Been asked to be on local tv to address couple lost in maze & having to call police

[wickedfarmer]

Making national news is a corn maze (NOT MINE) where couple with young kids had to call police to get out. Local tv and radio know how I operate with my system of designing a maze TWICE the size of the one making national news. Case of idiot farmer/operator who had no system for patrolling...poor design of maze for policing. Quote from operator was something like "we warn people not to enter to close to sunset and figure 45 minutes to get through it" means they have NO security in the maze. Several at Transworld in past have said I should put on seminar; as they learned more from me at the bar than the seminar they attended a few years ago. I have offered before; but I have stepped on some big toes in industry. My system of design using (4) 18 foot tall towers for maze cops and forgetting about the national maze cutting services ...I will throw out again as offer to do seminar.

Would cover maze design, patrolling, safety, and how it all ties together. And how to make maze flow fun...not long boring trails like many national companies cut to make a big pretty picture.

Wicked Farmer
Bestmaze Corn Maze

[HauntedPaws]

Who's toes would you step on the scarecrows?

[drfrightner]

I saw the video it was pretty funny... it brings light to the corn maze industry.

[wickedfarmer]

yeah...bad light

Thats why tv & radio have ben emailing and calling me today. Thankfully they know this would not happen at my place. They know about the almost exact same incident at a maze a bout 10 miles from me a few years ago. I will be interviewed on radio and tv in Lansing tommorrow over this ordeal 500 miles away; calming peoples fears during heart of season.

I attend a big 3 day Womens Expo in Lansing and Grand Rapids during early spring. People have a real fear of going to a maze and not being able to get out (then again some people are afraid of clowns too). When I say "we have towers and can see you; just wave if you need help" they decide to give us a try. This natioan wide news story will only add fuel to the fire.

So what about it Larry? Are you the one to talk to about me doing a seminar on how to avoid this? People are afraid they will get mugged in a corn maze as well since no one is around like this maze operation in Mass. The maze company that cut the maze based in Kansas said they have never heard of any problems like this before. Well; that is nothing but what comes from the west end of a bull facing the sunrise. They are just trying to simply forget their systrem has major flaws and hope problem goes away.

Wicked Farmer

[HauntedPaws]

I bet your see an uptick in patrons after ur tv/radio.

[wickedfarmer]

WFMK radio personality today "You couldn't pay me to go to a corn maze"

Driving home from interview scanned other stations in area. And WFMK 99.1 FM morning guy said the above....he is afraid he would never get out. This is the frenzy going around the country now. I am on the offense now calling tv and rado stations in area. Very possible tv cameras will be filming from my towers showing people there is a better way to operate a maze this weekend. Idea is being kicked around in newsroom now. If it wasn't for the Michigan vs. Michigan State University football game this week AND Tigers playing they WOULD be filming for sure.

[JamBam]

Use the PR opportunity wisely

Wicked Farmer you are doing right in your reaction. Make sure you wear a shirt with your maze name or website near you collar so you get free plugs. Keep talking like the nascar guys (except jr) mentioning your maze name and thread it in nearly every sentence so they can't edit it out easily. Use it as the chance to talk about how the getting lost is controlled and all the things your maze has to help the customers.

When we ran our maze, we had corn cops as well. Towers that the corn cops frequently stood on as well as making a sweep completely through the maze every so often. The corn cops also had maps with them to help if needed. And obviously the maze in the media didn't do a final sweep through their maze to make sure everyone was out. Of course any cars left in the parking area should tip them off as well.


On another media potential is bad things happening.
One night we had three kids that were running through the maze and not interested in leaving soon finally came out after we coralled them and directed them to the exits. As I was getting ready to leave I noticed that it seemed that they had turned into the oncoming lane of the divided highway. As I drove in that direction on my way home i came upon a headon crash two miles away in the small town. Sure enough it was them. They hit two cars and fortunately no one was hurt seriously. They admitted they did it on a lark to have fun. Being my first year I dreaded the news getting the story but it was never associated with the maze. That would have been hard to talk to the media about and keep the spin positive.

Have a great season!

[Jim Warfield]

"The Boogie Man"

Could be anywhere. This is the new educational message (as if 9-11 and every screaming criminal headline hasn't already given us this lesson a million times?)
20 yrs. ago people were sending their 19 yr. olds to college campuses and the colleges had very little security , so the muggers , rapists had to "Educate" the educators that bad things can happen anywhere.
Balancing between the fantasy of "it can't happen to me or can't happen here" versus paranoia making one's stomach eaten alive by it's own acid levels is the trick.
Of course putting large numbers of people out of work and out of their homes will not help maintain the quality of life we would all hope to enjoy, as Police funding drops. Where is my helicopter to whisk me away to my well appointed mountaintop retreat?

[Allen H]

Wicked Farmer- Larry is not the guy to talk to. Contact transworld and talk to Jen Braverman. She will be less busy this time of year than Ben.

[wickedfarmer]

Will do.

Will contact her. And go Rangers!

Wicked Farmer

[wickedfarmer]

Had another news interview

Did another interview for televison station yesterday. They actually climbed up on one of our towers and shot footage of how our design methods can keep crowds under control so they do not destroy the maze and keep people from developing the fear they will never get out. Did nice job conveying YOU ARE LOST! but help is optional from above.

Oops didn't mean to get religious there...just kind of came out that way.

Wicked Farmer

[chuck weber]

TV news around here said................

they were literally 20 feet from the exit. thank you for hurting me. great public realtions, though........

[wickedfarmer]

Thats right...20 feet

They were 20 feet from the exit when the police finally got there; found the operator; and informed the operator there was someone going through a panic attack inside the unstaffed maze.

People are lumping the family into same catagory as lady who spilled coffee on herself and made national news. "What were they thinking bringing a newborn into the maze!" Well...I have baby strollers go through the nonhaunted part of field every day & night we are open. Sunday night over our radios came the information that somebody lost their mentally handicapped brother in the maze. Spotlights immediately strated combing the maze from our towers. The guy was found; enjoying cider & donuts at picnic table with another member of their party...and message relayed back to the sister by one of our maze cops. Another few minutes I could have had police cars rolling in if lady had not got fast response to her "lost mentally handicapped brother" and dialed 911. But we were prepared with a system in place. And it averted another black eye on the industry. I guarantee you if we had not been ready and police had been called after several minutes tearing at a sisters fears of not finding her brother...this incident would have went national more than the one in Mass.

Wicked Farmer