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Thoughts about show after our debrief & how to move forward


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- 'Package deal' tickets for A list guests=good idea (assuming the price is within reason)

- .

And assuming it doesn't undermine the value of the gold passes further and that those will still work, and keep the numbers more limited again. It will get very expensive if you have to buy a special package to meet each "big" guest on top of any other tickets/passes you might need etc. Should be thought about very carefully.
Soon it won't be how much you want to meet a guest, but how deep your pockets are. Sad times if some fans get priced out of getting to meet people they admire.

 

Felt like that for Stan. Given the restricted signing times because of the extended photoshoots etc then unless you had a gold pass you were pretty much out of luck it seemed except for the those who were able to get to the friday early signing.

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America has way more convention centres and they are way bigger. As a country we are just a little behind in this in general, and now it's starting to hurt these events a bit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

how about football stadiums with massive tents as alternatives?

 

Maybe move to outer london and stick it in a field with tents....a showground in essex perhaps?

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Glad to hear Saturday will now be pre-paid only as the sheer volume of people made my Saturday much less fun. I just did all my shoots and autos and sat down in the YALC area during any downtime for a much needed rest instead of socialising or shopping.

I would also suggest looking into e-tickets for buying shoots as the sales queues are often long and slow on Friday and sat. With so many guests being announced last minute or cancellations freeing up space for other people in your budget at this show it would be nice to remove the hassle. I would have loved to switch my Finn Jones shoot for a Gethin & Finn shoot once Gethin was announced but did not want to spend half my day in a sales queue.

This would also stop the problem of tickets not arriving in the post & having to wait hours to talk to someone on the sales desk to resolve it as I saw one couple did on Friday night.

I know this would require buying expensive scanner equipment Etc but I really do feel it would improve customer experience. Plus the sales queue takes up a lot of much needed space

Edited by Jemzamia
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It's interesting how many people are now saying that making Friday a full show-day is necessary. I raised that point some months back when the scale of this show became apparent, but I was argued against - "it would cost too much" etc.

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I had a fantastic time over the weekend, only thing I can see really needing to be looked at is the amount of autographs people get signed, maybe for the bigger guests have a limit in place and tell people that if they want more then if there is time they can come back and try again etc - for Stan Lee that would have allowed more people to get at least one item signed as I did hear some going through getting tones of items signed at once (sorry if this has already been mentioned)...

 

Looking forward to WLFCC and next years LFCC :)

Edited by zebredy
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Jason, thanks for the feedback.

 

I do have a concern about the exclusive packages. Whilst I can see they would work if you have never met the guest before as a long time attender of your events from Collectormania 2 and the very first LFCC I have been fortunate to meet a lot of the great guests before, so for example with Carrie this weekend I snapped up a photoshoot ticket for her as I had not had a good quality photo with her before, but as I already have a whole stack of Carrie's autos obtained at your previous events, I wouldn't be interested in always getting an autograph as well if I have met the guest before.

 

I would also have some concerns about the potential for confusion for so many different types of tickets being available and ensuring that the crew that do a great job don't have too much on their hands. For example, if you have a General Gold Pass and someone has a Carrie Fisher VIP ticket, who gets priority at a photo shoot ? Would this mean there was a need for three separate queues at a photoshoot, Gold, VIPs and standard, whilst the crew did a fabulous job on the queues for the big guests over the weekend, is adding another potential complication really the way to go. It would certainly seem that just having Comic Gold and Silver this weekend alongside General Gold created a fair bit of confusion, throw a whole load of Guest VIP tickets in and I can only see room for more confusion here I am afraid.

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I think the event showed the truth of the fact that Earls Court SHOULD be demolished. It is not a fit venue for so many people. It is only because the majority of the visitors were young/fairly fit that a serious incident did not occur. The toilet queues right next to the cafe area was a case in point. 4 ladies toilets, one not in use, and the queue holding the door open constantly. NOT hygenic. OK, not Showmasters fault, but the place is not good for so many.

There are a lot of older parents and grandparents there taking younger folk and there is NOWHERE TO SIT. I nearly fainted at one point and asked a lady crew member if I could just sit down for a moment on one of the seats in the talk area in comci arena - three quarters were empty at the time -( and I realise I would have had to move when they were letting next talk start) - but I was refused and told there was no where to sit. I told her I was going to faint - no concern whatsoever.

I sat nearby on an empty gaming chair. I was then asked if I had registered to play. I said no, I am ill and will move as soon as someone wanted to play/sit. I was told I could not. I ignored the young man who resumed chatting up a Pikachu.

I will take a folding seat next time

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I'd be more than happy to pay extra for my entry ticket - whether early bird or standard - but only if it meant there was going to be considerably less people on the day.

 

I also like the sound of the package deals for the A list guests! :)

Edited by AxelV
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This post was helpful.

I've done six Eternal Twilight conventions and this was my first LFCC and despite the hecticness of it, I haven't been put off.

I fully agree in regards to no pay on the day tickets for Saturday, I think the tickets are very reasonably priced in order for people to buy them beforehand and am sure a realistic number would be made available in order for fans to get to see what they want to see and be comfortable.

Yes, Earls Court was hot, but it's summer, there was a lot of people, it's bound to happen!

Crew did work very hard and despite things I have read, I did not have any bad experiences with the crew over the weekend!

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It's interesting how many people are now saying that making Friday a full show-day is necessary. I raised that point some months back when the scale of this show became apparent, but I was argued against - "it would cost too much" etc.

 

Oh I'm on that side of the fence still really. For the extra costs of venue time, crew, having to start setting up thursday instead, paying guests for an extra day and anything else you can think of, the amount of attendees who could actually make it all day on a friday (due to work, school or whatever) would seriously hinder SM costs-wise.

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It's interesting how many people are now saying that making Friday a full show-day is necessary. I raised that point some months back when the scale of this show became apparent, but I was argued against - "it would cost too much" etc.

How much did Showmasters lose in turning people away? Cons are only going to get bigger and the capacity needs to adapt to match. Longer shows increase costs but revenue too, festivals have added additional days to cope with demand so it can be done.

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So essentially Jason you have;

 

dismissed pretty much everything that went wrong

blamed the people who turned up at the event rather than your poor policing

made up some random entry times that supposedly everyone got in by - despite the many people stating that isn't true

thought of a new way to make even more money by charging for an exclusive new ticket that guarantees an auto from an A lister

brushed over all the issues that were happening outside the event

repeatedly patted yourself on the back and congratulated yourself for doing an excellent job

 

This is why your events will never improve. In your eyes you can't do any wrong and do not learn from your mistakes.

 

I've emailed an official complaint which I will await a response to in due course.

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I had a fantastic time over the weekend, only thing I can see really needing to be looked at is the amount of autographs people get signed, maybe for the bigger guests have a limit in place and tell people that if they want more then if there is time they can come back and try again etc - for Stan Lee that would have allowed more people to get at least one item signed as I did hear some going through getting tones of items signed at once (sorry if this has already been mentioned)...

 

Looking forward to WLFCC and next years LFCC :)

Yeah I agree. Although I don't go for the autographs myself - hearing of people getting 10+ things signed is shocking and just wastes valuable time for both the guest and other attendees.

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I had a fantastic time over the weekend, only thing I can see really needing to be looked at is the amount of autographs people get signed, maybe for the bigger guests have a limit in place and tell people that if they want more then if there is time they can come back and try again etc - for Stan Lee that would have allowed more people to get at least one item signed as I did hear some going through getting tones of items signed at once (sorry if this has already been mentioned)...

 

Looking forward to WLFCC and next years LFCC :)

Yeah I agree. Although I don't go for the autographs myself - hearing of people getting 10+ things signed is shocking and just wastes valuable time for both the guest and other attendees.

 

I must admit I was surprised to hear that a one item policy hadn't been brought in for Stan on the Saturday based on the number of VQs that had been handed out.

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I like etickets as a way forward. But exchange them for lanyard passes on the door. That negates having to get you hand stamped. (I got stamped on exit and the stamp had no ink left. The volunteer just shrugged at me and said it would be ok...which explains why I then argued for 10 minutes trying to get back in). And allow people (who can) to attend earlier in the day to collect lanyards. Have a collection point nearby from Friday morning so people going can exchange etickets for lanyards in preparation. That way, those people are queuing the next day, which makes it easier on those that need to collect them on the day. It works at SDCC.

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The Big Man, the people just turning up IS the problem though. Because no matter how much SM improve and change things, x amount of hundreds if not thousands of people turning up cant be quantified at all beforehand, so it cant relaly be planned for.

 

Hence the brilliant idea of having saturday or all days being pre-booked only. Then SM know EXACTLY how many people are comign and can plan for said number accordingly.

 

There comes a point where even as a business who wants money, you HAVE to turn people away as you'll just lose more by letting them in and basically destroying the event for everyone inside.

 

 

They do know they made mistakes, but mistakes in a 'we couldnt plan for this many walk-ups' way. And like I said, that is REALLY hard to plan for. As a cinema worker, we've had days where we knew it would be busier (half term, bank holiday) but have been taken by total surprise at the sheer amount of people coming. Because we have no way of knowing at all, we're no psychic.

 

Pre-paid only eliminates that issue forever. They will always know the number and always be able to plan for it.

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It's interesting how many people are now saying that making Friday a full show-day is necessary. I raised that point some months back when the scale of this show became apparent, but I was argued against - "it would cost too much" etc.

 

Oh I'm on that side of the fence still really. For the extra costs of venue time, crew, having to start setting up thursday instead, paying guests for an extra day and anything else you can think of, the amount of attendees who could actually make it all day on a friday (due to work, school or whatever) would seriously hinder SM costs-wise.

The big US cons are already at 4 days, they wouldn't do so if it wasn't financial viable. Turning people with cash to spend is a bad business move.

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I like etickets as a way forward. But exchange them for lanyard passes on the door. That negates having to get you hand stamped. (I got stamped on exit and the stamp had no ink left. The volunteer just shrugged at me and said it would be ok...which explains why I then argued for 10 minutes trying to get back in). And allow people (who can) to attend earlier in the day to collect lanyards. Have a collection point nearby from Friday morning so people going can exchange etickets for lanyards in preparation. That way, those people are queuing the next day, which makes it easier on those that need to collect them on the day. It works at SDCC.

 

The problem with lanyards is that someone can just take it off when they leave and give it to someone else that maybe hasn't paid to get in, there's no way to check.

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Hey all,

 

Well my brother and I travelled the 3 hour journey back and forth on both Saturday & Sunday (had a concert to atttend on Saturday night.) Due to train issues we got to the venue at just before 9am (having bought early bird tickets) and were in by 10am. This is what we were expecting due to the guest line-up and didn't think it was too bad since we were in well before standard entry.

 

We managed to get all autographs needed on the Saturday (plus a few extra by my brother) all except Jenna Coleman but that was due to us having to leave early.

 

Sunday we drove down, getting there at 8.30am ish. Doors opened and we were in by 9.15am. We power walked to get the VT needed (even managing to see Dina Meyer & Robert Knepper without a ticket since it was early) and finished everything we needed to do by 3pm. We even managed to fit in some shopping from the stalls while waiting for our numbers to come up.

 

This was our first LFCC event. After having been to the Cardiff and Milton Keynes shows we thought we would give this a go, and with the guests announced, it was a no brainer. I have to say, both my brother and I had a great weekend and have no reservations with coming back for the Winter show. Yes, it was busy and hot (we made sure we wore shorts on Sunday) but we had so much fun.

 

Thank you to all involved and see you all next time.

 

Take care,

Matty-lad

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I like etickets as a way forward. But exchange them for lanyard passes on the door. That negates having to get you hand stamped. (I got stamped on exit and the stamp had no ink left. The volunteer just shrugged at me and said it would be ok...which explains why I then argued for 10 minutes trying to get back in). And allow people (who can) to attend earlier in the day to collect lanyards. Have a collection point nearby from Friday morning so people going can exchange etickets for lanyards in preparation. That way, those people are queuing the next day, which makes it easier on those that need to collect them on the day. It works at SDCC.

 

THISSSS! Events in the US do registration/ticket collection before the event is a open a lot. Would save a lot of time when the doors actually open. And a lanyard/pass would be great. Have maybe 2/3 hours pre-con on the friday evening for people to pick up passes, and then keep it open all of friday so people can grab saturday/sunday passes too. Then all they have to do at the door is show it and get in.

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