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[du_berg]

As usual, brilliant weekend! However, two minor issues came up after chatting to a few people.

 

1. Autograph queues: Even though numbers were low enough to have open queues all weekend, there were times where it got a little manic. I prefer to go away for a little while and come back when a group number has been called (even if they are little groups), rather than standing in the queue for an hour - Luckily, that was my last autograph for the weekend so the only issue caused by the hour long queue was my achiness (mostly self-inflicted)

 

2. Talk stage/seating: This has never really been much of an issue before, but it seemed to cause problems for a large number of us (especially on Sunday). Sightlines were very difficult, mainly due to one particular person. Discussions during each break highlighted this, and the resulting suggestion was that adding a few more inches to the height of the stage would make a huuuuge difference.

 

Like I said, not major issues, just a couple of things that came up during conversations with other attendees over the weekend.

 

Overall, another fabulous event.

 

Anyone got any other comments to make!?

[Movielad]

I avoided the photo signings on the Saturday as it looked to be too chaotic (could have done with better signage and explanatory talk at the opening ceremony) - Sunday, however, went brilliantly. Very well handled.

 

As for the talks, I sat at the right side aisle, one or two rows behind the front of the silver ticket seats. Reasonable view, but being short sighted everybody looked like Hobbits (so good job with the "jumbotron" screens). But what was annoying was people lifting their arms above their heads taking pictures with large cameras. Constantly. Obscured the view big time. Also distracting. I must have watched half the talks through somebody's camera display.

 

In all honestly, however, this wasn't really my bag and am unlikely to attend next year (or if I do, not as gold or silver). Not a bad reflection on Massive Events at all, enjoyed myself a great deal, but I'm just not cut out for conventions of this sort.

[Zahariel]

Agree with both of you with regard to the talks (Loved the content and the guests were fab ) - I was stuck behind someone who kept doing the overhead photo thing on Sunday so I was always moving around to get to see the stage. (Sorry to anyone behind me who was inconvenienced) luckily the group sat next to me left early and I was able to move seats. This won't affect me next year as I've upgraded to a low Gold ticket but (please no jokes about size... ) a few extra inches makes all the difference... Either that or stagger the seating so everyone is sat behind the gap between the people in front - that might work.

 

I have no experience with previous Chevrons so I can only comment on this one, in and of itself the autograph and photoshoot sessions went great, good queues and jovial atmosphere. Loved the golfing green screen shoot, the epic 'epic' quiz was truly epic, whilst the standard epic quiz was hilarious and do doubt this will be known as the "48 hrs" quiz from now on...

Edited April 8, 2014 by Zahariel

[eccheetham]

As usual, brilliant weekend! However, two minor issues came up after chatting to a few people.

 

1. Autograph queues: Even though numbers were low enough to have open queues all weekend, there were times where it got a little manic. I prefer to go away for a little while and come back when a group number has been called (even if they are little groups), rather than standing in the queue for an hour - Luckily, that was my last autograph for the weekend so the only issue caused by the hour long queue was my achiness (mostly self-inflicted)

 

2. Talk stage/seating: This has never really been much of an issue before, but it seemed to cause problems for a large number of us (especially on Sunday). Sightlines were very difficult, mainly due to one particular person. Discussions during each break highlighted this, and the resulting suggestion was that adding a few more inches to the height of the stage would make a huuuuge difference.

 

Like I said, not major issues, just a couple of things that came up during conversations with other attendees over the weekend.

 

Overall, another fabulous event.

 

Anyone got any other comments to make!?

 

i agree making the stag just a couple of inches higher would have made taking pics a lot easier. i sometime shad to stand to get some pics.

[eccheetham]

Agree with both of you with regard to the talks (Loved the content and the guests were fab ) - I was stuck behind someone who kept doing the overhead photo thing on Sunday so I was always moving around to get to see the stage. (Sorry to anyone behind me who was inconvenienced) luckily the group sat next to me left early and I was able to move seats. This won't affect me next year as I've upgraded to a low Gold ticket but (please no jokes about size... ) a few extra inches makes all the difference... Either that or stagger the seating so everyone is sat behind the gap between the people in front - that might work.

 

i too agree that making the stage just a couple of inches higher would help everyone and i too have bought a low gold for next year so hopefuly will find things much easier as i am such a short person.

[Inga]

The autograph queues weren't a big deal for me. Every time I've gone before, by the time I've got through the first queue, all the queues were open anyway, so having them all open from the beginning didn't change anything. The only time this hasn't been the case before is one guest whose queue got majorly delayed, and my number didn't get called until after the signings were meant to have finished. So this year's in comparison worked perfectly.

The only way I can think of that would improve the signings, is having all the guests on one long table and you are called in groups of 30 or whatever, and you just go down the table. That way you would only need to queue once.

 

I had a decent view for most of the talks, but for one of them (I think it was one of Robert's) I was sat behind a pair who didn't stop talking the whole way through. I didn't want to make a fuss in the middle of a talk so I kept quiet, and luckily I had a guest encounter during the next talk so didn't have to deal with it again. I also saw some ladies who had had their seats taken, and the chair-thief wouldn't move, and the crew member they talked to wouldn't do anything about it because they hadn't left anything on their chairs.

 

The parties were great this year, made new friends, great atmosphere, I appreciated the discount at the bar!!! One thing, there was a photographer at the parties taking loads of pics of attendees, does anyone know if they'll be available to view/buy online anywhere??

 

The photo sessions went really smoothly too, I was surprised by how quick they went, and they were so well-organised.

[du_berg]

Low Gold numbers don't always help. I had a couple of issues, and I was only a few rows from the front (the person that was causing problems for a large number of people was two rows in front of me). Like I said, it's not a major thing and didn't spoil any of it, I just thought the suggestion of raising the stage slightly made sense.

 

I also saw some ladies who had had their seats taken, and the chair-thief wouldn't move, and the crew member they talked to wouldn't do anything about it because they hadn't left anything on their chairs.

 

It's not that crew wouldn't do anything. I could be wrong, but it appeared to me that both sets of people had saved the same seats without anyone realising, therefore nothing could be done about it. Unfortunately, it happens.

 

 

One thing, there was a photographer at the parties taking loads of pics of attendees, does anyone know if they'll be available to view/buy online anywhere??

Giles has had them available to buy online after previous events. If this is still the case then I'm sure a link will pop up fairly soon.

[Movielad]

 

I had a decent view for most of the talks, but for one of them (I think it was one of Robert's) I was sat behind a pair who didn't stop talking the whole way through. I didn't want to make a fuss in the middle of a talk so I kept quiet, and luckily I had a guest encounter during the next talk so didn't have to deal with it again. I also saw some ladies who had had their seats taken, and the chair-thief wouldn't move, and the crew member they talked to wouldn't do anything about it because they hadn't left anything on their chairs.

 

I was sat behind a couple with a baby. Now, I like babies. I do. Cute. Future of mankind, etc. And this one was generally very well behaved. But there was a fair bit of too-in and fro-ing as they passed the baby to each other and/or taking him/her out for a bit of a breather.

 

I meant to ask - how were the guest encounters?

 

The parties were great this year, made new friends, great atmosphere, I appreciated the discount at the bar!!! One thing, there was a photographer at the parties taking loads of pics of attendees, does anyone know if they'll be available to view/buy online anywhere??

 

The photo sessions went really smoothly too, I was surprised by how quick they went, and they were so well-organised.

 

A credit to the Radisson - they honoured the drinks discount even though I didn't present them with the card at the time of ordering. They discounted everything at checkout.

 

Mart

[Inga]

Kris - I didn't realise two different people had saved the seats, my bad! I saw the women in the seats before the first talk, and just assumed that meant that was their seat. I thought you had to go claim your seat before the first talk and then that was your seat for the afternoon. I left my photos on the seat while I was away, so I didn't have any trouble. I guess it's a lesson to always bring something to put on your seat!

 

I didn't take a camera with me, so I'd love to buy any pictures of us at the parties, I'll keep an eye out for the link!! Thanks for the info!

 

 

 

Movielad - personally I wouldn't bring a baby into the talks with me, but I guess the problem is that you can't exactly leave your kid in the room with your luggage!! It'd be ideal if you could afford to bring a babysitter along with you, but alas, who has that sort of money? A little annoying, but unavoidable.

 

The guest encounters were good fun, I got priced out of some of the ones I really wanted, but managed to get a few.

Personally, I wouldn't pay a huge amount of money for them because I've experienced some GEs where one attendee has commandeered the whole conversation and generally made everyone very bored. Some guests are very good at steering the conversation back to the group, some are too worried about hurting someone's feelings to interrupt.

That said, no matter what, the guests are always very friendly, and happy to share stories and words of wisdom, and I have to say that Alex and Robert stood out for me this year, because they were genuinely interested in the attendees, asking lots of questions about us, and Alex especially had the brilliant ability to keep the conversation on us, and actually help the attendees get to know each other! He also made an effort to remember all our names and say hi to us later, which is definitely above and beyond what we expect from guests.

Edited April 8, 2014 by Inga

[fifi]

This was us!! Too Tall sorted it at the next turn round. All the posters etc. say once you have your seat it's yours for the afternoon and he was really clear on that. Shame the other crew weren't. I do think this needs to be really clarified at the beginning of every afternoon. Several people told them we were coming back but these people ignored us. When they did move, they were about 7 rows back, so it was really cheeky. Many thanks to Too Tall for sorting it and being so clear about the rules. In the end, it didn't spoil our day,

 

I also saw some ladies who had had their seats taken, and the chair-thief wouldn't move, and the crew member they talked to wouldn't do anything about it because they hadn't left anything on their chairs.

 

It's not that crew wouldn't do anything. I could be wrong, but it appeared to me that both sets of people had saved the same seats without anyone realising, therefore nothing could be done about it. Unfortunately, it happens.

[eccheetham]

I agree. Alex was amazing. He was especially gracious to those of us with disabilities, he was encouraging us onto the dance floor with him, he was gracious and willing to answer anything you asked him. Alex was a real star, he deserves a reward for all he did for us.

[eccheetham]

This was us!! Too Tall sorted it at the next turn round. All the posters etc. say once you have your seat it's yours for the afternoon and he was really clear on that. Shame the other crew weren't. I do think this needs to be really clarified at the beginning of every afternoon. Several people told them we were coming back but these people ignored us. When they did move, they were about 7 rows back, so it was really cheeky. Many thanks to Too Tall for sorting it and being so clear about the rules. In the end, it didn't spoil our day,

 

I also saw some ladies who had had their seats taken, and the chair-thief wouldn't move, and the crew member they talked to wouldn't do anything about it because they hadn't left anything on their chairs.

 

It's not that crew wouldn't do anything. I could be wrong, but it appeared to me that both sets of people had saved the same seats without anyone realising, therefore nothing could be done about it. Unfortunately, it happens.

 

I have been coming for several years to chevron. i always leave something in my seat and tell the person/people sitting next to me when i am leaveing so that when i return i have a seat to come back to. i do however thing ti needs to be explained ab the beginning of the day about once you ahve a seat that is your seat for the rest of the day to newbies.

[fifi]

Not a case of two different people saving the seats. As I said above, you are right on the rules. We didn't have anything to leave on the seat but did the people around us told the 2 women that we were coming back. Somebody had their seat taken when they went to the toilet! I would never take someone's seat - just isn't a moral thing to do and Too Tall was very clear that we were in the right. All was well in the end though.

 

Kris - I didn't realise two different people had saved the seats, my bad! I saw the women in the seats before the first talk, and just assumed that meant that was their seat. I thought you had to go claim your seat before the first talk and then that was your seat for the afternoon. I left my photos on the seat while I was away, so I didn't have any trouble. I guess it's a lesson to always bring something to put on your seat!

 

I didn't take a camera with me, so I'd love to buy any pictures of us at the parties, I'll keep an eye out for the link!! Thanks for the info!

 

 

 

Movielad - personally I wouldn't bring a baby into the talks with me, but I guess the problem is that you can't exactly leave your kid in the room with your luggage!! It'd be ideal if you could afford to bring a babysitter along with you, but alas, who has that sort of money? A little annoying, but unavoidable.

 

The guest encounters were good fun, I got priced out of some of the ones I really wanted, but managed to get a few.

Personally, I wouldn't pay a huge amount of money for them because I've experienced some GEs where one attendee has commandeered the whole conversation and generally made everyone very bored. Some guests are very good at steering the conversation back to the group, some are too worried about hurting someone's feelings to interrupt.

That said, no matter what, the guests are always very friendly, and happy to share stories and words of wisdom, and I have to say that Alex and Robert stood out for me this year, because they were genuinely interested in the attendees, asking lots of questions about us, and Alex especially had the brilliant ability to keep the conversation on us, and actually help the attendees get to know each other! He also made an effort to remember all our names and say hi to us later, which is definitely above and beyond what we expect from guests.

[Laz]

Got all but 1 photo and 1 auto done on the saturday, which meant for a nice easy sunday. Personally I thought the venue was good and there was nothing id complain about with the event.

[Groge511]

Everything was amazing apart from the fact that because of the way the schedule was worked out it meant there was no way to get Joe to sign the photo that we got with him.

[lunar]

As usual, brilliant weekend! However, two minor issues came up after chatting to a few people.

 

1. Autograph queues: Even though numbers were low enough to have open queues all weekend, there were times where it got a little manic. I prefer to go away for a little while and come back when a group number has been called (even if they are little groups), rather than standing in the queue for an hour - Luckily, that was my last autograph for the weekend so the only issue caused by the hour long queue was my achiness (mostly self-inflicted)

 

2. Talk stage/seating: This has never really been much of an issue before, but it seemed to cause problems for a large number of us (especially on Sunday). Sightlines were very difficult, mainly due to one particular person. Discussions during each break highlighted this, and the resulting suggestion was that adding a few more inches to the height of the stage would make a huuuuge difference.

 

Like I said, not major issues, just a couple of things that came up during conversations with other attendees over the weekend.

 

 

Unfortunately raising the stage height wouldn't have helped me. I was in the fifth row but right at the end of the row to the right if the stage. During the quiz and the panel with all the guests I couldn't see the guest at the end on the right hand side - Simone Bailly I think - because of the banner hanging there. It would be help if during set up some could sit in some of the wider placed seats to see if there are any line of sight problems. That said I had a great weekend and have booked my ticket for next year.

[malB]

I agree there were a few people sticking their cameras up taking photos which was annoying at times. I had a standard ticket and was sat next to the centre aisle taking my photos when someone from behind came up the aisle past me and stood in the aisle taking their photos and blocking mine and other people's view of the stage. I wish people would consider others when trying to get their photos.

[Vecturist]

1) I have to agree with several others that the autograph and photo op sessions were a little chaotic, since I originally didin't go in with much of a strategy. It would have been nice to have them calling people in blocks, especailly for autographs. Racing back and forth was not fun - and a friend I was with who has mobility issues did not have an easy time of it with the hotel layout. It would also have been helpful to have signs behind the guests during autos - when the halls got really crowded it was hard seeing whose line was whose especially since several guests moved. A few more chairs in the autograph hall would also have been nice - my friend I was helping had trouble standing for long periods of time.

 

2) Seating during the talks - staggered seats would have been nice - I'm quite short and had trouble seeing at times. Also, I know its a sticky issue, but my friend and I had some trouble with the disability seating. I realize that gold should get preference (and we were gold), but several crew members on Friday night and Saturday were quite rude about seating. While we didn't get seats in the front row (and weren't going to take them), we pretty much had seats pointed out to us several rows back and were told to sit there.

[fifi]

1) I have to agree with several others that the autograph and photo op sessions were a little chaotic, since I originally didin't go in with much of a strategy. It would have been nice to have them calling people in blocks, especailly for autographs. Racing back and forth was not fun - and a friend I was with who has mobility issues did not have an easy time of it with the hotel layout. It would also have been helpful to have signs behind the guests during autos - when the halls got really crowded it was hard seeing whose line was whose especially since several guests moved. A few more chairs in the autograph hall would also have been nice - my friend I was helping had trouble standing for long periods of time.

 

2) Seating during the talks - staggered seats would have been nice - I'm quite short and had trouble seeing at times. Also, I know its a sticky issue, but my friend and I had some trouble with the disability seating. I realize that gold should get preference (and we were gold), but several crew members on Friday night and Saturday were quite rude about seating. While we didn't get seats in the front row (and weren't going to take them), we pretty much had seats pointed out to us several rows back and were told to sit there.

 

I quite liked the way the crew pointed out seat rows. It did mean people sat more or less in the rows for their seat numbers and stopped the scrum for the very front seats. They weren't rude to us at all - just doing their job.

[Wizzy5395]

Hello all,

I'd like to say a big THANK YOU. To everyone who made attending Chevron 8.1 a fun experience. And one where I have some very happy and fun memories.

 

Taking part in the quiz on stage on the Sunday had to be the highlight of the event for me. Especially sharing the stage with Simone Bailly and Sharon Taylor. Along with Patrick Currie and Alex Zaharra and my lovely fellow contestant. I didn't expect to win.

[eccheetham]

1) I have to agree with several others that the autograph and photo op sessions were a little chaotic, since I originally didin't go in with much of a strategy. It would have been nice to have them calling people in blocks, especailly for autographs. Racing back and forth was not fun - and a friend I was with who has mobility issues did not have an easy time of it with the hotel layout. It would also have been helpful to have signs behind the guests during autos - when the halls got really crowded it was hard seeing whose line was whose especially since several guests moved. A few more chairs in the autograph hall would also have been nice - my friend I was helping had trouble standing for long periods of time.

 

2) Seating during the talks - staggered seats would have been nice - I'm quite short and had trouble seeing at times. Also, I know its a sticky issue, but my friend and I had some trouble with the disability seating. I realize that gold should get preference (and we were gold), but several crew members on Friday night and Saturday were quite rude about seating. While we didn't get seats in the front row (and weren't going to take them), we pretty much had seats pointed out to us several rows back and were told to sit there.

 

the seating was staggered. they called in blocks of 20. i didn't find the crew members at-all rude. they were generally helpful and i agree they stopped people pushing their way to the front. i had no problem. as for disabled its only fair people site according to their number even if they were disabled. i'm short and i still have to sit according to ticket and kids too are often at the back and having to look over adults heads. overall i though the talks went well.

[Zahariel]

I think that by 'staggered' Vecturist means the row behind is slightly offset so you are not directly behind the person infront and able to look in between people's shoulders.

 

I agree with the staff seating though - Had no problems with that myself, being called in rows of 10 and the staff around to direct and help partition off the groups. Loved the talks, some great characters with real things to say about the industry they all love.

 

I'm still chuckling about the talks, don't know how many of my friends I have told the 'jeans' audition story to...

[Ophelia]

1) I have to agree with several others that the autograph and photo op sessions were a little chaotic, since I originally didin't go in with much of a strategy. It would have been nice to have them calling people in blocks, especailly for autographs. Racing back and forth was not fun - and a friend I was with who has mobility issues did not have an easy time of it with the hotel layout. It would also have been helpful to have signs behind the guests during autos - when the halls got really crowded it was hard seeing whose line was whose especially since several guests moved. A few more chairs in the autograph hall would also have been nice - my friend I was helping had trouble standing for long periods of time.

 

2) Seating during the talks - staggered seats would have been nice - I'm quite short and had trouble seeing at times. Also, I know its a sticky issue, but my friend and I had some trouble with the disability seating. I realize that gold should get preference (and we were gold), but several crew members on Friday night and Saturday were quite rude about seating. While we didn't get seats in the front row (and weren't going to take them), we pretty much had seats pointed out to us several rows back and were told to sit there.

 

I was quite happy with the way the seating was handled and the crew were literally just doing their job and making sure people were sat in the correct sections and rows according to their ticket number and still people were trying to jump rows to get nearer the front.

As for the 'disabled seating', there isn't any, people with disabilities are allowed into the hall first because it's safer and easier for them to find their seats that way, they still have to sit in the right row according to their ticket number and whether they're gold, silver or standard.

 

I wanted to say thanks to the crew for handling the seating so well but i do think if you just had numbered seating according to your ticket number it would save a lot of hassel.