Rainouts and Refunds

[Stu]

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.

Better yet; make the rain out insurance as an individual add on "option" for each ticket buyer. That is the way it is done in NASCAR. That way the buyer has no leg to stand on if they risked buying the ticket without Ins.

Edited July 16, 2010 by Stu

[euponitone]

Sounds like something worth looking into at least, then again, I'm not planning on hosting any shows in my backyard anytime soon :)

[mobrien]

Event Cancellation Insurance. It's not hard to find, and (depending on your situation) can be affordable.

Once.

The first time you actually call in to make a claim, you can count on the costs going way up next time (and look for the insurance companies to look for ways to disqualify your claim anyway). While I agree that it would be an ideal feature, everyone would have to approach it with eyes open, knowing that it carries the risk of unrealizable expectations on the part of organizers and audiences.

The risk COULD be spread among a large group if DCI made rainout insurance part of the summer package that show organizers had to purchase when they contracted for their shows, but as someone else mentioned, that might be getting them into something that really isn't their expertise.

I was out $100 for tickets for my family in Naperville last weekend too, which sucked, but at least I know where the money was going, and have already made the mental adjustment to it being a contribution that went to the corps rather than a defective product with a no-return policy.

Edited July 16, 2010 by mobrien

[MadScout80]

if DCI made rainout insurance part of the summer package that show organizers had to purchase when they contracted for their shows, but as someone else mentioned, that might be getting them into something that really isn't their expertise.

Tough. It is part of the business they are in, so they need to figure it out.

[rkfdPRphan]

WOW....I am almost speechless that so many posters on this thread think the value of their ticket is worth more than the safety of the corps members!

Last year I had FIVE shows that I attended and bought tickets ahead of time, rained out. Can we say $$$ ?

This year (so far) just one.....but that is not the point!

DCI is making huge amounts of money off of these home shows (obviously 'hand over fist' according to some posters)?

Believe me, when these home shows are rained out the HOME corps sponsoring the shows looses the most!

DCI? Rag on DCI when its a Regional or Finals show rained out, but don't you dare tell me your money is worth more than a corps member's safety!

Perhaps DCI can set something out where you can purchase ticket insurance like you can purchase airline ticket insurance or insurance for your vacation.

BUT, as posted several times earlier, my ticket purchase is to physically support the 'home team' who sponsors the event.

THEY NEED THE MONEY! Or have we become just 'fair weather' drum corps supporters???

As for the order when the corps are scheduled out on the field.....its tradition at the home shows to go according to corps CLASS and last year's finish in finals, and then the HOME CORPS. Are we also ragging on TRADDITION?

I've go to drum corps shows to support the home corps.

It I am rained out, my money goes to support the home corps and the corps who travelled there to perform.

.....I'll get off my soapbox and hope and pray it doesnt rain in Rockford Sunday.........

[MadScout80]

... and have already made the mental adjustment to it being a contribution that went to the corps .

The corps will lose in the long run, because they won't get the extra contributions they would have got in addition to the ticket purchase, as most people will probably consider the unused ticket the contribution.

[garfield]

Remember, it's not the voltage that kills you; it's the current.

110 volts will jolt your fingers.

220 volts will stop your heart.

And current is AMPS.

Getting hit with 15 amps might pop the breaker, but 30 amps won't trip the breaker as it fries you to a french fry.

Don't mess. But if you have to in the rain wear rubber gloves.

[mobrien]

The corps will lose in the long run, because they won't get the extra contributions they would have got in addition to the ticket purchase, as most people will probably consider the unused ticket the contribution.

For some people yes, but that's not how I look at my transactions with non-profit performance groups. One disappointing show or concert from a symphony or theatre company I support is usually not enough to make me seriously question whether they're still worth supporting.

It was disappointing that the show didn't happen, but nature is what it is, and public safety trumps whatever else is on the table. Short of being in a dome, cancellations due to dangerous weather are a fact of the business, and have been since I started marching in the mid-70s.

I've produced a few special events before that were one-offs, and for them, having cancellation insurance made sense, since there was only one shot to get it right, and if something had happened that caused them not to happen, hundreds of thousands in dollars would have been lost/in play. But a drum corps show that has to go on every summer is a different case; having to file a claim once would likely jack the premiums up so that the additional cost would be passed on to the fans through greatly increased ticket prices the next time out. I understand your point, and would agree with the general principle behind it for a for-profit business like a concert promoter, but see the other side of the issue through practical lenses.

Edited July 16, 2010 by mobrien

[violet]

I would bet weather-related event insurance is going to be wildly variable depending on event location - for instance, there's all the stuff in tornado alley.

[WWonka]

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).

That was back when men were men...

I guess times change due to "drill velocity" and all the plug in crap but I can remember performing and going to shows for years in the rain. Anyone else here watch 1/2 of finals in Jackson with trash bag ponchos on?

Edit: BTW I watched the Ft Sill army band perform 2 weeks ago in a down pour. They did not melt.

Edited July 16, 2010 by WWonka