WARNING: THIS IS LONG
Hello everyone,
First, I'd like to say that I had a good time at Kumoricon yet again. I've been to all of them so far and the quality of the event that is put on continues to get better and better.
Yes, there were some rough times during the event, but that's just part of any event. There will probably never be a time when any event goes completely on schedule and smoothly. That being said, I'd like to get to my personal Rant and Rave. Some of this will be a response to what was said at the Rant and Rave, but not much.
First I'd like to say that I work at a hotel, so I have been on both sides of the fence as far as events go.
Now then, we may pay to stay at a place for an event, but that does NOT give anyone the right to treat the hotel staff as a lower class citizen! They are there to help everyone have a more enjoyable stay. Con-goer or not. You may be there paying their paycheck, but that doesn't mean that they can't or won't kick your butt out of their hotel if they feel that you are violating your stay agreement in some way. Don’t expect much of a refund if you get kicked out either.
I had talked with some of the hotel staff, not all by any means, and everyone I had talked to, outside of the security agents, seemed to be happy and willing to help a guest of their hotel when it is requested. The only one's who didn't seem to be helpful or courteous were the security agents, but I have to keep in mind that the security agents aren't there to be helpful. They are there to keep everyone safe and out of restricted areas for one reason or another. They have not had costumer service training.
If you think someone, hotel, con-goer, or con-staff, is being unfair or doing something against con/hotel policy, then get their name from their badge/nametag and tell con-ops about it, or the hotel. Something will be done to fix the problem and you won’t have to worry about it anymore.
Now, onto loitering. I know that there wasn’t much space to hang out a lot of the time, but that doesn’t mean it’s all right to be outside and blocking the sidewalks. They’re for public use and if someone gets angry enough about it the police might get called. That could lead to the con possibly getting shut down if enough people complain about it and no one wants that. So, keep the sidewalks clear enough so that people can get by.
Lines. No one likes to wait in line. That’s not why we’re here. But lines are a necessary evil at any event. I think the way that it was handled this ear was brilliant! I know more then a few people were happy to not have to wait in line for an event during the con and were able to go to more events because of it. Yes, there were a few things that went wrong with the lines, but over all the line situation went fairly smoothly. Everyone who wanted in seemed to get into his or her chosen panel most of the time. Yes there was the screw up with the A.M.V. contest tickets and various video game tournaments, but again, some things are going to go wrong with every event.
The Masquerade was fun. The room was packed throughout it. Having been there the entire two hours and danced during it I can say it was worth having it. Yes I know. It pushed the Rave back. That is unfortunate. A similar thing may happen again next year due to space restrictions. It could also be that other events get moved around, shortened, dropped for next year. That’s what happens at these things. I think the staff did the best it could with the space they had to work with at the hotel.
And onto the Elevators. They were crammed with people most of the time, but they were quick from floor to floor. I know there was a sign put up saying the con-goers were in one line while the non-con-goers were in the other. This is a completely reasonable thing for the hotel staff to have done. If you don’t agree with me, put yourself in a non-con-goers shoes and think about it for a moment. You’re in a hotel, on vacation. At the same time you’re there, there’s a convention happening. You have no interest in this convention, you just want to get to and from your room. The only problem is that every time the elevator comes to your floor it’s full of con-people. After 5 minutes there might still be hope of getting an elevator with some room. After 30 you’re pissed, take the stairs down and complain to the hotel staff. Congratulations, you now hate the subject of the con that is taking place in the hotel you’re staying at. We don’t want people to hate anime. We don’t want them to hate Kumoricon either. If enough of them begin to hate the con then they’ll write to the city with complaints and we won’t be able to have it in Portland anymore. That means it moves to Vancouver, or farther north, Seattle. Nothing against those two cities, but they’re not Oregon. Final note on the elevators. DON’T JUMP IN THE ELEVATORS!!! It overloads the system and they shut down!
“Why couldn’t I get into ______ event?” Well, most likely if anyone else was crammed into that event the fire code would have been exceeded. If that happened and the Fire Marshal was there, he’d shut the con down. I think a smaller crowd for an event to keep the Fire Marshal off our back is a sacrifice worth taking.
Yojimbo. I didn’t have much interaction with them, so all I have to say about them has to do with what the Kumoricon Staff said at Rant and Rave. There were around 50 Yojimbo this year. About half of them didn’t make it to one of the pre-con walk throughs. This means that they didn’t know where things were and were less able to help con-goers. There were also policy changes about 2 weeks before the con, and not all of the Yojimbo were made aware of them. These volunteers are overworked and under appreciated. I’d like to say thanks to all of the Yojimbo, good and bad, for just being there for this con.
As a final note, I’m going to say what has been said numerous times throughout the year. If you don’t like how the con was, volunteer for staff! Any help given to them they’ll use. If you have some ideas, let them know so they can discuss them. They’re always looking for more staff.
