Pros:
- Freebies for early birds made more people come on time or even earlier for the event.
- Ticket price was affordable.
- The passport-ticket to get congoers more involved in the event was a good concept.
- Program schedule was followed.
Cons:
- Line for the ticket was long as usual due to people wanting to get the freebies.
- The ticket doubles as the passport where con-goers could collect stamps from game booths and sponsors. Unfortunately, despite announcing that there would be no purchases needed, perhaps there was a miscommunication that occurred between the organizers and sponsors. There were complaints that the sponsor booths were requiring a minimum purchase of their products before giving out stamps.
- Mimi Chan didn’t appear on the event.
- There was no proper dressing facility for cosplayers.
Recommendations
Foot traffic is always heavy in Megamall, no doubt about that. Line was properly managed, although it still affects many people who want to attend. Perhaps next time freebies could be given as a raffle instead of an early bird prize so that long lines would lessen.
Proper communication between the sponsors and organizers should have been established before posting their announcements. Complaints should also be taken into consideration so that their next events could be properly executed.
As for their volunteers and staff, maybe the heads could give them a briefing period before the event date so that they become respectable and knowledgeable when approached by a customer.
Megamall has been the place for conventions for years, especially for Ozine events, and over that period, many cosplayers and patrons still attend the events there (for a number of different reasons). Over time, the places where cosplayers could dress up and get ready lessens, and the treatment becomes non-inclusive. Anywhere a person in costume goes, he/she will experience being shooed away, despite being a customer of the food establishment or the mall itself.
Maybe the organizers can create a space inside the halls where cosplayers could dress up in exchange for a fee. A baggage counter would also be convenient.
As the case may be, the unfair treatment cosplayers had received last April 28-29 is the result of years of some of them irresponsibly using the provided facilities and hogging of tables and chairs in nearby establishments. The organizers and attendees alike are customers of SM. Hopefully the admin of Megamall will see to it that all customers could be treated fairly.
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