About That Tricky Tray.. I Just Want To Say_Chapter 10 (Closed)
Use This Post To "Speak Your Mind" About A Tricky Tray or Anything Related To A Tricky Tray. Tell us about the Grand Prize You Just Won or How You Haven't Won A Thing 10 Tricky Trays Straight. Just Click On The comment link below and start typing away. However..no personal attacks will be tolerated.
Comments
Just curious. Thanks.
Chester PTO lists superb TT prizes but I'm told this is a casino night event. Distinctly different from your normal tt. Lots of people trying their luck at Alpine School. Best of luck to all ...
It's also annoying when the caller announces the person or teacher's name when they win. Just call the number!
It's also annoying when the caller announces the person or teacher's name when they win. Just call the number!"
Bent tickets are tickets that are distinguishable in any way. It sounds like the caller could clearly identify which tickets were those of the incrowd. Maybe the caller didn't announce anything because she kind of knew who was doing the bending. Now, before the caller and all her friends get upset about my comment - understand that you leave yourself open to just such comments by not running a fair and impartial event. Bent tickets are marked tickets and you cannot say you are drawing randomly if they are allowed.
If you want our money, run fair events. No Cheatin Allowed
Yes, Thomas Jefferson was quite confusing. I see that 'duck lady' from Roselle Cath. has a new hair doo but she still pulled the same crap, never in her seat when numbers were called.
February 09, 2008 1:09 PM
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You are so dam bitter and pitiful!! What is your problem with the woman from RC? So What if she had a new Hair Style the woman can't even change her hair without you making a comment about it and topping it off by calling her a duck lady, what is that supposed to mean anyway? I was at RC and know what happened there, and I saw her at Thom. Jefferson and guess what, I too was still dropping tickets in the back when they started calling and I heard her "ASKING" 3 of the organizers that were still back there if they would like her to go sit down and she would come back on the break and they "specifically" told her that she could continue to drop her tickets and she told them that she would as long as there was somebody (an organizer) still in the room, but she still went and sat when everyone left the prize room and she finished dropping her green tickets on the break! You come on these post with that pettiness, if you have such a problem with what she does, why don't you tell her yourself? Call her a Duck Lady to her face...LOL I bet you won't do that will ya? I think it galls you because Th. Jefferson did not listen to you when YOU probably tried to get her kicked out of there and they did not pay you any attention. You just want to keep it going about that woman especially when you have nothing better to post then her changing her hair and calling her unnessary names, maybe next time you see her, her hair might be "PINK" and "SO WHAT?" now I understand what the blogger meant about the "HAWKS WATCHING HER LIKE A FIELD MOUSE".....Geez Lady...Get a Life and Leave Her Alone, If you don't like her then YOU STAY HOME since you seem to have a problem with her being in the same space as you!!!
thanks,
Linda
http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/lgccc.htm
Thanks
http://www.wanaquewomensoftball.com/
Trickytray/Beefsteak Dinner
When: SATURDAY APRIL 5th, 2008
Time: Doors Open 6:45pm Sharp
8pm - calling of prizes start
Cost: $35 Per Ticket (includes free sheet of ticket for small baskets)
Tickets Go on Sale Feb 1st.
SPACE IS LIMITED
For Parties of 10+ seats can be reserved.
Email us at wwsoftball@gmail.com .
Is anyone going ??
This cheating lady has produced a drama series on this site. For the record.. no one personally gives a rats behind about a cheater...
If she wasn't cheating, she wouldn't have gotten thrown out. No one personally attacks anyone at auctions - but everyone would hope that everyone would play fair.
Face it and GET OVER IT... she wasn't playing fair and was caught. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out.
Bottom line, just don't cheat.
And for your personal record, I am of the same persuasion and I win a WHOLE lot and could care less what the color of anyone's skin is.
Next time keep your hands out of the cans lady.
Geesh!
I was one of the Organizers at Knights of Columbus and I personally talked to her on the phone when she called about a ticket, but before she wanted to purchase she told me the whole story about what happened at RC and wanted to know if those horrible rumors and lies (my words not hers) that are being posted on this blog would affect her coming to our event and I assured her that it would not. It's so unfair how you people are condeming this woman when she did absolutely nothing wrong at RC especially when I heard from her and others that she hadn't even dropped 1 ticket when she was asked to leave. When she came to our event she introduced herself to me and other organizers to let us know who she was, if she were such a cheater I think she would want to remain anonymous from us don't you think? I also know as one of the ticket sellers that she spent a great deal of money and I believe she only won once or twice and it was nothing from the high end tables.....as a cheater how did that happen? Sure you'll come back saying she knew she was being watched (she wanted to be) but from these blogs I now know that she is being watched all the time by you people. How sad and unfair for her especially when the table next to hers was winning like mad, but did anyone notice that? Would you consider them cheaters because they won so many prizes? I really don't think so!!!
I've known this woman for a long time from years of tricky trays and unless YOU know what your talking about you don't need to be commenting on anything if you don't know the deal!! Unless you are dumb, blind, or just plain ignorant, the previous post specifically stated "in english" that: "SHE...HAD....NOT...DROPPED...1 TICKET...OR...HAD...BEEN...NEAR....THE...PRIZE...TABLES...AT...RC....WHEN...THEY...APPROACHED...HER...AND...ASKED...HER...TO...LEAVE.....DO...YOU...UNDERSTAND Or do I have to spell it out for you again in French Haitian, or Swaili? (but more then likely your Euro-American probably from RC w/red hair lol). She never had her hands in any can and she is definitely NOT a cheater....as the saying goes "Your all up in her Kool-Aid and don't even know the Flava!!! I can't stand dumb people. It's probably the real cheaters like the ticket benders who expect but don't win that are spreading these rumors about her because she or her friend(s) win a lot of the time by just plain old fashion Luck and spending money. She never buys just 1 first level card or 1 strip of higher level tickets like a lot of you buy, she has a book with pages of tickets.
I spoke to her at a TT last week and asked her if she knew about these blogs, she said she did because her Sister was printing them out but "would not lower herself to the level of you people by posting any replies because she knows in her heart what she does and does not do, so let them talk or post whatever they want because they are probably sore losers or jealous people who hated the fact that she used to win a lot and RC just gave them the FODDER they needed to make her out to be a cheater since a lot of folks see her at many TT's and she really gets noticed if she wins high end prizes and it would also be a moot point because here people hide behind thier anonynimity and will post or talk a bunch of crap but never dare approach her."
She also told me that she plans on getting 2 tee-shirts for future TT's, one saying "PIPPI LONG ARMS" (she loved that one lol) and the other saying "DUCK LADY" which in my opinion is telling you folks that she doesn't care who knows her or watches her even if she is slow at sitting down...LOL pretty good for a so called CHEATER to let even those of you that don't know her, recognize her and watch her all they want. I told her I was going to post about the tee-shirts which I found hilarous but I should have known some people just could not leave it alone for every TT she goes too now.
I admire the fact that she is not holding her head down or cowering away from any of you sore losers!!! WTG!!!!!
****
AND WHAT DID THEY SEE? NOTHING I BET....JUST WAITING TO POUNCE LIKE VULTURES!! THE WOMAN CAN'T EVEN GO OUT FOR AN EVENING WITHOUT BEING WATCHED!
DAMN SHAME!!
It should be announced by end of week.
Mr. Tricky Tray
Prior Sokol attendees - Can any one specify what some of the actual bigger gifts were that Sokol offered last year? Were any NOT the usual ones offered at other TT? Just curious.
Thx for the reply.
Leave another message if your still interested......the only problem is that you would probaly have to sit with the other 15 of us going lol....
www.trickytray.com/thevote.htm
I heard from the organizer that that the array of gifts being auctioned this year are top of the line and they have an even better selection.
I can wait and I hope to see all of you there on April 5, 2008.
We have read all the blogs and we plan on doing to following: The Doors will open at 6pm. No admission will be charged. We will not pull Bent Tickets (we will post this around the room), we have tops on all the buckets and will post that no tickets can be removed after dropping them in the bucket without our help. Each level will have their own color, be the same size, and the tickets are from the same company, tickets will be poured from the bucket into a separate container, tossed and drawn from there, after 3 calls the caller will pick a new number.
There will be free snacks and refreshments and bottled water and soda will be sold.
As you can see we have some great prizes and our ticket prices are very reasonable. Hopefully we will see you all at our Tricky Tray on March 8th … Check out our listing on March 8th and see all the wonderful prizes - we also will have a TomTom GPS System. Thanks. - Chris Logsdon, Hampton Township PTA
I was recently interviewed by Winnie Hu at the New York Times in reference to Tricky Trays and School Gift Auctions for an upcoming article! She has asked that I post the below info.
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A reporter for the New York Times would like to interview people who frequent school auctions and other community fund-raisers the way that other people play golf or go shopping. The story will look at this growing pastime, and ask people about their experiences, best prizes, etc. Reporter is also interested in talking to anyone who knows of auction-goers outside the New Jersey region.
Contact Winnie Hu at winnhu@nytimes.com or
212-556-3963. Thank you!
And we really appreciate the Hampton Township post. You've obviously done your homework and have eliminated many a potential problem by setting those groundrules.
Once you start drawing numbers, keep it moving. People will quiet down if announcer starts calling winning numbers rather than rambling on about what is in each basket.
$50 Ticket Value Pack filled with $75 worth of leveled tickets
Ticket Information Level Prize Value Cost
3 sheets (78 tickets) Level 1 $25 - $15
3 sheets (78 tickets) Level 2 $26 - $75 - $30
2 sets (12 tickets) Level 3 $76 - $150 - $10
2 sets (6 tickets) Level 4 $151 - $400 - $10
2 sets(12 tickets)SchoolSpirit $10
*Additional tickets can be purchased for each level at designated level selling tables.
**Ticket Value Packs do NOT include Grand Prize, Luck of the Irish Lottery, and 50/50 tickets
Hope it prints o.k., and hope to see you there!!
Well, I now have my 15 tickets....can't wait for Fiday!
We went last year (big group) and had a great time. With the admission ticket they give one sheet of level one and coffee/tea and doughnuts or cake on the tables, last year was very organized and decorated beautifully.
Also, this year they are selling value packs of tickets at a discount.
They sold individual tickets and the prices to me were always out of line to the prize value. Last year the prices were also excessive when they switched to pure tt format. Try searching for past year comments in the archived Blog chapters when chosing which event to attend.
Weather kept the attendance down just a bit and they truly meant it when they posted signs about 'no bent tickets' being drawn.
The only suggestions I have are to limit the number of tier one trays to 200 or 250 trays. 348 trays are too many. Especially since they were valued from $35.00. They should have combined more of the trays to start at $50.00 instead of $35.00. The caller was ok but we did not need to hear what each tray consisted of since programs were given out. Having said that, I enjoyed this TT and left without feeling gouged even though I did not win anything. I will go again next year.
No TT should charge admission and certainly not $10.00 just to sit on one of their hard metal chairs all night. They had a look of surprise on their face when asked what do we get for the $10.00? NADA! NOTHING! WAS THE ANSWER! They even had the audacity to charge $1.00 for a small flimsy cup of coffee/tea which is always free and also unlimited at every TT I've gone to. Water was $1.50! There were NO FREE refreshments,they charged for the few sad sweets they had.
The Callers were great, very fast and no small talk and no describing the trays!
PS......The trays were OK but certainly not worth $5.00 a sheet.
I should have gone to Rockaway Mall ( only a mile away) instead of wasting my money at this TT. Organizers...your greed blew it. TT 's should be a fun evening and yours was a sad one.
1. Advance ticket sales. (except dinner events)
2. Charging admission(I have a set $ amount that I will spend, so don't cut into the amount of tickets I will be able to purchase.
3. Charging for refreshments (other than water,soda)That's your overhead.
4.Open ticket containers.Need lids
5.Not taking cheaters and bent tickets seriously. Casinos certainly take cheaters seriously...you must too!
6. Callers who think they are comedians. And please do not describe the contents of the basket. I want to get out as soon as possible! I don't care what's in it unless I win it.
7. Attendees who do not pay attention to ticket numbers called
8. Attendees who have to hold up the line to check out each basket as if it were already theirs.
9. Organizers who think their prizes are worth a fortune, charging an outrages fee for tickets. We call it GOUGING! And we don't come back and we tell the Tricky Tray world!
10. Don't waste my time with DOOR PRIZES. They usually are not worth the extra time.
11. Organizers who have never attended a TT themselves and think they can run one.
12. And NO KIDS! They are annoying! Since this is gambling what happened to no one under 18 per the LAW. Are tt's excempt? I don't think so. Maybe the Gambling Commission needs to be notified!
13. It should be a fun time for everyone and a profitable event for the organization. Everyone should leave not feeling cheated, gouged etc.
Have anything to add to this list?
No one likes bags to put the tickets into. The tickets get stuck on under the folds on the bottom of the bag and it is a big disadvantage to those who put their tickts in first.
Callers or ticket pullers who are looking directly into the bowl as tickets are being pulled---can we say cheating. It looks as if the caller is looking for specific numbers to pull. (I kid you not, I went to one hosted by a Catholic School and that's what the caller did. He even put some tickets back after picking them to pick up another. Tell me he wasn't looking for specific numbers:
Lastly, the only thing to add is not giving enough time to put your tickets into the buckets by only allowing an hour from the doors opening to the calling. Have you people ever checked out the lines???? I waited on line 45 minutes just to get to the first basket table once. The doors opened at 6:30 and the calling was supposed to begin at 8:00. The calling started at 9:00 because there were so many people, most didn't get to the front of the line until after 8:30. Timing is everything people.
Paramus- had a caller who reversed and left out numbers 3 out of 5 times. It was amazing! I'd never seen that before. TT itself was pleasant...I really like the smaller ones myself.
North Arlington - did not empty the ticket bags into a container...so virtually everyone who put tickets in early (most had the same beginning numbers) never heard their numbers called. We never had a chance at the larger prizes. That to me is probably the most offensive practice that organizers do. The funny thing is that organizers don't think it's wrong, because someone always win. DUH?!? Of course someone always win; the problem is that not everyone has an equal chance of winning because the tickets are not put into a new container and shaken to re-distribute them. This is important, as it is a way to eliminate the difference between where the earlier tickets landed and the last-in tickets landed. Tickets also get stuck in the bottom of the bags, and they don't have a chance. In essence, people are penalized for getting there early and putting their tickets in early. Let me push this one a little further, because it's not a hard one to fix. The callers say we reached in 'at all levels' so that should cover this problem. It does not. Equal access is provided by the process listed above. Random picking simply does not.
Clifton - Nice TT last nite. Organizer, Audrey, could not have been a more organized and thoughtful host. To the woman who had the bad taste to say something about the teenagers (13 and 14) who were there...get a life. Children are allowed at TTs...and what they can and cannot do is specified by law. We're not talking about young children who can get distracted and noisy...I agree that can take the fun out of the nite. These are well behaved young adults under their parents' supervision. Their attendance was authorized ahead of time, and adults should think twice about saying anything directly to them or within earshot of them. If you think they are annoying, look in the mirror. You demeaned yourself with your ill informed comments.
Your ticket prices are fine if you only had say 10 to 15 of each specials, super specials and megas. Last year you had far too many of each of these levels. Actually some of your specials could have been regulars and would be at other TT. You should re-think how many of each of these prizes you make specials. Remember people come with a certain amount of money they are willing to spend and it stinks when they feel they can't afford to be in all levels because of your greediness. It doesn't hurt you to give a few more tickets for the money. Hampton just threw an excellent TT while giving people a nice amount of tickets for the money. Check out their blog above.
1TRICKY TRAY BASKET AUCTION
The Mothers' Club of Saint Dominic Academy, 2572 Boulevard, Jersey City, will hold its third annual Tricky Tray Basket Auction on April 5. Donations of money, gift certificates or merchandise can be mailed to Saint Dominic academy. Arrangements for donation picks may be made. For information, call Gabriela at 201-333-7216 or Cynthia at 201-823-0721.
St Dominic Academy Tricky Tray
Auction Ticket orders
Ms Magaldi @ St Dominic Academy
2572 Kennedy Boulevard
Jersey City, NJ 07304
201-434-5938 ext 45
$15/person (Tables seat ten)
Thank you,
Bridget Mitarotonda
Lisa Walsh
And the Tricky Tray Committee
1. Greed - you were called greedy because of the admission and not giving a sheet of tickets. I'm not a frequent Tricky Trayer, but I've been to KDM's, Dwyer's, Sacred Heart's, St. Cecelia's and almost everyone's in the area, and EVERY place, no matter what the admission cost, gives you at least one sheet of the first level tickets with your admission. You don't want to penalize people for not buying their tickets in advance, that's just wrong. Also, you have people donating desserts that you then turned around and charged for. Greedy!!! Everyplace I know of offers the desserts, coffee and tea free and only sells soda and water. Are you people living under a rock. Charging $1 for coffee is greedy, you made people mad, and in turn, they didn't buy as many tickets as they might have because they felt they were being taken advantage of. Also, this event was a year and a half away, and you felt the need to start asking parents for donations last year and then this year too. The out-going 5th grade parents don't care since their kids won't be in the school, so they didn't really donate anyway. But all the lower grades were asked to donate twice..that was uncalled for and greedy. That's why you don't get too much participation...you ask too much too often. I only ended up donating twice because my daughter was so upset that her class was bring things in and she was made to feel bad. I won't make that mistake again, and I know a lot of parents in my kids classes feel the same.
2. Unorganized - you may not think this, but you were so unorganized and it showed. First, the admission ticket thing again. Had you thought this through, you wouldn't have made such a blunder. ALso, when we walked in the door, people were standing there looking like deer in the headlights. One person sitting at a small desk checking in the pro-sales, and two people at a table with emply plastic bags looking bored. Why the plastic bags. If you're not going to fill them with something, either put them on the tables, or don't give them at all. And no one offered me a program, I had to ask for one. Don't they know how to greet people? Also, the table assignments. THere were lovely, yet small signs with people's names and table numbers reserved, such as Smith, Table 1 & 2. However, there was no number on the table to say where table 1 & 2 were, or where they were started or ended, or how many chairs were linked to each table. One little sign saying table 1 & 2 does squat if I don't know that there are six chairs per table or four. There was a lot of confusion over tables...again this due to the unorganization. DOn't even get me started on the program. You didn't list expiration dates for donations, any exceptions like new members only for gym membership, and baskets with alcohol. Even though the baskets were labeled, there should have been a reference in the program, like an asterisk, to let those people know about the alcohol in the basket for those of us who don't scrutinize and handle the basket before dropping in our ticket.
3. Communication - Ladies, this was probably the worst. Your ticket sellers didn't know what they were doing, a couple couldn't count and I asked the same question to three different sellers and got three different answers. Don't you brief them before you start????
Door Prizes - Give this up. No one wants to wait for the door prizes, they're usually junk and why waste the money on these when you could put them into better baskets? Also, that "Door Prize" stub on the sheet of tickets should be able to be used in the regular prize baskets. People should have the option, not be forced to put it in for a door prize that they don't want in the first place. If you ever attend a Tricky Tray, you'll see that most are moving away from door prizes....think about it.
4. The Baskets - While you are a grammer school where young children attend, you do not invite the children. So why do you have so many baskets geared towards children? Adults don't want baskets full of toys, our houses are already full of them. Some toys are OK, like the Hot Wheels, Barbies, American Girl Doll, but let's face it, most are looking at these baskets and saying "my kid doesn't need this" and they move on. As a result, fewer prizes that appeal to adults means less tickets bought and less money made by you. WHy not just have the Tricky Tray for the kids if your prizes are geared for them? And as an attendee of all your past Tricky Trays and Craft show Tricky Trays, I think the quality of your prizes this year were far inferior than your previous ones. I know it's hard to get donations, but it looked like you were getting desperate. Again, see point #1, you got greedy and asked too much too often.
5. The Callers - they were great, made the evening run smooth and quickly. I wouldn't ever change them if you can help it.
All the people who attended the Tricky Tray were from the community. They were there to support the school and have a good time. But, you plan an event like this, people expect to get something for their money. If they weren't expecting some good prizes and a little coutresy, they would just hand a check to the school and be done with it. The one blogger was right, if you don't attend Tricky Trays, you don't know how to run one. It's all about keeping the guests happy (within reason) to make them spend money and keep coming back. You may have lost a lot of supporters because of this. The entire evening, people all around me were seriously unhappy. If you want to continue making money for the kids and the school, you need to change your attitudes and start thinking of others. Also, and this might hurt girls, you need to change chairpeople. The past organizers screwed up really badly and they shouldn't be allowed to repeat this mistake. I know they are probably the only ones who volunteered, but try recruiting some better people to better fit the events. I hope the committee takes these comments to heart, because I do speak for several families. We all talk, we all compare notes and we all feel the same way. And they all asked me to write this because they felt I would be impartial and get their feelings across without being too harsh. Take this as it is intended, suggestions to make a better event and keep people happy. This is not a personal attack on anyone in particular, but as a group you need to do better. People expect more nowadays, and you need to deliver, not get bent out of shape and say we're great and they don't know what they're talking about. Listen to the parents within your school, or your support will be diminished rapidly and soon.
Dear Bridget Mitarotonda
Lisa Walsh
And the Tricky Tray Committee
Why do you ask for comments and suggestions by email? Have you not read the blogs regarding your TT? You will find more than enough suggestions on how to improve your TT. Hope you mean what you say and take the advise of those of us who are not happy with the way you conducted this event.
One word, GREEDY!
1. The regular sheets had an extra large door prize ticket attached to the stub you keep. They told people to rip this one off and use it just like the smaller ones in the regular baskets. OK, well that doesn't make every ticket the same (equal) to the other tickets. You bought the wrong tickets sheets, just admit it. Stupid mistake. You should have just had people discard that one.
2. Next up is the 50/50 which got to around $1100 which is great but the problem is first you ran out of red tickets, so you started using blue, then (it get's better) you ran out of those blue ones so you went and used darker blue tickets. That's THREE different color tickets. BOO BOO BOO. TT attendees do not like different color tickets. No one likes to see you pull a blue ticket when they have red ones. At least if everyone has the same color, everyone feels as though they are in the game. Do people a favor and buy a new roll for the next TT. Don't be so cheap and use "leftovers" from years past.
3. The caller. He looked BORED. Very bored, which made the whole event slow and boring.
4. Post a sign "No BENT TICKETS will be called". This should be a rule at Tricky Trays.
Your tickets prices were good as usual and the baskets were nice. We looked forward to supporting this Tricky Tray and we were disappointed. Take these comments and suggestions seriously. We attend at least one TT every weekend. We KNOW what we are talking about!
Looked forward to this tt as usual but this year it was disappointing.. Early arrivals had to park in back of the parking lot so the late comers could park up front. DAH!
The odor of cigarette smoke permeated the building. The smokers were outside the open door allowing the smoke inside. If you must smoke close the door behind you and stand away from the entrance. That's only common courtesy. The TT organizers should have made sure of that.
The building is too small for the number of attendees. Now I know what sardines feel like! It is a fire hazard and I'm sure against fire regulations. .....Firemen have you looked into this ? Before a catastrophe happens, Tricky Trays can no longer be at this location, they must be moved to the local public school a short distance up the street.
The price of the ticket sheets at all levels were very fair as usual and 50cents for admission is almost free. The trays were a bit skimpy and many could have been combined so as not to appear so cheap.
The specials and super specials were neither.... but the tickets were very reasonable so as not to feel cheated. Now for the 50/50. That's where I do feel cheated. There is no reason to have 3 different colored tickets. Organizers please spend a little and get enough of one color so that everyone is in it. One of you had a cavalier attitude when suggestions were made.
The free bagels and cream cheese were fresh and appreciated. Of course you had free hot and cold drinks. Thank you.
Unless this event is moved to larger and safer quarters I think this was the last time attending this TT after many years .
PLEASE TAKE THIS AS CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM.
The negatives...there were only 72 baskets for hundreds of people...not nearly enough. The Kids..I know this was a school fundraiser, but the kids running around just ruins a nice night out. I take the time to find a babysitter, I certainly don't want to listen to your kids. And last..I don't know why some callers feel like it's their time to shine with jokes and whatnot..it was a neverending, painful experience to listen to the caller (who i am sure is a nice man, this isn't personal) tell "jokes" and try to be funny. It was horrible..it really was.Other than that,i would attend this again. It was very small, but nice.
Have a Happy Easter and many successful Tricky-Trays to all.
For the Ogdensburg Tricky Tray: I know that the "door prize" ticket is annoying so next year cut it off - that is what we did at our Tricky Tray this year and we did not hear any complaints. We do not do "door prizes" and the size of that extra ticket is larger. It is not that they purchased the wrong tickets - those are the only tickets our there that are a good quality and price.
I have always appreciated the "constructive critisism", but enough already - I think Birchwood has gotten the point.
Curious what people thought of it. It was my first one and had fun.
Now that you mentioned it...
Between the parking, smoking, packed like sardines, fire hazard, and cavalier attitude, I couldn't wait to get out of there before something did happen. I felt was uneasy the whole evening. The caller should have pulled the tickets in full view of all the attendees there. Who knows what went on in the bar area? Maybe nothing....
ORGANIZERS: HOPE YOU ARE READING ALL THE BLOGS AND TAKE IT AS CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM.
Beside that the TT stunk. Once again the flow dosen't work in their limited space. While I liked the callers didn't dilly dally, it would have been nice if he metioned the basket numbers they were on. Charging for coffee and donated snacks. Just plain stupid. I can tell you I will never waste my time attending another one.
Oh well....
You were lucky that you got there late. You didn't have to make a fuss about paying $10.00 for admission. Some of us who got there early did that and thus they "gave" you a sheet of tickets. I agree with you that this TT was a flop. Charging $1.00 for coffee and donated cake is greedy and despicable. Teachers....wise up.....hope you "learned" something.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Tricky Tray Sponsored By
Morris Conservatory of Music
Location:
Sts. Cyril & Methodius Church
215 Hill Street
Boonton, New Jersey
Doors Open: 6:30 pm
Drawing: 8:00 pm
Admission: $12.00
*Adults Only*
HANDICAPPED_ACCESSIBLE: No
Evening includes regular and super trays,
50/50 raffle, musical entertainment.
Admission includes sheet of tickets and refreshments.
Proceeds to benefit not-for-profit Conservatory' programs.
Reservations recommended: 973-402-2004
More Info & Reservations:
973-402-2004
www.morrisconservatory.com
You can write of local theaters in NJ, like the Papermill Playhouse, they're usually accomodating. Also, some museums in NY and NJ might be generous. Gift certificates/cards to stores and restaurants are always a hit. Some games and children's toys are always good, but don't go too heavy on the kiddie stuff. Most adults don't want that for their kids because they already have enough toys. Electronic toys are good, though, like the Leapfrog and V-Tech toys. Educational is always good. Bikes, skateboards, also big hits.
Furniture items are great, too, like lamps and clocks. Microwaves, blenders, coffee makers, pannini press, grills, griddles, quesadilla makers...all big hits. Wine racks and/or refrigerators...candles, purses, gloves, and anything designer, like Coach purses, Vera Bradley items are favorites. And don't forget our furry friends, dog and cat baskets are always a hit.
Holiday themed baskets are always good, too. Baskets filled with Christmas decorations, Halloween, 4th of July...all great. Wrapping paper and accessories, hair care products, gift cards to local salons. Also, anything poker related is good too.
I could go on but I guess you get the idea. I've put together a couple of tricky trays and they've been huge successes. My friends and I try to put together baskets that we would be happy winning. Baskets should be worth at a minimum $30-50 in the first level. This way you're assured of having top quality prizes that don't look cheap. No one wants to win something that's been stored in someone's basement for 10 years and looks like it came out of a Cracker Jack box. Keep the prizes to new items only, nothing that could have come from a garage sale. ALso, keep an eye on this website, there are some great ideas and suggestions that you could pick up from people. The true tricky trayers will tell you what they don't like, and that should help you to run a pleasant event that would please almost everyone who attends.
I hope this has been helpful. Does anyone have any other suggestions or ideas???
This Tricky Tray was held in the Seasons Hotel in Washington Township and it looked like we were in for a great night. There was a wonerful cocktail hour and the staff was pleasant but unfortunatly it was not the Seasons that I had a problem with.
Who ever ran this Tricky Tray was certaintly very unorganized. . .well actually. . .they were unorganized in all but one aspect. I'll get into that in a moment. I was planning to be out for a few hours. . .not 5 1/2. They took so long, messed up on giving prizes, and the way the food was planned could have saved us atleast 45 minutes.
You think it could not get worse but yes, yes it did. . .
Ironically, the commitee table was very lucky last night. Prize after Prize after prize was lined up against the wall behind, to the side, and around their table. Seems kinda strange that they won the lottery tree and an apparant relative of someone at that table won the $500 money tree. . .hmmm
Organizers were very friendly and professional. I saw bent tkts and told them about it, they quickly made an announcement that no bent tkts would be called. They also had signs posted on the tables. Calling started at 805p and ended at 10:15pm. The 50/50 was over $700.00. The only little annoying thing was the caller congratulating every winner....that's over 200 times...enough already. We had a good time and were not sorry we chose Fredon. How was Kittatinny?
They kept saying they have been working on this for 1/2 a year? What were they doing for those 6 months? The caller stressed that some of them had done this many times - where were those people because we had never been to such an unorganized tricky tray. I understand they are a lot of work, but if you had 1/2 a year to work on it did they not research on this website and go to other tricky trays to see how one is run?
I did win one of the higher level gifts, but the overall experience was not a good one. It just seemed like there was not a whole lot of thought put into this tricky tray as there were more than just one or two people talking about the lack of organization. For those of you working on next years' event, it would be to your own advantage to really read the ALL the blogs to have a real successful function.
I see no reason why Fredon should not have their TT the same night as Kittatinny. I'll never go to Ktny after reading the reviews!
TT ORGANIZERS... WHEN ARE YOU EVER GOING TO READ THE BLOGS AND UNDERSTAND WE ARE TALKING TO YOU!
TAKE THE ADVISE!
ONE BIG COMPLAINT - They charged one dollar for a tiny cup of coffee or tea! Organizers: do not charge for coffee or tea. It's greedy. I've come out to support your event and I'm spending money! Lots of it. I want a lousy cup of coffee for nothing please! I heard one woman comment on them charging. The organizer responded by saying "It's for a good cause". So the lady responded by saying "ALL TRICKY TRAYS ARE FOR A GOOD CAUSE!!!" That shut her up.
Overall, very good job 4H!
Great job 4H Club!!!! This was our second time at this Tricky Tray and we enjoyed it just as much as last year.
It was almost a perfectly run TT.
The baskets were original and supers were great. Programs were given out so the caller did not describe the trays and calling was fast.
The refreshments were sparse. Free.. were some sad looking Walmart type sandwich cookies and very few at that. Coffee/tea was $1.00 for a tiny cup that had no room for milk. I brought it to the attention of an organizer who told me it was for a "good cause" . I told her all TT's are for a good cause! and coffee/tea should be free. A paper plate of fruit slices was $5.00! Talk about greedy!
The night before at the Fredon TT there was a table about 10 feet long with free refreshment including coffee/tea, veggie platters and a great variety of desserts! Also no admission charge. Again, thank you Fredon! Every TT should follow your example!
Are they as popular in these months? The calendar only goes through August as yet, so no way to tell how many are in the witner.
Do you think pre-sale on the tickets is better and would "guarantee" that people showed up unless there was a blizzard or soemthing.
Thanks for your input.
We do the hackettstown area.
Also when you list your TT on Trickytray.com. Make sure you give a good description including prices and whether or not you'll have free refreshments. We pick which TT to go to based on the info we see on this site. For instance last Friday, Kittatiny listed no description of their TT and Fredon did including the price of regulars. That made up our minds and we were glad we went.
I go to at least one TT every weekend that there is one. I will travel to Morris, Passaic and Sussex county (where I live). I do give my opinions on this blog the next day.
I'm looking forward to the Lafayette TT that's coming up. I hope they learned a lesson from last year and price the special tickets appropriately. Many of their specials last year could have been used to make the regulars more plentiful. They had WAY to many specials last year priced WAY too high.
Did everyone check out the NY Times Article about tricky trays.
TrickyTray.com gets a mention on page 2.
Click
Here for article
You have to make sure all the attendees leave with a good feeling, whether we win or not! A big no no is to charge for refreshments. There is no guarantee of winning so at least give us some free goodies. Water/soda/pizza are fine to charge for. Good Luck with your Tricky Tray.
Would be intersted to hear what some of you have to say.
Thanks,
3rd Time Tricky Tray organizer
Good luck & let us know when & where your event will be.
"Global Warming to benefit Tricky Trays in November & December"!
Thx!
I am looking for some ideas for a higher level prize to donate for a tricky tray. Can anyone give some input on something DIFFERENT which they have never seen before or even something they may have seen once or twice, but never again. I want it to be really nice, but am stumped for ideas.
Thank you much.
First start out with some tupperware or rubbermaid containers, them move onto Blank Cd's & DVd's, A few Compact Flash or SD camera memory cards, and top off with a USB External Hard Drive.
Everything is storage themed.
The value can modified by what size memory cards and how large a hard drive you decide to use.
Just an idea!