Queueing at Chatsworth

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  • crannman
    crannman Forum Participant Posts: 101
    First Comment
    edited December 2016 #32

    so lets all ignore all the rules arrive when we want leave when we want pitch where we want let dogs foul where they want drive at what speed you want do what ever you feel like doing .tongue-out

  • IanH
    IanH Forum Participant Posts: 4,708
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    edited December 2016 #33

    I agree that being able to book a specific pitch would remove the frantic rush at opening time and it would also stop a lot of the early arrivers.

    It would also require people to leave at the stated time......a win-win situation! smile

  • JohnM20
    JohnM20 Forum Participant Posts: 1,416
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    edited December 2016 #34

    If theatres and similar can run a booking system whereby you can choose which of the available seats you would like out of the hundreds of seats available in the theatre why cannot the CC do this with, on average, probably only about 150 pitches? It would certainly save the rush and mad panic to be the first through the gate. If you pick a pitch and it turns out not to be the best on the site then it's just too bad. You might have ended up with that pitch anyway if the site was full.

    Just one other point about Chatsworth is that if you are already staying on the site and go off-site with any vehicle it is nigh on impossible to get back onto the site around the mid day period because of units leaving and new ones arriving. 

  • young thomas
    young thomas Club Member Posts: 11,357 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited December 2016 #35

    book Pitch at booking time, install simple ANPR system on each site entrance/exit giving automatic check-in, check-out, no queues just drive upto barrier, enter, settle quietly on chosen pitch with no driving round and round...

    site opening/closing times can then be matched to customer demands, not supplier (warden) restrictions.....

    calm all aroundwink

  • Bakers2
    Bakers2 Forum Participant Posts: 8,199 ✭✭✭
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    edited December 2016 #36

    Wow speechless. Arrive late leave early. No chance of barriers being lifted for any vehicle except those registered on the site.

    I must go lie down in darkened room 😉

  • DavidKlyne
    DavidKlyne Club Member Posts: 13,872 ✭✭✭
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    edited December 2016 #37

    It may well be fine to book a particular seat for a one off performance but the flaw with using that method as a booking system on Club sites is that it would have an effect on occupancy rates. For example pitch 100 is booked from the 1st the 5th of the month and the next booking is for the 8th to 12th of the month. What happens to the two days in between, do the Club get lucky in the hope that someone will want those two nights on that particular pitch? The current system is far better.

    As to people leaving the site who are already staying on site, surely commonsense would suggest that to avoid trying to leave or arrive at the site as new arrivals are coming into the site. Having said that, in a solo car there are enough passing places along the approach road to avoid difficulties.

    David

  • Waldoph
    Waldoph Forum Participant Posts: 2
    edited December 2016 #38

    Who needs rules when on holiday, maybe this is why we rarely use caravan club sites. Last time we visited Chatsworth we hadn't signed our cards and the warden in the office told me that if it had been any other warden on duty that day we would have been sent to the back of the queue for not having a signed card !!!!!!!! I don't think so 

     

  • rayjsj
    rayjsj Forum Participant Posts: 930
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    edited December 2016 #39

    Not stating them as facts, just personal observations from reading other folks posts, local knowledge means regular users are aiming for particular pitches, and are prepared to queue/arrive early to get them,still think that first come,first served is the best arrangement though, otherwise some pitches would always be fully booked. I hardly ever get to a site before 2 or 3 oclock, and never stay beyond 12oclock on a leaving day. And, being retired i aim to arrive on a Sunday, just after the weekend warriors have left...hopefully!   

  • David2115
    David2115 Club Member Posts: 548
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    edited December 2016 #40

    I'm not sure your observations are correct, I think people come from all over to Rowntree, as for specific pitches I'm not sure it matters at Rowntree, the main reason for staying is the easy access to the city of York. 

    I always aim to arrive at the earliest booking in time so as to maximise the time on site, always leave before the departure time. 

  • GodivaNige
    GodivaNige Forum Participant Posts: 606
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    edited December 2016 #41

    A quick observation as the focus of this topic has touched on arrival times. The wife and I moved sites today (farewell Chatsworth, we had a great time as usual)

    The site we are now on is a biggun on the network and we arrived at 12.10 (ten minutes after the earliest arrival time) The site was fairly full but we found a pitch we liked with relative ease. By 3pm the site was almost full to capacity but there were still new arrivals coming in. I really felt for these guys as they were obviously struggling to find the vacant pitches, driving around and around, in search, not for a suitable pitch, but more trying to find a vacant one. I've been lucky enough not to have had to do this but it MUST be so frustrating. I know wardens can't help by directing to vacant pitches as on this particular site, the office relies on members returning to declare which pitch they are on. If not done in a timely manner, reception could be leading the later arrivals down a blind alley. Still, I couldn't offer a solution, as said above, just an observation, these poor souls looked very fed up.

  • nelliethehooker
    nelliethehooker Club Member Posts: 13,657 ✭✭✭
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    edited December 2016 #42

    One solution of course is for the warden to allocate pitches.sealed

  • GodivaNige
    GodivaNige Forum Participant Posts: 606
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    edited December 2016 #43

    :) if by this you mean the way the C&CC do things, we only use a couple of sites in the 'other' club and as you probably know, the staff come with you to a pitch and as the site fills, they know which pitches are available at any one time. At Keswick in particular, if there are numerous pitches available on arrival, the staff will still give the member an open choice and once pitched, they strike that pitch off their 'list'

     

    it works well 

  • Rubytuesday
    Rubytuesday Forum Participant Posts: 952
    edited December 2016 #44

    We like chatsworth too, as for arrival and departure times , I think due the the access road they got it right ,

    there will always be some members who think they know better or are better than anyone else , well they are NOT , we all know the time of arrival so stop moaning at staff who are enforcing the rules as they should , when you eventually arrive on your pitch it's well worth the wait

    as for the bridge we have very often needed to take care due to an exceptionly low profile on a long van 

    happy hols 

  • Kennine
    Kennine Forum Participant Posts: 3,472
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    edited December 2016 #46

    Another vote for the Warden staff to allocate pitches. ----The sight of a procession of vans driving round and round unnecessarily at ever increasing speed looking for a Best Pitch,is a danger to other site users and is totally unnecessary. 

    The friendly club allocate pitches, and I have never had a bad pitch yet. -- The friendly warden actually accompanies the caravanner to the pitch and explains all about site and the surrounding area during that welcoming process. 

     So if CC members cannot or will not follow the CC's straightforward on-site rules then the CC warden staff need to take a more Hands -On  approach, and enforce those rules.

    Cheers....................K

  • Unknown
    Unknown Forum Participant
    edited December 2016 #47
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  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited December 2016 #48

    Exept leaving later is covered in the site rules where as arriving early is not

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited December 2016 #49

    Exept leaving later is covered in the site rules where as arriving early is not

  • SWFC
    SWFC Forum Participant Posts: 3
    edited December 2016 #50

     

     

    No the world would not end but as usual people cannot abide by the rules, why not because they are special one of a kind rules do not apply to them. The wardens do double up at Chatsworth to shorten the possible end of world wait of 15-25 minute wait.

  • m0rrisman
    m0rrisman Forum Participant Posts: 75
    First Comment
    edited December 2016 #51

    No please don't ban them from club sites, don't want them turning up at CLs

  • IanH
    IanH Forum Participant Posts: 4,708
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    edited December 2016 #52

    Stil extremely inconsiderate to fellow members though......

  • Janet
    Janet Forum Participant Posts: 12
    edited December 2016 #53

    Having run Rowntree Park as Wardens during the 2014 / 15 seasons, we found 90%+ of our members to be very considerate regarding arrival and departure times. There were always a small number who would arrive a bit too early or were not ready to be off bang on 11.15, but it never caused a great problem, we just organised the site according to our customers best interests and requirements  I am sure most Wardens would love everyone to arrive one minute past 12 or 1pm but more and more customers wish to get onto site as early as possible for varying reasons. Maybe as a Club we need to try and be more flexible to our members requirements and on the flip side, our members may need to understand more  the workload we have to get through before our customers arrive on site. Anyway, Hope you all have a very happy new year. Carl and Janet, Wardens at Coniston Park Coppice in the beautiful Lake District. 

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited December 2016 #54

    you could always put your name forward for the commitee as with you "knowledge" of all thing it might be advantage to the club and all other members,

    just think expenses and your club site fees reimbursedwink

  • IanH
    IanH Forum Participant Posts: 4,708
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    edited December 2016 #55

    Janet,

    May I say that you and Carl did a superb job of running Rowntree Park......best wardens we have ever come across. We especially enjoyed the Tour de France weekend, when you went above and beyond what good wardens should do. The cheese and wine party was great in the sunshine.

    You had a flexible attitude, while still maintaining the site rules and were always cheerful.

    Yours was the first and only site where I have seen the wardens rushing around, helping people to get their caravans onto pitches. I remember Carl saying that you just wanted to help people to get on with enjoying their holidays.

    Visitors to Coniston will be very well looked after!

    Ian

  • IanH
    IanH Forum Participant Posts: 4,708
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    edited December 2016 #56

    Thank you for your kind words, JVB.

    Yes, I may just do that.......

  • Janet
    Janet Forum Participant Posts: 12
    edited December 2016 #57

    Thank you Ian for your very kind words, lovely to here from you. Hope you have enjoyed your touring this year. It really isn't rocket science, if our members do their best to respect arrival / departure times, we as Wardens will do our best to make sure they have a wonderful stay at our sites. It will never be 100% perfect, but if we all have a bit consideration for each other, then, hopefully,  'happy days'

  • EmilysDad
    EmilysDad Forum Participant Posts: 8,973
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    edited December 2016 #58

    Some sites aren't big enough to allow umpteen caravans waiting at reception while someone wanders around the site looking for their pitch on foot ..... even more exacerbated by the rigid arrival times when everybody turns up at the same time.

  • Unknown
    Unknown Forum Participant
    edited December 2016 #59
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  • young thomas
    young thomas Club Member Posts: 11,357 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited December 2016 #60

    that might put the cat amongst the pigeons, Ianundecided

  • young thomas
    young thomas Club Member Posts: 11,357 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited December 2016 #61

    agree woth David in that it is the rigid arrival/departure times that is the biggest contributor to congestion on club sites.....

    due to a totally different culture on the sites we use 'elsewhere' this problem simply doesnt occur.....one in, one out, one in, one out...all quiet, no stress, no queuing, no racetrack, no best pitch....

    i can understand the club trying to do something on sites that are constantly full, however members leave at different times, so early departers creat space for early arrivals....

    ok, less choice of pitch that all lining up waiting for the starting gun and then 'the off' like the Derby.....

    perhaps, in quieter periods, the club could revert to a drip feed of arrivals to remove the congestion its policy causes...