Crew Members - Some Feedback

[Dent_1]

I have been attending Showmasters events since 2006 and I have always been happy to say I have NEVER had any bad experiences with the Showmasters crew and a couple have really gone out of their way to make sure I came away with a good experience. I’m sad to say this weekend did not live up the usual standard.

 

This is a run-down of all my interactions with crew members on the Saturday. I want to stress this is NOT meant as a bash-fest, it is a simple retelling of what I experienced this weekend and I would hope Jason et al. would appreciate honest feedback when reviewing the event so here goes...

 

 

Once I had got my virtual ticket numbers I proceeded to the area at the front where you could purchase photoshoots/talk tickets etc. and asked a crew member there if I could get the FREE talk tickets from this area. I was informed I could and made my way to the back of the line she directed me to.

 

A little concerned at all the signage denoting payment types I wondered if perhaps the crew member has misheard me and thought I was referring to the paid talk tickets. This time my girlfriend asked her again if we were in the right queue for the FREE talk tickets and we were informed that we were. Once at the desk a new crew member asked what we needed. After telling her “Free talk tickets†we were told that we were in the wrong queue! I said I had been told twice to queue up here and I was asked who told me this.

I pointed out the original crew member and the new one said annoyedly “tell her to come see me and I will tell her otherwise.â€

I just walked off. I’d already wasted 20 minutes and didn’t feel like wasting any more persuading a crew member to go and get chastised by another. Frankly it’s not my job to do their dirty work. Really unprofessional.

 

~

 

After getting some talk tickets I do what I always do: checked out the dealer stalls for images of the guests I want to meet and compare these to the free ones at the guests table. I then decide if I need to purchase any and then head to get the autographs.

 

First up was Veronica Cartwright and I was pleased to see there was a really good profile shot from Alien on her table so I decided not to purchase a similar one I had seen at a stall earlier so I joined the queue. Once the queue edged closer I was getting concerened that the image looked a little fuzzy but at the distance there was no real way to tell.

 

However once I was at the desk, I paid up and picked up the photo. Up close you could see the resolution really was quite terrible so I said to the crew member sitting with Veronica: “I’m really sorry to be a pain, but I need to buy a different picture from a dealer as these ones from Alien are too grainy, would that be alright?â€

 

The crew member said, “Well, you have already paid.†Unsure whether this was a refusal to let me wander away I continued to stare at her in anticipation of something a little clearer. Once the biggest pause of all time had ended she said begrudgingly, “Go on then.â€

 

I said “Thankyou, I’ll be two minutes†to which she replied. “Make it quick.â€

 

I came back a few minutes later and reminded the crew member by saying “Thanks for letting me get another pictureâ€. This was met with silence.

 

Fortunately Veronica has missed the conversation(s) re: picture selection/quality as she was busy talking to other attendees. When I put the photo in front of her she picked it up and she paused for a minute and gazed at the photo in her hand and said “This is a GREAT picture. Where did you get it?†I told her I bought it off one of the stalls because the images on the table were a bit fuzzy and as I had travelled a long way to meet her and I wanted a good shot of her in the classic film. She repeated again, “It’s a great shot, could you get one for me?†and then started scrambling through her purse for some money.

 

The crew member then told Veronica: “I’m sure we have this one here†whilst glancing over the table and behind her. Veronica told her, “We don’t have this one.†The crew member kept looking and said, “I’m sure we do,†and Veronica curtly informed her: “NO, we don’t.â€

 

Seems Miss Cartwright and I were very much ‘on the ball’ when it came to image selection and quality; the crew member most definitely was not. Given that Veronica was not privy to the earlier conversation I must admit it was extremely satisfying that she acknowledged that the photo I presented to her was so good; so much better than the free ones the crew member was tut-tutting at me for not taking, that she actually wanted to buy one herself.

 

Suffice to say Veronica got her photo (and her money back) – my treat, and she said she was going to put it on her website.

 

It shouldn’t need saying but after travelling hundreds of miles to meet a guest I would not pay one penny, let alone £15 to get a signature from ANYONE on a crappy low-res image. I imagine most people would feel the same. I am no last-minute plonker and I prepared for the signing as much as possible but there was no way to see just how bad the image at the table was until it was in hand given people where queuing up. Given that I had ducked out of the queue instantly, didn’t hold anyone up (in fact the people behind me got to see her sooner) and I queued up again afterward without cutting in, I though the crew member’s comments and demeanour were unfounded, unnecessary and extremely rude.

 

~

 

Next up was Brent Spiner.

 

Like many autograph collectors I prefer certain inks over others and when I went to get an autograph from Brent I handed over my photos to the crew member sitting with him and asked for one to be signed in blue “Pleaseâ€.

 

This was greeted with a sigh and an instantaneous but nonchalant “We don’t have any blue pens.â€

 

Whilst the crew member was correct in assuming there were no blue pens located immediately under her nose there was, in fact, a blue pen on the then vacant desk of the guest to Brent’s left. I said “there’s one there†(pointing to said pen) but sitting on Brent’s right, the thought of getting up and walking over to pick it up must have seemed a horrifying and tiring prospect so she turned to her right and asked another crewmember to borrow their blue pen.

 

I then said: “Thanks for obliging me, I really appreciate it.†Much like my encounter with Veronica’s crew member I was treated to silence and a look of disdain.

 

I cannot believe how utterly disinterested she was (at 11 a.m. no less) and how she made me feel I was asking the earth when it was in reality a very simple and common request. Who would have though turning her head and looking for a pen would be such an ordeal? Thankfully the wonderful Brent wiped away the truly unpleasant interaction with his crew member.

 

I had Brent sign two photos I had brought with me and getting carried away talking to him, like a div(!), I left my two free photos at the desk in a plastic wallet. I only realised once I had walked off with my autographed photos so went to the photo table and asked if anyone had handed in the photos in wallet. I was told they had not been and was told I could go back to the signing table to have a look. I could not see them but could not get a good look as I was unwilling to interrupt the guests talking to Brent, as that would be rude and selfish of me and deemed it utterly pointless to ask for help from the crew member with a dislike of blue pens.

 

Fortunately (or unfortunately as it turns out) a red-shirt crew member was walking behind the table at this particular moment so I asked if there has been any photos left on the desk, she said “I don’t know†stared blankly and walked off. I got the impression it was all a bit ‘what do you want me to do about it?/why are you bothering me?’ and of course I didn’t expect her to “know†but surely she could have asked if anyone had left anything there moments before? Apparently not.

 

Resigned to the general unhelpfulness I’d encountered at the hands of Showmasters crew for the 4th time that day I gave up.

 

~

 

Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment but I went back later and thought it might be worth asking another crew member if anyone had handed in the photos in wallet, in the vein hope someone might just be bothered.

 

This particular crew member has not heard of anything being handed in so I asked if I could take another two free photos to replace them (I’ll add that I asked this question at 5:50 so that I would not be potentially taking photos away from the selection other attendees might want that day).

Given this was my biggest ‘ask’ of the day, I could justifiably see it being refused however I can say that pit-boss KEVIN made they ‘executive’ decision to let me take another two photos to replace the ones I had lost. He could have thought I was trying it on, trying to get more photos, but he gave me the benefit of the doubt. That’s exceptional service. Good on him.

 

~

 

Unfortunately, despite Kevin almost redeeming his much less professional colleagues, afterward came another to dash his kind gesture to smithereens.

 

Given that Brent’s photo shoot was postponed by 30mins his photos of course got delayed right up until the end of the day and I eventually got my photo at about 6:15. I made my way over to my girlfriend who was sitting in the talk area next right next to photo table A, and as she held open the bag into which I was trying to delicately place my photo, a crew member came over and burst out: “are you an attendee or a dealer?â€

 

I told her I was an attendee and she then said “All attendees need to leave by 6, the show has finished and the building is now closed.†At the risk of stating the obvious given she could see me fannying about with the photo, I said “Yes I know, I’m just putting this away.â€

 

Rather than leave it there, she had to have the last word and said “If you could make your way out as soon as possible, the building is now closed.â€

 

Funny that she thought interrupting me twice whilst I’m trying to put my stuff away so I can get out of there was the quickest way to move us on. I wouldn’t have minded if I was loitering about but I’m not deaf (I heard the tannoys announcing the closing times) and I was only there until that time (like a great many others) because of the photo delays.

Nobody likes photo delays, I’ve come to expect them at these shows to be honest, but what I really don’t like is being heckled by staff because I’m there because of a delay I have no control over. Especially when it’s obvious I’m trying to pack up and GTFO.

 

~

 

I’m sorry this was so long, but in 5 years of Showmasters events I have never experienced such (generally) rude and unhelpful behaviour from crew and so much in one day was so unexpected and extremely disappointing.

 

I don’t know if some of these crew members were new but in my opinion they were brand damaging and the worst part of the event by far. I hate to be so negative of the crew so much in one thread when up until this event I would have sung their praises but I had to get all this down as they were just breaking my balls ALL DAY LONG. Each crew member seeming to try and outdo the last (except Kevin)!

 

Before the next event PLEASE have a word or give some sort of briefing about the importance of providing the correct information to attendees and the general etiquette when it comes to collecting autographs, and about being a bit more courteous in general.

 

If you stuck with me thanks for reading, I hope it is some useful feedback even if it’s not all good. I still enjoyed the event itself and got to meet some fantastic guests so thanks for that.

[Lizzy]

I've been doing SM events for a lot longer and I have to agree that the crew for LFCC and CM in May haven't been great at all. I realise the events are getting bigger, and new helpers are needed and you need to stick with who you get volunteering, but they need a bit harsher guidance I think!

 

I had a few bad experiences, and all of them were from fresh faces. Looks of confusion and boredom, which I have never seen before at a SM event. Most of the more regular crew now know me by face or name, and I have no problems with them, and if I do, I usually tell them straight!!

 

I'll leave my CM problems, as I should have mentioned them there and then. I looked out for Jason, Mark, Andrea, TT etc on Saturday, but after lunch, couldn't find them!

 

Firstly, I got in twice to the building with no checks for a ticket or hand stamp. I'm sure a fair whack of people would have got in for free this way, as a fair chunk came through the same door as me.

 

Secondly, I asked a crew member by the credit card desk where I could get the free talk tickets. "Oh the free ones?" she said "You don't need any tickets, you can just walk straight in". Me, "are you sure? I've always needed them before". Her, "Yep, you don't need tickets". Then I walk past the talk area and see a table containing tickets. I said to the very, very bored crew member "are these for the free talks?" He said, "eeeeeeeer, yea, sure, I guess". I asked for one for Brent and was told he'd run out. I said about my earlier conversation, and that it wasn't very fair and what could I do, and he said "eeeer, I dunno", then looked down, still looking bored. So I missed my talk.

 

Collecting the photoshoots was awful, and I HOPE SM will realise that with an event like this, this NEEDS to be done better. It's already been mentioned somewhere about the amount of people putting their dirty mits on the photos, and the bundle to get through was horrible. My poor ribs! Anyway, the crew were clueless at 6.15pm on Saturday when my photos hadn't arrived, and I did keep nagging as my car was below and I was told that the car park shut at 6.30pm. I was told by a red shirt to go to the organisers desk to get a slip to have them posted for £2. I said that it wasn't fair to pay when I wasn't leaving by choice. She then came back and said by free. So I RAN to the organisers desk from photo area A (And SM and TT both know all about my recent broken foot!!!) and waited for the dappy dude who was asking the one girl there what memorial meant for Nick Courtney and Elisabeth Sladen. Humm. I'm not sure she realised they had passed, so I had to explain. Good god man, I was in a rush! Anyway, after her not knowing the situation with the photos, I was told to collect the slips from the photo area. So I RAN back. And saw them start to put the photos on the desk in no order and it was manic. I was in the first 10 getting my shoot with Brent and mine took ages to come out. I had to shout across the table for a crew member to get mine, and it took her a bit too long to see that I was the same person in the flesh as in the photo.

 

 

 

Oh, and a few littler things, VQ tickets: crew NEED to be told what they mean! I just showed my tickets and they didn't want me to hand them over. I did offer. What's the point of that? I could have then given someone my ticket to meet them after. I don't know if this happened in Karen's queue, but I'd hope a more experienced crew member dealt with that.

 

 

Oh, and the no posed photos thing. 5th time meeting Brent, and first time not getting a photo. Agent's idea?

[CurlyKirsty]

I had to put up with b*llsh*t from one of the ladies selling auto tickets. On saturday, we waited to get the photos back from showmasters, Karen Gillan was still signing and it was 5.45 so I went to the desk and asked for tickets, my daughter was with me so I got the two vqt's out. Placing them on the table, as she carried out the transaction I said no I want two, there are two items to sign. It looked like she cancelled the transaction and so I gave the vqts to my daughter and asked her to save a place in the queue. Once she had gone, the crewmember gave me the receipt and looked at me. I then said, no I wanted two tickets as I have two items, she proceeded to give me a lecture how i only have one ticket and can only have one auto! Rather grudgingly she did another transaction like she was doing me a big favour.

 

I know I was late but shouting after me that I may not get an auto and there were no refunds was not good customer service. I have done retail, I know how hard it can be, but I found her attitude rather obnoxious. Fortunately we got in, there was a bit of confusion, I thought they were telling me to leave when they were just wanting me to move. Beconing me forward and not to the door may have helped me understand, I am partial hearing so could not hear what was being said.

[ClockworkOwen18]

I thought the majority of them were very rude, all they ever did was shout and refuse photos.

[Not_Pennys_Ship]

I'm going to stand up and say that throughout the whole weekend, crew were abolutely legendary.

 

I ended up in the backstage area, saw a red shirted crew member, and was expecting a telling off, but instead, was given kind directions to where I needed to go.

 

One crew member, Samantha, remembered me for attending photoshoots. Out of all the thousands of people she may have interacted with, she remembered me. I'm amazed.

 

Another crew member (blond-Main Stage Area for talks), also remembered me, so when I entered with my hands full, I didn't have to show my gold pass. How's that for excellent customer care?

 

The guest assistant yesterday for Tom Sizemore helped enhance my experience by saying that the item that I had asked Tom to sign was the first she had ever seen.

 

The crew I spoke to provided me with the correct information that I needed.

 

And with the one posed photo that I did ask for (Shawnee Smith - Sat.), the guest assistant was willing, and help take a great one.

 

The crew assistant for Alex Kingston yesterday - she helped keep a child entertain, playing hand games and rolling her toungue.

 

All in all, my experience has been positive, so thanks, SM Crew for a lovely weekend

Edited July 11, 2011 by Not_Pennys_Ship

[xlorix]

If people have a problem with any of the crew, I don't understand why you wouldn't complain about it at the time (or try to as Lizzy did) so that something can be done about it, and not wait til after when the events over ???

 

Not Penny's Ship I recognise you from one of the times I walked in the Gold Pass room in a flap trying to find someone I was taking to the Karen Gillan shoot on Saturday! I guess some crew are good at remembering faces What I did 5 minutes ago I never remember, or peoples names, but faces I do! lol

[danvader123@hotmail.co.uk]

Dont get me wrong alot of the crew was excellent the guys in Photo shoot A Matt and the others were fantastic, In Photo shoot B fantastic , In photo shoot C there was some good ones but there were two guys that didnt seem they could be bothered to do there job sometimes and looked really bored and just played on their phone while they should of been working. But overall it was good showmasters in the photo areas and the autograph areas all were very helpful even the women on the ticket desk were too.

[Lizzy]

The crew are going to treat gold pass holders better of course. I'm sure they've been given strict rules about that.

 

It's all well and good speaking to a red shirt to give feedback, but term often I'm sure the message won't get back due to lack of time or them forgetting. I had a great show regardless, but it is a bit frustrating that I know how things work better than the new crew lol!

[Not_Pennys_Ship]

The crew are going to treat gold pass holders better of course. I'm sure they've been given strict rules about that.

 

It's all well and good speaking to a red shirt to give feedback, but term often I'm sure the message won't get back due to lack of time or them forgetting. I had a great show regardless, but it is a bit frustrating that I know how things work better than the new crew lol!

 

Well, to their defence, I hardly ever wore my pass or had it on show (only took it out when queueing for autos or photoshoots or talks) so was treated as an ordinairy attendee.

[xlorix]

It's all well and good speaking to a red shirt to give feedback, but term often I'm sure the message won't get back due to lack of time or them forgetting. I had a great show regardless, but it is a bit frustrating that I know how things work better than the new crew lol!

 

Ah yes, that's very true I guess! I'm relatively new at crewing, but have attended the events for years now so had a pretty good understanding anyway of what people expect from you. Maybe some of the first timers hadn't even been to a con before I'm sure/hope if they were really cr@p they won't be asked back! I don't like rubbish crew either as it can make everyones job harder.

[Queen_Sindel]

The crew are going to treat gold pass holders better of course. I'm sure they've been given strict rules about that.

 

Well if those rules do exist I sure missed them in the last few crew briefings.

 

It's all well and good speaking to a red shirt to give feedback, but term often I'm sure the message won't get back due to lack of time or them forgetting.

 

It's just that some things like "youngish looking blonde guy at talk distribution is confused, can something be done about that?" or "dark haired girl with glasses at photo distribution is manhandling photos and damaging them" are really best fixed on the day.

 

And if you came across someone who was really rude in your eyes it's really best to write an e-mail about it to make sure it's caught. I totally understand that some attendees don't want to give names for one reason or the other, but this is valuable feedback and will be taken into consideration.

[DavidB]

I think with a show of this size, its extremely difficult for every crew member to remember every detail of the whole show. I did have to ask others after some didn't know, which is quite time consuming. I didn't find anyone rude, perhaps just overwhelmed as it was a huge show to have as your first time.

[Rockstar6662]

With such a big event and so many people to deal with, some of whom that seem to turn up with a bit of an attitude of the " I should be able to get this, or do that, with every guest", there's bound to be some bad experiences.

 

Overall everyone I came into contact with were helpful and trying to smile while under great pressure at times. Some did seem distracted and I was a bit concerned about the lack of focus from some of the people looking after bags at the photoshoots.

 

Maybe I'm a bit more easy going than some and will just go along with whatever's happen to help but certainly the ones I've seen regularly over the years ( even if I don't know the names) seemed to be doing a great job from my pov.

[dawninglight]

The crew rock!!

As usual, the experienced crew were great. Helpful, huggable and damn hard working. I wont name individuals, but there were the same few who were as always outstanding.

The new crew members could be seen to be trying so hard and it is not an easy job, as anyone who has ever crewed any event, not just an SM one will tell you. Some of them may have got a little tired and stressed, but they were fantastic in their efforts and I hope many of the new crew will crew again and not be put off by the negativity they read.

Thank you for all you did for us over the weekend, for solving our problems, for making us smile, and for working so damn hard!

[gillianre]

I have never had any problems with The Crew at any SM event.

 

We had to leave early on the Saturday and the Crew members we spoke to went out of their way to make sure we got our autographs.

 

There are always going to people who think that differently - that's life!

 

Enjoy the day.

[Kuato_Lives]

Yeah I have to agree some of the VT crew members weren't checking the tickets. I still have my Feldman and Thompson tickets from Saturday. Even though I waited for my numbers to be called I was able to join the queue unchallenged on both occasions.

[NBRBH]

I've always found the crew to be the worst part of Showmasters events. All the security are bolshy and pushy, (one even actually pushing my Dad at this event). None of the staff seem to know where anyone or anything is. They're all disinterested and rude.

 

I love the Showmasters events, and will continue to attend, but I'm always aware I'll be fending for myself and avoiding Judge Dredd most of the time.

[hobbitfanatic]

There seemed to be a lot of extremes with crew. Maybe it's some of the new ones. I wouldn't want to blame all new ones.

It often seemed that they a few we're so stressed they could not keep track of things.

It might have been better to put these guys on less stressful jobs.

I found it very unsuitable that there was a lot of people behind the information desk but only one person helping out.

The red shirt person (pit boss) did not know much and when asked the price of Karen Gillan talk ticket told me to go around. As there was a big queue and the price was not listed I did not want to wait just to find out the price for a friend.

I ended up having to shout to one of the people there to find out.

Surely the point of the information desk is that they should know these things and a pit boss more than anyone should know most.

Oh and please do not put really young people on giving things out like talk tickets as many others have said they didn't even know what talk tickets they had. They we're too young and too uninterested to do the job.

I do have to say the pit boss by Karen's queue was very understanding and nice to me. So we're many others but I think it's inportant to give this feedback.

Edited July 11, 2011 by hobbitfanatic

[davidbrookes]

There seemed to be a lot of extremes with crew. Maybe it's some of the new ones. I wouldn't want to blame all new ones.

I'm crewing my second event next weekend so hope I'm not like this! In fact, I'd prefer to be nice to the attendees, would prefer to get nice feedback which would help to be asked again at another event. Bad criticism would just make Showmasters want to ask someone else surely?

[A.prime]

can anyone tell me who was the girl with the glasses who you gave money/vouchers to to get christopher Lloyds tickets on Sunday

[ericsdonor]

All the crew were great and friendly to me this weekend with the exception of a shouty bossy woman leading people or getting them to line up for some sort of cosplay parade who physically pushed me out of the way whilst I was actually trying to move out of her way, I was alittle shocked to be honest cos any other time she would have felt the rough end of my temper, I DO NOT appreciate being manhandled by anyone thanks and especially someone I do not know!!!

 

Big thanks to the lady on photo area A on the sat though, I think the pit boss?, I mentioned my photo clash and she had me to almost the front of the Robert Knepper queue very quickly which meant I could then dash to area C (in heels!!!) to get my other pic, big thanks!!!

[Massive Events]

hi everyone

 

i am going to go into each thread and respond to each one , but please give me a little time as we are still putting the show to bed and getting guests off home

 

ok as to the crew i do feel it is unfair to talk as if all the crew are one , as we had over 200 crew at this years event and i know they worked so hard that we even had one of two faint on us , which is proof of someone going to 110% for the show and the public , so for them to come on here to read this must be hard for them as i know 99.9% did there very best to help the members of the public , i also know that now and again crew brake or fail as they are only human but just because one to two members of the crew have had the odd moment were this might of happened i do not think that they should all be painted by the same brush , as most went well out of there way to help make the event happen .

 

they are all good people and they are just like you and me fans that take time out to help make the show happen .

 

one other important point we are all at the event to help , thats what we are there for , we get nothing out of making people unhappy or not helping them get what they want out of the show , we always say this and its still the same this time , if you have an issues on the day talk to someone about it ,things cannot be fixed after the event and if you come up to a red shirt they will help up and they can help you so please talk to them and they will try to fix the issues you have and also if you get a response from a member of crew that is off hand then telling a pit boss in a red shirt they can go over to the crew person and find out why they re coming over this way and maybe tell them to take a brake as that crew member may need to take a rest , we are all human and things like this happen , but if we do not find out till after the event we cannot help you or the crew person .

 

i for one talked to over 300 people helping them understand how things worked , were guests , what time things started etc , i know all the crew all tried to help as much as they could and with this large amount of fans attending the event this weekend which no one here could of for seen i know they did a amazing job

 

i am going to close this thread as i do feel that most of the 200 crew over the weekend did do an amazing job with such a increase of fans for this years event , i will be talking more in other treads and making a statement soon about the weekend in length soon

 

 

thank you

 

jason

[Queen_Sindel]

Moved here from another topic:

 

I started the 'Crew Member - Some Feedback' thread which has since been locked, unfortunately I think because people were throwing out unfair gross generalisations about crew in general to the point Jason felt the need to clarify that a few bad apples don't spoil the bunch. I was mid-way through writing a reply stating as much before it got locked. To any mods, I'm going to post it here because I agree entirely with Jason and I think my post is balanced, isn't stoking the fire and is quite relevant to the current conversation:

 

 

The crew rock!! [...] I hope many of the new crew will crew again and not be put off by the negativity they read.

Thank you for all you did for us over the weekend, for solving our problems, for making us smile, and for working so damn hard!

 

It seems to me that people tend to be jumping on a new vs. old crew bandwagon here, which I think is

very

unfair to all the crew. I'm quite sure there were very pleasant helpful crew members there this weekend,

both new and old

.

 

I did NOT start this thread by throwing around pointless generalisations, like "new show masters crew are rubbish" or "all the staff are so rude" etc. as frankly I cannot differentiate between who is new or old, and to not be specific is counterproductive.

I have simply said who (as best as I can identify them) said/did what. Trust me, if I had individual names I would definitely give them because

this is NOT an indictment of the entire Showmasters crew team

, who, as I have already said have given me

no problems in the past

. That's why I mentioned Kevin, he was top banana that day.

 

Frankly if a crew member (new or old) does what they are meant to be doing they have NO NEED to be 'put off by the negativity'.

I am certain that everyone acknowledges there are some crew members who put in real effort to provide good service to the punters, and I for one thank them for it.

 

That said, I very much doubt anyone would describe the specific crew members I encountered (Kevin excepted) as people who "solved my problems / made me smile / worked so damn hard."

 

And why is feedback that outlines some legitimate issues automatically branded as 'negativity'

might I ask?

 

These are real problems which can and

do

seriously taint an attendee's opinion of the event, whether you attend again... etc. Like I said before, I thought the behaviour of these crew members was

brand damaging

and Showmasters ought to know about such behaviour, because it certainly doesn't match my crew experiences over the last 5 years. If it results on a wrap on the knuckles for certain people or better training for the next show, isn't that better for

EVERYONE

?

 

Also to answer another question:

"If people have a problem with any of the crew, I don't understand why you wouldn't complain about it at the time so that something can be done about it, and not wait til after when the events over ???"

 

Having worked in retail, I maybe have a slightly tainted opinion, but I find when dealing with the complaints from the general public, they can often get a bit overdramatic, i.e. when things goes wrong, or something they don't like happens it is is always a "travesty" or an "outrage" etc.

I hope that the tone of my original post has not made me look like someone who overreacted to poor service (I tried to keep it more informational than emotional), but the truth is, especially when you are a bit 'hot under the collar' at the actual time, you can be treated with a little scepticism (especially if the person you are complaining to thinks, for example, that refusing to give a damn about a pen colour is no big deal).

 

Consequently, if you are noticeably angry about something you

can

look a nutter. At this point 'colleague solidarity' comes into play. Maybe the person you will be complaining to thinks you are overreacting? Or maybe they have a word with the colleague who I said did something wrong and the crew member under scrutiny gets to deny any wrong doing? Or maybe the person you are complaining to

does

believe you but honestly forgets to act on your feedback because they get so busy?

 

Maybe I am just a cynic but to be honest I trust myself more to deliver the feedback (what I am doing here), I didn't want to 'relive' each fairly in depth situation by explaining it to a third party I had good reason to believe (based on my interaction with crew that day) probably wouldn't have cared.

Can you imagine me bowling up at the end of the day to complain about 5 crew members who's behaviour was under par? No one would believe me - as I scarcely believe it myself!

 

I just rolled with it and carried on, trying not to let it spoil what was otherwise a good weekend. I've now had time to think about the show and I think it was worth started a thread that details the problems I had

in detail

so that Showmasters have a real opportunity to act on the feedback.

 

I didn't need crew members to literally help me when the problems which cropped up as I dealt with them myself: I came away with everything I had intended to get and I wouldn't allow these issues/problems to spoil my weekend even if there were a few bumps along the way. All I have provided is accurate and concise feedback. I appreciate as the show grows there will always be new teething problems as the logistics get harder and harder to manage but feedback is a gift, and posters shouldn't get slammed for simply telling what happened.

 

I want to finish by saying once more that MinkyKnights is bang on. Even with the problems I had this weekend, the situation is NOT black and white. I had a great weekend and enjoyed myself very much indeed. The talk I went to was very entertaing and the guests I saw were a credit to themselves, both a real pleasure to meet. Despite some problems I will still attend future Showmaster events and wish them every success with making the experience grow. I gave certainly had fun at thier events, including this one(!) and thank then profusely for giving me the opportunity to meet some of my idols.