[e_tar]

Curious..

Do your friends and family expect to play on your field for free? I was just thinking about when you tell people, they all seem to think that since you own a field and they know you, they'd be entitled to free play..

Any of you have stories about this?

[clarkematthew1]

I know where I reff, family and workers get in without having to pay the field fee. But thats it and the field fee is $15. They still have to buy paint and pay for the rental if needed

[Aut0c()cker4l1f3]

yeah all of the employees at our store and field get free entry to play. but everything else they have to pay for

[e_tar]

Well of course employees get to play for free. It's a given. The salaries are not great, but saving money by getting free play is THE major plus.

[American Paintball]

Its a fine line when you own a field. You want to let all your friends and family play for free but once you go down that road its hard to come back. People get use to playing for free real quick and get upset when you start charging. Plus where do you draw the line on the "friends"? Is it someone you know, someone you hangout with, went to school with? I personally don't do it and I would not suggest it to other fields unless its a special occasion or they are a huge field and can afford to do it.

[raehl]

If letting people play for free isn't a good thing for your business, change your pricing so it is.

- Chris

[rcontrera]

We hate to make money off of our friends,
but we took a survey and discovered ...

Our enemies don't come here!

[generalee72]

Well without going off into some long listing of "what-ifs".

At the very least they would pay:
Friends - paint at retail price
Family - paint at a slight* markup from cost (*slight being relative to what my normal markup is)


A lot of the situation would be dependent on what type of playing experience is provided, and how many "friends" you have. If I do ever make the opportunity to own a field I "plan" to develop a membership system where different people have different levels of membership (silver/gold/platinum) that provide different levels of benefits. (from free/discount entry to paint discounts, or special play days) That will probably include a friends/family tier that would provide what I listed above.

[Carnagge]

Shoot them like cheaters...

shoot a cheater until they come out...

shoot a freeloader until they pay up.