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[Steve.Young]

Hi everyone.

Every year, there is always feedback about staff. Rather than have it in a long thread with a ton of other feedback, I want to know specifically feedback you have for staff performances (politeness, rudeness, awesomeness), convention policies (so we can fine tune), etc.

This helps us in training our staff in the future as well as letting us know what we need to work on, what we need to clarify, and what it is we need to keep the same.

Thank you,

-Steve

[InsaneChan]

My group and I had one negative experience with a staff member. We arrived early Friday, got our badges, and were just heading up the large stairs just inside the entrance of the convention center. It was still pretty early, so there was no one else on the stairs. We stopped on one of the stair landings to look down at a group below us, and some moments later, we felt ourselves being shoved as someone started pushing through our group. My friends and I automatically started saying, "sorry, sorry!" as we had no idea what was going on. We turned to see that it was a staff member who was pushing through us saying, "Oops, oops" in a very sarcastic manner. She then turned around sternly and said, "No stopping on the stairs."

I'm sorry we had stopped, I really am, but pushing us on the stairs? Just to make a point? We would have immediately moved if she had asked us, or even told us to. Heck, yelling at us would have gotten our attention just as well. I just don't think that her behavior was necessary, especially when safety is concerned.

[Sen]

My group and I had one negative experience with a staff member. We arrived early Friday, got our badges, and were just heading up the large stairs just inside the entrance of the convention center. It was still pretty early, so there was no one else on the stairs. We stopped on one of the stair landings to look down at a group below us, and some moments later, we felt ourselves being shoved as someone started pushing through our group. My friends and I automatically started saying, "sorry, sorry!" as we had no idea what was going on. We turned to see that it was a staff member who was pushing through us saying, "Oops, oops" in a very sarcastic manner. She then turned around sternly and said, "No stopping on the stairs."

I'm sorry we had stopped, I really am, but pushing us on the stairs? Just to make a point? We would have immediately moved if she had asked us, or even told us to. Heck, yelling at us would have gotten our attention just as well. I just don't think that her behavior was necessary, especially when safety is concerned.

Would you happen to know if this was a Registration staff person or a volunteer? (Staff have red colored badges)

[Ami noMiko]

Overall, our experience with the staff this year was good, with the exception of the general rudeness of ALL of the rovers we came across.  I don't have any names, as none of them were directly rude to us, it was all general crowd control stuff.  However, my mother came with us this year and I was absolutely mortified about how the rovers kept yelling at her, to move, to stand against the wall while in line, etc.  She was very confused about why they were always yelling at her, since her infraction was always that she wasn't moving fast enough.  She's a very lively 60-year-old, but she's just not as fast as the kids.

I understand that crowd control is a big job with a con as large as Fanime.  I just think a little basic politeness would go a long way towards how the general con-goer views the rovers.  Throughout the con, never once did I hear a "please".  I think less people would be commenting on the rudeness of the rovers if they spent more time requesting (i.e. "Please show me your badge") than yelling orders.  And my poor mother wouldn't have gone through the entire con worried about if she was standing or walking in the right place.  I actually had to tell her that it was okay to sit at the tables set up outside the video room areas and that no one was going to yell at us for it.

[InsaneChan]

Would you happen to know if this was a Registration staff person or a volunteer? (Staff have red colored badges)

Actually, I'm really not sure >< sorry! I was so taken back that I didn't think to look at what type of badge she had. All I really remember was that she had medium-length (past her shoulders a few inches) brownish hair and was about 5'5, give or take. I also think I saw her later on directing lines.

[Steve.Young]

Overall, our experience with the staff this year was good, with the exception of the general rudeness of ALL of the rovers we came across.  I don't have any names, as none of them were directly rude to us, it was all general crowd control stuff.  However, my mother came with us this year and I was absolutely mortified about how the rovers kept yelling at her, to move, to stand against the wall while in line, etc.  She was very confused about why they were always yelling at her, since her infraction was always that she wasn't moving fast enough.  She's a very lively 60-year-old, but she's just not as fast as the kids.

I understand that crowd control is a big job with a con as large as Fanime.  I just think a little basic politeness would go a long way towards how the general con-goer views the rovers.  Throughout the con, never once did I hear a "please".  I think less people would be commenting on the rudeness of the rovers if they spent more time requesting (i.e. "Please show me your badge") than yelling orders.  And my poor mother wouldn't have gone through the entire con worried about if she was standing or walking in the right place.  I actually had to tell her that it was okay to sit at the tables set up outside the video room areas and that no one was going to yell at us for it.

You know, I definitely always say this in training meetings but I think we will need to reinforce this a bit more. When did these events happen? Registration line? B&W Ball?

The more you can tell me, the better training we can enforce for next year.

[Yuu]

 Bad ugly and entirely unacceptable-
being interrupted by rovers about peace bonding

- once I was about to make a purchase in the artist alley when I was told to go to the peace bonding booth IMMEDIATELY. I'm sure the  artist was real happy about that.
-another in the middle of a game
- I missed the elevator I had been waiting for by a rover who was not even on the clock
- after wanting a BREAK from being harassed and on a smoke break outside
--While crossing the street off of con center property
- one got in the way of a picture


2 out of three of these instances, YES, my sword was peace bonded. This begs the question; why bother to get it peace bonded if I am going to continue to be harassed about it the entire weekend?
This albeit ruined my entire con experience and I love Fanime.


Being physically shoved passed the protesters. I know that some morons have not yet learned to ignore them but I am not one of them. I had every intention of moving along and all of the staffers herding people only cause more congestion.


I don't know if they count as staff but I go really tried of having to work around the sleazeball photographer spending hours and hours on one-scantly clad woman and lolis.
They were constantly taking up the choice spots and I had to yell at them to move several times for an official photo shoot. The very second we were not crowding the space ( But still during out shoot-time) they moved right back in.
I put a lot of though and effort int some really gorgeous shots that are ruined because of some skank in the background.
You may as well put up a sign at the choice spots saying " Must show tits to use this area"

Aside from these things, no complaints at all. I really enjoyed myself.

[Hatter]

Overall, I had a really good con, but then again, I never ran into issues that other people are describing.  Then again, I don't have a lot of props, so I have no peace bonding issues, and my badge is ALWAYS in extremely easy reach.

The feedback I'm giving is in regards to that, even someone wanting to be a staff member seems nice, if they're not socially graceful, that will come across to the congoers, and will put people off.

I had an issue at the black and white ball (or rather, it wasn't my issue, my girlfriend is simply too shy/nice to say anything, and I am entirely willing to be the one to stand up for her.), but the staff took care of both of us extremely well. (you guys kept apologizing when I didn't think you needed to, everyone else at the B&W ball was fantastic as always, it's by far my favorite event),**edited by request**

Oh, I did forget one thing... the pokemon gathering, whoever was running it really... did not do it well, everyone gathered in a very big, open spot that held all of us well, and were trying to figure out where the gathering head was.  She finally appeared, and told us we were all supposed to be in this other area that was... ridiculously undersized for our group, nobody could figure out why we were moving to them (them being the 4 people that were with the gathering head) to a far more crowded, badly lit spot, from our open spot.  I don't mean any disrespect to her, she just wasn't capable of commanding the crowd and getting through what was going to happen at the shoot.

Me and my friend ended up leaving halfway through because nobody knew where anyone was supposed to go, people were just jumping in and out of whatever photos they wanted, it was disappointing considering we seemed to have a pretty good grouping.

[lycheejelly]

The feedback I'm giving is in regards to that, even someone wanting to be a staff member seems nice, if they're not socially graceful, that will come across to the congoers, and will put people off.

I really have to agree with Hatter here.  I know it's hard to tell these things ahead of times, but especially with a job like the Rovers, where people-interaction is such a /big/ matter, even small social disgraces can cause big big problems.

But overall, I think you guys did a much better job this year.  Yes, there were still Rovers who, like Ami noMiko mentioned, were very rude when it came to crowd control matters, with extremely loud voices, lack of requests and not even a "please," even to attendees who were trying their best to follow directions.  I am, however, very glad to know that you say this in training, but this is something that really really should be emphasized.  While safety and the general running of the convention is important, many attendees will remember how they personally were greeted and treated.  

I am a little disappointed to hear about Yuu's problem regarding peace-bonding. That is something I saw at last year's convention, and I was hoping it'd be fixed this year.  Then again, I can't complain too much since I didn't send in any feedback last year.  (Honestly, I was too frustrated from the Rovers of 2010 and I didn't want to send an e-mail in because I didn't want to be rude.)  Again, I understand having to ask con-goers if their weapons are peace-bonded, but that's it: ASKING if they're peace-bonded and checking, THEN dealing with it.  This is an issue I even had with a personal friend when I was talking to him while he was on his shift last year: he called out someone who was sitting down, relaxing, and told them to get their gun peace-bonded, even though it already was.  

I understand that the Rovers will always seem like "tattle-tales" by having to keep an eye out for non-peace bonded weapons, but to interrupt in the middle of a purchase/during a game, etc. is a little over the top, especially since sometimes it is hard to tell if the weapon is bonded or not.  I don't know your guys' policy on this, but how I was trained was to greet first, take a knee next to them if they're sitting on the ground (you do NOT want to seem like you're aggressively challenging them by standing above them if you're not actual police hosts or something--I saw this issue so many times), if you're not sure they're doing something wrong, ask them first ("Have you gotten your prop peace-bonded?", "May I see your prop?"), and then politely inform them what they need to do.

Sorry for typing so much there.  >o<  Really though, my experience this year was much much better, where as last year I and other people in line were /threatened/ to have our belongings destroyed by a Rover, I heard of staff threatening to pull badges all over the place,etc.  

I can see that you guys are tightening in the training.    And of course, it's always good to see that you are all open to feedback and are always willing to clarify--sometimes many times over--convention policies.

[PyronIkari]

This is the first year that a rover has not harassed me for something. There was a small incident where they questioned me, but it wasn't anything big, which kind of disappoints me. I love when rovers try to harass me because it let's me mess with them and put them in their place. Just because they think they have a little bit of power they can abuse it.

Obviously it's not like this problem is gone, because it's pretty impossible for that to happen. But overall, rovers did do a better job this year that I could see walking around when I had free time.

[MPLe]

This is the first year that a rover has not harassed me for something. There was a small incident where they questioned me, but it wasn't anything big, which kind of disappoints me. I love when rovers try to harass me because it let's me mess with them and put them in their place. Just because they think they have a little bit of power they can abuse it.

Obviously it's not like this problem is gone, because it's pretty impossible for that to happen. But overall, rovers did do a better job this year that I could see walking around when I had free time.

I'm disappointed that you harass them back instead of following staff protocol. :/

[Wabbit98]

You shouldn't go out of your way to harass any staff.  It is not like they are not busy enough when that many people show up over a weekend and have enough stress.

[Yuu]

You shouldn't go out of your way to harass any staff.  It is not like they are not busy enough when that many people show up over a weekend and have enough stress.

It is pretty damned immature to want to harass staff, but at the same time I'm tired of the 'stress excuse'. If someone cannot handle the job without getting nasty and taking out on attendees who are there to have a good time then they just shouldn't do it.

[MPLe]

We don't need more people jumping on Pyron for acting up. Please stay on topic.

[Xeluu]

Hi all,
Just a thought I had towards the end of this year's Fanime. This year with the darker colors of the badges, it was very difficult to determine who was staff versus who was just a regular attendee.
A thought I'd presented, was to have staff badges laid out in one direction (either horizontal or vertical) and to have the attendee badges laid out in the opposite direction. That way even at a distance it'd be easier to determine who was staff versus who was a regular attendee.

Just my two cents.

[ewu]

have staff badges laid out in one direction (either horizontal or vertical) and to have the attendee badges laid out in the opposite direction.

Thanks, We'll take that in account in designing the badges this coming year!

[MikuMayhem]

I was on staff this year, and after one of my shifts I was walking around with one of the rovers that I knew, and I too noticed that the rovers tended towards being kind of rude. Thing is, when I brought it up to him, he had no idea what I was talking about.

Not sure if it has occurred to anyone, but a lot of the rovers who are being rude don't realize it (of course, there are the exceptions, like the rover InsaneChan mentioned who pushed their group on the stairs).

Maybe this could be something that gets addressed in the staff training?

Last year was my 8th year attending, and I've never noticed that kind of rudeness amongst the rovers before, so I'm not sure if it was simply this year's batch or if I've just never had to deal with the rovers much in previous years, of if it's something else entirely. 

[MPLe]

I was on staff this year, and after one of my shifts I was walking around with one of the rovers that I knew, and I too noticed that the rovers tended towards being kind of rude. Thing is, when I brought it up to him, he had no idea what I was talking about.

Not sure if it has occurred to anyone, but a lot of the rovers who are being rude don't realize it (of course, there are the exceptions, like the rover InsaneChan mentioned who pushed their group on the stairs).

Maybe this could be something that gets addressed in the staff training?

Last year was my 8th year attending, and I've never noticed that kind of rudeness amongst the rovers before, so I'm not sure if it was simply this year's batch or if I've just never had to deal with the rovers much in previous years, of if it's something else entirely.

One thing that I constantly notice is that it is difficult for many people to tell the difference between "being a jerk" and "being fair and stern" (possibly aggressive?). I won't defend negative rover action (or from anyone else), but I will say that the rovers staff train their staff very well. If you have an issue, please remember that you can always report it (in person during con, e-mail, etc.).

[MikuMayhem]

One thing that I constantly notice is that it is difficult for many people to tell the difference between "being a jerk" and "being fair and stern" (possibly aggressive?). I won't defend negative rover action (or from anyone else), but I will say that the rovers staff train their staff very well. If you have an issue, please remember that you can always report it (in person during con, e-mail, etc.).

To clarify: by "Rude" I mean that he sounded pissed off and condescending when he talked to people. There IS a difference between 'fair and stern' and 'being a jerk' that can be hard to see, I agree, but in this case I think that in a decent number of the 'rude staff member' cases, the staff member themself doesn't notice when they start crossing that line, or don't notice or understand the difference between sternness and condescention. 

Of course, this is based on the actions of one of rover. I didn't come across any other, really, due to the fact that I was almost always on my feet and GOING. I did, however, hear similar things from other people.

Maybe it's not a fault of the training itself, but simply something that they don't realize that they're doing. What I meant by "addressed in training" was simply to use that opportunity to mention this to them.

[MPLe]

One thing that I constantly notice is that it is difficult for many people to tell the difference between "being a jerk" and "being fair and stern" (possibly aggressive?). I won't defend negative rover action (or from anyone else), but I will say that the rovers staff train their staff very well. If you have an issue, please remember that you can always report it (in person during con, e-mail, etc.).

To clarify: by "Rude" I mean that he sounded pissed off and condescending when he talked to people. There IS a difference between 'fair and stern' and 'being a jerk' that can be hard to see, I agree, but in this case I think that in a decent number of the 'rude staff member' cases, the staff member themself doesn't notice when they start crossing that line, or don't notice or understand the difference between sternness and condescention. 

Of course, this is based on the actions of one of rover. I didn't come across any other, really, due to the fact that I was almost always on my feet and GOING. I did, however, hear similar things from other people.

Maybe it's not a fault of the training itself, but simply something that they don't realize that they're doing. What I meant by "addressed in training" was simply to use that opportunity to mention this to them.

Completely understood. You also bring up the valid point that the individual themselves might not notice when they cross the line into being condescending. This is why we have staffers look at the forums.