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200823 | Holiday park worker in Cornwall writes open letter to rude tourists after being left in tears Beth says number of visi

Holiday park worker in Cornwall writes open letter to rude tourists after being left in tears

Beth says a number of visitors believe Cornwall is immune from COVID-19

Beth Richards says she has been called 'stupid, idiotic or a b*tch' for asking people to wear a face maskBeth Richards says she has been called 'stupid, idiotic or a b*tch' for asking people to wear a face mask


A “very defeated” receptionist at a holiday park in Cornwall has written an open letter to rude and angry tourists who have reduced her to tears.

Beth Richards, from Truro, decided to post a letter to holidaymakers on Facebook after a challenging day in her job this week when four guests at the holiday park where she works were rude to her.

“I had to cry in the staff room because it was so nasty,” she admitted.

Beth, who doesn’t want to reveal which holiday park she works for, has decided to speak out as she says friends who work in shops, restaurants and other holiday parks have also faced a higher level of abuse this summer from visitors frustrated by social distancing.

 

She wrote:

“DEAR TOURISTS:

“A letter from a very defeated receptionist.

“Hi. I’m Beth and I’m a holiday park receptionist here in Cornwall.

“I am here to clear a few things up:

"1. YES, you are correct, without you and your custom I may very well be out of a job right now BUT you must remember that without us you would be without a holiday, it’s a two way street.

“2. NOWHERE is ‘IMMUNE’ to COVID-19. The amount of times I have been told by you that you’ve come down to Cornwall because we are immune to it and you just want a break from everything is absurd.

“3. SOCIAL DISTANCING STILL APPLIES. See the above point, we are not immune and we certainly do not have the capacity in our hospital for you to act like we are. For your own safety as well as ours, please try and keep your distance.

“4. WE ARE STILL HUMAN. This brings me to my main point. I have come home from what was a reasonably short and supposedly easy shift today feeling totally defeated and lost for words. We cannot control Covid. I am not the creator of the rules so please don’t belittle me and call me stupid, idiotic or a b*tch just because you have to book a slot for the swimming pool or need to wear a mask for a mere 5 minutes in the shop. You wouldn’t like it if I responded to you in the same way.

“5. Lastly, ENJOY YOUR STAY! Be grateful that in these times you have been lucky enough to travel and have a slight sense of normality in booking a holiday. For many people this is something they could only have wished for. We love having you here and are grateful that you are keeping our economy up and running and we thank you for it.

“BUT PLEASE. NEXT TIME YOU GO TO TAKE YOUR ANGER OUT ON A STAFF MEMBER ANYWHERE YOU GO. REMEMBER. WE ARE HUMANS TOO.”

Beth Richards was so upset by how she was spoken to by tourists that she wrote an open letter to them
Beth Richards was so upset by how she was spoken to by tourists that she wrote an open letter to them

Her post has been shared almost 1,000 times with many people congratulating Beth for speaking out.

One woman replied: “I have recently returned from a week in Cornwall and I have nothing but praise for the locals for observing and enforcing the rules for social distancing as we did. The same cannot be said however for the incredibly inconsiderate idiots who have inflicted themselves on the lovely Cornish people.

“They were behaving as though the virus had never happened, no social distancing, no masks and no courtesy evident at all. I pray that their behaviour does not harm the loveliest county and it's equally lovely people.

“As someone who works in the NHS it broke my heart. Stay safe everyone.”

Beth told Cornwall Live: “We had to close the pool yesterday for a safety reason and people were saying we’d ruined their holiday, taken their fun away from them and weren’t making enough effort.

“I’ve worked at the holiday park for the past couple of summers – you get the odd complaint but it’s never been like this. It’s like they’ve come on holiday for a break and everything’s okay down here – but it’s not. I’m trying to keep my cool with them….”

She added: “Yesterday I had four people be rude to me. I had to cry in the staff room because it was so nasty.”

It was when she returned home from that shift that she took to Facebook.



Beth said cleaners, managers and lifeguards at the holiday park have also been at the receiving end of rude and aggressive behaviour.

“I would not have chosen to work in this industry if I didn’t want tourists to come to Cornwall, but it’s almost got to the point where I’m like … ‘please go home’.

“They are finding the situation difficult, but they’ve got to realise that we are too.”

Beth, who also works as a special needs support, was also reduced to tears by a woman who refused to vacate her apartment at the allotted time.

“We have to ask guests to vacate their rooms at 9am on the changeover days as we have to do a thorough clean including using an anti-bacterial spray which has to sit for at least an hour," she added. "I can understand people wanting a lie-in while on holiday but this woman was so rude to me – she had a real go at me, saying ‘you must think I’m an idiot if you think I’m going to do that’.”

She added: "The majority of people are alright. They don't exactly follow the rules but when you remind them, they are fine. However, the amount of angry, rude tourists is more noticeable this year."

Padstow on a busy summers day in July 2020
Everyone was doing their best to keep a distance but it was not always possible

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