Stoneleigh 2017 - Feedback and ideas thread.

[Trevor Little (Trevturtle) - Treasurer]

While it's fresh in your minds, here's the feedback and ideas thread for stoneleigh. We'd like to know all the good and all the bad, please feel free to comment
Any specific feedback you have about the following would help for next year:-

• Hall 2: Did you visit, any feedback, what else would you like to see?
• The marquee and parking area
• The car project see here
• WSCC advertising, Banners etc.
• Volunteering:
  • For set-up 
  • Packing away
  • During the weekend
  • If you volunteered, is there anything that would make it easier for you, too many or too few volunteers? Any specific feedback on
    • Snack bar and drop off
    • Membership services
    • Auto jumble
    • Charity raffle and prize draws 
    • Display cars
    • Camping and parking

 

A few comments to get things started 

• Good - Hog Roast, Beer (3 barrels was just enough) and wine
• Good - Numbers of helpers, Set up and packing away was quick and smooth
• Good - there appeared to be a good flow of non members though the marquee, lots of conversations with the 'meet and greet' staff....  and I understand 20 new members @Mark Redpath - WSCC Membership Secretary?
• Charity collection: We charged members a small fee for drinks and snacks (volunteers were free, but many volunteer conributed to charirty anyway ..thanks)..more on the collection amount later
• Bad-  Video behind membership services..need to move it to save Mark's hearing
• Bad-  Car and volunteers list takes a lot of work..we will look at an online form next year
• Bad-  Name badges, ..time consuming activity finding people names  (we used these to verify membership before handing out the tool rolls).  
• New for this year..did it work?
  • Mats
  • Video
  • Gas heater in the evening (if you managed to get close to it? )
  • Moving the auto jumble so we could open up 2 sides of the marquee
  • Walker St Claire cockpit covers for rent/buy

[Andy - a15cro]

• • If you volunteered, is there anything that would make it easier for you, too many or too few volunteers? Any specific feedback on
    • Snack bar and drop off - Worked well in general, but better signs of the costs/donations, as well as a sign on the Paper model stand, as it appears people were just helping themselves.
    • Auto jumble - some buyers around it difficult to contact the sellers via mobiles. It was mentioned if we took the money we could charge a 'handling fee' towards charity
    • Charity raffle and prize draws - The raffle was not well supported, I don't think there was enough promotion to point people in the direction.
    • Camping and parking - Just a shame theres no showers available, apparently there used to be in that block but its now a store cupboard.

 

A few more comments  

• Charity collection: We charged members a small fee for drinks and snacks (volunteers were free, but many volunteer conributed to charirty anyway ..thanks)..more on the collection amount later
• New for this year..did it work?
  • Mats - Yes great
  • Video - good idea
  • Gas heater in the evening (if you managed to get close to it? ) - Ive got a more powerful low odour red diesel workshop heater I'd be happy to bring down next year, although its slightly louder when running.
  • Moving the auto jumble so we could open up 2 sides of the marquee
  • Walker St Claire cockpit covers for rent/buy - great idea, I couldn't find one anywhere last year and bought one of these this year, although didn't find out they were available until Monday.

[Nic Chase (NICO) - Shropshire & Mid-Wales AO]

A couple of things before I forget them. 

Screw in pegs for the white gazebo. We had a very narrow escape with that in the high wind!!

Ratchet straps, not just the ordinary lightweight straps, for the gazebo above.

A decent weight club-hammer to knock in the steel posts. 

Agree with above comments better signage for the snack bar contributions informing they are for charity. 

Thought the raffle was a bit of a wasted effort. I don't think people realised it existed  

 

[Rory's Dad]

We need to think about how we pick up new members - I spoke to a guy who had an early pre-lit and another who did auto-solos etc but although they talked and talked neither felt like joining .

[Kit Car Electronics]

48 minutes ago, Rory's Dad said:

We need to think about how we pick up new members - I spoke to a guy who had an early pre-lit and another who did auto-solos etc but although they talked and talked neither felt like joining .

I suspect that if someone makes it to the show, sees all that membership offers and still doesn't feel like joining, they're probably not for changing (and clearly bonkers)... 

[shrops-paul]

If we could check & print the name badges as stickers on demand, it would be faster & easier as well as saving printing all the pages for people who don't come to the show. 

 

[CraigHew]

15 minutes ago, shrops-paul said:

If we could check & print the name badges as stickers on demand, it would be faster & easier as well as saving printing all the pages for people who don't come to the show. 

 

I was on the member services / name badge area for a few hours on Sunday.

At 9.30 all the pre-printed badges were in 1 A to Z file.  It took me less than 20 seconds to find my name tear out the badge and slot it into the holder.

From 11 till 2 I was manning the area, by then the pages had been spread across the table, lots of stray badges floating around and in general a nightmare to find a name.

Its very easy to sort this one: I'm guessing the sheets were removed from the A to Z file to aid tearing out the requested badge.

I'd recommend (and don't mind doing the job next year) tearing them all out and popping into a suitable long narrow box so they can be kept alphabetically all day and retrieved at ease without needing to remove the sheet, tear along perforations and then slot it into a holder.

Alternatively: sticky labels (which could be peeled off without removing sheets from the file) could be used although probably not as durable as the pin on holders.

Printing on demand is fine until the printer / PC throws a wobbler (been there done that) which leaves no backup.

[Rory's Dad]

12 minutes ago, shrops-paul said:

If we could check & print the name badges as stickers on demand, it would be faster & easier as well as saving printing all the pages for people who don't come to the show. 

 

Good idea!

[CraigHew]

A very very minor point: we had two "Cars for Sale" signs attached to the marquee.  These prompted people to walk into the tent, past the couple of cars that actually were for sale,  and ask how much the display cars were priced at..!

A few better-placed small "estate agent" type boards could improve that easily.

 

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

We have had sticky labels in the past, I seem to recall they were dropped 'cause they kept falling off! (And curled up etc...)

What about sticky labels AND the pin on holders, just stick the labels to the name tag holders instead?

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Agreed with Craig's comment though on the order, I got my own at something past eight on Sunday, when they were all still in ordered and it took seconds, as did the couple of other I sorted out for people at the same time.

[Onliest Smeg David]

1 hour ago, CraigHew said:

I was on the member services / name badge area for a few hours on Sunday.

At 9.30 all the pre-printed badges were in 1 A to Z file.  It took me less than 20 seconds to find my name tear out the badge and slot it into the holder.

From 11 till 2 I was manning the area, by then the pages had been spread across the table, lots of stray badges floating around and in general a nightmare to find a name.

Its very easy to sort this one: I'm guessing the sheets were removed from the A to Z file to aid tearing out the requested badge.

I'd recommend (and don't mind doing the job next year) tearing them all out and popping into a suitable long narrow box so they can be kept alphabetically all day and retrieved at ease without needing to remove the sheet, tear along perforations and then slot it into a holder.

Alternatively: sticky labels (which could be peeled off without removing sheets from the file) could be used although probably not as durable as the pin on holders.

Printing on demand is fine until the printer / PC throws a wobbler (been there done that) which leaves no backup.

Yet when I was asked to undertake the task later in morning, as there was not anyone there to issue them with Mark busy on memberships, they were in a mess! Lots of sections out of order and some upside down  It was a bit of a stressful job from then onwards and grateful for further help from young Banksy and others .  Spreading them all out to try and re-order them was the only way forward at that stage. Even those that were in order, as cards were issued it got to the stage where there were part pages and individual unissued cards that were difficult to manage.

BUT perhaps we should revisit issue, as many members didn't wear their badges. It is good when they do though as I can never remember names  and it is good to know who your talking to.

 

[Andy Banks]

Showers are available on site. Perhaps we can highlight on a map next year.

[KugaWestie]

6 minutes ago, Andy Banks - Chairman said:

Showers are available on site. Perhaps we can highlight on a map next year.

I found the shower block you mentioned Andy, and they were not great.

There were three shower cubicles and 4 communal showers in the male block, and out of that lot only one shower was capable of spraying any water over me

[Stu Faulkner]

Yep, I agree with all the above.

I think the main improvement on most items is communication, maybe better printed instructions for the volunteers and better signage for the public.

As with a lot of things you don't see the problems until they happen, I certainly didn't see the badge issuing as being a task all on its own but is some of that down to the issuing of free gifts so people were collecting the badges at the same time. (Thank you Scott for that parting contribution)

The gazebo was unfortunate but with hindsight we could have secured it better or opened more sides.

As for getting new members in I feel its down to the individual. Some people are not interested in the club scene which is fine but they don't know what there missing

@Trevturtle idea to open the sides of the gazebo to the public was simple but the best ideas often are. It brought more people in and we did create 20 new members.

But seriously keep the ideas coming. I think what we have is good but can always be better with a dose of upgradiatus. We do it for you so with the excellent volunteers that we have we can make next year even better.