Con feedback (Feedback will not effectively reach staff if you do not use form)

Started by Bromopar, May 26, 2013, 01:31:38 PM

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djmonolith

Quote from: ewu on June 03, 2013, 01:06:50 PM

So I ask for your patience while we develop a plan that is a culmination of your feedback, and the lessons that we have learned from this year as we likewise learn from each year.


Thank you for the post.  Have you spoken with staff members/planners from other conventions who don't seem to have a problem with Registration?  Why recreate the wheel?
This is my signature.

SquallLHeart

Quote from: djmonolith on June 04, 2013, 08:38:11 PM
Thank you for the post.  Have you spoken with staff members/planners from other conventions who don't seem to have a problem with Registration?  Why recreate the wheel?
certain wheels work better with different vehicles.. ;)
Trung D. Nguyen
Fanime: Autographs Head '11 | Rovers '01-present | Gopher '99-'00
Anime Expo: AxCon '07-'2009
ComicCon: Vol '04-'05

staff/vol. for misc. conventions all around the nation... ranging from 30.. to 130K+ attendees...

EJAY420

Have an supreme/elite/presidential/idontcarewhatyoucallit  package/deal.  Example: a 100 badge. Get it in the mail JUST ONCE. Prior to fanime, like one day. I do not mind paying more to not fkn wait in line.

I would give you $100 for a no waiting in line badge. :-)
Most Impressive.




renalcul

Quote from: EJAY420 on June 05, 2013, 04:26:54 AM
Have an supreme/elite/presidential/idontcarewhatyoucallit  package/deal.  Example: a 100 badge. Get it in the mail JUST ONCE. Prior to fanime, like one day. I do not mind paying more to not fkn wait in line.

I would give you $100 for a no waiting in line badge. :-)
Most would pay up to 70 for a no wait badge, doesn't mean they'd do it.

Anon

Just thought I'd leave a little feedback regarding the swap meet, as I haven't seen any from some of the other more vocal sellers, but I would like to say thanks to the staff for a relatively flawless execution this year for at-the-event. I'm guessing you guys aren't seeing many critiques due to the fact that there really weren't any to mention regarding the event from a seller's viewpoint.

The actual registration for the event felt a little rushed, but I imagine that's because you guys got an all new db running to cross-check registrations. If you guys could get the whole reg process in place in some time like Feb or March, some of the other sellers who decided not to go this year would more likely attended.

I think my only complaint would be the fact that I was once again accused of being a retail dealer selling at the swap meet. I have been selling at the Fanime swap meet since the mid 2000's off and on prior to 2007, and almost every year from 2008 and on. I know how to prepare and sell at the event, how to set up a make-shift display with what we bring in. Presentation is everything in sales, and I try to make everything as pretty as I can. This year, I was politely informed yet again that my display was "too well set up", and to break it down when possible, and we complied. I don't really have any suggestion or proposition to present, just a little something I wanted to get off my chest.

Several years ago my friend painstakingly hunted out a refridgerator box for us to bring our stuff in for sales, which was ok'd during check-in and setup, but halfway through the night we were told to knock it down to waist level. Begrudgingly my friend complied, his beloved transformer box had to be nixed. The following year, the box made a return, in a new waist-high form. Again, it was OKd at check in and during the pre-sales check the swap meet staff do before letting loose the customers upon us, and again halfway through the night we were told to take it down a notch.

I hate to think that people are expected to lay things on the ground to have people step on while trying to reach further back in to our slowly-decreasing-in-size-yet-increasing-in-price stalls for the item they want to buy.

Speaking of the crowd, thanks again to the staff for giving us ample time for setting up and preparing for the swarm.

TruePoindexter

Quote from: echoshadow on June 03, 2013, 01:17:32 AM
Quote from: TruePoindexter on June 03, 2013, 12:40:20 AM
I know that numerous people have left feedback regarding it and we have not had any response from Fanime Con staff.
I'm pretty sure staff is not going to personally respond to ever single form turned in. They will post a general "thank you, we will work on it" mass statement on the website or email. So don't hold your breath on ever receiving a personal response.
I don't think anyone is expecting a personal reply - just an admission that the Cosplay Spectacular was not a successful event and some commentary on how they are going to address it. The response would not even have to be detailed - just some descriptions of how they understand the problem and a general overview of an approach to resolution. Other problem areas (registration, Black and White ball, Artist Alley) have all had at least some response along these lines. With the Cosplay Spectacular a failure and no commentary from staff past "we're reading your feedback" it implies that in fact the FanimeCon staff do not feel there was something wrong with the event.

Quote from: SquallLHeart on June 05, 2013, 01:09:43 AM
Quote from: djmonolith on June 04, 2013, 08:38:11 PM
Thank you for the post.  Have you spoken with staff members/planners from other conventions who don't seem to have a problem with Registration?  Why recreate the wheel?
certain wheels work better with different vehicles.. ;)
They also still spin the same. The fact that events with dramatically larger attendance numbers (many being comic/anime conventions) do not have this issue indicates that the approach used here is flawed. Extending the analogy further Fanime's registration pickup is a wheel that turned out to be an ellipse. Looking at how other events handle the same problem is a logical starting point. There is even a conference specifically for organizers of these kinds of events to meet and discuss approaches to these kinds of problems: http://www.project-anime.org/

SquallLHeart

Quote from: TruePoindexter on June 05, 2013, 11:56:10 AM
There is even a conference specifically for organizers of these kinds of events to meet and discuss approaches to these kinds of problems: http://www.project-anime.org/
one click, and seeing at SPJA was involved with project-anime.. pretty much, at least for me, negates what Fanime is supposed to stand for.

in the end, it's about how much support Fanime and their registration system have.. both in manpower as well as finances.. those other events have tons of sponsors and financial backing to allow them to do the things they do.. it's not about the wheels at that point.. but the motor.

the motor wasn't strong enough to move the heavy vehicle.

i've been hearing and reading so many different suggestions.. and each one has either been tried in the past before.. is actually still implemented in some way.. or something else completely different. the con environment is dynamic and things change from year to year.. for the better or worse... but it's an ongoing evolution with changes constantly made.

as i've mentioned a few times, the system that Fanime Registration was using this year was actually good.. and allowed for things they weren't able to do before. there's always going to be complaints.. and what they lacked in manpower and implementation of their system caused the problems everyone saw.

as a long-time con veteran who's been there and done that, that's my personal opinion.. they needed more volunteers.. more people... but it's not just that really, there were people who said Fanime should have just grabbed people from other departments.. or shift manpower to support reg.. as if it would easily work that way.. people require training to be able to follow the proper procedures.. to get it done correctly. such flawed logic from people who think they know better.
Trung D. Nguyen
Fanime: Autographs Head '11 | Rovers '01-present | Gopher '99-'00
Anime Expo: AxCon '07-'2009
ComicCon: Vol '04-'05

staff/vol. for misc. conventions all around the nation... ranging from 30.. to 130K+ attendees...

keitoghostie

I was going to joke about implementing a fastpass system a la disney but something similar might be beneficial - giving out times to return to the line to stagger the wait times and allow attendees to experience day zero events.

TruePoindexter

Quote from: SquallLHeart on June 05, 2013, 01:53:00 PM
one click, and seeing at SPJA was involved with project-anime.. pretty much, at least for me, negates what Fanime is supposed to stand for.

in the end, it's about how much support Fanime and their registration system have.. both in manpower as well as finances.. those other events have tons of sponsors and financial backing to allow them to do the things they do.. it's not about the wheels at that point.. but the motor.

the motor wasn't strong enough to move the heavy vehicle.

i've been hearing and reading so many different suggestions.. and each one has either been tried in the past before.. is actually still implemented in some way.. or something else completely different. the con environment is dynamic and things change from year to year.. for the better or worse... but it's an ongoing evolution with changes constantly made.

as i've mentioned a few times, the system that Fanime Registration was using this year was actually good.. and allowed for things they weren't able to do before. there's always going to be complaints.. and what they lacked in manpower and implementation of their system caused the problems everyone saw.

as a long-time con veteran who's been there and done that, that's my personal opinion.. they needed more volunteers.. more people... but it's not just that really, there were people who said Fanime should have just grabbed people from other departments.. or shift manpower to support reg.. as if it would easily work that way.. people require training to be able to follow the proper procedures.. to get it done correctly. such flawed logic from people who think they know better.

FanimeCon staff learning how other conventions do things does not invalidate the "By fans for fans" premise. It just means that they want to get better. I don't know what personal problems you have with that specific advocacy group but it makes for a poor reason to dismiss a conference specifically about running conventions. Plus FanimeCon attended this very conference last year so obviously an association with the SPJA is not an issue for the staff here.

Further I think you're misunderstanding the point of the suggestion - it's to explore other options and learn how others do it. The point still stands that other conventions do not have this registration issue and are also staffed by volunteers. Something can be learned from how other conventions/conferences handle this and it's obvious that there is a fundamental flaw with Fanime's approach. Eric's comments indicate they understand this and are looking into it which is to be applauded.

I don't disagree that many of the suggestions here are not ideal or pragmatic. However emotions are high and you can't fault people for voicing their opinions. It should be noted that if things ran smoothly to begin with we would not be in the situation we're in now. This is especially important to keep in mind as last year's registration suffered as well making things all the worse.

Finally I don't believe in letting people off the hook from criticism just because they're volunteers and they're "doing their best." People spend real money and substantial amounts of time attending these kinds of events. FanimeCon is not about profit but the fact is that hundreds of thousands of dollars are being thrown around on all sides. Some estimates I've heard indicate that FanimeCon generates almost $5 million dollars worth of business in San Jose (though frankly I think these estimates are exaggerated). This makes it a serious financial venture and not something that can be written off just because it's run by volunteers. Fanime is by fans for fans but that doesn't preclude them from delivering on the experience paid for.

Moving past the registration woes - Eric do you think you can shed some light as to what's at least being discussed regarding the Cosplay Spectacular? The ill-will after the event is being left to fester with no response past "we're reading your feedback." I know the staff have jobs and other responsibilities to attend to first but it would help if there was at least an acknowledgement of what happened. 

ewu

Quote from: TruePoindexter on June 05, 2013, 03:35:27 PM
Moving past the registration woes - Eric do you think you can shed some light as to what's at least being discussed regarding the Cosplay Spectacular? The ill-will after the event is being left to fester with no response past "we're reading your feedback." I know the staff have jobs and other responsibilities to attend to first but it would help if there was at least an acknowledgement of what happened.

For the record, Fanime sends people to Project Anime. We also have close ties with the convention planning community and will reach out for ideas and the like.

As for CS, unfortunately I am not privy to that discussion. I will try to follow up.

Thanks,
Eric
Eric Wu
FanimeCon Chairman
FanimeCon Forums Moderator

ericATfanimeDOTcom

sakaki

Quote from: SquallLHeart on June 05, 2013, 01:53:00 PM
i've been hearing and reading so many different suggestions.. and each one has either been tried in the past before.. is actually still implemented in some way.. or something else completely different. the con environment is dynamic and things change from year to year.. for the better or worse... but it's an ongoing evolution with changes constantly made.

as i've mentioned a few times, the system that Fanime Registration was using this year was actually good.. and allowed for things they weren't able to do before. there's always going to be complaints.. and what they lacked in manpower and implementation of their system caused the problems everyone saw.

as a long-time con veteran who's been there and done that, that's my personal opinion.. they needed more volunteers.. more people... but it's not just that really, there were people who said Fanime should have just grabbed people from other departments.. or shift manpower to support reg.. as if it would easily work that way.. people require training to be able to follow the proper procedures.. to get it done correctly. such flawed logic from people who think they know better.

Wow. You know, I'd said my piece about the terrible, huge waste of time Cosplay Failure event and thought I'd be done with the forums. Reading this, though, makes me want to open my big mouth again.

Why do people think it's an excuse that the convention is run by volunteers? Almost *every* anime convention out there is run by volunteers. Big freaking deal. Not every convention out there has terrible line problems. Registration sucked in every single way possible. I'll reiterate in case you missed points other people have made:


  • No signage. I arrived at 7:15 and went to the ballroom as was mentioned online. Was rudely told by a volunteer that the line began outside. At that point in time, the corridor/stairway was clear of people - no indication that it was going to be that bad.
  • Made my way outside and had to find another volunteer to indicate where this long, snaking line of people began. Said volunteer was busy chatting away to other volunteers and it was difficult to even get her attention to answer this question. Again, no signage.
  • Waited. And waited. And waited. Saw some people further back with folding chairs and wondered what the heck has happened in the past to make some people even anticipate that.
  • Poor girl in front of me had her leg in a cast, had a crutch, and even fell down while waiting in line. She was told she could go up and skip the line but her two friends could not. She proceeded to wait in line for over an hour before someone else apparently told her she and her friends could go. Mighty kind of you, Fanime.
  • No one gave any indication of how much time everyone would be waiting in line. Had I known it would be over 6 hours I would have left. I should have read it as a sign of things to come - cough Cosplay Failure.
  • I did however hear some funny jokes in line upon reaching the Ballroom over 4 hours later. It was sad some sort of Stockholm Syndrome had set in and people would cheer and give high fives as each group of new prisoners was brought in. "Line inception" and the "levels of line hell" were heard.
  • Things really got bad though when I realized that room didn't actually have the registration. We'd all be forced to go into yet another room. People around me in line asked whomever was wandering that cattle call what the next room was like. "I don't know" was the only answer they got.
  • Finally reached the last and final room - and another 20 minute line. Everyone's spirits rose - only to find out that there were a total of 9 people checking people in and each person seemed to take 30 seconds or more - great.
  • After checking in, got into the last line. The booths (loved your last minute, hand-scribbled signage there!) were arranged alphabetically by first name!??! FFFFF. Who does this ever?
  • Absolutely loved the girl in charge of I believe K-L names. I politely walked up and handed her my id. She snapped at me "It's not printed. It will be 10 minutes." Um...excuse me? I said fine, I'll wait right here for it. She proceeded to yell at me for being in the way. I turned and looked - there was no one behind me. She also proceeded to be snippy to the next girl who did walk up to that booth - and of course, her badge wasn't ready either.
  • For that matter- no one had badges ready. All down the lane of names not one person was receiving a badge. I did have fun watching a volunteer continuously put the badges in the wrong spot, though. Oh, and no one told any of us that group pickups were handled at some other table. Awesome.

So let me see. What exactly was good about all of that? I would even argue that no, they didn't lack manpower. They lacked brains. Why were multiple people just walking around the ballroom - unable to assist people with questions, not keeping line jumpers in check (yes, that happened in that room too) - just being absolutely, 100% worthless.

LOL it must be SO hard to follow registration check-in procedures. Sorry to break it to you, it probably wouldn't have helped. If it takes upwards of ten minutes to print out crappy black and white *labels* - they either needed
a) more printers
b) pre-printed badges
c) more brains - oh sorry, this was a given
d) better planning - oops, there I go again

Flawed logic my right gluteus maximus. Probably could have put a thousand monkeys in a room and registration would have been faster and less painless- albeit with more Ebola virus.

TruePoindexter

Quote from: ewu on June 05, 2013, 03:55:08 PM
For the record, Fanime sends people to Project Anime. We also have close ties with the convention planning community and will reach out for ideas and the like.

As for CS, unfortunately I am not privy to that discussion. I will try to follow up.

Thanks,
Eric

Thank you - I'll keep an eye out and hope to hear something soon.

SquallLHeart

Quote from: sakaki on June 05, 2013, 04:07:06 PM
So let me see. What exactly was good about all of that? I would even argue that no, they didn't lack manpower. They lacked brains. Why were multiple people just walking around the ballroom - unable to assist people with questions, not keeping line jumpers in check (yes, that happened in that room too) - just being absolutely, 100% worthless.

LOL it must be SO hard to follow registration check-in procedures. Sorry to break it to you, it probably wouldn't have helped. If it takes upwards of ten minutes to print out crappy black and white *labels* - they either needed
a) more printers
b) pre-printed badges
c) more brains - oh sorry, this was a given
d) better planning - oops, there I go again

Flawed logic my right gluteus maximus. Probably could have put a thousand monkeys in a room and registration would have been faster and less painless- albeit with more Ebola virus.
points and arguments.

other conventions invest and have the money to invest in better systems. most outsourcing their registration system. run by volunteers at the con, yes.. but the system is still outsourced and maintained as such.. outsource = money.

signage: yes, there wasn't enough. no argument. no time nor money to get them done on time. make-shift signs were made for the most part to help. didn't help that much. people had trouble locating registration when it was clearly announced it was going to be at the Fairmont (there were plenty lost people wandering around SJCC looking for it)

volunteers not being able to give answers/help/info/etc: back to training. not everyone knew what was going on. lots of people to manage, and lack of communication. that covers a big block of your points. not knowing how long the wait was? same thing. not being able to answer questions? not lack of brains.. lack of that information given to them. they have a job to do, told to do something.. and they do it.

rude volunteer/staff: take down their name or badge number. report it and send feedback. it'll be handled appropriately.

more printers: more money or have the appropriate allocation of their budget for them. (yes, they needed more printers and i won't argue there)
pre-printed badges: it was done in the past.. but why not this year? because Fanime wanted the capability for people to choose where they can pick up their badge. (yes, people could have gone to Clockwork Alchemy)
more brains/better planning: well duh.. but it's a bit difficult to plan when more than half the volunteers bail out on you. did i mention lack of manpower? blah blah.. it's because we're run by volunteers.. blah blah.. yes.. that's not an excuse.. blah blah.

you argue that there weren't enough brains, but insist on having a ton of monkeys as manpower.
Trung D. Nguyen
Fanime: Autographs Head '11 | Rovers '01-present | Gopher '99-'00
Anime Expo: AxCon '07-'2009
ComicCon: Vol '04-'05

staff/vol. for misc. conventions all around the nation... ranging from 30.. to 130K+ attendees...

CeruleanRogue

Quote from: SquallLHeart on June 05, 2013, 04:35:47 PM
Quote from: sakaki on June 05, 2013, 04:07:06 PM
So let me see. What exactly was good about all of that? I would even argue that no, they didn't lack manpower. They lacked brains. Why were multiple people just walking around the ballroom - unable to assist people with questions, not keeping line jumpers in check (yes, that happened in that room too) - just being absolutely, 100% worthless.

LOL it must be SO hard to follow registration check-in procedures. Sorry to break it to you, it probably wouldn't have helped. If it takes upwards of ten minutes to print out crappy black and white *labels* - they either needed
a) more printers
b) pre-printed badges
c) more brains - oh sorry, this was a given
d) better planning - oops, there I go again

Flawed logic my right gluteus maximus. Probably could have put a thousand monkeys in a room and registration would have been faster and less painless- albeit with more Ebola virus.
points and arguments.

other conventions invest and have the money to invest in better systems. most outsourcing their registration system. run by volunteers at the con, yes.. but the system is still outsourced and maintained as such.. outsource = money.

signage: yes, there wasn't enough. no argument. no time nor money to get them done on time. make-shift signs were made for the most part to help. didn't help that much. people had trouble locating registration when it was clearly announced it was going to be at the Fairmont (there were plenty lost people wandering around SJCC looking for it)

volunteers not being able to give answers/help/info/etc: back to training. not everyone knew what was going on. lots of people to manage, and lack of communication. that covers a big block of your points. not knowing how long the wait was? same thing. not being able to answer questions? not lack of brains.. lack of that information given to them. they have a job to do, told to do something.. and they do it.

rude volunteer/staff: take down their name or badge number. report it and send feedback. it'll be handled appropriately.

more printers: more money or have the appropriate allocation of their budget for them. (yes, they needed more printers and i won't argue there)
pre-printed badges: it was done in the past.. but why not this year? because Fanime wanted the capability for people to choose where they can pick up their badge. (yes, people could have gone to Clockwork Alchemy)
more brains/better planning: well duh.. but it's a bit difficult to plan when more than half the volunteers bail out on you. did i mention lack of manpower? blah blah.. it's because we're run by volunteers.. blah blah.. yes.. that's not an excuse.. blah blah.

you argue that there weren't enough brains, but insist on having a ton of monkeys as manpower.

I'm sorry, but all of that just reads to me as a load of excuses.  Excuses on top of excuses that are being thrown out to try and placate people and downplay the MASSIVE incompetence that was displayed at this year's Fanime.  For the record, it didn't directly affect me (I skipped the Night Zero line and got my badge first thing the next morning), but seeing people waiting in line for 6-8 hours easily?  Hearing about people fainting nad/or needing to be taken away by ambulances while waiting in line?  Totally, utterly unacceptable.  And yet all you can do is throw up your hands and say 'We're doing the best we can, stop complaining!'.

Sorry, but no.  No, you are not doing everything you can.  You're doing the minimum that you're contracted to do (getting people in, getting their badge, getting them out), and when people call you out on your outdated way of doing things, you fall back on the tired old 'We're a volunteer organization' excuse.  Your attendees deserve a million times better than what they're getting, yet these excuses are blowing off their concerns and making them not want to come back to Fanime.  If that right there isn't poor customer service, I don't know what is.

The problem is, Fanime's attendees are outstripping its current registration budget.  It's like trying to force ants through a drinking straw, it's an unnecessary choke point.  And from what I can tell, this isn't the first year you've had issues like this (though this is so far the worst year).  Instead of falling back on the tired old 'We're doing our best', how about putting your money where your mouth is?

~Whoever heads registration needs to take it up with Fanime's higher-ups that this system isn't viable, it has to be fixed budget, equipment, and capacity-wise.  Don't have the money to invest? Cut some of the dead weight out of the org so you'll have the budget for the important things.  Also, Fanime isn't PMX, or Conji, or other smaller events.  Budget for the event as it is NOW, not how it was years ago.  Where is there the greatest need for budget allocation?  Where can things be trimmed?  And so on.
~Volunteers and staff don't know things and/or are rude?  The onus falls on reg to train people, full stop.  They are the face of the con, and they need to learn to act it.

TL;DR: The excuses aren't fooling anyone.  Knock it off and actually take steps to improve things, instead of playing lip service.

ewu

Hi I am in the know:) We know there are these problems and are taking steps to address them. We are working to integrate technology to increase speed and tapping more resources to manage people better. It has been 2 weeks since the close of con, so we do not have firm plans yet. Please be patient. If possible, we will publish our plan and not only inform you, but help you understand that errors were made, we recognize them, and are working to resolve and prevent them. Expect to see changes soon.

Note that ideas need to be vetted, budgets approved, and risks evaluated. Once we have a plan we are happy with, we will do our best to get it out to you.

Thanks again for your patience!
Eric

btw, please see my previous post: http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,18525.msg464497.html#msg464497
Eric Wu
FanimeCon Chairman
FanimeCon Forums Moderator

ericATfanimeDOTcom

jemz

Quote from: TruePoindexter on June 05, 2013, 03:35:27 PM
Moving past the registration woes - Eric do you think you can shed some light as to what's at least being discussed regarding the Cosplay Spectacular? The ill-will after the event is being left to fester with no response past "we're reading your feedback." I know the staff have jobs and other responsibilities to attend to first but it would help if there was at least an acknowledgement of what happened.

I have been in contact with the current Div Head and she is working hard to make sure that what happened with the Cosplay Spectacular this year will not happen again next year.  She is aware of the disappointment and the anger of all those who participated and watched. There will be changes for next year to make next year's Cosplay Spectacular run smoothly.

Thank you for giving her all your constructive feedback as it will aid in her decision-making process.
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Tsu

Quote from: SquallLHeart on June 05, 2013, 04:35:47 PM
pre-printed badges: it was done in the past.. but why not this year? because Fanime wanted the capability for people to choose where they can pick up their badge. (yes, people could have gone to Clockwork Alchemy)

Here's what gets to me about this. The idea of having two different registration locations is a good one, for the convenience of those who come mostly for Clockwork as much as those of us who are mostly there for Fanime. What I find extremely irritating, though, is the fact that Fanime specifically made us choose whether you wanted to pick up your badge at Fanime or Clockwork when you pre-registered and it was never mentioned in the actual line or prior to the convention that you could pick up your badge at EITHER location. I assumed like most years (and I imagine others did as well) that the badges had our names pre-printed on them and therefore if you went to the wrong registration location, they of course wouldn't have your badge and couldn't provide you with a new one. Turns out they had labels and that logic was wrong. All it would've taken was one registration staffer (or heck, the roving info desk who came through a couple times) to simply give a verbal announcement that you could go to the other location and pick it up and I'm sure lots of people would have jumped at the opportunity. Someone, or multiple someones, really dropped the ball multiple times.

And if by chance this was posted on Twitter or something on the day registration opened, that's a good step, but there's also something to be said for face-to-face verbal communication. Or a physical sign. :/
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SOawesomeness

Quote from: foester on June 06, 2013, 08:51:34 PM
Quote from: SquallLHeart on June 05, 2013, 04:35:47 PM
pre-printed badges: it was done in the past.. but why not this year? because Fanime wanted the capability for people to choose where they can pick up their badge. (yes, people could have gone to Clockwork Alchemy)
What I find extremely irritating, though, is the fact that Fanime specifically made us choose whether you wanted to pick up your badge at Fanime or Clockwork when you pre-registered and it was never mentioned in the actual line or prior to the convention that you could pick up your badge at EITHER location.

And if by chance this was posted on Twitter or something on the day registration opened, that's a good step, but there's also something to be said for face-to-face verbal communication. Or a physical sign. :/
We had internally discussed this and CA was very concerned because of their lack of resources and capabilities to handle a large line. I will be considering solutions or alternatives to your concern. Thank you for your feedback.

I am considering also having a roaming Registration "Info" Booth as well, as I saw the feedback for Info desk's was very popular. I'm actually very excited to explore this possibility! Signage will be increased as well. Definitely.
Ellie S.
Head of Registration
FanimeCon - "By Fans, For Fans"
FanmeCon: Twitter | Facebook

TravelingPumpkins

Quote from: SOawesomeness on June 06, 2013, 11:18:53 PM
Quote from: foester on June 06, 2013, 08:51:34 PM
Quote from: SquallLHeart on June 05, 2013, 04:35:47 PM
pre-printed badges: it was done in the past.. but why not this year? because Fanime wanted the capability for people to choose where they can pick up their badge. (yes, people could have gone to Clockwork Alchemy)
What I find extremely irritating, though, is the fact that Fanime specifically made us choose whether you wanted to pick up your badge at Fanime or Clockwork when you pre-registered and it was never mentioned in the actual line or prior to the convention that you could pick up your badge at EITHER location.

And if by chance this was posted on Twitter or something on the day registration opened, that's a good step, but there's also something to be said for face-to-face verbal communication. Or a physical sign. :/
We had internally discussed this and CA was very concerned because of their lack of resources and capabilities to handle a large line. I will be considering solutions or alternatives to your concern. Thank you for your feedback.

I am considering also having a roaming Registration "Info" Booth as well, as I saw the feedback for Info desk's was very popular. I'm actually very excited to explore this possibility! Signage will be increased as well. Definitely.

Actually, CA staff members were announcing to people in the Doubletree shuttle lines that they could indeed pick up badges and to "tell friends, post it on facebook, and post it on twitter."  This indicates that they could have been able to handle many more people, as CA's registration lines were extremely short.  Definitely made for some happy attendees who were spared the several hour long lines.  From what I was told, Fanime staff were discouraged from disclosing that people could pick up their badges from the Doubletree (unless asked first).  Perhaps better communication between Fanime and CA during the actual convention could have helped to bring attendees to the Doubletree, alleviate the lines, and keep CA's registration department busy.

TruePoindexter

Quote from: jemz on June 06, 2013, 03:21:30 PM
Quote from: TruePoindexter on June 05, 2013, 03:35:27 PM
Moving past the registration woes - Eric do you think you can shed some light as to what's at least being discussed regarding the Cosplay Spectacular? The ill-will after the event is being left to fester with no response past "we're reading your feedback." I know the staff have jobs and other responsibilities to attend to first but it would help if there was at least an acknowledgement of what happened.

I have been in contact with the current Div Head and she is working hard to make sure that what happened with the Cosplay Spectacular this year will not happen again next year.  She is aware of the disappointment and the anger of all those who participated and watched. There will be changes for next year to make next year's Cosplay Spectacular run smoothly.

Thank you for giving her all your constructive feedback as it will aid in her decision-making process.


Thank you for the update. I hope we'll hear details about what's changing soon (or at least what decisions have been made thus far). It was very unfortunate that the event was more or less a disaster. I've jokingly been telling my wife the only positive was that the building didn't burn down.

I think the feedback has been submitted by everyone multiple times but the largest issue was simply the lack of organization. You can't expect events to start on time or technical needs to be taken care of when simple schedules are unclear. With lots of help from my fellow Pizza Time Cosplay members I've put together an account of our own experiences in the Cosplay Spectacular so hopefully some insights can be gleaned from that: http://forums.fanime.com/index.php/topic,18572.msg464893.html#msg464893