The “Germiest” World Attractions

June 29, 2009

TripAdvisor has been putting out surveys and polls on just about everything you can imagine lately. One of their latest polls — “the top 5 germiest world attractions” — has made the folks at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) delirious with joy.

According to the poll of 4,600 travelers, since the swine flu outbreak 34% of people have become more “germaphobic” when traveling. And there are signs of even greater phobia — on TripAdvisor’s forums the use of the word “germs” has increased 97% and “sanitizer” 182%.

But the big news, of course, is its listing of the world’s top “germiest” sites:

1. The Blarney Stone, at Ireland’s Blarney Castle, kissed by 400,000 people per year
2. The Wall of Gum, at the Market Theatre in Seattle, Washington — a bizarre wall “mural”  started by theater-goers in the 1990s
3. Oscar Wilde’s Tomb in Paris’ Pere-Lachaise cemetery — adorned with a rainbow of lipstick kiss-marks
4. Venice’s famed St. Mark’s Square — home to thousands of pigeons and the things pigeon leave behind
5. Grauman’s Chinese Theater, in Hollywood, CA — which made the list since millions of fans touch the molds of their favorite stars

Reading this exposé I realized I had already been exposed to three of the sites, lacking only contagion at the Wall of Gum and Oscar Wilde’s Tomb. And, as luck would have it, I was to be in Seattle soon. Two days later I packed my hand sanitizer and set out for the airport.

The Wall was not an easily place to find. Hidden away on the southern end of Seattle’s crowded Pike Place Market, we found it only after being directed there by a tout for a restaurant a hundred yards away.

And it was as bizarre as TripAdvisor had promised: a gazillion pieces of gum stuck to the wall by movie buffs and tourists over a period of nearly two decades — a veritable museum to Wrigley and Trident.  And Listerine and Scope, as well.

Tourists — most in their twenties and younger — wandered by to view the surreal mural, many making a personal donation before they left. They were often photographed by their friends — some whom appeared to want to keep their distance — as they molded their gummy wads into little pieces of art work.

I couldn’t help but wonder why some gum salesman wasn’t making a killing here. And also how soon I could get to Paris.

Jim Ferri

Tags: germiest travel sites, Seattle, TripAdvisor, Wall of Gum

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Which Airline Has the Rudest Flight Attendants?

June 22, 2009

Quick — which airline has rudest flight attendants? The most comfortable economy seats? The  worst food?

SeatGuru, the website for airline information has just come out with its latest airline passenger survey. It provides some interesting food for thought, which is about the most nourishment you’ll get on any flight these days.

Surveyed travelers overwhelmingly said that getting a full meal was the thing they value most in an airline. And they voted Singapore Airlines as having the best food, followed by British Airways, Continental, and Air France. U.S. carriers — who were rated as having the worst — included American, United, and US Airways.

Seat-wise, 42% said they would pay a 10% ticket premium to get five additional inches of legroom, and 83% said upgrades were worth it, which suggests just how bad things have gotten in the back of the plane. JetBlue led the pack with the most comfortable economy-class seats (11%), with USAirways voted as having the least-comfortable.

As for flight attendants, Singapore Airlines placed first for having the most polite attendants (19%), followed by British Airways (8%) and Southwest (7%). United was tagged with having the rudest attendants (14%), followed by American (13%) and US Airways (11%).  It’s interesting that the rudest were all employed by American carriers, so perhaps as a nation we better start acting a bit more civilized.

And these American carriers may also want to become a bit more image conscious — 80% voted U.S. carriers more unsafe than their international competitors, likely the reason 17% of people surveyed said they medicate themselves before flying. SeatGuru did not ask whether the meds came from the pharmacy or liquor store.

The greatest fear of both U.S. and international travelers (assuming that not arriving at your destination was not one of the choices offered) was that of overweight seatmates, which is likely the reason a majority (56%) said they’d rather not sit between anyone. Another interesting tidbit was that the next greatest fears among U.S. travelers were sickness and coughing on a plane, while international counterparts fear body odor.

And among the most disgusting things flyers have seen left on aircraft seats — dirty diapers, vomit, tissues, and “mystery stains.”

So you airline execs would do well to take note — forget peanuts and pretzels and instead pass out the Robitussin and Right Guard. And don’t relegate those seat covers just to the lavatories.

Jim Ferri

Tags: flight attendants, passenger survey, SeatGuru, traveler survey

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Rental Car Pains

June 11, 2009

Sometimes others just don’t see us the same way we see ourselves. Yesterday was a perfect example.

I traveled to California to give a presentation to an industry group. After landing in Oakland I made my way to one of the major car rental counters to claim my reservation. There was only one woman behind the counter who, I assumed, was fairly new on the job since she had to call one of her co-workers out of the back office to help her with some code on the computer screen.

When I asked which type of car I was going to be given, she told me a model I knew wasn’t going to be right for me. I’d be doing some mountain driving, possibly at night, and I wanted something I felt comfortable and safe in. More important, though, I’m still recuperating from a broken ankle and wearing a lightweight cast, and needed to keep my left leg stretched out, and this car just didn’t provide that room.

She looked for another on her computer. When I told her I wasn’t familiar with that model and asked how big it was, she called her manager out of the back office. I told him I wanted a larger car and he pointed to a gray wagon out on the lot. “No station wagons,” I told him.

After perusing the inventory again, the woman took me out to the lot to sit in a car, which I told her was too small — I couldn’t stretch my leg out. Walking back to the office, she told me to sit outside and they’d get another. By this time I’d refused seven or eight cars and she was getting noticeably testy.

After a few minutes her colleague came out and suggested another. I sat in it and declined. Then another and finally “Holy fuel surcharge!” or whatever it is they say in this business — it fit, I fit, my leg fit.

As she and I were heading back to the office I apologized to her for all the confusion. “I have a cast on my ankle,” I told her, lifting the leg of my pant to show her, “and after sitting six hours on a plane I need to be able to stretch my leg out.”

She looked downward almost in shock and then a big smile swept across her face. “Oh, I didn’t know you were injured,” she said. “I just thought you were a jerk.”

I couldn’t help think how lucky I was my sisters weren’t there at that moment.

Jim Ferri

Tags: car rental, Oakland Airport

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