While my schedule is packed with work and family related matters, I do have time while sitting in airports to read some of the local forums. One post I read today made me shake my head so hard that I had to write something about it.
Below is the abbreviated post. If you would like to read the full thread, go here.
On Saturday, July 24th, the Chicago Battle Bunker is having a Mini-Gamesday to kinda recreate what was lost but make it better…
Dan, the manager, has asked me if we would be interested in running some sort of an event as a promotional deal for both IWFB and WFB in general. He can give us two tables (8x4) to do something…
The Rundown of What is Needed:
4 people minimum to run tables for the day, or we can split it up into shifts
6 1600 point friendly armies that showcase what each army can do…
Tickets are $20 to get in the door, regardless of whether or not you are running something, but you buy a $20 gift card which is handed right back to you along with a swag bag to buy stuff at their auction of product or to buy stuff in the store. In the end its $20 out of your pocket and into theirs, but if you were planning on buying something anyway its no loss.
So basically, the Chicago Bunker wants to run an event and is asking for folks to volunteer to help run the event. The catch, you have to pay the Bunker $20.00 to volunteer. I am not going to knock any individual that wants to participate in their hobby, but when a company asks for ‘free’ labor, charging them for providing that labor crosses a line in my opinion. Am I wrong for calling this one out?
Gee, there's a downside to cutting out staff?
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's pretty silly.
Asking someone to volunteer = trying to maintain a FLGS. Charging $20 to volunteer = something the manager can boast about to his corporate "Nazi" District Manager.
ReplyDeleteDick move. Thanks for sharing this information with the community. If confirmed, then shame on Chicago Bunker.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair here, a lot of gaming conventions run on this model- folks volunteer to run events after having paid to get in. And, if I read it correctly, it's more of "if you attend you need to buy $20 of stuff," not a straight-up charge.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this still comes off as a little bit of a jerk move, being that it's from a company that reams folks for money a dozen other ways. The polite thing would have been to offer some kind of benefit to the folks who are offering their time to play with new folks. Discount getting in, free stuff, whatever, but if you're in the position of having to beg for volunteers, they probably would like to see _something_ out of it.
LMAO... That's classic. Who else, but GW?
ReplyDelete