bad experiences

[Janson]

My only complaint is an echo of what other people have said about the live band and karaoke during the talks. Having attended numerous Showmaster events in the past I don't really understand how anyone could have thought this was a good idea.

 

Other than that the day I attended (Sunday) was great. Sure I missed the BTTF talk because I was stuck in the Christopher Lambert photo queue then missed most of Christopher Lambert's talk 'cos I was stuck in Clive Barker's autograph queue, but these things happen.

[crippsy_99]

I read in this thread that someone even had an early entery ticket and collected a VQ ticket for a Chris Lloyd auto and his number was STILL in the mid 400's! how is that possible?!

 

Because there were over 400 people before him in the early entry que? If this was saturday, the early entry que was around the back of the earls court complex there were so many people, so a number in the 400's I can very well believe!

[Joulez]

I can't quite believe the amount that people are 'complaining' about! It really is quite shocking. I myself thoroughly enjoyed myself (am knackered now mind you), I expected the huge crowds (although was still astounded when I saw it after I came back from lunch on Saturday) for KG, I always go to these events knowing that sitting down is gonna be a rarity at times (I understand that some people can't stand/walk around all day like I can). So yeah not much to complain about from me.

 

Just maybe if SM wants to keept the Live Band/Karaoke then move it up to Stage 3, that way it wouldn't have interrupted the talks. :) Also to all those who didn't get their photos back, SM are gonna stick to their word and you will get your photos back. :)

[Azdeha]

The Early Entry Queue was already starting to snake round the back of Earls Court before the crew had even got there at 7.30....

[Avengers7]

Regarding seating again, I heard there were no chairs in the Gold Pass chill out room? Was this correct?

 

Also, I swapped three Walter Koenig photo shoots on the Friday, from Saturday to Sunday as they clashed with other photos and talks. I was told it was difficult as it messed up the figures? Luckily I was allowed to swap but it seemed a bit odd, surely if you clearly cross reference on whatever documents you are using there shouldn't be a problem? Obviously though I don't know what you use other than those ticky grid sheets so I may just be talking nonsense!

 

 

i have to reply to this one sorry

 

if you did not have a gold pass why do you care about this ?

 

and i can tell you there were chairs in there and the 8 gold pass people i talked to said it was a great place to just get away from the busyness of the show and they all liked it a lot , there was not much in there apart from some space to sit down and chill out a little .

 

i hope that is of use to you incredible ??

 

i will reply to some of the other points made in this thread soon

 

jason

 

Regarding seating again, I heard there were no chairs in the Gold Pass chill out room? Was this correct?

 

Also, I swapped three Walter Koenig photo shoots on the Friday, from Saturday to Sunday as they clashed with other photos and talks. I was told it was difficult as it messed up the figures? Luckily I was allowed to swap but it seemed a bit odd, surely if you clearly cross reference on whatever documents you are using there shouldn't be a problem? Obviously though I don't know what you use other than those ticky grid sheets so I may just be talking nonsense!

 

Umm...there was a Gold Pass chill out room? Where????

 

I was speaking to a guy called Martin from Sweden (another Gold Pass Holder) and he told me about this, but he couldn't find it either.

 

It's a great idea if that's what happened, but it would have been nice to know where it was!

 

 

if you asked a pit boss or at the organisers booth they would tell you we did not want to put it on the map as we did not want people with put go;d pass passes also going in and filling it up as we were short of crew this time to man it , next time please do ask

 

jason

 

 

As I said previously Jason - the Gold Pass room was fantastic - it was great to be able to sit down, sort autos, have a chat and a rest in a quietish area. A great idea which I hope will continue.

 

 

 

My only complaint was to do with other convention goers as has been descrbed in previous posts. At one stage of the day so many people were taking photos with flashes of Cosplayers and generally sticking camera in my face that I though I was goin to get a migrane.

 

Also a mate of mine almost got pushed over a signing table by a man with a poster tube in his rucksack who wasn't looking where he was going and was randomly stopping. Another man tried to tell me that he was sick of gold pass holders cheating the queue for photoshoots as he had been waiting for ages..... I had no comment for this one but he does need to get his facts straight. There were some very rude people there on Saturday.

[MinkyKnights]

Just maybe if SM wants to keept the Live Band/Karaoke then move it up to Stage 3, that way it wouldn't have interrupted the talks. :)

It would have meant that no one would have been able to hear a thing in the signing area instead.

[Anthonyharrison11]

I read in this thread that someone even had an early entery ticket and collected a VQ ticket for a Chris Lloyd auto and his number was STILL in the mid 400's! how is that possible?!

 

Because there were over 400 people before him in the early entry que? If this was saturday, the early entry que was around the back of the earls court complex there were so many people, so a number in the 400's I can very well believe!

 

No, this was sunday...it wasnt as busy on sunday.

 

 

I can't quite believe the amount that people are 'complaining' about! It really is quite shocking. I myself thoroughly enjoyed myself (am knackered now mind you), I expected the huge crowds (although was still astounded when I saw it after I came back from lunch on Saturday) for KG, I always go to these events knowing that sitting down is gonna be a rarity at times (I understand that some people can't stand/walk around all day like I can). So yeah not much to complain about from me.

 

Just maybe if SM wants to keept the Live Band/Karaoke then move it up to Stage 3, that way it wouldn't have interrupted the talks. :) Also to all those who didn't get their photos back, SM are gonna stick to their word and you will get your photos back. :)

 

 

Well, when you pre book your photoshoot tickets costing £45 online weeks beforehand, travel over 300 miles by car and train costing hundreds of pounds in petrol and trainfares, arrive on time....and then end up leaving without the very thing you spent weeks waiting for it does tend to make me want to voice my complaint. The way i look at it is i did everything i was surposed to do and yet i feel like im being told its my own fault!?

[Avengers7]

2 things spoiled this event for me.

 

1. Even though i arrived at 11AM and got a VQ ticket for an Christopher Lloyd autograph, i was told that my number was 490...yet at 11AM only numbers 1 to 200 had been called...fair enough. However when i went back at half 4 they were only up to 238!! or there abouts! i was gutted i didnt get the autograph i went to this event specifically for!

 

2. Even though ive paid £45 for a special shoot with Chris Lloyd and the Delorean i left without my photo because by half 4 it had not been put out and no members of staff were trying to control the photo collection system. So this process ended up a farce. People just stood at the front of the table and didnt move until their photo came out...which it didnt because only the first hundred of this batch went out. In the end i had to fill out a form and leave it with a member of staff. Surley after all these years there MUST be a better system of dishing out the photos than this!? Does anyone know when these will be sent out?

 

 

 

I have to say that these totally put a downer on the day for me. If it wasnt for meeting the lovely Alex Kingston it would have been a total disaster!

 

 

 

 

Only issue with photoshoots was people putting fingerprints all over them to try and get to their own.....

[KrazyKid197]

The shoot i thought was done brilliantly :) no complaints whatsoever....Matt and Brian were fantastic, cant praise them enough. I understand the member of staff that hurridly me along after the picture was only doing her job but it wasnt so much what she said but her tone that annoyed me.

 

I was gutted i didnt get his autograph. To travel over 300 miles by car and train costing hundreds of pounds to get there to A.Not Get his autograph and B. To not collect my photo and not leave with either was a huge disappointment. To be fair i did everything i was surposed to. I booked my tickets in advance, arrived on time for entry and my photo shoots and now im reading that i should have been asked to pay the postage on the photo!!

 

Alex Kingston's photo shoot and autographs were ran like clockwork in my opinion, couldnt fault it...perfect.

 

I read in this thread that someone even had an early entery ticket and collected a VQ ticket for a Chris Lloyd auto and his number was STILL in the mid 400's! how is that possible?!

 

You shouldn't have been asked to pay postage. If an attendee has to leave early and won't be around when the photoshoots return then they need to pay postage (as that's the indvidual's decision). If the photos are not back by the end of the event (5pm Sunday) then the show covers the costs for not getting the photos back in time. Your post says you filled in a form after 4.40pm and the photos weren't back until after 5pm.

 

Glad that the photoshoots ran ok for you! As for the autos... sometimes it happens. (I was at an event in the US last year. We arrived for a panel at 6.30am. At 7.30am they closed the queue for it. The panel didn't start until 10.30am and the hall sat 2000 people. You can't always predict).

[Anthonyharrison11]

2 things spoiled this event for me.

 

1. Even though i arrived at 11AM and got a VQ ticket for an Christopher Lloyd autograph, i was told that my number was 490...yet at 11AM only numbers 1 to 200 had been called...fair enough. However when i went back at half 4 they were only up to 238!! or there abouts! i was gutted i didnt get the autograph i went to this event specifically for!

 

2. Even though ive paid £45 for a special shoot with Chris Lloyd and the Delorean i left without my photo because by half 4 it had not been put out and no members of staff were trying to control the photo collection system. So this process ended up a farce. People just stood at the front of the table and didnt move until their photo came out...which it didnt because only the first hundred of this batch went out. In the end i had to fill out a form and leave it with a member of staff. Surley after all these years there MUST be a better system of dishing out the photos than this!? Does anyone know when these will be sent out?

 

 

 

I have to say that these totally put a downer on the day for me. If it wasnt for meeting the lovely Alex Kingston it would have been a total disaster!

 

 

 

 

Only issue with photoshoots was people putting fingerprints all over them to try and get to their own.....

 

 

The shoot i thought was done brilliantly :) no complaints whatsoever....Matt and Brian were fantastic, cant praise them enough. I understand the member of staff that hurridly me along after the picture was only doing her job but it wasnt so much what she said but her tone that annoyed me.

 

I was gutted i didnt get his autograph. To travel over 300 miles by car and train costing hundreds of pounds to get there to A.Not Get his autograph and B. To not collect my photo and not leave with either was a huge disappointment. To be fair i did everything i was surposed to. I booked my tickets in advance, arrived on time for entry and my photo shoots and now im reading that i should have been asked to pay the postage on the photo!!

 

Alex Kingston's photo shoot and autographs were ran like clockwork in my opinion, couldnt fault it...perfect.

 

I read in this thread that someone even had an early entery ticket and collected a VQ ticket for a Chris Lloyd auto and his number was STILL in the mid 400's! how is that possible?!

 

You shouldn't have been asked to pay postage. If an attendee has to leave early and won't be around when the photoshoots return then they need to pay postage (as that's the indvidual's decision). If the photos are not back by the end of the event (5pm Sunday) then the show covers the costs for not getting the photos back in time. Your post says you filled in a form after 4.40pm and the photos weren't back until after 5pm.

 

Glad that the photoshoots ran ok for you! As for the autos... sometimes it happens. (I was at an event in the US last year. We arrived for a panel at 6.30am. At 7.30am they closed the queue for it. The panel didn't start until 10.30am and the hall sat 2000 people. You can't always predict).

 

Well i had to leave at 4.40pm to catch at 5pm my train home so technically i did have to leave early. If i could have waiting till the event ended i would have done but i just couldnt sadly . Hopfully i wrote a detailed description enough for the staff to find my photo and send it on ASAP

 

The Alex Kingston signing and photoshoot went fantastic!

 

thanks

Edited July 11, 2011 by Anthonyharrison11

[Joulez]

Just maybe if SM wants to keept the Live Band/Karaoke then move it up to Stage 3, that way it wouldn't have interrupted the talks. :)

It would have meant that no one would have been able to hear a thing in the signing area instead.

 

Okay, yeah maybe I didn't think that one through.

 

 

 

 

I can't quite believe the amount that people are 'complaining' about! It really is quite shocking. I myself thoroughly enjoyed myself (am knackered now mind you), I expected the huge crowds (although was still astounded when I saw it after I came back from lunch on Saturday) for KG, I always go to these events knowing that sitting down is gonna be a rarity at times (I understand that some people can't stand/walk around all day like I can). So yeah not much to complain about from me.

 

Just maybe if SM wants to keept the Live Band/Karaoke then move it up to Stage 3, that way it wouldn't have interrupted the talks. :) Also to all those who didn't get their photos back, SM are gonna stick to their word and you will get your photos back. :)

 

 

Well, when you pre book your photoshoot tickets costing £45 online weeks beforehand, travel over 300 miles by car and train costing hundreds of pounds in petrol and trainfares, arrive on time....and then end up leaving without the very thing you spent weeks waiting for it does tend to make me want to voice my complaint. The way i look at it is i did everything i was surposed to do and yet i feel like im being told its my own fault!?

 

I didn't mean to make my post seem like it was blaming you/whoever didn't get what they'd paid for it. I just meant it was surprising was all. I do apologize if post came across as that though. :)

 

*edited to fix quote issue

Edited July 11, 2011 by Rhianydd

[wabit]

 

Thanks to both of you, you're very kind.

 

It was my first time doing photo shoots like this for Showmasters and I really enjoyed taking everyone's photo.

 

I hope everyone got photos they liked, but if anyone had a negative experience at Photo Area C, please let me know.

 

Giles

 

Just wanted to know if the photo's you took of me and Bam Bam on Sunday came out? You took a picture of us and then your camera went a bit nuts and you had to stop for a while to sort it out! Then you took another one of us showing the Tattoo's (IMG 1186 JPG)(which looks great) I got that one back but would love to of had the other one!! Any chance of getting it or not?

[Queen_Sindel]

1. All photos taken at photo shoots should be either sent by mail or downloadable from a website. Collecting photos on the day is something US cons phased out a long time ago in my experience.

 

Depends on the event. The two I went to last year and the two friends of mine go to still do the handing out on the day thing.

 

Also a lot of people seem to like their photoshoot pictures signed, and if they're only mailed out weeks after the show that puts an end to it unless the guest comes back.

[steevofromglasgow]

I'm sure the mods will come on defending things in the above (or delete it) or some diehards will quote sections of this but it does get frustrating over the years

 

Steve, sorry for just quoting sections now, but that post was quite long and I wanted to cut to the chase.

 

I do get a bit tired too about attendees constantly claiming we randomly delete things.

 

If a mod deletes in 9.5 out of 10 cases there will be a reference to this, normally with a detailed explanation. Sometimes we forget for one reason or the other, we are not perfect. But we will never delete anything because we have a personal issue with the poster or don't like criticism or something like that. You may not like our reasons, but we really don't do it for fun and giggles.

 

We will never delete appropriate and valid criticism, as long as the user who posts does it in a civil manner. For example the posts about "why no photos at the table?" has been left untouched because it is a lively discussion and being a fans too I see both points. But I did step in when a guest was called rude names for refusing a photo as that is obviously beyond the line.

 

 

Hi QS

 

This is the first time I've been online since my last post. I genuinely apologise if I didn't make it clear as you've always been really fair with me on here.

 

My last attempt at photoshoots was at MK in early 2010 and the photoshoots return was IMHO a shambles. We were all told to put our comments on the forum so myself and others did so but they were then deleted. This is the first time I've since had photoshoots and unfortunately the same problems arose (but not to the same level as last year) which is why I made the comment above.

 

I'm sorry for not making this clear.

 

Steve

[Poppy]

 

When we got in, I asked at the information desk about the free autographs & was told to go to the back of the hall!! I had no idea who was free/how many guests you could meet for free....so was confused about the whole thing.

 

It was advertised on the forums for at least a week I think before the event? And the website too I believe? And you clearly have forum and internet access?

 

 

It was a last minute decision to go to Comic Con as I was in London. I had no internet access that week as was in London Tuesday-Friday. I didn't realise that you had to go online before you go to check, there could easily have been a poster up somewhere explaining what the situation was or just more information from helpers!! I assume showmasters want passing trade as well as regulars as surely all customers are welcome customers??

Edited July 11, 2011 by Poppy

[adrianbsmith@sky.com]

I have only been to two events before Saturday and can apprciate how much work it must take to get everything running. There were a few things that bugged me (lack of freebie signings on Friday and lack of personalisations with Karen ) but stepping back from it all, it was a great event. I was worn out on the saturday so pity the crew that did all 3 days! Unfortunately, some of the issues described relate to the unpredictably of people and especially "stars" and I expect that will never change.

[showmasters]

i think this thread has been played out now and i am closing this post i will be opening a new thread were i can reply to some of the points that some of you have made

 

we take on board what people have said and will look into ways to fix things for next time .

 

i do also feel there are the odd point that really is not down to us , but we will look into all aspects so as we can bring you an even better event in the future.

 

one last thing i will also say is most of the issues are down to the large amount of people that attended on the saturday , this is something that is easy to fix with a bigger hall and more crew and working out a few things to make things run smoother , all of which will be resolved for the next show .

 

thanks for the input

 

jason