The Detroit Auto Show’s Charity Preview went well Friday night. But there was one big hiccup: coat check.
The coat check line took hours, attendees said. As police stepped in to assist employees with coat returns, some people even lost their jackets — some made of expensive fur — and others lost their tempers.
The charity preview is an annual feature of the show that hosts high-profile stakeholders in government, nonprofits and the auto industry. The event, which many refer to as “auto prom,” emphasizes high fashion. So, with the show returning to January after experimenting with shows in summer and fall, attendees dressed warmly. Of course, they brought coats.
Lots of them.
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Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, a former Michigan State representative and a member of the Detroit School Board, was in attendance. She called the coat check situation “pandemonium.”
With police officers shouting, people crowded around the coat check desk, clamoring for their belongings. Workers hadn’t been putting coats on racks in any particular order, which added to the confusion.
“It didn’t seem to be a system. I didn’t see any signs. There was no organization,” Gay-Dagnogo said, adding that she waited nearly an hour to retrieve her coat and boots.
“I was so done. I couldn’t believe it. My phone had died. I had no coat. I put my boots in my sleeves so I had no shoes,” Gay-Dagnogo said. “I had a friend that came to pick me up. He was frustrated because the police were telling them to circle around. He’s asking me, am I coming out? I’m like ‘I can’t come out. I don’t have a coat! I don’t have shoes!'”
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Gay-Dagnogo said initially she was impressed by the customer service at the coat check when she dropped her belongings off. She said she met a young woman named Shay with whom she was so impressed she asked for her name.
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“When I came back, I didn’t see Shay,” Gay-Dagnogo said, laughing.
“People were just waiting there so perplexed, confused, annoyed and it was just it was mayhem,” Gay-Dagnogo said. “But it’s so sad because it was such an amazing event.”
The charity event, Gay-Dagnogo said, was lovely. The coat check fiasco was a small stain on an overall bright night.
“Despite the chaos, I mean, it was a great event,” Gay-Dagnogo said. “But I don’t know who’s in charge of the coat system. They need to have a meeting ASAP to review what happened.”
She added one more thing:
“I do have to give a shoutout to Shay,” Gay-Dagnogo said. “She was a sweetheart when I first met her. We need more Shays out there.”
Officials at Huntington Place did not immediately return Free Press phone calls or emails requesting comment.
News reporter Liam Rappleye can be reached at LRappleye@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Auto Show coat check becomes chaos