Jump to content

Thoughts about show after our debrief & how to move forward


Recommended Posts

 

People really think it'll be cheaper to fly to America and get autos etc?

 

In the past 10+ years of doing these, US events have never charged MORE than they are right now, and we've always been lucky with our prices in comparison.

 

The mail in service for one of Stan Lee's next appearances is 10 pounds cheaper.

 

I guess if they operate like Showmasters, and charge a handling fee it may actually be 15-20 pounds, and none of the problems featured this weekend.

 

If you delete this post, please admend yours - as its clearly misleading.

 

 

But the cost of an autograph or photo is dependent on a whole host of factors. So yes, it may differ depending on the convention but most prices won't change significantly!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As I said earlier Murph, I assume the exclusive tickets will be limited to a number. So yes, you could pay £50/75/100 for a guest pass and get them for sure, or risk it (a little) and pay the normal over-the-table prices.

 

And we cant always blame SM. I'm sure a lot of agents/managers or even guests up their appearence fees now and again and so SM have to compensate. If the price of gold goes up, so do the prices at the jewelery store.

 

And as always, these events and how much you spend/get are YOUR choice. You dont NEED anything SM offers. It's just nice stuff to have and do. So you afford what you can. Like everything else in life that isnt essential.

It's not anything to do with inflation though. Gold passes went up this year, I paid it no probs. As you say, can't expect something to stay the same price forever. My point is, it shouldn't end up being a con for the rich who can afford this pass and that pass and get ALL the priority. Should be limiting the amount of priority passes again, NOT increasing them. This weekend proved too many passes creates too many problems.

 

A gold pass as it is, is fine to do everything you need, keep it nice and simple. Just don't let every Tom, Dick and Harry have one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is there no possibility of a bigger venue? would seem to solve alot of problems methinks.

 

As long as a bigger venue doesn't mean that it's just filled with more and more stuff, as I've seen happen elsewhere, as this just creates bigger problems.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some people on here are nuts....simply nuts - why argue with each other over something you will not decide upon and have neither the experience nor industry knowledge to say who is right or wrong.

We are all fans and the last thing we should do is turn on each other.

 

FYI - American cons are far - FAR more expensive....I should know I attend at least 5 a year in the states. We are lucky at the prices we get here....very lucky.

 

VIP individual guest passes work....simple as that and they always sell out in the states so clearly there are enough people willing to pay to guarantee the experience they want - as with everything in life / you get what you pay for. No one is entitled to see the guests for free etc or to still pay cheap prices. The only way you control numbers is simply price people out of the market - seems harsh but I think it's at least a way of not giving false hope and people will know where they stand.

I feel for anyone who can't get everything they want in life - but there are plenty of things I can't get and I never ever begrudge people who can.

As far as cons go I have a large budget and would be able to finance more expensive experiences so I am in favour of restricted ticket packages with auto/photo/meet and greet.

Please don't think I'm being a smug fellow here I am just being honest.

Edited by phillycheesesteak
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

This weekend it was pretty much like that for Stan. Don't have a gold pass then you don't stand much, if any chance of meeting him.

 

I turned up at 2pm Friday, queued for about an hour and then walked away with my autograph. No gold pass or anything special. I get that some people couldn't make the Friday and I don't know how many were turned away at 4pm when signing stopped, but with my personal experience it was very easy to get Stan's autograph without a gold pass.

 

There's always been 2 ways to get everything from the show. There's the easier way which costs you a lot more money in the form or priority passes, and the harder way which is cheaper but requires a lot of planning and luck. I used to get gold passes but now I just go to all 3 days and wake up at 5am. The harder option is ultimately going to get even harder as the show gets bigger and more people have passes though. But it's great that SM do put on smaller shows throughout the year for those that want what LFCC used to be like a few years back.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

 

This weekend it was pretty much like that for Stan. Don't have a gold pass then you don't stand much, if any chance of meeting him.

 

I turned up at 2pm Friday, queued for about an hour and then walked away with my autograph. No gold pass or anything special. I get that some people couldn't make the Friday and I don't know how many were turned away at 4pm when signing stopped, but with my personal experience it was very easy to get Stan's autograph without a gold pass.

 

 

But that was only because they added the extra session without any priority. I turned up at 3:30 on friday and was one of the last through, maybe another 20ish behind me. Rest of the weekend was a different story though they did get up to 400 VT on Saturday for Stan but even so, overall you really needed the pass to be sure of getting him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I still don't think people are grasping the concept of the *possible* option of a "VIP style" ticket for certain A-list guests.

 

First off, this hasn't been confirmed to be happening for next year, just a possibility of what may need to be done.

Secondly, it wouldn't cost any more money than what you would already spend with that guest because you'd select what you want. It would be an entry (earlybird or standard), plus photo shoot or autograph or both, depending what you want with that particular guest and you would just pay the combo price and that works as your VQ, just like a gold/silver pass.

 

This is my understanding of it anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is another idea - These special packages for specific A list guest could always be for specific days, so if you got one, you might only be allowed to use it say on a Friday so you knew in advance if you wanted one of these packages you had to come on that set day (which ever it was) which meant everyone else coming the other days didn't have to wait behind special A list package pass holders and other gold pass holders before getting their autos, just the gold pass holders - well something like this, its just part of a suggestion I had in my head

Edited by zebredy
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This was my first ever Comic-Con and while I think some things could have gone better such as all the volunteers and crew being on the same page with what's going on, and the venue was hot, (which I suspected it would be) I had an amazing time. Once the doors opened the queues moved quickly and I was able to see the guests I wanted to over the weekend. I loved this con and can't wait until next Summer for #LFCC2015.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And Green Cat, they DID plan for the walk-ups, just the walk-ups exceeded their predictions by way more than normal. It went up WAY more than they predicted and planned for.

 

Considering the guests they had booked, shouldn't they, as a professional company that has been doing this for years, have been able to predict it? As soon as Stan Lee was announced, my partner and I jumped online to order early birds - with this being his last European signing, we KNEW he would draw loads of people to the event. Also, we knew we'd have to start queuing much earlier than we do normally, so we started our journey to London at 3 am. We've only being going to cons for a year, but even we were able to predict that numbers would be massive! Maybe SM should hire us :king:

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I very rarely post on these threads because I find that they can often get out of hand and degenerate into mud slinging, which then means the whole thread is often closed or deleted, thereby serving no real service.

 

I will also openly admit that I haven't read every post, so this may be a repetition, but my observations were:

 

1) Better liaison with the venue so that information such as "car park full", unless you've pre-booked, can be mentioned to attendees. The car park is always busy, but not to the extent it was this weekend. People then have the chance of travelling earlier to find alternative parking, using alternative methods of transport, or even choosing not to attend at all. Having the issues as soon as you arrive is not a good start, particularly when dealing with the grumpy person on duty.

 

2) More staff outside to control the queues, especially with an event this size. The security people were downright rude and grumpy from what I saw. People often ignored requests because of how they were spoken to, and a number of people queue-jumped because no one was monitoring things. There were also massive delays in getting people inside, which was often as a result of attendees not moving very quickly through the line - this again was because there was no one around to encourage them to move. More than once I thought the queue had been stopped because there was no one in sight, and then eventually the next batch of people sauntered around the corner.

 

3) When I eventually got in - despite having a pre-purchased EB ticket, I had to dash around getting my autos and to the 1 photo shoot I could do. The shoot was moved, and having looked on boards to see where I needed to be, I went and asked people in the queue if they were doing the same shoot as me, to be told no. Where were the stewards because I struggled to find one. When I did, the guy just directed me elsewhere because he clearly didn't know, which in turn ended up being to another steward who matierlised out of the middle of the queue, who then went to check and told me where I needed to actually be. My other photo shoot was missed because of the parking issue as I could only find somewhere for 4 hours - now you could argue that's not SM's fault, but knowing beforehand would have likely changed my plans.

 

4) The few stewards I came across - and it really wasn't many - were quite rude and shouted at people in a rather loud voice. As a person who has attended many events - both SM and other cons - and stewarded my fair share, I know that dealing with people can be very difficult as we are a fickle bunch. But shouting and barking orders does not make for a pleasant experience - on occasion it felt like they were giving back what they had received from attendees which is not the way to be - I personally get irritated when I'm shouted at and will give as good as I get which then exacerbates things. Attendees may have countless questions which may seem pointless and annoying, but if they don't know, who are they going to ask? A steward of course! It was stuffy on Saturday, it was crowded, which is going to make tempers fray just that little bit faster, but if a person chooses to volunteer, then they need to be prepared for all the grief that can go with it - and all the hard work involved, because it's not just about being in the vicinity of the actors.

 

Special packages for bigger guests - brilliant if you can afford it, but not everyone can. How about handing out less VTs on the day and just advising people to keep checking, rather than getting their hopes up that if they have that all-important ticket in their pocket, they'll meet someone? Have pricing tiers, which will work in a similar fashion to a con, but for the bigger guests sell pre-purchased auto tickets - you have the gold tickets, but then allow x nr of general tickets to be sold. If it's the first time a guest has appeared anywhere and they are unknown for how quickly they will sign, then err on the side of caution as more tickets can be bought at the event. Don't cram loads of stuff in for the guests to do and then find they are too tired - despite what Stan and/or his people say beforehand, realistically the schedule that was up for him would knacker out the fittest person.

 

Personally I've never liked the fact that you take the time to buy an EB and then on the day 100-200 people (or more) dash in first because they buy the tickets on the door. How about gold in first, EB bought and then after a set period of time, open up to EB buy on the door, following finally by standard entry. You at least feel as though it was worth buying your ticket beforehand if you get in early. More doors could then be opened, because from what I saw there were only 2, and they both weren't used because you only had 1 steward standing there and people instinctively headed for him.

 

Having said that, thanks to a couple of friends and a very helpful steward - literally 1... - I did get all of my autos within my time frame, but I missed out on my pm photo shoot. Many of the stewards need to take a deep breath and not shout at people, but talk to them instead. More stewards and/or making those you have more visible and not having them hiding out of the way - I got asked multiple times where I got my VTs from and had to point to the steward who was not in the most obvious place and was often oblivious to the fact people were looking for them because they were chatting amongst themselves. Have more runners to allow better communication when photo shoots are moved and to keep stewards updated on changes.

 

Don't over complicate things with changes that are made - often the simplest really are the best and most effective, and often cost less as well!

 

I recognise many people were very happy - and that's great, but for those of us who weren't, the issues mentioned need to be addressed somehow. Not all of them fall on SMs shoulders, but there are still things which can be done to help attendees out.

 

Sorry for the lengthy rant.

 

Elaine

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

We are also looking at exclusive ticket packages for bigger A-list guests, where this would be a dedicated ticket that would guarantee you get to meet this A-list guest and guarantee getting the photo op and signing all in the same ticket. These would be a stand alone ticket with all this included. General admission people would get to buy pre-sold photo ops and autographs at the show (subject to availability) but the people who bought the exclusive packages would get priority first. we want to have these big A list guest at our events, but we do not want people upset when they just turn up and cannot get everything they want, so we feel this maybe the way forward.

 

 

This I believe is what a lot of the big cons in America do. It MAYBE the way forward and at least people who'll buy these packages know that they'll get to meet the guest and not be swallowed up in the rest of the masses. Again it also supports the theory that if people want specific big named guests that they have to pay for them.

Apologies if this point has already been made but just noticed this thread and apart from Jasons first post I've not gone through all 10 pages.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

And Green Cat, they DID plan for the walk-ups, just the walk-ups exceeded their predictions by way more than normal. It went up WAY more than they predicted and planned for.

 

Considering the guests they had booked, shouldn't they, as a professional company that has been doing this for years, have been able to predict it? As soon as Stan Lee was announced, my partner and I jumped online to order early birds - with this being his last European signing, we KNEW he would draw loads of people to the event. Also, we knew we'd have to start queuing much earlier than we do normally, so we started our journey to London at 3 am. We've only being going to cons for a year, but even we were able to predict that numbers would be massive! Maybe SM should hire us :king:

 

 

I was the same as you but I have to admit I didn't think the queue would still be so long come 4pm on the Saturday!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also is there a reason as to why the Summer Galu numbers after getting a VT ticket (Number 447) and her being on 0-25 at 10:30, after waiting 4hrs why did the crew put her back from 0-250 to 0-10 and just stand there telling people to go away as the numbers are starting again from the beginning?

 

Sorry but if people have missed their numbers that's their fault...also the guy who was crewing the clue called Conor was EXTREMELY rude!!

Edited by Jid1993
Link to comment
Share on other sites

For queues outside the venue use different coloured barriers. I would have found it easier if, for example, I knew before I went that Early Bird Saturday tickets queue behind a Red barrier. Pay On the Day tickets queue behind a Blue barrier etc. So theres no need to ask anyone which queue is which, just find the correct colour of barrier and go to the end of it.

 

I think it would also be good if I could buy both Photo Session tickets and Autograph tickets in advance online, months before the day of LFCC, so that I know where I am at. If I buy an Autograph ticket online, and its for a popular guest and it says number 685 or something then I know where I am at and that I may or may not get an autograph.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Jason as a whole I mostly agree as this was my first ever comic con I was very impressed on the preview night got to meet some fantastic guests and people a very good night

 

The queuing system on Saturday was not great their was no clear signs for gold, early,or standard tickets I was with three other people with standard ticket s and got three different people told us three different lines got there at 9:00 did not get told to stand in a correct line or carpark to be called up till 10:45 so was very frustrateing

 

But once in side its was great met all the people I wanted to.the photo shoots were well done and in my opinion went very well.the talks were good the dealers were good as my first ever comic con I had a fantastic time and I think some of your idea for future shows are good

 

Couple of ideas-some information on the raffle would be much appreciated as no staff seem to know much if any thing if this is going to be a permanent feature

 

-Maybe not let paying on the day customers in till all online ticket holders that where there on time in first to gauge capacity

 

Thank you

Link to comment
Share on other sites

People really think it'll be cheaper to fly to America and get autos etc?

 

In the past 10+ years of doing these, US events have never charged MORE than they are right now, and we've always been lucky with our prices in comparison.

It's all relative though, if you pay £200 for a Gold Pass and have a terrible experience, and pay $500 for the equivalent and have a great experience, which is the better deal?

 

Entry is $30 - $45 a day depending when you go, so it's not hugely different.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you Jason for taking the time to get back to us and for clarifying the "Stan Lee" situation. In regards to the over crowding, i and others made comments about not being able to exit the building (i specifically wrote that i was refused to use an emergency exit as i had been trying to exit for ten minutes!)

 

Other comments I made have also not yet had a response such as:

 

Queues for buying tickets for photoshoots: These must be policed more vigourously for fiarness to attendees to stop queue jumping and they need to be quicker as attendees missed out on purchasing photo shoots for that night.

 

Trailerfest: Three trailers on a loop is not a "trailerfest" - were there supposed to be more or was it always just the three?

 

smoking righto outside the front of the building in a non-smoking areas, this is illegal.

 

"kettling" of attendees at photo shoots

 

Guest talks: will attendees actually have th e oppertunity to put questions to the guests and not have your compere hogging the mic?

 

I read your suggestion about exclusive autograph & photograph packages for the A-List Guests and whilst in theory this seems an interesting idea, i would like to think that there would be no real extra cost to the attendee as you may aswell just purchase a Gold/Silver Ticket. If that is the case, then why not make more Gold and Silver tickets available.

 

Looking forward to your response:)

Edited by phil_wilce
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

People really think it'll be cheaper to fly to America and get autos etc?

 

In the past 10+ years of doing these, US events have never charged MORE than they are right now, and we've always been lucky with our prices in comparison.

It's all relative though, if you pay £200 for a Gold Pass and have a terrible experience, and pay $500 for the equivalent and have a great experience, which is the better deal?

 

Entry is $30 - $45 a day depending when you go, so it's not hugely different.

 

The flying's the expensive bit!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...