Convention Attention- Staff Griefers and Bad Staff

[Extreme Cuddler]

I volunteer sometimes at cons, I rarely sleep since I am always moving around between friends and getting invited to do things, I don't know if it is the hype of the con or my personality but I have not once had drama during a con or snapped at some one. I admit it does get annoying when the instructions are bad or you get moved around but, things pop up and there is always that lack of communication.  

[TigerLilyChick]

Tsuki Nushi

Yeah that happens a lot.

It's very stressful working a new environment and the hotel, not knowing what goes on at your con or how your accustomed to run things, often neglects to give you what you need and forces you to abide by strict rules and policies that may or may not conflict with your work.

The con I work at was at a new hotel last time. The hotel didn't give us many rooms so we had to run the artist alley outside, the arcade and movie rooms were crammed into regular hotel rooms, they wouldn't let us set up a stage for the main events, they wouldn't let the vendors in the dealer's hall hang anything up. And of course we kept getting lost and we didn't know were to put our stuff. It was all very frustrating.

Okay, that is just extremely messed up right there. I hope the con you work at doesn't use that hotel again.  

[Tsuki Nushi]

MadHatterzMouse

Tsuki Nushi

There's a saying we have among staff: "We the Insane, do the Impossible for the Ungrateful" and it absolutely sums up the experience.

This is great, and really does sum it all up.

As for staff getting angry, you'll notice it a lot more towards the end of a lot of cons due to sleep deprived volunteers. I've noticed even I tend to get a little frustrated when I'm lacking in sleep, which has even happened earlier in the con that most are aware. I know some staffers who start Wed and go till the con ends with little to no sleep. This is more than likely due to poor planning on the part of the head of the convention, or (which I also know of happen a few times) the lack of any sort of communication from the higher ups until the week of the con. This makes things all the more stressful for the volunteers and even staffers. It's always made worse at some cons when the head can't take responsibility for messing things up.

Yes! Thank you for understanding what I go through. Of course, I think my con had it a little worse than most cons do because the Head of the con would sabotage us both intentionally and unintentionally.  

[SakuraRico]

The bigger problem with volunteers in the con I mostly go to (Kaisen) is that some people volunteer, they go in free, and there. They don't show up for duty at their appointed time, or not at all.

Last Kaisen I arrived half an hour late to my duties, so I stayed half an hour later after I was supposed to be out.  

[MadHatterzMouse]

Tsuki Nushi

MadHatterzMouse

Tsuki Nushi

There's a saying we have among staff: "We the Insane, do the Impossible for the Ungrateful" and it absolutely sums up the experience.

This is great, and really does sum it all up.

As for staff getting angry, you'll notice it a lot more towards the end of a lot of cons due to sleep deprived volunteers. I've noticed even I tend to get a little frustrated when I'm lacking in sleep, which has even happened earlier in the con that most are aware. I know some staffers who start Wed and go till the con ends with little to no sleep. This is more than likely due to poor planning on the part of the head of the convention, or (which I also know of happen a few times) the lack of any sort of communication from the higher ups until the week of the con. This makes things all the more stressful for the volunteers and even staffers. It's always made worse at some cons when the head can't take responsibility for messing things up.

Yes! Thank you for understanding what I go through. Of course, I think my con had it a little worse than most cons do because the Head of the con would sabotage us both intentionally and unintentionally.

I've known a couple con heads who do that (one at the con I won't work for EVER again, but neither will my head of staff from that con). Then there are the ones who are cheap at the wrong times, and spend too much on stupid stuff. But I completely understand.  

[Tsuki Nushi]

MadHatterzMouse

Tsuki Nushi

MadHatterzMouse

Tsuki Nushi

There's a saying we have among staff: "We the Insane, do the Impossible for the Ungrateful" and it absolutely sums up the experience.

This is great, and really does sum it all up.

As for staff getting angry, you'll notice it a lot more towards the end of a lot of cons due to sleep deprived volunteers. I've noticed even I tend to get a little frustrated when I'm lacking in sleep, which has even happened earlier in the con that most are aware. I know some staffers who start Wed and go till the con ends with little to no sleep. This is more than likely due to poor planning on the part of the head of the convention, or (which I also know of happen a few times) the lack of any sort of communication from the higher ups until the week of the con. This makes things all the more stressful for the volunteers and even staffers. It's always made worse at some cons when the head can't take responsibility for messing things up.

Yes! Thank you for understanding what I go through. Of course, I think my con had it a little worse than most cons do because the Head of the con would sabotage us both intentionally and unintentionally.

I've known a couple con heads who do that (one at the con I won't work for EVER again, but neither will my head of staff from that con). Then there are the ones who are cheap at the wrong times, and spend too much on stupid stuff. But I completely understand.

Ours was the type who never did anything until last minute and would just show up to meetings and socialize and just say ok to everything you said. Con-ops did everything until about the month, 3 week period, then he gets off his a** and actually work with people. And of course, all the departments have already made their own plans, and have everything figured out and here comes this dumbass to tell them that they have to completely re-do everything they did, and that they wouldn't get some of the stuff they thought they would.

And he hated my department, because the person who was in charge of it until recently also ran an anime club (which I'm also an officer of) and he thought we were trying to compete with the con. Because a tiny club with like 20 people and no money can totally out-do a con. So he'd give away our budget and equipment to other departments, steal prizes from us, hold meetings last minute and not tell us, tried to keep us understaffed, would take info for our events off the website, let the other members of staff get away with not helping us, tell other members of staff to spread false info about when and wher our events would be and "forgot" include a spot for our sign up table every year.