Tonight was the finale to the home basketball season with the men’s basketball team playing (and ultimately beating) Mississippi State. From the suites and catering side of the event, things went really poorly. There were many suites that did not have their food orders processed and therefore, caused a lot of customer service issues. The one that we specifically dealt with had to do with a very premium client who provides significant sponsorship throughout the entire athletic department. They were hosting clients in their suite tonight and upon arrival, none of their food or drinks were prepared. The suite contact called the guest services line, who called for me on the radio, and I immediately went down to the suite to evaluate the issue. I spoke with the contact and while he was very cordial about it, I could sense his irritation. I made my way towards the catering pantry, while calling Christy to explain the situation. She called the catering manager while I talked to the manager on-duty, relaying the information and all the food/drinks they needed. They showed no record of the order, despite it being sent to the head manager last week. I was frustrated because I felt there was no sense of urgency to make things right. I was serving as the middleman between the suite holder and the catering department and wanted to correct the situation as fast as possible. The situation was not remedied right away and they soon asked for Christy to check on the status. I accompanied her to talk with the suite contact, as a learning opportunity and to support Christy in solving the problem. When it was near halftime and they still did not have their food, Christy aggressively addresses the issue with the catering office, taking control of getting the food from the kitchen to the suite. She was frustrated because she felt like she isn’t able to do her job well at times when the catering office isn’t holding up their responsibilities. The food finally arrived and the suite holder was patient throughout it all, but Christy still filled in the arena General Manager and Assistant General Manager to ensure they were well aware of what went on.
There were a lot of those types of issues tonight, worse than it’s been in my two months of interning at the CLA. It seemed to be a total lack of communication and a perceived apathetic mindset to addressing the problems and finding solutions. Prior to tonight’s game, I talked with Christy about a new upcoming event at the arena. Darius Rucker, country artist and former lead member of Hootie and the Blowfish, is a USC alumnus. At the beginning of the fall, he said that if the USC football team won 6 games, he would host a free concert on campus. To many people’s pleasant surprise, the team went 6-7 and USC’s President recently announced that he would be coming to the CLA on April 5 so now, the details of putting this on are being sorted out. One major detail is admission; it is free to students but if the general public wants to attend, they have to purchase a suite. However, there are discussions about who will be selling the suites (between the arena and the USC development office), money going back to the university to cover the production costs, etc. I will be interested to see how all of that shakes out over the next couple of weeks.
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Today was the last home game for the women’s basketball team and was also Senior Night. Also, if South Carolina won, they would secure their fourth straight Southeastern Conference regular season championship. They ending up winning the game but details from the suites side was pretty chaotic today.
All of the events over the last four days have been quick turnarounds, but it seemed as if the catering company was not prepared for today. With only 30 minutes prior to doors opening, most of the suites did not have a filled ice bucket (all of them are supposed to have it) and many of the catering orders were either completely missing or were without several items. The other intern and I had to go back and forth with the pantry to relay what was missing and what suites needed certain items. It was pretty stressful trying to get everything ready for doors opening, while waiting on the catering group to hold up their responsibilities. Once the game started and we did our suite checks, we learned that one of the suites, who is owned by a major local company and owns the suite, did not have their food order as it was overlooked by the catering group. They had to scramble to get everything out to the suite but even after that, they were still missing important items (napkins, tongs for food, and buns for pulled pork barbecue). I told the suite attendant (who I have come to know and trust to get things done) and she handled getting them everything they needed. Another interesting issue that occurred today was for another prominent suite holder who wanted their suite locked with no one to enter or place orders. The person who had taken over as the suite contact as worried that the former suite contact was abusing their privileges, bringing friends into the suite (instead of clients) and ordering food but charging it back to the company. Christy had relayed this information to the catering group and to not take any orders but they failed to disseminate that to the suite attendants and still took an order (yesterday at the MBB game). When we checked on suites today, we noticed food was set up in the suite today, despite being instructed to have it closed. The former suite contact showed up to the game and said she would take the issue up with her coworkers tomorrow. It put Christy in an uncomfortable situation as she had to be the middle man, a place she should not have been in. With Tuesday’s basketball game, I’ll be intrigued to see if anything changes based on today’s events. It was a quick turnaround from last night’s concert to today’s men’s basketball game at 1:00PM. As the other intern and I were doing suite checks before doors opened, we noticed many of them were missing most, if not all, of their catering and drink orders, despite the BEO (banquet event order) form being placed in the suite. When we brought it to the attention of the pantry/catering office, there was some confusion as the menus had not been passed through the proper channels. Despite all of that, they were able to get the orders out to the suites in time.
The game was an exciting one as Carolina was trying to get out of their recent slump and ending up beating Tennessee by over 20 points. All of the suites were great when we checked on them, so Christy encouraged me to go walk around with the events intern and see a side of her job. We did a lap around the area, checking for any issues. We noticed a water spill so we called it into the custodial crew as it was in a decently trafficked area. Once we made sure there were no other issues, we walked up to the top of the arena to meet up with a woman working one of the spotlights (Nancy). Nancy talked to us about how she does her job, with instructions from the marketing contact on promotions, upcoming timeout schedules, and any other game plan information. She let Marissa (event intern) operate the spotlight during the under 4 minute timeout when they did a t-shirt toss. Nancy was telling us about how important it is to have proper staffing in the arena, no matter the event. This includes stagehands, security, and all operational help. She helps with the hiring and coordination of the stagehands and was telling stories about how some arenas get a reputation if they don’t supply good help and tours may not want to return if that’s the case. It was very interesting to hear her perspective on event management at an arena and the crucial pieces to ensure it runs smoothly. Tonight was the 2017 Winter Jam, the self-proclaimed largest annual Christian music tour. With ten artists that performed and several speakers, the show was a huge attraction for locals and people around the state. This was not a ticketed event but patrons were encouraged to provide a $10 donation at the door. Expected attendance was 14,000-15,000 but last I heard, it ended up at a little over 10,000. Since it was not ticketed, we needed to provide a separate entrance for suite holders/renters to enter as they had to pay and have their tickets scanned upon arrival. Christy arranged an efficient system that had me stationed at the door the suite guests were instructed to enter at. I would mark them off my list according to what suite they were in and radio Christy who was at the elevator 2nd floor entrance and let her know who was on their way up. We would allow ten people in at a time to have their tickets scanned and take the elevator up to the main concourse level. Once there, the other two suites interns would escort them to their designated suite. When we first opened doors, we had quite the line of guests who had already arrived but I worked with the security personnel that was scanning tickets and working the elevator to ensure a smooth entry. We had everyone inside by 7:15PM with the show starting at 7:00PM. Christy sent the other two interns to make the rounds to check on the suites while she and I waited on any last minute arrivals. The suite needs were relatively minimal tonight as most of the groups that rented were church groups that did not purchase any catering ahead of time. The show was a variety of performances, testimonials, sermons, and information on one of their biggest advocacy groups focusing on adopting/sponsoring international children. A lot of the staff seemed to dread the event but it went really well, from what I could tell. It ran later than planned but the staff was able to empty the arena pretty quickly. During the show, Christy and I talked about the dynamics of the arena staff and how that has changed once their original management group’s contract was not renewed. It was interesting to learn about the changes that occurred when that happened and they became state employees (since USC took it over). We’re back tomorrow for a men’s basketball game! Tonight was a huge night for the arena as the Luke Bryan Kill the Lights Tour came to town. 36 of 37 available suites were occupied tonight which made for a crazy but busy night. We arrived early to prep all the suites and make sure the catering was all correct; majority of the suites ordered food and drink so it was crucial to double check all the setup. Christy let me have some greater oversight responsibility tonight, directing that all suite assistance calls be directed to me and taking any calls for suites over the walkie talkie. Most of the calls were able suites needing a particular menu or bar item or wanting the air conditioning turned on (it was really hot with nearly 14,000 people!). However I was able to successfully troubleshoot a ticket issue with a suite holder. The Carolina football coach attended the concert and at the last minute, told his strength coach and his wife to attend. There was some confusion on who had tickets (if anyone) but I was able to coordinate with the arena general manager to provide the strength coach two tickets so he and his wife could enjoy the remainder of the show in the suite with the head coach. I was able to enjoy the concert from the only open suite with the rest of the staff, while be on-call to any issues that arose. As the night went on, things from the suite side settled down. The arena now begins the major turnover for tomorrow’s show Winter Jam, a Christian concert with a full line up of performers. It was great to be back at the CLA after being out sick all last week! This afternoon I attended a production meeting for the two back to back major events we are hosting this weekend; Luke Bryan Kill the Lights Tour and Winter Jam. This was the first production meeting I have been able to attend as the other ones have conflicted with my work schedule but I was able to attend today’s and it was extremely informative. All groups from the arena were represented, with the respective event manager running the meeting based on their assigned event: box office, operations, marketing, security, catering, audio/visual, suites, engineers/stagehands, and arena executives.
Thursday night an anticipated 14,000 people will be attending the Luke Bryan concert. He is a major country act so they are expecting large numbers, in addition to most (if not all) suites being occupied. The data packet with my notes can be found here – below are some of the interesting takeaways from the discussion.
I’m looking forward to working both events! Tonight was the second, and last, night of the Monster Jam. It was definitely more crowded tonight than last and began with a sold out Pit Party. 1,500 people could purchase party tickets for an additional $10 on top of their event ticket and had the opportunity to go onto the pit floor, meet the drivers, see the trucks and ATVs up close, purchase merchandise, and more. The event staff moved people through really efficiently and was able to open doors to the rest of the patrons on schedule at 6:00PM. We arrived to the arena a little bit earlier than normal to prepare the suites as some suite holders had purchased tickets for the event and we wanted to make sure they could get in their suite once they were finished. 24 suites ended up being used tonight and it was just as an exciting show as last night. The same truck won (Carolina Crusher) all the competitions and I was trying to understand how the whole tour point collection process worked. Trucks/drivers can accumulate points based on finishes in several competitions and there is a finals event in Las Vegas at the end of March.
At the end of the night, many suite holders waited around to watch the Monster Jam crew start their tear down, which included getting the dirt out, removing huge tires, and putting smaller tires on the huge trucks. The picture below shows one of the trucks in the process of tire swap out. Tonight we hosted the family show, Monster Jam. To be honest, I was not quite sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised at what a fun show it was. When I arrived at the arena, Christy shared the Monster Jam data sheet; a document that is sent out by the event staff that outlines every single detail about the show. Information ranged from doors open, show length, and ticket information to full operational details, IT/AV specifications, and merchandise. The full document can be found here. We had 16 suite rentals tonight and approximately 3,500 attendees. When someone purchases a suite, they receive free tickets to the men’s and women’s basketball games and have the option to purchase tickets for the family shows. The owned suites are held until approximately 10 days out from the event and if tickets are not purchased at that point (and Christy confirms they will not be purchasing any), she can sell the suite to other guests. There were only three suites that were rented tonight by other people. Tomorrow night is set to be much busier, with 21 suites occupied. Below is the arena map from tonight’s set up. I was warned about the sound of this show, but I was not prepared for how loud it truly was! Vendors were selling heavy duty noise cancelling headphones and ear plugs but it was very intense! The air quality was an issue that was addressed earlier in the day by the Fire Marshall, who stated that the person on the tour who monitored air flow in the venues needed to start checking the quality much earlier than they had originally planned. The show was very interactive and the suite holders were very happy with all their catering needs that were met. It took a while for the arena to close down after the show because the tour offered an autograph session to everyone who wanted one. So instead of the line closing down after a certain time frame, it stay open until every last guest had gotten their autograph; a small detail that leaves a lasting impact on brand reputation and loyalty.
Here are some pictures from tonight and I’m looking forward to the second (and last show) tomorrow night! It was a relatively slow night, even with a women’s basketball game. The crowd was not as big as other games due to the low profile match up. Many suite holders did not attend so pre-game preparation and mid-game check-ins did not take that long to complete. The game was blowout win for the Gamecocks.
It has been interesting this season to see the big marketing push by both the women’s and men’s teams to get the coaches interacting and engaged with USC students. Tonight, they promoted “Dinner on Dawn” and invited 500 students to visit the major suite, McGuire Room, for free pasta. They anticipated 500, prepared food for 750, but in actuality only had about 250 students. Needless to say, there was a ton of leftover pasta – dinner! I have recently been observing different staff behaviors, specifically of my fellow interns. There are two other premium suite interns who are both students at USC. I am in a very different position with having nearly 10 years of work experience in athletics and so I feel like I approach our internship a little differently. I am trying to see it as a teaching opportunity to help them in their personal growth with keeping them accountable but have to balance not overstepping my boundaries either. I’m looking forward to working Monster Jam this weekend! After being out for a week for vacation, I returned back to the CLA for another night of men’s basketball! It ended up being a crazy night as the game went into four overtimes, with Alabama eventually winning. I caught up with Christy on things that went on while I was out and we discussed some interesting happenings:
The circus was a huge success! The arena generated over $1.18 million in revenue and hosted seven great shows. While she (and all CLA staff) were relieved that it is over, they were extremely happy with the financial impact it created. Two new shows were added to the CLA lineup: R.Kelly (March 10) and The Chainsmokers (May 23). They are expecting a large crowd for The Chainsmokers albeit it showing after USC has let out for the summer. One of the suites recently experienced theft in the liquor cabinet and a significant amount of inventory was taken. Christy and the head of security reviewed all the security cameras in the area and tried everything, outside of calling the police, to determine what happened but to no avail. They ended up buying a new full cover lock for the cabinet that only the suite owner has access to but Christy went out and repurchased the items that were missing. This week is a busy one at the CLA with another basketball game, two shows of Monster Jam, and Katt Williams (comedian)! |