On the outside looking in
A few weeks ago a friend asked me to come check out this neat community. She wanted to get my personal observations and opinions. I won’t go into specifics so as not to embarrass anybody. Truthfully what I saw could apply to hundreds of groups across the grid. Here’s what I saw:
Non stop party. They had events, contest, and DJs every day for at least 6-9 hours a day. Many times the DJ and/or hostess would be the only people there. That’s event fatigue.
The other activivities and public places were not used. Apart from the dance floor I hardly saw anyone doing the other activities or shopping at the merchant stores. Wasted and underutilized resources.
Cliquish. Often times I would approach the dance floor and not be greeted by the staff or DJ. Even when I would tip I would not be acknowledged. The dance floor would be crowded and it would be dead quiet as if everyone was AFK or in IMs. It wasn’t just me, but noobs too were ignored. Ignoring newcomers or strangers is a sure way to make them feel unwelcome.
To be fair there were a few individuals who did great me and engage me in conversation and respond to me. They were a few decent and thoughtful people who did make me feel welcome. But, they were in the minority. Now am I complaining and whining because nobody swooned over me? No, not at all. I don’t feel the need to belong to that particular place. I just find it a little disappointing that a place that has a lot to offer is actually a bit too insular and unwelcoming to many of those it espouses to serve. I can go elsewhere but a relatively new person looking for a place that serves their needs will feel ignored, rejected or even worse. Is this place a closed shop? Eh, I don’t think so. I think it all boils down to educating your managers and assistants on how engage their customers. You can’t be a friend to everyone but you can make them feel welcomed and want to come back. Also all your public assets should be utilized to a degree. Game rooms, clubhouses, pools, parks, etc… should be used. Too many times people fall for the click a chim and dance to their oblivion activities. Boring! Variety is the key to success. Doing what everyone else does gets you nowhere as you have compete with everyone else for attention.
Get out of your rut guys!
GoSpeed
