Sams club registering

[dmprantz]

Not sure what all KCBS uses them for but they probably were responsible for that registration site.

MMA is KCBS' marketing team. They sell merchandise, organize programs, and are some-what in charge of the Sam's Club series, along with WalMart's marketing team. MMA is also responsible for the KCBS.us website, and I would bet for the Sam's Club registration process.

dmp

 

[Trucky1008]

One thing I will say is that everything I've been told, or read, is that the office staff handled every issue placed in front of them as quickly and efficiently as they could.

The key to your statement is "every issue placed in front of them". The problem was getting the issue to them! When we were forced on the waitlist we tried calling the KCBS 800 number over 10 times and all we got was either busy signal or voicemail. We were not able to reach any live person. It wasn't until I logged onto this site that I learned via a post by Ron that KCBS was responding to issues on their Facebook page. Although I do use FB I'm not there everyday and would have never thought to check that page for immediate assistance from KCBS. If they were planning on using FB for problems relating to registrations they should have made that clear up front. As it turned out we didn't find out about FB until our 2nd choice had already filled up and the next closest available contest was too far away. Our second choice was DesMoines and it remained open for at least 40 minutes, we would have been able to register for that event had we been able to get off the wait list.

 

[dmprantz]

VERY IMPORTANT If you had issues registering, please go to the following URL:

http://www.kcbs.us/news.php?id=450

 

[Trucky1008]

The real issue I have is how teams were placed on the waitlist. Here is an excerpt from their rules and regulations:

2. All local qualifiers are limited to 30 teams and registration will be on a first-come basis. Once 30 teams are confirmed, 10 teams will be allowed to sign up for a waiting list.

We were not "allowed to sign up for a waiting list", the system forced us on this list, thus preventing us from registering for any other contest. That needs to be changed for future registrations.

I guess the good news is we're the very first team on the waiting list. Here's to hoping somebody drops out!! :heh:

 

[mcbrew13]

What's up out west with nothing filling up? Pretty poor showing.

I know in CO there is an existing contest in Nebraska that alot of CO teams go to. However, I am surprised to see that Thornton still isn't full. Oh well, I will be there.

 

[Smoke Ring]

Please read this thread for an explanation of what happened last night.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124392

Garry

 

[afreemaniii]

I would recommend against this, as it could result in a DQ for both of you.

Refer to rule 5.

Thanks for pointing that out. That is a heck of a rule and a good way to limit one of the big reasons I do BBQ, hanging out with other cooks. I understand the rule and why it's there, but the unintended consequences are steep.
We'll be sure to stay outside of their area in the common traffic way.

 

[RangerJ]

I'll risk the DQ.

If I see someone I know, I'll go where I'm comfortable, pit area, RV, whatever.

Its Fricking BBQ....

 

[Jorge]

I'll risk the DQ.

If I see someone I know, I'll go where I'm comfortable, pit area, RV, whatever.

Its Fricking BBQ....

I could sound off, but I'm not a bullet magnet:laugh: I'll give that guy a call:becky:

 

[kihrer]

I would recommend against this, as it could result in a DQ for both of you.

Refer to rule 5.

I am pretty sure that this applies to different contests. If you and I are cooking at the same Sam's event then we can go in each others areas. If I am cooking in NJ and you in MD on a different date then I can't hang in your area if I were to visit the MD contest. This was put in place to prevent a cook from entering more than one contest by using their spouse or friend to get them a second entry while all along being the cook at two different contests under different names. Now if your guest is a cook but hasn't registered for any of the Sam's events he can help you or visit you all he wants.

 

[Ron_L]

This was posted on Facebook a bit ago... Good news for those who are on a waiting list and want to move to an open local.

Your feedback regarding the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour registration has helped us try to improve the registration process. In an effort to improve the current waiting list system for local event registration, teams are now able to remove themselves from a previous waiting list when they attempt to register for a new event that has open positions.

Simply click on the local event that is open, fill-in the required fields and agree to the on-screen prompt that will ask you if you wish to register for the new event. At that point you will be registered for the new event and removed from your previous waiting list.

If you would like to remain on your current waiting list in anticipation that a spot may become available, simply do nothing, you are on that waiting list.

Thank you again for your feedback.

 

[trucky9754]

This was posted on Facebook a bit ago... Good news for those who are on a waiting list and want to move to an open local.

Ron, I agree it's a good thing, but it's just a bit too late. The local we would have been able to go to is also now full. My biggest problem with the whole thing about being forced onto the waiting list is as follows. I don't have weekends off and currently work fulltime. I have to put in my vacation requests in the next few days for the entire year. According to the KCBS rules, if you compete in a local, the person who signed up must also be present for the regional and the national event if the team was lucky enough to move up. Which means if I still want to wait to get into the Madison contest, I have to put in vacation requests for the Madison date, then the regional date in Rockford and then the National contest date. Had we been able to sign up for the other local event in Des Moine, Ia. I would have been able to put in for those dates with confident. Now I have to put in for the dates for the Madison contest hoping one of the teams bows out. If it doesn't and we don't get signed up into this contest, well I just wasted 6 of my vacation days.

 

[Harbormaster]

Refer to rule 5.

Thanks Tim. I read the entire rule sheet before I posted that, and as soon as you posted I remembered it.

Guess I'll just bring some snow fencing to keep those damn dishonest BBQ cooks out of my pit area.

 

[BC Squared]

KCB$ really blew it....again. Time for a new association to stand up and show them how to treat customers.

 

[timzcardz]

KCB$ really blew it....again. Time for a new association to stand up and show them how to treat customers.

You've piqued my curiosity.

Did you vote in the elections last week?

The election has brought some new blood to the board and time will tell if they can effect improvements.

 

[Ron_L]

I noticed that there are a lot of spots that are still not confirmed. For example, Baton Rouge shows 27 registered but only 23 confirmed. Almost every local has some still not confirmed. Everyone knows that you have to contact the KCBS office within 48 hours to pay, right? After all of the issues getting signed up it would be a shame for someone to lose a spot because they didn't pay in time.

 

[Jorge]

KCB$ really blew it....again. Time for a new association to stand up and show them how to treat customers.

I've been elected to the board, but haven't taken my seat yet. Please feel free to share your concerns or gripes with me personally at either jorgebbq at sbcglobal dot net, or gmullins at kcbs dot us.

I've looked into what happened, and I can promise that it will be addressed and the process will be smoother next year.

As for how customers were treated...the office staff worked a really long day. They were in the office to deal with membership issues so that teams that had a lapse in membership would not be shut out. Instead they ended up fielding issues, and taking some heat that they had nothing to do with. I have yet to hear a complaint about what they did for members, including some that were pretty pissed off and probably said some things they shouldn't have. That's customer service, the way it should be done.

I wasn't on the board when this was planned or executed, but I will be in three weeks. It becomes my issue then, but I'll own it now. You've got my contact info, please feel free to use it.

 

[Smoke Ring]

There were a few thing that could have made the registration experience better. There is no problem using the same database table that still had last year's teams in it but the code that checked to see if you were already registered should have also checked the date. Also, it would have helped if the message that was displayed said something like:

You are already registered for the Sam's contest in Thornton, CO on May 5, 2012.

Then you would know you were registered for the correct contest. If you got a message that said:

You are already registered for the Sam's contest in Santa Fe, NM on April 4, 2011 then it would have been obvious immediately that there was a problem.

Also, if a contest already had 30 teams you were automatically put on a waiting list and unable to register for another contest. It should have asked if you would like to be added to the waiting list or register for a different contest.

A lot of people called the KCBS office, but the office staff wasn't running the registration, MMA was. The office staff stayed late in case a member whose membership had expired could contact them to renew and then register. They had no control, over the registration process. Don't blame them.

Those of you using multiple computers in an attempt to register just made the problem worse, mostly for yourself. Our server hosts 25 websites and has plenty of capacity to handle normal traffic. We can't afford to purchase a server with enough capacity to handle a once a year KCBS event when it isn't needed the rest of the year. Part of the slowdown was caused by mmacreative.com. The kcbs.us website contains content that is hosted on the mma server. I know many of you saw the message saying "waiting for mmacreative.com". It would have helped if the registration page had no external content on the page. Our server apparently has more capacity than mmacreative.com. I asked them to remove any mma content from the registration page because we had the same problem last year but it didn't happen.

MMA is a marketing company and they have done a good job for KCBS in the marketing area. But, I'm not sure it's the best idea for KCBS to rely on a marketing company for their technology needs. Just sayin'!

Garry

 

[dmprantz]

Our server hosts 25 websites and has plenty of capacity to handle normal traffic. We can't afford to purchase a server with enough capacity to handle a once a year KCBS event when it isn't needed the rest of the year.

Garry, if you don't mind me asking, where is your server physically located? I ask for two reasons. One, it's generally accepted that the closer you are geographically to a server, the shorter your latency will be to it. If the server is in PR, that may be a bottleneck in multiple ways. Two, I'm also curious as to how your bandwidth is setup: If you have the server in a CoLo facillity, they often have a way to ramp up available bandwidth for one-time events such as this, and that could have been useful.

MMA is a marketing company and they have done a good job for KCBS in the marketing area. But, I'm not sure it's the best idea for KCBS to rely on a marketing company for their technology needs. Just sayin'!

I don't disagree here.

dmp

 

[mobow]

I noticed that there are a lot of spots that are still not confirmed. For example, Baton Rouge shows 27 registered but only 23 confirmed. Almost every local has some still not confirmed. Everyone knows that you have to contact the KCBS office within 48 hours to pay, right? After all of the issues getting signed up it would be a shame for someone to lose a spot because they didn't pay in time.

And I wish they would hurry up and get confirmed so I can see who my playmates are. keith