ANST - [Fwd: RN- Gulf War date corrections]

[leigh- at primenet.com]

At 07:31 AM 5/28/99 -0500, you wrote:
>leigh- at primenet.com (leigh- at primenet.com) said something that sounded like:
>> In the scenario of GW the more accurate terms, in my opinion,
>> would be owner (as opposed to "host") and customer (as opposed to "guest")
>> and, as we all know, in the realm of business the _customer_ is right.
>
>Do you honestly believe that?
>
>If I want to rent it for less than they want to, do I get my way?

In the business world it depends. I do hotel negotiations for SF
conventions and we rarely pay the first asking price for the space, and
with few exceptions we do not change our scheduled dates. In fact, the
times we have changed our regular scheduled dates have been because we
decided to, not because a site owner wanted us to. A large part of being a
hotel or site negotiator is to negotiate on price and the amenities it will
cover.

>If I want to rent it when someone else is already renting it, do I get my
way?

Depends on if both groups can be accommodated at the same time but
generally the first customer has first dibs. We held a convention last
summer and shared the space Saturday night with a mundane wedding. Rather
an interesting affair since our LARP that evening involved a vampire wedding.

>If the site is closed, do I get my way?
>If the site does not have staff, do I get my way?

No

>If I do no listen to the autocrat, do I get my way?

Depends on what the autocrat says... if he tells you to go jump off a
bridge are you going to do it?

>If I am rude, do I get my way?

In the real world customers are often rude and crude and yes, they
generally get their way. Business is predicated on serving the customer. A
business owner who adjusts everything to suit his needs alone is a business
owner that is soon out of business.

>The "correct" answer to all of those is no btw.

Actually no it is not. And if you have any real world experience you know it. 

Does McD's refuse to serve a big Mac to the rude customer? No. 
Does the hotel eject the demanding customer who berates the staff for not
cleaning his room quick enough? No.
Does the realtor refuse to sell a house to customers that are rude, crude
and dirty? No.

And if they do then they are soon on the unemployment line looking for new
jobs.

>While things can be negotiated, there are some items that are
>non-negotiable. Just as we are their customer, everytime you show up at
>an SCA event, you are the customer of the site. That does not mean that
>you do what you want, there are still guidelines that guests, even if
>they are customers, must follow.
>

I believe this a large part of the problem the SCA and other non-profit
groups face. The SCA (or the SF group) is just as much a customer of this
site as if they were a family group planning a large reunion or wedding.
ALL negotiations prior to the actual event are the same whether one shows
up on site in medieval costume, Star Trek uniforms or T-shirts identifying
one as a member of the Brown branch of the Jones family. Things like
scheduling WHEN the event is going to be have nothing to do with either the
type (medieval) of group or the owner's convenience. At that point the SCA
is a customer and the owner should be interested in serving his customers
needs, not making the customer accommodate his wants. In deed, even during
the event the SCA is a customer and the owner  should be interested in
serving his customer's needs so he will get repeat business, just as the
hotel management asks me all weekend during the convention if there is
anything else they can do to make things run easier for us. That the SCA
apparently lets owners jerk them around and then thanks them for the
privilege is just another part of the "step-child" syndrome.

Laetitia
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