If any of you receive an invitation to show in Pine Mountain, Georgia at a place called Butts Mill Farm.....STAY FAR, FAR AWAY!
A friend of mine from out of state and I decided to try this three-day event which was held the third weekend of September. Naturally, all communication was handled through email and snail mail for pictures and monies. But the money portion of the correspondence, was to be "taken care of when you get here on Thursday to set up", as we had been overcharged for our booth. To make a long story short....at the event, we were continually put off about the reimbursement, totally ignored when asked to have the director come to our booth.....and finally left due to lack of patrons and unseasonble high temperatures. We both had missed several days of work to attend this show and their promise of 7,000 attendees was laughingly overstated! Anyway....here it is the 11th of October, and regardless of how many emails I have sent trying to reconcile this account, I keep getting responses asking me to be "patience", until she can "get with the owners of the farm and address the issue"! Dang - How long does this take????
While visiting with other vendors at the show, we discovered another discrepancy in booth charges....seems like there were several different prices charged for the same size booth!
So, my advice to you guys is stay away from Butts Mill Farms Covered Bridge Days Festival or their spring festival whatever it may be called, in Pine Mountain, Georgia! These people definitely need a knowledgeable show director or common sense one!
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As a follow up, I managed to call Butts Mill (yet again), and the 'director' was there and actually came on the phone to talk to me. She said they had sent me a check but it had been returned and asked for an address update, which I supplied. She says the 'check is in the mail', so I'll see if Mr. Postman will deliver it. Keeping my fingers crossed. Just this past week, I moved out of state and would like to enter some events I've heard of in this area (checking them out, beforehand, thanks) and could certainly use whatever funds Butts Mill is inclined to return.
Again, thanks for your comments and suggestions. I enjoyed reading this forum before, but want you all to know that now I feel like I am closer to being one of you guys, 'a professional crafter' by your responsiveness to my posting. ann
You learned a few things from that experience.
First, NEVER sign up for any show without a written contract in your hands spelling everything out. If you had a contract stating your space was $200 you would not have had this trouble. And it is nobody's business what someone else paid for their space. If someone got their space for $50, good for them. But that is none of your concern.
NEVER believe any attendendance numbers! That particular show may have had 7,000 last year, but this year, all bets are off. People just aren't coming to shows as they were before.
Always be prepared for any weather. You said it was unseasonably hot. Another possible reason attendance was down. The weather is just part of this game we all play. And we must deal with it. You cannot hold the promoter responsible for the weather!
You left early. You left a 'hole' in the show. You didn't give the show a chance to make money for you. The promoter can say you were wrong, and use that as a reason not to give you any refund.
Chalk it up to experience.
Sorry didn't mean to highjack this thread ;)
I've had a boat battery and fans for years now, actually on the third boat battery now, and usually have 4-6 fans in the front and a couple in back for the hot shows. It makes a difference and the customers will stay in there longer when it's cooler. I use the 12 volt clip on RV fans attached to the center braces of my EZ up and a couple on the top of the walls near the flip bins. The difference between the street temp out front and inside is significant, and I've had a few folks just stop and stand in one place getting cooled off. If they stay too long, I joke that I charge rent out the spot after ten minutes and they usually say it would be worth it. A full charge on the battery will run the fans the entire weekend including leaving one or two turned on after shut down to keep it cooled a bit in the booth so the mattes don't warp from the heat.
The point is though that when it's too hot, they won't buy, but if you can cool it down then they will linger and be more likely to buy.
The second course of action is to call Butts Mill Farm directly http://www.buttsmillfarm.com/events.html
From the website it appears to be a commercial enterprise that rents it facility for functions. They may have also been the co-sponsor of the event as a way to generate more visitors to the farm. I would write out what you want to say when you identify the person who actually rents the space or is the decision maker. You need to be clear that you are owed a refund on overpayment your booth space at this event and the "show director" promised it to you when you set up at the show last month. You were never refunded the money and now cannot identify who that person is because everyone you talk to gives you a different name/different story. Be polite but firm, if they say they rented the space for the event, tell them that you understand but that in the absence of any information you will be filing a fraud complaint with the attorney general in Georgia since you are not the only vendor who has this experience and that makes it a criminal fraud complaint and not a civil complaint between individuals. Since you cannot identify the party who is ultimately responsible for this event you will be name Butts Mills Farm as they are the only party you can identify.
This will definitely get their attention because 1)if they are not the show promoter it will be a big public relations nightmare, 2) if they are not the show promoter they will have to spend big money on an attorney to have the farm removed from the criminal complaint and will still have to overcome negative publicity. And 3) if they are actually the show promoter they do not want the hassle of dealing with the Public Prosecuter and the negative publicity.
If it's one refund between the two of you then it's a civil matter, but if they owe other exhibitors a refund then there are possible grounds for a criminal fraud complaint that could result in a bench warrant being issued for that person's arrest. Get stopped for a broken tail light after picking up your kids at school, you end up in handcuffs in the back of a police car on the way to jail and it usually makes the local news bigtime.
So just the threat of a criminal complaint may get them to give up the name and phone number of the individual who is responsible for refunding your money. When you have that information you can then talk to them or leave them a voice mail message to the effect that you want your money by X date or you and other exhibitors will be filing a criminal complaint of fraud with the state or county prosecuter.
This tactic got me paid by a deadbeat store owner after 6 months of chasing him down. The fact that I knew the name of the State Prosecuter for the county he did business in got his attention and made him realize that I had all the ammunition I needed to make good on my threat.
Another avenue to look at are Consumer protection laws in Georgia, every state has laws about refunds and how timely they have to be made.
Good luck - martha
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