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I don't know for certain if this is true, so bear with me and feel free to correct me anytime .. but is there a problem with criticism around here?

 

Whoever is posting their comments here - and I've read a lot on here as I am in a delirious state of jet lag and a cold (ugh!) and can't sleep anyway - has done so in what I concern quite a polite and constructive manner.

 

To me, there is no need to ban someone from posting on here.

 

There is no need for any of that because in cases where people are not happy with the result of something they PAID for, they will want to voice their concern and will want to ask for other people's opinion just to see if they're overacting (!) -

 

Please refrain from banning / blocking people on here just because they have had an experience they call negative. They rightfully expect a reaction and it's not curteous or intelligent to ban them. This will just cause them to spread the word. Trust me ;-)

 

If something negative is indeed associated with Showmasters, Showmasters (or basically Jason) can go ahead and make it right most publically so that it's easy to see that you guys actually care.

 

 

As I don't know if indeed people have been banned, feel free to correct me that you haven't done so or don't intend to.

 

Also please, this is constructive criticism as I do not respect banning just because it's an attempt to cover up things. There are more positive and constructive ways to deal with things that went wrong. As someone with "30 years of experience combined" should be aware of.

 

P.S. Don't sue me.

 

P.P.S. I got a reshoot with Rose because I had my eyes closed and was treated curteously throughout the weekend.

 

P.P.P.S. I would have no issue with volunteering a busy photo ops as I am used to people being demanding ^^

Edited by GoogleKnowsUs
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There are pages worth of criticism on here, and also hidden. People don't get automatically banned if they say something negative. That's not to say people don't get banned - of course they do - but it's not that simple.

 

Unfortunately I have no idea who you're referring to, and I haven't banned anyone myself, therefore I couldn't comment.

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Criticism is a delicate issue here. I agree that many people have been nothing but fair but threads do get removed/hidden although we are told they are still looked at and people have been banned for asking fair questions, and some not so fair admittedly.

 

It would be nice to see some more positive feedback and acknowledgement of some of the issues as when they just disappear people feel they are being ignored and this is not good customer service in my view.

 

But it's Showmasters forum and they can police it how they see fit.

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Jason has come on every year to post some feedback. Please give him a chance to do so. This was the largest show ever, so he may need some extra time for that. As I posted in another topic, a list of the issues that came up most has already been forwarded.

 

As for the bans... most of the time when people go it's trolls. As they often show up with new IDs after the events of course if you've not been around here it will look like a cover up. I totally get that. But there's this one guy who's been haunting the forum for over 10 years now for example. The mods are used to him, we know his way of writing etc. So we usually get him pretty fast if he makes it through. If you haven't been dealing with him for so long of course you might get a totally wrong impression.

Edited by Queen_Sindel
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Of course they can but this will put people off :-(

 

And despite attracting more people with bigger guests and bigger venues, it's really not in any way a form of customer care - you will want to have returning customers because these ones are the foundation of what you're seeking to achieve in the years to come. It's a sad truth that a lot of companies (and yes, Showmasters is a company and yes, they want to earn money which I understand) have forgotten. Loyal customers are far more important than anything else.

 

You see, when you get criticism it's not because people wanna be negative towards you or wanna blame you for everything. Some write when they're still mad or sad about something that happened to them and are overly emotional during the process of expressing their issues. Some wait for the dust to settle and then comment.

 

I think all of us have in common that we WANT to improve the event - together with you.

There have been so many changes from Saturday to Sunday that were clearly (!) based on the feedback from customers, guests and volunteers alike - I just don't see the difference between feedback on the day and feedback on the forum.

 

And regarding photo shoots that cost 85,- or 95,- to go wrong ... That's a lot of money for a fan, especially if they felt they were being rushed. Do not take that too lightly here, because those 85,- or 95,- is what helped you to get the top names to last weekends LFCC.

 

@QS

I know he will and I appreciate it. I just don't want you guys to think that whatever is commented on is just to go like "he ripped us off" or "poorly organised" etc. - there is honest feedback we want to provide you guys with in order to have an even better event next year

Edited by GoogleKnowsUs
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But that won't address individual concerns and issues. The events are getting so big and so frequent It's getting to the point though where SM really need some dedicated people to respond to individuals on a continuous basis. The impression regularly implied tho, as the OP indicates is that criticism is hidden and not welcome. Not saying that's true but it's the impression many take away and knowing people who have been banned for it, I find myself sitting on a precarious edge sometimes and not saying things I'd sometimes like to for fear of the same.

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My experiences here is that both positive and negative posts are accepted, as long as you stay civil and respectful towards each other, SM and the guests. Posts do get hidden sometimes, usually when there is a flood of the same issues, which I actually think is a good thing, it keeps the place readable for everyone...Given tons of positive, but also negative posts here and so far I haven't been banned....yet ;) I do admire SM"s forum though. I don't know of any other organiser having one and actually using it to communicate with their visitors....Some use FB, but they don't post as regularly as SM does here.

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It's a little like some of the topics we had to hide. Feedback is great and welcome. Often enough users are absolutely correct with there having been a problem. But the way it's being put across is simply not acceptable.

 

Like for example when someone starts a what they call "well balanced feedback of the event" with the question "who was the idiot...?" and things go straight down the hill from there then things have to go. We will ask nicely to change the tone of the posts, but if that doesn't happen then eventually the thread and potentially the user will be gone - the topic hidden and the user potentially banned.

 

The dedicated feedback person is one of the things I have mentioned by the way.

 

EDIT: I could have just waited until vhiper finished typing. :lol:

Edited by Queen_Sindel
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But that won't address individual concerns and issues. The events are getting so big and so frequent It's getting to the point though where SM really need some dedicated people to respond to individuals on a continuous basis. The impression regularly implied tho, as the OP indicates is that criticism is hidden and not welcome. Not saying that's true but it's the impression many take away and knowing people who have been banned for it, I find myself sitting on a precarious edge sometimes and not saying things I'd sometimes like to for fear of the same.

Yeah, as I've been banned in another forum from a different organiser I know what you're saying and where you're coming from. All this time just wanting to give honest feedback on a weekend I paid a lot of money for.

 

I had flights, a hotel, I think a total of 14 photo shoots and one autograph to pay. I paid for food, my Oyster card and I was already broke from San Diego comic con ^^ - and even though I try and make the most of things and be super organised, I felt as if there were sooooo many things that would have been better if done in a different way. Some of the things should have been thought about before the event even started, I.e. When setting it up.

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@QS

I know he will and I appreciate it. I just don't want you guys to think that whatever is commented on is just to go like "he ripped us off" or "poorly organised" etc. - there is honest feedback we want to provide you guys with in order to have an even better event next year

 

That is absolutely not the case, you have my word on that.

 

Yeah, as I've been banned in another forum from a different organiser I know what you're saying and where you're coming from. All this time just wanting to give honest feedback on a weekend I paid a lot of money for.

 

if it's the same one I am thinking about only the best get banned from there. So I've been told. ;)

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I feel particularly sad about how differently some things were handled - I understand that you will be rushed into a photo shoot and out of it. I understand that you're dependent on the customer's cooperation during the entire thing - there were some things I witnessed where people got support and i.e. had a photo taken again (me, with rose i.e.) and then there were situations in which they just got a "no" and were shoved on.

 

Why?

 

There was someone that pointed out that the guest looked not to flattering in one of the pictures and asked to retake it as this wasn't fair to the guest as well. I saw the picture, the person was absolutely right. It took a couple of minutes and an annoyed pit boss that finally barked "fine" until this was resolved.

 

Why?

 

And if I had problems with a pit boss, there is no one else I can turn to, is there? The next person above that is Jason - that would have been a little much, would it?

Edited by GoogleKnowsUs
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It's always hard for the mods to comment on something that happened at the event unless by chance we witnessed it. I honestly can't reply to your "why?" questions. It would be unfair on everyone involved if I as a third party so to speak would even try to make a guess now.

 

But it is something that hopefully will also be addressed in Jason's statement. The Pit Bosses always have a large debrief after the show.

 

It's Pit Boss by the way, the term you chosen is something that I personally find a bit offensive if I may say that. The crew is always trying to do their best. I am not saying they succeed all the time. But they're human like you and me and not perfect by any means.

 

If you have problems with a Pit Boss please go to the Organisers Booth. They can and will get you Jason or one of the other Organisers if necessary.

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This is my delirious state, I'll go and edit, jet lag is still hard on me.

 

 

And yes, it might be the one you think it was ;-) and to be fairly honest ... I do not miss it and I do not spent money there :-)

Edited by GoogleKnowsUs
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The weekend was brilliant and for me, the positives FAR outweigh any negatives and those negatives were very minor and not worth the time of day. It was a great job by Showmasters and everyone involved.

I'm sorry but that's complete rubbish. Yes I'm happy with what I came away with but the effort of getting that was stressful and at times horrendous. Access to almost anywhere was abysmal. Queueing around photo areas was woeful, no where near enough space. To me it really felt like they weren't up to running a show of this size and I only got through it being a veteran and knowing how things should work. Having photo areas spread all over the place was ridiculous, even guests couldn't get to shoots on time. Ridiculous situation. The fact that diamond passes missed out on guaranteed Robert Englund autos is disgusting. It must have been known how long the makeup would take. And I know for a fact crew only found out about that by looking on the forum after people went up to them for refunds. That's not fair on anyone.

 

And yes, I don't suppose that will be liked but there needs to be some serious changes made as things get bigger. Other than things get bigger I've seen little organisation change since first one I went to in 2003 and it's becoming not fit for purpose.

Edited by Rockstar6662
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I only have 2005 to compare to when everything was a lot smaller but then I have the immediate comparison to SDCC which I attended a week earlier.

 

I agree, as a con veteran (jeeeeeeeez) I got everything done but it was a real struggle. So much so, I fell sick the second I stepped out of my plane. I even have to get a sick note now -.-

 

@QS

nah, not US, happy German. Just happily attending SDCC for the first time and spending too much money on a nonstop flight, hotel and food ^^

Edited by GoogleKnowsUs
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I replied to a post and it seems my post was deleted/hidden/removed. I wasn't rude in any way just said what my experience was, not sure that deserved to be removed. I understand that criticism needs to be heard & I will be contacting Showmasters directly to provide my customer experience feedback. I have noted though that some of the replies to criticism of the event seem quite defensive but the posters need to remember this is a forum, sometimes people will use this as a place to vent their frustrations, quite often in the heat of the moment. They're not personal attacks, if they are then there is a reason to ban people, but feedback, whether negative or positive has a place here. As the majority of comments seem to be relating to the same issues then surely this should be used as a lessons learned tool to ensure that future events do not generate so many complaints.

Edited by princessjo25
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The weekend was brilliant and for me, the positives FAR outweigh any negatives and those negatives were very minor and not worth the time of day. It was a great job by Showmasters and everyone involved.

 

Mhoa, my experiences slightly differ... Don't get me wrong, I had a fun filled weekend, but unlike last year, it wasn't thanks to SM or their staff...

 

- Goodybag and vouchers were distributed in the gold pass chill out room...Something I only figured out after going straight to the sales desk, thinking, like last year, they would be distributed there, then having a Blue shirt crew member at the sales desk send me to the diamond pass info desk (which was RIGHT next to the bloody chill out room!). Here another blue shirt told me nope, has to be at the sales desk and at the sales desk asking again and only after waiting a while a red shirt told me to head to the gold pass chill out room....After 45 minutes in I finally had my vouchers and goodie bag.... Then I went back to the sales desk (AGAIN!) to use the photoshoot vouchers for shoots on the Sunday.....Only to be told those tickets were not there yet and asked to come back later! *sigh* This was the start of my LFCC adventure....

 

- Got send out of the chill out room on the Sunday, because there was a Talk...Ridiculous, for one I could barely hear anything being said, for two I don't care what was said, I found it actually annoying. I'm there to chill out, not be bothered by unwanted chitchat, for three it was advertised to be available the whole weekend, not that it would be closed at any time and for four: Who's brilliant idea was it to put the chill out room near a talk area in the first place?

 

- Blue shirt crew member was pretty rude at Tom Burke's line to my wife, refusing her entry into the autograph line until my wife showed her gold pass (fine, I can live with that), but then only grudging allowing her to join the queue while commenting she would rather have refused her, gold pass or not.

 

- Photoshoot area's where obviously placed in too crowded area's. queue's of people waiting for a shoot were blocking the flow of traffic. Super Stage area for example was way too big for the few talks organised there. It was probably kept empty to make sure people don't listen in on paid for talks, but lots of space could have been used more effectively.

 

- I'll not even start on the staircase/elevator queue's that were longer then the autograph queues....

 

As far as the crew goes, my compliments to the red shirts, they were very helpful overall. The blue shirts way less so. For some of them I wonder why they volunteered to crew in the beginning, not studying the rules for the event they crew for, not knowing the floor plan and sometimes being plain rude to those they volunteered to help, us the fans. Compliments though for the blue shirts at the photo session queue's, especially at A, C and D. Difficult crowds but pretty well managed.

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There was a thread started on here by someone who had a Game of Thrones character as their profile picture (I know that hardly narrows it down), I wrote a long(ish) piece on that thread about my weekend and I presented my disappointments and frustrations in a calm way with no ranting or melodrama.

 

The thread itself vanished entirely the day after but I did some other posts on there before it went by people who flew off the handle. I hope my comments did not contribute to that thread being deleted.

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I disagree that nothing changes. SM is trying new stuff all the time. Some of it has worked; instant photoshoot printouts came as a result of feedback and have been wonderful. E-ticketing has been a major improvement from my perspective (no more early shop closing!) and once we've switched 100% to e-tickets for next year, the priority confusion between old-style tickets and those bought on the day will have gone. However, I don't disagree that some parts still needs lots of work.

 

SM's biggest problem is that the LFCC is still expanding faster than it can handle at the moment, even after implementing some of the changes discussed last year. We've got a new and larger venue; assuming we can use all of it in 2016, SM caps entry at a reasonable level and keeps tighter controls on entry, the crowds will get better (it's definitely better than Saturday last year - I will never forget how squishy THAT was), and there have been some great suggestions made by attendees. My previous feedback was in a post that was hidden, unfortunately, and I don't have the energy to summarize it all again, but I'm sure SM will look through the constructive bits we all made and take them on board.

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As we are sharing our experiences have to stick up for blue shirts. One guy at the last sigourney shoot Sunday was very helpful about getting my reshoot. He was bald with glasses. Told me to come back at the shoot and it would be sorted and it was. The other blue shirts and red shirt there were helpful too.

 

The blue shirt taking your money at the bill Paxton auto table Saturday was incredible helpful. As was the blue shirts at the start of the Hayley atwell auto who helped us get back in line after she didn't turn up before her shoot.

 

Finally most crew I saw were friendly and helpful including I believe her name is tamar who was a bit bemused by my question but friendly all the same lol.

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I have seen some very negative posts, and as someone who comes on here to read posts etc, I don't want to read them, so I'm quite glad when a post disappears.

 

I think people lose sight of the fact that Showmasters/Jason does these events for us film fans and the fact that he is a fan himself, this forum has been set up for continuous improvement of the cons, not for slating the cons or the guests. Constructive criticism or room for improvement posts don't get removed (from what I have seen) unless it runs its course and is a repeated post. I want these cons to continue and if I have an issue I voice my opinion, I don't come on here to slate because I can't imagine the work that goes on behind the scenes, no one does it better than Showmasters. So it confuses me why people come on here with negative comments, a con is what you make it, it's a joint effort between us and Showmasters, so being negative won't help, it's up to us to feedback improvements and make it better every year.

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