The International Amphicar Owners Club has an opinion about charging for
rides. Although we certainly will not try to tell you what you can do with
your Amphi in a private venture, all IAOC members are bound by the pledge on
our Membership Application form.
http://www.amphicar.com/2009_IAOC_Membership_Ap.pdf
<blocked::
http://www.amphicar.com/2009_IAOC_Membership_Ap.pdf>
At the bottom of the form, Section (5) states:
I AGREE THAT I WILL NOT CHARGE FOR RIDES WHILST AT IAOC ORGANIZED EVENTS.
Again, what you do privately is your own business, but, at IAOC events,
there should be no ride charges, solicitations or inducements for tips or
donations.
Ed Price
IAOC Membership Registrar
El Cajon, CA USA
WB6WSN
1961 Amphicar 770
1987 MB 420SEL
_____
From: chasgould [mailto:]
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2010 7:57 PM
To: edprice@cox.net
Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-20836] Amphicar for rent
I just want to clarify my own previous post.
Although I feel strongly about what I wrote, I want to distinguish the
scenario which I described, from the business proposal that Paul
posted. Paul is proposing a creative, well thought out business plan
which may or may not work depending on a number of factors including
liability exposure, insurance costs, organization details, and
cooperation of other Amphicar owners, as well as supply and market
demand.
Although I have my concerns with the feasibility and whether it could
be profitable, I have no gripe with his proposal, because it is above
board with full disclosure, and he undertakes to address all of the
aspects and costs of his business proposal himself.
I also agree that the Amphicar has tremendous marketing value, and
that it creates incredible interest, and draw from the general public,
and as such, would be an asset to any company that desires to increase
its visibility or income by capitalizing on this popularity and on the
novelty of the Amphicar.
I think that Paul's idea is quite brilliant, although I do have
concerns with the practicality of carrying it out.
My gripe is with people who scheme to make a profit without full
disclosure to the people who are hosting the event, and to the victims
who climbed into the car thinking that they were being offered a free
ride, and then surprising them with a fee charged, or guilting them
into making a "contribution" especially after they are helplessly
stranded at sea in the owner's Amphicar.
I also resent that the organizers, whether it be me, or another
private host, or even the club, have absorbed all of the expense and
aggravation of organizing the event, and providing the venue and the
spectators, and then the Amphi entrepreneur solicits or scams the
hosts guests for a fee to profit or reduce their own costs to attend
the event. The matter is even worse when those same individuals balk
at the registration fee for the event that provided this captive
audience of spectators that they are charging for rides.
If a participant wants to charge for Amphi rides, and asks the host of
the venue for permission to do so, and then posts a clearly visible
sign with posted prices and details of the rides for fees, I would
have no problem (even though I would not likely give that permission
at my own event, as I prefer to have the spectators ride for free). My
gripe is only with the deceptive and concealed nature of the charged
services.
Just my 2 cents worth, and my desire to clarify my objection, not to
the concept of charging for rides (although I would never choose to do
it), but rather my objection to deceiving people into paying for rides
without disclosing that to them before they climbed on board.
Chas
On Jul 26, 2010, at 10:28 PM, chasgould wrote:
Quote:
> I could not agree more! I really feel that something huge is lost when
> you start charging for these rides.
> We used to host the swim-in meets here in Boston several years ago,
> and at one of the last meets that we hosted, we were all giving rides
> to hordes of happy and thrilled spectators. After a while, I was
> surprised to see a large group of our spectators all walking away from
> our group in a pack.
> I approached them to ask why they were leaving, and after some
> reluctance, they explained to me that two of the people in our group
> had lured several them into the Amphicars for rides, and once they
> were out on the lake, they were "advised" that it was customary to tip
> the drivers and owners of the cars. When asked what would be
> appropriate, they were told that $20.00 per person, per ride, was a
> proper amount for the tip. These families who had so appreciated being
> offered rides in the Amphicars, now felt that they were being held
> hostage for a $60.00 to $80.00 shakedown, and they were all leaving in
> a hurry.
> Not only did it really piss me off that these people were charging my
> guests for rides at our event, and did it sour me on hosting the
> Amphicar event, but these people exposed me to liability by charging
> for rides at an event where I had signed forms swearing that no fees
> were being charged for rides in the cars.
> Curiously, these same two parties were the only guests who complained
> about our registration fee. One of these people later boasted that he
> had made enough money charging for rides, to cover his travel expenses
> to attend the event. I was not happy about this experience.
> Chas
>
> On Jul 26, 2010, at 9:47 PM, DrNoose wrote:
>
>
> Quote:
> > Hmmm...I was always under the impression that free rides for people
> > was part of the Amphicar Code of Honor (unwritten of course). Seems
> > like once you start charging, then you lose part of the "Hey this
> > cool guy at the lake gave me a ride in a car boat" to just being a
> > miniature Duck tour guide. Also, usually no complaints when it is
> > free!
> >
> > My $.02 worth, and darn well worth it!
> >
> > Dan
> > 1964 "Das Boot"
> >
> >
>
>
