Non-receipt of prizes from photo contest

[John Bantin 101]

Whoah. In his support of the contest, Netdoc wrote, "No tickey, no laundry," which is considered to be a racial slur by most Asians. Classy.

 

Off subject, Eric, I thought it interesting that when in conversation with some British tabloid journalists, I mentioned my wife was Asian, they accused me of being a racist! It seems they think Asian is a racist term - which I believe says more about them than me. (By the way, I didn't marry her to teach her a lesson!)

Edited April 13, 2009 by John Bantin

[Drew 0]

Well technically John, I think the objection is the actual mentioning of race vs country of origin . Russians, Uzbeks, Turks, Indians, Mongolians and Chinese are all asian countries. I spent 2 hours on a boat during a memorial service trying to ignore a german woman's annoying insistence that I must have a background more than being american.

 

As for Pete's(NetDoc) remark of chinese immigrant's style of english and insistence of taking Brad's side without even researching the facts, ignorance is pervasive in this world, even in this day and age.

[Nakedwithoutcamera 0]

I was quite surprised by Pete's response as well. Makes me want to rethink where I spend my online free time.

[BDSC 1]

Wouldn't be surprised if Pete and Brad are scrambling to get prizes into everyone's hands that were suppose to have them so they can come back and say, "Problem....there's no problem? Everyone has their prizes. We don't know what you are talking about."

[John Bantin 101]

Well technically John, I think the objection is the actual mentioning of race vs country of origin . Russians, Uzbeks, Turks, Indians, Mongolians and Chinese are all asian countries. I spent 2 hours on a boat during a memorial service trying to ignore a german woman's annoying insistence that I must have a background more than being american.

When she applied for a job once with Marks & Spencer she had to put a tick in a box to indicate ethnic origin. Choices included Asian Chinese, Asian Indian and Asian Other. She ticked Asian Other. She actually comes from that country that lies between Irag and Afghanistan. I can't mention its name in case someone in your country thinks she's from an Evil Empire.

 

My kids, of course, are quite confused!

Edited April 13, 2009 by John Bantin

[Snaphappy 0]

I was quite surprised by Pete's response as well. Makes me want to rethink where I spend my online free time.

 

Come back to D2D Ellen. After all, everyone knows it's the 'sum of all knowledge'! And while we're at it, Wetpixel is 'the sum of all photographic knowledge!' Robyn

[Drew 0]

Pete's silence in the thread is indicative of him actually researching and realizing he goofed. It'll be interesting to see his response since there've been adverse reaction to his comments.

 

When she applied for a job once with Marks & Spencer she had to put a tick in a box to indicate ethnic origin. Choices included Asian Chinese, Asian Indian and Asian Other. She ticked Asian Other. She actually comes from that country that lies between Irag and Afghanistan.

My kids, of course, are quite confused!

IraG? That's racist, John. I'm surprised M&S even bother to separate Chinese and Indian, my god they are both asian... opps.

[JimDeck 3]

I just spoke with Brad briefly about the contest and will speak with him in more detail this weekend at the Bay Area dive show. While Backscatter is a main sponsor of the contest, we do not have any control over the running of the contest or the awarding of prizes. However, I will ensure that the winners of the Backscatter prizes will have them awarded after I meet with Brad this weekend. Rest assured there will be no question about this.

 

Specifically regarding Robyn's situation, I asked Brad what is going on. Brad said that he did not receive a payment from her. On this thread, Robyn confirmed that her card had not been charged. Brad said that as soon he receives the $10 entry fee from Robyn, he will send out the prize. Hopefully this particular issue can be resolved quickly, and Robyn can receive her prize.

 

I've known Brad for a while, and I don't think he is intentionally trying to cheat anyone out of prizes. The prizes are certificates in envelopes that are sitting in a desk drawer that have no value to anyone besides the prize winner. In the past he has always delivered the prizes Backscatter has supplied for previous contests. Obviously, the organization of this contest and the prize distribution was far from optimal, and he needs to take responsibility for that and enact a resolution for the prize winners. I think it is fair to say that if someone who won a prize did not have their entry fee collected (for whatever reason, be it a no fault of their own, or a clerical error, declined card, etc.) that payment of the entry fee now should release their prize. It's not fair to the people who paid an entry fee and did not place in the contest to have someone receive a prize who did not have their fee collected.

 

I hope how this particular contest was handled doesn't deter anyone from entering other photo contests that the sponsors of this contest support. I have not had any problems with other contests regarding prize delivery.

 

Best regards,

 

Jim

[rtrski 20]

Well Pete broke his silence. Fortunately Jim's classy reply helps blunt the deafening sound of stupidity heaping upon stupidity.

 

Going to browse Backscatter's site now that I've cleared out my SB profile. Just giving creds where they're due (and not where they're not).

[Snaphappy 0]

Well Pete broke his silence. Fortunately Jim's classy reply helps blunt the deafening sound of stupidity heaping upon stupidity.

 

Going to browse Backscatter's site now that I've cleared out my SB profile. Just giving creds where they're due (and not where they're not).

 

Yeah, it's not quite the apology I would have expected. Talk about side-stepping responsibilty!

I've actually met Pete on at least two different occasions .....the first being at a SB-sponsored event in Islamorada nearly two years ago, and the second being at the Wild Blue Expo in Dania Beach, FL this past February where I exhibited and sold my photography.

He was very congenial in both instances which made me even more surprised and taken aback by his response on SB.

Hey, everyone has a bad day from time to time and I'll be the first to admit that I've been 'short' with people in the past when I really didn't intend to.

It's times like these that the only right thing to do is say, "Hey I was wrong,,,I'm sorry". It's not all that painful and it really makes you feel good to clear your conscience. Robyn

[Drew 0]

Thanks Jim. I'm quite sure all this drama could've been avoided if he had engaged this incident with a different attitude and tone. It does nothing for the industry in general to have these sort of issues in public but it does seem that quite a few contests have problems with prize giving. It really shouldn't be the responsibility of winners to have to chase organizers for prizes, although I'm sure there are many reasons why this would happen.

[BDSC 1]

Old Pete and Brad could learn a lot from you Jim. Very nice response to the situation. I don't think you ever had to worry about the reputation of your company in all of this but if there was even a hint of anything negative at all by cosponsoring an event with Dive Chronicles, you have laid that to rest.

[Snaphappy 0]

I just spoke with Brad briefly about the contest and will speak with him in more detail this weekend at the Bay Area dive show. While Backscatter is a main sponsor of the contest, we do not have any control over the running of the contest or the awarding of prizes. However, I will ensure that the winners of the Backscatter prizes will have them awarded after I meet with Brad this weekend. Rest assured there will be no question about this.

 

Specifically regarding Robyn's situation, I asked Brad what is going on. Brad said that he did not receive a payment from her. On this thread, Robyn confirmed that her card had not been charged. Brad said that as soon he receives the $10 entry fee from Robyn, he will send out the prize. Hopefully this particular issue can be resolved quickly, and Robyn can receive her prize.

 

I've known Brad for a while, and I don't think he is intentionally trying to cheat anyone out of prizes. The prizes are certificates in envelopes that are sitting in a desk drawer that have no value to anyone besides the prize winner. In the past he has always delivered the prizes Backscatter has supplied for previous contests. Obviously, the organization of this contest and the prize distribution was far from optimal, and he needs to take responsibility for that and enact a resolution for the prize winners. I think it is fair to say that if someone who won a prize did not have their entry fee collected (for whatever reason, be it a no fault of their own, or a clerical error, declined card, etc.) that payment of the entry fee now should release their prize. It's not fair to the people who paid an entry fee and did not place in the contest to have someone receive a prize who did not have their fee collected.

 

I hope how this particular contest was handled doesn't deter anyone from entering other photo contests that the sponsors of this contest support. I have not had any problems with other contests regarding prize delivery.

 

Best regards,

 

Jim

 

 

Thank you Jim for looking into this matter and for offering a reasonable solution to a distressing problem for those who were told they had supposedly won prizes in the above-referenced photo contest(s), only to be let down.

 

I'm one who likes to put mistakes in the past. It's like a former supervisor of mine once told me, "mistakes are an opportunity for improvement." I'm hoping that Brad Nolan (and Pete?) will see it as such.

 

I'm going to contact Brad's office tomorrow and give my cc# (not Amex!) to pay my fees. My prize is supposed to be a 4 night/5 day stay at the Divi Resort in Bonaire. At first I was seeing airfaires of >$1000 RT from S. FL. That, coupled with the fact that I think I'm still responsible to pay for a dive package and food, led me to believe that I wouldn't be able to use my prize.

 

Just today, I learned that I might be able get a flight out of MIA on the new Curacao-based 'Insel Air' for less than $400 RT. If this is the case then I might be able to enjoy my prize. We'll see! I'll post a follow-up on what happens.

Thanks again for all your help, Robyn

[rtrski 20]

Meanwhile, the meltdown continues on the other forum. And to think I tried to be a voice of moderation at one point....(sigh)

 

Robyn: Glad you got the attention you deserved; please let us know how it does work out in the end. I might be interested in entering contests in the future, so would be good to know if ultimately commitments were satisfied. (Jim certainly appears quite on the level, so I'm not questioning the sponsorship in the slightest!)

 

As for the rest, ach, all the drama!! Wonder if I'm the only one deciding SB just ain't worth my time anymore over all this.

[BDSC 1]

Yes. Please let us know how it works out and I do hope you enjoy your prize. I was in Bonaire this past February and the diving was great.

 

As far as the other thread, Pete is now doing everything possible to make himself out to be the victim now and somehow the entire internet world is against him. He's a trip for sure.

[drako 0]

SB tends to have a lot of drama....it has a lot of info. But too many people make it.....conflicted.

[Guest echeng]

Hey guys. I'm really glad this all worked out.

 

I just spoke to Brad, and hope to be able to put all this drama behind us. I had been waiting for (and pushing for) a resolution before committing to doing the film festival presentation this coming Friday night at the Bay Area Dive Show (I just committed).

 

See you Friday night, if you're going!

 

Robyn -- I hope you are able to make the trip to Bonaire.

[BDSC 1]

We need more people like you running these internet sites Eric!

Edited April 16, 2009 by BDSC

[Tom Winters 0]

This was all pretty entertaining. When I was in the dive biz, I dealt with all sorts of people. The vast majority were upfront straight-shooters, but there were plenty of scurrilous types too. The names are different now, although a lot of the same rascals (that's much more polite than referring to them as "weasels" as I used to do) are still out there in the biz in one form or another.

I sure hope this all works out everyone involved, and this guy Brad stops being such a wea.... ooops....rascal. Interesting stuff over there on SB too.

[scott_nielsen 0]

Hey guys. I'm really glad this all worked out.

 

I just spoke to Brad, and hope to be able to put all this drama behind us. I had been waiting for (and pushing for) a resolution before committing to doing the film festival presentation this coming Friday night at the Bay Area Dive Show (I just committed).

 

See you Friday night, if you're going!

 

Robyn -- I hope you are able to make the trip to Bonaire.

 

Eric, you have mail.

[Snaphappy 0]

Hey guys. I'm really glad this all worked out.

 

I just spoke to Brad, and hope to be able to put all this drama behind us. I had been waiting for (and pushing for) a resolution before committing to doing the film festival presentation this coming Friday night at the Bay Area Dive Show (I just committed).

 

See you Friday night, if you're going!

 

Robyn -- I hope you are able to make the trip to Bonaire.

 

 

Thank you for your understanding and support Eric,,,,it's very much appreciated! I know that the other contest winners appreciate it too.

I won't be able to make it to the show this weekend, but I hope you have a great time and please say hello to everyone for me.

I'll post a follow up on what happens with the Bonaire trip.

 

Best Regards,

Robyn

[Nakedwithoutcamera 0]

Take me. I'm always trying to get something for nothing.

[rtrski 20]

Then it's finally over?

 

I see the cowardly f-tard (yes, he has "risen" in my estimation) over on SB left a haughty "I accept your apology, HA" flip-off post AFTER another admin closed the thread. Definitely not going back to SB "evah!"

 

Yeah yeah, I know, no net board really "cares" about losing one member - especially one who wasn't (currently, although I had been in the past) a paying member. But darn sure I'll post all future trip reports etc. here instead and give WP the intertube search traffic for their eyeball/click count.

 

What a maroon.

Edited April 17, 2009 by rtrski

[BDSC 1]

I knew when I made the post that he would probably do that. I had hoped he would see that and think a minute about what he had said and implied about Robyn and her character and apologize to her. But he pretty much showed what an a total jerk he is by getting in the "last word". I would imagine when he was small he was like a little kid that when things didn't go his way, he would pick up his ball and go home.

 

It amazes me how so many people called him out for what he said and yet I became his #1 enemy. But if making me out to be the bad guy to take the heat off him somehow made him feel better about himself, then more power to him. I don't really know how he ever expected anyone to believe that when he made his references to Robyn with terms like "bogus card" "wanting something for nothing" and "probably wouldn't have paid if she had not won" he was only stating facts and meant nothing more.

 

In all honesty, he really is a very pathetic person.

 

Ashley (BDSC)

[Snaphappy 0]

As promised, I'm posting this to let everyone know how things turned out.

 

After speaking with Brad and giving him my MC number instead of the Amex number that was originally accepted, my certificate for the free 4-night stay at the Divi Resort arrived in the mail. Bonnie H. from the reservations dept. at the Divi helped me to build a week-long dive package around the free stay I had won and everything went without a hitch.

 

I returned from my trip a few weeks ago and was it ever a BLAST!

 

Here's a link to my trip report and images if anyone wants to take a peek:

 

Another Vote For The Divi!

 

The moral of the story is that it pays to be persistant. Thank you Bonnie P. for giving me the nudge I needed to pursue this and thank you everyone for your support! Robyn