[SJAAboard] suggestions for our next auction

[Gary Mitchell]

Robert Armstrong wrote:

> Gary,
> Obviously, you were not watching me that carefully at the end of the action, 
> and you were so irritable that I stopped trying to talk with you about what 
> I was trying to do.

Oh, I saw you alright, I couldn't help it.  You were hovering
over me at my very busiest time of the auction.  As if that
weren't enough, you were handing merchandise to people right
over my head!  So, yeah, I was getting a little irritable.

Was that your way of trying to talk to me?  Just stop me and
get my attention.  And it had better be important, something
no one else can do.  Even Rob isn't as busy as I am during
that phase of the auction, (we need to improve that).

This is another good example why we need a floor manager.

> Anyway, if you had noticed, I was watching each of the buyers as they picked 
> up their items.

The runners are supposed to be sort of guarding the sold items
and making sure the buyers only get their item(s).  That's why
we have the buyers pay first, get a receipt, and then go get
their item(s).  It's also one of the reasons why we put the
sold items on the back tables.  In terms of security, this is
the runners' most important task.

>   I did not necessarily accompany them to the item, but I 
> watched them go to their purchase.

Obviously we weren't clear enough about that the night before.

> In  two instances, I redirected persons to the right item, several times I 
> partially followed buyers towards their items. I did not see any instances 
> of persons scurrying off to take other purchases.

How could you tell without being right there and checking
the items against their receipt?

Gary


> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Gary Mitchell" <wb6yru at aenet.net>
> To: "Business list for SJAA board of directors" <sjaaboard at sjaa.net>
> Sent: Monday, April 21, 2008 5:29 PM
> Subject: Re: [SJAAboard] suggestions for our next auction
> 
> 
> 
>>Rich N wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Dear SJAA Board:
>>>
>>>One thing I noticed yesterday toward the end of our SJAA auction
>>>was the lack of security for the items sold.  While we may have been
>>>lucky, once again, it is far too easy for someone to pick up items 
>>>someone
>>>else has purchased and just walk away.
>>
>>That's where the runners were supposed to come in.  They weren't
>>very effective this year in general.  And did you notice, none of
>>them were helping the auctioneer during the auction either.
>>
>>I suggested to Rob that we didn't do a good enough job before hand
>>explaining what to do.  Rob suggested what we really needed was a
>>floor boss.  Mike Koop used to do that and he kept everything
>>moving smoothly.  Rob or I could do it, but we're already hugely
>>loaded down at the registration table.
>>
>>The auction was pretty much a two-man show, us two at the reg.
>>table.  (Not counting the auctioneer, but he works only during
>>the auction itself.)  It needs to be a three-man show.  We need
>>a floor manager, someone who knows what all needs to be done and
>>will run around staying on top of things.
>>
>>Gary
>>
>>
>>>*  We need to be more effective in getting a few more SJAA members 
>>>involved
>>>in running the auction.
>>>
>>>*  We need to be more careful about controling who is removing items 
>>>after
>>>the auction, both items sold and items that didn't sell.
>>>
>>>*  It would help, IMHO, if our people working the auction had some 
>>>inexpensive
>>>stick on badge to make it easier for buyers, and our own people, to 
>>>recognize who
>>>should be controling access to sold and unsold items.
>>>
>>>*  Right after the last item is auctioned off, we should rope off at 
>>>least the area
>>>containing the smaller items sold to limit access to those items.
>>>
>>>*  I suggest we have SJAA auction people in the sold item areas so that 
>>>they can
>>>make sure the right items are picked up the buyers.  The buyer can have 
>>>items on
>>>their receipt checked off by one of our auction helpers as the buyer 
>>>comes up to
>>>pick up their items.
>>>
>>>Sincerely,
>>>Rich
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>SJAABoard mailing list
>>>SJAABoard at sjaa.net
>>>http://sjaa.net/mailman/listinfo/sjaaboard_sjaa.net
>>>
>>
>>
>>
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> 
> 
> 
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