Greeters Training Guide
From Pyropopedia
Greeting is fun, but it's still work. Super fun work! Being a greeter is a wonderful way to volunteer! It gives you the opportunity to give back to the community and to be the first costumed freaky faces people see when they get to Flipside. People will recognize you for the rest of Flipside!
The all-powerful, all-knowing Greeter Cheat Sheet outlines all the questions that you’ll need to ask the people you're greeting. These sheets will be plastered everywhere at the Greeters Station on clipboards. This is your bible! Read it, love it, quote it, quiz everyone on it!
Contents |
New This Year
- Edjumicate yourself. principles
Reminder Info
- Poison Ivy - It's there. It's ninja. Leaves of three, let it be. Check the trees. Watch out for hairy vines and remember that the resin from poison ivy stays active on surfaces for up to 5 years. We should have examples at the greeter station to show people.
- River – Apache Passtures is bordered on one side by the San Gabriel river; a delightful installation of nature detailed with burner-made beaches and magically-lit pathways to explore at night. In addition to some rather deep spots in the river, the current is controlled by a dam upstream and can get pretty fast if they open the gates. Therefore, we need to remind people to be safe and use the buddy system around the water.
- Boundaries – Our new land is great, but there are definite boundaries. Attendees need to honor all fences and NO TRESPASSING signs. We are also NOT allowed on the other side of the river or on the skybridge. This is a working ranch, and we do not want to be uninvited next year because we messed with the owner’s cash crops or corrals.
- Trees – The land we are on is a working pecan grove. We need to respect the trees are they are part of the landowner’s livelihood. Participants should be reminded not to deface them in any way, including screwing things into them, or using them as structural elements in their camp. Additionally, pecan trees drop branches very easily, so nothing should be hung or otherwise suspended from them.
- Parking/placement locations. The Parking Pirates will reveal their secret plans for parking locations and procedures at a later date. Though has been rumored that pink parasols could be involved...
- Placement Procedure. Once everyone has been greeted, we need them to go check the big map to see if anyone from their camp has been placed yet. This will be indicated by mark next to their camp or a sticker. If there is already a mark, that means someone from their camp has arrived and been placed, and they should head on and start setting up. If not, they will need to place a mark or sticker on the map and then head to City Planning to get placed by a zone greeter.
- Car etiquette. The road through Greeters will, once again, be a single-lane, gravel-paved pathway to wonderment; down which all shall pass. Meaning: Before you allow participants to come bounding out of their vehicles to be greetered, make sure the vehicle is pulled off to either side of the road and parked, leaving enough room for cars to pass and people to walk safely to greeters.
Things to Consider
- Rainbowz.
- Make the Greeters Station a Theme Camp. Think of the Greeter Station as Theme Camp #1 on the map. . But this Theme Camp changes themes with each Greeter Shift! If your TC is covering a shift together, make your shift a part of your TC planning for this year. Brainstorm ideas together on how to greet in the spirit of your TC.
- DJs make the shift more fun! Music is a major part of Flipside. There will be a PA system at the Station! Please take care of it! If you have a DJ in your camp, encourage them to bring their music to the Greeter Station for your shift. If the next shift wants the DJ to stay, and your DJ wants to stay, then it's all good. There will also be a CD player and a plug for mp3 players. Bring your iPod! Transportation for DJ equipment can *possibly* be handled by Parking Pirates with their Gators or the Greeter Lead, if given notice.
- Bring drinks and snacks! You want to make sure that you have enough water to drink. It's been known to happen that greeters receive a lot of cold beers, but no cold water. You should bring snacks and cold water to your shift. Watch out for dehydration. There will be a cooler at the GS for your beverages. PISS CLEAR!!
- Show up 15 minutes before your shift! After three hours of greeting, quizzing, drinking, and high-energy mayhem, people need to relax. And they are expecting to relax when their shift ends. Be kind to your fellow volunteers and show up for your shift 15 minutes early to get a pass-off from the previous shift. Look after each other, make sure you clean up after yourselves.
- ALL SHIFTS are responsible for their trash! YOU are responsible for mooping the station before you leave! The Greeters station should be an example of Leave No Trace, not a gigantic fucktastrophy. Put your trash in the bags provided and haul it back to your camp. The last shift of the day is responsible for cleaning up the station. The first shift of the following day is responsible for tidying and organizing. Although these particular shifts have an extra project, let me repeat that ALL SHIFTS are responsible for hauling their own trash out!!
- Gifts for the Greeters. This is one of the things that people like about signing up for a greeter shift. Greeters generally get gifts. Most people know to give gifts to the greeters, and love to, because they are so happy to be at Flipside. Greeters do not, however, bully people or make people feel obligated to give gifts. No intimidation. Remember, not all of the people you will be greeting will be seasoned Burners. But chances are, you'll to leave with enough gifts. This has been my experience over the years.
- EVERYONE GETS OUT OF THEIR CARS!!!! Everyone. No excuses!! Use the barricades in a friendly and funny way to get people to stop. Make sure everyone gets greeted and quizzed!
- Group Greeting. You have a line of cars and everyone needs to get greeted but it’s not enough to activate the pods. What do you do? Here’s how to group greet:
1. Pick at least 2 greeters to walk the road and flag cars to park and go down to the Station. 2. Pick another 2 greeters to get two groups going, asking questions from the Cheat Sheet. 3. The rest of the greeters should help direct Flipizens to groups that are beginning and holding people back until a new group starts. 4. If you are an extra, you should tag out the walkers and talkers so everyone gets a chance to rest and play.
If you do group greet, make sure everyone is comfortable with and understands the information you’ve given them. Use the mic so you don’t lose your voice. After a big group greet, it’s amazing fun to spank everyone or do a big group Ass Wash.
- In/Out Policy. Although it is discouraged, people will be allowed to go in and out of the event. A fee will be imposed for it which Gate will take care of. People who go in and out may have a card or a sticker or something in their windshield to denote that they have been greeted and are going out and back in. This may or may not happen. If someone is telling you that they’ve already been greeted, ask them a few questions from the Cheat Sheet you can remember while standing at their car. If they sufficiently answer the questions, then let them pass. If not, drag them outta that car!
- Staff at the Gate. We as Greeters don’t need to worry about tickets. Occasionally, however, some very uncool or ignorant person will not stop at the gate to get checked in. At that moment, Gate will call Greeters with a description of the car so we can try and get them to turn around. If they are driving too fast, do not be a hero or vigilante. DO NOT put yourself in harm’s way! If you are able to flag them down, do so, and politely let them know to turn around and get properly checked in. But once again, DO NOT put yourself in harm’s way.
Things at the Greeter Station:
- The LLC Radio. The LLC Radio will not be walking away from the station. It MUST stay at the station through the entire event. Your Shift Lead should be the one to hang on to it. If your shift leader doesn’t show, call the Greeter Lead on call on the LLC Radio and let him or her know what’s up and who’s got it. There will be a sign with the channels to call the Greeter Lead, the Rangers, and PETs.
- The Log Book. The Log Book is for recording any incidents, things that the following shift may need to know, or any other pertinent info. There may also be a checklist to aid in passing off to the next shift.
- The Binder. There will be a binder full of all the policies of infrastructure. For example: Sound, DaFT, Burnable Art, Towing, Parking, Media, Help Desk, etc. If people have questions you cannot answer, have them refer to the binder. This binder will also have a list of all the Leads for each department and how to contact them.
- The Cooler. The cooler is there for your beverages and perishable foods. If you use it, take your food home with you! There will be trash bags available for your refuse but you must take this with you as well. Leave no trace!
- The Generator. This is for the DJ's equipment, the lighting, and for other things. It will need to be filled up with gas and oil once a shift. There will be instructions on it for how to do this. Be careful with the genny - you break it, you buy it, and it’s $1500. If there is a serious problem, call the Greeter Lead on the LLC Radio.
- Maps. Hanging up at the GS, there will be a large map of Pyropolis pointing out all the Theme Camps, Parking, ICE, PETs, and Rangers.
- Chairs. You are encouraged to bring your own chairs. Occasionally, chairs will be loaned to the Greeter Station for the event. These chairs will likely be returned to the owners. Please don't destroy them; if you see someone destroying them, ask them to stop.
Think of the GS as your Theme Camp. Take care of it and the things in it like they are your own, or like they were very expensive to borrow. The Greeter Lead, helper, will help in emergency situations. She will be available via Walkie Talkie anytime the station is open.
THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE AS A GREETER -
Have FUN & make it fun for the people you greeter!
