Terrible Volunteer Experience

[RobotsVsKittens]

Originally Posted by animenerdjohn

How hard is it to give her the same job but in a different area?

I have explained how. From a pure physical logistics standpoint, as if we were dealing with automatons, it is not difficult to move one person with a non-critical task with no learning curve to another similar position. When you're dealing with people, in most cases, they deserve an explanation. They may have been told one thing earlier which would conflict with something they would subsequently be told upon reassignment. These issues take time. Others managing the event are not you, so they don't have the same absolute certainty of what has transpired enough for what they might consider sufficient evidence to take summary action.

Originally Posted by animenerdjohn

While I didn't expect her to be imminently "punished"

Everything you have said indicates that you desired and expected an immediate action with no allowance at all for the time it takes to speak with her to hear her side of what happened. I haven't seen anything you have said about what you think should have been done which would allow for any discussion what so ever by anyone other than you.

Originally Posted by animenerdjohn

I'm a bit distraught when someone who has received multiple complaints and is obviously a bit hostile doesn't get moved and is allowed to keep committing the transgression.

This is one of many reasons gracious professionalism exists : so that one transgression does not lead to a chain of inconsiderate actions which ultimately lowers the bar for how people are treated. I do concede that she is being allowed to continue her behavior, and strictly speaking, this lowers the quality of the event. Ideally, that should be stopped as soon as possible. But 'soon as possible' does not mean without any other consideration such as getting her side of the story, or perhaps speaking with her to explain what she is doing wrong.

Originally Posted by animenerdjohn

We shouldn't try to fix a problem after it's reached a peak - we should fix it early on. You dont keep driving on a flat tire...

Ideally, we should deal with a problem immediately. However that does not completely eclipse the need to treat people with dignity. The tire analogy is poor. She is more like an odd noise you hear while you're driving, and someone should check it out, but if you were currently doing something time intensive, you would probably continue driving to your destination and deal with it then, or on an especially long trip, you might attempt to check it out when you had time to stop.

Originally Posted by animenerdjohn

I don't know why you felt the duty to revive this.

I don't feel I've revived anything. From my point of view there are several points that have been made here that you haven't given any indication you understand. Foremost, the concept that it may take time beyond a 'heartbeat' to reassign someone with dignity, and possibly a good deal more time if a lead volunteer allows them to explain themselves, as I think they should after only a few complaints (was it 3? 5? 7? was is more than 10?)

There may have been other things going on of which you were not aware. Perhaps there were many complaints about different crowd control and safety volunteers, and so shuffling them around was not as sure a bet or simple as you have imagined. Perhaps the volunteer coordinator wanted to think of the implications of moving someone who is rude to another position. Perhaps the volunteer coordinator was concerned with having a rude person assigned to interact with younger kids who are less likely to have the maturity not to take it personality. I'm sure I cannot think of all the possibilities, but I would not completely assume that nothing was done. Perhaps there was discussion, perhaps someone had good intentions to take time out to take action, perhaps the person was spoken to, and a process had begun.

Lastly I would like to reiterate that I completely agree, according to your account of what transpired, that you were not treated fairly and I truly hope you don't have to experience it again. My attempts to explain other points of view are not meant to say otherwise but rather to offer some other possibilities and explain why these issues are more difficult than they might otherwise seem. I hope your call goes/went well, and that you don't just feel like nobody cares about how you were treated badly.