Bluetracker

Tracks Blizzard employees across various accounts.

An open letter to Wizards of the Coast about Pastimes’s handling of GP Chicago

This letter is an attempt to raise awareness about the manner in which Pastimes has handled numerous Magic the Gathering events such as GP Chicago and push for positive change in the future.

Over the past two years I have attended 4 Grand Prix events and numerous other major Magic events such as GenCon and the SCG open circuit so I have a fair understanding of what an acceptable event should look like. Some of the major issues I saw with this past weekend are as follows:

Uninformed staff Not only was the staff unable to accurately answer questions, most just responded to questions by directing you to another person who also did not have answers. It was clear through interaction with event staff that they were not properly prepared to meet the needs of attendees and only further speaks to the lack of preparation on the organizer’s part.

One example of this was how the distribution of promotional copies of Batterskull was handled, and numerous people were unable to receive them due to confusion amongst the organizers. As a sleep-in special attendee I personally had to inquire 4-5 times about how I may receive one before I was finally able to find a staff member who was able to point me in the right direction.

Increased entry fees It is one thing to increase costs to maintain a certain level of service, but this was clearly not the case at GP Chicago. No matter the reasons costs were increased it was also very apparent that corners were cut in order to increase profits. For one, the registration page for the event stated that “playmats were not guaranteed with basic registration” leading people to believe if they showed up early they would receive one, when in fact they were not included at all.

Unacceptable location While I personally overheard numerous people complain about the location of the event moving to Rosement from Navy Pier, I believe the biggest issue was the negligence that pastimes demonstrated by picking a location with only one restroom for a crowd of over 2400 attendees. Whether Pastimes employees did not do their diligence in scouting the location beforehand or they just plain didn’t care. It was quite obvious they were saving money by moving to this location and an issue of this magnitude only speaks to their lack of interest in the wellbeing and comfort of attendees. Many people have blamed this on unexpectedly high attendance numbers, but honestly even at expected numbers this would not have been an ideal situation.

Acceptable food and refreshments were also sorely lacking at the convention center. There was one available concession stand and no immediately surrounding options that would be possible to visit in between events or rounds. Out of all the locations I have attended throughout the Midwest in the past two years, this was by far the least equipped and most inconvenient.

Unacceptable wait times Whether for event registration or between rounds, this event had longer than average wait times than comparable events. I personally had to wait over and hour after the end of a round within my grinder for the next to start.

In summary, while I realize that there are a limited number of event organizers that are able to handle an event of this size, something must be done to correct these issues. Pastimes has built a negative reputation amongst players and it is having a negative effect on both the Wizards and Magic brands. I personally no longer plan on attending GenCon as my experience with Pastimes there this previous year was equally as a bad. I would hate if I had to do the same for Grand Prix events as well.

Wizards’ staff should publicly address these issues and let the players know what is being done to improve for the future. This is a noted pattern of behavior with little motivation to change made visible on Pastimes’s behalf. The players should be made aware of steps that are being taken to improve future events.

Tweet