Had a great weekend, and already I feel like I need another one. Lack of sleep is probably not helping.

All I want is to, you know, not have to move everything out one week before Dragon*Con. Because of course in the midst of this I'm trying to get all of my inventory finished and together for my table in the dealer's room - yes, I am thrilled that I managed to get a table. :) And Daniel is going to come and help most likely, which will be great. I am really, really looking forward to the con. I need it. :)

On the upside, Daniel is in town for three days. So when I get home I get to hang out with my little brother, which will be great. And probably delightfully distracting.

I really need to post more often...

First, news from the feline members of the household. 

In other news...

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Got the email back that I was waiting for - a response from Vendor Relations.

His email, in startk contrast to all of my dealings with the office, was nice and understanding. He explained that the room had in fact filled up very shortly before my application, and that they regularly have a few who can't make it so they do have me on a waiting list. He said no guarantees (I wouldn't expect any in this situation) but that I should know in the next couple of weeks.

Dissappointing, yes, but an actual full answer. I still find it silly that it took 3 months to process a weeks worth of applications, but nothing I can do about that. And it may not have been 3 months - we all know that the website isn't exactly sppedy to update.

So I wrote back, saying both that I appreciated his complete and understanding response, and that I was dissappointed in the communications that came from the office. Really, if I could have gotten a response like his 3 emails ago I would not be so annoyed.

Rooms get full. Shows have application rushes. People are busy. All of this happens. But please, there's a huge difference between "you're on a waiting list" and "So sorry, the show filled up very shortly before your application. There is still a chance, and we should be able to let you know soon." It's the difference that at least pretends you care a little.

I'll be at Dragon*Con either way. Though I admit it will be weird to just be an attendee after the last six years of selling things in the art show and dealer's room!

I realized various people have only been getting parts of this story, so I figured I would fill everyone in on the saga that is this year's Dragon*Con thus far for me. Before I end up in agravation giving someone half a rant and just ending up with looks of confusion.

Last year, I was in the Dealer's room and loved it. My sales went well up, and I learned a lot for what to do in the future. My sales last year covered just a bit more than expenses, and we had to do some juggling of funds from sharing a room, so I could not give them the money for space for this year right there at last year's show. So, I eagerly awatched the website. It said the application would be up in January. That's handy - I get a bonus January 1st.

January 2nd - No application up.
January 5th - I see the application up.
January 7th - I mail out my check and application.

Taking a deep breath to not get totally pissed at this woman. I know her job is nuts and she is sick of hearing from me, but every email from the begining has been a brush off.

I don't care if it really was full in those first few days the application was online. If it was, your response should be something like, "Sorry, we had a big rush of applications this year and had all we could handle in the first week of January, but it took us 3 months to process them." (Though if it actually took you 3 months to process 50 applications... 1 application every 2 days? There's got to be a way to deal with that.)

Or, did you mess up and don't want to admit it? Because that's what this is all feeling like from here. If that's the case, I'm not pushy. I'm not saying kick someone out of their space. I'm saying you admit something went wrong and at least apologize.

If someone asks what the chance is of there being space? You don't ignore that part of their email. You give an honest answer. I'd rather know there was no chance of getting in and adjust my plans to save money than be waiting for a space I'll never get. There's an extra night of hotel stay I can save if I'm not a dealer. If I'm not a dealer, I need to buy a membership, and the later I buy membership the more expensive it is.

I'm waiting on a response from my email that actually seemed to have been read and forwarded before I do anything else. I'm not dealing with this woman in the office again.

There are ways to make this right. And the first step in making it right is to treat me like a person.