The Store at Bridge Bay Marina
I was working on my post for the “About” section of my Blog. When I got to the portion about working in Yellowstone NP, Lots of memories came flooding back. This is a True story that happened in the store I was managing.
Who, what, when, where and Why.
Bob, Manager of the store at Bridge Bay Marina in Yellowstone NP.
On a typical busy day at our store, the calls went out for Bob the Manager. Why, because the employees had a “Problem” customer. Difficult, Irate or problem customers were ALWAYS happily passed to the Manager. The “Problem” was a Japanese couple that spoke NO english. The solution, Bob will handle it. Snicker Snicker.
After pulling out my best Japanese comm skills, I determined that they wanted to rent fishing gear. Done ! 30 minutes has passed , I hear more snickers.
The problem is, I know they can’t have fishing licenses so I finally work it out with them that they had to have permits. Done! at least 30 more minutes have passed. More snicker snicker. Oh well, we lost money there if you figure time spent. Happy customers. A Half dozen Bows between us and two happy customers leave. I hear comments like that’s why he makes the Big bucks etc. snicker Snicker
Like I said, very busy. Some 45 minutes pass and I happen to look out the front windows and I see the small Japanese Man walking by headed toward the boat docks with a Motor Boat rental form. I said to the other employees, look, here comes a boat wreck.
Well, busy busy with customers some time passes and I feel someone pulling on my shirt sleeve. I turn around and here is the little fella again. Now he is making very agitated motions with his hands and in VERY broken fractured English it was to the effect of “Takey hookey out”. Okay I get it, I show him we sell Forseps and needle nose pliers for that. More bowing. He points at the forceps and repeats the previous message. Next thing I know, he is dragging me out of the store yelling takey hookey out. My immediate thought was that while waiting for his boat rental, He decide to fish in the Marina that has a plentiful supply of big trout. Fishing there is very prohibited due crazy fisherman flailing hooks everywhere. Certain he has hooked a Big Trout, I hurried out to help him release it. Large fine if a Ranger sees him.
That’s when I saw it. There is his wife standing by the docks with a trebble hook through BOTH LIPS. OH NOOOOOOOO ! I can’t go near this lawsuit. No reference to this in my Manager’s guide book. I immediately point up the road and said Hospital 3km. More bows, takey hookey out!!!!!! No, Hospital 3km. He grabs the forceps and goes to work on his wife. GaG. The store folks close the blinds, they are getting sick. Thank goodness, the Rangers are comming. A few minutes later, here comes the Little Japanese Man back into the store. He wants a refund that I cheerfully gave him. It’s okay, forceps were on the house. I didn’t have the heart to tell him he owed me for one missing fishing lure.
Ranger Rick told me they removed the hooks from her lips at the Hospital and fixed her up just fine. A day later, I had more visitors from the West Yellowstone Newspaper. A nice interview and I still have the News article packed away here somewhere. Fame comes at such a price. I still wonder how one gets a trebble hook through BOTH lips?
And so ends another day in the life of a store manager in Yellowstone NP
Okay, a challenge for today. I want you to listent to the link below and do your best not to laugh. It is a true story that actually happened near Dallas Texas. Not only do I laugh out loud, It makes me cry tears of laughter.,, Good Luck.
http://www.funnieststuff.net/viewmovie.php?id=2998
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