Pre Pax dinner

Shade

Hey turtle and astyonix. What are your ideas for next years dinner?

Qs23

Shade wrote: »

Hey turtle and astyonix. What are your ideas for next years dinner?

Dude, it's not even 2008 yet. The CCST hasn't started planning, let alone the Pre-PAX dinner.

Legacy

Aydr

That's a great image.

Moe Fwacky

Is that... a Civil War Cowboy?

Aydr

Looks to me more like a minuteman jumping the gun.

Shade

Prior planning prevents piss poor preformance. That and I'm bored so my question still stands. Since last years no pay guy, they were going to come up with an idea for a prepay plan.

also: pic is awesome.

b0wser

Not to really complain, but I'd like some sort of system where the three people I'm eating with aren't stuck putting out way more money than the cost of the food we ordered. I don't remember who I sat with, but they shorted the bill $25. I think that problem arose from the facility wanting to do table bills instead of individual, but that's their own problem to work out. The food was great and we all had a good time, so I'm not slagging on the Pre-PAX mealtime at all.

nearlysober

When eating with large groups of people you're going to run into three problems EVERY time:
1. Cheap people who don't include enough or any extra for tax & tip.
2. People who just forgot tax & tip or suck at math and include too little.
3. Jackasses who completely underpay or don't pay anything.

Happens in every group dinner situation ever... even if its with quality people like PAXers. It could be a Pope Convention and you'd still find the above three people at a table if there was a big group.

Due to the crazy popularity of the pre-PAX dinner it might be time to move away from the traditional restraunts and moving to a more structured option like a catered dinner with per-person charges or a buffet or something... and basically have people RSVP & PAY in advance.

Just a thought.

Phanman

Yeah, there is no way a restaurant is going to have a per person check with as many and as large of groups as the Pre-PAX dinner attracts. It is unfortunate that you have both cheap and deceptive people who don't pay any money and take advantage of others.

I would highly suggest and encourage going to places where you have to pay in advance. Basically you have a buffet or this catered idea sounds great other than I can't imagine the planning involved. You'd need to somehow reserve a large enough space and then also collect the funds to pay for the space and the food. A hotel ballroom comes to mind but I don't want to think of the costs invovled.

Qs23

Phanman wrote: »

Yeah, there is no way a restaurant is going to have a per person check with as many and as large of groups as the Pre-PAX dinner attracts. It is unfortunate that you have both cheap and deceptive people who don't pay any money and take advantage of others.

I would highly suggest and encourage going to places where you have to pay in advance. Basically you have a buffet or this catered idea sounds great other than I can't imagine the planning involved. You'd need to somehow reserve a large enough space and then also collect the funds to pay for the space and the food. A hotel ballroom comes to mind but I don't want to think of the costs invovled.

We have thought about them... and no you don't want to.

Shade

Qs23 wrote: »

Phanman wrote: »

Yeah, there is no way a restaurant is going to have a per person check with as many and as large of groups as the Pre-PAX dinner attracts. It is unfortunate that you have both cheap and deceptive people who don't pay any money and take advantage of others.

I would highly suggest and encourage going to places where you have to pay in advance. Basically you have a buffet or this catered idea sounds great other than I can't imagine the planning involved. You'd need to somehow reserve a large enough space and then also collect the funds to pay for the space and the food. A hotel ballroom comes to mind but I don't want to think of the costs invovled.

We have thought about them... and no you don't want to.

A buffet might not be a bad idea. Every year it packs more and more. This year we had slightly under what? 400? all of which forumers and friends. I'd be willing to throw out some money to a paypal account or something in advance and I bet a lot of others would too.

Moe Fwacky

Anybody know of a buffet in downtown Seattle? I think the problem Electric Turtle and Astayonix were running into for this year was finding a place that was willing to shut down normal operations for our group without some sort of deposit. If enough people are willing to throw into a paypal, that money could be used to hold the restaurant and the rest can be paid for upon entry (buffet style, preferably). The hotel banquet halls are prohibitively expensive, so those are out for sure.

Shade

_______moe wrote: »

Anybody know of a buffet in downtown Seattle? I think the problem Electric Turtle and Astayonix were running into for this year was finding a place that was willing to shut down normal operations for our group without some sort of deposit. If enough people are willing to throw into a paypal, that money could be used to hold the restaurant and the rest can be paid for upon entry (buffet style, preferably). The hotel banquet halls are prohibitively expensive, so those are out for sure.

I'll ask my father if he knows anyone.(He's a chef, used to run the Brooklyn)

mentok1982

_______moe wrote: »

Anybody know of a buffet in downtown Seattle? I think the problem Electric Turtle and Astayonix were running into for this year was finding a place that was willing to shut down normal operations for our group without some sort of deposit. If enough people are willing to throw into a paypal, that money could be used to hold the restaurant and the rest can be paid for upon entry (buffet style, preferably). The hotel banquet halls are prohibitively expensive, so those are out for sure.

I would throw down some pre-order cash for the dinner. Do I get a special metal tin and a soundtrack disc?


No seriously. I would give at least $20 for the deposit.

Andymatron

Im just going to throw out an Idea.
You could contact A hotel and see how much it would cost to rent out one of the dinning / meeting rooms for a night, Then find some kind of catering.
I don't know how cost effective this would be compared to renting out a restaurant but maybe something to look into.

Moe Fwacky

It's already been looked into, and it's so prohibitively expensive, you don't even want to know the numbers.

Darkblade_1

Man, moe..

I want those numbers.

If we each throw in $500 we'd have it in no time!

Moe Fwacky

I don't know about you, but I don't have $500 to spend on a dinner.

DStalefish

You mean your poop isn't hiding wads of Benjamins?

You could always just gather everybody around a hot dog vendor and make him (or her) really uncomfortable while everybody eats hot dogs.

liasa

We don't have hot dog vendors in Seattle, in fact I don't think we really have any sort of street vendors in Seattle at all.

Shade

liasa wrote: »

We don't have hot dog vendors in Seattle, in fact I don't think we really have any sort of street vendors in Seattle at all.

I think its because of the high homeless musician population that they rob the venders untill they all went out of business. Or the fact that it rains nonstop 9 months out of the year.

minigunwielder

Shade wrote: »

liasa wrote: »

We don't have hot dog vendors in Seattle, in fact I don't think we really have any sort of street vendors in Seattle at all.

I think its because of the high homeless musician population that they rob the venders untill they all went out of business. Or the fact that it rains nonstop 9 months out of the year.

If that deters religious solicitors, I will move to Seattle.

DStalefish

Seattle and Long Beach, two of a kind. :P

Drive-through taco stands?

Qs23

DStalefish wrote: »

Seattle and Long Beach, two of a kind. :P

Drive-through taco stands?

Taco Bell is only in Seattle and Long Beach?

Shade

Qs23 wrote: »

DStalefish wrote: »

Seattle and Long Beach, two of a kind. :P

Drive-through taco stands?

Taco Bell is only in Seattle and Long Beach?

Oddly Taco Bell does not sell actual tacos, and if you think they do your missing out on life.

DStalefish

No, Seattle and Long Beach don't have hot dog vendors.

KaitouAyashi

nearlysober wrote: »

When eating with large groups of people you're going to run into three problems EVERY time:
1. Cheap people who don't include enough or any extra for tax & tip.
2. People who just forgot tax & tip or suck at math and include too little.
3. Jackasses who completely underpay or don't pay anything.

Happens in every group dinner situation ever... even if its with quality people like PAXers.

Word to the above. I got shorted about $25 at the Pre-Pax Breakfast (bacon waffles FTW!), and I don't think it was intentional. It's easy to forget about tax and tip, or even how much your food was when you ordered. :P

My only suggestion is that if I offer to be "Money Collector" again, I'll write down everyone's orders and prices by hand and bring a calculator. Before everyone's finished eating - they'll have their total.

Also, BRING CASH, and plenty of small bills.

Shade

KaitouAyashi wrote: »

nearlysober wrote: »

When eating with large groups of people you're going to run into three problems EVERY time:
1. Cheap people who don't include enough or any extra for tax & tip.
2. People who just forgot tax & tip or suck at math and include too little.
3. Jackasses who completely underpay or don't pay anything.

Happens in every group dinner situation ever... even if its with quality people like PAXers.

Word to the above. I got shorted about $25 at the Pre-Pax Breakfast (bacon waffles FTW!), and I don't think it was intentional. It's easy to forget about tax and tip, or even how much your food was when you ordered. :P

My only suggestion is that if I offer to be "Money Collector" again, I'll write down everyone's orders and prices by hand and bring a calculator. Before everyone's finished eating - they'll have their total.

Also, BRING CASH, and plenty of small bills.

Hence the buffet idea where you would prepay.

yoshamano

KaitouAyashi wrote: »

Also, BRING CASH, and plenty of small bills.

I second this idea, but not just for the dinner. Our economy isn't a total slave to plastic yet.

TNTrooper

yoshamano wrote: »

KaitouAyashi wrote: »

Also, BRING CASH, and plenty of small bills.

I second this idea, but not just for the dinner. Our economy isn't a total slave to plastic yet.

KaitouAyashi

I can't think of a single buffet place in downtown Seattle. And I'm hard pressed to name one buffet place where I *loved* the food.

Shade

KaitouAyashi wrote: »

I can't think of a single buffet place in downtown Seattle. And I'm hard pressed to name one buffet place where I *loved* the food.

Your think buffet like chinese buffet, I mean catered.

Moe Fwacky

Catering would require a place for them to cater to.

TNTrooper

With enough money to hire a catering service and rent out the ballroom at the hotel you would probably have enough to cover a deposit to reserve an entire place like the Cheesecake Factory for the dinner.

But first you still need to figure out how much each person would to pay in advance to RSVP the dinner as well.

Shade

_______moe wrote: »

Catering would require a place for them to cater to.

Some restaurants have internal catering. You reserve the restaurant, and then tell them what you want them to make for the buffet. They'll give you a list of things they can make.

Darkblade_1

Which would require a deposit and an aproximation of how many people would be attending..

Shade

Darkblade_1 wrote: »

Which would require a deposit and an aproximation of how many people would be attending..

yep

Tonkka

Shade wrote: »

liasa wrote: »

We don't have hot dog vendors in Seattle, in fact I don't think we really have any sort of street vendors in Seattle at all.

I think its because of the high homeless musician population that they rob the venders untill they all went out of business. Or the fact that it rains nonstop 9 months out of the year.

Uh, there are hot dog vendors, but they aren't like, out all day and usually concentrated in areas where people are drinking alcohol.

Darkblade_1

So its agreed, the pre-pax dinner of pax08 will be a nomadic wandering of the down town seattle area in search of hot dog vendors and liqour.

yoshamano

Darkblade_1 wrote: »

So its agreed, the pre-pax dinner of pax08 will be a nomadic wandering of the down town seattle area in search of hot dog vendors and liqour.