Barbara Morrow
So sorry to have to write this. Gosh our group had a really tough time trying to have a holiday party at Matthews this past Saturday. Our group is different. We weren't a elementary school birthday party with screaming kids going everywhere. We have middle and high schoolers that we were trying to prepare for a trip in 2027 where there will be an epic climbing opportunity, and this is easily our most well-behaved group in anyone's memory. We wanted each of these kids to try climbing, and we wanted them to LOVE it. As a group, we like to be extremely prepared. There's hardly an IP climbing competition where we don't have a couple-three participants, we've got several Team kids, and some of our graduates are on staff at IP working behind the counter or summer camp. Instead of being recognized as an incredible chance to win new members, it felt like we got the 8-year-old birthday party treatment. And for me personally as the only woman in a sea of men and boys, this wasn't my first rodeo, or my 20th - I know how these parties are supposed to work. The central 3 issues were that we didn't know our kids wouldn't get climbing shoes, wouldn't be allowed to boulder, and originally they wanted to charge gym members to be at the party. The staff involved reminded us of their rules on repeat, but did anyone care if our kids had a good time? After a lot of haranguing Manager Ian, we did eventually get everything we needed. But goodness it was awful having to get there. That is two terrible hours of my life I won't be getting back. Not sure how many times Ian used the word "policy" - a dozen? Twenty? The manager didn't give me much of an opportunity to speak. So I'd like to get to have a word right here. No we are not trying to get out of paying. A third of our group was already members and we do pay, every month - year round. It's ridiculous to tell high school students that they cannot boulder, of course this occurred most quickly to the kids themselves and boy they were upset. If there are reasonable items that our group won't be getting like shoes, maybe clearly point out in the literature that everyone needs to bring good ones beforehand. And to the teenagers who were assigned to us - introducing yourself upfront, asking about our goals for the party, and practicing listening and helpfulness instead of rule-reminding would have gone a long, long way.
