If you can keep a secret, read on ... (If not, no worries, catch ya tomorrow!)
In my sparsely spare time, I help my lady rescue abandon and outdoor felines. It's everyone's hope that engaging in such activity would assist me in being a more compassionate human. We'll see what happens.
Today's cat rescue adventure involved driving to a local pet store to check in on the kittens my lady rescued from the city streets of Rochester. According to the rescue organization's most recent Facebook post and associated comments, the event was to be held today from 1200h-1400h.
Upon arriving at the pet store, we headed to the back of the store where all the rescued furballs can be found. Usually, there are a bunch of happy people and cute fur babies on display for adoption.
You can pick the cats up, cuddle, nuzzle, and see if their purr-motor works (some do not). Today there was nothing. No cats in need of rescue or helpful humans from the rescue organization.
After scratching our heads for a few moments, my lady double-checked the Facebook post and we indeed were at the right place at the right time. There were even a bunch of supportive comments on the post announcing today's event.
We proceeded to the front of the pet store to inquire on the event. That's when we spoke with Jen, a pet store employee.
In short Jen told us, "a bunch of interested people showed up and nobody from the adoption agency is here. No call, no show!" You could tell Jen was annoyed and for a good reason.
Why am I telling you the story above?
Because if something unexpected happens with your event, where are people going to find an update? Are they going to Facebook, Twitter, or your event website? Maybe you're going to send a text message or email. Perhaps it's all the above. (And it should be.)
Just imagine if someone showed up to your event and nothing was going on and nobody to be found. It's frustrating to say the least and a waste of people's time.
The above story is an example of how not effectively updating people wanting to attend your event can damage the reputation of your event and your organization.
If people lose faith in your organization, are they going to spend their hard-earned money to support your cause? Probably not.
Regardless of how big or small your event, please make sure you have a contingency and communication plan in place ready to go a moment's notice. It doesn't always have to be complicated.
With the cat rescue event above, a simple update to the organization's Facebook post would have helped.