GenCon First Day
Green Ronin had a pretty good day today as the hall opened but the day had to start very early as we had to get into the hall at the crack of dawn to finish the massive set-up that still needed to be done. With so many of us unable to arrive before last night, there just wasn't a way to get everything set up in time. The hall opened at 9am for some sort of VIP tour or something but as far as I could tell they were letting all sorts of people in, many of whom were pestering me before I had the cash register properly programmed or who wanted to buy things while we were clearly still setting things up in the booth area. I know for a fact I pissed off a couple of people by telling them that I could not help them until after 10am but it couldn't be helped.
I was feeling pretty good until I had a bad encounter with some really gross salad at the Champions at the Marriott. Within the hour I was ill from it (and thankfully managed to get back to feeling better pretty promptly once purged) but that little episode certainly did put a damper on the afternoon.
Had a dinner engagement tonight so I wasn't able to head to Fantasy Flight's premier of the Midnight movie over at the Imax and after dinner was just feeling extremely fatigued and out of sorts so I skipped straight back to the hotel and plan to hit the sack as soon as I finish up my blogging. I hate to miss one of my precious nights for GenCon socializing but I'll regret it tomorrow if I don't get some decent rest (and some non-boozy fluids). As we're rolling into the ENnies, I don't want to risk not being able to enjoy the event... so early to bed it is.
I was feeling pretty good until I had a bad encounter with some really gross salad at the Champions at the Marriott. Within the hour I was ill from it (and thankfully managed to get back to feeling better pretty promptly once purged) but that little episode certainly did put a damper on the afternoon.
Had a dinner engagement tonight so I wasn't able to head to Fantasy Flight's premier of the Midnight movie over at the Imax and after dinner was just feeling extremely fatigued and out of sorts so I skipped straight back to the hotel and plan to hit the sack as soon as I finish up my blogging. I hate to miss one of my precious nights for GenCon socializing but I'll regret it tomorrow if I don't get some decent rest (and some non-boozy fluids). As we're rolling into the ENnies, I don't want to risk not being able to enjoy the event... so early to bed it is.
I'm disappointed to read that looking to buy Green Ronin products is considering "pestering." I simply asked to buy about $90 worth of books put them back and waited for 10. I've been a GR fan and customer since Death in Freeport came out and this just lost me as a customer.
Because of course, Peter, I was talking about YOU.
Please give me a break here. If you've really been a fan since Death in Freeport and have enjoyed Green Ronin products for the last 8 years, why in the world would my griping about a bad start to my workday be enough to lose you as a customer? Is it so inconceivable that a Green Ronin staffer might have *legitimate* gripes about being pestered that have nothing to do with you personally? Are we simply not allowed to have a bad day at work? No one you've worked with has ever failed to complete a project on time and left you holding the bag, having to scramble to make things right at the last minute?
No one informed Green Ronin that "trade day" meant letting *customers* in an hour early and that we needed to be ready to SELL at 9:00. Not only that, but our entire team had already been in the booth since 7am, scrambling to get things set up since they could not be set up the night before. No fewer than 20 people had been trying to get my attention for things (including, but not limited to, buying product) when boxes were still being unpacked, the cash register was malfunctioning and I was sitting there with the machine open and the manual in my lap. That was NOT the time for podcasters to come by looking for an interview, charity organizers to come by looking for donations, or guys with issues like "Back in April I ordered something off your website..." as if I hold the entire Green Ronin Online Store database in my head for retrieval at a moment's notice. It was also not the time for would be freelancers to come up looking for work, industry acquaintances to come by "just to say hi" or any of the other interruptions that were keeping me from getting the booth ready for the people like YOU who were eager to buy product and couldn't until all set-up issues were addressed.
Overwhelmingly the people I told I could not help then and to please wait until 10 were understanding and did so. A couple of people were not, and despite my efforts to be polite but clear and firm about what I was able to do at that moment they stormed off swearing and stomping and hating (which increased my stress and frustration as well, since I really don't want people to be unhappy). If you were one of the people who put down your purchases I just don't see where my griping is a slight against you such that you must renounce all things Green Ronin in order to punish the company for my blog.
Or maybe you just wanted to make sure I felt horrible about it? If so, bravo. You win.
For what's it worth Nik, I don't think you're a horrible person.
Now someone like Joe Quesada, THAT'S a horrible person! Die Joe Q! Die!
Feel better?
Dude...Peter.
It appears a LOT of folks weren't even informed that the dealer hall was going to be open yet.
It's a minor thing, just wait a bit and come back. No harm...no foul. Having an aneurysm over it and all is a bit much.
Quitting as a customer...because they weren't informed and didn't have the stock prepared and till ready is kind of childish.
It's a small matter and I'm sure easily remedied if you were cool about it and just came back after they were set up.
Regulars of GenCon should be used to these sorts of little snafu's. GenCon LLC is sometimes iffy on the communications end of things and of course...ultimately...shit happens.
If I'm reading Peter's comment correctly, he was one of the people who came by the booth, tried to buy stuff before 10, and came back as requested after 10 when told we weren't ready. Peter's objection seems to my post here and that I revealed my feelings (after the fact here, not at the con itself) about trying to set up the booth amid constant distraction. I don't think Peter had a problem at the time... only after reading my blog.
Maybe he'll stop back to elaborate if I've got it wrong.
I still rate you higher on a person scale than I do 65% of the human race Nik.
If that means anything to you.
Yikes. I over-reacted by saying I wouldn't be a GR customer anymore. Simply posting my thoughts without the "my way/highway" motif would have been far more reasonable. (You did have it right, I didn't mind coming back at the show, it was really the comments on the blog.).
Maybe we can chalk the whole thing up to post-Gen Con fatigue? For me, the four days are such a rush that the days after can be a rough adjustment.
My apologies,
Peter