I certainly didn't get the feeling that this was a prejudicial
distinction. Having worked on both the security guard and curatorial
sides of things, it's a fact that guards (by design and by necessity)
are more visible to the gallery visitors, and more likely to be offered
a tip. Also, I fail to see how the recognition that guards are on the
>receiving< end of tip offers (there was no suggestion that the guards
were/are soliciting tips, and I very much doubt that this was the case)
can be taken as any kind of negative reflection on the guards
themselves.
I'm sure the museums that employ guards would love to be able to pay
them better, but that's not much of an economic possibility right now
(see the recent threads on finding museum employment). Many museums
can't afford to pay the directors and curators (in the increasingly-slim
percentage of museums where these two roles aren't combined in the same
person) a "proper salary," much less "...dinner parties [and] business
trips all over the world." The only time I've had to provide security
guards (as a condition of hosting an exhibit), I've had to rely on our
dedicated corps of volunteers, and draw on already-overworked staff from
other departments--finding a wad of cash to pay any kind of salary to
security staff just wasn't in the cards.
------------------------------------------------------------
Tim McShane, Assistant--Cultural History
Medicine Hat Museum and Art Gallery
1302 Bomford Crescent S.W.
Medicine Hat, AB T1A 5E6
(403) 502-8587
[log in to unmask]
>>> [log in to unmask] 5/14/2004 11:47:25 PM >>>
On 14 May 2004 at 8:20, Sue Bodemer wrote:
> Hi!
>
> What do ya'll tell your staff (especially security guards) about
tips? Have
> they been offered to them by visitors? Are they allowed to accept
them?
> What if the visitor INSISTS?
Dear Sue Bodemer,
Interesting question, even though I really do not like the
'especially security guards' specification. How about curators and
museum directors with their dinner parties, business trips all over
the world, free catalogues and books, gifts by artists, and their
pleasant annual income ... ?
Start paying your guards a proper salary, put up a sign 'no tips' at
the entrance, and especially at the cloak room of your museum, and
this question will become obsolete.
Why not develop a 'no tips' policy in your museum without sending
this prejudiced suggestion about your guards on Museum-L for the
global museum community to read?
Ton Cremers
_____________________________
http://www.museum-security.org
http://www.cpprot.net
http://www.adviesconsortium.net
All our outgoing mails are checked for viruses.
________________________
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail
message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should
read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message
to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read
"Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
Disclaimer: The information transmitted is intended only for the
addressee and may contain confidential, proprietary and/or privileged
material. Any unauthorized review, distribution or other use of or
the taking of any action in reliance upon this information is
prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender
and delete or destroy this message and any copies
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
