Scenario customers : who are they and how should they be treated? :

[thumper]

below is my draft version for this topic for the scenario ref training manual being parted together on PBJunkie

I request edits opinions and comments

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Scenario Paintball Customers : who are they and how should they be treated.
by John "Thumper" Edens -- Jan 12,2008 -- with contributions by...........

The customers at a scenario game vary greatly from locals who are looking for a big day, novice family groups checking out scenario ball for their first time, groups of friends from out of town who like to gather from time to time and just play ball, the increasingly popular traveling scenario team, to the remote field owner and his group of regulars.

Every customer deserved to be treated with courtesy and respect. Many have paid out hundreds of dollars in gas, hotels, paint, food, unpaid vacationtime, entry, and all the stinking gear. It really adds up. The field may only garner a small portion of the customer's expenses, but the field and it's reffing staff is largely responsible for the overall experience (and safety of the customer)

The field is generally hoping to make a dollar or two, but frequently the big events are about raising brand awareness, or showcasing the field for new customers and hopefully turning them into loyal repeat customers.

Your job as ref, regardless of the task, is to showcase the professionalism and courtesy the field owner hopes you will, and exceed the customer's expectations through competence in the task assigned, respect, professionalism and courtesy. In many ways you are setting the stage for the NEXT event.

Of special note is the field that closed down their business for the weekend, packed up their regulars, and drove 100+ miles to support your field's event. From a ref's standpont, try and thank these guys in person - and later when they host something, try and reciprocate their gesture.

[gfgjester]

Originally Posted by thumper

below is my draft version for this topic for the scenario ref training manual being parted together on PBJunkie

I request edits opinions and comments

-----------------------------------------------
Scenario Paintball Customers : who are they and how should they be treated.
by John "Thumper" Edens -- Jan 12,2008 -- with contributions by......Jes "Jester" Sharai

The player-customers at a scenario game vary greatly in experience and temperment. From locals who are looking for a big day at their field, to novice family groups checking out scenario ball for their first time; Groups of friends from out of town who like to gather from time to time just to play; The increasingly popular traveling scenario team and the unassociated field owner and his group of regulars, (who should be given special care to thank in person for closing up and attending...).

Every player-customer deserves to be treated with courtesy and respect. Many have paid out hundreds of dollars in gas, hotels, paint, food, unpaid vacationtime, entry, and all the very expensive gear. It really adds up. The field may only garner a small portion of the customer's expenses, but The field and it's reffing staff, in most cases, is largely responsible for the overall experience (and safety of the customer)

The field is generally hoping to make a dollar or two, but Frequently the big events are about raising brand awareness, or showcasing the field for new customers and hopefully turning them into loyal repeat customers.

Your job as ref, regardless of the task, is to showcase the professionalism and courtesy the field owner hopes you will, and exceed the player-customer's expectations through competence in your work the task assigned, respect, professionalism, courtesy and keeping the players SAFE. Safe play is paramount to every situation on the field. In many ways you are setting the stage for the next event the players will attend.

Of special note is the field that closed down their business for the weekend, packed up their regulars, and drove 100+ miles to support your field's event. From a ref's standpont, try and thank these guys in person - and later when they host something, try and reciprocate their gesture.

John,

Great stuff so far. I threw in my 0.02 for review...

Dark gray is ommitted text and yellow is added. That's my suggested edits/adds. I try to keep in mind when handling our refs that in most cases there are a few 13-17 year olds. While PBJ 13-17 year olds are of a higher caliber, a lot of typical "kids at the field" that ref are of a shorter attention span. Sometimes, less is better. Player & customer should be associated for the ref staff. I wouldn't throw too much out there about the field's "accounting".

Wish I had more time to contribute...

[thumper]

excellent comments sir...

[ace007]

Good stuff.

I'm sure there are many of us that would have liked to have had a document like this to refer to when discussing how soemthing went down in a past game.

I'm not sure what parameters you're working with--if you are focusing on ref's or whatever, or if you are ultimately trying to put together a comprehensive paintball document that covers just about everything. I hope it's the latter. And I wouldn't limit it to only absolutes (example: Saftey is paramount) Go ahead & let's add the "ideals"--stuff that all fields don't have & maybe can't do at the moment, but can work towards. With that in mind I offer these somewhat random notes....

You might want to consider adding that fields need to supply/ have available basic stuff. The field should be left as it is found. To do that, players/teams will need trash bags/cans. Those might need to be emptied before the game ends. Port-o-potties are much better than nothing, but real bathrooms (an ideal) are better. And showers (an ideal) for campers...field can charge extra, most happy to pay...(one of the keys to getting more ladies involved)

We need to cover what fields should expect from their customers, such as cleaning up after themselves, to other behavior stuff (game rules, cussing, etc).

***If interested, I'd be glad to work on a draft & PM it to you. LMK...

I noticed the stuff that got greyed out. Some of that stuff perhaps belongs in its own section, perhaps titled "good buisness practices". We players have a vested interest in fields being sucessful, especially the ones run by people who really want to run a great field that makes money because the customers keep returning because their needs were met.


GOOD WORK THOUGH!!!

[thumper]

Originally Posted by ace007

Good stuff...GOOD WORK THOUGH!!!

Ace - see the ref manual post in this section. The scope of this discussion is scenario reffing focuced - taking one little bit at a time.

http://www.pbjunkie.com/forums/paint...ike-24181.html

[ace007]

Originally Posted by thumper

Ace - see the ref manual post in this section. The scope of this discussion is scenario reffing focuced - taking one little bit at a time.

http://www.pbjunkie.com/forums/paint...ike-24181.html

Sorry--I knew you had laid it out, but I had forgot the parameters.

But keeping with your topic, based on my experience, I'd consider adding something to the 2nd paragraph concerning refs having an understanding of the scenerio as planned & visioned by the promoter. I've seen refs know the general rules well, but not have a clear understanding at all of what the producer's vision is of how each part is to unfold. This is especially true at the start of big games. I've almost come to hate the start of games because if there's a ref without that proper knowledge on the field, you'll see it then if you're near them. I don't just need a ref that knows that a player with this card can do such & such (and so forth)-- I need a ref that understands the vision of the producer and knows exactly where teams should & shouldn't be.

Your wording in the 2nd paragraph hints at this when you talk about how the ref determines to a great degree what kind of experience a player is gonna get for the money that's been spent.

[thumper]

Im thinking some of that will come out in other sections -- maybe in mission running, but excellent points.

-- let me go look at the table of contents
lets tackle theme in this section -- and theme related rules--

http://www.pbjunkie.com/forums/paint...mes-24240.html