A Letter to Everyone Visiting Clarach Bay...
Dear Owners, Guests, Family and Friends,
It goes without saying that 2020 has been a tricky year for everyone and our hearts go out to everyone affected by the pandemic.
Like many family businesses, we’ve had a rollercoaster of a year. Having to close, reopen and close again. Trying our hardest to keep up to date with the Welsh legislation. And, most unfortunately, being forced to shut our gates for our loyal customers and owners.
During all of this, we’ve noticed a slight misconception that we’ve been sitting pretty all year which is simply not true. In fact, this year has been incredibly stressful, not just because of the virus, but because of the reactions of certain customers.
We should note that the vast majority of people at Clarach are absolutely lovely. Your comments online really lift our spirits, your feedback is invaluable and your attitude on the park has been exemplary. We are so lucky to have such a lovely community on our park.
But it only takes one horrible interaction to ruin a day, and our staff have experienced more negative treatment in 2020 than ever before.
Please remember that the regulations in place at Clarach are dictated by the government, for us to enforce as best as we can. We understand that masks and social distancing may not be ideal for some, but it is simply unacceptable to take out that frustration on our staff. We are following the rules which allow us to stay open. If you don’t want to follow these rules, it’s better if you just don’t visit.
As well as this, the rules are applying to us too. As staff, we are adapting to working in a different, more socially-distanced way, sometimes in a very busy environment. We are trying our hardest to keep up to our high standards, but please have understanding if service is a little slower than before.
This understanding is also always appreciated online. On CBTV, our website and social media, we try our hardest to keep people updated with the changing rules. We only hear the news at the same time as everyone else, and so have to immediately interpret how they affect Clarach.
Because when the phone rings and someone wants to know whether their holiday is going ahead, of course, we want an answer for them. But hopefully you can see what a stressful, reactive way of working this is. So please bear with us when it comes to giving you updates. CBTV on YouTube is our fastest way of getting updates out, and we always have Q&A sessions, when you can clarify anything with Thomas Scarrott.
Even negative comments or messages on our Facebook and Instagram accounts can be really disheartening. We try to only post content that will inform or cheer people up - relevant updates, happy photos/videos, and little behind-the-scenes peeks of the park.
Every comment posted is read by a member of our staff and so many are lovely. Thank you for these, we share them with the park teams and it can really make people’s days. But sometimes we do get sarcastic or mean comments, which are often unnecessarily negative.
That being said, constructive criticism is always welcome. If you had a negative experience, of course we want you to tell us so that it doesn’t happen for others. We also appreciate the people who have pointed out mistakes in blogs or posts, so we can rectify them ASAP.
We’ve all had a difficult year, and we love that Clarach is a happy escape to reality for many, but that doesn’t mean that the same regulations don’t count here. Please don’t forget to follow the rules, or kick off when we remind you of them.
Once again though, it’s important to say that the overwhelming majority of guests and owners have been incredibly understanding and we couldn’t be more grateful. The amount of support we’ve had this year has also been so wonderful and we couldn’t be prouder of 99% of our community.
But for the remaining 1%, please remember that we’re human too and we truly are trying our hardest. If you don’t want to follow the rules we set, it’s better if you don’t come to the park.
Best regards,
The Scarrott and Barker Family
