Ewhitley: Updated with info about fruit observed at Balticon 40

2006-08-14T03:09:58Z

Updated with info about fruit observed at Balticon 40

Netmouse: moved chuck's brain dump to a new page title

2005-10-13T22:39:15Z

moved chuck's brain dump to a new page title

New page

The following text file was an email sent to the ConFusion-ConCom list after the 2003 convention. ConFusion is either a small regional convention or a large state convention. There is an average of 700-900 people. The ConSuite is open 24 hours. 2 separate suites (smoking/non) on separate floors ran by one department.

This brain dump was created after the first year at a new hotel. It was not created for this Wiki but was simply copied here. '''I *highly* encourage people to edit/change/delete/restructure this list. '''

Enjoy.

Chuck F.
[[ConFusion]] Science Fiction Convention

Suggestions:
Plastic snap-together shelving units (similar to what was used in the Art
Show) can be used to organize. This could be put in the closets of the core
suite's bathroom. Have shelves labeled, "Friday evening", "Saturday
Morning", "Saturday Evening", and "Sunday Morning". That way no matter who
is staffing the suite, they know exactly what to put out, and how much. Do
not put these in easy view of ConSuite guests - they will help themselves.

Purchase a hand-held "Dirt Devil" vacuum cleaner to be used in the
ConSuite. It would store easily and can be used to clean up quick messes.
ALSO, it can be used to clean up tablecloths on your serving table without
having to get a new tablecloth entirely.

Not only create a schedule of shifts and email it out to your staff a
couple of weeks before the con, make sure you have people that will show up
early on Friday (around 12:00) to help set up the suites. Setting up
Thursday night as much as you can is good, but you can't get everything, and
the food hasn't arrived yet. It will Friday.

POST YOUR STAFF SCHEDULE. Put this somewhere right near the entrance to
the ConSuite. Not somewhere 100% obvious where everyone is going to want to
look at it, but have it very easily accessible. That way any staff member
can see who is coming in next, or when their next timeslot is if they
forget. Scheduling four hour shifts works great. Six hour shifts are
doable if you have to. Eight hour shifts are grueling and difficult. Any
longer than eight and you'll lose friends. They will never ever work in a
ConSuite again.

Set up well in advance people responsible for tear-down on Sunday. You
cannot do it yourself, and you *will* need more help than you expect. I
figured having four people would be enough. I was very wrong. I suggest at
*least* six people starting early packing what they can. (Aka, around 9:00
if your pack-out truck leaves at 3:00.) Maybe close one room of the suite
for storage.

If we're at the Troy Marriott, we know we will need bathtubs filled with
ice on a regular basis. Make arrangements prior to Con to have the hotel
fill these bathtubs with ice at pre-set times. Getting ice filled at night
was troublesome during this first year. If the hotel knows they have to
fill 4 tubs (two smoking, two non) with ice three times day at X, X, and X
O'clock it will likely make things a lot easier. MAKE SURE TO TIP THE
PEOPLE FILLING UP THE TUBS WITH ICE ON THEIR FIRST RUN. Try to make it a
point to tip them each time they fill the tub, as it may be different people
each shift.

Sam's Club does not take Visa or MasterCard (and likely no longer American
Express) [true in 2003]. The only card they currently accept (though don't count it unless
you have to) is Discover. HOWEVER, they do accept personal checks. They
also accept business checks, and you can have the Con Treasurer fill them
out to Sam's Club for you.

If you have to borrow a large truck to bring lots of unwieldy supplies
(kegs, etc.) to the Convention remember that you will need to refill fuel
used. Large trucks have HORRID gas mileage, and this mileage (and only this
mileage) is a Con expense. The treasurer will probably be glad to know
about this as you give him your budget. It cost $20 this year and
approximately $25 last year.

At the Troy Marriott, hook up the Smoke Eater in the middle bathroom. You
can have the output venting directly into the bathroom vent. This helps
quite a bit.

Have a stereo with speakers that are AT LEAST 10 feet away from each other.
More is better. If you have a boom box (or close speakers) one portion of
the room will be very loud with music, and the other portion of the room
won't be able to hear the music over people talking.

Music - Things **without vocals** make perfect background music, and set an
ambiance well. A CD changer with a Shuffle function is great. Stick in 3-5
CD's with the same theme, press Shuffle and walk away. Easy and done for
hours, and not repetitive.

Thursday night - Keep the door shut in the ConSuite for the after-dinner
party. Have the music at a *very* low volume. We don't have the entire
hotel and there are business people on the same floor that don't appreciate
the noise.

If you have to share your room to be used as a ConSuite storage suite,
bring earplugs. Seriously. I bring earplugs whenever I travel and they are
very useful.

Beer: Two kegs of Bells Porter, two kegs of Woodchuck Cider (granny smith
and amber). Both kegs of the Woodchuck were consumed in the smoking
ConSuite and we ran out Sunday morning. We had about 2/3 of a barrel left
of the Bells Porter. In the future, there is no need to UN-tap a keg
overnight. Simply don't serve it if you don't want to. (Chuck untapping a
keg means that Chuck wears a whole lot of beer when he messes up re-tapping
it.)

We duplicated food efforts for each ConSuite. The below menu refers to only
one ConSuite, so double it if you are planning on buying for two suites.

Standard:
Peanut Butter and Jelly (could have kept a better eye on keeping bread out.
It went faster than I thought.)
Salty/Crunchy/Chocolate/Sugary
Coffee - Fresh large pot made every shift. Most shifts poured out 1/2 of
the pot. Note: Only make 1/2 pots unless midnight-4 or for mornings.

Breakfast:
3 different boxes of cereal, 3 gal milk, 2 gal OJ. Note: Due to Saturday
consumption of 2 gals milk we only bought two gals of milk for Sunday and
were fine. (Remaining gallon was *slowly* picked at during the day and more
of a bother than a plus.)
12 dozen doughnuts, several dozen (5?) bagels, cream cheese. Note: Only get
Plain Cream Cheese. Other types simply are not touched.

Meat/Cheese Trays:
1.5 lb ham
1.5 lb turkey
1 lb roast beef
3 loaves decent bread
3 different types of sliced cheeses. Weight unremembered.
As always, meat gets eaten just as fast as we put it out. Originally the
plan was to have 1 lb of each meat. The initial tray accidentally had 1.5
lbs (except roast beef, which is sold in 2 lb packs at Sam's Club) and it
worked well so we stayed with it.

Deli Trays:
1.5 lb broccoli
1.5 lb baby carrots
1.5 lb celery
Bowl of dill dip in the center of the tray.
Quick, easy, and the broccoli doesn't go fast at all. It's almost always
the one that's left at the end. I think carrots go the quickest.

Crunchy/Salties/Sugary/Random Foodstuffs
Buy a lot more standard Salty/Crunchy on Friday than you think you're going
to use for all of Friday and Saturday. You'll likely start running out of
them Saturday early am anyway - they're cheap, buy lots. One big bag/barrel
of pretzels has always lasted me the whole Con. Grapes last a surprisingly
long time (as in, they stay out and people don't inhale them.) People love
pistachios; they're particularly good late in the evening when people are
sitting and talking. Buy a huge can of peanuts - you can fill small bowls
with your can all con. Ridged Sun Chips are a hit - no name potato chips
are not. Don't eat anything off the floor even if you're almost 100% sure
it's the same thing you've just dropped. Fruit goes over well - bananas are
great and people like them. Apples are more portable than oranges, but
oranges seem to go better. Unless you know people specifically want it,
don't save pennies buying lower quality foods/brands that you wouldn't want
to eat - other people will share your opinion.

There's plenty more in my head, but if I keep writing them this will be a
novel and not a printout or email. There is one suggestion that I've saved
for last, as it is the most important. Pick a good staff. A good staff
will ensure that things will go well and that you won't have to worry
(though you will anyway). Who knows, you might even get to some programming
because of it. <grin>

Enjoy,

Chuck
Co-ConSuite, ConFusion 2003

THE FOLLOWING WAS SNIPPED FROM MEETING MINUTES OF FEB 2005

ConSuite
- needs a plan for shopping, unloading truck, and storage

- engineering room should be done Thursday afternoon so room can be
ready for relaxing Thursday night after dinner

- shelving needed for ConSuite for closet in middle bathroom - was in
Ops, may be damaged: Check cube!

- put 1 banquet under chandelier, one under window

- rearrange flow of rooms

- documentation would be great: plan and responsibilities, supplies and
how they work

- sign for "birthday must be on or before 'X' date"

- Chuck wrote a "shift, here's what you need to know"

- Chuck had shifts overlap by 1/2 hour

- may need to buy right-sized coffee cups

[[category:Hospitality]]

@@ Line 148: / Line 148: @@
 it's the same thing you've just dropped. Fruit goes over well - bananas are
 great and people like them. Apples are more portable than oranges, but
-oranges seem to go better. Unless you know people specifically want it,
+oranges seem to go better.
 don't save pennies buying lower quality foods/brands that you wouldn't want
 to eat - other people will share your opinion.

Consuite - Notes from ConFusion - Revision history

Ewhitley: Updated with info about fruit observed at Balticon 40

Netmouse: moved chuck's brain dump to a new page title