95 replies to this topic

[Lizzy]

TT has said in the Schedule thread that it's likely that for the Guest Encounters at E2, we'd have to pay for them/ them be auctioned.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T LET THIS BE THE CASE SM!!!


12 guests went to the Hub (2 of them surprise guests). And 700ish attendees were there.
One guest at the Hub was the manically busy at past shows John Barrowman. So they had guest encounters, but had them paid for. Fair enough. The £80+ ticket already had more than enough for the money.

4 Guests went to Lockdown, and about 200ish attendees. They had free guest encounters. That helped make the £70 for the ticket a bit better.

Here and now at Eclipse we've got 5 guests. I'm perfectly happy with them, but its not the best line up ever. Standard ticket at least costs more than last year when we had 6 guests. Its not fantastic that we have less guests for a greater cost of money.
But what would be appalling imo is if we have to pay for the guest encounters. I'm not fussed if its random and each of us only get to have an encounter with 1 guest not all of them. A lot of people, inc myself, are students or at least don't have a lot of money to waste and are putting every spare penny towards not only the tickets, but the food, hotel and travel.
It is SO SO unfair if we have to pay out anymore... when we are already getting a lot less for our money than in March.

What I'm saying (and I've spoken to a few people about this) is please don't let us pay out any more on this when we can't afford to. We all want to have a good weekend, and its bad enough that a lot of us can't afford the main auction, but this is a proper section of the con a lot of us could miss out on, and its not fair as we've all been loyal to SM despite the problems with this show and bought tickets.

I really hope this ranty post is about nothing and TT had got it wrong, but I was really looking forward to this when I saw it on the schedule, and I feel like I've been hit by a ton of bricks knowing I can't afford any more.

Thank you.... xx

[DavidB]

I must admit it's something I'm interested in, but that I certainly can't afford to do on top of everything else.

I'm not sure what the logistics would be like if everyone got a free one. Perhaps they've decided it wouldn't work with the numbers.

After what everything has been like surrounding this event in recent times, I'm sure many people would appreciate the gesture if it was at all possible though. I know we all want to have the best time we can, even after all the stresses and strains, so hopefully people will get to take part in everything somehow.

I certainly wouldn't be fussed who I got one with, and I'd be perfectly happy with a random one. But hey, who wouldn't want more for their money really lol

[showmasters]

Lizzy, on Nov 13 2008, 12:12 AM, said:

TT has said in the Schedule thread that it's likely that for the Guest Encounters at E2, we'd have to pay for them/ them be auctioned.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T LET THIS BE THE CASE SM!!!


12 guests went to the Hub (2 of them surprise guests). And 700ish attendees were there.
One guest at the Hub was the manically busy at past shows John Barrowman. So they had guest encounters, but had them paid for. Fair enough. The £80+ ticket already had more than enough for the money.

4 Guests went to Lockdown, and about 200ish attendees. They had free guest encounters. That helped make the £70 for the ticket a bit better.

Here and now at Eclipse we've got 5 guests. I'm perfectly happy with them, but its not the best line up ever. Standard ticket at least costs more than last year when we had 6 guests. Its not fantastic that we have less guests for a greater cost of money.
But what would be appalling imo is if we have to pay for the guest encounters. I'm not fussed if its random and each of us only get to have an encounter with 1 guest not all of them. A lot of people, inc myself, are students or at least don't have a lot of money to waste and are putting every spare penny towards not only the tickets, but the food, hotel and travel.
It is SO SO unfair if we have to pay out anymore... when we are already getting a lot less for our money than in March.

What I'm saying (and I've spoken to a few people about this) is please don't let us pay out any more on this when we can't afford to. We all want to have a good weekend, and its bad enough that a lot of us can't afford the main auction, but this is a proper section of the con a lot of us could miss out on, and its not fair as we've all been loyal to SM despite the problems with this show and bought tickets.

I really hope this ranty post is about nothing and TT had got it wrong, but I was really looking forward to this when I saw it on the schedule, and I feel like I've been hit by a ton of bricks knowing I can't afford any more.

Thank you.... xx

hi Lizzy

it good to chat about this stuff and i am happy to look at most things on this but i am going to turn this around on you we have around 310 people attending this event  

how do you think is the best way to let people attend the Guest Encounters and it be fair for everyone    

now i normally do not discuss this on here as it sometimes ends in fighting so all be cool and let see what works the best foe every one  

one last thing at lockdown we paid the guests to do the Guest Encounters so there is a cost and a time limit and guests will not want to do lots of them  

so there are the limitations to what can be done, but i am happy to listen to you thoughts, and that go's to david b as well and anyone else who want to have a say

hope this helps

jason  

[Kenny]

The first thought that springs to mind is what percentage of those 310 people are gold and/or silver ticket holders? If they're a lowish percentage, could something be worked out there? If it's a large percentage then it's back to the drawing board:p

[crippsy_99]

showmasters, on Nov 13 2008, 12:44 AM, said:

how do you think is the best way to let people attend the Guest Encounters and it be fair for everyone    

My suggestion is, and this is only an idea, not a demand, why not let gold and silver passes attend free, like a meet and greet thing sort of, and the standard passes could bid/pay for it?

That way would still be fair because the golds and silvers who paid more would be getting more for their extra money. Standards didnt want to pay for the extras, so therefore technically they shouldnt get any without paying a little extra. And as has been pointed out regarding silver passes, it would have been cheaper to get a standard pass and buy 5 photoshoots.
This way, they would be getting that little extra for the extra monies paid?

Perhaps something like that?

[Lizzy]

What?? Surely if they've been scheduled for, at this late stage, there is already a policy about them in place?
I agree Gold and Silver should get more, yes, but its totally unfair for the standards not to get anything as suggested. Maybe say Gold get 3 encounters, silver 2 and standard 1, all random guests, and if anyone wants any extra encounters they can then pay for them?
I've only got standard cos I simply can't afford more. Believe me, it would be great to get silver or gold just for once in my life, but I just can't... I have to go with standard and pick and choose any photoshoots IF I've saved up enough on the day. I don't wana miss out on yet another thing because of it...

We've been told the schedule, but not had it explained... I have no idea about these encounters, I just know the really high price stuff can go for at auctions. As I said, I saw it advertised and was happy. And now, said ton of bricks has come down...

I really am not trying to argue here Jason, please understand that- you know me as a SM supporter lol! I just don't wana miss out on anything when it was given free at Lockdown. The Hub got 12 guests and had to pay... its just a big diff...

[Lenatalia]

I couldn't afford anything at the last auction and doubt I will this time as I've got about £80 spend this time, but that includes food and any taxis/buses needed on my journey to Northampton.  =(

[Miss_G]

How about

Give everyone a raffle ticket at registration (if they want to take part) and draw them out on Friday night at the party (or saturday morning). And then put a list up of the winners.

It seems to me that with 300 people and a possible 6 encounters, it is not viable for 50 people to take part in each.

I mean, that's if it's going to be free. If not, you could sell the tickets in a raffle for a couple of pounds each. Maybe.

Edit: or just use the persons ticket number. Ask on registration if they want to be included. If it's a random draw then that would be fair to everyone who is entered and has no bearing on the type of ticket they have.

Edited by Miss_G, 13 November 2008 - 02:09 AM.

[showmasters]

Lizzy, on Nov 13 2008, 01:21 AM, said:

What?? Surely if they've been scheduled for, at this late stage, there is already a policy about them in place?
I agree Gold and Silver should get more, yes, but its totally unfair for the standards not to get anything as suggested. Maybe say Gold get 3 encounters, silver 2 and standard 1, all random guests, and if anyone wants any extra encounters they can then pay for them?
I've only got standard cos I simply can't afford more. Believe me, it would be great to get silver or gold just for once in my life, but I just can't... I have to go with standard and pick and choose any photoshoots IF I've saved up enough on the day. I don't wana miss out on yet another thing because of it...

We've been told the schedule, but not had it explained... I have no idea about these encounters, I just know the really high price stuff can go for at auctions. As I said, I saw it advertised and was happy. And now, said ton of bricks has come down...

I really am not trying to argue here Jason, please understand that- you know me as a SM supporter lol! I just don't wana miss out on anything when it was given free at Lockdown. The Hub got 12 guests and had to pay... its just a big diff...

"policy about them in place?"
yes there is but you are unhappy about this and i am trying to find out what you think is the best way to distribute this  

"high price stuff can go for at auctions"
last time some of the encounters went for as little as around £10 each and its an auction were you put down on a chart what you would pay to sit in on a guest encounter and you can put in whatever amount you want and we felt its the fairest way to let the people that want to meet a guest to do so

"I really am not trying to argue here Jason"
i know that    and its ok we can talk about this i know you are just frustrated and i am sorry about that     on the other hand we are trying to be fair to every one and give every one the chance to go if they want to meet one of the guests in one of these encounters

at the hub we could not do it were every one got to do a guest encounters as there was to many people so the fair way was to just sell them to the people that want them

at lockdown there were few people and in a way it was very good for the fans that went as they could get to meet all the guests one on one and we could let every one get one guest encounter so it was fair for every one  and it was an extra thank you to all that came to the event

one other thing that you did not bring up but crippsy_99 did is giving gold and silver this for free

this is an extra thing and we do want to offer it in a fair way and if we just give it to gold and silver pass holders only you could have a thing were you get this and do not care if you sit in on it or not so some of the limited spaces could be wasted and that would be so unfair to someone that did want to meet the guest in a guest encounter

well i am up for talking more about this and its cool to talk and  Lizzy i know you are on our side and i hope you can see i am trying to be on all your sides  

talk soon

jason

[DavidB]

Firstly, thanks for opening this up a bit for discussion. It's nice to see.

Obviously like I said, I wasn't sure about how it'd work with the numbers that are attending, so that does make sense to me.

And the part about the gold/silver tickets is true, in that it would exclude other people a little unfairly (when it wasn't stated beforehand at purchase obviously), even though I am a silver ticket holder myself so I'd benefit. I think we all need to be able to have this opportunity, so I do see how you're trying to keep it fair.

I know £10 doesn't seem like much, but so many of us these days are tight on a budget for many a reason - credit crunch, coming up to Christmas etc etc. Obviously you yourself must be feeling it too as a business, so it's tricky to balance that out.

I'm liking the idea of some sort of registration process to eliminate people that aren't interested in a 'guest encounter' with certain ones, though I guess that would be pretty time consuming, unless it's as simple as a 'Guest Encounters' sheet with 5 names and a simple yes/no thing. I think it's safe to assume James would get the highest amount obviously, but perhaps a couple of the others wouldn't have such high demand. I don't know. And where we went from there, I don't know either lol

I'll have a think and see if there's anything that comes to mind, but certainly it's very tricky to keep it fair to everyone without the organiser losing out by giving them completely free.

[TerraHawk]

DavidB, on Nov 13 2008, 10:51 AM, said:

I'll have a think and see if there's anything that comes to mind, but certainly it's very tricky to keep it fair to everyone without the organiser losing out by giving them completely free.

Auctions are for charity though anyway aren't they? And it is CIN tomorrow.

[DavidB]

Nothing has been said about it being for charity, nor do I believe it is. If Jason is talking about how they have to pay the guests to do the encounters, I can only imagine the charge is to cover that a bit.

[leana]

I still think that gold and silver should get one Encounter for free. One is not that much and with the price of the ticket it's still fair I believe. Plus some 'Gold' have decided not to come at all (to save the trip and the hotel). They won't be numerous. And it still let them the possibility to bid on guests encounters if they want to meet more than one guest?

[TerraHawk]

DavidB, on Nov 13 2008, 11:00 AM, said:

Nothing has been said about it being for charity, nor do I believe it is. If Jason is talking about how they have to pay the guests to do the encounters, I can only imagine the charge is to cover that a bit.

Ah right I'm probably thinking of the TP events, those auctions are charity based.

[chris_mk]

I'm not sure what the best idea for this is (so I sympathise with Jason and the ME crew for having to come up with something that is sensible and practical!)

As mentioned, there are only 6 encounters and 300 attendees, so there is no way everyone can get an encounter. I see the logic in offering them to Gold/Silver pass holders, but I agree that this could be wasteful if some of them decide not to attend (and in truth, as a Gold pass holder myself, I would rather go to the guest talks on the Saturday than the encounters, because guest talks are my favourite part.)

I think the raffle idea is good, but again, people might win encounters that they chose not to attend, which is why the auction means that those who most desperately want to spend some time with a guest can do so. I sympathise with those who have no free cash and are on a strict budget, but in truth, I can't see the auctions going for very high amounts (£5-£10 might be the norm) due to the (lower) number of attendees. This then raises the problem of what you do if 100 people all bid £5!

If we had more time, then I'd suggest some clever computer thing, that allowed people to register for the encounters they would like to attend and then randomly picked people for that encounter (ensuring that each person could only get picked for one encounter). That way, you could increase the chances of Gold or Silver pass holders getting an encounter, by weighting it. But unless anyone here is a monster with Excel, that may be a little too much to ask.

[scruffy]

I personally think the Gold only should be offered a free encounter as it is a large outlay of cash upfront and it does help make it special, and there is a big difference in price between that and silver.
I think then it should be open to all others but at a reasonable cost , with a ticket being issued at registration as suggested but not for a certain guest , just in general and for a nominal fee .
If your name is drawn you pay the fee.

[Bob D]

I don't think gold or silver should get any priority in these.  It wasn't advertised as part of any ticket, therefore it is an addition to the con that no-one has paid for.  I think the auction at the hub was very fair and gave anyone who wanted to go the chance to bid on it.

(And I don't want to attend these, so I'm not biased!)

[fray101]

chris_mk, on Nov 13 2008, 11:30 AM, said:

I think the raffle idea is good, but again, people might win encounters that they chose not to attend, which is why the auction means that those who most desperately want to spend some time with a guest can do so. I sympathise with those who have no free cash and are on a strict budget, but in truth, I can't see the auctions going for very high amounts (£5-£10 might be the norm) due to the (lower) number of attendees. This then raises the problem of what you do if 100 people all bid £5!

Well, there are raffles where you put your name down for a particular prize - so, say, there are 5 guests (or 4, if Adair isn't doing it), have that number of bags, boxes, whatever and people put their raffle ticket in the bag for whichever guest they want to bid on.  If the attendee's name and reg number is written on the back of the ticket then you'd be able to tell whether the same person had won more than one encounter.

As Chris also mentioned, I just don't see how it would be workable for every attendee to take part - whilst it may seem like a small convention, attendeewise, it's still too many people and if they did try and fit everyone in, you'd end up having very limited one on one time.  So the argument comes back to "If we can't all go, how do we choose who gets in?"

One other point - one of the perks of being a Gold Pass holder is access to the guests at the Friday cocktail party.  I appreciate there are others (priority seating, group photos etc) but they've still paid more for their ticket for that one on one time with the guests.  Would it be fair to then open a similar experience (albeit without the free wine!) up to everyone for free?

[Dum dumdum Dum]

I know it's extra work and doesn't actually effect me at all but I think that the only truely fair way for everyone of doing it is the raffle.

Have raffle tickets on sale for each guest doing an encounter and charge £2 or something per ticket. Thenpeople who can afford to can buy lots of tickets for each guest and those who can't afford it can decide on which guest and however many tickets they can afford. Then however many tickets are drawn out.

Now that I've written that it actually sounds similar to the bidding except that there is a set starting point and in fact it isn't always the person who buys 100 tickets who wins.

Anyway that was just my 2p worth!  

[fray101]

Or how about a blind auction where people write an amount on a piece of paper and whoever puts forward the largest amount wins?  I can see people being reluctant to actually pay for raffle tickets but that way, only the winning bidder actually pays anything?  Raises less money of course but might cause less bad feeling!