Living on Cape Cod we have our fair share of tourists every year. As schools close and summer rolls in, the streets become more crowded, and locals become more aggravated and annoyed. The beaches are no longer quiet and peaceful, but are filled with people from around the world trying to cram into every sandy space available.
Town halls, especially in Brewster, are jam packed with people trying to acquire beach stickers and asking all kinds of touristy questions.
Now, anyone who lives in a high tourist destination knows that tourists can be the absolute worst. They drive slow because they never know where they're going, they think that things will be the same as from wherever they came from, and they think they are "all that".
Working at a small café in the town of Brewster on Cape Cod, our summer season really kicks in around the middle of June. Schools are just getting out, and people are getting days off to travel and explore.
Where I work I have the fortune of knowing almost all the regulars that come in. Some old, some young, but all come in with smiles and salutations. The great thing about regulars is that you basically already know exactly what they are going to order, or at least the gist of what they might want.
All the tourists who walk through the door, they have no clue. They take forever choosing from the menu, and a lot of the time they want to know everything inside a sandwich or dish, even though it's written right on the menu.
Half the time they don't even see the GIANT menu that is hanging up right when you walk in the door. They walk right up to me at the cash register, look around a little in slight panic and confusion, then ask where the menu is. I mean, I know people have a hard time seeing things right in front of their face, but come on!
I also just love when a new customer asks for something off the menu that they "always get back home" or "it's really simple to make". We have a menu. There is only so much leeway we can give, and the kitchen staff is extremely generous in accommodating to customers' needs. But sometimes the things people want are so ridiculous. If you love it so much then go somewhere else.
Unfortunately, no matter how annoying tourists are, we need them to survive. They are a source of income, and a lot of businesses on Cape that are year round rely on the money made over the summer to last through the off-seasons until the next summer comes along.
It's a love/hate relationship we've got going on, but look on the bright side: you get to meet some pretty interesting people from around the world, and you get to see tourists be tourists and do stupid things cause they don't know any better.
