New Attendees advice thread

[Queen_Sindel]

Just when I almost believed you, Bear.

[natedammit]

Advice for new attendees: Don't think you can get the better of QS.

[robmoriarty]

4 minutes ago, natedammit said:

Advice for new attendees: Don't think you can get the better of QS.

ANY attendee, surely?

[Chris1970]

2 hours ago, R4wly97 said:

@Chris1970 That my friend was an epic speech!

Epic? I dont know.  Just sharing my experience. It helps alot to be prepared. I use my mobile alot at these events. With all information, tickets, maps, schedules and such. Take some time to make, but gives me something to do at my night shifts at work.  Plus it saves me from carrying around a ton of paper.

[Raylenth]

Talking of mobiles.  The connections at the venue are rubbish because there are thousands of people all trying to connect so don't rely on a connection for anything you need - if you choose to present your etickets on your phone make sure you have them downloaded.

[Chris1970]

3 minutes ago, Raylenth said:

Talking of mobiles.  The connections at the venue are rubbish because there are thousands of people all trying to connect so don't rely on a connection for anything you need - if you choose to present your etickets on your phone make sure you have them downloaded.

Yeap, I am an iphone owner have them all in my ”wallet”. Fast and easy. I never used the wi-fi at the Olympia, was told it wasnt the best due to all who is trying to use it. For me, roaming and using the strongest mobile service works best if I have to go online of some reason.

[Sebster118]

5 hours ago, Raylenth said:

That's OK Nerd, ask what you want.  They are A3 but that's all I can tell you at the moment as I can't remember the quality of what it's printed on.  They are decent though, it's not flimsy.  I think the 2 I posted are slightly glossy, but not like a photo would be.

The one I had was on matt quality photo paper.

I'd bring a poster tube small enough to roll and store the print, and to put in your bag..

 

3 hours ago, Raylenth said:

Personalisations.  For the truly big names there's less chance they will personalise when they are very busy, particularly on the Saturday.  If a guest isn't personalizing you will normally be told this in the queue.  It's not automatic that they won't personalise but expect the big names to not be doing it and if they are and you want it then yay!

But the reason I'm mentioning this is if you want your picture personalised it pays to be prepared.  Bring some post it notes with you and pre print your first name on it in either capitals or clearly written regular case.  Accents, noise in the venue, unusual spellings can contribute to the guest writing your name wrong if you ask for a personalisation so the best way to deal with this is to have a nice clearly written post it that you can stick on the front of your item, then it's all clear for the guest.

The crew usually offer this service in the queue as well so don't stress if you forget to do it but bringing them already done saves the hassle of getting so nervous you forget how to spell your own name for the crew member to write down.  Yes that did happen

Most would just write your name, and the name of the character they play.

For my name, I use a piece of paper, or a screen dump showing my name on my phone.

Try to avoid lengthy quotes as they can hold up the queue (I normally use 5 words maximum).

 

26 minutes ago, Chris1970 said:

Yeap, I am an iphone owner have them all in my ”wallet”. Fast and easy. I never used the wi-fi at the Olympia, was told it wasnt the best due to all who is trying to use it. For me, roaming and using the strongest mobile service works best if I have to go online of some reason.

I managed to use the Wi-Fi last year with no problems. I had to register, and copy and paste the user name and password I was given.

 

Edited March 6, 2018 by Sebster118

[Chris1970]

I have a premade ”business card” on my phone as well showing my name when signing. Works like a charm. If the guests asks if I want a quote on it I let them pick, kinda more personal from them. Sometimes they dont ask and put something anyway which is so cool.  

[R4wly97]

I’m loving the banter on this thread today all the good stuff seems to be happening when I’m working!

[Chris1970]

1 hour ago, R4wly97 said:

I’m loving the banter on this thread today all the good stuff seems to be happening when I’m working!

The more fun and friendly we have it here, the more it will be at the Olympia in July. 

[R4wly97]

@Chris1970 Yeah definitely, can’t wait!

[R4wly97]

Got another question from my sister, can anyone guesstimate how busy Pearl Mackie is likely to be on the Sunday autograph and photo wise? 

[wjbleming]

38 minutes ago, R4wly97 said:

Got another question from my sister, can anyone guesstimate how busy Pearl Mackie is likely to be on the Sunday autograph and photo wise? 

Autograph wise, we can expect her to be busy, but we'll not know how busy till on the day.

Photoshoot wise can be easily checked by going into the store, selecting a ticket for her and going to Order Now. It'll not charge you and you can see what batch she's on. She's on batch 2 at the moment and if I remember correctly, each batch has roughly 100 people in it, R4wly.

[R4wly97]

@wjbleming Brilliant thanks for the reply I’ll go and have a look

[R4wly97]

@wjbleming Do you think if I didn’t pre-book a photo shoot with Pearl I might still be able to turn up on the day and buy one at the Olympia? I’m debating whether to get one or not?

[wjbleming]

20 minutes ago, R4wly97 said:

@wjbleming Do you think if I didn’t pre-book a photo shoot with Pearl I might still be able to turn up on the day and buy one at the Olympia? I’m debating whether to get one or not?

As long as they haven't sold out, you can.

[R4wly97]

@wjbleming Ok thanks I’ll have a think about what I’m doing 

[Chris1970]

10 hours ago, R4wly97 said:

@wjbleming Ok thanks I’ll have a think about what I’m doing 

And if so, expect a high batch number which means, if she do, the later in the day photo op which can be as late as the hour before closing. When Showmasters releases the schedule it will be a small rush for photo ops, then people know what will and wont clash.

[whitewillow]

14 hours ago, R4wly97 said:

@wjbleming Do you think if I didn’t pre-book a photo shoot with Pearl I might still be able to turn up on the day and buy one at the Olympia? I’m debating whether to get one or not?

Even if you don't wait to buy one on the day, I don't think you need to buy one this early. There is still time to buy photoshoots before they sell out. I'm waiting to do my buying after Easter, when I'll also book my plane tickets.

[Chris1970]

I dont know how they plan photo ops but if I remember correctly the batch number can be high in some cases. Benedict C and Pamela Anderson last year had pretty high numbers if I remember correct.

[R4wly97]

@Chris1970 @whitewillow Ok thanks for the advice  

[Raylenth]

Breath mints.  In an attempt not to be too weighed down and lack of time to go to the stalls/restaurant to buy some water it's really easy to not drink enough which can lead to a dehydrated mouth.  Take strong mints of some form then when you are in the auto queue and get near the front you can chew a couple and stave off the worry of breathing stinkyness over the guest. 

[Chris1970]

Just some good info for those who is coming to LFCC and Olympia.

Getting to Olympia

[Broo]

On 06/03/2018 at 8:47 AM, Raylenth said:

Oh I've just remembered.

Personalisations.  For the truly big names there's less chance they will personalise when they are very busy, particularly on the Saturday.  If a guest isn't personalizing you will normally be told this in the queue.  It's not automatic that they won't personalise but expect the big names to not be doing it and if they are and you want it then yay!

But the reason I'm mentioning this is if you want your picture personalised it pays to be prepared.  Bring some post it notes with you and pre print your first name on it in either capitals or clearly written regular case.  Accents, noise in the venue, unusual spellings can contribute to the guest writing your name wrong if you ask for a personalisation so the best way to deal with this is to have a nice clearly written post it that you can stick on the front of your item, then it's all clear for the guest.

The crew usually offer this service in the queue as well so don't stress if you forget to do it but bringing them already done saves the hassle of getting so nervous you forget how to spell your own name for the crew member to write down.  Yes that did happen

Bringing post-it notes of your name can also avoid hilariously awkward situations where you state your name and your convention partner (who is your mother) says it's nice and easy and the guest raises his eyebrows and jokes he's not gonna make any comments about her daughter and "easy". Weirdly specific example here totally hypothetical and absolutely didn't happen... 

[VikingGrrrl]

Trying to come up with some advice that haven't been mentioned... 

Drinking water has been mentioned, but also remember to eat! :)

Something I do for the guests I want autographs: after the schedule is released and as close to the con as possible (to avoid changes in the schedule), write down when the guest is busy with other things (photo, talk) so you know when the guest should be at the table signing. I have found writing down this very useful when you want a lot of autographs and also have photo/talks that take up your time. For busy guests they cut off the line a while before their next activity. And factor in that they have an hour lunch break around 12-13 and other breaks when they need them. Note that less busy guests will leave before the end of the event if no one is seeing them.