Range Officer is a pretty thankless job, except for the other pretty ACTIVE members of a club. Normally it is a job only the most active and "invested" people who frequent a range are interested at all in doing. I never heard of one who received any significant compensation other than the opportunity to go to the next step involvement in shooting, shooting sports, and his own local community of shooters.
May be because the RO given the responsibility of seeing the facility is run safely and in the manner desired by the people most invested in maintaining it is also a little more concerned about it than the average first timer most concerned where he can rip off a mag or two in a hurry and the cheapest. May that might be a reason a few people don't like them. People want to use a range like it is their own back yard and the RO wants them to use it like they are guests at a PUBLIC facility shared by other people.
This! And:
Reasons people get expelled and or ranges get shut down:
Noise that upsets the consciousness of the average person ie. rapid fire, auto fire
Rounds that leave the range ie. ignoring berms or baffles
Lead contamination/exposure ie. eating, drinking on the line or inside the indoor range
Death or injury of any kind
Horseplay/safety violations ie. guys on lane 1 acting stupid and reported by the guys on another lane
I shot my first match in 1957! I've been on the BOD, RO/RSO/Match Director of at least 5 clubs/ranges in 2 states. I've personally seen 5 ranges shut down for the very reasons listed above. One of the clubs I currently belong to is under scrutiny by the EPA and OSHA for poor lead mitigation/management! People not following best practices! Other ranges in the area are likewise under scrutiny for lead mitigation issues.
Keeping ranges open is a delicate balance of "having fun" and public perception! All it takes is one person highly motivated to pursue closing down a range and they will prevail or cost the club/range thousands in litigation expenses!
Granted there is no excuse for "range Nazis" but put yourself in the RO/RSO/Match Directors shoes and imagine the responsibility they have to the property, membership and public!
Have fun be safe and volunteer and introduce kids to the shooting sports!
Smiles,