Some afternoon after work I enjoy going to the Coronado Ferry Landing to catch up on my reading and so forth. Recently they placed a kiosk with signage proclaiming: “Visitor Information” and have a staff of either one or two per shift. First I thought that it was a great idea, the visitors would be able to ask questions, get brochures and directions to sites and attractions in Coronado — yet after observing their operation for a few days, I realized that this was not the case.
Apparently the Coronado Ferry Landing company has leased out the space to a Wyndham Vacation Resorts‘ “Time-Share” operation that employs “barkers” to solicit their product. I observed that almost every visitor who approached the kiosk was doing so to “grab a brochure” — from the prominent display on their counter — or ask a question, only to receive very little information about Coronado’s offerings and essentially a heavy-handed “sales pitch” for the time-share properties.
If the Coronado Ferry Landing leasers/owners want to truly help distribute information to our visitors, I’d suggest that they enlist Coronado residents — of all ages, not just seniors — as ambassadors/volunteers (who could receive a “X %” discount from the Coronado Ferry Landing businesses) to guide them on their journey.
The current time-share “bait & switch” approach is to me, disgusting.
