Complaint Review: LUEHRS IDEAL RIDES - CASEYVILLE Illinois

How can you say that all these ride jocks are on drugs ?    What PROOF do you have ?    Did you ask them to give you a blood test to see if in fact they were on drugs ?    I will admit that there will always be someone that will complain about something about a carnival ; however not ALL complaints are valid .    This company plays here in Missouri and seem to be very nice people .     Just because some people may have blood shot eyes mean NOTHING ALL THE TIME.      Have you ever stood there watching the ride jocks for "hours on end" while they set up the rides ?     You ought to try doing their job sometime ; then you will see just how tired they can be as some rides take at least 6 long hours to set up .      I do not work for any carnival; yet I did back in the 70's and it is NOT easy work ; not for anyone .       Even the ticket sellers get angry and beligerant customers ; as they get accused of ripping off someone .           When that happens the boss will be contacted and their drawer will be autited to find out if in fact the customer has been overcharged.     If that happens ; the ticket seller will be repremanded sternly; and if it happens a 2nd time they will be fired . 

In 2006 I ran the balloon game for luehrs I was the guy with the radio on my name is Rick and I know for a fact none of the games are rigged! I have given every game operator a break and I worked for luehrs for 10 yrs. It's all about skill. If you don't have skills you prob won't win. Placed them tags many times on that board and know for a fact there are jumbo tags! Bb game takes patience and skill yes it van be done seen it happen several times when I was giving breaks there. Ask anybody in belleville they can tell you it can be done. Luehrs ideal rides is at the utmost respectable carnival in the industry. For 10 years they was my family and I still think of them as family. Don't like their prices try any state fair in the country you won't find a better show this small with a better track record then theirs! Ask them how many awards they have won for industry excellence! They have the nicest equipment and the most well trained staff! I know cause I was one of the well trained staff.

My name is Chris, a former employee of L.I.R. I speak out against this report because it is false in every aspect it claims. I was employed by the company at the time that this gentleman apparently had an issue with them. As a matter of fact I played Belleville, Illinois that year WITH L.I.R. The water games, they are fun to play but unfortunately DO require a small, minute bit of skill. One just cant aim in the general area of the targets and assume that the water is going to spray on it. The targets are pressure sensitive so depending on how much of the stream you get on the target is how well your marker is going to move. The Machine Guns, another fun game and again a challenge that requires SKILL. Like any other weapon, be it an Air gun, maching gun, pistol, rifle, etc. The BB guns used in this game have a small bit of a recoil. ( Did you expect to fire 100 bb's in 5 - 10 seconds from a compressor without any? ) The barrels are NOT bent in any way as a matter of fact the barrels are checked each time the game is set up and torn down and sometimes as often as every day to make sure they are clear of any obstructions and in good working order. The balloon dart game, always a classic on any fair ground. Just because you couldn't find the Jumbo Tags doesn't mean they aren't there. Did you expect to hit every dart on a Jumbo Tag? There are small, medium, large, and jumbo's. Every prize shown MUST by L.I.R. Rules and by Law must have a tag on the board that allows you to win it. Again this is a game of chance. Logic states there are going to be more Large tags than Jumbo's. More Medium tags than Larges. More Small than Medium. That is almost common sense if you have been to any carnival or fair. As far as the Owner of L.I.R "ALWAYS" being on the lot, that is quite amusing. Andy, Joe, and Jim are not always there. Sometimes they are at the next lot laying out the schematic for the setup. Trust me these rides and games don't place themselves that strategically in order to get them all on one lot. Sometimes they just need a night off. Like everyone else they cant work 7 days a week and still maintain a cohesive work environment. Prices, Ok they are a little steep. Show me a carnival that doesn't have high prices. Have you seen the price of fuel lately? The rides arent run on City Power, they would blow every transformer within a 10 mile area because of the overload. The rides, games, concessions, all are powered by portable industrial power generators that have to be fueled with diesel. Now regular fuel prices are high enough diesel fuel is outrageous and each generator requires upwards of a thousand gallons of fuel. As far as rudeness from the employees? Maybe one, tops two employees got tired of hearing false accusations and complaints. I know from personal experience from getting rude with a Customer ONE time, ( that's all it took for me to learn my lesson ) That being rude to ANY customer for ANY reason was looked upon with the greatest of dissatisfaction by ALL of the owners and managers. People that get rude with the customers, even if the employee was right get very stiff penalties, up to and including termination in some cases. This is my Rebuttal to Jody from Las Vegas, Nevada Feel free to e-mail me for any follow up of my statement.

Luehrs has been coming to my home town for about 50 years now. Just because you aren't winning a game does not mean it is a rip off. These people are just doing their jobs and trying to make a living. They have no control over your bad luck. I have seen many people win at the games you are suggesting ripped you off. Although there have been a few "bad apples" over the years (you hire people and don't always get the best) for the most part they are honest, hard working people. Luehrs has always gone above and beyond to make sure the rides are safe and the games honest. If you feel you aren't get what you pay for there is a simple solution. Don't play. Oh, and if the ride prices are too high for you, stay home. I'm sure no one forced you to attend the carnival in the first place.

I'd like to clarify a few things in this report. Full disclosure: I grew up on a carnival. I know how they work. The popular idea that carnival games are "rip-offs" is largely a thing of the past (can't speak for every show, but all the ones I've seen have learned that it isn't worth the time or effort to "rip people off" when you can just set up a business model where people win AND you make money). The "water game" that Jody and family weren't "winning" is a race game: 3 or more people pay to play at the same time and race against one another, the winner gets the prize. How can this game be "rigged", if somebody is winning every time? Further, this kind of game is the most popular at any fair, and takes in the most money (more people play at once, more money per game, no chance of even feeling like you're getting "ripped off" as you are competing with fellow fair goers, etc.). The carnival prices the prizes to be a set percentage of their gross, taking the prize as one of the "costs" to the game. Simply put: If, say 3 people pay $1 to play the game ($3 gross), the carnival wants the prize to be worth around $1 ($3 - $1 = $2 net). The shoot out the star game is a carnival classic. I've seen "exposes" on TV where a trained marksman tries to win the game and can't, because the guns are "inaccurate". The short answer here is that the guns aren't inaccurate, they are simply inconsistent. Meaning: it isn't a rifle, it's a bb gun. People win this game all the time, and they do so by shooting short, controlled bursts. It's hard to do (the paper target moves as the bb's hit it, etc.), but it's do-able. The balloon game is about as old as the carnival itself. There are normally anywhere from 50 to 200 balloons on the board, I'd be curious to know how Jody was so sure that there wasn't a jumbo tag on the board. The fact is that this is one of the easiest games for local authorities to spot check (and they do). There is ALWAYS a jumbo tag. There might only be one. Just like there might only be one rubber ducky with the magic number on it. General rule of thumb: The bigger the prize is, the harder it's going to be to win. If you see a game where the prize for winning is a new TV or a moped or a huge stuffed animal, then you should know that it's going to be really hard to win. The bigger the prize, the more difficult it will be to win. Period. NOT because they are ripping you off, but because it's a percentage game. Prizes are a cost, and they want that cost to be a certain percentage of the gross (as I said). In fact, I've seen situations where the owners have made certain games EASIER to win when their percentage of prizes won was too low! Carnivals win in the long run in the same way that any other business does: by providing a quality product and making sure the customer is satisfied. Luehrs' Ideal Rides is one of the most respected shows in the business, and for good reason. Again, I don't speak for all carnivals, but this one is a good one. P.S. If the rides are too expensive, don't ride them. Or go on one of the days/nights where they have special ticket pricing or wrist bands. Most every fair has these kinds of promotions now. If they don't, it's not the carnival's choice, it's the fair board (whoever is putting on/sponsoring the carnival). Complain to them.

I have been in the amusement industry for over twenty years. Just to clarify a few of the ignorant comments above Did you know that you are ten times more likely to be injured on a ride at an amusement park as a carnival?ont take my word for it Did you know that carnival rides are inspected bytate inspectors, Insurance inspectors, Show inspectors before you get on them? Did you know that before a game at a carnival can operate that most cities police departments inspect them? Before you bad mouth carnivals you was at. You's better get you's fact straight gomer.

I spend my hole paycheck and all i one was a little stufed toy. what a ripoff.

I spend my hole paycheck and all i one was a little stufed toy. what a ripoff.

I spend my hole paycheck and all i one was a little stufed toy. what a ripoff.

I spend my hole paycheck and all i one was a little stufed toy. what a ripoff.

i know alot of carnival workers an there all on meth n they put them rides together, thats why i wont ride any of the rides i see with this carnival named b&b where the rollercoaster went off the track an the carnival workers looked so high on drugs i would stay away from the rides they are not safe next time look into there eyes they been up for days an dont care about safty..an as for the gamees alot of them are rigged i know so, just becarefull alot of these ride boys we call them are fellons an are running away from the law think twice before you put your love ones on one of those rides.... ive seen it happen at delamr an pomona just be verry carefull dealing with these people they are con artist out to make a buck

i know alot of carnival workers an there all on meth n they put them rides together, thats why i wont ride any of the rides i see with this carnival named b&b where the rollercoaster went off the track an the carnival workers looked so high on drugs i would stay away from the rides they are not safe next time look into there eyes they been up for days an dont care about safty..an as for the gamees alot of them are rigged i know so, just becarefull alot of these ride boys we call them are fellons an are running away from the law think twice before you put your love ones on one of those rides.... ive seen it happen at delamr an pomona just be verry carefull dealing with these people they are con artist out to make a buck

i know alot of carnival workers an there all on meth n they put them rides together, thats why i wont ride any of the rides i see with this carnival named b&b where the rollercoaster went off the track an the carnival workers looked so high on drugs i would stay away from the rides they are not safe next time look into there eyes they been up for days an dont care about safty..an as for the gamees alot of them are rigged i know so, just becarefull alot of these ride boys we call them are fellons an are running away from the law think twice before you put your love ones on one of those rides.... ive seen it happen at delamr an pomona just be verry carefull dealing with these people they are con artist out to make a buck

i know alot of carnival workers an there all on meth n they put them rides together, thats why i wont ride any of the rides i see with this carnival named b&b where the rollercoaster went off the track an the carnival workers looked so high on drugs i would stay away from the rides they are not safe next time look into there eyes they been up for days an dont care about safty..an as for the gamees alot of them are rigged i know so, just becarefull alot of these ride boys we call them are fellons an are running away from the law think twice before you put your love ones on one of those rides.... ive seen it happen at delamr an pomona just be verry carefull dealing with these people they are con artist out to make a buck

LISTEN HERE, LUEHRS DOES NOT RIP YOU OFF. THEY ARE ONE OF MANY CARNIVALS NOWADAYS WHO ARE LEGIT. I'M AN EX-EMPLOYEE, AND I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT NONE OF THEIR GAMES ARE RIGGED. I USED TO WORK THE BALLOON GAME AND I KNOW FOR A FACT THEIR ARE JUMBOS UP THERE. I USED TO PUT THE TAGS ON THE BOARD MYSELF. AS FOR THE BB GUN GAME THEIR IS NOT NOTHING WRONG WITH THE GUNS, I'VE SEEN ALOT OF HAPPY FACES LEAVING THAT GAME WITH PRIZES. AS FOR THE WATER GAMES, IF YOU DONT HIT THE TARGET YOU AINT GONNA WIN,THE TICKET PRICES AINT THAT EXTREME, AND NEITHER IS THE FOOD, TRY GOING TO A STATE FAIR JUST ONCE AND CHECK OUT THE PRICES. NONE OF THE EMPLOYEES ARE RUDE, THEY ARE VERY WELL TRAINED IN THEIR JOBS AND CUSTOMER FRIENDLY. WHAT PART OF VEGAS DO YOU LIVE IN? WOULD LIKE TO MEET WITH YA.