Rainouts and Refunds

[euponitone]

You are correct. The fault does not lie with the corps' DCI says it is an act of God or act of nature or whatever term you want to use. But it is not an act of nature that a refund is out of the question. It is an act of DCI that we do not get a refund. Maybe I am naive but I thought the thousands of dollars the corps gets from dues pays for busses rolling, food, staff, etc... Don't take this wrong. I willingly paid these dues. I think drum corps is a great experince for the kids. It teaches them so much which is for another discussion... I am a product of it. The point I am trying to make is if the activity is to thrive do not treat the consumer (fans) with the no refund policy. If you buy a product you want value, service etc.. If you do not get this more than likely you will not frequent that establishment ever again. It's just good buisness sense. Good customer service typically will bring you back because of the positive experience you had.

Sorry, but that is naive. Where is the money going to come from to pay back the ticket sales? That money has already gone to the corps, which, as mentioned here need it to get down the road. DCI doesn't pay to host the shows, nor do they make money from the shows, so they arent going to just shell out thousands of dollars for something they had no control over. The judges have already been paid for (har har), travel, hotels, etc, the lights turned on, the food made, the corps paid, housing sites for the corps paid (did you think of that). I suppose the show coordinators could tell the corps they wouldnt be paid in the event of a rainout, but that will still only amount to a fraction of the money needed to give a refund, and it will also probably turn off a lot of the corps that would come to the show. No corps = no show. We already have shows with 4 or 5 corps...i dont think we really want them getting any smaller. Lastly, you could just demand that the show sponsors / organizers pay the refunds themselves, but that would pretty much kill the show for the next season, and every season after that. Worth it? I dont think so. I've been fortunate to never have a show I attended as a fan get rained out (although 2004 allentown was pretty close), but if it was, I wouln't do much griping other than the initial phase of dissapointment....

[glory]

You are correct. The fault does not lie with the corps' DCI says it is an act of God or act of nature or whatever term you want to use. But it is not an act of nature that a refund is out of the question. It is an act of DCI that we do not get a refund. Maybe I am naive but I thought the thousands of dollars the corps gets from dues pays for busses rolling, food, staff, etc... Don't take this wrong. I willingly paid these dues. I think drum corps is a great experince for the kids. It teaches them so much which is for another discussion... I am a product of it. The point I am trying to make is if the activity is to thrive do not treat the consumer (fans) with the no refund policy. If you buy a product you want value, service etc.. If you do not get this more than likely you will not frequent that establishment ever again. It's just good buisness sense. Good customer service typically will bring you back because of the positive experience you had.

Every ticket I ever bought for drum corps, every single one, I regarded as a donation to the activity. Not a donation in the IRS sense, but money to support an activity I love. On the occassions when I bought tickets even though I wasn't certain I could attend, I did so comfortable in the knowledge that the money was well spent. Actually seeing the show would be cream on the cake.

That's me and my priorities, I understand. I am in no way telling you your feelings are illegitmate. I would only, however, remind you of your own words that: Drum corps is a great experience for the kids, it teaches them so much...

It is a great experience, one I am willing to sacrifice for.

HH

Edited July 16, 2010 by glory

[oldsoprano]

And sometimes the show goes on even with lightning.

Here's a picture I shot at a show in Oklahoma in the mid-90s (I think it was Kiwanis Kavaliers, but not 100 percent certain).

[MadScout80]

Yes, this is a youth activity, life learning experience, yada, yad, yada... I get that. And yes most of US are happy to support this worthy cause.

But DCI is (or is masquerading as) big business. Glossy, in your face promos, marching music's major league, we're on ESPN, etc. If they want to really play that game, then the fact is they need to treat the customer right. I know a lot of people who are not DC nuts that are going to DCI Minnesota because they've read/seen ads that make this look big-time! They pay $40-60 for a ticket and they expect a product.

DCI ought to set up an insurance fund for rainouts. It is a part of doing business. Account for it. I'm sure this type of insurance is available.

[HornsUp]

DCI ought to set up an insurance fund for rainouts. It is a part of doing business. Account for it. I'm sure this type of insurance is available.

It was in 1964, when the Boys of '76 staged their East-West Spectacular. They brought the Casper Troopers, Toronto Optimists, and Boston Crusaders to Racine's Horlick Field to compete with the cream of the Midwest juniors.

Edited July 16, 2010 by HornsUp

[Tupac]

I have a friend that uses to run a local show, I remember him having some kind of "rain" insurance for just such a case. It's been quite some time so I'm not sure if it is still available.

On a side not.....I wish they still had a draw instead of "putting the good corps on first" as someone suggested. I think that would make it a lot harder for slotting. (How does he define a good corps anyway?)

[bstar82]

anyone remember the days of raindates? maybe it should be built into the tours

I do remember raindates. One year in Casper?, a show was rained out and we did the makeup show the next morning. It was lucky for everybody involved it was a Saturday morning. We went on our way to the next city, got off the buses, warmed up and performed. It may be tough to do with every show, but shows on back to back nights within 200-300 miles of each other and the rainout show happens to be a Friday or Saturday night, this could still work. I guess during the week the show sponsors would have to pay some kind of deposit to reserve the stadium and housing sites for another possible night and then pretty much eliminate corps having shows scheduled on consecutive nights. That alone could drive up the cost of tickets. But it was done on a regular basis in the 70's. I have many programs and ticket stubs that mention a rain out/makeup date on them.

If I recall correctly, this was the 3rd rainout in 4 seasons in the 150 mile radius of Omaha. Ankeny in 07, Lincoln in 08 and Omaha this year. Not much anybody can do about it....

[MadScout80]

In '77 it rained briefly off and on during prelims. Started midway thru Blue Stars as a light drizzle and was at it's worst during their closer. But luckily the guard had umbrellas for their closer "Come In From The Rain"! Next corps was Cavaliers, who warmed up with "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" just as the sun started to peek thru and yes, you guessed it.... All this while the announcement and fan reaction for the Bridgemen disqualification was occurring. It was my favorite bootleg recording that I had up to a few years ago when the cassette tape got mangled before I had a chance to digitize it.

[bstar82]

I traveled to two different shows that were cancelled. Both times I flew well over 800 miles to them. Not really anything to do about it but find something else to occupy my time.

Okay, I can see it coming. Yes, my arms were really tired

[Grumpy]

DCI ought to set up an insurance fund for rainouts. It is a part of doing business. Account for it. I'm sure this type of insurance is available.

You can purchase insurance to cover a rain out; IIRC, it's not overly expensive. I was involved several years ago in organizing a show and that was one of our "must-haves". It wasn't obtained by or through DCI, and DCI really doesn't need to be in the insurance business. It is out there and available. Fortunately, it didn't rain (it was a perfect drum corps night, actually...in August no less, comfortable temperature & humidity and no rain) but if it had, we would have been able to refund our customers and still fulfill our financial obligations. Rain shouldn't stop a show (lightning is a totally different matter); remember DCA a few years ago and a visitor known as "Ernesto" during prelims. I sat in the rain for the entire prelims...I don't think I've ever been that wet before or since...but the corps were out performing in it. Keep the electronics on the truck (not a bad idea even if it doesn't rain) and perform anyway. Here's a hint for the design team-don't design a program that can't be performed unplugged if necessary.