Greetings again everyone. After a couple of days of playing phone tag with the restaurant, we have agreed upon all of the details for the dinner and finalized the contract. The menu is essentially what was specified in the beginning, with the addition of some marinated beef skewers. So the final tally includes slider platters, chicken tenders (buffalo and plain w/honey mustard), cheesesteak spring rolls, beef skewers, and a large cold cut tray with rolls and condiments. The vegetarian options on the menu include spanikopita, mini quiches, broccoli and cheddar puffs, vegetarian spring rolls, and a large cheese tray. There will also be brownie and cheesecake trays for dessert and soda to wash it all down. Speaking of soda, they do offer Coke products, including Diet Coke. The cash bar will be available for those who might wish for something stronger.
The people at the Black Rose have been very easy to deal with and I'm hoping that everything turns out well.
Delaney on
"I will participate in the game. It's a wonderful, wonderful opera, except that it hurts." - Joseph Campbell
What a disappointment this was. TYou send out an email telling people that coming late is fine, so we arrive 45 minutes in only to be told you're out of food because you allowed people to pay at the door, essentially pocketing that money and letting them eat the food we payed for. Then you try to act like you're doing us a huge favor spending some of that money on a bit more food so we get something, yet tell us to "take it easy", while we watch people who came earlier and already ate go up again multiple times.
I've filed a dispute with PayPal for this as what you did couldn't be more sketchy and shitty. We didn't pay $26 a piece to be told we can have a few scraps.
What a disappointment this was. TYou send out an email telling people that coming late is fine, so we arrive 45 minutes in only to be told you're out of food because you allowed people to pay at the door, essentially pocketing that money and letting them eat the food we payed for. Then you try to act like you're doing us a huge favor spending some of that money on a bit more food so we get something, yet tell us to "take it easy", while we watch people who came earlier and already ate go up again multiple times.
I've filed a dispute with PayPal for this as what you did couldn't be more sketchy and shitty. We didn't pay $26 a piece to be told we can have a few scraps.
While I am not as upset as others, I too arrived late...5:40 or so...and there was no food...there were sliders brought out a little later but splitting 3 sliders between two adults is not dinner. My husband and I were disappointed since this was supposed to be dinner before going out to some of the other parties. We ended up having to go pay somewhere else to have dinner.
However, I am appreciative of you putting the party together, but honestly I don't think it was worth $26/pp especially now seeing that additional tickets were sold at the door.
What a disappointment this was. TYou send out an email telling people that coming late is fine, so we arrive 45 minutes in only to be told you're out of food because you allowed people to pay at the door, essentially pocketing that money and letting them eat the food we payed for. Then you try to act like you're doing us a huge favor spending some of that money on a bit more food so we get something, yet tell us to "take it easy", while we watch people who came earlier and already ate go up again multiple times.
I've filed a dispute with PayPal for this as what you did couldn't be more sketchy and shitty. We didn't pay $26 a piece to be told we can have a few scraps.
While I am not as upset as others, I too arrived late...5:40 or so...and there was no food...there were sliders brought out a little later but splitting 3 sliders between two adults is not dinner. My husband and I were disappointed since this was supposed to be dinner before going out to some of the other parties. We ended up having to go pay somewhere else to have dinner.
However, I am appreciative of you putting the party together, but honestly I don't think it was worth $26/pp especially now seeing that additional tickets were sold at the door.
That's the biggest issue. No food because they sold tickets to people at the for that weren't planned for. I'll be getting my money back via Paypal. I have no sympathy for someone running a scam like that, and that's what selling them at the for was. ALL that money should have gone into the dinner.
Every penny that we got went directly into the dinner. In fact I paid some of my own money towards making sure everyone had food. Unfortunately there was a issue with the way food was ordered and communicated with the restaurant. I would agree with you if we had full attendance for the event that the decision to let people in late was a mistake, but we actually had more than 10 no shows. We should have had more than enough food for everyone that came.
If you feel that what you got wasn't enough value for what you spent I sincerely apologize and you please do what you feel you need to do. I decided to instead of just tell people they were out of luck with food to dip into my own pocket to make sure you all had some food available. The 2 people that came in and paid with their group definitely were not enough to make that big of a difference in food. I do wish anyone who had a issue with the amount of food being given had come up and spoken to me in person. Instead of you putting in a refund request and us paying even more out of pocket we could have figured out a way to get you some more food off the menu there.
Other than that we didn't have enough food available (again, sincerely sorry. If I knew people were still hungry I would have bought even more food) I'd like to know any feed back on the quality of food, waitstaff you interacted with, etc. If we do this again next year it'll be helpful in our planning methods.
Other than that we didn't have enough food available (again, sincerely sorry. If I knew people were still hungry I would have bought even more food) I'd like to know any feed back on the quality of food, waitstaff you interacted with, etc. If we do this again next year it'll be helpful in our planning methods.
It venue was fine, the drinks were good, the bartender was quick and pleasant...no other problems except we were hungry. We didn't see it as such a huge issue, more of an inconvenience. I won't be asking or filing for money back, I just see that I need to be on time next year! Again, I appreciate you guys putting it together.
It was definitely a learning experience. We will be doing it different next year and now the place knows more about what we expect and how we expect it. Next year will be more in line with buffet style with constant food. The selection will probably be different but I think it will work out better for everyone. Live and learn and try to make this awesome for everyone.
I think that once we have the food setup the way we all need it this is a great alternative to Durgins. What food I did have (knowing we were running low I only tried the cheese puffs and some onion rings and a roll) seemed to be a lot tastier, and it seems more like they at least wanted to work with us.
I hate to say it but PAX crowd and "Unlimited Buffet" is bad mix. My wife and I got there at 5:30 and all food was gone except for a few cheese squares. They brought out some food after 5 minutes and people who had obviously eaten already swarmed it like they lived in Ethiopia for the last year. I was in line for drinks, so my wife went for her and got shoved around and managed to come back with 2 sliders and 3 chicken fingers which was all she could get without a whip to beat people back with. I got the over priced drinks, a small glass of wine and a rum and coke that was small (17.00) and was unable to get any food. About 6:10 they brought out more food, and I immediately got up and went straight for the food. By time I got there, literally less then a minute all that were left was 10 chicken fingers, which some guy jumped in front of me and took 8 of. I was reaching for the other two and some bitch (his girlfriend I think) was on the other side of table, grabbed the remaining two and put them on his plate so she had all 10, and had the nerve to shoot me a "Ha Ha" look. The waitress saw this and felt so bad, she went in back and got me 2 sliders and brought them to the bar where I was sitting. So I gave her a 5 for a tip. I got a regular coke to wash it down with for free, and my wife and I got out of dodge.
I have been to every Durgin Park one and I look forward to this event more then PAX almost and left after paying over 80 dollars for tickets, 1 round of small drinks, and tips only to get to garage and pay 23 for the less then an hour of parking and we had to go find food after. Over $ 100.00 invested and barely got table scraps and it was the most ANTI-Social group ever. Spoke to only 3 people who spoke back the entire time, and two of them barely acknowledge us. The third said hi and talked for 30 seconds about this being his first PAX before making a mad dash when the next round of food came out.
This was a BUST. Little PAX talk, less game talk and a bunch of people who should be banned for life from PAX Dinners. The common courtesy of a house fly was beyond most.
Ratings
Facility - 9
Hosts and organizers - 8 (Letting Door People in was horrendous idea)
Crowd - 1 (It was a demonstration of how to be the worst PAX attendee scumbags ever)
Great try and thank you for your effort but, ditch any ideas about buffets in future, because the crowd you drew was just horrible. The intermingling barely happened except among the people who came together. This went from must attend event to "NEVER AGAIN" on my list. If its a sit down dinner where people talk, I will come again (not that anyone would care apparently), but I would have had more fun, food and more polite conversation if I was begging for food at the Republican National Convention wearing a "Barack Obama for a Third Term" button then I could have ever hope for at this mess.
Okay, I know I wasn't at the dinner, but I've done loads of event planning and feel its important to communicate a few global truths for everyone:
1. Appetizer dinners are always going to be light meals. The Black Rose is a tourist spot that is in the business of making money, not providing extra food, so you guys got double-whammied. Save your righteous anger for the restaurant who (it sounds like) treated this as a reception instead of a dinner. I'm sure that the organizers have learned this lesson as well.
2. The PPD is not a gourmet meal. I say this first because there are invariably people who complain about the quality of the food wherever it's held, which was part of the reason that it was switched up this year. The PPD is supposed to be first and foremost a social event, and as long as the meal is edible, that means it's right. This year's was a great idea that would have worked better if there were games/ice breakers to get people talking and more social.
3. Group dinners are expensive and like herding cats. The best way to involve everyone (as is the point of the PPD) is to find a place that's affordable, fairly bland (yup, for reals), can handle the crowd, and accommodate special diets. That's incredibly hard. Think about how tough it is to choose a restaurant when you and 5 of your friends want to go out and then times that by 20. Every time someone is vegetarian, or gluten free, or complains about the prior venue, or wants to increase the size, change the time, etcetera etc etc... It gets harder to find a place.
The point is that organizing these dinners is hard. Making everyone happy is impossible. I think that the organizing team did a great job this year, worked their asses off and made some mistakes that will make them better organizers next year. To those of you who are outraged: please chill yourself. Nobody screwed up on purpose and we're all supposed to be friends. Constructive feedback is helpful but calling someone a scammer when they probably already realize that it went badly is unhelpful and mean. If you think you can do a better job next year, I encourage you to step up and get involved.
Okay, I know I wasn't at the dinner, but I've done loads of event planning and feel its important to communicate a few global truths for everyone:
1. Appetizer dinners are always going to be light meals. The Black Rose is a tourist spot that is in the business of making money, not providing extra food, so you guys got double-whammied. Save your righteous anger for the restaurant who (it sounds like) treated this as a reception instead of a dinner. I'm sure that the organizers have learned this lesson as well.
2. The PPD is not a gourmet meal. I say this first because there are invariably people who complain about the quality of the food wherever it's held, which was part of the reason that it was switched up this year. The PPD is supposed to be first and foremost a social event, and as long as the meal is edible, that means it's right. This year's was a great idea that would have worked better if there were games/ice breakers to get people talking and more social.
3. Group dinners are expensive and like herding cats. The best way to involve everyone (as is the point of the PPD) is to find a place that's affordable, fairly bland (yup, for reals), can handle the crowd, and accommodate special diets. That's incredibly hard. Think about how tough it is to choose a restaurant when you and 5 of your friends want to go out and then times that by 20. Every time someone is vegetarian, or gluten free, or complains about the prior venue, or wants to increase the size, change the time, etcetera etc etc... It gets harder to find a place.
The point is that organizing these dinners is hard. Making everyone happy is impossible. I think that the organizing team did a great job this year, worked their asses off and made some mistakes that will make them better organizers next year. To those of you who are outraged: please chill yourself. Nobody screwed up on purpose and we're all supposed to be friends. Constructive feedback is helpful but calling someone a scammer when they probably already realize that it went badly is unhelpful and mean. If you think you can do a better job next year, I encourage you to step up and get involved.
The event was called a dinner and people treated it as such. An email was sent out saying to not worry about being late yet 30 minutes in all the food was gone. If you tell people it's safe to come late, you don't blow through all the food in the first half hour.
But what was truly upsetting was the same thing noted above by others: those of us who came later with little food left were told to "take it easy" while watching people who had clearly had multiple played already swarm the limited stuff brought out after. Yet done enforcer who you could see multiple plates in front of already didn't get a word about the overflowing plate he stacked for himself.
We paid $52 or so and had to go buy dinner elsewhere, but at least elsewhere without someone condescendingly telling us to take it easy on the scraps we were offered. We wrongfully assumed someone running an event would have some idea how to do so. I'm glad those who showed up early had a good time and a nice spread on others dime.
Lexi - I don't hold the facility or the organizers responsible at all. Its always been a loosely knot group that chat over dinner and this should have been no different. Unfortunately some attendees only thinking of themselves and acted like alley cats, waiting in the shadows quietly until the food came out and then they grabbed it and ran. I would have been there on time except for the "No Rush" email that went out an hour before the event. It was unfortunately a sad premonition of how most of PAX would go. The attendees this year were on their worst behavior in oh so many ways.
Yeah, there's no excuse for acting like a dick. Notice that my essay didn't defend those behaviors . The intent was to help folks who are (understandably) upset remember that the organizers are volunteers who made mistakes like humans do sometimes, and not wicked scammers out to screw you over.
This has been weighing heavily on me this weekend. I'm curious how people would feel about going back to a regular meal non buffet dinner. That way everyone gets a selection. The options would be more limited but we can guarantee everyone gets a equal portion that way.
This has been weighing heavily on me this weekend. I'm curious how people would feel about going back to a regular meal non buffet dinner. That way everyone gets a selection. The options would be more limited but we can guarantee everyone gets a equal portion that way.
My honest thought is I loved the place, just disliked the crowd behavior that was inspired. Yes the staff and facilities were nicer then DP and we should return, but I would recommend maybe a 10-15 cover charge that includes "Cheese and cracker plate" an soda like they had and then the regular menu to order from where people pay for their own food and order what they want. That way if people want something different they can get it and no one is at the mercy of peoples good behavior or lack there of. Other wise an idea might be get a "private section" at fire and ice which is a buffet by nature, but so out of the way.
That's a great idea, although I can hear people complaining about $15 for some cheese and soda, the reality is a good chunk of the money paid goes into having the location, staff, etc. Fire and Ice has been discussed but most people complain about the distance, which limits us to 'tourist' spots. But still a lot of good stuff. I'm going to contact them and see if that might be an option.
Just to remind everyone this is a community event. Delaney and I organized it, but that's all. You the community helps decide where we go and what kind of things we do. I definitely want any input (negative and positive) and any critiques (constructive preferably). If I'm organizing it next year (honestly if. This failing really upset my PAX vibe) there will be another questionnaire put out a few months before PAX, and we based our decisions off that. Most people wanted a buffet, heck I thought it'd go really well, but that's been proven to be troublesome, so that'll probably be off the option plate next year, but there will be plenty of other things to help guide the event a bit.
Don't want to harp on the topics already brought up, but we ate light as well. I know how hard it is to plan for an event like this and you live and learn, I do appreciate the effort that went into planning and delaney (I think it was sry lol) helped us get the high chair we needed and wanted to make sure we had a spot. Luckily we sat by a group of guys that were sociable, didn't venture much over by the side with the food since with a kid you tend to be limited in mingling lol. @Dolarrah I didnt know how to figure out who you were at the dinner, I still owe you a drink from your tips on the party thread lol.
I was more disappointed with the sanshee party that I paid $30 for the vip/block hop pass to have the chick and the door tell me she had no clue what block hop was and gave me a ticket to let me in without getting my drink wristband or anything.....
PS - Hope to make PAX next yr too and would vote for sit down meal.
Don't want to harp on the topics already brought up, but we ate light as well. I know how hard it is to plan for an event like this and you live and learn, I do appreciate the effort that went into planning and delaney (I think it was sry lol) helped us get the high chair we needed and wanted to make sure we had a spot. Luckily we sat by a group of guys that were sociable, didn't venture much over by the side with the food since with a kid you tend to be limited in mingling lol. @Dolarrah I didnt know how to figure out who you were at the dinner, I still owe you a drink from your tips on the party thread lol.
I was more disappointed with the sanshee party that I paid $30 for the vip/block hop pass to have the chick and the door tell me she had no clue what block hop was and gave me a ticket to let me in without getting my drink wristband or anything.....
PS - Hope to make PAX next yr too and would vote for sit down meal.
We talked for about a minute, I think you sat next to my wife at the Bar for a little bit. No Drink necessary, just as long as you enjoyed Pax
0
Options
mentok1982I could never leave you PAX baby.BaltimoreRegistered Userregular
Don't want to harp on the topics already brought up, but we ate light as well. I know how hard it is to plan for an event like this and you live and learn, I do appreciate the effort that went into planning and delaney (I think it was sry lol) helped us get the high chair we needed and wanted to make sure we had a spot. Luckily we sat by a group of guys that were sociable, didn't venture much over by the side with the food since with a kid you tend to be limited in mingling lol. @Dolarrah I didnt know how to figure out who you were at the dinner, I still owe you a drink from your tips on the party thread lol.
I was more disappointed with the sanshee party that I paid $30 for the vip/block hop pass to have the chick and the door tell me she had no clue what block hop was and gave me a ticket to let me in without getting my drink wristband or anything.....
PS - Hope to make PAX next yr too and would vote for sit down meal.
We talked for about a minute, I think you sat next to my wife at the Bar for a little bit. No Drink necessary, just as long as you enjoyed Pax
Didnt sit at the bar but I prob saw you when getting a beer and maybe didnt put 2+2 lol sorry. I cant wait for next year already.
Don't want to harp on the topics already brought up, but we ate light as well. I know how hard it is to plan for an event like this and you live and learn, I do appreciate the effort that went into planning and delaney (I think it was sry lol) helped us get the high chair we needed and wanted to make sure we had a spot. Luckily we sat by a group of guys that were sociable, didn't venture much over by the side with the food since with a kid you tend to be limited in mingling lol. @Dolarrah I didnt know how to figure out who you were at the dinner, I still owe you a drink from your tips on the party thread lol.
I was more disappointed with the sanshee party that I paid $30 for the vip/block hop pass to have the chick and the door tell me she had no clue what block hop was and gave me a ticket to let me in without getting my drink wristband or anything.....
PS - Hope to make PAX next yr too and would vote for sit down meal.
We talked for about a minute, I think you sat next to my wife at the Bar for a little bit. No Drink necessary, just as long as you enjoyed Pax
Didnt sit at the bar but I prob saw you when getting a beer and maybe didnt put 2+2 lol sorry. I cant wait for next year already.
Someone came up to bar and sat next to my wife while ordering and we talked, it was not more then 30 seconds really, but thought they said name was Dan so I just assumed it was use, I just introduced myself as Chris not as Dolarrah
Personally i think fire and ice would work real good. the only issue I think we would have with that place is its far away from the pokecrawl area so we would have to either 1. start the dinner a lil earlier maybe around 4 or 430 or 2. have them start the pokecrawl a lil later maybe around 8ish
Been meaning to pop back into the thread and say I had fun at the PPD. I got to know @kropotkin beyond just He Who Makes Cool Badges, and got to catch-up with @gonexall. Yes, the food situation didn't exactly go smoothly; it cut my stay at The Black Rose short, as my sustenance-to-gin ratio needed fixed. But hey, we decided to try something new, and sometimes new things go like that.
First of all I'd like to thank @GhostDan and @Delaney for putting this together. I know it was no mean feat and you should be applauded for the time and effort you put into making this happen. However, while you made a brave decision to move the venue, I can only echo the comments made in this thread about how the food was distributed and what was on offer.
I arrived at 5pm thinking that was when it was starting, only to find that all of the seating had become occupied by some very keen attendees. I was pretty jet-lagged from the trans-Atlantic flight so I was looking forward to getting some sustenance at the PPD. Sadly this didn't come to pass as I ended up having two rolls with some ham in them the entire evening. I noticed over the course of the evening different plates of food were being placed onto a table that was about 10ft long and placed just to the right of the bar. These were the different courses as the food became more diverse as the evening went on. By around 6:30pm as I left they started putting cakes and deserts out. This cyclic placement of food led to chaotic scenes of people jumping up from their seats and diving for what scraps of food was made available. From this I determined that the venue decided to approach this event just like any other corporate based shindig it has been doing for years. The rotation of food platters for different courses is very common in such events and does much to break the ice between people as they chat and stand around the food platters.
That doesn't work with PAX attendees, however. Least of all the ones that appeared at the PPD this year. I too found them to be largely a hostile lot who had little to no interest in engaging in conversation. PPD is supposed to be about sharing your excitement for PAX, not building up barricades. Sadly those that came to the PPD had other ideas for reasons best known to themselves.
I am of the opinion that serious thought should be placed in not attempting a buffet again. It simply didn't work and even encouraged the hostility that was prevalent at the event. It certainly left a sour taste in my mouth compared to previous years' PPDs. My only highlights were my chat with @Raughn and @gonexall and the delight in people's eyes as I handed them a forum badge. Those were few sadly as most people I made eye contact at the PPD with returned it with a scowl.
I too felt a bit isolated because of how the tables were organized. It did not encourage conversation as I would have been more than happy to engage others but the venue setup did not lend itself to this. The food/feeding frenzy was a bit much and in this regard I think much had been said on this front. Thx @kropotkin for the badge, I wore it with pride all weekend.
aBByNormaL on
PAX East 2016 .... gots my Passes [x] Hotel [x] Flights [x] Packed [..] .... ok we're all good !!!!!
I too felt a bit isolated because of how the tables were organized. It did not encourage conversation as I would have been more than happy to engage others but the venue setup did not lend itself to this. The food/feeding frenzy was a bit much and in this regard I think much had been said on this front. Thx @kropotkin for the badge, I wore it with pride all weekend.
Thx @Kropotkin for the badges...wore mine all weekend as well!
0
Options
Kilonum[E]Somewhere near BostonRegistered Userregular
An addendum for next year: Choose a place that is handicap accessible. I have a bad knee and descending stairs is quite difficult and painful for me, and I'd hate to think people didn't go to this simply because they had no way of getting upstairs.
Posts
The people at the Black Rose have been very easy to deal with and I'm hoping that everything turns out well.
PAX East Pics: 2010-2015 & Vids: 2012-2015
Thank, Delaney! Would the best place to post pictures be in this thread?
That sounds good to me.
I've filed a dispute with PayPal for this as what you did couldn't be more sketchy and shitty. We didn't pay $26 a piece to be told we can have a few scraps.
While I am not as upset as others, I too arrived late...5:40 or so...and there was no food...there were sliders brought out a little later but splitting 3 sliders between two adults is not dinner. My husband and I were disappointed since this was supposed to be dinner before going out to some of the other parties. We ended up having to go pay somewhere else to have dinner.
However, I am appreciative of you putting the party together, but honestly I don't think it was worth $26/pp especially now seeing that additional tickets were sold at the door.
That's the biggest issue. No food because they sold tickets to people at the for that weren't planned for. I'll be getting my money back via Paypal. I have no sympathy for someone running a scam like that, and that's what selling them at the for was. ALL that money should have gone into the dinner.
If you feel that what you got wasn't enough value for what you spent I sincerely apologize and you please do what you feel you need to do. I decided to instead of just tell people they were out of luck with food to dip into my own pocket to make sure you all had some food available. The 2 people that came in and paid with their group definitely were not enough to make that big of a difference in food. I do wish anyone who had a issue with the amount of food being given had come up and spoken to me in person. Instead of you putting in a refund request and us paying even more out of pocket we could have figured out a way to get you some more food off the menu there.
It venue was fine, the drinks were good, the bartender was quick and pleasant...no other problems except we were hungry. We didn't see it as such a huge issue, more of an inconvenience. I won't be asking or filing for money back, I just see that I need to be on time next year! Again, I appreciate you guys putting it together.
I think that once we have the food setup the way we all need it this is a great alternative to Durgins. What food I did have (knowing we were running low I only tried the cheese puffs and some onion rings and a roll) seemed to be a lot tastier, and it seems more like they at least wanted to work with us.
I have been to every Durgin Park one and I look forward to this event more then PAX almost and left after paying over 80 dollars for tickets, 1 round of small drinks, and tips only to get to garage and pay 23 for the less then an hour of parking and we had to go find food after. Over $ 100.00 invested and barely got table scraps and it was the most ANTI-Social group ever. Spoke to only 3 people who spoke back the entire time, and two of them barely acknowledge us. The third said hi and talked for 30 seconds about this being his first PAX before making a mad dash when the next round of food came out.
This was a BUST. Little PAX talk, less game talk and a bunch of people who should be banned for life from PAX Dinners. The common courtesy of a house fly was beyond most.
Ratings
Facility - 9
Hosts and organizers - 8 (Letting Door People in was horrendous idea)
Crowd - 1 (It was a demonstration of how to be the worst PAX attendee scumbags ever)
Great try and thank you for your effort but, ditch any ideas about buffets in future, because the crowd you drew was just horrible. The intermingling barely happened except among the people who came together. This went from must attend event to "NEVER AGAIN" on my list. If its a sit down dinner where people talk, I will come again (not that anyone would care apparently), but I would have had more fun, food and more polite conversation if I was begging for food at the Republican National Convention wearing a "Barack Obama for a Third Term" button then I could have ever hope for at this mess.
To those that acted like morons... YOU SUCK.
Okay, I know I wasn't at the dinner, but I've done loads of event planning and feel its important to communicate a few global truths for everyone:
1. Appetizer dinners are always going to be light meals. The Black Rose is a tourist spot that is in the business of making money, not providing extra food, so you guys got double-whammied. Save your righteous anger for the restaurant who (it sounds like) treated this as a reception instead of a dinner. I'm sure that the organizers have learned this lesson as well.
2. The PPD is not a gourmet meal. I say this first because there are invariably people who complain about the quality of the food wherever it's held, which was part of the reason that it was switched up this year. The PPD is supposed to be first and foremost a social event, and as long as the meal is edible, that means it's right. This year's was a great idea that would have worked better if there were games/ice breakers to get people talking and more social.
3. Group dinners are expensive and like herding cats. The best way to involve everyone (as is the point of the PPD) is to find a place that's affordable, fairly bland (yup, for reals), can handle the crowd, and accommodate special diets. That's incredibly hard. Think about how tough it is to choose a restaurant when you and 5 of your friends want to go out and then times that by 20. Every time someone is vegetarian, or gluten free, or complains about the prior venue, or wants to increase the size, change the time, etcetera etc etc... It gets harder to find a place.
The point is that organizing these dinners is hard. Making everyone happy is impossible. I think that the organizing team did a great job this year, worked their asses off and made some mistakes that will make them better organizers next year. To those of you who are outraged: please chill yourself. Nobody screwed up on purpose and we're all supposed to be friends. Constructive feedback is helpful but calling someone a scammer when they probably already realize that it went badly is unhelpful and mean. If you think you can do a better job next year, I encourage you to step up and get involved.
Okay, I know I wasn't at the dinner, but I've done loads of event planning and feel its important to communicate a few global truths for everyone:
1. Appetizer dinners are always going to be light meals. The Black Rose is a tourist spot that is in the business of making money, not providing extra food, so you guys got double-whammied. Save your righteous anger for the restaurant who (it sounds like) treated this as a reception instead of a dinner. I'm sure that the organizers have learned this lesson as well.
2. The PPD is not a gourmet meal. I say this first because there are invariably people who complain about the quality of the food wherever it's held, which was part of the reason that it was switched up this year. The PPD is supposed to be first and foremost a social event, and as long as the meal is edible, that means it's right. This year's was a great idea that would have worked better if there were games/ice breakers to get people talking and more social.
3. Group dinners are expensive and like herding cats. The best way to involve everyone (as is the point of the PPD) is to find a place that's affordable, fairly bland (yup, for reals), can handle the crowd, and accommodate special diets. That's incredibly hard. Think about how tough it is to choose a restaurant when you and 5 of your friends want to go out and then times that by 20. Every time someone is vegetarian, or gluten free, or complains about the prior venue, or wants to increase the size, change the time, etcetera etc etc... It gets harder to find a place.
The point is that organizing these dinners is hard. Making everyone happy is impossible. I think that the organizing team did a great job this year, worked their asses off and made some mistakes that will make them better organizers next year. To those of you who are outraged: please chill yourself. Nobody screwed up on purpose and we're all supposed to be friends. Constructive feedback is helpful but calling someone a scammer when they probably already realize that it went badly is unhelpful and mean. If you think you can do a better job next year, I encourage you to step up and get involved.
But what was truly upsetting was the same thing noted above by others: those of us who came later with little food left were told to "take it easy" while watching people who had clearly had multiple played already swarm the limited stuff brought out after. Yet done enforcer who you could see multiple plates in front of already didn't get a word about the overflowing plate he stacked for himself.
We paid $52 or so and had to go buy dinner elsewhere, but at least elsewhere without someone condescendingly telling us to take it easy on the scraps we were offered. We wrongfully assumed someone running an event would have some idea how to do so. I'm glad those who showed up early had a good time and a nice spread on others dime.
My honest thought is I loved the place, just disliked the crowd behavior that was inspired. Yes the staff and facilities were nicer then DP and we should return, but I would recommend maybe a 10-15 cover charge that includes "Cheese and cracker plate" an soda like they had and then the regular menu to order from where people pay for their own food and order what they want. That way if people want something different they can get it and no one is at the mercy of peoples good behavior or lack there of. Other wise an idea might be get a "private section" at fire and ice which is a buffet by nature, but so out of the way.
Just to remind everyone this is a community event. Delaney and I organized it, but that's all. You the community helps decide where we go and what kind of things we do. I definitely want any input (negative and positive) and any critiques (constructive preferably). If I'm organizing it next year (honestly if. This failing really upset my PAX vibe) there will be another questionnaire put out a few months before PAX, and we based our decisions off that. Most people wanted a buffet, heck I thought it'd go really well, but that's been proven to be troublesome, so that'll probably be off the option plate next year, but there will be plenty of other things to help guide the event a bit.
I was more disappointed with the sanshee party that I paid $30 for the vip/block hop pass to have the chick and the door tell me she had no clue what block hop was and gave me a ticket to let me in without getting my drink wristband or anything.....
PS - Hope to make PAX next yr too and would vote for sit down meal.
We talked for about a minute, I think you sat next to my wife at the Bar for a little bit. No Drink necessary, just as long as you enjoyed Pax
mentok's Pre-PAX East 2014 Dinner photos!
I tweeted some of those at you that night Delaney.
PS3: Mentok || Steam: mentok1982 || Diablo 3: mentok1982#1212
Links: GPUReview.com My IGN activity My IGN Blog [H]ard|Forum
Didnt sit at the bar but I prob saw you when getting a beer and maybe didnt put 2+2 lol sorry. I cant wait for next year already.
Someone came up to bar and sat next to my wife while ordering and we talked, it was not more then 30 seconds really, but thought they said name was Dan so I just assumed it was use, I just introduced myself as Chris not as Dolarrah
@delaney, I remember you took pics but do you have a link to where they will be posted?
Haha sorry thanks.... ugh so confused trying to tie handles to faces lol
Thanks to @GhostDan and @Delaney for putting it together!
I arrived at 5pm thinking that was when it was starting, only to find that all of the seating had become occupied by some very keen attendees. I was pretty jet-lagged from the trans-Atlantic flight so I was looking forward to getting some sustenance at the PPD. Sadly this didn't come to pass as I ended up having two rolls with some ham in them the entire evening. I noticed over the course of the evening different plates of food were being placed onto a table that was about 10ft long and placed just to the right of the bar. These were the different courses as the food became more diverse as the evening went on. By around 6:30pm as I left they started putting cakes and deserts out. This cyclic placement of food led to chaotic scenes of people jumping up from their seats and diving for what scraps of food was made available. From this I determined that the venue decided to approach this event just like any other corporate based shindig it has been doing for years. The rotation of food platters for different courses is very common in such events and does much to break the ice between people as they chat and stand around the food platters.
That doesn't work with PAX attendees, however. Least of all the ones that appeared at the PPD this year. I too found them to be largely a hostile lot who had little to no interest in engaging in conversation. PPD is supposed to be about sharing your excitement for PAX, not building up barricades. Sadly those that came to the PPD had other ideas for reasons best known to themselves.
I am of the opinion that serious thought should be placed in not attempting a buffet again. It simply didn't work and even encouraged the hostility that was prevalent at the event. It certainly left a sour taste in my mouth compared to previous years' PPDs. My only highlights were my chat with @Raughn and @gonexall and the delight in people's eyes as I handed them a forum badge. Those were few sadly as most people I made eye contact at the PPD with returned it with a scowl.
Thx @Kropotkin for the badges...wore mine all weekend as well!