Volunteering 2020

[Crazyfool01]

I would imagine this applies on the 4th too  

[marathonsteve]

7 hours ago, daclown28 said:

Surely the recommendation is because of people doing a runner or being useless . The fact I would just be offering to work/help out on shifts as an extra and would effectively get nothing in return except a recommendation for next year would at least gain me some favour? I would camp in general and support myself.

I should also have said that I have known people to be gone, who were late for their shifts and lost their entire deposit.

[Pinhead]

2 hours ago, incident said:

It's really unlikely you'll get an exact time, and I wouldn't rely on it even being on the hour/half hour - it's deliberately left open ended to avoid everyone hitting the site at exactly the same time and crashing it.

It'll probably still buckle, though.

Itll go down and up and down etc. Always does. They dont have a set up anything like See..

[Pinhead]

6 hours ago, incident said:

If this is the plan, one option would just to be to sign up for any 2 festivals with Oxfam (or anyone else who runs a priority system) this year, do those, and get yourself on the priority list. My guess is that only Glastonbury and The Long Road will be difficult to get places at, maybe Bearded Theory as well, anywhere else should be relatively easy so there's a wide choice of festivals and it can be an excuse to try out ones you'd like to go to but wouldn't buy a ticket for.

Do you think Bearded will be any more popular than usual - my experience is that there are usually priority places still to fill after a few days for that one.

[marathonsteve]

1 hour ago, marathonsteve said:

I should also have said that I have known people to be gone, who were late for their shifts and lost their entire deposit.

And Out

[Pinhead]

Yep - if you dont turn up for a shift its blacklist and they share that list with other volunteer organisations. You can be ill or late and get away with it if your excuse is plausible but no show is fatal. They'll even get security to throw you out if you do turn up again with no real excuse.

[dondo]

1 hour ago, marathonsteve said:

I should also have said that I have known people to be gone, who were late for their shifts and lost their entire deposit.

This may have changed but on the recycling crew if you were too late for your 6am shift you could do a PM shift in the recycling centre to make up for it. That was a good few years back though. 

[marathonsteve]

18 minutes ago, dondo said:

This may have changed but on the recycling crew if you were too late for your 6am shift you could do a PM shift in the recycling centre to make up for it. That was a good few years back though. 

That wasn't the case on my team last year. That's is how it should be. Why should Volunteers get up at 5 in the morning like we and other volunteers did to get ready for their shift and find the Usual  suspects arriving late. We were full on with what we were doing  and we didn't notice. The rest of the team saw what was occurring. You can't hide and they were spotted and gone.

[marathonsteve]

It's not an easy option

 

[dondo]

20 minutes ago, marathonsteve said:

That wasn't the case on my team last year. That's is how it should be. Why should Volunteers get up at 5 in the morning like we and other volunteers did to get ready for their shift and find the Usual  suspects arriving late. We were full on with what we were doing  and we didn't notice. The rest of the team saw what was occurring. You can't hide and they were spotted and gone.

Don't get me wrong- I wasn't saying it was a good thing and I agree it shouldn't be tolerated as much as it frustrates me in everyday life and my job when folk aren't pulling their weight and others have to do more.  I only saw it happen to a couple of people that weren't repeat offenders as such just one off instances of being late and thinking back they were told it wasn't guaranteed that they would be allowed to do that. 

I would imagine now (and as you say rightly so) with the demand for places so high that it wouldn't be tolerated. 

 

 

Edited January 28, 2020 by dondo

[dondo]

11 minutes ago, marathonsteve said:

It's not an easy option

 

Absolutely and nor should it seen to be. 

[incident]

1 hour ago, Pinhead said:

Do you think Bearded will be any more popular than usual - my experience is that there are usually priority places still to fill after a few days for that one.

No idea to be honest. I know it was one of the earlier ones to fill last year, but can't remember when exactly. I'm debating whether to sign up for it tomorrow or risk waiting for the lineup announcement on Thursday night (which could potentially swing me back towards buying a ticket).

[marathonsteve]

Our team Leader takes no prisoners as it should be. Again it's not an easy option.

[dondo]

1 hour ago, marathonsteve said:

Our team Leader takes no prisoners as it should be. Again it's not an easy option.

Indeed.  I did recycling centre last year and the guy running that was making sure everyone was pulling their weight and being safe as it needed to be. Was tough and filthy work and non stop but being busy was good as it made the time go quick.  

Ironically the worst experience we had of someone on the crew not pulling their weight and being awful was our team leader one year (2013 I think) who was terrible and on the Sunday didn't even show up! I believe he had been seen slouched up in the canteen tent looking the worst for wear about 5am. So one of the team took the lead as such and we all got on with our picking. The person who'd taken over did a great job and was asked back to be be a team leader the following year. 

Edited January 28, 2020 by dondo

[marathonsteve]

51 minutes ago, dondo said:

Indeed.  I did recycling centre last year and the guy running that was making sure everyone was pulling their weight and being safe as it needed to be. Was tough and filthy work and non stop but being busy was good as it made the time go quick.  

Ironically the worst experience we had of someone on the crew not pulling their weight and being awful was our team leader one year (2013 I think) who was terrible and on the Sunday didn't even show up! I believe he had been seen slouched up in the canteen tent looking the worst for wear about 5am. So one of the team took the lead as such and we all got on with it and when one of the main leaders of the recycling crew drove past we flagged them down and let them know.  The person who had taken over did a great job and was asked back to be be a team leader the following year. 

Yes as it should be

[marathonsteve]

I am getting the general feeling and maybe its me, that some people think that they are just going to meander the site picking up the odd bit of litter.

[daclown28]

1 hour ago, marathonsteve said:

I am getting the general feeling and maybe its me, that some people think that they are just going to meander the site picking up the odd bit of litter.

I think this is probably aimed at me. I'm no shurker,  I work 70 hour weeks every week on my feet, the only reason I used the recycling as an example was it seems the only option in which you deal with a person, or get personally recommended,  as opposed to a computer system. I'm willing to work my ass off if it means I dont have to go through the trauma of missing out on ticket day again. Working every year seems a way better option than missing a year cos of not getting tickets 

[MrZigster]

3 hours ago, marathonsteve said:

It's not an easy option

 

3 hours ago, dondo said:

Absolutely and nor should it be seen to be. 

Quite.

You may (if you're very lucky) get it easy volunteering and have a great time.

Or you may get it unlucky and have a bit of a ''mare.

You may get a reasonably quiet position. You may get an always full on busy position. Hopefully somewhere inbetween (too quiet is boring and brings on feelings of "Well, this is a waste of time. I could've been watching ...").

(I'm talking about bar work here rather than recycling/litter picking, which seems obviously a full on, full steam ahead nightmare of a monster of a task).

I also have tales of team leaders not being very team leadery. I guess it maybe a perk of the job, but I've never not known a team leader who hasn't slinked off for the legends slot when they were meant to be on (paid!) duty.

I was volunteering with someone last year who snuck off for a couple of Kylie tunes and encouraged me to do the same when they got back.

No.thanks (as much as I wanted to and could've probably gotten away with).

I value my volunteering spot.

Edited January 29, 2020 by MrZigster

[glasto-worker]

16 hours ago, daclown28 said:

Yea I understand this, it was said to try and make a point that I wouldn't take any of their resources . Just help them 

but you need to look at it from their side { depending who they are as it varies hence why I started with ' Depending who you volunteer with ' } at various places I have been a volunteer with the WBC and Oxfam and I know there is other Charity groups who also run the same Policy such as Avalon/Shelter - Their thinking is ' they want all volunteers to be reachable so if there is a change to the shift that they can get the word out fast - see below. { taking from Avalon/Shelter Terms and Conditions }

I was dealing with this post { the full display } hence why I thought you were planing to go for Festaff, Oxfam and Wateraid so did not see your other post.

I deal direct with Volunteers but they are not random strangers they are people who have been with me ' in some cases 25+ years ' and none of them would ever buy a ticket none of them ever have to pay a deposit as I trust them to show up and do their shifts and they have not let me down in any year.

 I have to wonder if its wise to even mention that you have a ticket in any application you make.

Just fully read the Terms and Conditions - trust me it was a lot more difficult to get a volunteer place when I first started as the World Wide Web had not been invented so there was no handy web sites advertising places. 

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[dondo]

10 hours ago, marathonsteve said:

I am getting the general feeling and maybe its me, that some people think that they are just going to meander the site picking up the odd bit of litter.

 

7 hours ago, MrZigster said:

 

Quite.

You may (if you're very lucky) get it easy volunteering and have a great time.

Or you may get it unlucky and have a bit of a ''mare.

You may get a reasonably quiet position. You may get an always full on busy position. Hopefully somewhere inbetween (too quiet is boring and brings on feelings of "Well, this is a waste of time. I could've been watching ...").

(I'm talking about bar work here rather than recycling/litter picking, which seems obviously a full on, full steam ahead nightmare of a monster of a task).

I also have tales of team leaders not being very team leadery. I guess it maybe a perk of the job, but I've never not known a team leader who hasn't slinked off for the legends slot when they were meant to be on (paid!) duty.

I was volunteering with someone last year who snuck off for a couple of Kylie tunes and encouraged me to do the same when they got back.

No.thanks (as much as I wanted to and could've probably gotten away with).

I value my volunteering spot.

Great posts and points.

I like the fact that the recycling crew is busy as makes the shifts go quicker but get frustrated when people see it as either an easy ride and don't pull their weight or sag it off completely.  Hopefully this will start to diminish as more and more people are returnees and know what is expected and that any gaps are filled by people recommended.

I too value my volunteering place and as I have a pretty strong work ethic in my day job and at home whilst Glastonbury is a break from that for me I still apply the same principles in my volunteering.

[marathonsteve]

8 hours ago, MrZigster said:

 

Quite.

You may (if you're very lucky) get it easy volunteering and have a great time.

Or you may get it unlucky and have a bit of a ''mare.

You may get a reasonably quiet position. You may get an always full on busy position. Hopefully somewhere inbetween (too quiet is boring and brings on feelings of "Well, this is a waste of time. I could've been watching ...").

(I'm talking about bar work here rather than recycling/litter picking, which seems obviously a full on, full steam ahead nightmare of a monster of a task).

I also have tales of team leaders not being very team leadery. I guess it maybe a perk of the job, but I've never not known a team leader who hasn't slinked off for the legends slot when they were meant to be on (paid!) duty.

I was volunteering with someone last year who snuck off for a couple of Kylie tunes and encouraged me to do the same when they got back.

No.thanks (as much as I wanted to and could've probably gotten away with).

I value my volunteering spot.

I also worked for two years for Shelter /  Avalon behind the bars so well done you MrZiigster

[Kashkin]

When trying to get through with Oxfam, should you refresh the page or not? I seem to remember someone saying you shouldn't.

[incident]

1 minute ago, Kashkin said:

When trying to get through with Oxfam, should you refresh the page or not? I seem to remember someone saying you shouldn't.

Refresh (carefully) until you get the festival list. From then on, you probably won't want to refresh at all.

If the site is struggling, it can take a long time (like 2 minutes+) to serve up a page but it'll usually get there. A pre-emptive refresh will interrupt it and you go back to the startt.

[incident]

For anyone with Oxfam priority that's concerned, this was just posted on the Facebook group and should ease the tension a bit:

[4519dennis]

Oxfam say applications open at 1.30 pm