SC: Tourists part 1

[elSicomoro]

Tourists are a blessing and a curse...

Tourists are a blessing because they're putting their money into the economy, keeping businesses strong and employees employed.

Tourists are curses because they ask stupid questions, gawk at things, and tend to move slower than other folk. This isn't really their fault though...just a byproduct of them being tourists.

Two of my jobs have provided the opportunity to deal with tourists:

The last store I was at while working for CVS was at 2nd and Lombard, near South Street and Penn's Landing...two of the city's tourist magnets. Lots of them would come through our doors on a regular basis. And I really enjoyed having them in the store. One of the obvious reasons is b/c they spent money on the more expensive items, like over the counter medication, film, and batteries.

But I enjoyed the interaction with them. To them, I was a road map, a restaurant critic, and an insider.

--What's a good restaurant to eat at around here? (Well sir, if you head down the street one block to South Street and hang a right, you'll find about 50 of 'em.)

--Do you know where that one Japanese restaurant is? It starts with an H. (*after consulting the phone book* You are looking for Hikaru, which is just down 2nd street 2 blocks, past South Street.)

--Where can I buy beer around here? This place seems confusing. (*sycamore goes into the whole alcohol-buying spiel to the gentleman, who is from Florida*)

One night, a tour bus with 50 kids (they looked like 11 and 12 year olds) pulled up in front of Dickens Inn, a restaurant next to our store. At the time, I was outside having a smoke. A couple started heading towards the store, then a few more, then a few more, then a few more...

Seeing this, I figure I better go back into the store. One of my employees coming running up to me..."We need help! There are a ton of kids in here!" (Well no shit! I was watching them!) So, I hop on a register and survey the store...by this time, almost all of them are in the store, mostly buying candy, film, disposable cameras, and batteries. Cleaned me out. Our store normally did about $2500 worth of business on a Friday. Those kids spent over $1000 in 20 minutes, and boosted us to $4000 for the day.

Then, there were the tourist trolleys that used to come by our place as well. They didn't stop...just drove by. Depending on my mood, I'd wave or yell "Hello!"

But then there is the other side to tourists, which I will discuss in part 2...