My first BIG festival

In a recent post I wrote about how I was invited to vend at the Rochester Pagan Pride Day festival. I was so excited that some one thought my stuff was good enough to be sold at their festival. It was going to be my first big one, expecting almost 500 people.

Needless to say I was in a panic. How will it go? Can I handle 500 people? Will they like my stuff? Do I have enough product? I spent the previous weeks in a mad flurry making sure I was ready.

In the end, it was not what I expected. There was nowhere near 500 people. I learned that it wasn't advertised very well. And I don't know why. But it wasn't. I would guess maybe 200-300 people max. I was a little disappointed. However, for the amount of people that were there, I did pretty well on my sales.

But I do want to point out that the people I met were fantastic. The organizers worked very hard at putting together workshops and activities for the day. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming, even to us non-pagans.

But I'm sure I share their same sentiments, I wish there were more people.

It's true, you get what you pay for

On my recent business trip to Atlanta, I needed to rent a car. Of course, trying to save money I booked my rental with EZ-rent-a-car. A very no name, low budget operation. Well, it didn't take me too long to find out why. The service I recieved was horrible. The girl behind the counter couldn't be bothered. She was in a hurry to leave. She nearly charged me for the wrong reservation. And didn't even get the words "have a nice day" out of her mouth before she was packing up her stuff and heading out the door.

The car she gave me was filled with stains. Now, I rent cars often and the occasional splotch is expected. But we are talking full out stains all over the upholstry. I was mortified. I walked back in, cancelled my reservation and walked next door to Enterprise.

Normally, I would never book with Enterprise because I find them to be the most expensive. But in this case, I was getting what I was paying for. They were so friendly. I explained my situation and they were very eager to help. The gentlemen I was working with not only gave me a 10% discount, but walked me out to the car and carried my luggage. He was proffessional and courteous.

A lesson learned. Saving money is not always the best option.