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.
