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[LordKefka]

You know the problem is. People don't realize how much work is actually out into the maid cafe not only just the time dedicated during the actual cafe but practicing and training for the Fanimaid Stage Zero performance and such.

Though I have no idea what goes on behind the scenes, I can for a fact say I've been there since the Maid Cafe started and I've seen how much it has grown up to now. Every second of time they put in they do it for the fans so to bash that and the people who work there, maid or staff, there better be a damn good reason and not just " the food is pricey and sucked so the maid cafe and maids SUCK" type of stuff. People want proof of how awesome the cafe was this year? I have a picture for almost every table and a number of pictures overlooking the entire cafe inside and out to show that.

[LordKefka]

Maturity Level of Attendees I'm not saying it's perfect, but I'm seeing a lot more maturity from the attendees. In years passed ('04-'07ish) I noticed a lot more annoying squealing/glomping/general discord. I remember seeing people do stupid and dangerous things (back in the days of Der Cosplay, on my way out, I saw 2 guys having a battle with the swords they bought from a booth) and reflecting back on that, it seems it's gotten 100x better.

Wow.. I thought I was the only person who thought this year the fans were extremely well behaved compared to the previous years. I didn't hear people randomly screaming or running or glomping or any retarded hug line forming out of the blues. I'm actually proud of how well behaved the fans were this year.

[monotone]

I've been a little scared to post here because there is a LOT of Rover hate flying around, even though most of the bad experiences seem to be directed at one or two staff members that had a bad attitude or were stressed out and allowed the stress to show.

I'd like to point out: There are 120 or so Rovers on the stafflist this year (for 16,000+ attendees at con), as well as a handful of "dedicated volunteers" that joined Rovers on-site due to the department being short handed. If you had a bad experience with ONE Rover, please don't let that speak to the entire department. It is literally one or two in a hundred.

2011 Positives:

Maturity Level of Attendees I'm not saying it's perfect, but I'm seeing a lot more maturity from the attendees. In years passed ('04-'07ish) I noticed a lot more annoying squealing/glomping/general discord. I remember seeing people do stupid and dangerous things (back in the days of Der Cosplay, on my way out, I saw 2 guys having a battle with the swords they bought from a booth) and reflecting back on that, it seems it's gotten 100x better.

In response to this:

TRUST ME, having worked Graveyard shift the past three years, the attendees have NOT gotten more mature, and there is still a LOT of stupidity going on at con. This year we especially had a problem with hotel room parties and individuals carrying alcohol ON THE CONCOURSE despite Fanime being a DRY CON. [ Really, guys? lol ] There have been multiple other incidents during con that Rovers have responded to that just make me wonder...

[ But those incidents involve individual attendees and I don't want to post them here. It'd be rude. Just as it is rude to lodge complaints on a public forum about individual staff members. ]

But Rovers HAVE gotten better at handling situations such as hug lines, people swinging swords around, catching weapon policy violations faster, etc. so that the situations are handled BEFORE they become a large problem for other attendees. So if you saw an improvement in the overall behavior of attendees, THANK A ROVER.

[ It should be obvious, but everything posted here is my opinion and does not speak for the department. ]

[aarondirebear]

What a lot of people don't realize about the dealers room is that the dealers have to pay a more than just the space fees and transportation costs. SJCC has a union and if a given dealer is bringing in more than he/she can carry themselves, he/she has to pay the union to do all the moving, both in and out (this is actually listed in the dealers paper work). As you can imagine, this is pretty expensive, so it makes sense that we'd see some gouging of some kind.

Then we need to move this con to a non-union place. Or stop those proprietary mafia thugs from messing with the dealers. 

Good luck with that. Any convention center (specifically convention centers, not sure of other lodgings) of equal or greater size will have union workers on staff and require patrons to use them.

Well, that's a rotten state of affairs that needs to change.  What a bunch of bullies.

[eHash]

My perspective about the maid cafe:

I think the maid cafe is great.
 The amount of effort and time that the maids put in should be commended.  As people gripe about it
 don't forget they have to practice for performances, pay for their own uniforms, go to many (many many)
 meetings and practices.  Many are younger, most don't do it for the service-aspect and MOST patrons know this.

My gripe however:

and this might be what others gripe about, but the point is perhaps lost here or misunderstood.
The food isn't great (not what the maid cafe is about) however since it is STILL a Service oriented event the feedback should be noted.  I thought the food was better than in years past, and the prices were also better.  I just wish the con could negotiate a better deal with SJCC <- Those are the real people to bitch to.  If the food is that crappy, point the finger at the Concession, not the Con (Maid Cafe).

My thoughts on attendees:
I thought the amount of cosplayers was down, the maturity level was up during the day (simply due to increased numbers of attendees), but the number of hotel parties seem to have risen.  

I don't know for sure, but the con seemed safer this year...and this is partly due to "overbearing" rovers.  If you are a minor and complaining, consider that your parents have entrusted the con to be providing an event that has your well-being in mind. Rovers, peace-bonding, lines... no matter what criticisms exist (founded or not-founded) exist for your safety.

I want to say I deeply appreciated their presence.  

To me, this was not the best year I've been to (my own fault for what i chose to participate in or attend).  The "by fans for fans" really should be considered when you make complaints.  Working with limited to no budgets, departments have to execute and provide attendees with the best they are able or willing to do as non-paid volunteers (by fans).

I.E.: you don't like the djs, as the head I'll pick different ones (but give me some constructive criticism)
       but if you wanted someone specifically? write me a check, i'll go book them for you.  
       you think you can do a better job? apply...
       didn't like the lighting? give me yours and write a check (so i can pay the union guy to hang it and take it down).

[LordKefka]

You know the problem is. People don't realize how much work is actually out into the maid cafe not only just the time dedicated during the actual cafe but practicing and training for the Fanimaid Stage Zero performance and such.

Though I have no idea what goes on behind the scenes, I can for a fact say I've been there since the Maid Cafe started and I've seen how much it has grown up to now. Every second of time they put in they do it for the fans so to bash that and the people who work there, maid or staff, there better be a damn good reason and not just " the food is pricey and sucked so the maid cafe and maids SUCK" type of stuff. People want proof of how awesome the cafe was this year? I have a picture for almost every table and a number of pictures overlooking the entire cafe inside and out to show that.

Spoken like a true sycophant.  it is "the complainer is always wrong" types like this person that ensure that nothing ever improves at this convention.

You obviously can't read correctly or didn't attempt to read my previous posts. Do you even know what a maid cafe is like? Sycophant? Why don't you show me something someone has said that was a valid complaint of the maid cafe. You can't. Does that mean there won't be? No.

There is a difference between bashing and flaming an event showcase and providing legit suggestions and changes that can be suggested in the future. Learn the difference.

It is not the complainer is always wrong that I'm trying advocate. If you think that's where I'm leaning towards, you obviously aren't smart enough or cared enough to read my previous posts.

I'm not a staff of the maid cafe and thus I won't and haven't spoken on behalf of a staff but only mentioned what I saw and experienced this year compared to the previous years as being both a passive participant, active participant and speaking with maids who worked at the maid cafe.

[Junon]

The lack of printed schedule is what made this one of the worst FanimeCon's (for me) in a long time. I pretty much missed EVERYTHING. Had no idea what was even going on. Whoever made this decision should get chewed up.

[Aelia]

I'm not attempting to speak to, or for everything. I'm not attempting to speak for all staff, and these opinions are my own.

Something to learn about rovers, crowd control etc. There are always bad and good staff members on the lower level(or any level). If you get a bad staff member, get their name and description and report them. Upper management does care about this stuff. They do not want bad staff members, but they don't know they're bad unless people report them.

This is something I'd like to reiterate. Had a bad experience with a staffer? Well, we can't fix it unless we know who it is. Contact their Department Head ASAP and get it taken care of at con rather than just complaining after the fact.

Such "rudeness" from the staff that you may have experienced, I would have to say from observation, can be blamed from to the rudeness of the ATTENDEES. As conventions of any sort, or of any genre grow.. you get more and more individuals who are nothing more than belligerent folks who make the job of the staff much more difficult. Each attendee needs to be treated the same way from all the staff.. and as such.. they need to make judgement to do what they need to to keep order. If that requires enforcing rules they were told to enforce in a stern manner.. then why would you be complaining about them just doing their job?! I witnessed behind the scenes of how many intoxicated people they had to deal with. Not to be a killjoy, but it is very much emphasized that Fanime is a DRY CON. I have no sympathy for those that fail to abide that rule.. and you can blame them for ruining your fun.

Now... continuing on with "proper training" of the staff.. I don't know what other departments do.. but with Rovers in particular.. they were given PLENTY of training.. and to the point where they have implemented proficiency tests to filter out people. There's ALWAYS an understaffing issue.. and as the con grows.. and as more and more people who want to join staff increases as well... it makes it more difficult to make the balance between filtering out people vs. making sure we have enough.. I'm sure a few slithered their way in.. having that knowledge.. but perhaps poor application was witnessed. There is absolutely NO WAY you can be trained for that... that only comes from on-hand experience.

To give you an idea, we (Rovers) attempted to help well over 15,000 people with a little over 120 volunteers, many of whom worked well over 48 hours over the course of the convention. Things happened, and people may have been rude, or abrupt. We will be working to address this (as we do every year), but as stated, the best way to "fix" things is to participate. Every department at Fanime could use an extra pair of hands (or fifty) and we are almost always accepting volunteers.

Another thing I noticed was attitude by some rovers. I didn't get their names, and I was so tired that I can't really give a description - nor do I really want to, as maybe they were just having a bad day - but I didn't really appreciate being talked to in the manner they did. The first incident was as I was walking down the designated walkway by stage zero. I was quite angrily snapped at to keep moving I was blocking traffic. While I understand that blocking traffic is not a good idea, there was a small child who tripped in front of me. I most certainly was not going to just stomp over this kid, I stopped to give him the space to stand up and brush himself off.

 The second incident was as the gaming room was closing on Monday. I was sitting in a back corner, packing up my stuff (the announcement had been made about a minute before) when a rover comes up yelling that we needed to get out NOW. Now, I know you're tired, overworked, and just want to be done with it, I understand. But did you really need to be so mean about it? I was actively packing when you came up, how about worrying about the people putting coins in the games even though the announcement was made instead of the 2 girls who are obviously packing their things? The rovers in both of these cases were indeed doing their job, and I don't hold a grudge against them for the actions themselves, but it was in the way things were said. Attitude can be the difference between "This con was the best one yet!" and "THIS CON SUCKS, I'M NEVER GOING AGAIN." However, all in all, staff are awesome and kind folk who are super helpful. Tons of my friends staff/rove/etc and I hold tons of respect for those who do it.

We will continue attempting to address these issues, because to some degree it is training, and to some degree it is an individual's personality, rather than anything "fixable." 

As far as the shouting as Gaming was closing-- was that shouting at you specifically, or just shouting in general? A lot of the time, we're attempting to make ourselves heard, rather than trying to be mean.

[SquallLHeart]

Another thing I noticed was attitude by some rovers. I didn't get their names, and I was so tired that I can't really give a description - nor do I really want to, as maybe they were just having a bad day - but I didn't really appreciate being talked to in the manner they did. The first incident was as I was walking down the designated walkway by stage zero. I was quite angrily snapped at to keep moving I was blocking traffic. While I understand that blocking traffic is not a good idea, there was a small child who tripped in front of me. I most certainly was not going to just stomp over this kid, I stopped to give him the space to stand up and brush himself off.

Pre-Reg lines/Times I was going to show up on Thursday to pick up my badge, only to get stuck in traffic. It passed the 8 o'clock time limit, so I went back home. I was later told that the line wasn't cut off until 9:30. It would have been nice to know that before I wasted a lot of gas. I expect times to be more or less honored.

^^ two things i want to clarifiy and make sure you understand..

"angrily snapped" at you? are you sure it wasn't just a stern loud voice to make sure you got the message.. vs... "i'm in a pissed off mood.. GTFO!" type of manner? rovers can't fix a problem you're addressing if you can't tell us who it actually was. i wasn't there to witness the incident.. but nonetheless that walkway needs to have continuous traffic flow..

funny how in this very same topic, you have other attendees complaining about just that. one of those, "sorry, but we can't please everyone" situations i guess.. sorry.

the maturity level as addressed, no way... if anything.. the attendees were very much LESS mature than previous years... it is most apparent during the late hours.. especially during dance. if anything... the maturity levels you witnessed were because of Rovers keeping things in order.. and made sure those immature folks were taken care of so you could enjoy the con.

pre-reg on Thursday.. the lines were capped off at 8pm... which means anyone who came after 8pm.. could not get in line.. of course Registration still needed to be open until much later to finish off everyone else.. and i believe you heard wrong.. the line wasn't cut at 8pm.. and the lines finished at 9:30pm

[LordKefka]

But Rovers HAVE gotten better at handling situations such as hug lines, people swinging swords around, catching weapon policy violations faster, etc. so that the situations are handled BEFORE they become a large problem for other attendees. So if you saw an improvement in the overall behavior of attendees, THANK A ROVER.

[ It should be obvious, but everything posted here is my opinion and does not speak for the department. ]

It's funny and I'm not sure if it's the convention and the long flight back to the East Coast that made me not think about this.. which is almost stupid of me to do so since it didn't even cross my mind till you mentioned it -_-; . The case I mentioned about that one Rover was a specific case but in no way was I trying to put down the Rovers. Sounded like it but I had a little talk and I just wanted to clarify that my words and intentions behind the words sounded too general when it shouldn't have been. If it was the case of the change in attendee behavior I saw because of an improved job done by the Rovers then I'm impressed. Either way whoever it was, fans or Rovers, I saw a change for good.

[SquallLHeart]

^^ i'm not gonna re-quote the whole thing.. but i agree with you completely.

there's always a big curtain that regular attendees don't see behind.. and behind them were great staff ensuring the safety of everyone and making sure the majority were able to have fun... i myself was monitoring things behind the curtains (since i can see behind them).. and I loved how they were organized.

i myself am grateful on the wonderful work this year's staff did to make this con run as smoothly as it did... it certainly made it fly by way too fast though..

[LordKefka]

the maturity level as addressed, no way... if anything.. the attendees were very much LESS mature than previous years... it is most apparent during the late hours.. especially during dance. if anything... the maturity levels you witnessed were because of Rovers keeping things in order.. and made sure those immature folks were taken care of so you could enjoy the con.

I'm actually really glad Rovers are speaking out in here to clarify things. As someone who didn't attend the late night dance(s) as mentioned, I had no idea those things were going on. Points noted.

[SquallLHeart]

i stopped counting how many people had to be removed from the dance due to their behavior.. there were A LOT..
not to mention the non-dance events... (i.e. shoplifters, perverts that were harassing others, ugh.. the list goes on)

most came with a story as well... so.. there's a large collection of war stories that Rovers accumulated this year. 
then dealing with minors wandering off on their own and getting continuous missing persons reports... oh joy.

like i said.. TONS of stuff behind the curtains.

[zeroelement]

Just a heads up only the negative stuff and people who are complaning here. The rest of the people are no saying bad stuff so dont take all complaints at face battle. Also this is advice to everyone i missed

[Kupo]

Fanime was fun for me as always. Only gripe is someone stole my bag of stuff I bought after Fanime ended. Fun is what you make of it and other than the lack of schedules, I made the best of it.

Pretty much all the downs that happened at Fanime for me was out of the FanimeCon staff's control like someone pulling the fire alarm at Mariott, somewhat, Bad roommate, theft, and stinky people.

[Sen]

pre-reg on Thursday.. the lines were capped off at 8pm... which means anyone who came after 8pm.. could not get in line.. of course Registration still needed to be open until much later to finish off everyone else.. and i believe you heard wrong.. the line wasn't cut at 8pm.. and the lines finished at 9:30pm

No. The lines were cut at 8pm. Registration staff informed the Rovers that were present that they had not choice but to cut the lines. The reason the lines finished around 9:30pm was because the line was cut off at 8pm (Reg hours were 5-8pm that day). The decision to cut off the line was made because it the line was never going to end unless they did so. Plus I personally did not want to see Reg staff work themselves into the ground on Day Zero.

[sysadmin]

Feedback of all types are welcome and necessary.

However, there are a lot of things that can't be changed.  Period.  Don't ask.
* Union rules, pricing of certain elements
* Whether certain prohibited items will suddenly become allowed.

There are also a lot of things that might change, but it will take a complete miracle:
* People get stressed; Stressful people get curt.
* There will be idiots who pull fire alarms/have elevator parties/carry open alcohol containers/steal stuff.
This is not the ideal state of affairs, but there's no way to solve this with a few forum threads.

In any event, if you feel that it would be cathartic to mention anything in these four bullet points, go ahead I suppose.
But don't be pissed if you feel that it will fall on deaf ears.


There are plenty of things that -CAN- be changed and improved.
Feedback of those things will probably go a lot further, just so you know.

If the food is that crappy, point the finger at the ConCenter, not the Con

Actually, the food is not from the Convention Center either.  Things get complicated.

[Steve.Young]

If you have specific concerns about staff behavior, please send me a private message. I am interested in all staffing complaints (regardless of department) and will inform the relevant people.

For general staff feedback: http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,16392.0.html

Thank you

-Steve

[Piccahoe]

What was I expecting? Not much. I am not expecting a 5 star restaurant service. In fact, maybe I was being a little too critical, since I work at a 4/4.5 star restaurant, and since I do great customer service on the ordinary. So if I sounded too blunt, I apologize. but what do you want me to say? Should I have worded it alternatively?

Try wearing high heels for even a few mins without complaining. Add the harassment that they get and how busy it was, put it together, and I think you're 4/4.5 restaurant would turn into a -1.  

Btw, do they even get paid?

[Melly]

about the rain on Saturday and the blockage in the entrance,

the Code Geass gathering was being held RIGHT when the rain started, so we moved it to the middle of the entrance since we weren't totally sure where else to move where people -might- be able to see us.

so sorry on behalf of Code Geass gathering attendees :c