Messages

1

Feedback / Re: Confuzzled 2015 Pros and Cons

« on: June 01, 2015, 10:58:22 »

On the whole, a pretty damned good convention. The CFz and hotel staff seem to be meshing together more effectively - hopefully next year will be even better

The food was excellent - had the pizza, the tagliatelle and the korma (not all at once !) - tasty, large portions, and they even let us take the plates away with foil over the top when we wanted to eat at a panel event.

Anyway a few comments from me...

The takeaway food stand was a great idea - we had a lovely Thai Green curry from there, but having the same menu options every night was disappointing. I've read in the UKFur forum that this was because this was a new brand trial, so I have hopes for more varied choices next year Could they also be asked to show opening/closing times for the stand ? They may have been on display, but I didn't see them.

Rubbish bins. I appreciate that the hotel doesn't want its nice shiny reception area and corridors populated with nasty rubbish bins, but honestly, I shouldn't have to walk from one end of the hotel to the other to dispose of rubbish at ConOps or in the Fursuit Lounge. Can we get a few at appropriate places - maybe outside the Dealers Den/Art Show/NightClub and ConOps ? Surely the hotel would agree that it's better to have rubbish in the bins than left on the floors and tables ?

Could some of the "all attendee" type events - such as the opening and closing ceremonies and the attendee photoshoot be advertised better ? The attendee photoshoot seemed to be down on people because many didn't know (or had forgotten) it was happening. Could we have some large stands dotted around to show the time for these events ? Not all on one sheet - just one sheet per event so it stands out.

EF has a newsletter. Now, I don't expect CFz to have one - it'd mean a whole new department, plus a budget etc., but perhaps a single sheet of A4 with upcoming events, changes to times and locations, major news etc. be printed off last thing each night ? (I can hear ConOps screaming from here ! I'd love to slip a copy under every attendees door so everyone knew about things, but that might be logistically problematic, so a couple of stands with a holder on them would do, allowing people to take them if they wanted.

Include volunteers in the con credits if possible - their work helps make CFz work, and it'd be nice to give them some recognition as well.

Sponsors get a preview of the art show. I was asked if it was possible for dealers to get something similar ? They're basically in the den all the time the art show is open, so don't get a chance to see the art without leaving their tables.

Add more bins to the fursuit lounge, and mark them clearly.

Can we get some mirrors in the fursuit lounge ? I know glass is a hazard, so could Engineering whip up something with perspex, mylar/silvered film and hardboard ? They don't have to be particularly high-quality, just enough to check your head is on straight and your tail isn't leaving an unfortunate gap As regards placement, how about one on the end of each arm of the suit dryers - perhaps on a bracket to allow removal and transportation ?

Have a plentiful supply of paper towels in the fursuit lounge.

Issues with the bar - documented well enough elsewhere, so the only thing I'll ask is why there seemed to be a need for four servers to use the same till. Making a drink, walking round to the till to check the price, walking back to get the money, back to the till, back to give the change all seemed very excessive.

CFz TV - a great idea for those unwilling/unable to attend. The issues with quality have already been addressed elsewhere, so all I'd suggest is that the events that will be covered be clearly marked in the conbook (or a separate flyer), and that maybe the static image displayed between shows be modified to show what the next event shown will be, and when.

Great work everyone, everyone who contributed should feel proud

2

Dealers Den & Art Auction / Re: British Coins

« on: September 18, 2014, 20:26:28 »

Ah, my apologies 

3

Dealers Den & Art Auction / Re: British Coins

« on: September 17, 2014, 13:03:44 »

If the con aren't able to help (possibly as they can't afford to hold large stocks of Euros on the chance that someone might want them), I seem to recall there being a Bureaux de Change over at Birmingham airport - so a quick trip over there might sort it out for you (though I know they often give horrible exchange rates !  )

4

Feedback / "Your first ConFuzzled/con"

« on: June 29, 2014, 18:21:11 »

Nearly forgot...

Any chance of a larger room next year ? It was literally standing room only, with very limited vision for those at the back.

Secondly, a larger room would mean we didn't overload the aircon - that room was getting decidedly hot and, dare I say it, a little "fragrant" towards the end...

5

Feedback / Re: The main area.

« on: June 08, 2014, 10:34:04 »

Ah yes, I remember you and your awesome suit with the speakers !

6

Feedback / Re: Nightclub last admittance policy

« on: May 31, 2014, 19:54:12 »

I know for fact I asked security on the nightclub door if I could come in with a foil helium balloon tied to my tail and they asked crew in the nightclub (Axle) a totally different question (untethered balloon) As me and Axle spoke about it afterward. Have no idea what that was about. I found security this year to be very over the top with a lot of things especially the admittance and restriction policies. It was intimidating sometimes and maybe they could have worded things better. There is a big difference between. "I'm really sorry, if you leave you cannot go back in as we have an admittance policy, you can see it written here on the door of the nightclub" and "You're not coming back in please step away from the doors"

Foil balloons can be dangerous with the lasers, rubber ones can be dangerous with the parcans. The easiest approach would seem to be "No balloons" - full stop.

Re-admittance is a tricky thing as we can't realistically differentiate between people going back into the club and those going in for the first time, especially as we have multiple different teams of security on the doors during the night (and one fluffy grey wolf can look like another fluffy grey wolf). As this seems to revolve around the "last admittance 15 minutes before the nightclub closes" rule, and since I can't find anyone who knows why this rule exists, hopefully it will be scrapped for next year and this problem won't exist.

As regards the attitude of security, I'd like to apologise on behalf of the team. If you have a problem with any of the team in the future - either with what they say, or how they behave, then I'd urge you to make a note of their name and discuss it with either of the Heads of Security (Dhary or Crimson). We do crew evaluations and any feedback can be discussed with the individual in question.

7

Feedback / Re: Nightclub last admittance policy

« on: May 30, 2014, 08:16:57 »

As for the admittance policy I believe the rule is no new admittance 15mins prior to end, however i wasn't aware that existing attendees were being turned away after getting "cooled" down / taking a short break.
Unsure as to how to address this as to track all the people coming and going ... would be a bit logistically tough, It is a point that would need to be discussed with the security and nightclub teams.

I can't think of any foolproof way to track suiters coming out to cool down and returning, as opposed to new suiters. Even if something like a wristband was introduced, it's highly open to abuse, let alone a potential logistical nightmare to implement.

That's the reason for my OP - why does this 15 minute rule even exist ? Can't we just dispense with it ? Security will still be enforcing the maximum capacity regulation, so that shouldn't be a problem.

8

Feedback / Re: Nightclub last admittance policy

« on: May 29, 2014, 16:15:45 »

Yeah I will say I was a bit annoyed that I left BBF's dance to cool down a little, leaving all my friends inside, and then was told I wasn't allowed back in as they were closing in 10 minutes. I then saw people being let it at about 5 past so wandered in no problem after wasting 15 minutes sat outside.

I was also told I wasn't allowed to take my balloon into the night club so went all the way back to my room in suit (2nd floor right at the end of the corridor) came all the way back to see other people being let in with balloons.

Seems the security on the door all had different rules regarding some things.

Hiya,

I'm sorry you had problems at the nightclub and I'd like to try and explain the two items you mentioned...

Regarding BBF's dance, there's a standing rule (posted on the nightclub door) that the last admission is 15 minutes before the nightclub closes. As far as security knew, the set was supposed to be finishing at 02:00, the same as every other set, and we therefore stopped people going in at around 01:45. However it... overran slightly, and it took a direct request from the hotel at 02:15 before the nightclub was actually closed. When it became obvious that the club wasn't going to be closing at 02:00, we checked with ConOps who basically said we should let people in - so there was a period when you wouldn't have been allowed back in, followed by another period when you would.

Balloons should *not* have been allowed into the nightclub - this was originally checked with the nightclub staff who were concerned about potential damage to some very expensive equipment. However, there wasn't a written policy for that - it was only checked when the first suiter with a balloon actually arrived - and it seems security failed to pass this restriction onto each other, so that some knew about it and some didn't. I'll put my hand up and take the blame for that one.

I can only apologise for any problems or disappointment caused, but these were both circumstances we hadn't anticipated.

9

Feedback / Nightclub last admittance policy

« on: May 29, 2014, 12:37:38 »

A quick question - why is there a nightclub rule that the last admittance is 15 minutes before closing ?

Surely, if someone goes in 30 seconds before the end of the last set, that's their problem ?

It didn't normally cause Security an issue until the last night. As the club was supposed to be closing at 02:00, security duly stopped people going in at around 01:45. However, BBF overran, and the club ended going on somewhat later until the hotel requested it was shut down. This meant that after 02:00, we had annoyed people at the door wondering why the club was still going, and why they couldn't go in.

There may be a great reason for this rule, but it often gets people annoyed (expecially those in suit who may not know the time). I just wonder if this could be reviewed / clarified / scrapped ?

10

Events / Re: Some last Few Questions

« on: May 19, 2014, 08:24:55 »

With regards to number 2, I've found the easiest thing is to ask housekeeping nicely when they're doing their rounds... and a tip works wonders

11

Events / Re: Motorfurs Meet

« on: May 07, 2014, 18:31:05 »

I'd love to come along but I'm too ashamed to show off my car to people who know what they are talking about

Everyone's had to learn what they know.

Considering you'll have a lot of knowledgeable furs there, who are only too happy to talk about cars, it's the perfect place to start learning

12

Events / Re: Big Furry Sci Fi Quiz

« on: May 07, 2014, 15:23:11 »

I think the official event schedule is pretty much set now - but there's nothing to stop you arranging something yourself...

13

Room & Transport Sharing / Re: [2014] needed: one Twin Room share partner person

« on: May 05, 2014, 23:06:50 »

No knife wielding maniacs or aspiring taxidermists signed up this year right?

Not that many, no... 

14

Discussion / Re: Registering Multiple Fursuits

« on: May 05, 2014, 22:51:31 »

The fursuit badges were handled totally separately from your CFz registration, and only became available on April 8th, when they were announced on Twitter, the CFz website, and in the CFz update email that went out on April 10th.

15

Room & Transport Sharing / Re: Traveling up from the south west.

« on: May 05, 2014, 10:28:36 »

10am at the services sounds good to me and my hound, we gonna be running up with PMR radios in use mate?

i honestly dont kno what type of radios were gunna have lol..... i dont know much about em.

There are a lot of different brands, types, shapes and colours available - have a poke around Amazon, Ebay and the internet in general (or Maplin if you're feeling rich !).

Basically, you need to find radios labelled "PMR446".

This isn't a brand, but a technical specification. "PMR" just means "Personal Mobile Radio" - the important bit is the "446" as this refers to the frequency used - in this case, the 446 MHz band which has been left unlicensed for short-distance personal radio communication in most of Europe - so you don't need a license to use them and you don't have to pay any fees. As this frequency has been left clear across Europe, you could also use them on the Furball run to EF if you ever did that.

Even the cheap radios can access multiple channels within this band - all you need to do is decide which channel you want to use for your trip and make sure everyone knows it in advance

The range isn't massive and depends on the terrain, but you can usually get up to a couple of miles out of them which is all you should need.

Hope that helps