Event Feedback

[Persephone1]

As a personal preference I will always choose to buy on the day just in case the guest I want to see (and in some cases I have gone to a show for only one person) cancels and I feel there is so point in going. Why should I be penalised for doing this? I would still be buying THE SAME TICKET as pre paids it's just they have already committed and got their ticket. If the tickets were different then I'd agree with you but they are not, all they do is let you into the venue before 11am.

 

The prepay/pay on the day argument is had every time and nothing is going to change.

 

To put the counterargument a lot of people feel (as I do) that those who book early and pay for their entrance ticket in advance are providing the event organisers with money early which they can then channel into arranging/running the event. And that perhaps there should be a very small incentive for doing that. Certainly in the days before conventions charged separately for gold tickets it was common for convention organisers to reward those who had faith in the event and booked early by giving cocktail party entrance to the first 100/150 people who booked. That was their "reward" for supporting the event and providing the organiser with funds to arrange the event rather than waiting to buy tickets at the last minute.

 

I think it would be nice for those who support the event in advance by paying for their early entrance up front to have say an advantage of being let in 10 minutes before the pay on the day queue. But the organisers have repeatedly said they're not going to do that.

 

The pay on the day queue is always much smaller than the pre-pay queue and statistically you can arrive a lot later than people who pre-pay and get into the venue earlier. Theres not really any benefit to pre-paying.

 

 

Everyone is saying it was lovely and roomy, thats because there were not a lot of people! Our stall and all the stalls around us took a lot less than we were expecting over the whole weekend.

 

The event was a bit quieter than expected. I would even say that with Tennant there on Sunday it wasn't as busy as when Karen Gillan was there. I think the heat scuppered it a bit. Certainly on the Saturday I went from planning to spending the whole day there to leaving early lunchtime so I could get some sunbathing time in.

Edited October 3, 2011 by Persephone1

[DavidB]

But why are people who decide to pay on the day, or CAN'T pay in advance, punished for their situation? Are they really "supporting" Showmasters less? I don't think so.

 

Let's be realistic - who is genuinely buying their tickets in advance to "support Showmasters" ..? Is that ever in someone's thought process? Of course not. People buy their tickets in advance because it's good for them. Let's not make it into something it's not. I may sound entirely cynical but why do people need incentives? They're not forced to buy in advance. If they don't want to then don't. It's a really simple situation.

 

I absolutely believe everyone should be treated the same because they're getting the same ticket. It's just a case of some people thinking they're owed something they're not. Fair enough if you want to try and convince SM but don't complain about not getting it after when you were never meant to..

[mulderandmonkeys]

Had no interest in meeting DT so turned up at 9:45 and sailed straight in with my early bird ticket. Met Kitty Swink who was great, I had a NYPD screen capture from her small appearance on the show, she gave me an email address as she is doing some theatre work with a main cast member from the show and said she will make sure I get a signed photo from them. That made my day and you could tell from the Star Trek talk that Kitty and her husband Armin are thoroughly decent nice people. Got a Saw picture signed by Sean Patrick Flanery, he was friendly and posed for a photo. Thankfully I went to the Star Wars talk as Debbie Lee Carrington announced a work offer meant she had to leave early, hearing this I went straight to her desk and got a Total Recall photo signed for my collection. Walked around a bit and went to some more talks ( always interesting even when regarding shows I don't watch ). The sound has a lot to do with the way people talk, you could hear every word Anneke Wills said which is a trademark of many well trained actors. Thoroughly enjoyed the day and already looking forward to the new Bluewatere vent next year.

[Persephone1]

I absolutely believe everyone should be treated the same because they're getting the same ticket. It's just a case of some people thinking they're owed something they're not. Fair enough if you want to try and convince SM but don't complain about not getting it after when you were never meant to..

 

Your response is a tad aggressive in tone considering I wasn't complaining or stating that I was "owed" anything- simply putting the counter argument.

 

FWIW I prepaid but am under no illusion that there is any particular advantage or benefit to doing so.

[ops12]

I have to say i had a great time and the only thing i didn't like was after waiting for hours for my photo there was a possibility that it wouldn't be ready by closing time and that if that happened i would have to pay the £2 and have it sent to me, which luckily didn't end up being the case as it turned up in time.

If your photo isn't back by closing time, you don't have to pay. It's sent to you free of charge.

 

I've had to pay at previous conventions for photos to be sent out, the £2 pays for staff time and postage, I believe, I don't know if that's for one photo or several, though

[bunny-summers]

I have to say i had a great time and the only thing i didn't like was after waiting for hours for my photo there was a possibility that it wouldn't be ready by closing time and that if that happened i would have to pay the £2 and have it sent to me, which luckily didn't end up being the case as it turned up in time.

If your photo isn't back by closing time, you don't have to pay. It's sent to you free of charge.

 

I've had to pay at previous conventions for photos to be sent out, the £2 pays for staff time and postage, I believe, I don't know if that's for one photo or several, though

 

That's strange as it has been previously stated that all photos should be back in time for the end of the show or postage is free as it's not your fault they are not back when the show closes.

[DavidB]

I absolutely believe everyone should be treated the same because they're getting the same ticket. It's just a case of some people thinking they're owed something they're not. Fair enough if you want to try and convince SM but don't complain about not getting it after when you were never meant to..

 

Your response is a tad aggressive in tone considering I wasn't complaining or stating that I was "owed" anything- simply putting the counter argument.

 

FWIW I prepaid but am under no illusion that there is any particular advantage or benefit to doing so.

And that's why I didn't quote anyone specifically. It's a general discussion

[Oregon-snowglobe]

Event Feedback?

 

They got David Tennant. I got to see David Tennant.

 

In my book that make everything about the event perfect.

 

Nothing more to add.

[ejhedgehog]

Is it just me who thinks its a little mean to hide the big guests away in separate rooms?

so for instance unless you paid £35 or £45 to see David you dont even get a peep of him?

Ive been to plenty of cons before but never seen someone signing hidden from view in a boxy little construction of their own, I had a photo taken with him but we couldnt afford my husband and daughter to do the same, luckily we realised we were in the right place at the right time when he would be walking from the photo shoot back to his signing area so they got a glimpse of him but otherwise it would have been like he wasnt there...

 

Photo collection was a nightmare as usual, there must be some way of bringing order to it? I cant think of a suggestion that wont get shot down in flames at this point but some sort of clear signage to tell people what batch they are up too would help, I asked a lady at the DT photo table if all the 2nd batch were out and she said yes, which meant i just had to keep looking.... then i heard someone ask the man half way up the table the same question and he was told no they werent all out,

so if the helpers dont know whats going on how can you expect the attendees to know??

 

Positives - David was beautiful!!!! Ian Mcniece was lovely and seemed over joyed to talk about 84 charing cross road with us (i think we may have been the only ones to mention it) Caitlin was cute and happy to pose for photos, My daughter loved Shirley Henderson & Rusty Goffe and Eve Myles was SO lovely

[DavidB]

Mean? Not really.

 

Consider the fact that many many many people would want to see David Tennant. If this were a venue where everyone could just stand around and stare at him, it would be an organisational and logistical nightmare.

 

We'd end up with crew members having to shout to move people away etc, and then we'd end up with complaints afterwards about mean crew, and all of that.

 

The idea of having the biggest guest in an area of their own lends to a more comfortable and efficient organisation of their queue, and is one of the best ideas that Showmasters have had recently. It worked fantastically for Karen, and this carried on for David.

 

I know it's a shame if some people don't catch a glimpse, but in the end the priority has to be with those that are paying to meet him, and the crew/guest.

[TerraHawk]

Yes the special big guest pen works well. They don't see how long their queue is, and the photo opportunity wasn't unfair. Shame I don't know how to use my camera properly!

 

Besides it was only after I left to go home I realised I never even saw Jennifer or Armin amonst others, and they were in the open!

[spymaster]

I suppose it was a weekend of mostly highs and a few lows for me…

 

The Good:

 

David Tennant. Still can’t believe you got him! Got two great autographs and a fabulous picture. I just wish I’d said more to him, there’s so much you want to say but by the time you open your mouth your 20 seconds (or whatever) are up. I’d love to spend an hour down the pub with him talking about Who!

 

Armin Shimerman and Georgia Moffett. Loved meeting these, really really nice! There is some kind of aura around Georgia, just a lovely, lovely lady! (Tennant, you lucky git!)

 

Eve Myles and Joe Flanagan: two of the most entertaining talks I’ve ever heard!

 

The queues: I thought it worked a lot better this time, including the orderly way the Tennant VTs were given out.

 

Photo desk: bravo for having more staff on hand, wearing gloves, etc. A vast improvement over the smash and grab approach to recent events.

 

The American food stands – what a great idea! ïŠ

 

The SM lady wearing the badges, Talk Area A. I don’t think I’ve seen anybody put so much effort into making everything work in my life. It’s a thankless task running around with that mic, but she was brilliant. Give her a bonus or something!!

 

 

The Bad:

 

The heat. OMG. It was so bad that my brand new Samsung Galaxy SII broke: yup, due to either the heat or condensation caused by shifting temperatures the screen got corrupted. Thankfully it was still under warranty so O2 sent out a replacement, but really, EMS could have ended up costing me another £500!! That definitely needs looking into.

 

Lighting during talks: it was virtually impossible to take good photos during the talks because the whole area was shrouded in darkness.

 

Tennant photo desk: OMG was that carnage or what? 1000 people in 200 degree heat desperately looking for pictures of themselves! Not SM’s fault I guess, but could this be done differently with the bigger guests? For example, separating male and female photos onto separate tables to halve the crowd? Or making it clear which photos belong to which batch of photo ticket numbers?

 

The Sad:

 

Jennifier Lien: what happened there? I felt so bad for her, especially during the Star Trek talk on the Sunday. The other guests did their best to include her but wow, that was so difficult.

Edited October 3, 2011 by spymaster

[ops12]

I believe there was one instance where the Hobbit actors were signing, they were in the open, and people were banging on windows to make them look round.

[DavidB]

Yes, that was many years ago back in the Milton Keynes shopping centre. Bit more difficult then to make it 'enclosed' and probably the first HUGE guests they'd had. We've certainly all learnt a LOT since then!

[Rockstar6662]

Yes, that was many years ago back in the Milton Keynes shopping centre. Bit more difficult then to make it 'enclosed' and probably the first HUGE guests they'd had. We've certainly all learnt a LOT since then!

 

They were kind of enclosed in that you couldn't see them from within the shopping area but the windows behind them hadn't been blocked off so people were banging on them. It was mayhem.

 

I do feel a lot has been learned since then and I think what they've done recently with Karen and David etc, having them in an enclosed area has really worked well and I'm sure makes the guest feel a bit more relaxed as it keeps everything so controlled.

 

Also it's been noticable that they've tried to make sure you aren't herded past the guests like has been the case occasionally in the past. I appreciate the no personalisations thing and no photographs (though it was great being allowed to at least take some of David in the queue and have something) but I think with Karen and David, and indeed with Alex Kingston too, it's also shown you can still allow people a moment to exchange a few words with the guest and still get through a lot of people during the day.

 

Even just the chance to say how much you've enjoyed the show/play or whatever and get some kind of acknowledgement back can really make someones day and both Karen and David were able to do that and for however briefly, you really feel you've met them and not just stood in front of them.

 

This weekend (and LFCC) was good work all round as far as I'm concerned.

[alisonloub]

It would have been mayhem having David out in the open, just from a safety point of view!! I can understand the reasons behind it, my little boy and husband wouldn't have seen him either if we hadn't of been waiting for a photo to come out and he went to the little room!! but they knew and accepted the reasons why.

 

I think Showmasters did a great job with Karen at LFCC and David at the weekend, sure some people didn't get to see him but I think due to the sheer numbers (I can think Alex Kingston at MK earlier in the year, THAT WAS CRAZY!), a 'pen' is the best way forward.

[Farqhuarbeedlebum]

I really tried to enjoy my weekend but two things spoilt it for me: Firstly on Saturday whilst using the Gents some guy (I have other names right now that I wont use here) barged past me which resulted in my iPhone ening up in the toilet! yes my phone no longer works and I am very very angry about it but the guy had dissapeared while I was trying to quickly dry it off hoping it would be ok!

erm why was your iphone out while you were in the toilets? eeewwwwwww

Edited October 3, 2011 by Farqhuarbeedlebum

[alisonloub]

I really tried to enjoy my weekend but two things spoilt it for me: Firstly on Saturday whilst using the Gents some guy (I have other names right now that I wont use here) barged past me which resulted in my iPhone ening up in the toilet! yes my phone no longer works and I am very very angry about it but the guy had dissapeared while I was trying to quickly dry it off hoping it would be ok!

erm why was your iphone out while you were in the toilets? eeewwwwwww

 

Well if it will lighten the mood a bit, my husband took a pee next to Paul Mcgann!

[MinkyKnights]

Well if it will lighten the mood a bit, my husband took a pee next to Paul Mcgann!

I heard that they had to halt McGann's queue for 10 minutes while that was cleaned up.

 

Dirty.

[steveh34uk]

I really tried to enjoy my weekend but two things spoilt it for me: Firstly on Saturday whilst using the Gents some guy (I have other names right now that I wont use here) barged past me which resulted in my iPhone ening up in the toilet! yes my phone no longer works and I am very very angry about it but the guy had dissapeared while I was trying to quickly dry it off hoping it would be ok!

erm why was your iphone out while you were in the toilets? eeewwwwwww

 

It was'nt out it was in a case on my belt but the guy shoved me so hard it flew off my belt

[Farqhuarbeedlebum]

It was'nt out it was in a case on my belt but the guy shoved me so hard it flew off my belt

Ah I see.

[AlusCWM]

EMS - What an event ^^

 

The Good

 

David Tennant - I am still in shock, having met him, and was shaking for minutes after leaving the photoshoot area. Had such a hard time believing I just met MY Doctor. He was super friendly and very polite with everybody. Even when I met him again in the autograph area he said hi, and commented on me coming all the way from Denmark to met him. Big smile, laughing and seemingly having good fun while making sure everybody had a great time. He was everything I expected, and even more :)

 

The Guests - All of them seemed absolutely engaging and wonderful. From I met Sala Baker as the first (who commented on my Lady Gaga iPhone cover during a photo), Evanna Lynch who were an absolute darling, so pretty and welcoming. Arthur Darvill who personalized my autograph, and chatted away with me for a little while.

Masie Williams was a sweetheart, seemed like she really enjoyed the event and was very chatty with people. A real star :)

And obviously all the Star Wars people whom I always find amazing, a happy fun outgoing bunch, they always seem to enjoy themselves, especially Rusty ^^

 

The Crew - Very pro. handeling all the way around from what I saw, really helpful the times I needed some help :) I have not a single finger to put on them. A special thanks go out to the lady sitting and selling photoshoot tickets sunday afternoon around 15ish, she let me pay for my photo to be sent to me there with my card, because I was in a big hurry and out of cash.

 

The venue itself - Very spacy, and not so crowded as the LFCC venue. Although it was not so well looking, it was very open and I never felt I was being squished.

 

The Bad

 

The Heat - Its been mentioned already, and I doubt SM could have done anymore about it, but it was getting bad on the sunday especially, and I am not usually one to start sweating because of heat.

 

The stairs/elevator - Wow, I was kinda shocked at how bad this was to be honest. It was a nightmare to get out and in later after the event had opened.

 

The Talks - Wow, some of them were really bad soundwise, even sitting on the 3rd row things could be troublesome to hear from time to time. It somewhat ruined a little of the experience, however good the 2stages were as far apart as they were.

 

 

A special shout goes to the pair I was chatting with while waiting for my David Tennant autograph. I was soooo worried about not getting in as I had to leave early, and my number would seem to be called around 15 at the earliest. When a guy left the line the lady caught him and got his number as he gave up, and made sure I had it, as it was 200 numbers below mine making sure I had the autograph I came all the way for :) Obviously I gave them my ticket as it was 200 numbers below theirs ^^

[scifisteve]

What is the point of buying earlybird tickets if they do not guarentee you getting in before other people who just turn up on the day?

 

 

There are only 3 types of tickets Gold Pass, Early Bird 9-11, and Standard after 11. Those paying on the day where purchasing the same ticket as the pre-paids just not in advance. I agree with DavidB's comments, besides you did get to use the Escalators where as I a Pay on the day, had to use 3/4 flights of stairs after queueing again to purchase my ticket.

 

As Entry Tickets are not refundable Fans that may only want to meet one guest may not wish to pay up front just in case of a cancellation.

[leefilmer]

Awesome weekend thank you SM!! I rarely comment on here although i have been attending shows for 2 years, but i felt the need to comment this time :)

 

Good Points

 

* The David Tennat organisation was spot on i couldn't fault it! There were crew lining the path to his VQ's (as i was no 25 this helped us find where we were going). Having the two payment desk was a little confusing but was overall ok. The queue management inside was brilliant - and the photo management was a stroke of genious - we all got nice photos without it being intrusive on David.

 

I actually got to to congratulate jason on this as i left David's Auto queue.

 

* The new photoshoot pick ups was fabulous and well organised. And as previously said she there were a few problems with printing but this was down to boots and not SM.

 

* The staff overall were fabulous!! My lovely Ange is always a pleasure The lads manning the DT auto queue were great fun too as well as organised obv

 

* Eve Myles was the absolute highlight for me, soo enthusiastic and generally wonderfull.

 

* The venue was good and well laid out

 

 

Not so good points

 

* The access routes stairs/lifts/escalators - this has been mentioned alot so i will not go into this

 

* One rather rude member of staff who i had to deal with - i will not name this person as i feel this is unfair on a public forum - i realise she had a job to do and deal with quite a few people - but a little smile goes a long way.

 

* I realsie DT was a big pull for the weekend and it did bring in a lot of newbs - but i really was not pleased with the swamping and crowds outside the photoshoot booth as his sessions finished, this was not necessary and could have easily caused a lot of problems (very well handled by SM by the way)

 

* This is not SM's fault - but the venue security were awful sorting the queues in the morning. Sunday - one actually threw his arms up n said sort it yourself - which we did . Also on sun, jason waved the EB queue in and the security actually then stopped the flow coz they didnt know what was going on!

 

* Yes as said it was deffinately hot! but i found at times it was cooler in the venue than standing out in the sun!

 

 

 

Overall it was a febulous weekend thank you SM!! :D

Edited October 3, 2011 by leefilmer

[jimdove]

The heat was far too much

Still no proper queuing for ANYTHING, whats wrong with barriers for queues? ppl line up all over the place creating confusion

 

The photo pickup point for David Tennant was an absolute farce. Surely someone may of thought to either, print AND DISPLAY them out in batches, even if its say 1-200 200-400 500+ etc.. it wouldve helped. Having such a tiny area for over 1000 pictures was asking for trouble. Especially when half the table was empty, idiots still stood around that part of the table, not moving when the staff asked them to move along or go away.

 

This just caused the people who actually were trying to look for their photo an almost iimpossible task since crew were asking people to keep moving, walkin anti-clockwise and GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY if you dont see your photo. amazed how many people just stood there like gormless zombies camped 4 people deep stopping anyone else from looking for their photos. It was clear when the tennant photos started to fill up the table there were going to be LOTS of people unable to get a look. Someone needed to:

 

* SHOUT for EVERYBODY to clear the table, using a crew to walk everybody at least 6ft away from the table, then pick 2 random ppl to start a moving queue around the table, in an anti clockwise direction WITH THE CREW MEMBER ushing folks into the queue. This wouldve been the only logical way of helping things along in this awful situation of a free for all of photos on a tiny area with 500 people all trying to get there at the same time.

 

Surely the camera saves the images in file numbers, and when printed in that order the pics can be put in ROUGHLY the right area such as in batches of 200 and seperated from other batches! I know sometimes more than one shot would be taken and ppls pic may end up in an earlier or later batch but at least it wouldve allowed a majority of people to get their photos much quicker

 

Oh yeh the light is still apalling in EC1

 

Defo never going to an EC1 show again

 

 

Some really good points...however:

 

SM have no say in which order the pictures come back from the printing lab...anyone who has put a large batch of pictures from a holiday (on a memory card) into a printing lab is likely familiar with the fact that the order you get the pictures BACK, rarely corresponds to the order the lab was GIVEN them...

 

As for the photo pick up point...a great idea. In theory. If the public there would not even step back 6ft when asked....how are the crew to enforce this anti clockwise rotation? They certainly cannot get overly forceful, not without causing a riot, or generating a MASSIVE set of complaints. And if being people refused to move when asked...raising the volume of the request is unlikely to yeild better results!

 

As always, with the best plans and systems in the world...if members of the public refuse to cooperate, the plans fall apart. That being said, SM listen to all reasonable complaints and suggestions, as shown by the gloves and slight improvement in Photo distribution set up.

 

All of this being said, pretty much everyone, crew, guest and public was great this weekend. Everyone I met and talked to was really nice, in spite of the heat. Glad to meet everyone I met, and hope to see you all again.

 

:)

 

I

 

the public WOULD step back if asked properly by someone on their side of the table, ive worked with the great unwashed for 18 years and you have to treat them like idiots when they are en-mass.

 

There needed to be a CLEAR QUEUE START SIGN also just like the autograph areas with the crew ushering ppl into. The fact there was no attempt at even splitting the mass of photos over more tables was unbelievable, and as someone already said simply splitting the pictures into males/females wouldve helped and been a start.

 

Still amazed how many crew members were inside that tiny area without any effect other than getting the line moving anti-clockwise for a short while. Id quite confident I couldve got that line moving properly had I had the authority, was waiting for jason to come over at arounf 5.30pm as there were still loads of people trying to get to the desk with no luck, perhaps this is a common and acceptable thing? I dont know other than Im glad my GF managed to grab her picture before the place closed. We will certainly be not getting a photoshoot done again at SM unless something has changed drastically with big name photos, and not to either of the EC venues due to the heat and poor light in ec1. Bluewater should be fun. the MK events ive been to over the years always stand out, perhaps it was the sheer size of them?