Why can't people just be GRATEFUL! *rant alert*

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Lolo

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Our RC runs a summer league. Everyone enjoys participating and earning points, and the awards ceremony is always well attended.

No one wants to run it though. So I do. Despite the fact I no longer have any involvement in the club, live nearly 5 hours away and am doing a degree in a subject that is very intense at a good uni. I don't participate in the league, and haven't for 3 years now. I've been running it for 6 (since I was 14).

So why can't people be bloomin grateful that I do spend up to 3 hours after each show working out points and putting them into my massive spreadsheet. I don't do it for fun, but simply because no one else will. They all complain very happily if they think I'm wrong but no one says thank you ever. Not one person thinks of the hours and hours (I must spend about 36 hours on that league overall) I spend ensuring they have the right points.

Following the rude attitude of one lovely lady this year (who was wrong, as an aside, and even if she was right she'd have only come one place higher...) I'll do it next year and just not bother again. Every year I have someone who feels that they have the right to be rude and obnoxious because they think I've got it wrong. One lady once had her husband phone me to tell me how wrong I was- I could hear her whispering what to say to me in the background!

So no more.

Oh, and the person who suggested that I rigged it last year so my sister won a lot? They can sod right off.

AGHHHHHH!!!!
 
Put the spreadsheet in the post and send it to the next person who complains. If they think they know better then let them get on with it!
 
The problem is the more you do, the more people expect you to do. Not fair as those in life who seem to whinge a lot and do naff all seem to get an easy life compared to people like you who 'go the extra mile'.
 
It's a sad fact of life that everyone expects someone else to do things. My advice would be to break off all communication with the RC and stop doing their paperwork for them.
 
I did it voluntarily for the first 5 years, then this year was the first year I wasn't going to do it because of uni stuff. However, we got to 2/3 of the way through the season and the person taking over from me had done nothing and so I ended up doing it again. I'll do it next year as well, as I said I would (mug!) to establish how my new set-up works, and then hand it over to someone.

I love the RC dearly, and the committee are lovely (my mum is secretary!). It helped me so much when I was overcoming my nerves and they always thank me (amusing, as none of them are IN the league- too busy running the shows to participate...).

It just bugs me a lot. I don't mind a quick email or phone call saying "I reckon you might have this wrong", but I do mind people then getting rude and obnoxious.

Next time someone gets like that, I'm emailing it to them with the message "Enjoy". See how much they enjoy trying to sort out 200 people who insist on entering their horse under 3 different names and then get annoyed when I'm not psychic enough to work this out!!
 
I organise a horse ride in kent every year, and I think for the first time this year I have had lots of messages and calls to say thank you, I had never really thought about it before, but I must admit, it did make me feel quite good, and really appriciated! So now, after any show that we go to, i will always try to say thank you to the organiser. Its really suprising how much those words mean.
 
benson21 said:
I organise a horse ride in kent every year, and I think for the first time this year I have had lots of messages and calls to say thank you, I had never really thought about it before, but I must admit, it did make me feel quite good, and really appriciated! So now, after any show that we go to, i will always try to say thank you to the organiser. Its really suprising how much those words mean.
Click to expand...

That's brilliant! My mum organises the senior PC ODE and it's so lovely when people come and say thank you. I score at that (glutton for punishment, eh?!) and it makes it worthwhile when someone pokes their head round the door to say thanks. It also means that we're a lot more likely to slot people in if we know they're polite- always amusing when someone who was rude phones on the closing date to ask for a space...
 
I run a hunter trial for my PC and all in all havent had people complaining like you have afterwards (thankfully as I think Id give them what for!) but had a few people whinging on the day that the results were taking a while. I took it on 4 weeks before it was due to run as there was no-one else to do it and literally built the entire course (lots of portable xc jumps) on my own I had a fantastic helper for a couple of days who was only 13 and wanted to compete in it himself (he was on his school hols) and I really dont think without him it would have been done as I did another 2 days after that on my own with more heavy portable jumps and flagging to be done. The owners of the estate which had volunteered their land did a fab job with decorating the fences and I managed to scramble together a team to fence judge and score with the help of our wonderful DC but it was a very big PUSH. The owners applied a tinsy bit of pressure on the hunt who had asked to use their land the next weekend and their volunteers made up 1/3 of my fence judging team and had nothing really to do with the PC!

It drives me whappy that people (mums in particular) think they have a right to complain because the results arent out within half an hour of the class ending but didnt volunteer to help at all! Its always the same people who help I find which isnt fair at all, this year my PC is putting together a list of people who help at competitions and rallies and then will try to identify and pester the ones who dont help at all throughout the year rather than relying on the people who already do so much! I think its a fab idea and if they post the list online it will be revealed who sits on their laurels which I think will give many a kick up the bum as they dont want to be looked down on by friends/other mums! I know some people work a lot but there is no excuse not to help in at least one event per year plenty is run on all different days of the week, weekends and evenings and the kids should be able to help at least once in their holidays/weekends. Im running again in Spring 2012 and I dont mind organising but I will NOT do almost everything again and have said as much I work and am a university student and have 4 soon to be 5 horses to look after and I cant do all that again :(. Ive made it clear to my DC that if enough people dont volunteer it will not run and want it put as such on the website. At least this year we can start rounding up volunteers earlier as Im not taking it on last minute :)!

Sorry rant over! :@

Maybe you could suggest to your RC a similar thing with the listing of volunteers so you know who isnt pulling their weight? I really think its going to motivate some of ours to volunteer more as they wont want their friends thinking badly of them! hey it may even make the non-working mums get competitive about who can put in the most volunteer hours! ;)

Ps I do get thanked by my DC and ironically the other volunteers, and a few people I know said thankyou, as did a few when I was still titivating as they coursewalked! but mainly nope most dont seem to think!
 
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Part of the rules of my RC is that members have to help out at least one show - if they don't then their RC membership is revoked.

The local PC mums annoy me - every year I am asked to score at the hunter trials and ODE. I don't have any children, but happily give up my time to help out. I get nothing but complaints about how the results are not out immediately, and why has little johnny been disqualified and putting their heads around the caravan door to ask "are the results up yet?"!!! Yet not one of these moaning minnies ever offer to help out. After the last event where there was one very obnoxious PC mum I have told the PC that I am no longer available. Shame - I used to enjoy it
 
hmm plan scuppered. New plan you get kicked out for constantly complaining to the organiser of the event on the day then if there is an actual problem complaint worthy it can be sent in writing to the relevant person? harsh but effective ;).
 
I always try and say thank you to the organisers at a show. I have helped set up and steward several events for my RC over the last year and know just how much hard work goes into each and every event that we do.
 
I know just how you feel. Last year I made all our games equipment for Pony CLub, when I added up all the receipts for the components I found I'd spent almost $1800 around £900 and that didn't include the stuff that I got sponsored. I then found all the equipment scattered around our equipment store. So gathered it up and took it home to sort it out. An hour later I got an abusive phone call from our club president to bring it all back "RIGHT NOW" I told her I was sorting it out and would be bringing it back next day, I then put the phone down. I was not only angry at her manner - I donated all this equipment, but was really hurt that they could treat this equipment so badly.

My suggestion to you is at the next AGM - officially resign from being the job, have the spread sheet on a memory stick, along with instructions on how to use it all and hand it over to the committee. If the next person stuffs up then leave them to it - the wrath of the other members will sort them out! :D
They will either keep going with the points or it will fade away.

I also think that there are many people who really don't understand who sets up all the equipment for shows. I realise now that as a young rider the organisation of the show was not something I really thought about. We had a spell of our PC kids being very obnoxious about shows so we set them a task - they had to run a fund raiser themselves. They then appreciated the hard work involved with organising a show

Must dash - am working at the inaugeral 'Equidays' for the Mounted games Association and have just realised the time!
 
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Evelyn, that must be galling for you!

I think my sister and I have been lucky in the respect that we've always been involved in this RC since we were young (11 and 9!) and as it's local we always went up to help out. Mum then took on being secretary and we were stuck, lol!

After speaking to my mum and sister (bless her, my sister stuck up for me as I couldn't be there... Uni, you see!) I've decided that's what I'm doing. I've made some big changes so will do it next year to implicate them and get it going and then someone else can take over. Over 200 people competed to get these points, so one of them can bloomin well do it! Going to email the people who complained to make sure they don't want to take it over... "Oh, I work full time". Funny fact, but so do I when I'm not at uni!!
 
Im afraid its a sad fact of life. There are always the ones who step in to help and the ones that just complain and moan about things not being done to their satisfaction. I would step down and let them get on with it !
 
My OH and I do the catering for the dog agility club I used to belong to at their annual show. I haven't been a member for a long while as I no longer have a suitable dog, but we always help out each year as nobody else likes doing the catering. It's nice to catch up with everyone and we've never had anything but gratitude for doing it.

However we're also motor race marshals - it's all voluntary and we don't even get expenses paid. Most drivers are nice, but some are really rude, as are some of the spectators and the race team members. As we are literally risking our lives sometimes, it would be nice if they could at least be civil. I remember one spectator swearing at us because we wouldn't let him walk out on the track to wave at the drivers on the final lap. Of course if he had got run over, that would have been our fault too...
 
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