Arisia needs an attitude adjustment.

[donnad.livejournal.com]

I am sure this will offend many people, and if it does I apologize, but I feel it has to be said.

I am disgusted and appalled at the rudeness and sense of entitlement I encountered from many of this year's staff members. And I am not the only person who noticed this.


An example...
I got up early on Sunday and went down to the staff den, I was there about 15 minutes before it was supposed to open, but the lovely staff den ladies let me in anyway. I told them I needed food so I could take some meds, but I could see they weren't quite ready yet and asked what I could do to help them get stuff put out. They gave me a couple things to do (and a danish so I could take my meds) and I went off to help. At 8:02AM a person walked in, I was just plugging in the kettle to heat water, sie wanted tea so I told hir it would be a few minutes while the water heated that I had just plugged it in. Hir response was very snobbishly "What do you mean the water is not hot yet?" I looked at hir and said well, you weren't here 10 minutes ago to plug it in. You want it faster, then feel free to come in early and help. These ladies were up just as late as the rest of us, they are doing their best." and I walked away.
Sure sie hadn't had hir morning caffiene yet, but that was no excuse to jump all over me because the kettle isn't hot. Sie had a coffee maker in hir room, there was nothing preventing hir from using it. This is just one instance I personally encountered in the den, I witnessed many more acts of rudeness directed at the ladies running the den and other staff members in the den, during my visits there. (I was not den staff, I was just helping out while waiting for the food to be ready.)

In general many staff members were surly, rude, and just basically snappish, many came across with the "I'm staff, I'm better than you" or the I'm staff therefore I'm entitled to [...] ahead of you" attitude.

In my opinion, If you want to be involved in Arisia, and deal with hundreds of fans and random people all weekend and can't keep a pleasant attitude, no matter how stressed you get, or how tired or overworked you are, perhaps you shouldn't be doing that job. It's like any job that involves dealing with the customer, you have to keep it all to yourself so as to not take it out on the unsuspecting and not offend. I was personally offended by many of the attitudes I encountered during the weekend by staff members I did not know and who didn't know me. There are places to let it all out, you shouldn't be snapping and rude to the attendees or they will stop coming and we cant have an Arisia without them.

I have a whole essay/rant about Arisia and it's changing dynamic as of late, How I feel it's strayed from it's original mission to be all inclusive and such, how it's more of a fannish lifestyle and polyamory based con now instead of Science Fiction and Fantasy based as originally intended, and how it really needs to be able to encompass all things equally*, but I will likely not subject people to it.

Personally with the next Arisia being the 20th, I would love to see the theme be "Back to Basics" or "Back to our Roots." But since I am just a lowly staff member, costumer and artist (who BTW has worked at every Arisia in some capacity to the point of never having to purchase a membership to Arisia yet) and really do not want any other responsibility right now, who am I to say what should happen?


*Of the panels offered pre-con, 47 "fannish lifestyle" panels this year and only 12 art, 12 filk, and 8 costume panels is not treating all things equally.

Comments

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

I support Arisia by allowing them to use the insignia I made them to use for the first con for all these years, free of charge. That would be a lot of years of free use of some nice art. That would be without anyone ever ever paying me. That would be me, not asking for payment. For over a decade. Well over. Do you think I could get a membership or two for that?

If you didn't ask for one, but now you are using the fact that you weren't given one, as justification for a sense of entitlement ...

My mind boggles.

[recombatant.livejournal.com]

You are all so far outside of knowing me or who I am. I really don't care. I'm all over it. Arisia is losing interest of industry pros, artists especially. I really have no interest. Or I would have bought a membership and been more involved. As it is, I went to two program items and I bought a few items from dealers. I didn't even go to see the art show.

And I am entitled to some consideration from that con. Yes, I am.

[dda.livejournal.com]

Arisia is losing interest of industry pros, artists especially.

As the Art Show Director for this last Arisia, I am most interested in what can be done to attract artists, especially industry pros. Given the layout of the hotel, the 16th floor is the only place into which the Art Show will fit; even devoting a ballroom to it wouldn't really work. Note that I didn't vote for going to this hotel and I'd love for us to be in a larger one that could accommodate a great Art Show. So if you have any comments, let me know, either here or at artshow (at) arisia (dot) org.

[recombatant.livejournal.com]

Hi. I don't really want to be complaining. Maybe it's just me. Things seem different to me.

[dda.livejournal.com]

Suggestions are always welcome (at least by me); I might not be able to implement them but if a former artist GoH is unhappy with our Art Show, I'd like to know why and if the Art Show is somehow not attracting the types of artists we want, I'd like to know why that is, too.

I'm not going to comment on the rest of Arisia and how it might have changed over the years; I'm particularly interested in the area I just ran and how to make it better.

[recombatant.livejournal.com]

Okay then. I appreciate your tone with me. I'll try to talk with some people I know and see if we can offer any worthwhile info that you can use that might improve things as far as the art end of stuff. It's probably going to be a lot of the same ol' stuff and meet with resistance or ready answers that you have probably come to expect.

As far as the rest of the con... it may be alienating some folks because programming is reading a more like a Jerry Springer show every year.

[dda.livejournal.com]

It's probably going to be a lot of the same ol' stuff and meet with resistance or ready answers that you have probably come to expect.

I am not sure I'll be running the Art Show next year but I'll certainly make sure to pass it along to whomever is; I don't want the feedback to get lost. But in any case, thank you for taking the time to come up with the suggestions!

Of course, I also cannot promise that all the suggestions will be immediately implemented. Some folks have suggested having the Art Show on the main floor; that might only be possible in a different hotel which is gonna take a while to accomplish. :-(

it may be alienating some folks because programming is reading a more like a Jerry Springer show every year.

This is useful feedback to Programming, I'd think. Programming is always a balancing act and some may decide they get more attendees with Jerry Springer programming than they lose. But knowing that they are, in fact, losing people is important.