Travel is enriching and rewarding but, nowadays, it can also be a stressful experience. Airline rules getting stricter, hotel rates are going up, and then there are the travel industry employees who just don’t make it easier on us. Yahoo rounded up the 10 worst people you encounter when traveling.
1. The nosy maid
It’s so creepy to imagine some stranger going through your things. Then last fall, everyone’s worst nightmare was confirmed when a hotel housekeeper made headlines by getting caught on camera rifling through a guest’s personal belongings. Busted! The video just proves that, while you’re away, the maids will play, and your property isn’t necessarily safe. Speaking of safe — use it. While no traveler should have to worry about their belongings in the comfort of their hotel room, it’s better to err on the side of caution.
Who doesn’t love checking into a hotel spa to unwind and decompress? Unfortunately, blissful pampering can become downright annoying with the wrong masseuse. While spa staff is trained on proper one-on-one interaction with hotel guests, some don’t seem to get the memo. Daniel Hernandez Lyon, head of marketing for Rubin Museum of Art in NYC, recently visited a thermal spa near Padova, Italy and ran into an overly loquacious masseuse. “As soon as I walked into the treatment room for a massage, the masseuse began to ask me questions like where I was visiting from. But it did not stop there. The lights dimmed and I settled in waiting for the usual hour of completely disconnecting from the outside world when he kept asking questions about my work, my experience with Italian culture and even little things like my favorite foods.” So what did Lyon do? The only thing he could think of: “After about 20 minutes of incessant talking, I pretended to doze off!”
3. The cheating cab driver
Tourists taking a taxi or a ride-share service are often in unfamiliar territory — and drivers know it. Some have no qualms taking you for a ride literally and figuratively, going on a long detour to increase the fare. Then there are the really shady ones like this guy in Bangkok: He started the meter ages before the passenger even got in the car, then covered the meter with a cloth hoping no one would notice. When the tourist did notice, the cab driver told blatant lie after lie, including that the starting fare went up, that older cabs were not allowed to have their meters fixed, and on and on. If this cab thing doesn’t work out, maybe he could have a career writing fiction.
While we love our cheerful flight attendants, there’s the occasional Debbie Downer who prevents us from sitting back, relaxing, and enjoying the flight. Ignoring call buttons, ramming a cart into a passenger’s foot without flinching, and begrudgingly fetching you a glass of water is rude flight attendant protocol. In fact, it’s a thing. The Wall Street Journal called out flight attendant air rage in 2013, and now travelers are documenting their incidents like the passenger who was shamed for breast feeding on a recent United flight. It just goes to show that it’s not all smiles at 10,000 feet. USA Today even published a poll on the rudest flight attendants, with Spirit and Air Canada taking the top spots.
5. The touchy feely TSA agent
The words “body check!” are the last thing you want to hear while going through the airport security line, but it’s the fate for many passengers. A full pat down is not supposed to be basically a substantial and meaningless grope by rude agents, but, yay! It sometimes is! Nobody wants to be felt up by a stranger in a bad uniform, especially from someone allegedly making our lives safer. But it happens. One Yahoo Travel editor swears a TSA agent at a Texas airport got to second base before her last flight.
6. The weird room service attendant
(Photo: Thinkstock)
One of the best things about vacation is room service — but things can get weird when you’re a woman alone in a bathrobe and the waiter lingers a little too long and is a little too friendly. No, desperate room-service attendant, it’s not okay to flirt. And it’s not okay to stare and be all creepy. (One woman even felt the need to call out such behavior in her TripAdvisor review. Awkward.)
7. The lecherous cruise ship bartender
It was cool when Isaac from the love boat did it, but not so much in real life. Most cruise ship servers earn their wages in tips, so they’ll always bend over backwards for their guests. But the cruise ship bartender may be a little too eager to please. Do they teach this in cruise bartender school? And it’s not like you can escape. You’re stuck on a ship with this guy. Perhaps this is why human bartenders are being phased out by robot bartenders on cruise lines.
8. The by-the-book enforcer customer service agent
We understand customer service agents have to do their jobs, but we also understand the importance of being a human being. So if you missed a flight because, say, your relative was hospitalized, you would think the customer service agent would understand and waive the change fee. (Yes, this is possible and is at the discretion of the agent and their supervisor). Apparently, not so much. One passenger learned the hard way when Ryanair wouldn’t let her family board a flight so her son could get an organ transplant. (You can close your gaping mouth now.) The airline has since apologized.
9. The overly aggressive vendor
Imagine lying on a white-sand beach in Mexico in complete bliss, only every five minutes a vendor stops by to ask if you want to buy silver bracelets, fresh fruit, or marijuana. It’s a growing travel epidemic that can put a damper on your vacation. What’s worse is they’re often quite literally too pushy. A female traveler to Phuket was recently harassed by a vendor who also rented out sun beds. After refusing his services, he proceeded to kick sand on her and pushed her from her beach spot.
10. The incompetent gate agent
(Photo: Thinkstock)
Gate agents often see passengers as just one big mess of more work. The particular gate agents that truly don’t give a flying flip are the ones who want us to know that they are doing us a favor. It’s not like it’s their job or anything. Oh, wait — it is. Good luck switching to an aisle seat without feeling persecuted. Last-minute upgrades? You’re one passenger too late. “I once thanked a gate agent for helping me with a request,” says Jenna Mahoney, travel editor of Bridal Guide magazine. “I told her she was super friendly and helpful and it was great because some of her co-workers weren’t as willing to even listen to me. And she says: ‘Look, lady, you’ve got to understand, we’ve got thousands of people in our face every day.’ That was how she responded to me saying she was helpful. Even The Onion feels compelled to ms upgraded to First Class on Singapore Airlines and discothat for her, air travel will never be the sam
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