Applying the readings to real life.

     As I was reading the books for today I couldn't help but to apply what the authors were talking about to real life. We have been reading a lot about the visitors experience and how many different things the museum has to do to ensure that everyone has a good experience while visiting the museum. I automatically thought about where I have done my internships and the different things we have gone through simply to make sure everyone who walks through our doors has a great experience whether they are simply asking about information or going through a tour. I personally think things could be done a little differently to ensure that everyone does get a good experience. We have had the occasional visitor coming in who will not have a good time no matter what you try to do to change it and in that instance all you can do is your best by giving a good tour and if they leave unhappy its not completely your fault. When a visitor leaves unhappy because you give a bad tour or wrong information or just did not seem terribly personable that is when it is your fault. In my time over the summer giving tours I experienced many types of visitor experiences. On occasion it was the fault of our receptionists that the visitors were unhappy, not necessarily because they were rude but because they had to be the bearer of bad news about tour times or ticket prices or anything along those lines. Other times it is because they didn't get quite what they expected out of the tour. Everyone gives tours differently, so depending on who the person giving the tour is and what their method of doing things is they may not enjoy it as much whereas if someone else were giving the tour they may have enjoyed it more. Some docents like to just lecture you and give you very little time to browse and explore on your own. A lot of people want to be able to just browse on their own and not necessarily go on a tour which causes problems at some museums where you can only take a guided tour. In cases such as this it is best to let them look as much as possible but that doesn't always happen. Basically what I'm trying to say here is that even as an intern and docent for one summer I noticed the difficulties and issues museums face today trying to give people the best experience possible.