What I want Pt 2

Customer Service and all that.

Customer service is right up there with costume design in terms of what I look at when choosing a mas band. I dont care how nice the costume is, it could be all blinged out with feathers comin out the wazoo but if a band is not organized I will pass on it.

Ideally I would like an easy registration process,as in just pick a costume, log on to the website on the day of registration and register for the section of your choice. A process thats probably going to become totally obsolete for people in my age group as more and more bands move towards committee registration and loyalty systems. In this area YUMA is most likely going to be the winner as BLISS and TRIBE's registration process is pretty much a 'who yuh know' scene if you don't have a TLC card. I am keeping in mind that YUMA said they do not want to increase the size of their band, meaning that if a lot of their loyalists..and they have A LOT of them as it is, register with them for next year it's going to really limit the no of new masqueraders that can get into the band.

Last year my costume cost exactly $638.00 US
Now when I spend that kind of money I expect a certain standard of customer service, which I got. I don't want to eat lunch late, or feel like I have to rush to the eating spot after crossing the stage to make sure I get food before it runs out. I also definitely want a guarantee that my band will be crossing the savannah stage on both days. Costume pickup should also be smooth, and if something goes wrong, cuz sh*t happens, I want to be able to rest assured that my band will find a good solution. Case in point last year when my headpiece went mysteriously m.i.a. at the mas camp. After confirming that it could not be found I was given a large headpiece at no additional charge and profuse apologies.

I want drink runners! And no I am not being a Miss Priss and demanding that people run back and forth in the hot sun all day supplying us. I want drink runners for that long wait to cross the savannah. Think about it, wouldn't that make sense? The drinks trucks always have to turn off at that point, so why not get people to walk thru the band with bottled water and shots down the hatch Scorch style. I know the bandleaders don't have much of a choice in terms of whether to have the drinks truck stay or turn off BUT they can look past that and fix the situation they do have. Last year my friend and I had to beg a piece of ice off somebody on the dj truck, no bueno. That combination of hot sun and alcohol is no joke ting!

Vibez
Now my friends and I can have fun anywhere, BUT a good overall hyped vibe is still needed on the road for carnival, especially when you're lazy and unfit like me, cuz I get tired fast! lol That said I was satisfied with TRIBE's vibe last year. I keep hearing about how great YUMA's vibe was but I have also heard about the food and stage crossing issues. I will give jack his jacket, I have never heard a band get so many positive reviews in terms of hype and vibes and 'omg i had so much fun'.

My other important issues are security and music/dj's
Needless to say I was a tad upset that Private Ryan played for BLISS and not TRIBE :( but we had some good dj's so that wasn't too much of an issue. Shout out to the 96.7 truck.

Security-wise PLEASE cut back on the stormers, I mean whats the point of having a rope if you're still letting random people jump in the band? After we crossed the stage on Tuesday I swear the band doubled in size! It was totally ridic and not to mention irritating as these stormers were very aggressive when it came to gettin a wine. I am also very paranoid about crime so something like that is a definite buzz kill not to mention NOT SAFE! I really hope that ALL the bands step up their security for next year.


So that's my 2 cents...well maybe more like a dollar lol