60 replies to this topic

[elullatook]

To be really honest if a guest has a bad attitude then maybe they should not do these events.

They are being paid to be there and i bet they go home with more money than they expected. If i had that kind of attitude when i worked i a shop i would have been out on my ear.

The Twi-guys have so many fans of the younger sort that showing disrespect for them is awful....Not talking about Tyson by the way..he was sweet.


I do understand the photo flash going off in your face all day long can be annoying but what is the harm of non flash photos....if i got an over the table shot i did not use the flash out of respect for the guest eyes. Yes the pics come out a bit yellow but what the hell at least i did not give them a headache and i got a photo....(actually i looked better a bit yellow ).


Doing these events is a job and they should treat it as one, and treat all they meet with the same respect they expect in return..

[Rhianydd]

To be fair, in the guests defence
(and I do believe that needs to be done, we do not know what has happened previously to make a guest ask for no photos),
not every attendee is as thoughtful to switch off flash etc  some can be fairly intrusive, and if you are really feeling poorly, how do you keep going at a busy show.  If they still come along despite being poorly etc and are lively and smiley during talks and photoshoots, I would imagine that zaps a good amount of energy.


ps About the crisps I would imagine that he wiped his hands on a tissue first lol   Need to keep energy going at the shows, so we certainly wouldnt begrudge them food lol

[Chantelliosis]

pertweeplanet, on Jul 23 2010, 12:26 PM, said:

As this was my first Con, I didn't really know what to expect,went with bro who goes all the time but for myself and Son Joe it was all new.
Was so pleased to see Brian Murphy there, Being massive George and Mildred fans that was a real bonus for us, wish I had of known he was going to be there then I would have prepared something sensible to say to him,but i was so in aw of him I just managed, "We love George and Mildred"and have a pic,he was very friendy.

I'd gone to see my hearthrob Sean Pertwee, He was so friendly wasn't sure if he would sign my arm but he was happy to and nervous incase he messed it up (tattoo turned out pretty good), he seemed to take time with people,hope he'll be there again.

i'd love to see a photo. was going to do this myself but by the time i would have travelled back to Newcastle and gotten someone to tattoo me underage haha..

[Janeway72]

Rhianydd, on Jul 24 2010, 01:19 PM, said:

if you are really feeling poorly, how do you keep going at a busy show.  If they still come along despite being poorly etc and are lively and smiley during talks and photoshoots, I would imagine that zaps a good amount of energy.

Not wishing to be mean or sound unsympathetic, which my comment probably will but many people have to go into work and pretend to be happy and interested when they don't feel well.  I'm sure actors have bad days on set and have to do a scene which is happy.  I work as a teacher.  I can't have a bad day.  The pupils can tell and will react accordingly.  I often feel unwell at work due to a medical condition but I smile through it and pretend I am interested even when I want to curl up under my desk and lock the classroom door.

[Chantelliosis]

Janeway72, on Jul 24 2010, 02:51 PM, said:

Rhianydd, on Jul 24 2010, 01:19 PM, said:

if you are really feeling poorly, how do you keep going at a busy show.  If they still come along despite being poorly etc and are lively and smiley during talks and photoshoots, I would imagine that zaps a good amount of energy.

Not wishing to be mean or sound unsympathetic, which my comment probably will but many people have to go into work and pretend to be happy and interested when they don't feel well.  I'm sure actors have bad days on set and have to do a scene which is happy.  I work as a teacher.  I can't have a bad day.  The pupils can tell and will react accordingly.  I often feel unwell at work due to a medical condition but I smile through it and pretend I am interested even when I want to curl up under my desk and lock the classroom door.

i see that you are a strong person being a teacher and i know that kids act accordingly because i just finished my last year in school (Yey) so i understand where you're coming from

[Janeway72]

Chantelliosis, on Jul 24 2010, 02:53 PM, said:

i know that kids act accordingly because i just finished my last year in school (Yey) so i understand where you're coming from

Oh yes - they can smell fear and illness.  And the things that affect their behaviour - full moons, wind, sun, snow, holidays, long weekends, stuff happening in the local area!

[Rhianydd]

Janeway72, on Jul 24 2010, 03:02 PM, said:

Chantelliosis, on Jul 24 2010, 02:53 PM, said:

i know that kids act accordingly because i just finished my last year in school (Yey) so i understand where you're coming from

Oh yes - they can smell fear and illness.  And the things that affect their behaviour - full moons, wind, sun, snow, holidays, long weekends, stuff happening in the local area!

can see where you are coming from, but you will have quite a different skill set as a teacher to an actor.

Just going round in circles now, I was just trying to show that we as attendees dont always know what has happened behind the scenes, or at their signing desk before we get there, or even in the preceeding weeks before the con.

If a guest is quite different from one con to the next, who are we to know what has happened in between, no saying that excuses rudeness, but it can also give people a preconceived idea of the experience they will get when they meet that guest.    Especially if a friend says something like:  "Oh my word, they were awesome".
If you then meet that guest and they are quiet, you will have built up to the event, thinking you will have the same experience as your friend, so when you dont, you would naturally be disappointed.

I remember going to see a band and walking away a little disappointed by their onstage chemistry, but the following day, the newspaper announced that they had split up, so it all made perfect sense.

Or a customer that didnt turn up for an appointment, or ring to cancel, but then when she rang a few weeks later, her dad had died the morning of her appointment.


Not the same, I appreciate, but I have learnt not to assume by someones appearance/behaviour.  Just my opinion here, not neccessarily right or wrong

[Chantelliosis]

oh that was a little joke Rhi
i know that as a school kid we play upon the illness of teachers.
"since your ill and can't be bothered shouting cos you have no voice, can we jus' watch a dvd? :)"

sorta thing.

i think teachers are the worst off job wise but yes rhi, something tragic could have happened. but Ben Browder was extremely professional considering what i've heard family wise

[pez]

Rhianydd, on Jul 24 2010, 03:16 PM, said:

Janeway72, on Jul 24 2010, 03:02 PM, said:

Chantelliosis, on Jul 24 2010, 02:53 PM, said:

i know that kids act accordingly because i just finished my last year in school (Yey) so i understand where you're coming from

Oh yes - they can smell fear and illness.  And the things that affect their behaviour - full moons, wind, sun, snow, holidays, long weekends, stuff happening in the local area!

can see where you are coming from, but you will have quite a different skill set as a teacher to an actor.

actors by nature should be able to act? lol

i know its hard to tuurn it on all day everyday but when your being paid  for doing something like this the way you treat your fans reflects yourself as an actor.

i know when i was at uni i took really bad and had to take a few days of in the run up to my final exam, i was called allsorts by my tutor because i showed bad face and lac of comitment, but at the end of the day i couldnt face being out in the general public at that time so i didnt do it.

[Banished_From_Rohan]

Janeway72, on Jul 24 2010, 03:02 PM, said:

Chantelliosis, on Jul 24 2010, 02:53 PM, said:

i know that kids act accordingly because i just finished my last year in school (Yey) so i understand where you're coming from

Oh yes - they can smell fear and illness.  And the things that affect their behaviour - full moons, wind, sun, snow, holidays, long weekends, stuff happening in the local area!

And that's just on the days with a "y" in them! Primary or secondary school? Give me teenagers to deal with any day lol

[Janeway72]

Banished_From_Rohan, on Jul 24 2010, 11:48 PM, said:

And that's just on the days with a "y" in them! Primary or secondary school? Give me teenagers to deal with any day lol

Secondary!  They have hormones as well as an innate inability to do as they are told!  And makeup!  You've never seen so much makeup and fake tan in your life.

[BigSi13]

Through my conventioning years I have noticed that, no matter how much money a guest is getting, if someone is upset or they are unwell, you cannot expect miracles. I have also noticed that some convention attendees can themselves be the cause of a guest's less than outgoing nature if you catch them at the wrong time. I have personally seen attendees be rude to guests, or overstep the mark on some occasions, and thus this has not sat well with some. I attended a weekend event many years back in London. It was the Saturday night party and I had nipped to the toilet. Locked away in the cubicle I heard a few people come and go out - not uncommon in toilets!! - but then I heard someone loudly recognise one of the guests and asking them for a photo. The guest concerned asked for some privacy and that he would be glad to do a photo back in the party. However, the person asking didn't seem best happy and was rather rude. This, to me anyway, is overstepping the mark.

Many things can happen. Both before and during an event. Some guests may be there and not overly outgoing. Some may be jet lagged. No matter how much someone is being paid, no matter if acting is their job, sometimes someone can just not be the perfect guest encounter we all want. I have met guests who have not looked up, and at the time I was in my autograph collecting phase rather than meeting the guest phase.

It sucks, but as is life. Some people on here have said that they would be in trouble at work if they acted the same way. Well, I guess it depends on where you work. As recently as the week before last a patient - I work in an opticians - was being rather outspoken whilst waiting for his glasses to be repaired. I think some may refer to it as "being a character". I was sat down doing some paperwork and he decided to come up to me and tell me that he had lost a lot of weight and asked me how much I weighed - I am a big chap. I politely, yet quite clearly very not amused, said that it is a personal matter than I do not talk about. My employer and senior managers were there and heard it all, and waited to see what would happen. The man himself said sorry and quickly went to where his glasses were being repaired. My senior boss asked me if I was alright as he quite clearly saw that I was far from impressed by the patient's idea of humour.

So, it all depends on the situation. It all depends on what has gone on before you. I will always be polite to a patient or customer, but there are great distances between being professional and "turning on the magic" so to speak.

But, as is always in life, you will always find one who slips through the net. I can remember when people were less than complimentary about Bill Shatner from way back, yet have sung his praises this time. It is usually all about timing.

Here endeth the essay. Apologies for the length, but I typed what I was thinking and didn't edit. Ooops!!

Edited by Simondo, 24 July 2010 - 11:54 PM.

[Les]

Virginia Hey spoke at everyone in front of me in the signing queue, and loooked like she was really enjoying herself, Katie Sackhoff was the same, and posed with everyone differently in the photo shoot. Her memory for people in the talk really impressed me. Was it my imagination that the more mature celebs had slightly less time for the attendees? Perhaps after 20 or more years of being recognised, the magic may not be as strong....
    I have nothing but admiration for those celebs who were obviously ill or recovering, and I hear that Ben Browder was here while dealing with a death in his family. I know I was tired and getting grumpy after two days, so I can only imagine how they must have felt. All in all, there were some lovely people there, on both sides of the desks, and it's a pleasure to have been there with you.

Edited by Les, 25 July 2010 - 01:24 AM.

[Banished_From_Rohan]

Janeway72, on Jul 25 2010, 12:31 AM, said:

Banished_From_Rohan, on Jul 24 2010, 11:48 PM, said:

And that's just on the days with a "y" in them! Primary or secondary school? Give me teenagers to deal with any day lol

Secondary!  They have hormones as well as an innate inability to do as they are told!  And makeup!  You've never seen so much makeup and fake tan in your life.

Oh I have - i do the same job as you!

[Myself205]

Banished_From_Rohan, on Jul 25 2010, 07:38 AM, said:

Janeway72, on Jul 25 2010, 12:31 AM, said:

Banished_From_Rohan, on Jul 24 2010, 11:48 PM, said:

And that's just on the days with a "y" in them! Primary or secondary school? Give me teenagers to deal with any day lol

Secondary!  They have hormones as well as an innate inability to do as they are told!  And makeup!  You've never seen so much makeup and fake tan in your life.

Oh I have - i do the same job as you!

me too, teacher in a secondary school. Glad it's the summer  

[elullatook]

Les, on Jul 25 2010, 02:19 AM, said:

Virginia Hey spoke at everyone in front of me in the signing queue, and loooked like she was really enjoying herself, Katie Sackhoff was the same, and posed with everyone differently in the photo shoot. Her memory for people in the talk really impressed me. Was it my imagination that the more mature celebs had slightly less time for the attendees? Perhaps after 20 or more years of being recognised, the magic may not be as strong....
    I have nothing but admiration for those celebs who were obviously ill or recovering, and I hear that Ben Browder was here while dealing with a death in his family. I know I was tired and getting grumpy after two days, so I can only imagine how they must have felt. All in all, there were some lovely people there, on both sides of the desks, and it's a pleasure to have been there with you.

Edi was grumpy first thing on saturday morning...dread to think what he was like at the end of sunday. I just felt sorry for my daughter who had saved up to meet him and was sort of dismissed....thankfully Tyson was the opposite.

[Chantelliosis]

elullatook, on Jul 25 2010, 11:45 AM, said:

Edi was grumpy first thing on saturday morning...dread to think what he was like at the end of sunday. I just felt sorry for my daughter who had saved up to meet him and was sort of dismissed....thankfully Tyson was the opposite.

it's terrible when someone has a bad guest experience but when it's a child you just feel terrible. children are great, everyone loves them at conventions, really they should be the happiest people there! and should be treat like royalty

[cybernator_uk]

I thought I would offer my thoughts here.

On the Saturday I met  Bill Shatner ( I was suprised I even gt a hello/goodbye) Not diaspointed as Shatenr isn't really a talker. Guy doesn't have time.

Kristanna Loken  Polite, took some time to have a brief chat. Lovely lady. She looked like she was busy all day.
Katee Sackhoff, again very polite and friendly. A real pleasure to meet.
James Pax. IMHO, I think he was suprised that so many people wanted to see him. A humble guy and polite guy. noone was waiting behind us, so me and UKGator stayed and had a chat.

Was happy with what I got.

Sunday

I did a photoshoot only with Andy Robinson but I remember he was a gentleman at CM15.
Tyson whatever his surname is from Twilight. I went up with my sister early as she is a massive twilight fan and he seemed really quiet. I said bored but my sis reckons he was shy. She echoed what people were saying about Edi. Didn't get much of a conversation with him.

For a friend I got three Ashes to Ashes signatures.

Geoff Francis was a well mannered very polite person and a pleasure to meet.
Tony Marshall was a very funny guy. Commented on my Chelsea shirt. (he is a ManUSA fan). He was a real pleasure to meet.
Andrew clover was a very deep person who liked to talk to everyone and didn't care how ong it took. He wanted to get to know all his fans. I think that these 3 could teach some people about how to interact with fans.

[pez]

Simondo, on Jul 25 2010, 12:53 AM, said:

Through my conventioning years I have noticed that, no matter how much money a guest is getting, if someone is upset or they are unwell, you cannot expect miracles. I have also noticed that some convention attendees can themselves be the cause of a guest's less than outgoing nature if you catch them at the wrong time. I have personally seen attendees be rude to guests, or overstep the mark on some occasions, and thus this has not sat well with some. I attended a weekend event many years back in London. It was the Saturday night party and I had nipped to the toilet. Locked away in the cubicle I heard a few people come and go out - not uncommon in toilets!! - but then I heard someone loudly recognise one of the guests and asking them for a photo. The guest concerned asked for some privacy and that he would be glad to do a photo back in the party. However, the person asking didn't seem best happy and was rather rude. This, to me anyway, is overstepping the mark.

Many things can happen. Both before and during an event. Some guests may be there and not overly outgoing. Some may be jet lagged. No matter how much someone is being paid, no matter if acting is their job, sometimes someone can just not be the perfect guest encounter we all want. I have met guests who have not looked up, and at the time I was in my autograph collecting phase rather than meeting the guest phase.

It sucks, but as is life. Some people on here have said that they would be in trouble at work if they acted the same way. Well, I guess it depends on where you work. As recently as the week before last a patient - I work in an opticians - was being rather outspoken whilst waiting for his glasses to be repaired. I think some may refer to it as "being a character". I was sat down doing some paperwork and he decided to come up to me and tell me that he had lost a lot of weight and asked me how much I weighed - I am a big chap. I politely, yet quite clearly very not amused, said that it is a personal matter than I do not talk about. My employer and senior managers were there and heard it all, and waited to see what would happen. The man himself said sorry and quickly went to where his glasses were being repaired. My senior boss asked me if I was alright as he quite clearly saw that I was far from impressed by the patient's idea of humour.

So, it all depends on the situation. It all depends on what has gone on before you. I will always be polite to a patient or customer, but there are great distances between being professional and "turning on the magic" so to speak.

But, as is always in life, you will always find one who slips through the net. I can remember when people were less than complimentary about Bill Shatner from way back, yet have sung his praises this time. It is usually all about timing.

Here endeth the essay. Apologies for the length, but I typed what I was thinking and didn't edit. Ooops!!

i work in an opticains to and the lack of respect that we get as a trade is discusting, i have been threatand, i have been talked too as if im the lowest scum of the universe and i have been spat at by a cutomer because i refused to give them contact lenses because his eye was so bad he would lose his vision.

some of them are also down right cheeky and rude, i wouldnt dream of talking to a dr like the way that some of the people that come in to see us talk to us.

at all times im expected to be curtiouse and interact, im not alloud to ignore my customer at any point.

yes some people can go over the top but not ever  person  should be tared with the same brush.

guests at these things can exect that almost anyone that is coming to meet them is probably a fan, and most are going to be happy if not thankful for the chance to meet them.

[gib]

pamela86, on Jul 19 2010, 07:10 PM, said:

I had a similar expereince with Ben Browder on Saturday getting his auto. As soon as I saw him, I knew he was completely knackered and/or jetlagged. He didn't really say all that much and was more concerned about getting a toilet break before his talk!

But during his talk he mentioned that he had gone about 36 hours without sleep and after I got back from Saturday, I found out he had a family bereavement.

Well he was ok with me, during the photo shoot, i said it was nice to see him again.
I went to collect his autograph, he asked me where i'd seen him and i said at Mk last year, i asked if he was ok, he said that his dad had passed on, recently.
His dad fought cancer and lost his battle with this horrible disease he said that "really sucked", i felt really sorry for him, i said that i sort of understand, having lost a close friend to cancer and almost losing my mum to it aswell.
To which he perked up and said to tell my mum, "good on her, it's good to hear that cancer can be beaten" and then i got him to sign a autograph for my mum. To which he put on there "lots of love" signed and put a big X on there for her, and told me don't forget to say good on her.