Those damn tourists

EASTER is approaching and Wonnie’s retail employees are tooling up for another round of passive aggressive confrontations with the visitors who come here to spend their hard earned and help with the region’s economy.

Friends who visit the area are partly amused, partly puzzled and often annoyed by the rudeness and coolness they experience in a lot of our shops (particularly the big corporates) and I am always at a loss to explain that to them, or excuse it.

I don’t know whether it’s driven by some sort of inferiority complex (see also Moe and Morwell) or xenophobia, good country folks vs city smarties, but I do know that if we manage to encourage the holiday makers to stock up somewhere where they can get pleasant courteous service before they arrive in the Bass Coast, then our economy will notice it.

We have to lose the baggage that came with the old coal town and promote ourselves as a holiday venue 10 minutes from the beautiful Bass Coast and appreciate our cashed-up visitors in the holiday seasons. Wrenchs, Connells, Autopro, the service stations and many others are wonderful examples of professional retailers but there are a significant percentage of others who are undermining their efforts. Pull your socks up Wonnie!

Name witheld