Where Is It Written

Having nothing to do with the title or subject of my post ..... after mowing the dog park I stood looking over my work as a cool breeze swept over me.

It looks so peaceful and inviting, wish I had time to just sit there.

We kept the trees when we built the dog park, to offer shade to dogs and owners, as well.

Even if I did sit down, I would see some weeds to pull and then start thinking about edging the fence, or adding more seating, or plants to the area. That is just the way I am.

Okay, yesterday was hectic and after I took the glue from my lips and showered, I tucked myself and four dogs in bed. Oscar must have sensed my fatigue and he skipped our 1 am walk. This should be a good omen for the day. At least I thought so when I got up.

We had a man here with his 15 year old daughter and 4 of her friends. When he checked in, he argued about having to pay for extra people. My pricing covers 2 adults and up to 2 children under 14. Pretty standard everywhere you go. I know some places that charge extra for anybody other than 2 people. He paid, but reluctantly. Later that day he came into the office to tell me that two of the girls were only 14 and he wanted a refund .....

I pulled out his registration and we looked at it together. Three of the girls were not staying both nights and I had given him the extra person for the second night. I do try to be nice. So I concluded that I owed him $3 and was about to give him the $3, when he said he would just get 3 snocones later.

Later came and he bought $3 worth of ice cream for him and his daughter (the other girls were on their own if they wanted a treat). I told him we were square. "But, I thought we were going to do snocones," he says.  He had been in and out of the office all day long with bits of his own sage wisdom about how I should be running my business and this always annoys me. I was trying to paint the boards for another pool chair and he kept interrupting me for what amounted to nothing.

Early in the afternoon of his second day, more people showed up. One couple stayed all day and had to be told to get out of the pool, that it closed at 9 and chemicals were already in it to shock it. I alerted HeWho that I saw that the man appeared to be packing up to leave this morning and suggested he go collect the money for the extra guests.

He did go over and talk to the man, telling him he needed to check in at the office to pay the rest of his tab. He came in and nonchalantly announced that he was leaving and just came in to say goodbye. I asked if he had paid for the couple that spent the day here yesterday. "They didn't spend the night." Seriously, that was his defense.

A day pass to the park is $5, to just use the pool is $3.50. But I was only charging him $3 per person, a discounted rate because he was camping here. He came around the counter to my side of my desk, which I find to be intrusive and I toyed with thoughts of shooting some wasp spray in his face. He picks up a brochure, exactly like the one he was given upon arrival and asks me where it is written. It is written on my price list, which is posted for all the world to see. I did remind him that I had discussed the pricing structure with him when he arrived and that my prices covered 2 adults and up to 2 children under 14.

He was pushing all my buttons with his attitude, he did pay for the people that spent the entire day here and used the pool, although he insisted they were only here for 2 hours sitting around. I saw them come in and they were still here at 10 pm when HeWho was driving around the park on his trusty golf cart (the golf cart that was supposed to be mine, but that is another story). I think we may have lost a customer and I think I am not unhappy about it.