First, I would like to send the official response back from the Press Liason of Otakon. I would like to note that this response was sent HOURS after my complaint, which for e-mail turnaround was pretty damn good. I would also like to note that, considering all they could have done (sugarcoated, denied, accused, or ignored), this was also the BEST response they could have given me, in my opinion.
Dear Grig, Thank you for your letter and the comments that it contained. I apologize for the experiences that you describe at this year's Otakon: ones that sound quite awful. I would also like to stress how sorry I am that your son was treated in such a manner. We are always trying to provide the most pleasant and enjoyable experience possible for our members, and polite demeanour on the part of our staff is, as you pointed out, crucial to the fulfillment of that goal. I would like to address a few of your concerns and hopefully give you a better understanding of some of the situations involved. * The blocking off of the escalators was a step recommended by the Baltimore Convention Center as a way to allow high volumes of traffic to proceed into the Charles Street Lobby of the Baltimore Convention Center in the safest manner possible. * We cap the number of "gophers" (our volunteers) because we always have more members offering their services as volunteers than we are prepared to use. The Gopher Orientation is held in an attempt to impart to our volunteers many of the suggestions on etiquette and procedure that you yourself have mentioned. * As a certified EMT myself, I am personally quite aware of the circumstances in which an unconscious person should and should not be moved. Otakon always has two EMTs on call: one from our staff and one from the Baltimore Convention Center. In all four incidents involving loss of consciousness at Otakon 2001, our staff EMT was present and dictating the course of action, including whether to move the victim or not. As the situations warranted, EMS teams were also brought onto site twice. * Concerning Guests of Honor, being in the Otakon Green Room most of the weekend, I assure you that all of our Guests, both American and Japanese, were treated with the utmost respect and friendliness by the Otakon Guest Staff. This has been a concern in the past, and it has been fully addressed. Did you have any specifics in your complaint that could better aid us in correcting any potential situation involving our Guests? * Lastly, having staffed for three other anime conventions in the past, and currently having friends on many others (including Katsucon), I can assure you that we treat all of our 160 staff members with dignity and gratitude. If we were not all friends, the people who run Otakon would not be together running a 10,000+ person convention in the first place, because, as you pointed out, none of us are paid at all for our work. Again, I would like to express my most sincere regret for your poor experience at this year's Otakon, and I hope that should you decide to attend our convention once more your time will be more to your satisfaction. We will try our hardest in the upcoming year to stress the necessity of politeness to all of the members of our staff in preparation for Otakon 2002. If you have any further comments, concerns, or suggestions, I would be happy to hear them. Yours sincerely, Jonathan Harmon Press Dept Head OTAKON 2001 jharmon@unc.edu (919)749-7642 |
Of course, actions speak louder than words. I will only accept this apology if Otakon 2002 shows remarkable improvement. I have said my peace, and they have responded in a mature manner.
But many people sent me e-mail, either in public replies on lists, or private ones. Almost all of them cheered me on. Two did not, mostly because they feared this would start an inter-convention war of some kind. But here are just some responses I got that maybe Otakon should take note of (some contents edited in [brackets] to conceal anyone who may not want their names connected to this):
From Steve W. on BWSMOF:Grig -- BRAVO! Cons MUST be called down when they allow this kind of behavior -- and I've yet to see a con that lacked at least ONE instance of this kind of contemptuous attitude toward the fans. I, sadly, must include my own cons in that statement. And I'd much rather that fans complain to me -- even publicly! -- than just not come back. There's something about putting on a committee shirt or badge that causes some people to assume an attitude of superiority to all about them. They believe they have suddenly become "important" because they've been given responsibility. It's sad. As my friend Paul Balze said recently, "Here you have some guy who changes urinal cakes for a living, and suddenly he's got a badge that says 'STAFF' and a fancy radio on his belt. It makes him feel POWERFUL." (And he said this at DINNER. But what an image!) As I always reminded the Farpoint committee -- "You're VERY important. But the MOST important people at the con are the ones who PAID to get in. When you speak to them, pretend you're speaking to Isaac Asimov or DeForest Kelly, and show the same amount of deference and courtesy." Orientation? Actually, I've asked that Farpoint DO that many times. But it's hard to get the volunteers together all at once. I think it's an excellent idea to go over ground rules and expectations. But I never envisioned dramatic readings from "Mein Kampf" as part of the process. I've no doubt that's what happened at the orientation you mention here. Sadly, there are con comm members who will DEFEND this awful behavior -- either by saying that it's "necessary to be firm," or by pointing out what a nice guy so-and-so is when he's not packing heat. Further, a lot of con security think of themselves as cops, and cops in our society often project an image of harshness and untouchability. Perhaps it's time to find a new role model for con security. Something more effective than the guards in The Holy Grail, but... still... Anyway, I hope they'll take your message to heart. Fandom should be a place where Fans are welcome. -- Steve |
From Harold F. on BWSMOF:My own observation is that this seems to be a function of size. The smaller the convention, the less likely to have someone obnoxious on staff (please note this is merely a probability, not a certainty). Harold |
From Glenn S. in a private letter:Dear Grig, I can't say how moved I was by your letter. Ive been doing the con thing for a long time now and Im horrified (as Im sure others will be) at your treatment and that of the attendees. Right on for publically calling them on it. I know that at [our convention], we strive to treat everyone kindly and above all, with respect. We even make sure our vendors drink enough water during the day. Thanks. |
From Christopher H. in a private letter:I read your letter about your expiences with Otakon. The staff really did treat the con goers with little or no respect. I am glad that I did not go to Otakon. I was supposed to go with [another person] to work at the [a vendor] table but our plans went arwy. I have friends that wanted to go but they could not, I will show them the letter to them this weekend. I printed it out to show them. |
From Rebecca H. in a private letter:Good for you, Punky. I hope their reply, if any, is as courteous and honest as your letter. I have never been a con that bad, but I have voted with my feet (and wallet). It sounds like lots of people will do the same. |
From Tad in a private letter:May I just say this is one of the finest letters I have ever read. Kudos! You are correct: we always, always, *always* support the head and neck! Even if we know there is no injury we do it because there is too great a chance of injuring the patient while moving them. E.g. Using the scenario you described, suppose the person holding the left arm lost their grip. Instant head injury as the head hits the floor. Instant lawsuit as any lawyer could win a case this easy. You ahve probably noticed by now we *always* move a non-ambulatory patient with either the wheelchair, stretcher or a "chair carry". The only time we do not is when we are waiting for the ambulance to take them from where they are. The only time I would move a patient in the manner you described would be if their life would be endangered by leaving them where they were (i.e. fire, building collapse, etc.). One other note, then I will shut up, whenever we have to move someone thru a crowd we always have a security "phalanx" to clear a path for us. It does the patient no good to hear someone screaming above their head and may make them more anxious or scared than they need to be. TAD |
From Christian S. in a private letter::Amen to that...I'm glad you said something Punk. I would have said a whole lot more. Christian |
From Izzy on JASFA:
Right on, I hate saying bad things about Anime cons, but I think
Otakon has just been getting worse and worse. Also, I won't mention
names but multiple guests (more than a handful) have had nothing but bad
things to say about Otakon this year. If it weren't for all you guys
that go, there's no way I would've come back. Thank goodness I only
staff for good and caring anime cons.
izzy
|
From Ken T. on JASFA:Although this seems to be a quantum level increase in this sort of thing, I have seen similar problems in previous Otakons. I have only paid for one badge, as I have worked for various dealers, and so don't feel as bad about it as I could, however it has been disappointing. The treatment of Non-Japanese guests is particularly disturbing. American artists and writers are entitled to all the same courtesy as the guests from Japan. Many of them are knowledgeable of the genre' that Otakon is promoting, as well as respected artists/writers/actors/ect. in their own right. They are professionals who have worked hard to build their portfolios, reputations, and business, they don't appreciate being treated as third tier wannabes by certain pompous, self appointed sages of artistic criticism who feel that a lack of Japanese citizenship should constitute a loss of two "stars" on any review. I have witnessed this behavior personally on different occasions directed at FOUR separate artists, two of whom are, IMHO, some of the best guest a con, especially an Anime con, can have. The other two have not, to my knowledge, attended another Anime con. I have seen Otakon attendees treated little better. On one occasion a friend had his badge blown away in front of witnesses, including myself. The staffer he went to report it to treated him with all the courtesy of an IRS agent behind quota. My friend was required to PAY for a new badge and given a stern admonition on the importance of not being a clutz, as well as some snide comment about "evolution". My friend had art in the art show and was thus obliged to comply. He has not been back in 3 years and swears he will never go to another one. He suffered the additional indignity of having STAFFERS critique his art as sooo behind the times or on one occasion, NOT ANIME! This was due to the fact that his pieces consisted mainly of renditions of Teresawa, Go Nagai, Takahashi characters as well as early Tatsunoko properties, many of which were not to the taste of, or unknown to the security staffers in question. At the opposite end of this extreme I witnessed a 14ish year old girl being berated at a later otakon by a staffer who felt that some recent (then) show she really liked was "crap" and she should stick with genuine art like Gundam. I called this budding newtype to the task on this one (the girl was visibly upset) and was threatened with having my badge taken away. This was reported to senior staff who were properly disturbed, but the next day the same staffer was staffing. One thing that seems to be common throughout these and many other incidents is the feeling by the staff that they are "insiders" as they work at the con and have by that virtue better "Secret Master" credentials. It seems analogous to the idea of a servant who works in the castle looking down on the serfs in the field as he is closer to the source of power, " I have the lords ear, don't anger me!" Not that the troublemakers (usually) have anything to do with the ORGANIZATION involved with putting on a con. They just do their job (badly) and act like big shots and bullies as they try to compensate for their .... whatever. I have other such stories but they would be quite redundant. This year on Otakon weekend, despite having the opportunity of helping at a dealers table or just going and enjoying the con, I instead went to a small gathering of friends that was just as far away (3.5 hours) there were no dances, huckster rooms, or panels, but the friends were very pleasant and are all cool people. We watched videos, went to a very nice Peruvian Restaurant and had pleasant conversations. I am very happy with my choice. |
From Edward F. in a private letter:Grig, I would have to say that this was indeed one of the best letters I have seen in many years. I kinda felt the same way about otakon 2 years ago (except not as bad) and have not attended it myself since although this year was due to different reasons. I applaud it and feel that it is as diplomatic as one can be under the circumstances. |
From "AE" Anime Club in a private letter:We are also drawing up a draft complaint, but I wanted to tell you that you only have the half of it. I applaud you for sending this letter out, and this will get our people motivated to do the same thing. Here are some of our complaints that differ from yours. + While in line for signatures, we constantly witnessed staff members cutting in line. Some of them had multiple copies of things to sign which we were told was not allowed. because of all these cuts in line, some of our members didnot get signatures until [someone's] party later on Saturday. I pity those who do not have connections like we do. + When [one of our younger female members] was pushed while waiting for the game room to open, she was literally yanked up off the floor by a huge guy with a beard and told to move. When she screamed at him (she's been through a rape), she was told that she was "banned from the convention" and told to leave. This was never enforced, but I personally had to stay with her for the rest of the weekend because she didn't feel safe. + Like you, we had problems in the vendor's room with staff and traffic control. I was called a "retard" by a staff member guarding the door when I tried to exit through the entrance. When I threatened to complain, they said something to the effect of "cry me a river." I complained to the information booth, did get an apology, but on Sunday, the same guy was there. + While this did not affect any one of our members in person, we witnessed a shoving match between a staff member and someone in front of the art show. It was like watching bullies at a playground. + The way the dance abruptly ended was handled very badly. We weren't sure if they had to evacuate the convention center or what. They herded us out to the street where the fire extinguishers had apparently exploded, and most of us got drenched. Thanks a lot, Otakon staff! Sorry this is long, I just had to get this off my chest. |
From "George" in a private letter:
You're right about the guests thing. At [guest]'s house, a lot of the American guests
comiserated about the treatment they were getting. [A guest] officially declared
"I am officially stating that Otakon now sucks!" I would be surprised if they got
any American guests next year. [Another guest] toasted in the backyard, "To Otakon,
who has made whores of us all, and never let us forget that." Otakon is a joke.
It's a sick, sad joke.
It's not that the staff doesn't care, Punky. The staff has forgotten where they
came from and they have become like [another con who has a repuation for having an
elitist staff]. They are one incident away from becoming a Hindenberg, and they
know it.
|
From Tom in a private letter:I also wrote them a letter, but didn't get any response like you did. Maybe I should post it on Usenet. Have you seen what people have been saying on the Internet about this con? You were too nice. Otakon staff are jackasses. |
From Kett on the BWSMOF Mail List:In my 20 years with conventions (I'm currently the Shore Leave Chair) I have seen this behavior over and over. Last year I was in an autograph line for the first time in many years (it WAS John Travolta after all) and got barked at by a guy who boasted that he was a retired Master Seargeant. Well, I'm not in the military, I'm a fan at a Science Fiction convention. Sometimes the very people that volunteer to work Security or to escort Guest Stars are the very people that should never have that duty. When someone cites their qualifications by telling me how many years they had in the military or law enforcement, I find a polite way to turn them down. Now, I'm not saying that all military or law enforcement folks are bad at the job, I have known some that were excellent. The REALLY good ones quietly and politely do the tasks assigned. They know who they are and don't feel the need to feel important by ordering people around. Others have no power in their mundane lives and feel important in their convention position. You try the best that you can to advise them before they go on duty, but some people surprise you with attitudes that you never saw prior to that moment. The speech that I gave my Guest Escort and Autograph Line volunteers this year (the areas that I was responsible for staffing) referred to a Patrick Swayze movie in which he played a bouncer. He said "You will be nice. You will be nice until it's time not to be nice." I added that if they get to the point of "not being nice" that they were to ask for me to help them or call the Hotel Security. They were not to EVER have a confrontation with someone or to touch them in any way. No matter how congested the area is with people, it is possible to politely move them to where you want them to be. The people actually want to do what you say. If you ask them nicely to move over, they will. If you talk to them like you are one of them, and we are all in this together, they take inconveniences much better. I can't tell you how many times I have explained this to volunteers/staff when I have witnessed rude behavior. I'm not saying that Shore Leave is free of bad attitudes. I've even had to read complaints to my own committee and have them realize that they were the person that was being complained about. Some people just don't realize that their need to move through the people is still no excuse for doing it rudely. Okay now... let's all practice these words: Please Excuse Me Thank you To close I will tell you how I cleared the Dealers Room for many years. "Please complete your final transaction. If you have any of that messy green paper in your pockets, please give it to the nearest dealer, they'll dispose of it for you." or..."Please complete your final transactions. Please take your remaining money out of your pockets, throw it at the nearest dealer and LEAVE." Everyone laughed as they left and never felt as if they were being pushed around. Kett |
From Tiger on the FanTek Mail List:::big cheer and Hoorah for Punkie:: Well put, my man, well put indeed. ~ TigeryOne, who numbered among the disgruntled vendors. |
From Dave on the FanTek Mail List:Hear, Hear. I thought it was quite bad this year as well. Lots of blackshirts shouting with no real reason to. I got yelled at for running up the stairs at one point, because I was taking them two at a time. (they were short stairs) Had at least three people yelling at me and a friend of mine, over and over, until we stopped. I also found a few times when I would ask a staffer what was going on in a room, or where something was, and I would just get a blank stare and a muted "dunno" back. The other major complaint that I had was how horrible the con space was set up this year. Last year, you could get to pretty much anything easily. My only beef was that artist's alley was in the dealers room, which meant it got closed with dealer's room. (and the artists, for whatever reason, weren't allowed to sell upstairs.) However this year, I spent most of my time walking from one room, down stairs, through a hallway, up stairs, across the street, and then up an escalator. I don't neccessarily fault Otakon for this, but they need to rethink their layout a bit. I said the same thing last year too, about the rudeness of the staff. (since I was shocked comparing it to FanTek or Katsu) Most of my friends said, well they have to do large amounts of crowd control, and that made sense. (I still didn't think they needed to be as rude) But it looks like they managed to make it a whole lot worse. What got me the most is that after untold $$$ spent for hotel room, reg, and food, I really didn't have that good a time. Last year, I had a lot of fun, but this year, other than costume watching, was a real dud. I'll still go next year, but if it goes downhill even more, I'm not going back for a while. my 5 and a quarter rubles |
From Sharon on the FanTek Mail List:I thought that I might take my daughter to Otakon next year. With 2 years of rude staff behavior documented, I'll pass. I work too hard to make money to attend functions where I will be treated disrespectfully. Feel free to pass this not on to whomever is is charge of this function. Thanks for the "heads up, folks. Sharon |
I had to add this part, since this directly dealt with problems in the merchants room. This is a public response from Sue Monroe, Head of Otakon Dealer's Room, to someone on an anime convention list about not allowing merchants access to the rest of the con:
steven said:> This is one of the problems I think that Otakon has. This year they > started enforcing the rules about not allowing dealer access to other areas > during dealer hours. I do not think they have ever enforced this before, > but I may be wrong. I believe one of the exhibitors got very angry. I > think the exhibitors was Anime Jungle and I think they have a right to be. > They are every bit part of the con. Isn't the exhibitors room one of the > main attractions. When cons are growing they want our support and I think > most dealer try and help out. it is in there best interest for the con to > grow. The bigger the con the more money they make. I know of a few dealers > that try and help the con. > If you are afraid that dealers will go and take space from your other > paying members, then give them a discounted pass or the option to upgrade to > a reg pass at discount, but it is unfair to cahrge them from space and then > not allow them access like any other fan. All I am saying is that there > should be a balance to passes for dealers. Dealers are fans too > ....Sometimes. Yes, Dealers are fans. So are we. We have been enforcing the Dealers' Room rule for years, not just this year. And we have no problem with Dealers' who are working the Con attending events. Main events are generally scheduled when the Dealers' Room is closed. The problem came, several years ago, with Dealers who were misusing their badges. As for the badges and discounts and all, they pay for the table so that they can Sell Things To The Fans. That's what they come to the Con to do. They don't pay for a membership to get into the Con. Some of the Dealers people are there as members, not Dealers. The money they pay us does not go into the Pockets of the Staff, nor does it go toward next year's Con. It goes to pay for the space and dressing we put them in. We, at least at Otakon, are not making money off of the Dealers' Room. I am always interested in improving the Dealers' Room, but the primary fact here is that the Dealers are there to make money, not to attend the Convention. Susan Monroe Otakon |
Sure gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling, doesn't it? I was given a regular badge as well as a merchant's badge, so I didn't encounter this (not that I wanted to attend anything else because I had to work the table, and I was terrified of the staff).
Their tables cost $300 each, and they say the merchants are not money makers? Okay, assume that the $300/table is not a profit (which is likely, considering the cost of the function space). For a con like this, the merchant's room is a major, major draw. I would say that most cons, merchants are 50% of the draw. I have never been to a con without checking out the merchant's room. At Otakon, they have one of the largest merchant's room anywhere. Lines form for them that last hours.
Also, being a merchant is hard. I have been in cons so long, I know tons of merchants, merchant's kids, and heck, I even married a merchant assistant. Working the table is greuling and I doubt any merchant who has an IQ over 50 would allow a "free badge" to go to waste on someone who they know won't work the table. It's true that merchants do not got to cons to attend the con as a primary goal. But in my opinion, treating the merchants as sub-attendees is like treating them as a "necessary evil." I liken it to hiring concubines to entertain for the foreign guests, but not allowing them any access to the rest of the castle, because after all, they are just whores.
I know of no other cons that do this. Last con I went to that treated merchants like this got blacklisted by them.