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Eurofurence 28 — "Cyberpunk"
Sep 18 – 21, 2024
CCH — Congress Center Hamburg

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Author Topic: Feedback from EF17  (Read 53936 times)

Pan Hesekiel Shiroi

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Re: Feedback from EF17
« Reply #15 on: 24.08.2011, 13:47:19 »

Kisu: Indeed, it was my fault for not pointing out right away that there was something wrong, I have to admit that and I will definitely do so next time. :)
When was the happy hour? I seem to be lucky enough to always miss it. :')
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Cheetah

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Re: Feedback from EF17
« Reply #16 on: 24.08.2011, 13:50:46 »

No discussion about the kinds of music they played there (though Nimrais really has a point there) but it was just way too loud IMHO.
Wasn't the original intention of no longer having the singing piano lady around to make it a little less loud and actually possible to talk to other people without shouting? Instead you replaced her with even louder DJs and repeating music mixes ...

Actually, the plan was to have music in the bar that contrasts what is going on in the main ballroom. People specifically requested more opportunities to dance when there's no dance in the main room, that's why we had DJs in the bar on Wednesday and Friday, but not on Thursday and Saturday. We realized this caused some issues, so we closed the front of the bar, and removed the outside loudspeakers, so there was always the opportunity to get drinks from the bar, but sit down in the lobby to chat. You can't make it right for everyone I guess. And for most of the times I checked, the bar was rather well attended.

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the glasses weren't full at times (like ... one fourth of the drink was missing) and they even charged more than the price that was actually written on the card (which made me simply stop giving them tips or ordering myself at all).

I can only repeat what I've already said to Faolin: If that happens, complain to the waiter, immediately. Do not complain to us a week after you've paid your bill. I can't judge how full your glass was supposed to be, or if the pricing mistake was maybe just a misunderstanding - or maybe they even mixed up your order with the one who sat their 5 minutes before you took their seat? How am I supposed to know? I had a few pina coladas, and they all tasted wonderful. So who's right now? Maybe you got the wrong drink? What did you tell your waiter?

If you think the amount on your bill is wrong, show them the price on the card and have them correct your bill. They probably poured close to ten thousand drinks that week. They are humans, too, and they're all on a fixed wage, so they have no personal reason to rip you off. These are simple mistakes, and they will be happy to fix them for you, if you only tell them when it happens. And not me :)


And refusing a well-earned tip to one waiter because another one made a mistake will just make you look like a jerk to them. Be nice to them, and they will be nice to you, too! It really works.

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If the piano bar stays that way, I'll probably end up spending most of my free time in the evenings (as well as the money) somewhere else.

Which is fine. Don't stay at a place you don't enjoy! We intentionally provide more than one space to stay in the evening. Everyone wants to do something different, so it is impossible to make everyone happy in one place.

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However, aside from that bar, it was a great con, great people and it felt rather relaxed. :)
Thanks a lot to all the other staff departments that did do such an awesome job. I really appreciated being able to attend EF and I hope next year will be just as great.

Thank you so much :)
« Last Edit: 24.08.2011, 13:53:24 by Cheetah »
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Faolin

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Re: Feedback from EF17
« Reply #17 on: 24.08.2011, 14:25:04 »

Hi Faolin!

Hey Cheetah,

I know I should have complained about the ice immediately, but after waiting about 20 minutes or even more... :) It wasn't meant as a complaint about you or Eurofurence, though, I just wanted to mention it, to have my all-in-all con feedback complete. It really was the one and only minus I experienced, so it won't seriously touch all my positive impressions and highs at the con. I will be there next year, that's for sure.

Regarding the prices in general, I just thought you would somehow provide the hotel with a general feedback or something. I'm pretty sure that people would buy way more drinks if the prices would be just a tad cheaper. Like a win-win situation (ha). And nooooes, I won't go outside at night, if the greatest party of all is INSIDE the hotel. :D
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Cheetah

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Re: Feedback from EF17
« Reply #18 on: 24.08.2011, 14:28:29 »

Regarding the prices in general, I just thought you would somehow provide the hotel with a general feedback or something. I'm pretty sure that people would buy way more drinks if the prices would be just a tad cheaper.

We gave them general feedback last year, and they said "thanks for your feedback". Apparently they are fine with their bar turnover, and who am I telling them how to run their business?
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Faolin

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Re: Feedback from EF17
« Reply #19 on: 24.08.2011, 14:31:15 »

Ok, I didn't know that, I thought they'd be more open for feedbacks like this.
But then I'll just deal with it. :)
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Thygrrr

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Re: Feedback from EF17
« Reply #20 on: 24.08.2011, 15:24:13 »

Regarding the prices in general, I just thought you would somehow provide the hotel with a general feedback or something. I'm pretty sure that people would buy way more drinks if the prices would be just a tad cheaper.

We gave them general feedback last year, and they said "thanks for your feedback". Apparently they are fine with their bar turnover, and who am I telling them how to run their business?

That said, the bar was already at capacity and I think experienced Hotel managers know better how to run a hotel and make a profit than your average convention attendee.

So rest assured, they probably know damn well what they are doing in terms of pricing, quality vs. quantity tradeoffs, etc.
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Pan Hesekiel Shiroi

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Re: Feedback from EF17
« Reply #21 on: 24.08.2011, 15:34:48 »

Cheetah: I really thought the piano bar was a place to sit down and chat with some quiet music in the background. I didn't know people wanted more and different kinds of music, my apologies. :) Most of the times I simply escaped to the lobby which was a really nice place to hang out in the evenings.
And I already said earlier that it was pretty much my own mistake for not pointing things out I was dissatisfied with immediately to the waiter. :)
Oh, and rest assured - if someone's doing a good job, I have no problems with giving tips without being stingily.
And like I said, aside from my experiences in the piano bar this year (which were beyond your control, I know that), this EF was most awesome. :)
« Last Edit: 24.08.2011, 15:44:46 by Pan Hesekiel Shiroi »
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Luxen

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Re: Feedback from EF17
« Reply #22 on: 24.08.2011, 15:41:03 »

The only thing I can recommend is voting with your feet, and either get drunk at roomparties and stick to the affordable drinks in the bar (the beer prices are pretty normal for a bar, for example), or maybe try the cocktail bar directly next door. I've heard they're really good.
I can't really agree to that piece of advice.

Call me old-fashioned, but the majority of con-goers disappearing into private room parties or restaurants means staffers off-duty will have an even more difficult time to find their friends and the con-atmosphere inside the hotel will dilute even further. :-/ What I loved about the Ringberg hotel was that it was so easy to meet people as everybody seemed to be in or around the lobby.

I quite liked the cocktails at the piano bar and Ithe DJ-sets (or, on Saturday night, Foxamoore's spontaneous piano concert) were a nice touch that brought back some "party feeling" to the hotel. You could think about turning down the volume a bit, but I wouldn't want to miss it.
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Ghostbear

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Re: Feedback from EF17
« Reply #23 on: 24.08.2011, 16:30:19 »

Still recovering from the PCD of my first Eurofurence convention, so I guess that's already a good sign.
Naw, really, I was pretty nervous about the con, but in the end I really had a blast.
Thank you very much for making it possible!

I'll try a bit of a feedback, but I'm not very good at it, sorry:

-The Pawpet Show was really, really awesome. As it was my first EF I had no comparison to the older shows, but I really loved it. I had been expecting some martial arts themed "historical" show but I was very positivly surprised to see a kinda cyberpunk themed show. Yes, there were some glitches and all ... but the people are no professional puppeteers, but they played with such enthusiasm and heart that I simply did not really notice the "mistakes" during the show. Just later, when I had time to think about it, I remembered them. But the show, awesome. Amazing how much life and soul you can put into the puppets. I mean Null was just so ... D'AAAW. SO the PPS was my favorite this year.
I loved Bitter Lake and the other shows, but the PPS blew me away.
Seating and everything seemed to went quite well and without much of a fuss (the big delay on the beginning of the PPS, well .. technical difficulties and accidents happen. And it's not that we did not have fun with the balloons ;) . Reserved seating rows for sponsors are a fair deal I think.

- I also enjoyed the BBF dance and I am very thankful for the free ear protection in three different versions. So even people with very sensitive ear could enjoy the dance. Thanks!

- I heard some stories about the elevators not working and everything. Gladly no problems this year. Yeas, sure you had to wait a couple of minutes sometimes, but since you could use the stairs this year it was no problem.

- Hotel staff was very friendly and helpfull. Every question or lil problem was readily answered.

- Prices. Well, that's something that is beyond your control. Was no problem to by myself the stuff I needed during the week in the nearby shopping center anyway. It just hurt when you stumble out of the dance and just need a cold drink to rehydrate. What bugged me a little was that even tap water was on the list of beverages at the minibar, but as I said .. nothing you could do about (and from what I've heared was that the mini bar staff themselves handed out water later)

- What I really liked was how the security staff handled the access to the Dealers Den on the first day. Just a small amount of people at a time. Yes, that meant you had to stay in the line for a longer amount of time, but that also meant you don't step on each others toes in the dealers den. And you had time to look around and maybe exchange a few word with your favorite artist.

- Security seemed to handle their job quite well (of course I can only tell from my positive personal experience) and was friendly and aware of access to certain areas (like Dealers den). I had not been wearing my con ticket around the neck but had it tied to my pants, so when I was in full motion it could be missed. Upon entry to the den I had been (rightfully and friendly) called back by security a few times to check my card.

- A small point at the end ... from what I've heared is that there was some confusion about stage tickets, day pass and so on. Maybe that's something that should be announced a clearer, I don't know. I was there for the full con myself, so I had no problems myself.

To sum it up... it was my first EF and if nothing goes wrong, it won't be my last.
Thank you for the awesome time!

Edit: now I got it I think. o.o'
« Last Edit: 24.08.2011, 16:42:01 by Ghostbear »
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Faolin

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Re: Feedback from EF17
« Reply #24 on: 24.08.2011, 16:32:01 »

So rest assured, they probably know damn well what they are doing in terms of pricing, quality vs. quantity tradeoffs, etc.

That's for sure, I didn't wanna question that or make the impression that I'd think I knew better.
I'm just being naive and thought they would maybe make some more advances for us attendees, due to the fact that they are making the biggest turnovers in I guess a whole year. ;)

Nevermind.
I'll bother the local medieval store next year and be happy about tasty mead instead of drinking cocktails.

Even if I agree with Luxen, I'm not really a fan of private roomparties.
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Cheetah

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Re: Feedback from EF17
« Reply #25 on: 24.08.2011, 16:38:56 »

The only thing I can recommend is voting with your feet, and either get drunk at roomparties and stick to the affordable drinks in the bar (the beer prices are pretty normal for a bar, for example), or maybe try the cocktail bar directly next door. I've heard they're really good.
I can't really agree to that piece of advice.

So what would you suggest instead?
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Cheetah

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Re: Feedback from EF17
« Reply #26 on: 24.08.2011, 16:41:34 »

I'm just being naive and thought they would maybe make some more advances for us attendees, due to the fact that they are making the biggest turnovers in I guess a whole year. ;)

They are already making a lot of advances, they're just apparently very stubborn about their pricing :) Chances are good, by the way, that the prices are set by corporate headquarters for the entire chain, and that they can't change it, even if they want to. I don't really know the exact reasoning, and they're not going to tell me. Sorry.
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Cheetah

Fineas

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Re: Feedback from EF17
« Reply #27 on: 24.08.2011, 17:31:22 »

I'm just being naive and thought they would maybe make some more advances for us attendees, due to the fact that they are making the biggest turnovers in I guess a whole year. ;)

They are already making a lot of advances, they're just apparently very stubborn about their pricing :) Chances are good, by the way, that the prices are set by corporate headquarters for the entire chain, and that they can't change it, even if they want to. I don't really know the exact reasoning, and they're not going to tell me. Sorry.

My opinion changed since last year.
This is a 4 star hotel, normally people in 3 part suit, that listen to a quality entertainer behind a piano and drinking 70 euro per bottle whiskey come here. Even when a guy with a more flashy, but equally tasteful suit comes in and orders a beer for 1.50 euro it sounds kind of stupid.

And feel free to drink anything you want, load you jacket or trousers with Jagermeister or go to your room and get loaded their. Or some other bar.
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Skie

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Re: Feedback from EF17
« Reply #28 on: 24.08.2011, 18:47:01 »

I totally agree with Krakendwaggin! It was my first EF and it will certainly be not the last one! Only one thing: Maritim, please LOWER those insane high prices. And what's the point to even give tapwater a pricetag of €0,50? What's the use of that?!?!

That stuff aside: it was awesome. EF 18 -- I'm ready for it!

I got tapwater for free o.O including ice, and even in a big glass!
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Foxen

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Re: Feedback from EF17
« Reply #29 on: 24.08.2011, 18:47:54 »

I don't really have anything specific to complain on - the music in the dancing area (not in the pianobar) could have been more varied; the beat
was almost identical in all the songs that were played.

When it comes to price... well - at the hotel the price was almost identical to Norwegian prices (a tad lower) so I can't really complain. The low prices at Kaufland
were more shocking as they were incredibly low. XD

The con was really well done - I'll be back next year. ~
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