Terrible Volunteer Experience

[BigJ]

Originally Posted by Siri

This is crazy, but could teams leave their glasses at the entrance? Say on Wednesday each team (optionally) gives 2+ labeled glasses to the safety glasses people, and only those glasses can be given to the team. Making some simply cubbyholes/shelves (stable, light, modular, etc) to store each divisions glasses would be a good student project. I know it creates more for work volunteers, and even for teams, but maybe it's time to give more teams more resources as well as more responsibility.

Just a random, difficult to execute thought.

I think that having 400 + FTC/FLL cubbyholes might be a bit much, but a tweak to that idea might not be: Teams can donate 2 or 3 pairs of (NEW/CLEAN) glasses to the pot. Teams that are checked off on the donation list can borrow glasses for the event in case of emergencies!

[Siri]

Originally Posted by BigJ

I think that having 400 + FTC/FLL cubbyholes might be a bit much, but a tweak to that idea might not be: Teams can donate 2 or 3 pairs of (NEW/CLEAN) glasses to the pot. Teams that are checked off on the donation list can borrow glasses for the event in case of emergencies!

I was worried about getting them back at the end, but this is actually kind of nice. Donate, don't lend. I'd do it.


4 sets of 10x10 cubbyholes didn't seem so bad if they were integrated into the design of the entrance, but I sort of missed that whole FTC/FLL thing. I take it they have the same problem?

[akoscielski3]

My Mother, who is not apart of the team except for being a parent coming to a FIRST Event was told by some (i'm Guessing its the same person) she was not aloud to use a pair of safety glasses. My mother was wearing our team jersey so she looked like a mentor. She finally got one from our pit after waiting for someone from our team to pass by, and then asked to grab her a pair. The worst part was is because she has to wear glasses, the pair we got her weren't the one's that went over the glasses, so she could barely put them on and it wasn't safe at all. When I heard that i was so frustrated, I can't believe a FIRST Volunteer would be like that to guests. They have no idea who you are, or what you do on your team.

[dna1990]

As a new volunteer, I echo much of what has been said. It is often the position and lack of rotations or shifts, that begin to wear on some folks. No doubt the OP encountered someone already at the end of their patience level or started off with little tact to begin with - but I can see how it would deplete in a hurry.

But it makes me wonder how much glasses are ever used at school or your shop. When I visit the field sites at my work, hat & glasses are just second nature. It really is rare that someone 'forgets'. So in some ways I do like that FIRST says no-borrow for teams and that the 'idea' that mentors should know better (not the rude phrase but the concept). So never been to a robot class or work session - is it true that maybe only the folks over running some machine wear glasses, and nobody else does. Esp those around the edges. Should they be?

If you spent the last 6 weeks or 4 months doing bot work, having glasses around your neck or in your pocket would/should be second nature.

Now believe me, I am one for common sense safety - and in many cases think glasses are not really needed. But it is well known at every FRC/FTC event, that glasses are the battle cry all day long from green shirts and entrance volunteers. So those arriving at the event, best prepare for that.

And deadlines or rules in the real world are often met with much more harsh penalties. Ask an IRS or OSHA or EPA agent. Doesn't argue the merit of the rule or the enforcer...it just is what it is. Bring glasses with you on the bus/plane/car - and carry the 24 hours a day on your person.


But yes, teams wanna help themselves - setup a separate box/booth somewhere for spares. FIRST doesn't have enough to share their vistor glasses, and your box would be reserved just for teams.

[techhelpbb]

Originally Posted by animenerdjohn

Her: "WELL THEN YOU AREN'T A REAL MENTOR."
direct. quote.

Next time pinch yourself on the arm and verify that you are in fact standing right there.

Perhaps this person often sees mentors that are not really there.

[Carolyn_Grace]

Thank you for making this thread. I think that it's important to address and for all volunteers to think about.

I had a bad experience with one of the volunteers that I worked with all weekend at Champs (I handled the situation by talking to the Volunteer Coordinator, so I'm not going to go into details here), and it stemmed a lot of thought about WHY we volunteer and the overall role of a volunteer. It also got me thinking about how we need to train our volunteers, especially at big events like the World Championship and the State Championship.

My first reason for volunteering: I wanted to have fun. I volunteered on field reset at Champs because I wanted to be near the action and work with a few of my close friends, hence: fun.

My second reason (and the reason that I think most people miss): I wanted to make the experience of the World Championship Event the best possible experience for the students, mentors and teams. My job on field reset was pretty easy: open and close the gate, set up balls, tape the field, watch matches...but I tried to do this with a smile on my face. I tried to wish the teams good luck as they walked off the field, and get the students smiling by joking around with them as I handed them balls for their robots. My goal was for the students to be able to relax for just a second before they had to focus on the stress of driving and representing their team.

Unfortunately, like Adam pointed out, sometimes volunteers are more concerned with their assigned job, as if they've been given a mission that they have to complete no matter what.

I.E. the safety glasses person who was told to not allow team members to get glasses, and the field supervisor who is too concerned with his schedule so he shouts at students to hurry up, when they're just trying to enjoy their very first moment on the floor of the dome.

So how do we fix this: well, we probably can't. Each volunteer needs to learn how to manage the stress on their own, and the Key Volunteers need to do a good job monitoring their minions (easier said than done: I know, I was the VC for MSC). It's up to volunteers to also monitor each other. If someone seems stressed or out-of-line, then they should talk to someone about it. Like other people have pointed out: volunteer coordinators are a good place to go.

To add: my general experience at the Championship was that the volunteers were awesome. I met some pretty cool cats on the Archimedes field and really enjoyed laughing and dancing around with them. I also loved getting to meet people from other teams, like the drivers and coaches. It was extremely rewarding and inspiring.

[Aiyash]

Originally Posted by Adam Freeman

But, there was one person that really bothered me. I believe it was the Field reset lead on Archimedes.

Adam, I think I know who you are talking about. I remember hearing him rushing people off the field saying things like "Hurry up and get out, we're about to play!" At times it was just being plain rude. As the flag boy I kinda felt I was disrespected by him at times.

On a closing note, this weekend was really fun! I enjoyed volunteering and will definitely do it again.

[RobotsVsKittens]

Jon Stratis put this very well.

The only thing I will add is that rarely will there be a solution that provides the 'instant gratification' you might be seeking after an incident like this happens.

When you say that you had to file a complaint twice, was it because another incident occurred after the first, or because justice wasn't dispensed quickly enough for you?

I encourage you to consider other perspectives in this scenario.

Those in charge, volunteer coordinators, event coordinators, FTAs may not see your complaint very quickly. When they do, what do you suppose they have to consider? Their first thought isn't "how can I remove this volunteer". It will be something along the lines of "this could be a can of worms where I have to verify what really took place, and I may not be able to in even 30 minutes". If there are many complaints against one person, as many have claimed, then the verification process could be less problematic. However, someone in charge should still give the volunteer in question the opportunity to defend themselves, wouldn't you agree? This volunteer's task may seem trivial to you, but it may be one she prides herself on, and if she were removed without explanation, it might be obvious to her there is a problem, and she may feel insulted that she was not given any chance to talk about it. Even if a volunteer leader does finally decide action has to be taken and someone removed, it is often not a trivial process. Those in charge will want to be very gracious themselves to avoid any hurt feelings. It may be a volunteer who was just having a bad day, and they don't deserve to be thrown away and treated badly just because they treated someone else badly. If this were a military or a business, things would be different. But this is a volunteer effort where often people are putting in time they don't have to, and we want to appreciate that by giving the accused, or someone just having a bad day, the ability to defend themselves or at least a discussion where they can learn from what happened and come back next year to do a better job.

Believe me : I have been on the receiving end of bad attitudes from volunteers before (and just about every other class of person attending a competition), and it does not feel good. I've had to deal with it in situations where it affects me literally all day while I'm doing a task that has almost no downtime. If it's something like rudeness, I've had to remind myself, "mostly, this is your ego being bruised, you can live with this for a little while, and then address it later". Also, I and/or others simply do not have the time to address it with the person during a fast paced competition. One reason is because it could involve arguing, which can be very time consuming and often not productive. Certainly if the problem directly affects the core operational functions of a competition, the person will likely have to be removed immediately, but I think this is extremely rare.

Really, issues like these are resolved after a competition. This is why planning is very important and a good amount of effort goes into planning events. As others have said, volunteers really can only be screened so much.

There is one thing I think could be done better - reminding volunteers about gracious professionalism and why they are all there. I've seen some volunteer coordinators/event planning people hold a short volunteer speech where they go over this. It's one of those things everyone knows, or everyone should know, but to hear it out loud can be useful and it can get peoples' heads into the right frame of reference for an event where things can be stressful.

[QueenBot]

Sorry you had such a bad experience. Thankfully most all of my volunteer experiences were fantastic!! I also get mistaken for a student... all.the.time. It'll get better, I promise. I always try to joke with them because I know that they are there on their own time/dime and are probably stressed out just like you probably were. I'm super cheesy, and that seems to work for me. haha!

[Fletch1373]

Originally Posted by Andy Baker

Yep, we gave out 1500 AndyMark safety glasses at the Championships. We will do this again next year. How we distribute them may or may not change, but this year we handed them out at our booth.

hey Andy, I got one of those pairs, but had them stolen from me(along with my Control System Adviser hat). Any chance of getting a new pair before next year?

[Renee Becker-Blau]

Interestingly enough, we had members of our group who volunteered and were first told the wrong time they had to be at the event on Friday (7am instead of 10am) and then when 10am came around they were either told they weren't needed or were only busy for a few hours before being let go.

We also had people come in on Friday who had signed up to volunteer but were turned away.

These people were all willing volunteers that ended up with a lot of time on their hands. Perhaps the coordinators at the event will consider rotating out the safety glasses volunteers since people who were signed up in VIMs were free.

[pathew100]

Originally Posted by Littleswimmer14

These people were all willing volunteers that ended up with a lot of time on their hands. Perhaps the coordinators at the event will consider rotating out the safety glasses volunteers since people who were signed up in VIMs were free.

That's really surprising because this was a big problem last year. They did not have enough people to rotate the safety glass volunteers. Maybe after two years of the same problems happening they will make improvements.

[techhelpbb]

I view this as an opportunity to innovate.

Someone build a safety glasses vending machine and charge for it.

Make a little return box maybe.

Put it in your business plans...

[safetycap'n111]

I, like many people who responded, had a similar experience. I left my glasses in the stands, and asked to borrow a pair, when I was refused. I was told that they are for guests only, no exceptions. I tried to explain that FIRST wouldn't want someone barred from the pits because they didn't have safety glasses with them at the moment, and that FIRST isn't about punishing people for being forgetful.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by techhelpbb

I view this as an opportunity to innovate.

Someone build a safety glasses vending machine and charge for it.

Make a little return box maybe.

Put it in your business plans...

The other solution is for teams and individuals to be responsible for their safety glasses. If a team doesn't pack their safety glasses and they don't have a procedure such as a check list to help them make sure they're packed - then deal with the consequences. If a person forgets their safety glasses, then deal with the consequences.

I don't think volunteers who man the tables should be rude and unprofessional. I do think that teams/members can be more responsible and less dependent on the safety glasses table to take up their slack.

It's not that hard.

Jane