Well..
I have visited three DF sites in my time.
(i did vote DF in the poll)
However, As far as numbers that attend, and Health and Safety.
I would agree that Delta Force sites are probably the safest sites i have been too. and 300 on the weekends isnt that outrageous.
And in fairness, they all were decent sites as well.
Some Smaller Independant sites however.
Oh My God!!!! Where Do I Begin!!
:- No chronographs! (280FPS - 380FPS, it all looks the same!)
:- Poorly maintained (and out of date) Bottles! (need i say more?!?)
:- Untrained Staff and Marshals. (Think WD40 on a muddy nipple!)
:- Marshalls with God Complex's/Atitude Problems/Swear and Threat near kids!
:- Old & Poorly Maintained guns! (mainly bad for the punters)
:- Old/Poorly maintained Goggles!! (Especially old/damaged lens)
:- Questionable insurence! (if the unthinkable does happen.)
:- Poor safety talks! (resulting in more goggle lifts.)
Seriously! It is my firm oppinion that sooner or later one of these little backwatter nightmare sites is going to get either a staff member or a
Punter killed through Neglect of equipmant and/or ignorance.
And that will be a sad day for paintball, as negative press for paintball
in the UK seems to always have serious consequences for the PB community as a whole!.
Anyway, Small independant sites wernt on the list..
My 2 problems with DF are biggies however.
First and foremost, the marshalls.
None of them were overly helpfull.
All 3 sites seemed way undermarshalled.
And generally, they seemed like theyd rather be somewhere else!
And i had an unfortunate incident where some spotty teen tw@t of a Marshall while fooling with other marshalls hit me on the back of the head
with a half full pot. If he'd appoligised, no beef! i marshall, and i used to fool around sometimes and occasionally, things go wrong.
But he called other marshalls and pointed at me and laughed whitch didnt help as it actually hurt. (the other marshalls didnt find it so funny)
Unkind Words were exchanged, and i soon after overheard said marshall say to another marshall how much of a grumpy [expletive deleted] i was.
(im also pretty sure i was meant to hear it.)
It very nearly came to Fistycuffs, (my 2 friends saved him a severe beating.)his attitude really ruined my day.
I find it hard to believe he had any training on customer care or marshalling in general.
Secondly, Those damn Shopping Mall Sellers!!!
Guppy, You've done an excelent job standing by DF and brought up many fair and unarguable points! but no matter how much you Defend your marketing strategies, There still utter trash!!! and youd be best rid of them.
I always stop to see what they have to offer..
Here are two prime examples..
1:- I had 2 sellers (who obviously had a litle knoledge about PB) telling me
that the markers supplied were made by WDP and were Angels of some sort!
He even showed me a pic of what looked like an 05 Speed!
If i were a punter seeing that "shiney electric Gun" then given an Inferno.
Id feel a little cheated..
Seriously, i dont know if thats a fault on your end in not telling them properly what to advertise, or if its them trying to make more cash!
But ive seen such things on several occasions...
And more milder transgretions include promising things like extra paint ect whitch again, could make a punter feel cheated, i know in all likelyhood, thats down to the sellers, but at the end of the day, they answer to you!!!
2:- The independant site i used to work at often had Delta force Partys turning up because they were directed to us by the marketers. (nearest DF is about 30 miles away) and of course, they vented there anger at us!!!
Wasnt good for you, Wasnt good for us either!!!
I even once had a guy who tried to sell me Tickets claiming i could use them
at the site i worked on!! Needless to say i tried to put him straight in front of the other potential punters there but he insisted i was talking b###ocks!
So.. Safety and site Quality, Spot On!!! =D
Keep up the good work!!
But Lose the Marketing! And sort your Marshalls out!
And maybey one day Your Bandwaggon will run out of Steam
and grind to an unceremonial Halt!!!