Directions...

[Spydyr]

One thing I've learned working a gas station is that people seem to think the guy behind the counter is 10x better with directions than the lady. However, I've also learned people don't understand the most basic directions anyways so sexist or not... they're still going to get lost.

Enter the confused lost customer (with his google map...)

CLC: Excuse me, Could I get your help? ( I can see where this is going and exactly how it will end)
Me: Sure. What can I do for you today?
CLC: I'm looking for Russel road. My map told me to tun onto Russel road.

This is where I shall interject. Google Maps will send every person through this town via Russel Road. Its an easily missed access road with no real purpose since they never end on it anyways. You see its really just a detour road. My gas station is on mainstreet which is merely over the hill from said road. If you go left out the parking lot you will hit mainstreet and if you go right you hit the us hwy they always seem to be looking for. Once you make it here... you're pretty much on the right path. Its very irritating because they never want to grasp that fact. Back to story.

Me: So are you looking to get to Rt19 or mainstreet?
CLC: Russel road.
Me: Well your map is saying you need to go to XXXXX which is on rt 19.
CLC: I know I read my map. I need to get to Russel Road to get there.
Me: Actually, Rt 19 is right at that red light (pointing to the red light to the right)
CLC: But I need Russel road
Me: Russel road is that way (points left) at the first red light you come to on the left
CLC: But you said I need to go right to that red light to get to 19
Me: Yes... thats how you get where your going.
CLC: then why did you say go left?
Me: you asked where Russel road was. If you want to get on russel go to that red light. If you want to get where you are really going, go to that red right light right there (pointing to right)

Sure enough, they leave to the left.

It happens without fail even if they want to get to main street from Russel road. Even though this gas station is right on main street. Google maps only send you up that road to shave a whole .2 miles off your trip. However by the time you get to my store you've driven an extra .1 miles.

[sirwired]

As a guy, I can confidently state that NOT all guys are good with directions. I have absolutely NO sense of direction (but I can read maps very well.) My wife is the exact opposite: she has a good sense of direction (unless it comes to something being N/E/S/W of something else), but can barely read a map to save her life.

[Jay 2K Winger]

At least you recognized where the poor guy was trying to go. You offered him a faster way to get there, but he was locked in on the "must follow teh GoggleMapz" mindset.

[mathnerd]

Gah. I hate googlemaps sometimes. They can come up with the most insane routes. My dad and I entertained ourselves one day by trying to get them to come up with our normal route from his house to points north of the Dade/Broward county line. No matter what we did, it steadfastly refused to give us that particular route even though it's shorter, has less traffic and no tolls.

[MelindaJoy77]

It seems like everywhere I go using mapquest or google maps always gives me one messed up direction that makes no sense. To reach a friends house of mine who lives three hours away, it told me to turn left onto her street but her street actually doesn't connect to the main road; you have to go to the next street, turn left, and then turn left again to get to hers. It's really weird. But I've always been pretty good with paper maps and you can get them for free at a visitor's center

[EricKei]

marhnerd - Did ya try the "avoid highways" (or whatever it's called) option? that can SOMETIMES yield a better result. Ditto choosing bike/walking directions if it's not terribly far (both, afaik, automatically exclude routes with a speed limit over a certain level)

[Krysalis]

Google Maps is fun. Especially since it insisted we go down every utility road in Nevada on our last bonding trip with our dad. Even we knew better then it, and we were out of state. :P

Though, once to our own stubbornness, we ended up going down Randsburg-California City Road, which is exactly as it sounds, trying to reach 20 Mule Team Road. It was quite fun, it was a decent dirt road, we saw the larger extent of planned California City, and got a picture of a High Voltage Plant. It was a bush, with a High Voltage sign on it. :P

Sometimes, not the destination, but the journey, indeed.

((We live near Randsburg. For those who don't know, California City was a large, absolutely huge, planned city that just didn't pan out. So, you'll see all the streets, signs, and you'll see marked roads on GPSes and maps, but its mostly desert, with a little city towards its heart. Again, this is so big we couldn't see the habitable part from where we were.)