Thoughts about show after our debrief & how to move forward

[LadyDeTemps]

 

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.

 

I prefer wristbands to lanyards...they don't spoil the look of your cosplay so much.

[AxelV]

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.

DEFINITELY. Either lanyard passes or wristbands. Yeah - I was stamped 3 times, only because I asked out of fear I'd get questioned if my stamp completely rubbed off which the first two very nearly did.

[BeatrixKiddo88]

 

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.

 

Maybe sealed wristbands instead then like a gig/festival. Not easy to get off and pass along without it looking like you have. The material ones with a metal clamp are the best, only way to get them off is cutting them off, so no one could pass them along (if attached correctly)

Edited July 15, 2014 by BeatrixKiddo88

[Jemzamia]

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.

 

For e-tickets I wasn't referring to entry at all. I think they're only really needed for photo shoots as the online store could be open for longer leading up to the event or even during the event itself.

 

I do agree though that the handstamps are not ideal though

[Betty]

A couple of points:

 

1. If the venue was full by noon, why were you still allowing people to queue until 3pm? Crew members should've informed those queueing outside they probably wouldn't have a chance of getting in far, far sooner. In this instance, you created the problem of long queues by simply not informing attendees and just looking at your bottom line.

 

2. Those who missed photo shoots due to rescheduling, general lack of information, inability to re-enter the building due to overcrowding - they WILL be getting refunds, right? This has still not been made clear.

 

3. QUEUE SIGNAGE - Despite the same feedback every year there is still no signage for each queue. This is not rocket science and very easy to sort out.

 

4. Did Stan Lee manage to sign the autograph pre-orders? A simple yes or no would suffice.

[Green Cat]

I just don't understand this comment which keeps coming up "well you can't plan for unknown people turning up"

 

Yes you can, it is called forward planning or disaster recovery planning and it is where you plan in advance for the unexpected and it's what every good event planning company should do.

 

You sit and prepare for the unexpected and 99% of the time you don't need these plans but the 1% you do, it can make the difference between a great event and an event leaving people unhappy.

 

You make sure that your team are trained, you make sure that you have clear lines of command and good communication.

 

You have not only plan B, but plan C, D & E ready.

[BeatrixKiddo88]

 

 

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.

 

But they dont have as many costs, and their venues are made for big events, as I said earlier.

 

Their guests are mostly US-based, and so flight/travel prices arnt as much as SM have to pay to get people over here. And also you never know if agents/managment ask for more due to it being overseas work, and therefore taking more time out of a guests busy schedule to attend the event. And we have no idea how much venues cost in the US. It might be way cheaper in comparison to the UK's venues.

 

 

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.

[AxelV]

 

 

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.

 

Maybe sealed wristbands instead then like a gig/festival. Not easy to get off and pass along without it looking like you have. The material ones with a metal clamp are the best, only way to get them off is cutting them off, so no one could pass them along (if attached correctly)

 

Even the reinforced papery ones they use at smaller gigs are good and less expensive than fabric ones- the stuff that sticks them down is hardcore and normally they only come off if you cut them

[farmer]

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.

 

I agree with this post. There seems to be a whole bunch missing.

 

I'm not sure how raising prices is actually going to change anything.

 

Especially when overseling was partly the route of the problem this weekend.

 

A signer can only sign a certain number of autographs a day. With Gold / SILVER / VIP / Comic (or whatever it'll be called), it'll just become an event for big spenders. As there simply won't be any capacity left for the 'general entry' tickets.

 

It will soon be cheaper to fly to America, and go to their events if prices keep increasing at the rate they are.

Edited July 15, 2014 by farmer

[Starbuck17]

 

 

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.

 

I prefer wristbands to lanyards...they don't spoil the look of your cosplay so much.

 

 

Maybe you can have some volunteers coming down the queue checking peoples tickets and giving out wristbands before the event opens. That way there will not be a hold up at the door also you can't just take them off to give to someone else. As seen on the weekend a lot of early-birds are there at least an hour before the event. If it was organised well enough you could have volunteers at the end greeting people, handing out wristbands, answering basic questions, helping with management and hopefully stoping people from thinking about queue jumping.

[kitten101]

Although I'll be attending again, simply because I love comic cons, i still feel not everything has been addressed in this post. Including why a very distressingly titled thread was put up by yourself Jason, which angered more people than the actual problems at comic con did.

 

I feel there is still alot unanswered. Though looking at this thread I feel in the minority.

[LadyDeTemps]

 

 

 

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.

 

Maybe sealed wristbands instead then like a gig/festival. Not easy to get off and pass along without it looking like you have. The material ones with a metal clamp are the best, only way to get them off is cutting them off, so no one could pass them along (if attached correctly)

 

Even the reinforced papery ones they use at smaller gigs are good and less expensive than fabric ones- the stuff that sticks them down is hardcore and normally they only come off if you cut them

 

I keep mine from folk festivals I go to as a souvenir. and yes have to cut them off.

[Kymley]

I too want reassurances that proper Health & Safety procedures are being met, locked escape routes is shocking to hear.

 

If this is true it's illegal - it's one thing to have it shut but anyone should be able to get out of the door not just someone with a key

[mr fagan]

I agree with the big man. Theses shows look like the wheat is being sorted from the chaff as the rich will be well cared for IE Guest A Listers packages and no pay on the day on Saturday. And if Friday becomes a FULL day then that means I for one would have to travel up on the Thursday and stay another night thus bumping

my costs up AGAIN. So if this is way its going then count me OUT. I know I am just one person compared to the thousands that turned up over the whole weekend but surely opinions matter? But seeing as negativity is not allowed on this forum (freedom of speech? HA that's a laugh) then I can expect this post to be removed before I even post it for a change. Why cant people see BOTH SIDES OF THE COIN AND ONLY THE (if any) POSITIVES.?

[Green Cat]

 

 

 

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.

 

But they dont have as many costs, and their venues are made for big events, as I said earlier.

 

Their guests are mostly US-based, and so flight/travel prices arnt as much as SM have to pay to get people over here. And also you never know if agents/managment ask for more due to it being overseas work, and therefore taking more time out of a guests busy schedule to attend the event. And we have no idea how much venues cost in the US. It might be way cheaper in comparison to the UK's venues.

 

 

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.

 

Well then clearly they didn't plan correctly, that's the point of disaster plans, it's for the unexpected.

 

What they should have down is sat down and said

 

How many advance tickets have we sold?

How long will these take to process on the day?

What is our procedure for processing - create flow chart

What problems can we forsee

 

and then you can work out how walk-ups you need to sell or want to sell (or are you suggesting it should just a free for all, stuff them in?)

 

Then work out

 

what is the max number of walk-in we wish to sell?

How long does it take on average to sell each one?

What do we do once these have been sold?

 

Once you break it down into steps, it's easy to plan and make the event work so much better

[GinfromGA]

 

Thanks for the update, Jason.

 

Stopping walk-ins on a Saturday sounds sounds great as, provided the online store tickets are capped at a sensible level, that should keep the hall from becoming too overcrowded as it was that day (I'm prepared for wading through lots of people, but that really was a bit scary at times). However, I hope some thought is being put into the policy re online sales cut-off, though, as it means that people who would come for last-minute guests wouldn't be able to do so (assuming that ticket sales were still at an acceptable level for this to happen). E-tickets would be a solution here - less hassle on the office, less chance of the wrong ticket being sent out, more flexibility for the fans, more sales for SM (and smaller queues at the sales desks!). I know it's a big investment, but I hope it's still an option being considered.

 

Hot and squishy conditions aside, I had a brilliant (if exhausting!) time and am looking forward to the next one.

Hmm, Not sure E-Tickets are the right thing... When you go to a concert doors open around 1830hrs , main show starts around 2100hrs that means staff have time to scan the Bar codes.. Think Saturday.. It would take much longer to get in if each ticket had to be Scanned. It's not the fastest way, not in my book.. Staff on the door collected your Early bird ticket and you were straight in...

 

I've been to several events with barcode tickets, and have not spent any additional time in the queues after the doors open....If you have people trained to use the and people actually have the tickets ready for scanning as they approach the entrance, they can speed up the entry process considerably.

[Salemzorro]

 

 

 

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.

But they dont have as many costs, and their venues are made for big events, as I said earlier.

 

Their guests are mostly US-based, and so flight/travel prices arnt as much as SM have to pay to get people over here. And also you never know if agents/managment ask for more due to it being overseas work, and therefore taking more time out of a guests busy schedule to attend the event. And we have no idea how much venues cost in the US. It might be way cheaper in comparison to the UK's venues.

US guests still have to fly to shows and there seems to be an insatiable demand for cons over here. It would help those who work weekends or who have other commitments at that time or who want to take a day off work to go.

 

The way forward would be to let the market decide and give potential customers more choice.

[BeatrixKiddo88]

Wait, I think people are assuming ALL prices will go up, when Jason only said that they MAY implement a system where the biggest guests (usually 3/4 people) will have an EXTRA ticket option. Basically a mini gold pass for one guest (that includes what you want from them).

 

It wouldnt replace the normal/average prices for those guests, just as the gold pass doesnt. It would just be a 'hey, you REALLY want that guests and all their options? here's a package for you'.

 

And really, they dont have to address the walk-up issue much more than they have. As next year, they may not even have any at all. So it wont be an issue. They've addressed it by saying 'it doesnt work for this event anymore, so we wont do it anymore'. That's solved it for me.

 

 

And yes, US guests still have to fly about for events, but internal flights are WAY cheaper than international ones. And from a few twitter posts I saw today from US friends, some guests only do one/two days, and they are fridays and saturdays.

Edited July 15, 2014 by BeatrixKiddo88

[jkathrynb]

All things considered, I had a really nice time at LFCC. I hadn't planned to do too much (and I wan't there to see Stan Lee - glad he was looked after ok though!), so I was able to fit in everything I wanted. I expected there to be massive crowds, due to the big named guests, but even I was overwhelmed with the sheer number of people inside EC2. I am glad I bought the earlybird entry, for both me and my sister - even though she arrived after 11:00. I had already been into the venue and in order to get her in I just walked to the front of the standard entry queue and presented my stamped arm and her early ticket to get us both in. Also, when I finally wanted to leave I did actually get out of one of the side doors - so they weren't locked, but we were "discouraged" from using them. I was however on the verge of passing out from the heat, so I went through anyway! It would have been great to have had ALL the ladies loo's accessible though - we end up queueing for the ladies on an average day - let alone a massive event!

 

I think the ideas of having at least one day entirely for pre-booked & paid tickets is essential. You can always track the number of sales, and if there are still tickets available then maybe open it up to a limited number of walk-ins... keep people informed on the forum.

 

I also think inside the venue that having one or two walkways away from the merchandise stalls would have eased the traffic getting to the back of the hall - and a one way system just for these "express lanes".

 

My only concerns were regarding the talks in the Super Stage. As was mentioned before, the sound system was inadequate, and depending on where you sat you couldn't hear anything at all. I spent the entire Sherlocked talk (the one I was most looking forward to) lip reading the guys on the big screen. The sound itself was echo-y and garbled. Of course, had I not been moved to a SECOND queue by a volunteer (who wasn't particularly polite about it), despite getting there early, I would have got a MUCH better seat. There were a large number of us who got there early and queued up in a very pleasant manner, but got unfairly shifted around.

 

Also, it was mentioned prior to the event that the paid talks would be seated by ticket number. This did not happen at all, and I only managed to get a half-decent seat in the Game of Thrones talk on Sat pm because I dashed across. I was not going to end up at the back unable to hear anything when I'd paid extra for the ticket.

 

As I said, despite the heat and the crowds, I had a lovely time. David Hewlett and TJ Thyne where the only 2 guys I properly met, but they were both a joy to talk too, and I wouldn't have missed that for the world. Thanks Showmasters.

[DavidB]

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.

[Salemzorro]

I agree with the big man. Theses shows look like the wheat is being sorted from the chaff as the rich will be well cared for IE Guest A Listers packages and no pay on the day on Saturday. And if Friday becomes a FULL day then that means I for one would have to travel up on the Thursday and stay another night thus bumping

my costs up AGAIN. So if this is way its going then count me OUT. I know I am just one person compared to the thousands that turned up over the whole weekend but surely opinions matter? But seeing as negativity is not allowed on this forum (freedom of speech? HA that's a laugh) then I can expect this post to be removed before I even post it for a change. Why cant people see BOTH SIDES OF THE COIN AND ONLY THE (if any) POSITIVES.?

 

You aren't being forced to come a day early though?

[benweblight]

 

 

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.

 

I prefer wristbands to lanyards...they don't spoil the look of your cosplay so much.

 

You don't have to wear the lanyard...just have it somewhere about your person.

[Tattybarber]

I think a survey should be set up, so Jason can see our ideas more easily

[LadyDeTemps]

 

 

 

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.

 

I prefer wristbands to lanyards...they don't spoil the look of your cosplay so much.

 

You don't have to wear the lanyard...just have it somewhere about your person.

 

ok if you have something with pockets

[BeatrixKiddo88]

Salemzorro, I'm with you. These events are all about choice. People in this thread have said it'll make people come a day earlier, making hotel costs ect more than normal.

 

Um...only if you CHOOSE to come a day early. I chose to only do Friday and Saturday of this con. And even then I arrived at 11:30 (with an early bird ticket) and left at 4:30. Because I chose to, and had done everything I needed to.

 

No one made me come 2 days not 1, and no oen made me leave early lol You do these cons based on your want to do them and your personal budget. Nothing else.