my view, the correct etiquette is that no one should book in until they reach the front of the queue. On some sites there are two lanes of queueing and, in that case, it is perfectly reasonable for two parties to go into the reception. If there are two site mangers to attend to them all the better, if not then they take turns. Those behind in the queue should jolly well wait and not go into reception until at the front.
People should be booked in in order of their arrival and not in the order they enter reception - end of. People who do not abide by that are pushing in.
It is my view that ALL sites should have a sign saying
DO NOT ENTER RECEPTION UNTIL YOU REACH THE FRONT OF THE QUEUE.
Of course, the best answer, mooted elsewhere in this place, is pay up front and then enter with ANPR.
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A great opportunity for the club to use the carrot of a 'no waiting' entry to the site. Otherwise, why would members hand over their cash before they need to?🤷🏻♂️
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Party and brewery springs to mind. The sensible just show up a bit later, having done something more constructive with their time enroute………
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It depends upon the site as well. One site I use a lot (Melrose) does have a sign that says stay in your vehicle and move forward till you're at the office then come in but this is because of it's short approach and arrival area and there has to be some use of the public road (although it leads only to the site). While others have double lane arrivals that can easily take six caravan outfits and a long approach road within the site as well.
You get do queues at other times besides the set arrival time, usually at 5pm onwards on a Friday
There are still signs or were late last season, about only one couple in the office at one time so when of one queues it is outside.
I would let each site's wardens decide what is best for that site rather than a blanket approach.
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We'd done a six hour drive, just wanted to get on site and rest....
However we're also used to the opposition approach where everything has been paid and sorted beforehand and you get checked in swiftly without leaving the van and without too much kerfuffle. It can be done.
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In the past we have found that the warden checking people in will take the people booking in in strict order of arrival as they can usually see your registration number from the desk and will call you forward in the correct order.
I see no point in that case in rushing into the office as you will not be able to jump the queue.
When we get near the barrier, OH goes in to do the check in, unless we have been instructed otherwise.
If you have nobody else to go and check in, I would definitely say to remain in the vehicle and move forward until you reach the barrier.
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The only etiquette for many is that of common sense and that truly British queuing courtesy. Driver stays and pulls forward and takes their turn in that queue, once at the front then enter reception. Surely us Brits are the best at this aren’t we? It’s good that the staff have managed arrivals outside recently in challenging times and maintain this etiquette but really, aren’t we capable of queuing correctly and saving the need to take those extra staff away from other possibly more important jobs?
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i did post our experience last year at a club site when we watched someone leave the queuing outfit and then search out the vacant pitches then leave a sign saying pitch occupied then return to the outfit , we did point this out to the warden but didnt seem interested
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Quite a few sites we've been to the wardens are already on this. When you get to the front you are asked 'which outfit is yours' if its not the front one you are asked to step aside until our outfit is at the front. Surely all sites should be doing this, its not fair on the single tourer who has no option but to stay in the vehicle until they are at the front, either that or they will have very unhappy campers behind them.
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It’s just such a sad indictment on our society that the ‘site’ staff should have do something to counter such poor behaviour. ‘Us’ Brits are getting worse by the minute. I had a caravaner behind me at site recently who queue jumped and then honked their horn for me to pull forward a tad to let them through from behind. I held my ground on the arrivals line until Mrs SF finished booking in and jumped into the MH. They were clearly not happy!
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Sensible warden.
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We saw a motorhomer do this at the Dulverton site over christmas while the office was closed, i was surprised they dident drive to the pitch as there is no barrier.
We have been queue jumped a couple of times once at Broadway and Carsington, both of these were friday evening arrivals which we tend not to do now.
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Slickest pitch theft I watched was at Yellowcraig where a pedestrian came wandering into the dead-end area and blithly picked up one of these "Motor Caravan Using this Pitch" signs and deposited it on a different empty pitch. After a while he reappeared with his outfit and proceeded to occupy the chosen pitch and return the sign to the original pitch. His outfit was a trailer caravan even!
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