GROUP PICKUP WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE THIS YEAR

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Eilonnwy
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GROUP PICKUP WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE THIS YEAR

Post by Eilonnwy »

I realize that a lot of people really liked the Group pickup option, however due to an unforseen complication group pickup will not be available. Everyone must pick up their own badge, with the single exception of parents picking up their badge along with their 12 & under child.. No exceptions.

I apologize for the inconvenience. I realize a lot of people wanted this option in hopes of avoiding the line, however I promise that this will not negatively impact the line. The changes we have put in place by contracting Expo Logic will be more than enough.

I will be sending out an email to all our pre-reg attendees with this information to make sure everyone is properly informed.

::EDIT::

I realize ome people depended on group pickup because they lacked a Government Issued ID for our 18+ ID policy. As a result I have changed the policy and School/College IDs will be acceptable for anyone over 18+. Please note, you still need a Government Issued ID for 18+ events.
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Fetch
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GROUP PICKUP WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE THIS YEAR

Post by Fetch »

This does not bode well, Eilonnwy.
This will cause anger. This will cause the pre-reg line to move slower, due to both the increase in length and the number of people who will be arguing with Reg staff about how they did the stuff for group badges (those will be the people that don't read the forums).
It will also cause line cutting incidents to increase, due to friends finding out about the 'no groups' issue and calling their group to come join them in line.
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Eilonnwy
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GROUP PICKUP WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE THIS YEAR

Post by Eilonnwy »

[quote=Fetch]This does not bode well, Eilonnwy.
This will cause anger. This will cause the pre-reg line to move slower, due to both the increase in length and the number of people who will be arguing with Reg staff about how they did the stuff for group badges (those will be the people that don't read the forums).
It will also cause line cutting incidents to increase, due to friends finding out about the 'no groups' issue and calling their group to come join them in line.[/quote]

Please do not assume you know everything about Registration.

1) All line estimates we did with Expo Logic timing were based on the assumption that everyone went through the line and did not consider party pickup. We figured in worst case scenarios and came out fine. I am confident this will not cause a significant increase in the line.

2) Line cutting will not be permitted and will be monitored. The setup of the line is vastly different this year and there will not be any lines out in the hall and therefore it will not be easy to cut ahead.

3) All those affected by group pickup will be emailed by us and when the barcodes are sent out for the second time this will be included in that email as well.

4) Group pickup was a privilege and not done at every Anime Convention. I recognize that this is short notice and I apologize, but as it clearly states on our policy page, they are subject to change. I have changed the ID policy as a concession in understanding the difficulty that removing party leader pickup presents.

At the end of the day, there is no way to fix this and no amount of complaining will bring it back.

Now I have left this topic open in case anyone has specific questions related to this policy change. However, if there is only complaining in this thread I will close it. This is the only warning I will give.
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Renaissance
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GROUP PICKUP WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE THIS YEAR

Post by Renaissance »

What about 17 and under. I admit I registered my group ages ago but I seem to recall reading something about being a "minor" at the con. It is definitely going to be a major inconvenience for me and will probably stop said person from attending as she does not drive she attends home school and has no student ID and two weeks is less then enough time to get her a state ID here.

Edit: Just clarifying this is not a compliant but a real query sorry if it sounds fussy I don't want the thread that may help others closed over me. (First person to post, I am scared mommy) :(
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Eilonnwy
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GROUP PICKUP WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE THIS YEAR

Post by Eilonnwy »

If she is a minor attending with an adult, the adult will be able to pick up the childs. So in other words you need to bring the child with you but you can retrieve her badge.

And don't worry, I understand it's an inconvenience and I want to be clear up any questions and confusion people may have with the switch.
kellygreenisacolor
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GROUP PICKUP WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE THIS YEAR

Post by kellygreenisacolor »

Hello!

i realize you have a HUGE bunch of problems going on with this pick-up thing, and i'm sorry to be a pain, but i have a quick question!

The reason i had group pick up was because i had my purse stolen, with pretty much my entire life in it, and of course, my identification. State issued or otherwise. I have had my credit cards and such reissued but the state of Connecticut REALLY sucks and it will take forever (ie. longer than necessary) to get another one issued.

is there something else i can use for id?

i realize how ridiculous and how many straws i'm grasping, but i have an old yearbook and my birth certificate, but nothing with my face on it.

i was planning on just...re registering at the con, but i'd rather not pay more money than i have to.

advice?
thank you, thank you in advance
xo
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GROUP PICKUP WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE THIS YEAR

Post by AliceTanzer »

[quote=kellygreenisacolor]Hello!

i realize you have a HUGE bunch of problems going on with this pick-up thing, and i'm sorry to be a pain, but i have a quick question!

The reason i had group pick up was because i had my purse stolen, with pretty much my entire life in it, and of course, my identification. State issued or otherwise. I have had my credit cards and such reissued but the state of Connecticut REALLY sucks and it will take forever (ie. longer than necessary) to get another one issued.

is there something else i can use for id?

i realize how ridiculous and how many straws i'm grasping, but i have an old yearbook and my birth certificate, but nothing with my face on it.

i was planning on just...re registering at the con, but i'd rather not pay more money than i have to.

advice?
thank you, thank you in advance
xo[/quote]
If you go and renew your license in person do they give you some sort of temporary paper thing?
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kellygreenisacolor
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GROUP PICKUP WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE THIS YEAR

Post by kellygreenisacolor »

to be honest, when i went to ask today, all i had were photocopies, because everything i had, was in my wallet. (yeah, supremely dumb, i know) so they wouldn't even let me stay in line to explain what had happened. i'm going to try to go get to a place to have my SS card reissued and maybe i can get just a non-drivers license photo id in the interim? but i'm concerned that the DMV is only open three days a week in my area and i might not get it in time.

i was just seeing what my other options (if any) where.
cub
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GROUP PICKUP WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE THIS YEAR

Post by cub »

So is this a hiccup that will affect only this year or will there be no group pickup from now on? I ws going to pick up the badges for me and my 3 children ages 5, 8, and 16 on thursday so that they would be ready to go when they show up after school on friday but now not only will I wait in line thursday for my badge I will have to wait in line with them for their badges as well on friday. Also since I am the parent/guardian of said children will I be able to pick up my badge seperately and then be able to pick up their badges as well the next day? I live over 1 1/2 hours away and my oldest lives 2 1/2 hours away with her mother so it would be impossible to coordinate everyone there for prereg pick up considering that we have no idea how long it would take to get through the line it could be 10 minutes or 4 hours. If I scan the bar code for all the badges on thursday will i be able to pick up mine thursday and then go right to the badge pick up friday when my kids show up? I'm just trying to save time since that is what pre reg was suppsoed to be about. So my questions are since i am the parent/guardian of my group can i pick up my badge seperately and then the other ones the next day or do I have to wait and get everyone together and do it at once? Or can I scan all the bar codes on thursday and then pick up the other badges when my kids show up on friday? help I have a lot of replanning and figuring things out in the next 8 days!
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GROUP PICKUP WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE THIS YEAR

Post by LadyHawke »

[quote=kellygreenisacolor]i was just seeing what my other options (if any) where.[/quote]

[quote=cub]help I have a lot of replanning and figuring things out in the next 8 days![/quote]

Please send your questions using the contact form: http://www.animeboston.com/about/contact/ (Please select "Registration" from the dropdown.)

Our customer support team will try and work out something for you.

~~ Jeni
2012 Guest Relations Division - Green Room Staff


"It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get Permission" -- RADM Grace Murray Hopper - U.S. Navy
cub
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GROUP PICKUP WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE THIS YEAR

Post by cub »

thanks I appreciate it
TarouSatomi
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GROUP PICKUP WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE THIS YEAR

Post by TarouSatomi »

What was the unforeseen issue? Contractual? Software? HCC Policy? People with barcode printers?
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LadyHawke
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GROUP PICKUP WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE THIS YEAR

Post by LadyHawke »

[quote=TarouSatomi]What was the unforeseen issue? Contractual? Software? HCC Policy? People with barcode printers?
[/quote]

Primarily software.

The 'party' option was not compatible with the way the vendor's system was set up to import our data set. Most conventions do not use party pickup options.

~~ Jeni
2012 Guest Relations Division - Green Room Staff


"It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get Permission" -- RADM Grace Murray Hopper - U.S. Navy
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GROUP PICKUP WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE THIS YEAR

Post by Gollum »

[quote=AliceTanzer][quote=kellygreenisacolor]Hello!

i realize you have a HUGE bunch of problems going on with this pick-up thing, and i'm sorry to be a pain, but i have a quick question!

The reason i had group pick up was because i had my purse stolen, with pretty much my entire life in it, and of course, my identification. State issued or otherwise. I have had my credit cards and such reissued but the state of Connecticut REALLY sucks and it will take forever (ie. longer than necessary) to get another one issued.

is there something else i can use for id?

i realize how ridiculous and how many straws i'm grasping, but i have an old yearbook and my birth certificate, but nothing with my face on it.

i was planning on just...re registering at the con, but i'd rather not pay more money than i have to.

advice?
thank you, thank you in advance
xo[/quote]
If you go and renew your license in person do they give you some sort of temporary paper thing?[/quote]

In the case of Connecticut they print all licenses and id cards while you wait (which I like much better than how Mass does it). However, as the original poster stated, if you don't have all the pieces they want they won't even talk to you. Unfortunately I don't know a way around that other than possibly driving to another part of the state where the DMV is open more than 3 days a week.
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GROUP PICKUP WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE THIS YEAR

Post by Caileen »

Okay here's a thought if everybody could show up to pick-up their tickets in person why the hell would they even need group pick up to be available?
:thumbdown:
Also I believe the fact that more people getting in line = longer lines means you're going to have to hire more people (or more competent ones at that) to be printing out badges and dealing with pre-registrations.
:thumbdown:
Another factor is that last year my mother surprised me with pre-registered tickets for me and any friend of my choice as a Christmas gift. Because she didn't know which friend I was inviting she put herself down as the other entry. The only reason my friend was able to come in was the group pick-up because my mom was working the day I picked up the badges. My mother put me down as group leader knowing that if I was to get my friend's badge any other way she'd have to wait in lines so long you'd think people were waiting to get into the gates of heaven.
:thumbdown:
Finally, The ONLY reason I found out about this change is because a friend of mine called (as in on the TELEPHONE as I'm sure you have not idea what that device is) to ask about it because NOT EVERYONE ON THE PLANET is so addicted to computers that they CHECK THEIR E-MAIL EVERYDAY!
:thumbdown:
I'm gonna have to start going to the New York Anime Festival after this.
[quote=ladyhawke78][quote=TarouSatomi]What was the unforeseen issue? Contractual? Software? HCC Policy? People with barcode printers?
[/quote]

Primarily software.

The 'party' option was not compatible with the way the vendor's system was set up to import our data set. Most conventions do not use party pickup options.

[/quote]
Okay and it didn't occur to ask people to give the bar code sheet to their group leader? *rolls eyes*
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Eilonnwy
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GROUP PICKUP WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE THIS YEAR

Post by Eilonnwy »

Everyone must show ID to receive a badge from express pass, so it's not that simple.

I have already addressed the concerns for the line and changed the ID policy to be very lenient.

And as promised, if this thread resulted in complaints and not questions I would lock it. So locking.
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