Fat/Weight Comments While on Tour

[MzSegwayofHawaii]

Okay so I myself have become 'used' to the comments such as "your lazy, walk. your fat, walk." so on and so forth along those lines. I weigh about eh...190 maybe...but unfortunately I'm short. Anyway the other day while I was on tour I had a tall, heavy set, DISABLED gentleman on tour with me when a group of skateboarding kids came chasing after us on our tour yelling vulgar nasty comments about fat people and the famous "GAY-way" chant.

I noticed the kids ran to their parents on the beach I excused myself from my tour, parked their segways and glided on my x2 through the sand to where the family sat...mind you they weren't thin. I appologized for my intrusion on their bbq and asked to speak with the kids' parents and i pointed to which kids I was talking about. to my shock and surprise the mother turned around and whacked her kid one good time right across the mouth, then she got up and appologized to my guests as well as myself. but the kids still do it.

any suggestions? i'm running out of ideas. i'd like to attach the snow plow and well...hope they jump infront of my segway

[Sal]

Originally Posted by MzSegwayofHawaii

Okay so I myself have become 'used' to the comments such as "your lazy, walk. your fat, walk." so on and so forth along those lines. I weigh about eh...190 maybe...but unfortunately I'm short. Anyway the other day while I was on tour I had a tall, heavy set, DISABLED gentleman on tour with me when a group of skateboarding kids came chasing after us on our tour yelling vulgar nasty comments about fat people and the famous "GAY-way" chant.

I noticed the kids ran to their parents on the beach I excused myself from my tour, parked their segways and glided on my x2 through the sand to where the family sat...mind you they weren't thin. I appologized for my intrusion on their bbq and asked to speak with the kids' parents and i pointed to which kids I was talking about. to my shock and surprise the mother turned around and whacked her kid one good time right across the mouth, then she got up and appologized to my guests as well as myself. but the kids still do it.

any suggestions? i'm running out of ideas. i'd like to attach the snow plow and well...hope they jump infront of my segway

Channelle, I'm sorry to hear that happened... It is always disarming and hurtful to experience what you and your guest(s) went through. I'm glad you went to the kids parents, and they understood that their kids were being inappropriate.

Unfortunately, there's no way of controlling how other people react to Segway tours, or anything, for that matter.

What matters is how you react. And you reacted splendidly in my opinion.

Sometimes, I have seen very experienced tour operators and guides (Segway Tour people) prepare their clients for comments, if they're common in the area. Fortunately, in my experience, the longer a tour business is in the area, the more it participates in the community as well as with other businesses around it (getting to know people in your neighborhood) the comments eventually subside.

-Sal

[nora k]

Originally Posted by MzSegwayofHawaii

Okay so I myself have become 'used' to the comments such as "your lazy, walk. your fat, walk." so on and so forth along those lines. I weigh about eh...190 maybe...but unfortunately I'm short. Anyway the other day while I was on tour I had a tall, heavy set, DISABLED gentleman on tour with me when a group of skateboarding kids came chasing after us on our tour yelling vulgar nasty comments about fat people and the famous "GAY-way" chant.

I noticed the kids ran to their parents on the beach I excused myself from my tour, parked their segways and glided on my x2 through the sand to where the family sat...mind you they weren't thin. I appologized for my intrusion on their bbq and asked to speak with the kids' parents and i pointed to which kids I was talking about. to my shock and surprise the mother turned around and whacked her kid one good time right across the mouth, then she got up and appologized to my guests as well as myself. but the kids still do it.

any suggestions? i'm running out of ideas. i'd like to attach the snow plow and well...hope they jump infront of my segway

a part of every training we do involves us explaining seg-etiquette to our tour customers. they know what might happen and they know how to react if someone says something. it's embarrassing when it happens and i've had several instances of my customers politely breaking the ice with harassers about what a good time they're having and i don't have to do a thing.

or you could just ask your harassers if they want to see your prosthetic leg. that quiets them, too.

my best piece of advice is to try and engage them. if they're in their car and off in the blink of an eye there's nothing to do, but nothing gets a snotty commenters attention more than you stopping the tour and saying,"i'm sorry... did you say something?" the ice gets broken and the educating can begin.

and carry a crowbar.

[KSagal]

I am a bit loathe to say it, but the whack accross the face of the kid got me squeamish. It strikes me that disrespect of others is often learned at home. I wonder if the parents had the kids appologise?

Maybe I am lucky, or just thick skinned, or partially deaf, or all three, but I do not have to deal with this too often. Kids or teens will often act poorly when they think they can get away with it, or to show off to their friends.

But, they are kids. It has not been too hard to out wit them. Peer pressure is very important at that age, and knowing how to deal with kids is important. I use whatever wit I have to best the situation.

Again, maybe I am just lucky. I have been known to chase someone down, to make my point, and make it in spades.

I am sorry for what your group had to endure. I suspect it will get better over the years, however civility is down in society in general.

[polo_pro]

Originally Posted by nora k

{lots of great suggestions on how to deal with the uneducated}

and carry a crowbar.

I find a polo mallet is much more effective. Thrown over the shoulder it acts like a magnet for people's eyes. It also advertises how your reach has just been extended another 4 feet!

8^) 8^) 8^)

[nora k]

Originally Posted by polo

I find a polo mallet is much more effective. Thrown over the shoulder it acts like a magnet for people's eyes. It also advertises how your reach has just been extended another 4 feet!

8^) 8^) 8^)

since most people would stare wondering "what is she carrying?" in addition to "what is she riding?" maybe i should go with one of those grabber hands instead. it would increase my reach in more ways than one!

[BillPaxton]

I get that comment all the time, and I'm 5'9" and 180lbs! I've had morbidly obese people yell (usually from the safety of a crowd) "Get some excercize fat @$$"! I am also one of those that will roll right up to the offender and strike up a conversation, they almost always cower and end up in a normal conversation - sometimes even a test glide. When that fails, I now have my trusty stun-brick!

[Desert_Seg]

Originally Posted by BillPaxton

I get that comment all the time, and I'm 5'9" and 180lbs! I've had morbidly obese people yell (usually from the safety of a crowd) "Get some excercize fat @$$"! I am also one of those that will roll right up to the offender and strike up a conversation, they almost always cower and end up in a normal conversation - sometimes even a test glide. When that fails, I now have my trusty stun-brick!

Bill,

You lie. You know you have gained at least one pound since you started gliding! Come on now, tell the truth. You are on the slippery (upwared) slope towards being a fat @$$.

Oh, wait, that extra pound is the brick you are carrying!

Steven

[LibertySegway]

My son and I were gliding at the downtown mall in Sacramento a couple of weeks ago and some punk girl with piercings galore yelled out to us "That is why so many Americans are obese". Well I glided right over to her (while her punk boy friend slipped away sheepishly) and engaged her in a short lecture about the postive aspects of such an efficient green machine and the advantages it provides to those with challenged mobility. I never got to the only a hand full of people have these machines in the first place point. She nodded agreeingly and quickly slunk away as well.

We got the Gay thing yelled at us once from a pickup truck too. Had no idea what those yahoos were talking about.

What it think to truely comes down to is pure jealousy.

One the other hand 90% of people smile and wave and occasionally ask for a chance to try "'that thing".

[BillPaxton]

I actually gained 10 lbs in the 4 months since I quit smoking but I'm almost back to normal now. So you're off by a pound or so, pre-brick!

Originally Posted by Desert_Seg

Bill,

You lie. You know you have gained at least one pound since you started gliding! Come on now, tell the truth. You are on the slippery (upwared) slope towards being a fat @$$.

Oh, wait, that extra pound is the brick you are carrying!

Steven