FairTax Rally Criticisms
16 May 2007Let me preface this by saying I am not disgruntled. As I mentioned in the previous post, I thoroughly enjoyed the FairTax Rally and I complement the organizers. Having said that, I want to offer constructive criticism so the organizers can improve on their success. There were a number of things that could have easily gone better. Some of them I am sure the organizers are aware of. Others they may be know about. So here are my observations.
The first problem was with arriving volunteers. We were supposed to be there for training at 1:00 PM. The problem was the parking at the fairgrounds didn’t open until 2:00. So leaders at the fairgrounds directed us to park across the street in a lot across the railroad tracks. We parked and walked across a very busy 4 lane highway to board the bus to the coliseum which was several miles away. Once we got to the training we were told that we could not leave our cars where they were and if they weren’t moved by 3:00 they would be locked in. So we had to board the buses, head back to the fairgrounds, cross the busy highway again, move our cars, then board the buses and go back to the coliseum. All this took more than an hour and many of us, me included, had no training or job assignments at all. I ended up taking station at a door and helping with incoming ticket taking. This was a lot of hassle that volunteers really didn’t need after driving, in some cases, hundreds of miles to do this.
Another very big problem made worse by the remote parking was some of the venue’s policies. They did not allow food, drinks or backpacks into the coliseum. Now many venues don’t allow food or drinks. But the web site for the rally indicated that you did not have to bring food because there would be food available. It left the impression that you could bring food and drinks. As a result, many people had to throw away lots of food because taking it back to their car simply wasn’t practical.
The backpack issue was far worse. I understand why the coliseum has this policy but considering what they allow in, it is simply stupid. You could bring in any kind of bag including briefcases, suitcases, you name it. The only type of bag prohibited was backpacks. Can anyone tell me how a backpack is more dangerous than a suitcase? Lots of people were forced to board buses and return to the parking lot with their backpacks. This cost them at minimum an hour and could have easily been avoided.
Numerous volunteers also brought backpacks because they were going to be there a long time. No one said anything about them coming in for the training and in many cases volunteers were fine. But in one case a volunteer who worked outside found himself unable to re-enter when it was time for the event to begin because of his backpack that he’d had all day.
What made it worse was the apparent lack of consistency in enforcement. One woman had a backpack style purse. It was clearly a purse but the fact that it had shoulder straps meant they were not going to let her in and she had to return to the parking lot with it. Yet another couple had what was clearly a backpack that they were using as a diaper bag. Officials decided to call it a diaper bag and let them in with it.
The coliseum seriously needs to revisit this policy. It makes no sense and is nothing more than rules overriding common sense. Rather than take responsibility for decisions, they prefer to set silly rules and hope it keeps everyone safe.
Here are my suggestions for the organizers. Get with the venue well ahead and make sure you know what their policies are and how they will be enforced. Once that is done, make sure those policies are spelled out in all event related materials including fliers, web site, etc. Give those who attend the opportunity to have as smooth an event as possible.
Make sure you have everything lined up for volunteers. While no one was seriously angry over having to go move cars, there was a general feeling that maybe organizers didn’t really know what they were doing.
Look at this event as a learning opportunity. Examine what went well and what did not and make appropriate adjustments. You pulled off an amazingly successful event but it could have been better still. If you take my advice it will be much better next time.
Thanks again for the opportunity to be a part of this rally. I enjoyed it and would do it again in a heartbeat.
Check back later today for debate observations and analysis.
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May 17th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Great post! I know you enjoyed and appreciated the efforts people made to make this happen, however they do need to know the problems so they can correct them next time.
thanks for the videos too. regardless of quality of photos they were a great indication of the unbelievable participation!!
May 17th, 2007 at 10:03 pm
It really was a lot of fun and I think it had an impact, even though the news ignored us. In July the Democrats are coming to Charleston and we will be there too! Look for us and come join us if you can. We really need to turn up the heat if we want to make the FairTax a reality.