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I find it best to be honest and straight-forward...and always but the "blame" on me. So I say something like, "I know you have been doing this a long time, but could you please help me out tonight. I need a warning horn 15 seconds before each time out ends. That means if there is an injury or disqualification, it will be 5 seconds after I notify you to start the 20-second clock. For a 30-second timeout, it needs to be 15 seconds after the timeout starts. For a 60-second timeout, it comes at 45 seconds. Do you have a stop watch to time this?"
I make them answer that last question. It helps a lot. A couple of times the table crew tells me the warnings are programmed into the scoreboard. Sometimes it is met with the blank look that says, "Hey Ref, I've been here longer than you." Every now and then, I get a thank your from the table crew.
There is a new NFHS mechanic this year, where the reporting official points to the table to start the clock for a timeout. This is a good excuse to use to review these points.
(And as for the table crew being volunteer: not around here. HS varsity table personnel are paid.)
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