Where is the James Q&A at?

[buffymon]

what are you talking about SM - there are still tickets left for the Q&A.Who is taking anyone´s seat then?

 

And why should I find a better room. I am not organizing the event. You are.

 

"A fuzz"? Is that what you call customers service? To just ignore what people are saying? I attended last time, but I took for granted that this time you would have fixed a better venue. So did a lot of other people that have re-booked.

 

Are you at least gonna build a higher stage, or are you doing nothing?

 

 

grrrrr I really hate complaing. I just wanna come and have FUN, but it really makes me sad that SM doesn´t seem to care.

Edited April 24, 2007 by buffymon

[C.Parkers-Girl]

what are you talking about SM - there are still tickets left for the Q&A.Who is taking anyone´s seat then?

 

And why should I find I better room. I am not organizing the event. You are.

 

"A fuzz"? Is that what you call customer?s service? To just ignore what people are saying? I attended last time, but I took for granted that this time you would have fixed a better venue. So did a lot of other people that have re-booked.

 

Are you at least gonna build a higher stage, or are you doing nothing?

 

Showmasters wont do anything, the venue is as it is, basically, if you dont like it then dont go! If showmasters could get a better venue then im sure they would, you'd complain if the price went up wouldnt you?! Just go, enjoy the talk and stop moaning

[frank]

what are you talking about SM - there are still tickets left for the Q&A.Who is taking anyone´s seat then?

 

And why should I find a better room. I am not organizing the event. You are.

 

"A fuzz"? Is that what you call customers service? To just ignore what people are saying? I attended last time, but I took for granted that this time you would have fixed a better venue. So did a lot of other people that have re-booked.

 

Are you at least gonna build a higher stage, or are you doing nothing?

 

 

grrrrr I really hate complaing. I just wanna come and have FUN, but it really makes me sad that SM doesn�t seem to care.

 

Just to break this up a little bit, and calm you both down.

 

Couldn’t this whole problem be sorted a little bit more structurally and not so in the public domain.

 

Showmasters, how about at least listening to the customers complaint, and seeing if there is grounds for concern. I’d assume it wouldn’t be good practice to have yet more people suffer the same problems, if indeed the points raised by Buffymon are indeed valid. Simply saying ‘I’m not giving you your money back if you buy a ticket again’ in my opinion, isn’t exactly the best way of handling things.

 

Buffymon, maybe Showmasters could get in contact with you, and you could use that as a more suitable time to air your concerns and suggestions. As sharing them on this website could lead to further problems, and potentially other fans not participating.

 

I’m sure an outcome better than the current situation can possibly be achieved.

[buffymon]

you'd complain if the price went up wouldnt you?! Just go, enjoy the talk and stop moaning

uhm? What does the price have to do with anything? I am not moaning, and neither am I complaining about a lot of things. The ONLY thing I have ver complained about on this board EVER is this topic.

 

But I won´t mention this topic again, as Frank pointed out, it doesn´t solve things.

 

 

Have fun all you James fans out there, see you at James´other concerts in London!

[frank]

Have fun all you James fans out there, see you at James´other concerts in London!

 

Your clearly a fan Buffymon, and for that reason I therefore hope both parties can find a suitable solution to this problem.

 

I guess it’s in Showmasters hands to now decide if they wish to contact you; [if they do maybe you could give an update here on the forum]

 

I just hope this one bad experience won’t stop you from having fun at any of their future events.

 

Keep smiling!

Edited April 24, 2007 by frank

[uih]

So, give James a ladder to stand on so everybody can see him + a megaphone so everybody can hear him...

Yes, I´m going to that Q&A and I´m keeping my fingers crossed

so I can both hear and see the person I came for. I thought that was what we paid for???

[chris_mk]

 

Sorry to have to come on here and be so direct. I just think that one or two of you are getting out of hand and need to not try to spoil it for the others.

 

Please remember we only do our best and we want you all to have fun and it is not in our interest to put on an event where it is badly organised or you do not get what we have promised! What would be the point in that?

 

No refunds after the talk sounds perfectly reasonable and as a local myself, I agree that currently there aren't any better venues available. That said, if there has been a problem with the PA system in the past, is there anything positive that can be done about it? Also, the suggestion of some kind of raised stage would sound like a good idea, is there anything that can be done to make that possible?

[Queen_Sindel]

People have uttered their concerns and Showmasters have confirmed that this venue was the only choice available, so it was the best they could do. They can't simply wave a magic wand and turn the room into a room with theatrical seating.

 

If you read the statement this was the only suitable venue (probably meaning available and big enough). Like I've guessed before the choice was either talk in this room or no talk.

 

A refund has been offered if tickets are returned before the event, that's the most they can do to make people feel better.

They only said that there will be no money refunded if people go to the talk and then start complaining afterwards and demand a refund.

 

As for buffymon "taking someones seat": even with tickets still in the shop she still has a lower numbered batch than the tickets that are still available. So in a way she is indeed taking someone's seat who could be closer to the front.

[frank]

People have uttered their concerns and Showmasters have confirmed that this venue was the only choice available, so it was the best they could do.

 

I’m trying to be fair to both sides, and trying to take this discussion away from the forum.

 

But I don’t think anybodies arguing with the fact that it’s the only room available.

 

It’s more of a case of trying to improve the current format. So that there aren’t any seats where you can’t either hear or see.

 

Changing the seating plan, changing the microphone, changing the level of the stage – those seem the core issues.

 

But you can argue amongst yourselves, it feels like I’m banging my head on a brick wall.

[showmasters]

3 points

 

1. There are only 32 tickets left so on the day they will be sold out to the James Marsters fans who were unable to buy them in advance.

 

2. And as to "how about at least listening to the customers complaint"; it is a big myth that just because we do not answer EVERY SINGLE question or query on the forum that we are not listening or have not seen it. That is what moderators do, they inform us on the important things that we may have missed and answer the questions that don't need our attention.

 

3. Can I point out one important thing... one of the main reasons we put a forum on the site was to get feedback and we rarely edit anything on here. But with now over a million posts we will never be able to answer each and every post!

 

We are fair and honest people who just want to do what we love which is run events.

And it saddens me when people scare other fans away from meeting their idols when there was really nothing wrong last time. All this achieves is creating lots more work for us because of the volume of e-mails with legitimate questions from new fans seeking reassurance. It is a waste of everybodies time. If it really was that bad we would not have used the venue again and in fact wouldn't have put the time and effort into organising that talk at all.

 

jason

[TurkFox]

I'll offer my services as a stage - I'll go on all fours and James can stand on my back. Then the problem of not being able to see him will be solved a bit.

[frank]

I’m not going to get any further involved in this argument, as its communication issue, and I can’t solve that problem. I’ve tried to be as fair as I can be to both parties.

 

and it saddens me when people scare other fans away from meeting their idols when there was really nothing wrong last time.

How can you say ‘there was nothing wrong with it last time’, when you’ve got more than one independent person in this very thread telling you otherwise. It seems you’re dismissing them as if their lying?.

 

I would have thought that [as I suggested] you’d be keen to listen to dissatisfied customers views, in order to in fact possibly develop the experience – but it seems I’m wrong. Does it really take a moderator to prompt you into action now?

Edited April 24, 2007 by frank

[buffymon]

 

 

We are fair and honest people who just want to do what we love which is run events.

And it saddens me when people scare other fans away from meeting their idols when there was really nothing wrong last time. All this achieves is creating lots more work for us because of the volume of e-mails with legitimate questions from new fans seeking reassurance. It is a waste of everybodies time. If it really was that bad we would not have used the venue again and in fact wouldn't have put the time and effort into organising that talk at all.

 

jason

I really really had no intention of adressin this topic again, but I just have to

 

Why don´t you adress the real questions - will you build a higher stage, will you try to improve the sound?

 

Why do you meet a compaint, made by several fans, by saying that they are trying to scare people off?

And why do you keep saying that there wasn´t a problem, when many people thought there was? Are you saying that people are lying?

 

This is a commercial event, is it not? And you know that James is a popular guest. That is why you are putting your time and effort into organising that talk at all.

 

please, Im not picking a fight, but I would just really like to know if you are going to do something about the stage and sound? And of not - maybe there is some very valid explination to that that I just dont know about? that´s what customer service is about. Listening to customer´s and the keep an open communication.Not to go into defensive mood every time someone has a complaint

 

 

*holds my breath and tries to think about happier things; puppies, james, candy, james, clouds, james*

 

...and by the way. You should hire Frank as a customers service representative:D He´s good.

Edited April 24, 2007 by buffymon

[Lovejames]

Well said, Buffymon! And my thanks to Frank for trying to mediate...

 

It saddens me when a Company cannot take CUSTOMERS concerns in good grace - we buy the tickets because it's James... Nothing new in that, we have gone to concerts in dreadful halls, with bad acoustics and even worse lighting to see & hear the man - at least we manage to do both, usually.

If anyone had been standing outside the Stadium when the audience filed out last time, they would have heard the complaints loud & clear... [At least there won't be another of those dreadful bobble head things, lurking behind James, like the spectre at the feast!] Personally, i heard a LOT of people say 'Never again' but we are fools for James... Frank had it right - there's more than one person unhappy with the venue, believe me.

 

i do find it absolutely astonishing that there is not one room in the whole of Milton Keynes, that could be used for a talk such as this... Better surely that James could have stood on the stage where the parties are going to be held - i presume there is a stage there?? what's wrong with having it there??

 

[Jola]

Better surely that James could have stood on the stage where the parties are going to be held - i presume there is a stage there?? what's wrong with having it there??

 

 

*Wanders in*

 

The parties are at the same place as the talk. They're all being held at the Hockey Stadium.

 

As to the question on the sound/tech/stage etc - has anyone actually thought that it belongs to the venue itself and not Showmasters? *Shrugs*

 

*Wanders out again*

[gebes]

There's far too much bitching going on, if you don't like the sound of how it's being planned, then it's quite simple,

 

DON'T GO

 

and let others who would appreciate being at the James Marsters Q&A get tickets instead.

 

I have also noticed a 'blame culture' developing where everyone seems just to want to blame SM for not doing this, not doing that. Not every venue has the capability of easily being turned into a stage etc.

 

And say, for arguments sake, SM were to hire a reasonable PA system for the talk, who do you think pays for that? It's us the punters, so talk ticket prices would have to be looked at, and then would come the inevitable moans and groans of ' The ticket prices have gone up' and would come the accusations that SM are charging too much for talk tickets.

 

So if you think it's not going to be good, then return your talk tickets, as there'll be plenty others, who'll take your place, and enjoy the atmosphere that the James Marsters talk will surely generate.

[buffymon]

Better surely that James could have stood on the stage where the parties are going to be held - i presume there is a stage there?? what's wrong with having it there??

 

 

*Wanders in*

 

The parties are at the same place as the talk. They're all being held at the Hockey Stadium.

 

As to the question on the sound/tech/stage etc - has anyone actually thought that it belongs to the venue itself and not Showmasters? *Shrugs*

 

*Wanders out again*

and we are suppose to know that..how?

Again, this comes down to listening to the complaints and at least trying to do something about it. Have SM been in contact with the people owning the venue and asked them to do something to improve sound/visibility?

This is what customers are interested in knowing about, not to be shrugged off. If SM told us that they have tried everything they can, then people wouldn´t be as upset.

 

[to Showmasters, and not to Jola]

Now, I only write this because I hope that you might treat customers differently in the future. I really don´t have any hopes that anything will improve regarding the venue, but perhaps you could try to improve the way you deal with complaints in the future. I wish you good luck with that.

Edited April 25, 2007 by buffymon

[frank]

I think from the reactions of certain people on this board, we’ve basically proven that there are issues that ideally need to be resolved.

 

As somebody who hasn’t been to a talk before, I admit I’m seriously put off by what I’m hearing, and the sad thing is the 32 remaining tickets are probably the potentially rubbish seats.

 

And say, for arguments sake, SM were to hire a reasonable PA system for the talk, who do you think pays for that? It's us the punters, so talk ticket prices would have to be looked at, and then would come the inevitable moans and groans of ' The ticket prices have gone up' and would come the accusations that SM are charging too much for talk tickets.

I’d rather pay good money to see somebody and have a great experience, than pay the current prices and enter a lottery where I might not able to see, or hear anything. As that to me seems a total waste of money.

 

and let others who would appreciate being at the James Marsters Q&A get tickets instead.

I take it in this quote ‘appreciate’ means too young to be able to complain, or voice their dissatisfaction.

 

I wouldn’t call my posts as ‘bitching’ either, as I’m trying so hard to be fair to both parties, and discuss this matter constructively.

[Jola]

Better surely that James could have stood on the stage where the parties are going to be held - i presume there is a stage there?? what's wrong with having it there??

 

 

*Wanders in*

 

The parties are at the same place as the talk. They're all being held at the Hockey Stadium.

 

As to the question on the sound/tech/stage etc - has anyone actually thought that it belongs to the venue itself and not Showmasters? *Shrugs*

 

*Wanders out again*

and we are suppose to know that..how?

Again, this comes down to listening to the complaints and at least trying to do something about it. Have SM been in contact with the people owning the venue and asked them to do something to improve sound/visibility?

This is what customers are interested in knowing about, not to be shrugged off. If SM told us that they have tried everything they can, then people wouldn�t be as upset.

 

Now, I only write this because I hope that you might treat customers differently in the future. I really don�t have any hopes that anything will improve regarding the venue, but perhaps you could try to improve the way you deal with complaints in the future. I wish you good luck with that.

 

Well I'm sure Showmasters have read and digested each and every point raised on here.

 

I do NOT work for Showmasters, or work in the office, I just help them process the orders on their online shop. So there's no point directing complaints to me in the way they deal with customers.

[Mrs Tigger]

Better surely that James could have stood on the stage where the parties are going to be held - i presume there is a stage there?? what's wrong with having it there??

 

 

*Wanders in*

 

The parties are at the same place as the talk. They're all being held at the Hockey Stadium.

 

As to the question on the sound/tech/stage etc - has anyone actually thought that it belongs to the venue itself and not Showmasters? *Shrugs*

 

*Wanders out again*

and we are suppose to know that..how?

Again, this comes down to listening to the complaints and at least trying to do something about it. Have SM been in contact with the people owning the venue and asked them to do something to improve sound/visibility?

This is what customers are interested in knowing about, not to be shrugged off. If SM told us that they have tried everything they can, then people wouldn´t be as upset.

 

Now, I write this because I hope that you might treat customers differently in the future. I really don�t have any hopes that anything will have improved regarding the venue, but perhaps you could try to improve how you deal with complaints in the future. I wish you good luck with that.

 

Well done Frank for trying to be a decent mediator in all of this..

Showmasters, something you ought to know about James fans..

1. We have paid copious amounts of money for tickets for gigs, talkbacks etc..we more than often go in blind and buy then look at the price and the venue afterwards...any hesitation on our part and we can be too late to get a ticket so money isn't the issue for us...

 

2. We are extremely passionate about the man. Yes there have been some crap venues. I hate the Carling in Islington but I still went ahead and booked to see him a second time ( it was a queuing issue )..but he was on a high stage and we could a least see and hear him clearly...

 

When James was at Collectormania last time you were completely taken by surpise by just how popular he was...and totaly unorganised on the Sunday at least you got the autograph queue sorted for the Monday..Many people complained back then about the venue for the Q and A, about not being able to see or hear because it was all on one level..so it's not just now...

As for putting people off? I think the fans who have bought up these complaints now on this forum will be justified when the complaints from people attending for the first time will come flooding in to you..we'll see if you think we are lying and trouble making then..

[buffymon]

 

 

I do NOT work for Showmasters, or work in the office, I just help them process the orders on their online shop. So there's no point directing complaints to me in the way they deal with customers.

I am aware of that, and I was addressing SM. I have edited my post in a way that I hope makes that more clear

[Spike's dream date]

So now you all know - the talk is going to be as bad as the last one.

 

More fool you for spending your hard earned cash on it. I certainly won't ever attend another SM talk while it is held at that venue. I find it hard to believe it's the only "suitable" place in the whole of MK but I'm sure SMs have done their research.

 

It really is a case of if you don't like it, don't go. SMs aren't going to change anything while you are still paying them for poor service!! Money talks and if SMs make the required level of profit from these events then why would they want to change anything?

 

Good luck to you all. I can see it being a mad scramble to get to the front for this one. Make sure you get there early!!

[DavidB]

Good luck to you all. I can see it being a mad scramble to get to the front for this one. Make sure you get there early!!

 

That won't really be happening this time

 

To lessen the need to queue, and in an attempt to keep things as fair as possible, we have put people into groups based on when they booked; which batch you are in is on the back of your ticket, and you will be let into the hall strictly based on batches.

 

So it's pretty much sorted already.

[RainbowDisney]

Good God !! What has this thread decended into ?

[TurkFox]

My offer of using me as a stage is still open!