Arisia 2008 Green Room report

Overview

From: http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dcnntkff_17fg69djc9

Pre-con: Worked up a menu and a budget. Found people who were willing to lend needed equipment and arranged times for them to drop it off and pick it up. Arranged for volunteers to help with shopping and cooking pre-con as well as prep and serving at-con. Spent two afternoons baking and a full day (9 a.m. to 2 a.m.) cooking.

At-con: Got everything to the con and set up. Coordinated staff and volunteers. Worked with Staff Den and Consuite to redistribute overages, make up for shortfalls, and do emergency shopping runs. Originally we had planned to have hot food only at "mealtimes" but revised that over the weekend based on customer comments and had it pretty much all day Saturday and Sunday. Provided a steady supply of sandwich makings, snacks, and drinks, plus breakfast makings in the morning. Worked with hotel housekeeping staff as necessary to replenish supplies of towels and tablecloths and otherwise keep the space in good order. Took headcounts from mid-Saturday through the end of the con, working with volunteers and the Volunteer Lounge as needed.

Post-con: Made sure all borrowed equipment was returned and all Arisia equipment was brought to the ballroom. Thoroughly cleaned the space and left it in good shape for the (doubtless even more thorough) hotel cleaning. Wrote up an excruciatingly detailed report.

What went right: Our cooking was very well-received, particularly the beef stew. We didn't have any food spoil in transit or at the con. Our staff were dedicated and tireless. Our coordination with Staff Den, Consuite, and the hotel was pretty smooth. All the people who promised to help out with lending equipment, cooking and shopping beforehand, etc. came through admirably. We adapted well to feedback.

What went wrong: We were short on some supplies and had too much of others (perhaps inevitable). There were some difficulties getting needed equipment--I don't think we got a microwave until late Friday or Saturday, and vacuum pots for coffee and hot water definitely didn't appear until mid-day Saturday--and that limited our ability to serve hot food and drinks. At first we tried to space out our available supplies rather than relying on mid-con shopping trips to make up shortfalls, a strategy that quickly failed. There were multiple complaints that we opened too late, closed too early, and didn't have enough meat protein options. We were using one side of the long central table as buffet space, and frequently had to ask people not to sit and eat there; there were other issues with needing to set up the crockpots so they were near the electrical outlets. We also briefly overloaded the circuitry in the prep room (four crockpots + microwave + coffee maker) and had to get the hotel folks to flip the circuit breaker, which they were very prompt and nice about. We had to wash dishes in the bathtub.

What should be done differently next year: Open earlier, close later. More meat, probably 2:1::meat:veg (though veg options were very much appreciated). Bigger cups, and lids for hot cups so that people can take coffee or soup to go. More staff, with a more nuanced schedule. Headcounts the entire time we're open. When in doubt, put more food out and note down things to buy tomorrow. Send a delegate to every gripe session, more for note-taking than to address anything directly. Arrange supplies before opening so that each day's supplies are in a specific place and it's easy to tell when we're running low. Get big display copies of the con program and hotel maps to put up in the room. (If we're in the same room, it has two cork boards we can use for this.)

Schedule/timeline: The room was open 5-11 p.m. Fri, 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat and Sun, and 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Mon; Josh and I and our three main staff were there for just about that entire time.

Schedule/timeline changes for next year: We'll be adding a sixth member to our core team and possibly bringing in peak hour volunteers as well. The six of us will have a set schedule, with no one person working more than three out of every four hours or more than nine hours a day, and with alternating morning and evening shifts. We'll also all sign up for massages in advance!

Vendors: BJ's and Costco whenever possible, Whole Foods and Fairway for some esoteric ingredients (e.g. flax meal and vegan chocolate chips for vegan cookies), Bed Bath & Beyond for stewpots when it became clear the ones we had weren't going to cut it.

Experiments to try next year: Improve our recipes and try some new ones. Put together some sort of tracking system so we know exactly what gets served when. Implement a real schedule and make sure everyone sticks with it. Reorganize the space so that the fridge is in the prep area and there's more space to lay out food along the sides of the serving room so that we don't have serving and eating at the same table. Create some better arrangement for washing dishes. Send out a survey to all program and event participants asking for feedback, and take a survey on the Arisia LJ community as well. "Green the green room": switch to biodegradable cups, bowls, plates, and cutlery if budget allows.

Hours and headcounts

Arisia '08 Green Room Headcounts	Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Average
9-10 a.m.		19	17	18
10-11 a.m.		40	19	29.5
11 a.m.-noon		55	40	47.5
noon-1 p.m.		80	51	65.5
1-2 p.m.		73	57	65
2-3 p.m.	73	74		73.5
3-4 p.m.	50	70		60
4-5 p.m.	48	56		52
5-6 p.m.	79	44		61.5
6-7 p.m.	26	35		30.5
Total	276	546	184

This year

Our hours were 5-11 p.m. Friday, 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday. I would estimate we served 200 people Friday night and about 550 Saturday, and a total of 1500 over the duration of the con.

Next year

Given some very emphatic guest feedback, we would like to open at 9 a.m. Sat/Sun/Mon and close at 9 p.m. Sat/Sun. Based on this year's data, I think it would be useful to estimate that next year we will get 200 visits Friday evening, 650 visits Saturday, 600 visits Sunday, and 200 visits Monday morning, for a total of 1650. Those estimates are very slightly padded as I would rather have too much food than too little.

Equipment

This list reflects only equipment used at-con.

This year Cooking Four large crockpots (one Arisia's, three loaned) and one small crockpot (loaned) Two rice cookers (loaned) One microwave oven (loaned) One smallish pot for brewing coffee and one larger one for hot water (Arisia's) One microwave-safe bowl (Arisia's) Two cutting boards (one Arisia's) Two knives (one Arisia's) Five long tables for prep room (hotel's)	Next year Cooking Four large MATCHING crockpots with digital controls Two powerful microwave ovens large enough to contain a crockpot crock Two large rice cookers Two large pots for brewing coffee and heating water Quick bagel toaster Three plastic cutting boards Three sharp knives 1 large colander Five long tables for prep room
Serving Large foil pans (purchased with con funds, disposable) Plastic serving utensils (purchased with con funds, now Arisia's) Two vacuum pots for serving coffee and hot water (Arisia's) Two round tables and one long table for dining room (hotel's) One large tub for holding ice (loaned)	Serving 12 large, sturdy plastic or metal bowls 12 large plastic serving trays Four sturdy plastic ladles and four sturdy plastic or wooden spoons Two vacuum pots for serving coffee and hot water Two long tables for dining room A cooler for ice 3 pitchers for milk and half-and-half 1 sugar shaker
Paper, plastic, styrofoam 1 large box plastic spoons 1 large box plastic forks (~1/5 unused) 1 gallon bag plastic knives (~1/3 unused) ~2 bags large foam plates 1 bag small paper plates 1 large bag foam bowls (1/2 left) 1 small bag plastic bowls ~3 large bags hot and cold cups	Paper, plastic, styrofoam 1 large box plastic spoons (green) 1 large box plastic forks (green) 1 small box plastic knives (green) 6 bags small paper plates (green) 1 bag large paper plates (green) 1 large bag foam bowls (green) 3 large bags hot cups (green) 1 bag lids for hot cups 2 large bags cold cups (green)
Storage One refrigerator (Arisia's) Two very large 7-day coolers (Arisia's) Two smaller 5-day coolers (loaned)	Storage One refrigerator Three very large 7-day coolers
Cleaning One large trash can (Arisia's) and two small trash cans (hotel's) One sponge and one bottle of dishwashing liquid (purchased with con funds, disposable)	Cleaning One large and two small trash cans A better dish-washing setup (still tossing around ideas on that one)
Misc. Three power strips (two purchased with con funds and now Arisia's, one loaned) One extension cord (purchased with con funds, now Arisia's) Two lamps in prep room (hotel's) 1 roll masking tape (Arisia's) 1 alarm clock (loaned) Ingredient lists for prepared food (laminated with con funds, disposable)	Misc. Four power strips Four extension cords Better lighting for both rooms Consultation with hotel on how much electrical load each room can take and best ways to arrange equipment and lighting Scissors Duct tape Masking tape Sharpie Alarm clock Ingredient lists for prepared food Green paper or plastic tablecloths Large versions of program grids and hotel maps

Next year I think the fridge should be in the prep room. We should also do all our serving on long tables under the windows and/or along the whiteboard wall, so that the main table is free for seating and the bathroom side of the room isn't blocked.

I'd like to think about how to "green" the green room: Sell coffee mugs with the Arisia logo to generate revenue and cut down on plastic/paper cup use? Use biodegradable utensils? Find paper containers that can handle hot soup? Suggestions welcome. Possible suppliers:
http://www.fpspack.com/products/biodegradable/ (plates, bowls, cups, cutlery)
http://www.sinlessbuying.com/ (plates and bowls)
http://www.earthshellrpi.com/products.php (plates and bowls)
http://w5inter2.hivelocity.net/biocorp/cart/showall.asp (cutlery and straws)
http://www.treecycle.com/biodegradable.html (cutlery and cold cups)

http://www.treecycle.com/catcoffee.html (hot cups)

http://www.treecycle.com/catfoodservice.html#soup (paper soup containers)

Food and drink

This year Prepared food 28 gallons meat-based stew/soup 28 gallons vegan stew/soup (6 left over) 4 large trays pasta salad (1 left over) 1 tray salad 12 pans standard brownies 6 pans vegan brownies 6 dozen chocolate chip cookies 8 dozen oatmeal cookies	Next year Prepared food 40 gallons meat-based stew/soup 20 gallons vegan stew/soup 3 large trays pasta salad 2 trays salad 20 pans standard brownies 10 pans vegan brownies 10 dozen chocolate chip cookies 20 dozen oatmeal cookies
Pastries and sandwiches 1 case bagels 1 case danishes 16 long loaves bread ~12 pounds cold cuts	Pastries and sandwiches 1 case bagels 2 case danishes 20 long loaves bread 20 pounds cold cuts 10 pounds sliced cheese
Snacks 8 bags cubed cheese 15 boxes water crackers 1 enormous bag carrots (1/2 left over) 4 bags cut celery (2 left over) 6 melons 1/2 case apples 1/2 case oranges (1/4 case left over) 1 case potato chips (1/2 case left over) 10.5 dozen hard-boiled eggs 3 large boxes oatmeal packets (2 left over)	Snacks 8 bags cubed cheese 15 boxes water crackers 1/2 enormous bag carrots 3 bags cut celery 10 trays pre-cut fruit 1/4 case potato chips 1/4 case pretzels 1/4 case corn chips 1 gallon salsa 10 pounds chocolate/candy 12 dozen hard-boiled eggs 1 box oatmeal packets
Drinks 42 packets (14 pounds) coffee ~200 bags tea (~120 left over) 1 tin hot cocoa 3 gallons half-and-half 1 gallon skim milk 1 gallon whole milk Large quantities of real and fake sugar (impossible to estimate) 1 large jar honey (1/2 unused) ~10 gallons juice ~40 2L bottles soda 3 cases bottled water 5 25-lb. bags ice	Drinks 15 pounds coffee 100 bags tea 1 tin hot cocoa 3 gallons half-and-half 2 gallon skim milk 2 gallon whole milk 15 pounds white sugar 2 pounds each Equal, Sweet & Low, Splenda 1 large squeeze bottle honey 15 gallons juice 45 2L bottles soda 1 case bottled water 1 water cooler with 30 gallons water 7 25-lb. bags ice
Condiments 3 salt mills and 1 salt shaker 3 pepper mills and 1 pepper shaker 4 jars almond butter 4 jars assorted jam/jelly/marmalade 1 squeeze bottle ketchup (mostly unused) 3 squeeze bottles mustard 2 large jars mayonnaise (1 left over) 1 bottle olive oil 1 bottle balsamic vinegar 1 large box cream cheese 3 containers salted whipped butter 3 containers unsalted whipped butter (1 left)	Condiments 3 salt mills 3 pepper mills 5 jars almond butter 5 jars assorted jam/jelly/marmalade 1 squeeze bottle ketchup 3 squeeze bottles mustard 2 squeeze bottles mayonnaise 1 bottle olive oil 1 bottle balsamic vinegar 1 large box cream cheese 3 containers salted whipped butter 3 containers unsalted whipped butter

Next year I think we should make more of an effort to organize our supplies beforehand, so that everything we need for each day is in one place, and to track what gets served when. We should also make it a priority to keep the food coming and do shopping runs to stock up as needed, rather than trying to space out scant supplies.

Staff

This year

Pre-con hours are difficult to gauge. Our auxiliars, Mike and Yevgenia, spent several hours shopping for ingredients for prepared food; Josh and I spent an entire day (really, maybe twenty hours) cooking and two afternoons baking, and Erin, Naomi, and Crystal all contributed food as well. I would estimate it as perhaps 80 person-hours overall.

At the con, the distribution looked something like this:

Friday: 25 staff person-hours, 5 volunteer person-hours (setup)

Saturday: 55 staff person-hours, 12 volunteer person-hours (headcounts, misc. heavy lifting)

Sunday: 55 staff person-hours, 18 volunteer person-hours (headcounts, misc. heavy lifting)

Monday: 25 staff person-hours, 8 volunteer person-hours (cleanup)

I think we all would have been far more efficient had we taken more breaks and returned to work well-rested. We also would have enjoyed the con a lot more! Better planning and an additional person next year, plus our experience gained from this year, will make for more efficiency as well. While we had some nice volunteers taking headcounts and otherwise helping out, in general we were at our best when the core crew were working alone, knowing what needed to be done. The time spent training and directing volunteers would mostly have been better spent just doing things ourselves.

Next year

Pre-con, we're looking into arranging for the use of a large kitchen in a church or cafeteria. The biggest limitation we ran into while cooking was that we were using a stove with only three large burners. A second or third range would speed things up considerably. As our staff is New York based, we would probably do all the cooking here, freeze everything, and then rent a van to bring it all to Boston. If we could arrange for the advance use of Arisia's large seven-day coolers for storage and transportation, that would be especially helpful.

At the con:

Friday: 25 staff person-hours, 5 volunteer person-hours (setup)

Saturday: 55 staff person-hours

Sunday: 55 staff person-hours

Monday: 25 staff person-hours, 5 volunteer person-hours (cleanup)

Possible rough schedule, noting only quantity of hours worked per four-hour period:

This schedule, which assumes Saturday and Sunday open hours of 9 a.m.-9 p.m., allows for more time resting and enjoying the rest of the con and a fair distribution of early morning and late night hours while still making sure there's plenty of manpower available at peak times. Once we get closer to the con we'll work out something more specific based on our actual arrival and departure plans and the con schedule.

Any comments about the rest of the con (other divisions, hotel, ...)?

The hotel was a little slow to respond sometimes, but all the staff were cheerful and helpful when they did show up. Everyone at ops was lovely about answering my newbie questions. David in the Massage Den was a prince and made time for us and for our dedicated and exhausted staffer Erin on Monday afternoon, for which we are all supremely grateful. And big thanks to Tamar in Staff Den and Rachel in Consuite for being such a joy to work with!

The main problem we ran into with other areas of the con was that our schedule didn't allow any of us to get to the art show. Erin finally made it up there on Sunday afternoon, only to find out it had already been shut down. Next year it would be really great if the art show was open later and into Monday. I also thought it was a big mistake to schedule the FPGOH presentation against the Goblin Ball, and not just because I would have loved to do both (though by Sunday night my aching feet made it impossible to dance anyway). I heard a lot of people talking about wanting to attend both and being frustrated at having to choose between them.

Thanks for a great con, everyone! We're already looking forward to next year.