Why Americans Should Never Be Allowed To Travel...

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Why Americans Should Never Be Allowed To Travel
The following are actual stories provided by travel agents:


I had someone ask for an aisle seats so that his or her hair wouldn't get messed up by being near the window.


A client called in inquiring about a package to Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, she asked, "Would it be cheaper to fly to California and then take the train to Hawaii?"


I got a call from a woman who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to explain the length of the flight and the passport information when she interrupted me with "I'm not trying to make you look stupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts. "Without trying to make her look like the stupid one, I calmly explained, "Capecod is in Massachusetts, Capetown is in Africa." Her response ... click.


A man called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that is not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, "Don't lie to me. I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state."


I got a call from a man who asked, "Is it possible to see England from Canada?" I said, "No." He said "But they look so close on the map."


Another man called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas. When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he had a 1-hour lay over in Dallas. When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, "I heard Dallas was a big airport, and I need a car to drive between the gates to save time."


A nice lady just called. She needed to know how it was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:20am and got into Chicago at 8:33am. I tried to explain that Michigan was an hour ahead of llinois, but she could not understand the concept of time zones. Finally I told her the plane went very fast, and she bought that!


A woman called and asked, "Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know who's luggage belongs to who?" I said, "No, why do you ask?" She replied, "Well, when I checked in with the airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said FAT, and I'm overweight, is there any connection?" After putting her on hold for a minute while I "looked into it" (I was actually laughing) I came back and explained the city code for Fresno is FAT, and that the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.



I just got off the phone with a man who asked, "How do I know which plane to get on?" I asked him what exactly he meant, which he replied, "I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these darn planes have numbers on them."


A woman called and said, "I need to fly to Pepsi-cola on one of those computer planes." I asked if she meant to fly to Pensacola on a commuter plane. She said, "Yeah, whatever."


A businessman called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded him he needed a visa. "Oh no I don't, I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those." I double checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa. When I told him this he said, "Look, I've been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express."


A woman called to make reservations, "I want to go from Chicago to Hippopotamus, New York" The agent was at a loss for words. Finally, the agent: "Are you sure that's the name of the town?" "Yes, what flights do you have?" replied the customer. After some searching, the agent came back with, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I've looked up every airport code in the country and can't find a Hippopotamus anywhere." The customer retorted, "Oh don't be silly. Everyone knows where it is. Check your map!" The agent scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, "You don't mean Buffalo, do you?" "That's it! I knew it was a big animal!"
#airplane #americans #travel
  • Profile picture of the author jgeorge1
    Hi,

    I just wanted to say thank you for the laugh's... I really needed that today...

    Thanks again.
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    • Profile picture of the author ArTsYwRiTeR
      Why would you do a sweeping generalization that all Americans are dumb? How about just saying rednecks or something like that?

      Those are funny though.
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      • Profile picture of the author bendiggs
        I think every customer service industry in the world has some stories similar to this. I worked as a PC repair technician for a few years, and it is utterly amazing how many questions people ask that just seem so stupid to those who know better.

        One of my favorites is from when I was a kid living at the Grand Canyon. A friend and I were walking by the mule barn, where you could rent mules to take on a tour down the canyon. This big Cadillac with longhorn steer horns one the front pulls up along side of us and the driver, who was the living symbol of big Texas with the 10 gallon cowboy hat and tweed and leather overcoat, stops us. He looks at us and says in a thick Texan drawl, "Hey boys, are them thar buffalo?" My friend just busts up laughing and about falls over, and I replied "No sir, them thar's mules!" I think he was insulted as he drove off pretty quickly.

        Thinking back on it now, he might really have not known what a mule or buffalo was, but the situation was so out there it just makes me laugh.
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        • Profile picture of the author HeySal
          Stupid tourists are a major form of entertainment though. Out in Colorado we used to tell people that if they stood on the continental divide and threw water in the air it would split and come down on either side of them without them getting wet. You wouldn't believe how many actually tried it - and were surprised the water came straight down on them. LMAO.
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          Sal
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          • Profile picture of the author bendiggs
            Oh I have hundreds of horror stories about tourists in the Grand Canyon. They are truly bizarrely stupid people. I don't know if they are that way in their daily lives or if they just shut off their brains when on vacation.

            In the Canyon, the most common tourist question is, and I am being completely serious here, "Where is the elevator?", followed closely by "Where are the stairs?" and "Where's the road to the bottom?" Absolutely dumbfounding.

            I was about 11 when I really started to mess with the tourists. My friends and I would go to the busiest intersection in the village and stand on the island there and pretend to direct traffic. You have no idea how many people actually did as I told them. I'm lucky I didn't cause tons of accidents, because I would send cars down the wrong way all the time.

            I had one lady ask me when they covered the Canyon to keep it from getting wet! I mean really? Are you truly that stupid? I had to tell her that we didn't cover the Canyon so birds could fly out. She accepted that answer.

            Lesson for today - don't be a stupid tourists or the locals will screw with you, a lot!
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            • Profile picture of the author Kay King
              A man called, furious about a Florida package we did. I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room. I tried to explain that is not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state. He replied, "Don't lie to me. I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state."
              Obviously an experienced traveler.

              Why would you do a sweeping generalization that all Americans are dumb?
              Actually, there's good reason. Due to the size of the US, many have never traveled in other countries - and when they do, they are usually good for a laugh.

              One I heard in an elevator of an upscale hotel in Brussels - "Surely they have an American store here somewhere, don't they?" To which you say

              HELLLLLLOOOOOOO

              kay
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              • Profile picture of the author HeySal
                Actually, there's good reason. Due to the size of the US, many have never traveled in other countries
                Actually - there are more people than I can believe who have never left their own state - and some have never been further than a county or two away from home (that's county, not country). I can't even imagine living in that small of a world. Scary.

                Kay - when I was in Paris, other Americans would single me out (my French was more than slightly tell-tale, LOL) and ask where McDonalds was. Incredible. I would just tell them to get back on the plane...fly across the Atlantic....
                I was told there actually was a McDonalds there somewhere - but I can't confirm it because I never looked for it. I can get bad food right here at home.
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                Sal
                When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
                Beyond the Path

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                • Profile picture of the author ConcordeWarrior
                  Thank you for posting these stories. Some are really hilarious.

                  I loved the one with pepsicola and the computer plane!
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                  • Profile picture of the author myob
                    I fly to Germany frequently on business, as I have for many years. People still ask me if I visit East or West Germany.
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  • Profile picture of the author megano
    Pretty funny stuff! I've done a lot of travel and you run into people in the airport that have never seen automatic sinks and soap dispensers! I would always show them how they worked but I was always a bit surprised to find people who had lived such a sheltered life!

    But more embarrassing was a time I traveled with a friend (or tried to) she brought no ID with her to the airport! She was not allowed on the flight...unbelievable! She caught up with us the next day.
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    • Profile picture of the author Scott Lundergan
      LOL...okay, I'm an American, yet I've been to over fifty countries and 90% of that travel was on cruiselines. I have to admit, when people go on vacation, many people just "check out" and the common sense flies out the window.

      I would see all kinds of American on my travels and its' obvious who "blends in" and obvious who is "disrupting" the other culture. The first hint comes whether they seem to be obnoxious or friendly to the host country. When I say "obnoxious", I don't mean they're doing it on purpose, they are just unaware of the common sense that one may want to adapt to their current surroundings.

      Anyways, I don't mind having a laugh at this. If you've traveled abroad, you totally "get it" Only those who haven't traveled outside their own state or have never worked in customer service could possibly take offense to this...imo
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      • Profile picture of the author ArTsYwRiTeR
        Originally Posted by Scott Lundergan View Post

        Anyways, I don't mind having a laugh at this. If you've traveled abroad, you totally "get it" Only those who haven't traveled outside their own state or have never worked in customer service could possibly take offense to this...imo
        I guess people all over the world do not realize just how obnoxious one can get when they are not respectful of another people's culture and to point it out to them would cause them to get riled up.

        That kind of respect is embedded the way a person was taught at home....breeding so to speak. I guess no one wants to be told that he/she lacks breeding.
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