No Shows

[Fries-With-That]

I have just been reading the threads in relation to items people are trying to give away.
It must be very frustrating to offer someone something for free, and then for that person not to show up at the appointed time.
I notice on sites where people sell things there is a feedback section where people can offer their opinion on any particular member they deal with.
I personally think it would be a good idea if as members we had the same facility, the feedback would only be available for viewing to existing members Members would then be able to see if the person offering to take something off their hands was a persistant time waster and deal with them accordingly. The knock on effect of this would be that members would think twice before asking for everything that comes available. They would be forced to evaulate their own position when it comes to asking for things from other people and indeed wasting other peoples time and insulting their (the doners) generous nature. I have seen several items I would love to have but have resisted the urge to add my tuppeny hapenny request to any list because I feel strongly about the fact that for whatever reason it just might not suit me tomorrow or the day after to collect the said item.
I am sure people have missed the chance to get an item they really needed because they like me may have resisted the temptation to ask for something that has been already promised.
I'm in a great situation in that I can check in and out as often as I like, but what about the person that may only be able to check out the site every few days.
Sorry for being so long winded about this point, I feel strongly about time wasters.
I wonder how many of the no show members will respond to this post...remember member if you can phone or private message to ask for something , you can surely have the consideration to phone or private message when you lose interest(for whatever reason) in the item.

........Don't be a no-show........Let the Doner know...............

Still watching how things work before I dip my toe in and offer several items.

Fries-With-That.

[tiddleye]

Here Here, I second that. It's not something for nothing on these sites. Treat your fellow "Jumbletown Citizens" with courtesy and respect..........Manners cost nothing!!

Tid

[Chris P]

I have just been reading the threads in relation to items people are trying to give away.
It must be very frustrating to offer someone something for free, and then for that person not to show up at the appointed time.
I notice on sites where people sell things there is a feedback section where people can offer their opinion on any particular member they deal with.
I personally think it would be a good idea if as members we had the same facility, the feedback would only be available for viewing to existing members Members would then be able to see if the person offering to take something off their hands was a persistant time waster and deal with them accordingly.

Hi Fries-With-That,

Thanks for your comments and analysis. A feedback section has been requested before but we decided not to run with the idea for the following reasons:

(1) Both Givers AND Takers can sometimes be what you term "time-wasters" (your post suggests that it is primarily Takers). The latter's frustration with the former led JumbleTown Admin to introduce an Admin Archive section (invisible to Members) to counter the effect of late or non-respondents. You will also notice that we sometimes lock/close threads that have not been updated or responded to by Givers. Givers should respond (hopefully within three days) but there are many reasons why this may not be possible -- computer/internet trouble, variable access to a computer, personal reasons etc.

With regard to Takers "time-wasting" (not responding/not collecting etc.): Overall, this is not a big problem (look at all the items marked "Taken"). One must remember that the Giving and Taking process may appear quite straightforward but there are umpteen reasons why it could be delayed or even fall through. JumbleTown's PM and Public Forum system facilitate the process but we haven't come up with a "fix" for that most puzzling of things, namely, Human Nature. (Don't worry, we're working on it!)

Setting up a section where JumbleTowners post comments about the "performance" of their fellow JumbleTowners seems sensible (and is technically very easy to do), but it smacks somewhat of "Name and Shame" syndrome. Obviously a Rogues' Gallery would be offset by one that indicated JumbleTowners who responded quickly and collected items in a jiffy, but do we really need to be praised publicly for our good manners and/or alacrity?

Having said that, JumbleTown Admin's main reason for not providing a Feedback/Response section is that people might be too quick to pass judgement and post up some feedback about a fellow JumbleTowner. A simple example: I'm due to collect an item from you at a certain time. I can't make it because of an emergency/tragedy of some sort. So I don't collect, and you post up a comment about me in the feedback section. I respond to you later outlining the reason for my non-arrival (family-death, accident, no money for bus/taxi/van etc). How do you feel about your comments in the feedback section now? Not too good! Now, I'm not being melodramatic here -- emails and PMs to JumbleTown Admin and some posts on the Public Forum have made us aware of such cases/situations.

Finally, I realise that most time-wasting occurs because people forget to call or lose interest, but these folk are a small minority. JumbleTown Admin is willing to tolerate (and cajole) them, and we hope that JumbleTown Members will do likewise.

Regards
Chris P
(Admin)

[Aceshigh]

i can see both sides of these comments and like always as in human nature people will be very quick to point out the bad in everyone else even if the reasons behind the no show are a valid reason and as much as people want to point this out they never stop and think about sending information about how polite and punctual or even honest and reliable a giver or taker is but also if say i was to arrange a time and date for a friend or family to collect or even give an item and a no show or problem occurred then who would be the one to get a bad name it would be me so it is hard to keep a true account of what is really happening so the name and shame way at this small scale really could be very damaging to this fantastic site
i must admit that of all the items i have acquired so far be they for myself family or friends the givers have all been great and as i have to travel a fair distance for most items it is nice to be offered refreshment people can also be very hospitable which is very nice to see as after all i am a complete stranger being asked to enter your home
great site keep up the good work and i will continue to advertise this fact
thanx
wayne