Office Convention: provide feedback!
Tuesday, October 30th, 2007 | 88 commentsIf you attended the Office Convention, here is your chance to give feedback to the organizers on what you liked and didn’t like about the weekend.
Here are some questions to get you started.
- What could make the registration process smoother?
- What could make the autograph signing sessions better?
- A few events had to be relocated because of rain. How did you think that was handled? How could it have been improved?
- What was your favorite event? What was your least favorite event and why?
- In the case of another convention, which events should be repeated? Which events should be skipped and why?
- What did you think about the printed convention program? What could make it more useful?
- And for my own selfish reasons, what did you think of the Bloggers’ Breakfast? What would you have liked to see during this event? — more speaking from cast bloggers? A geekier, more technical presentation about how blogs are created and run? A tour of the different Office fansites? More 1:1 mingling with the bloggers? Other ideas?
Be honest, be specific, and be polite. Thanks!
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I thought the convention was great, especially for it being the first year. I came on Saturday morning and I guess registration would have been better if we weren’t all stuck in weaving lines under the tent. But that was because of the rain so I guess it could not be helped. Some people had no idea what lines were what but there were convention people walking around helping distinguish between lines and handing out the paper with Ed Helms on the front. I didn’t mind the wait for registration because I was just excited to finally be out of the car and be there. I didn’t know that the Office Olympics was rescheduled indoors but that may be because I was there later on Saturday morning. I thought the Q&A for the actors as well as for the writers were both awesome. I thought I was just going to be excited to see famous people but I actually enjoyed it most because they were all so hilarious and seemed so excited to be there. During the concert at night all the actors who performed genuinely seemed to be having a great time and that it wasn’t a chore for them to be there.
I had a blast
QUESTION; What would make it better next year?
Michael, Dwight, Jim, and Pam
Another suggestion would be for the Question and Answer sessions, weed out terrible questions. Leslie Baker was asked “Who does Stanley’s character dislike the most?” That was such a wasted question.
#67 StarryDreamer, I totally agree w/ u about the Stockholders meeting. I had the corporate pass, and thought the VIP reserved seats were for us. The woman hosting the event was borderline nasty about us not sitting there. But yes, she ended up letting locals sit there. Plus they were handing out freebies to the locals who just happened to be walking by and were curious. I would bet my bottom dollar these people probably don’t even watch the Office. I tried so hard to get a ream of DM paper, but no luck. Instead one of the guys handed a bunch to the onlookers.
When giving out freebies, some kind of Office Convention pass should need to be shown to receive the stuff. We would’ve so much appreciated it more then people just passing by.
#68 Andy I totally agree with you about Casino night. I honestly felt it was cool to let the actors and writers relax and have a good time. I had no problem respecting their wishes. I even approached the guy who came on our bus to warn us not to pull out any cameras, or they’d be confiscated. I asked him in the casino area why nobody was being thrown out for using their cameras? Then I asked if I could use mine? He said not to chance it, because I’d end up being the lucky one to get caught and thrown out. But I was very upset about this situation too.
I had a ball at the convention. I had a corporate pass, and it was well worth the $250. I do have some suggestions for improvements though.
1. For people who held corporate passes, they shouldn’t have had to wait on the long lines with intern passes. (Registration line, Cast Q&A, Writer’s Block.) The extra money we paid should’ve saved us that hassle of waiting on line with so many people.
2. I attended all events. Next time though, while we’re sitting waiting for an event (Cast Q&A, Blogger’s Breakfast, Writer’s Block), why don’t you play Office episodes. It felt like an eternity while we waited for the Cast Q&A, and Scranton University’s Orchestra just didn’t cut it. I think we all would’ve enjoyed watching an episode or 2 of the Office. (The time definitely would’ve went by quicker.)
3. I totally loved the Casino night, and did feel priveleged to go, since it was only corporate passes. But other then that, I felt all other ticket holders had the same access to everything we did. I actually met a guy who had no ticket, and was able to meet the whole cast, and get autographs. He also was able to sneak into the last cocktail party after the Writer’s Block.
Again, the event was amazing. I really appreciate all the hard work, and planning that went into it.
-Tammy
P.S. Please definitely consider putting an official DVD out of this event.
My husband and I had a great time and by virtue of dumb luck and getting in the waiting lines asap, we were able to make the most of our regional manager passes. There should have been better signage for the events, with organizers going through the lines to let people know what was going on. A lot of the times we just guessed that we were in the right lines. My biggest point of contention is the miscommunication with the autograph signings. I thought by purchasing my r.m. pass and indicating a time period I was getting a chance to meet with a few of the cast members at an assigned period. I obviously, was terribly mistaken. To know that I could have spent $50 instead of $200 and attended all the same events is LUDICROUS! This was poor planning. Why did the brochure keep indicating that interns would get seating as space permitted? Every line I waited in they were sat at events the same way my husband and I were. I could have spent that $150 on a much better hotel. Please fix this if you want to see some of us return.
As for the Corporate passes jumping the line -
I think that Corporates should not have to wait in any of those long lines. They should have their own separate line; as should the Regional Managers. That’s a lot of money that was asked for the Corporates and they should have that privilege not to have to wait in those horribly long lines.
I went on Saturday and had an excellent time. My suggestions:
Autographs: I think it would be more effective if the higher ticket levels were able to get in the autograph line repeatedly so that it would be possible to get everyone’s autograph. I liked at the end that everyone was allowed to get into line and get autographs (that’s how I got a lot of mine, actually). When they let anyone get in line, those who still had passes were allowed to move to the front of the line and I think this sort of strategy should be applied to autographs next year – if you have the right level pass, you can jump to the front of the line and get autographs at every session (I liked the session idea – it gave me a chance to wander a bit) instead of just one. Or sell “autograph passes” that you could add on to any ticket level with the same privilege I just mentioned.
Cast Q&A: Amazing. I loved the format. Keep it. Perfect. The only thing there was a kerfuffle about was a Corporate pass holder complaining about having to wait in line – I think it should be made more clear if Corporates can jump ahead in line or still need to wait in line but be ushered to the Corporates section of seats (so that if one Corporate pass holder who has been waiting in line to be fair isn’t cut off by one who jumped to the front). I just think that should be more clear. I’d also have the band play for less time and play an episode or two – maybe have people vote on the website for what episode they want to see?
- Maybe add in trivia or quote contests into the Office Olympics
- Shuttle stops needed to be marked more clearly! I always saw one driving past, but didn’t know where it was stopping or when.
I thought it was fantastic. Came up from DC with my Mom and we had a blast. While it was hard to bear with the lines and the crush at the autograph sessions, I figured out that if you hung out at the Radisson, chances were good that you’d see somebody. (It seemed like Bobby Ray was living in the lobby!!!) Got to see Kate and Brian and Creed a lot. Had my picture taken with all of them in the lobby. So that was very cool.
Thought the outdoor street fair was a little lame. And the weather sucked.
Biggest surprise? The Scrantones ROCKED! Oh my God!!! We almost left while that crummy improv group was on-stage but someone said that Kate was going to sing so we hung around. Got more than our money’s worth on Saturday night.
Can’t wait for next year.
I was asked what do you call the people who attended the convention, I told her we are “officionados”. Sounds better than “trekkies”, I think.
Any idea if the Convention organizers plan to create and sell a DVD with highlights of the weekend? I realize that there are numerous videos floating around online, but for those (like me) who are not super-savvy when it comes to downloading videos and burning DVDs, I would certainly be interested in buying one to re-live the experience. :)
Has anyone considered taking all of these suggestions, creating a document & getting a copy to the organizers? I think it might be a good idea to help them take care of the main issues for next year. All of the suggestions seem to be good ones & I’m sure the organizers would like to make sure everyone has a great experience.
[from tanster: yep. that's what i plan to do.]
Signs – or lack of them.
I totally agree with the fact that there should have been small poster signs all over the city directing everyone where each event was being held. We missed the Kick Off party because no one knew where it was.
Registration -
There should have been more than 1 person/machine creating the picture passes for Corporates.
Jazz Band -
I hated them. I wanted more Office stuff.
Big Tent –
Needed ropes to separate individual lines if you insist on that big tent. The NBC Store should have been in a number of locations. And especially not with the autograph line.
Different Levels -
I agree that there should be different roped off lines for the different levels. Let the Corporates in first, Regional Managers, next and so on. If you have people pay a different amount for the different privileges, then you should treat them as such.
And let the cast, writers, and producers know the schedule of events that you expect them to attend with the Corporates. If you tell us that they will be there but don’t even let them know, then how do you expect them to show up?
I felt like the autograph session was the biggest disappointment of the Convention. It did not seem fair to me that some people with 25 dollar tickets could get an autograph, while some people with 100 dollar tickets,such as myself, could not. I think it would have been better if the top two ticket levels were automatically given autograph stubs and, to give everyone a chance at getting an autograph, tickets were distributed randomally to the lower levels. I also feel like the registration session could have been better handled. The lines were confusing, and there didn’t seem to be anyone who could give us a definite answer as to where we should have gone. I also think there should have been more of a distinction between the different ticket levels because, at least while I was there, there was really nothing I could do that everyone else couldn’t. By far, the highlight of the trip for me was the Cast Q and A. I thought it was so much fun, and a great opportunity to hear what the cast had to say.
Overall, it was a wonderful weekend though!
Part 3 of 3
Autograph session – what autograph session? I completely missed out on that one – in fact, I didn’t even know there was one until reading everyone’s posts when we got back. I looked through all of my conference materials, but didn’t see any mention of it. Of course, it is probably right there and I am just blind
Costume contest/Scrantones concert – Lots of fun. Sorry, but I could’ve done without the improv ahead of time. I did actually like that one skit on “Heyna-onics”, the Scranton dialect, because of its local flair. Next time, please let the costume contestants get up all the way on stage so that we can see everyone. Also, next year be sure to include an “Other” category because the Vending Machine Filled with Dwight’s Stuff was robbed! Also, the music was great, but far too loud. In fact, we had to leave because it was hurting our ears. Wow, complaining about loud music – I am officially old!!
We left after the Bloggers’ Breakfast on Sunday morning, so no comments on the Writers’ Block – wish we could’ve been there. Thanks Scranton/The Office for a very memorable weekend and SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!!
Part 2 of 3
Least Favorite event = Uncommon Stockholders’ Meeting. This had potential to be fun, but the acoustics were just awful and the whole thing seemed to meander and not really have a point. I was sitting just in front of “David Wallace” and even he seemed a bit confused about what was going on. The end was somewhat funny and I like my stock certificate and D-M ream of paper, but overall there is a lot of room for improvement here.
Registration – Everything went smoothly with our registration on Friday evening. I believe there was a wedding reception in the Radisson ballroom on Saturday night – perhaps this was part of why it didn’t stay in the same location all weekend (the wedding had likely been booked longer than the conference was even a twinkle in its planners’ eyes). Also, we had Asst to the Regional Manger passes – I don’t think there was anything that we went to that we couldn’t have gotten in with just an Intern’s pass, so the extra $50 feels like a waste. That said, I can really sympathize with the Regional Managers, since they paid even more.
Part 1 of 3 (sorry, so much to say!)
Overall, I had a fantastic time at the convention, so what follows is just constructive criticism to help next year’s event (and I really hope there is one) be even better…
Favorite event = Cast Q & A. Don’t change a thing. The format worked perfectly, a mix of pre-screened questions directed at each cast member, followed by an open format for audience members. Also loved the Season 3 bloopers and the “Please Come to Scranton” video made by the locals in order to lure the Office cast & crew to visit. Is there a place to see that online? An earlier post complained about having to listen to the “3rd rate jazz band” – I disagree 100% on this one – hearing the local jazz band (college students, I think) added a lot to the local charm. Please let them play again next year, they were great!
As a Scrantonian, I was glad to see so many people enjoy themselves here. My 16 year old daughter and I attended the convention and had a great time. We were lucky. We went to the Raddisson on Friday afternoon (after she got out of school) to register. There was no line to register at that time, but there was a long line for the NBC merchandise store. The lines at the store location by the U of S on Saturday were even more ridiculous. To me, this is one area that needs attention for next year’s convention to run more smoothly. Overall, it was a great time. We’ll have to save up to upgrade our tickets for next year! “Ain’t no party like a Scranton party…”
The bad: I agree with the complaints about Saturday’s registration. It was a nightmare. Great idea to keep it in the same place all weekend, away from other events. I also agree the ‘autograph tickets’ should’ve been distributed differently. There were three of us w/RM passes and no one got a ticket. Line cutting was a problem at most events, and I agree seating at those should be based on your pass level. I thought the bloggers breakfast was unorganized, and felt bad for the bloggers who didn’t get introduced. It would’ve been nice to hear more from them. Overall, communication was probably the worst. The next one should have signs everywhere, and volunteers walking the lines making announcements about what the line is for, etc. We were upset that we missed the ribbon cutting because we didn’t know where to go.
As far as what I would change: I would suggest that the local theater show episodes. It was difficult to find the other theater. We eventually gave up. I would’ve really enjoyed watching episodes with other fans during the down time. I know the Trolley Museum was showing episodes, but that was bit removed from the action as well.