I thought the most difficult part of my RV adventure would be to find a rental that would allow pets. In some ways, that was a challenge, bringing the RV was a trip! Here’s what happened …
The Pick Up
We went to the RV Rental and got a walkthrough of the vehicle. Everyone was very cordial and professional. My husband asked his list of questions and away we go! Nope, not really. There was a tight corridor of RVs that I would have to go through to get to the main street. It was tight! The owner was nice enough to indulge me and he drove me past that obstacle course. Okay, now we’re on our way!
I pulled out of the dealership and didn’t die! (I’ve never driven even a U-Haul truck before, so the nerves were real!) Since the highway was backed up, I turned on Google Maps to find an alternate route home. Everything was going swimmingly until The Bridge. (queue the music)
The Dingman’s Ferry Bridge
I live in Northeast Pennsylvania and we’re connected to NY/NJ at several junctions. One of these intersections is a place called The Dingman’s Ferry Bridge. According to the description on Wikipedia
The Dingmans Bridge is the last privately owned toll bridge on the Delaware River and one of the last few in the United States. It is owned and operated by the Dingmans Choice and Delaware Bridge Company.
There were some signs that said no commercial traffic, but since I’m such a newbie AND the RV was cleared for an A-class driver I thought that I could use it. A more pertinent fact was that the roads were so narrow by the time I saw the signs that I couldn’t turn around with the conga line of cars behind me. So, over the bridge I have to go.
The Crossing
Halfway over the bridge one of the officers (I will call him Mr. Grumpypants) starts gesticulating and telling me to stop. So I stop, but I’m thinking to myself, I can’t turn around and I can’t live in the middle of the bridge so what am I supposed to do? Eventually he waves me through and then proceeds to tell me that I should know better, I’ll have to pay a fine, etcetera, etcetera.
At one point he asked me, “Why did you take this bridge? Didn’t you see the signs?” Honestly, I didn’t see the signs until I was at the choke point of no return. So, I replied, “Google told me to come this way.” That just made him madder so he waved me over steadily chastising me.
Mr. Grumpypants assigned another toll worker (let’s call him Mr. Pleasant) to write up the ticket. Mr. Pleasant and he and I had a nice conversation. I joked that the fine was the price I paid for poor research. While I was being written up, another RV came over the bridge and was pulled over. He received the same lecture, but me (being me) ran over to him and said, “Google?” He said, “Yep!” I smiled in triumph at Mr. Grumpypants.
Meanwhile, my husband comes driving over the bridge and sees me parked. He pulls over and pays the fine for me (my hero). As we’re concluding the transaction Mr. Grumpypants walks over while I am saying to the calm worker, “Yeah, I think I should send the bill to Google since it’s all their fault!”
Mr. Grumpypants gets revved up for another tirade but I stop him by saying, “What’s the problem? I’m paying the fine, I’m not arguing with you, and I’m laughing with this gentleman here. Why are you so upset?” To his credit, he did smile sheepishly and went over to harangue the other driver (I guess).
I concluded my business with Mr. Pleasant, wished him a good day and drove home without further incident.
My $53 Lessons
- RVs are commercial vehicles and need to follow different directions to find the proper bridges and highways.
- Some toll booth workers really need a sense of humor . . . or train in deep breathing techniques.
- The Dingman’s Bridge management team is top notch.
Update: The Aftermath
A few weeks after writing this I received a call from one of the Dingman’s Ferry management team. At first I thought that it was someone in accounting calling to tell me that I didn’t pay the fine or that there was some other mix-up. Ms Management called to apologize to me for the conduct of Mr. Grumpypants! What a pleasant surprise! Our productive conversation reassured us both that the behavior was unwelcome and not representative of who they are. I’ve used that bridge many times over the 20+ years of living here and never had a bad experience before.
I really appreciated that she took the time to see how the experience had affected me and my perception of the Dingman’s Ferry bridge. Businesses that take this extra step should always be commended because so many don’t feel that individual customer experiences are important enough for them to reach out personally. I’ll be sure to wave at everyone when I cross the bridge again next week. 🙂
