Queen_Sindel Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 last year i was so close to the table then they said sold out of the being human group photo (( thats when i decided to start paying by card Oh you missed out on buying. Now I get you. Sorry, I was wondering "were there photoshoots on Friday after all?" after I was reading your post and didn't make the buying connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigisnutter Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Call me naive, but what difference is there between the 2 queues? Both have/are buying early bird tickets, to get into the show 2 hours earlier than standard entry? Both paying the same amount, both wanting to get in those 2 hours early. The pre-booked had the time, finances, ability to book before, but I don't see any reason the "pay on day" should be punished because they couldn't. It makes perfect sense both queues open at the same time. They are the same tickets afterall, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scifisteve Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 (edited) Call me naive, but what difference is there between the 2 queues? Both have/are buying early bird tickets, to get into the show 2 hours earlier than standard entry? Both paying the same amount, both wanting to get in those 2 hours early. The pre-booked had the time, finances, ability to book before, but I don't see any reason the "pay on day" should be punished because they couldn't. It makes perfect sense both queues open at the same time. They are the same tickets afterall, no? Difference is that the (and lets remember these people are paying the £12 and not to be confuse with the standard entries that had to wait till 11) still have to go to the Ticket windows and pay, so their Que moves a little slower that the EB pre pays. The "problem" seems to be that so many people opted for pre pay for this event. I was down to the first big fire exit door and I got in very quickly, 202 for Karen Auto. Edited July 10, 2011 by scifisteve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autographfan Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 The advance sales were £14 so they paid more, so really they should be let in earlier/quicker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpharris Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 The advance sales were £14 so they paid more, so really they should be let in earlier/quicker? But £2 of that is p&p, they were still only paying £12 for the ticket. Personally I always pay on the day, it saves a couple of quid and I don't have the worry beforehand of waiting for the ticket in the post. I usually get there early enough to be near the front of the queue (yesterday I was 18th in line, having arrived as the gates opened at 7). Some years the POTD door opens slightly before the Prepaid , sometimes it's the other way around. Yesterday the difference was certainly less than a minute. What people need to remember is that Early Bird is Early Bird regardless of whether you've booked in advance and inevitably if you don't get there until later then you're going to get in after people who arrived a lot earlier than you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigisnutter Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 The advance sales were £14 so they paid more, so really they should be let in earlier/quicker? Ah, my apologies, didn't realise that. Well, I do have to say at most cons I've been to, the presale queue is alot smaller, the inclusion of Karen G, must have boosted things. It's a really tough one to deal with really, cos any exclusion of pay on day attendees, will only mean more pre-books and therefore a longer pre-book queue still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyT Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 how about letting the EARLY BIRDS in bout half an hour before the pay on the day ppl ?? Presumably the fairest way would be for people to be admitted in queue order? Have one queue for 9am entry (pre-paid and pay on the day), and only split them at the door. That everybody who arrives early gets the advantage of that, but the pre-paid people will obviously be processed through quicker once split (just showing a ticket rather than having to actually exchange money). Of course, this introduces another set of challenges (can it be done? also having one queue rather than two, it will be longer). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autographfan Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 The problem I see there is that everyone would get held up behind a POTD person? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Fooku Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 I suspect there is no easy answer to this question as most other solutions would generate their own problems. Although the current situation is by no means perfect it might be the most straightforward one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyT Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 The problem I see there is that everyone would get held up behind a POTD person? I'm envisioning a queue that at the very front splits into pre-paid and POTD, so pre-paid are dealt with by one set of staff, and POTD by another, so if there's a hold up in the POTD admission, you can keep filtering pre-paid people in through the pre-paid side. It works well enough with most gigs I go to (albeit on a smaller scale); one big queue that they split about six feet from the door into "those with tickets" and "those buying tickets/picking up tickets", and they can call pre-paid ticket people through for the prepaid queue if the POTD queue stalls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkarius Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 totally agree with this.... whats the point of calling it early bird... what load of s***!!! It is called Early Bird because you get in two hours earlier than the standard tickets. Also as long as you arrive within a reasonable time before opening you will still be in earlier than the majority of the early bird tickets buying on the day. edited for clarification purposes Just for clarification, and please correct me if I get this wrong. Buying in advance is just guarranteed entry to the event, not for getting in earlier than anyone else paying on the day early bird price, right? If that is the case, Its all down to the sheer amount of people pre-paying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraHawk Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 The advance sales were £14 so they paid more, so really they should be let in earlier/quicker? But £2 of that is p&p, they were still only paying £12 for the ticket. Personally I always pay on the day, it saves a couple of quid and I don't have the worry beforehand of waiting for the ticket in the post. I usually get there early enough to be near the front of the queue (yesterday I was 18th in line, having arrived as the gates opened at 7). Some years the POTD door opens slightly before the Prepaid , sometimes it's the other way around. Yesterday the difference was certainly less than a minute. What people need to remember is that Early Bird is Early Bird regardless of whether you've booked in advance and inevitably if you don't get there until later then you're going to get in after people who arrived a lot earlier than you. About half the people who bought on the Friday were buying weekend tickets on the door, £24 - it made the Friday free. I'd have been in the on the day queue otherwise. If that is the case, Its all down to the sheer amount of people pre-paying. Exactly. If 200 prebook and 20 get on the day and have the exact change ready, the 20th will be in before the 200th. If you turn up at 8.30 and the end of one queue is within spiting distance of the door, its almost worth buying a new ticket to join it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidbrookes Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 When a group of us got there at 7 we did notice how short the pay on the day queue was and considered that for some people who had got there just after us and were already quite a bit of the way around the building that paying on the door would be a more expensive but quicker option for them. I'm glad I purchased mine in advance however, I went on the friday as a last minute type decision and although me and friends turned up at the same time, as they had pre-booked they got in about half an hour before me. Still got everything I needed done that evening, but in that instance pre-booking would have been a much more relaxed option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators DavidB Posted July 11, 2011 Moderators Share Posted July 11, 2011 It is an unfortunate confusion that some people with pre pay tickets think they'll be let in before those who pay on the day. That's never been the deal. In theory you should get in quicker but of course if ticket sales are high, it could take longer. There's no guarantee. Obviously it would be nice for the pre paid attendees if this were the case, but then you annoy the on-the-day crowd, which appeared to be bigger than ever this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captainkibble Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 (edited) Technically the pre-paid and on the day tickets are the same. However people who over look an obvious inequity because it benefits them and hide behind a technicality to do so are pretty base individuals. I won't be pre-paying again until this is sorted. I suggest everyone else do the same. Those defending this because it means they get in earlier will soon change theit tune when their queue becomes 5 times as long. [Edit] No confusion here either. I know what I paid for. However as someone who already handed over my money I don't expect to be sidelined for people who have yet to pay. When I pay for a burger in McDonalds and have to wait for it to be prepared I don't expect the next 3 of what I paid for to be given to others who just walked in. Whether they pay to or not. Edited July 11, 2011 by Captain Kibble Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not_Pennys_Ship Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Technically the pre-paid and on the day tickets are the same. However people who over look an obvious inequity because it benefits them and hide behind a technicality to do so are pretty base individuals. I won't be pre-paying again until this is sorted. I suggest everyone else do the same. Those defending this because it means they get in earlier will soon change theit tune when their queue becomes 5 times as long. I would disagree. Pre-paying is a better option than risking buying on the day. I read on another thread that there was still a queue for on the day by a certain time. Those who had prepaid were in the better position they these people were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m4sure Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Why can't the pre-paid Early bird tickets be cheaper than those buying them on the day? It makes sense seeing as buying on the day is quicker & gets you let in the same time & their queue is always shorter. Every year it's shorter... Plus at other events, paying on the day is more money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not_Pennys_Ship Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Why can't the pre-paid Early bird tickets be cheaper than those buying them on the day? It makes sense seeing as buying on the day is quicker & gets you let in the same time & their queue is always shorter. Every year it's shorter... Plus at other events, paying on the day is more money. The Early Birds is an opportunity for people to get into the venue ahead of those with standard tickets. That is why they are more dearer than standards. As for on the day - like I said, there was a point where there was still a queue for them whilst all of the Early Birders were already in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraHawk Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 (edited) I won't be pre-paying again until this is sorted. Until it's sorted how? If you are saying 50 people who want to spend money on the day can't go in before 500 who booked in advance, then the next time you have 550 people prebook, making one even longer queue. Nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't reward you for prebooking. I read on another thread that there was still a queue for on the day by a certain time. Those who had prepaid were in the better position they these people were. I'm not sure how long the earlybird POTD queues took to go down. But obviously in the companies interest to do that ASAP, otherwise they'd just wait and become the first standard entry ones. Why can't the pre-paid Early bird tickets be cheaper than those buying them on the day? It makes sense seeing as buying on the day is quicker & gets you let in the same time & their queue is always shorter. Every year it's shorter... Plus at other events, paying on the day is more money. You've still got postage costs. The other event I go to seems to run smoothly enough, though I think that would have struggled with these numbers! But for there you either prebook or queue to buy your ticket when you arrive before the event starts, then join the other queue. So its one queue to get in, but it moves like lightning. This weeekend I think the POTD box office was processing admissions slower than normal, as more people needed change. £10 and £5's flow quicker. Edited July 11, 2011 by TerraHawk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
defender05 Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I only just made it inside in time for the 9:30 photo shoot after buying the ticket online. Should it not be the case that if you buy an earlybird ticket on the day you should then join the earlybird queue not just walk in as you have just bought the same ticket as everybody else that is waiting to get in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraHawk Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I only just made it inside in time for the 9:30 photo shoot after buying the ticket online. Should it not be the case that if you buy an earlybird ticket on the day you should then join the earlybird queue not just walk in as you have just bought the same ticket as everybody else that is waiting to get in. Would that have got you in earlier though? the POTD people didn't slow you down. They might have got a few VTs earlier though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ops12 Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 last year i did pay on the day and i got in before some of the early birds... but still missed out on some photo shoots... thank god for friday this year... got all my shoots that night You missed out on photo shoots with an early bird ticket? And a couple at that. I hope you mean photos at the table. Photo sessions have started before standard entry for a while, but there's always a gap to allow people to actually get in. I know your not slagging anyone off sindel.. said sorry because i typed a long message lol! Don't ever worry about typing too much. I really appreciated your post because you gave so many details. They're helpful to me and I know they will be helpful for TooTall and SM too when they get back and read this. I missed out last year on the Being Human group because tickets were only available on the day,I was advance ticket in a long queue, then there was another long queue for the tickets, by the time I got to the front, there were none left. So I was unable to get photoshoot tickets, and missed out on the talk because of queueing. This year I used a different approach, and instead missed all the hassle and disappointment, and got a lot more done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Showmasters Admin Massive Events Posted July 11, 2011 Showmasters Admin Share Posted July 11, 2011 how about letting the EARLY BIRDS in bout half an hour before the pay on the day ppl ?? Presumably the fairest way would be for people to be admitted in queue order? Have one queue for 9am entry (pre-paid and pay on the day), and only split them at the door. That everybody who arrives early gets the advantage of that, but the pre-paid people will obviously be processed through quicker once split (just showing a ticket rather than having to actually exchange money). Of course, this introduces another set of challenges (can it be done? also having one queue rather than two, it will be longer). thats a thought we have had looked into in the past to but as the speed of the line would only be as fas as the speed of the people taking the money then the only thing we would have is a line twice as large going at the slowest speed due to having to prosess the sale . i will aslo say that buying a ticket in advance you spend less time in that line as we just take the ticket of you and you go in thats it , were buying it on the day the line is about 5 times slower and after about 30 to 50 minutes the pre paid line is gone , but this you the pay on the day line lasted for most of the day on both day on and off . and its a pre paid ticket not a get in 30 minutes early ticket , all it dose is saves you time in the line as this line gos in faster this has been thought through a lot as you can see and its the beast way as far as we can see . one last thing i open the doors like i have every years in this order and i did it so i know it when this way gold passes first 3 minute before we open pre paid 1 minute before we open pay on the day at the time we open we feel this is fair and it works quite well as when i meet lots of you on the door everyone seemed to be happy and relaxed i hope this helps explain how it works jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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