The directionless wonders

[figgyx]

Why is it so hard for people to understand directions over the phone. We listen to what you have to say and then present you with step by step directions on how to get to the hotel.

Here are a couple from over the years.

One night a lady called and asked for directions from the airport. Well, here in Detroit everybody just figures that they are asking how to get to the hotel from Detroit Metro Airport. We kept telling this lady to go West from the airport until she got to Interstate 275 -etc. She kept calling back and saying she never even saw 275. After a few rounds of this she finally tells us she was coming from another smaller airport which would have meant going East to 275. Huh????? It never dawned on her to tell us she was coming from a different airport?

I gave instructions to this one dude on how to get to the hotel from downtown Detroit and he calls back later from a city 60 miles further north than the hotel. Did it not dawn on him that he had gone way too far???? Jeez.

One hotel I worked at all you had to do if exiting the freeway from the East was to go straight but stay to the right because if you stayed to the left it would deposit you back on the freeway. You know how many people asked us which way to turn at the end of the offramp? If you guessed - every single one - you would be right. Nobody ever listened when we told them to go straight and stay to the right.

[skeptic53]

We have patients get lost inside our clinic all the time. Verbal directions and direction signs on the wall or hanging from the ceiling. Still get lost. "See the gold sign with the black arrow hanging from the ceiling that says 'Exit to Lobby? Not the lit Exit sign, the gold sign?" "Yes" "Follow that". They walk right past it toward a light green fire exit sign. There is an exam room under the lit Exit sign (which has an arrow pointing to the left). On the exam room door is a huge sign that says "NOT AN EXIT. EXAM IN PROGRESS". They open the door and walk in. The lit fire exit sign is required by code but boy does it cause problems when the building is not on fire...

[Pixilated]

*snip*

I gave instructions to this one dude on how to get to the hotel from downtown Detroit and he calls back later from a city 60 miles further north than the hotel. Did it not dawn on him that he had gone way too far???? Jeez.

*snip*

Sounds like something I would do. Although I sincerely hope it wouldn't take 60 miles for me to twig to the fact that I've gotten lost ...

[raudf]

*sigh* I hated giving directions over the phone. People would be calling asking for directions to... the store. We were the repair center and nowhere near the store! Call the STORE. Do you happen to know where the University Mall is? No, no, not the one with the Dillards! Well, actually, it's the mall across the street from that one. (Yes, two malls across the street from each other. Now there is only one. The one with Dillard's. When MW folded, it took the mall with it pretty much.)

Or worse, trying to get to the repair center from ANYWHERE. "It's WESTPARK DR off of 12th. No, not WEST PARK AVE. And that's WESTPARK (I hated this, really did.) One WORD." And they'd go looking for WEST PARK DR off of 12th, which doesn't exist. *facepalm* Fortunately, cell phones weren't such a big thing back then and coverage in even the big city was... Swiss Cheese.

I get lost in doctors' offices.. unless there's signs. Or lines on the floor that leads to the door. Some sort of marker for the poor girl who doesn't get lost easily outside, but gets completely lost in a building that has only white walls!

[tilly101]

I gave instructions to this one dude on how to get to the hotel from downtown Detroit and he calls back later from a city 60 miles further north than the hotel. Did it not dawn on him that he had gone way too far???? Jeez.

For crap sake. As you said, at what point do you stop and think hmmm...HMMMMM....lil bit lost perhaps?
Goddamn some ppl are stoopid

[catcul]

For crap sake. As you said, at what point do you stop and think hmmm...HMMMMM....lil bit lost perhaps?

How about the woman who was planning to drive to a train station in Belgium and ended up in Zagreb, Croatia?

I've had to call a hotel in Jacksonville, NC, to get directions to a hotel. I was able to find it using directions from the hotel clerk.

[Teskeria]

my VA hospital in Boston has lines on the floor. different colored lines for each clinic from the check-in areas on each floor, in each wing. you check in and get told 'see the black line on the floor, follow it to your waiting area.' (If they see you often enough you just get told 'follow the 'color' line'

[Jim]

OT

Years ago, I had to run all the way from the main entrance to the gate at the Detroit airport, in dress shoes. I got the last seat on the plane.

If I tried that now, TSA would shoot me.

[Sulhythal]

I'm rarely able to follow directions given verbally, if I have to remember them for more than five minutes or so. Not because I don't understand them, but mostly because it seems my brain can't hold on to verbal communications easily. I don't know why but the whole "In one ear and out the other" saying literally happens to me, even when I'm paying attention.

Good thing I've got a good sense of direction for where I've been, and my memory of what I read that more than makes up for what I lose verbally! And also thankfully most voice GPS devices/apps tell you what to do right about the time you're supposed to do it >.> <.<

[manybellsdown]

I recently moved outside of Seattle. All the streets are numbers. And, they use the SAME numbers going in both directions - the only difference is if a street runs N-S it will be 140th Ave NE. If it runs E-W it will be NE 140th Ave.

Also sometimes the street will go in a straight line but turn into a different street. I'm glad I have GPS or I would be lost ALL THE TIME.

[Grendus]

I pretty much navigate exclusively by the maps app in my phone. I still learn a general idea of the route before I leave, but most of the time even when the app is wrong it's still closer than I would be. GPS units are reliable and cheap. Which begs the question: if every smartphone has a navigation feature nowadays, regardless of the OS, why do these people need directions? Are they still using a not-so-smartphone, or just technophobic?

[mikoyan29]

East to get to 275? Was the person calling from Willow Run.

Main Entrance to the gate. I seem to remember the old Northwest Terminal with the newish concourse. If you were unfortunate enough to get C something or rather, you better get to the airport early because you're hoofing it.

[Eevie]

Maybe they're just very bad with verbal directions... I know I'm a little more on the visual side myself.... Eh, I'm giving these idiots way too much credit.

[Android Kaeli]

The last time someone needed directions to Random Craft Store they were about a half hour away -- and clearly not understanding nor accepting of the fact that he did NOT follow the directions properly. Not my fault, he should've used the GPS he stupidly didn't use.

[skeptic53]

my VA hospital in Boston has lines on the floor. different colored lines for each clinic from the check-in areas on each floor, in each wing. you check in and get told 'see the black line on the floor, follow it to your waiting area.' (If they see you often enough you just get told 'follow the 'color' line'

When I was a med student on a surgery rotation in a very large city county hospital ER, they would use this to get rid of annoying drunks who just wanted to sleep on a gurney in the ER. They'd give them a card for how to get to radiology, that said something like "Follow the orange line to the blue line. Turn right, follow the blue line through the double doors to the green line. Turn left. Follow the green line to the elevators, take the # 3 elevator to the subbasement level, then follow the black line to the check-in desk" (I'm making this up but it's pretty close). The inebriate would shuffle off reading the card and not be seen again for some time, if ever. Of course this was decades ago, couldn't get away with this now. Our clinic used to have colored lines on the wall to follow, but they were no help, people still got lost.