We Are Getting a New Calendar!

I was asked to write up a little something about this change.

Hey, make THAT a fun article! Maybe add some jokes, lighten the mood. Wakka wakka!

The subtext: Making people happy about a change is just a matter of marketing!

Well, I’m going to do a terrible job of making this change fun. Because I also do not like change. When I log into my email and all the buttons and options are moved around for no apparent reason, I’ll go on a full rant about it. Seriously, with written bullet points, even a Powerpoint presentation if it’s a particularly drastic change. The CEO of Google is SO lucky that I don’t have access to an official email address over there…

BUT, I do have some positives when it comes to our calendar change.

For one thing, it’s not a change we’re making because we’re bored or just felt like a little sprucing up was in order.

The calendar software we’re using now is being decommissioned and “no longer supported” by the company that designed it.

To make a comparison, if you decided that the car you drive “will no longer be supported,” it means you’re going to continue driving it, but as things fall apart…you’ll just keep driving. You’ll put in gas, but oil changes are no longer something you do. Tire pressure low? Eh, that sounds like a support problem.

You know you’ll have to get a new car eventually, but you just keep going into the breakdown.

The problem with this, of course, is that the breakdown is going to happen, and chances are, it’s not going to happen at a convenient moment.

With our calendar no longer being supported, the product’s breakdown is inevitable, so we figured it best to be proactive and get another calendar rolling now BEFORE we’re stranded on the side of the road.

This will result in an awkward period where we have two different calendars running simultaneously.

It’s awkward on the level of that one photo your mom took of you in 8^th grade when you decided to make a statement through the medium of jeans leg width, the wider, the better.

What This Means For You:

For you, the event attendee, it shouldn’t be too bad. Basically, if you’re looking for a program happening between now and March 11, you’ll use the same calendar you’ve been using for several years now, this one.

If you’re looking for a program happening on or after March 11, you’ll use the new calendar (link coming soon).

And once we hit March 11, all upcoming programming will be on the new calendar, and we can all just let the old calendar fade into the deepest part of our memories along with that big jeans photo.

Once you’re over on the new calendar, it won’t feel all that different, events should look very similar, and registration should also be almost exactly the same process.

What This Means for Room Bookings:

Meeting room bookings will also be happening through this new software. They’ll also look a little different, but the functionality should be just about the same!

Because we’ll be switching calendars, we can’t make new reservations on any of our rooms during the period of January 25th to January 31st.

Let’s break this down:

1. If you’ve already made a booking for the period of January 25-31, you’re good to go, no further action needed.

2. If you’ve already made a booking for a day after January 31st, you’re good to go.

3. If you need to book a room for a day falling somewhere between January 25 and 31, you MUST book it before January 25th.

4. If you need to book a room for a day that falls in the period between February 1 and March 9, you can either make that booking before January 25 or after February 1, but you will not be able to make new reservations between January 25 and January 31.

5. If you sign on during the period of January 25-31 and try to book a room for that period (or for a period in the future) it won’t be possible.

5. Starting February 1st, bookings will be open on our new calendar and will be done in a slightly different interface.

The One Other Issue:

This is going to involve a learning curve for our staff. We’ve been using the same software for about a decade now, so the small changes on the back end are going to be brand new for a lot of us.

If you’ve got a bit of patience to spare, we’ll probably need it for a couple weeks while we get the hang of everything. To go back to a car analogy: You buy a new car, and it’s awesome, but you have to be forgiving when you have a little scare now and then because, boy, that gas pedal sure is a lot more responsive than it was in your old car.

We’ll do our best to prepare and be ready to help you answer all your questions and make sure your room bookings and event attendance are smooth and easy. If you can give us a little margin for grace, maybe the width of one leg on those wide jeans, we’d be pretty grateful.