spookyuk

I am still waiting for my refund for a Norman Reedus Photoshoot from the 2012 LFCC!!. numerous emails sent, nothing ever came back and he didn't even turn up to the event as he had to cancel!. Total stitch up :-(

One minor constructive criticism to add, that shouldn't be taken personally by anyone, plus some other bits: Please could there be more signage either inside the cordoned off autographing areas (big guest) or outside them (staff communication could also be used to assist this) to indicate the process for people paying for autos with vouchers. I pre purchased vouchers for mine and went in having no idea that I had to go to the separate desk to get another voucher to submit to the staff member adjacent to the guest. I therefore queued only to be told rudely by the crew member that I had gone wrong and needed to go to the other desk. This situation was then made more uncomfortable by the fact that there was already a queue to get to the 'voucher desk' and i either had to push back in or go outside to the back of the 100 person queue. When I originally entered, I couldn't see what was happening at the voucher desk due to volume of people so assumed it was perhaps another guest signing or where cash payments were taken. Lastly, for all the talk of the wonders of the two queue entry system (and i still can't see the difference between having one or two queues in terms of organisation, in fact one is easier to manage than two) I thought the signage to indicate what queue you should go in was non existant. Half of the people around me in the queue were all asking each other 'are we in the right queue?'. I think it is right to consider and review the queueing process every year as the event is clearly getting bigger (particulalry Saturday) and people will be re-assesing their buying options and arrival times etc accordingly.

Yes Etmuse but it would still appear fairer to everyone rather than having what you have currently which is (effectively) a second queue with a percived advantage from pre-paying. I also think you are overestimating the time it would take staff to tear a ticket to get pre-paid in, surely it's never going to take as long as processing a payment (especially when so many people either don't have the right money or use cards). I can tell you from experience that if you are near the door without a ticket, you are almost certainly not going to be too upset about someone who already has a ticket near you entering ahead of you, especilly given that it would shorten your queuing time to boot. This is a different sitation to having a dirty great line of people across the way who can all supposedly stroll in quick time. Alot of this is just about managing perception.

Having one queue would also increase the perception of fairness (which is in line with what is being said about there being no advantage to pre paying). Having two queues adds to the perception that having a pre paid ticket is an advantage. The reason I imagine they had two queues was to try and get the pre-paid people in faster, but for some reason this system didn't seem to work and just caused frustration because apart from anything, the seperate queue caused the pre-payers to think they had an advantage, which isn't in line with the 'same ticket' argument.

Why would one large queue be worse than two large queues?, most venues only have one queue. You could channel all pre-paids into one side of the entrance using stantions just outside. The reception area at EC2 was massive and there were many doors so I feel this would be possible. I understanfd what has ben said about fire regs, but I worked for First leisure for 12 years (Large scale nightclubs up to 3500 capacity venues) and we used this form of queuing regularly for paid/pre paid events in much smaller entrance areas. If you were organised enough it could be done. If you have stewards outside the venue channeling people in the two directions you wouldn't need to overfill the interior area.

I think the fairest way for an event like this is to just say ALL people (paying and pre-paid) go in the same queue(s) and when entering the venue channel the pre-paids in seperately with people just checking tickets. This way the only reason you are taking slightly longer to get in is because of the financial transaction, NOT the queueing process.

I think the perception that you get in quicker with pre-paid tickets comes from the logic that if everyone (pre-paid and paying) starts to enter at 9:00, then the pre-paid people would enter more quickly due to their tickets only needing to be checked rather than there having to be a financial transaction. It does seem to be strange that the pre-paid queue was moving more slowly than the paid queue if this was the case.

Yes I agaree with much of what you say Sarahlilly, Last year did seem like it had less urgency about it, although the Gillian Anderson shoot was abit of a mess in terms of the queueing process I thought. The venue last year had pros and cons versus this year, I though there was more space to break out into last time and it was cool having different sections to explore, but this year was cooler (I hate to think what it would have been like in Olympia in 28 degree heat) and more straightforward in layout. I got the impression that some people werent happy with the queueing system getting in this year, although we came without tickets on Saturday and got in within about 25 mins. If anyone went both days, was it as busy Sunday as Saturday?

Ok, thanks again David. I will pull out all the stops to get us there before 8, gonna be a long day, but a good one I'm sure! :-). See you there!!. Seb

Cheers David. Well theres a few of us coming and between us there are a few after Peter/Noran etc. We would have no issues with the later of their shoots. Currently planning on leaving at half 6 to get the for 8:15-8:30.

Hi. Can anyone recommend a decent time to get there tomorrow morning if you haven't pre booked?. I was going to get there for opening at 9 but I'm not sure how long the queues normally are round that time. Cheers.

Hi. Can anyone recommend a decent time to get there tomorrow morning if you haven't pre booked?. I was going to get there for opening at 9 but I'm not sure how long the queues normally are round that time.

Many thanks Etmuse, you're a legend! :-)

Realistically I would say there is very little chance of your making the first one. As you are buying your entry ticket on the day your queue will be moving more slowly than the pre-booked tickets. If you are only arriving at 9 then it is likely you will find yourself at a back of a long queue as people tend to arrive hours prior to queue to get in. Once you do make it in it is reasonable to assume that the queue for photoshoot tickets are going to be extremely busy on Saturday morning and another potential long queue to negotiate. Your best bet is to go for the later shoots. I will see if I can get confirmation shortly if there is any age restriction on the GOT screening otherwise it might be a case of asking on the day. Many thanks Clobby, that's very kind of you. We will try and get there earlier, but later shoots are not a problem if it comes to it. Sorry, these have just popped into my mind if anyone can help: - Last year we had to collect photo's afterwards from the tables, does anyone know if it will be the same this year?. - Is there a list anywhere where I can see what Saturday talks are paid and which are free?. Thanks Seb

Hi, I'm a first time poster, but this will be my second Con. I am only now able to attend due to the cancellation of another engagement, and now I'm organising it for myself and five friends to come!. As a result we are obviously coming with no pre booked anything but intend to get there at 9 on Saturday. I was wondering if we go straight and get photoshoot tickets when we get there, do you think there's any chance we will get into any of the early shoots for the split shoot guys? (Norman, Peter etc). Also we may have an eleven year old with us, does anyone know if there will be an age limit for the GOT talk at 7pm? (if we are able to get tickets for it on Saturday morning of course).