Post event thoughts of weekend from Showmasters

[lezley1]

Madgick1 I get what you are saying. Though my husband had to take a rucksack because he's disabled he couldn't carry these things in a regular bag. The same thing could be said for trolleys and wheelie bags.

[TheDoctor6]

Hi Jason thanks for your response but I think we will have to agree to disagree on how you interact with your customers on this forum.

 

All Companies that wish to grow & improve have to provide a platform for their customers to be able to provide feedback and for them to be responded to. You choose to do this via a forum and there is nothing wrong with that I certainly don't have any issues with the platform you have chosen.

 

However it is the way you use the forum to respond to customers that will determine whether they go away with a positive or negative experience. You also have to remember that your responses are not just being read by the one customer you respond to but by all your customers that are using and reading the forum.

 

As I said in my previous post you have to take your own emotions out of your responses you can't tell a customer that has had a negative experience that it never happened and as you said in response to my post that some experiences relayed on here are fiction!

 

That's a terrible response to a customers concern you have just ensured they have gone away with two negative experiences - one at the convention & one on this forum. It is highly unlikely they will attend one of your events again because of the way you have responded.

 

You need to be trying to turn a negative experience into a positive experience by showing the customer that you care about them & will take on board their comments and use them to improve future events.

 

You say that is the ethos of your Company but some of your responses are relaying the complete opposite to your customer base.

 

As this is a public forum that response has been read by a lot of your customers who will also take away a negative experience by reading it. We know that one customer definitely did as they felt the need to respond and ask you to be more understanding and professional in your responses.

 

You then tell that customer they just want to argue and to stop wasting your time! Again another terrible response that has now ensured that at least two customers have had a negative experience on this forum.

 

Don't forget that the customers that have a negative experience are the ones that shout the loudest for everyone else to hear. With social media now these customers can reach a lot of people and someone who may have been thinking about attending a Showmasters event changes their mind based on what they have heard from that customer.

 

Before you know it you have a snowball effect and as a result your customer base stops growing and begins shrinking.

 

I have many years of Customer Service experience so I hope you will take on board some of my comments.

 

The bottom line is all customer concerns and issues are real and regardless of your own views you have to take that out of your responses and put yourself in the shoes of the customer only when you do that will you turn a customers negative experience into a positive experience.

 

Good luck with your future events.

[DavidB]

As I already politely suggested on another page - PLEASE can we not get at people for either negative OR positive posts please. I've had to hide a few comments that are quite frankly rude and going to cause arguments. Whether you think people are being 'petty' or otherwise, it doesn't matter. If they weren't happy with their experiences, they are more than welcome to come on here and air that in a polite manner. Calling them moaners isn't going to help at all.

 

There is no problem at all with people giving their feedback in a reasonable manner. Please do not criticise people for doing so.

[Wolfie138]

Ask people to be a bit more considerate about their bloody rucksacks! You could have hidden a child in some of the oversized sacks gleefully swaying on the shoulders of several attendees that quite literally smacked every single person they walked past. As a veteran con-goer I realise people may bring many treasures to get signed (and probably are carrying several litres of water, camera, folder for photos/autos etc) but my 8 year old was clinging to me after repeatedly getting hit in the head by gigantic bags.

In busy areas please take them off and hold them, wear them on your front, or, at least, on both shoulders to stop them swinging about! It's a simple courtesy that could make the busiest areas a bit more bearable.

don't mind the rucksacks but pushchairs should be banned.

[Vhiper]

 

 

I don't understand this hate being generated for the gold pass.

 

The argument is that I have spent £225 on a gold pass and someone else has spent £x on a day/weekend pass. Both people have a chance of getting a VQ ticket for a Diamond guest. So what is the point in spending £225? If you are going to an event just for that one person then yes a gold pass is not for you.

 

I am under the distinct impression that the people who are complaining are those that genuinely collect autographs. A diamond guest is going to be someone that has an aura, someone whose work means a lot to many people. In this case legends relating to BTTF and Aliens. Surely you buy a pass to meet that person because you simply have too. Only the individual can describe what that means to them, regardless they will feel the price tag totally justifiable. My point is the idea is not to buy a diamond pass just because they are a big name guest. The gold pass enables you to meet these people after the priority is given to those who believe its something off their bucket list (so to speak).

 

I was a gold pass holder and did not buy any diamond passes. This was a complete mistake on my part. Honestly what put me off was the comic gold/comic silver/gold passes/silver pass fiasco last year. It was very confusing and I thought the Diamond could have been of the same ilk. How wrong was I and Showmaster's put together an excellent package.

 

When the guests were announced I just had to buy photo shoots with MJF (in delorean) and Sigourney with the power loader. I had to buy the BTTF reunion and Aliens talk tickets. I went straight away to get VQ tickets upon (10 min early) entry and because of my Gold Pass I had autograph's for Christopher Lloyd on the Friday and Sigourney on the Sunday. It was my decision to chance autograph's by using the gold pass as I felt this was less of a priority than the photo shoots. I knew MJF would be out of the question for obvious reasons. It is going to be a life long regret not going to his talk.

 

The gold pass made the above stress free and enjoyable and arguably that can only be achieved with a gold pass. Every other benefit of the gold pass existed throughout the event.

 

I am afraid the price point argument is irrelevant. Im sorry but that's life. When money was tight for me I simply couldn't entertain the idea of even looking at events like this. Bills came first and I simply watched taped BTTF and Aliens instead. Fans save their money for this.

 

And as for rocking up at noon, walking straight to Ms Weaver to get an autograph simply because I have a gold pass, the name and the event is too big for that.

 

You're missing the point autograph wise..You could easily get autographs from the non-diamond pass guests as most of them had open queues, so a gold pass didn't give you any help there and for diamond pass guests you needed a VQ ticket, again no gold pass help there. So the gold pass has become pretty useless for the autograph collectors.

 

For photoshoots the same thing. Yeah, you go in first, but if you buy your photoshoots quick enough, which is now extra easy with Etickets being sold, you'll get batch 1 tickets, who go straight after the golds, so you won't be waiting that much longer either.

 

Goodie bag had a few old trinkets, Chill out room consists of a few tables, chairs, sweets and water and was closed during talks, photoshoot vouchers were handy thanks to the last minute rule change, but autograph vouchers were useless.

 

So no, I didn't think I got value for money on the gold pass this year, unlike last year when that pass actually helped with the biggest guests. So I hope next year improvements will be made to make that pass worth it again.

I am sorry i think you miss the point gold passes will normally get in first that will not change going forward and infant we may even extend the early entry more on this soon but there is great value in that as you can pick up all your VQ tickets and that is priceless

 

If the gold pass dose not work for you and you feel it has no value thats fine but i will remind you we did sell a lot of them the week before the show and that in the end we did sell out of them by the days of the show and the feed back is that they are very useful.

 

people talk about the sweets in the gold's room or how big that is or the goody bag is but that is just titbits the value is getting in to the lines at the back with out having to get a VQ ticket and the diamond pass guests you get access to these guests first so if you wear you can get a VQ ticket , thats the value and i know many of you know this and see is for what it is.

 

jason

Sorry Jason, but maybe you missed where l mentioned most of the queues for smaller guests are open, so gold pass doesn't help there. For the diamond level guests we now need VQ tickets, we didn't need those in 2014 and before. You said it yourself, that is where the value was, so you lowered the value, plain and simple. Yeah, you sold out gold passes. Why? Because they were the only remaining tickets left to buy to get in, not because they were good value, because they sold out last of all available tickets for saturday/sunday.

 

btw, my comments are feedback too and yes, golds are useful, but not as useful as they used to be and l'd love for you to correct that. I'd even pay more for it, but you don't seem open to even consider it, but instead put me down, that's sad, l'm just trying to help.

[madgick1]

Madgick1 I get what you are saying. Though my husband had to take a rucksack because he's disabled he couldn't carry these things in a regular bag. The same thing could be said for trolleys and wheelie bags.

Edited July 25, 2015 by madgick1

[madgick1]

Sorry, my phone went a bit mad and it seems I cannot delete the extra post I made in error. Anyway, everyone has the right to carry their stuff in whatever vessel they choose, just asking people to keep it secure in crowded areas. Whilst I am sure SM were compliant for H&S numbers across the venue as a whole, I don't think they accounted for such a large percentage of attendees being in the same place at the same time (i.e. the first floor). That's when courtesy and an awareness of other people must come into play for attendees so we can all get about safely.

 

(And as for someone saying that they don't think pushchairs should be allowed, the event sells family tickets so that can't happen - it's almost as bad as saying no wheelchairs!)

 

I am sure SM will address the layout issues for next time as it has been raised so many times in the thread.

 

 

Madgick1 I get what you are saying. Though my husband had to take a rucksack because he's disabled he couldn't carry these things in a regular bag. The same thing could be said for trolleys and wheelie bags.

Edited July 25, 2015 by madgick1

[phil_wilce]

Its been a week since the event and from reading the replies from Jason, this is what ive learned:

 

1/ Future events will have 40% extra space. Great...that means SM will sell more tickets and hopefully get more guests. Downside is WAY too many people to make it comfortable.

 

2/ Air Con -So "doors were open and that meant no flow of air". I noticed windows werent open, but you suggest wereaing shorts and t-shirts. Fair enough, i guess now that menas that cosplay is NOT recommended due to the heat in the building!

 

3/ More Diamond Guests - Brilliant, if you buy in advance you will get an autograph. If not, best you forget about it (especially if you are a regular pass attendee) unless you are in the top 100 VQ numbers.

 

4/ Photoshoots - These will not be on the same floor, Jason has already stated this. So this will mean more rushing around various floors, up and down stairs etc. Again, more possibility of clashes and not getting to your photoshoot on time, but that will be the attendee's fault due to what has been repeatedly mentioned on here.

 

5/ Gold Pass - Unless you are getting photoshoots or want VQ ticket guests, this is of no real value now. You will be let in early to get VQ tickets, you can go to front of the photoshoot line and thats about it. Regular guests who are NOT on VQ tickets, no matter how long the line, you got to go to the back of the queue. The "Trinkets" in the goody bag are just a bonus according to the posts!

 

6/ Empire Strikes Back - Havent seen any response to this yet?? Yes we saw some lesser known non-spekaing guests, but certainly nothing that equalled to the hype.

 

7/ Personalisations - Its blatanly obvious that SM want the guests to see as many people as possible (ergo make as much money as possible) therefore going by recent experience, personalisations from larger guests wil lbe a No No in future i think. Instead of queing early for hours in the monring to meet these guests, i think i'll just use the online shop. Means less queing, no need a VQ ticket and I have a better chance of getting something of meaningful value to me and not something i can purchase from the vendors in the hall for a fraction of the price.

 

Did i miss anything else?

[Aflame]

thanks for the messages SM but i still wont be coming next ear unless i can afford a gold pass i only managed to see one gust and that was really late on saturday

[TerraHawk]

6/ Empire Strikes Back - Havent seen any response to this yet?? Yes we saw some lesser known non-spekaing guests, but certainly nothing that equalled to the hype.

 

Was there a lot of hype? I wasn't expecting anything more than we got. It was just another Star Wars reunion, like the several previous.

Edited July 25, 2015 by TerraHawk

[phil_wilce]

 

6/ Empire Strikes Back - Havent seen any response to this yet?? Yes we saw some lesser known non-spekaing guests, but certainly nothing that equalled to the hype.

 

Was there a lot of hype? I wasn't expecting anything more than we got. It was just another Star Wars reunion, like the several previous.

 

 

Yeah, its stated both on the main page and on the forum that Empire Stirkes Back was going to be a big thing this year with guests etc. Hence why i and some others who have posted on here feel let down and disappointed.

[Spacecadet is here]

My Hooves still ache from that Marathon Weekend, I am now typing out my Compensation Claim for some new Hooves... However I would be willing to forget the claim if SM promises to get...

 

James Spader

Mark Hamill

Natalie Portman

 

For next year.....

[Naboo79]

I'm happy that venue space will be expanded by 40%, but if SM then sells 40% more tickets, we are back to square one.

 

I think day and weekend ticket cap should remain at this years level, or be reduced. And DP and GP availability should be reduced significantly.

Edited July 25, 2015 by Naboo79

[lesleynile]

 

 

Ask people to be a bit more considerate about their bloody rucksacks! You could have hidden a child in some of the oversized sacks gleefully swaying on the shoulders of several attendees that quite literally smacked every single person they walked past. As a veteran con-goer I realise people may bring many treasures to get signed (and probably are carrying several litres of water, camera, folder for photos/autos etc) but my 8 year old was clinging to me after repeatedly getting hit in the head by gigantic bags.

In busy areas please take them off and hold them, wear them on your front, or, at least, on both shoulders to stop them swinging about! It's a simple courtesy that could make the busiest areas a bit more bearable.

don't mind the rucksacks but pushchairs should be banned.

Absolutely. My reasoning by this is if a child is small enough to need a pushchair they shouldn't be there. They don't know what's going on, there's far too many people and it's like a 100 degrees. Not a place for children that small. The amount I saw looking hot and fed up.

[andrewrolar]

I may have been guilty on Friday and Sunday as I had two bags with all my belongings (change of clothes for weekend, plus stuff bought and extra jumpers for certain shoots)

 

This was because I travelled straight from home to event on Friday, was able to leave stuff behind where we staying on the Saturday, but then had to cart it all with me again on sunday, as I travelled back home straight after show.

 

Apologies if I hit people.

[Dent_1]

Sigourney Weaver has always been one of my all time top 5 'wishlist guests' and she will be a hard name to beat in my book. Still, despite how much I was looking forward to meeting her (and she did not disappoint at all), I would say this was the least enjoyable SM event I have attended since I started going to them in 2008.

 

In the PRO column:

 

• The queues to get into the venue, were, at last(!) managed so much better on the Saturday after years of it being a shambles. This time there were plenty of security who knew what was going on and knew where people should be queuing. I got there at 7:15 Saturday and got in by 9:15. Can't complain.
• All the guests I met were great to meet. Namely: Sigourney Weaver, Bill Paxton, Michael Gambon, Jonathan Pryce, Neve Campbell, Carrie Henn, Ray Park, Colette Hiller, Trevor Steedman.
• The air conditioning on Level 3 was noticeable. It was nice to have a cool area at a venue for a change.

 

As for the NEGATIVES:

 

• Lack of queue management once made to queue inside the empty hall on Sunday. Once it started to move it was just a wide mass of people meant to squeeze through a tiny bottleneck to get outside again.
• The seemingly random layout. As so many have already said: photoshoots and autograph signings being spread out over so many floors made it extremely challenging to plan your day and not miss things. The event was just too busy to know how long you would need to get from once place to another.
• Poor forward planning with regards the flow of attendees around the venue. I shouldn't have had to post on this forum that I was trapped on Level 3 on Saturday (a thread since deleted) to voice concern about the situation. 30 minutes queuing to get downstairs is a joke. Not being able to use lifts any faster is equally unacceptable. How on earth Showmasters thought one staircase between floors on the Saturday would be acceptable for the amount of people in the venue is beyond me. It genuinely terrifies me to think what sort of panic/stampede may have occurred had a fire alarm gone off on Saturday for example. People were quite literally trapped up there. I have never found myself in such a frustrating and dangerous situation at a Showmasters event before.
• People did not use their diamond tickets on the right days and this was not policed or understood by all staff, making it too difficult for attendees with regular tickets to see the bigger guests. VTs became almost pointless for some guests because any diamond passes were always allowed in first and then the huge amount of gold.
• It felt there were too many gold tickets, I've never seen so many! Like Diamond Passes they were used inconsistently. For some things they joined the back of the queue, but for many things they were prioritised after Diamond. So how is it actually meant to work? I don't know for sure and neither did the crew.
• The whole ticket 'batch' nonsense terminology doesn't mean anything. I had read TooTall's comments about how long batches should take but this was thrown well out the window given how long diamond and gold passes took to get through some shoots. I lost count of the amount of people I saw asking crew for help because they had no idea when they should be going to what shoot. So many people were pestering crew to plan their day for them because it was just too complicated for many to get their head around.
• It seemed as cramped to me on the ground floor and 1st floor as last year. There was not enough space between vendors and photoshoots (areas A and B in particular) and the throughfare of people, which meant certain areas became too congested. Tensa/rope barrers would be a good idea for certain sections.
• Photoshoots looked like a cash cow to me, too much rushing by photographers (I have never needed a reshoot before at any event, but needed 2 at this one), crew were shoving people (not acceptable), and there were too many attendees to get through in some sessions, which leads me to...
• ...not enough signing time at the autograph tables for the bigger names. I would be fascinated to know the split on what is most important to attendees: photoshoots or autographs. Time for an official poll perhaps by Showmasters? I have never heard of so many people going away empty handed in terms of autographs. This has never happened to me at any event but I would be devastated if I'd come such a long way, and spent so much money travelling/hotels/getting in etc. to miss out in the end.
• Lack of personalisations for guests such as MJF and Sigourney Weaver if you have a Diamond Pass - I think a personalisation on your autographs should also be guaranteed. Yes, it may add some seconds to each interaction, but as Jason has said, if these particular fans are "underwriting" the bigger guest's attendance in the first place, I think they deserve this addition.
• No neutral area to just have a seat for a little while, you shouldn't have to sit on the floor to take a break.

 

Ultimately I came to get autos from 9 guests with 5 photoshoots. I got 7 autos and 4 shoots on Saturday and was done by 5:30. On Sunday I got J.Pryce and Neve Campbell autos, my photo with Pryce, went to the SigourneyTalk and got out of there at about 4 because me and my partner had had more than enough. Looking a my Sunday, frankly I'm amazed I got so much done on Saturday. I certainly dropped lucky with guests like Paxton and Gambon to get them when I did (I could go up to Gambon straight away on Saturday as he was a pro and at his desk for 9, and they crewmember had given up on VTs for Paxton at 5pm).

 

Normally I've never attended an event for more than 4 guests so it is usually a pretty relaxed affair, but at LFCC last year I met 8 guests for autos and 2 photoshoots on Sunday ONLY (including autos from mega busy Carrie Fisher and Ian McDiarmid), and at DST3 I met 8 guests with 1 photo in 5hrs on the Friday Preview, finishing at about 5:55! This year was my busiest show ever but I had to plan it like a military operation and I was hard pressed to get a similar amount of stuff done over two days.

 

My partner just sat in the central cafe on the first floor for the majority of the show, because frankly, me franticaly dragging her round from pillar to post would have been little fun for either of us. Normally, she finds it less of a chore to participate in my hobby, but if all she is treated to is human gridlock, and even me who is enjoying the guests is getting sick of the surroundings, what incentive does she have to brace the difficult venue?

I have no idea how people who met guests for autos/shoots in the double-digits managed to get it all done, even with a gold pass. The schedule was just too crammed and guests too spread out to get to.

 

It was by far the most stressful Showmasters event I have ever been to and do not want to go to another like it. Meeting the guests was enjoyable, but the event itself was not. The management and running of the show needs to be smoothed out and streamlined before it gets "even bigger". There is no point trying to run before you can walk. Badly run shows will alienate fans and ultimately guests too (and I saw a fair few of them look unhappily stuck in the crowds trying to get from place to place in time - just like the rest of us!).

Edited July 26, 2015 by Dent_1

[madgick1]

I may have been guilty on Friday and Sunday as I had two bags with all my belongings (change of clothes for weekend, plus stuff bought and extra jumpers for certain shoots)This was because I travelled straight from home to event on Friday, was able to leave stuff behind where we staying on the Saturday, but then had to cart it all with me again on sunday, as I travelled back home straight after show.Apologies if I hit people.[/quote

 

introducing a cloakroom/concierge area might be an idea so that people can leave overnight bags somewhere safe

[vorhees]

I may have been guilty on Friday and Sunday as I had two bags with all my belongings (change of clothes for weekend, plus stuff bought and extra jumpers for certain shoots)This was because I travelled straight from home to event on Friday, was able to leave stuff behind where we staying on the Saturday, but then had to cart it all with me again on sunday, as I travelled back home straight after show.Apologies if I hit people.[/quote

 

introducing a cloakroom/concierge area might be an idea so that people can leave overnight bags somewhere safe

 

There was a cloakroom on the first floor next to photoshoot E, £1 an item was the cost I think

[Littlemisstrouble6179]

There was also a cloak room on the ground floor and level 3 - it was £1 per item as I left a couple of bags on Sunday so I didn't have to carry them around all day and also so I didn't hit people with them.

[Beakyann]

I may have been guilty on Friday and Sunday as I had two bags with all my belongings (change of clothes for weekend, plus stuff bought and extra jumpers for certain shoots)This was because I travelled straight from home to event on Friday, was able to leave stuff behind where we staying on the Saturday, but then had to cart it all with me again on sunday, as I travelled back home straight after show.Apologies if I hit people.[/quote

 

introducing a cloakroom/concierge area might be an idea so that people can leave overnight bags somewhere safe

There was a cloakroom on the first floor next to photoshoot E, £1 an item was the cost I think

 

There was a cloak room on every floor.

[scifisteve]

The Stairs up where ok, next year can we have a Slide or Pole for going down ?

[Litafan83]

If there is going to be a fourth day next year, could we have a confirmation on next years dates ?. So far I hear it's 22nd - 24th july 2016, that's 3 days

[CosmicAvatar]

If there is going to be a fourth day next year, could we have a confirmation on next years dates ?. So far I hear it's 22nd - 24th july 2016, that's 3 days

 

Jason said in the original post to expect the preview night to move to Thursday and Friday to become a whole day, so you're looking at preview night on Thur 21 July, with the main con on Fri 22 - Sun 24 July.

[Mrs Cobblepot]

It was the same with the MJF Delorean shoot. i have been to many cons and understand that we need to be quick, but this shoot was terrible. I paid £95 for a blurred picture and I know this was the case with a lot of people. Before people had a chance to pose the photo had been taken. I had a diamond pass so lucky my other photo came out ok but must admit I'm gutted about this shoot.

 

Agreed. It was far too rushed to the point of ridiculous! Sorry you had one blurred shot but glad to hear your second photo was ok. I was pretty gutted about my photo as I'm crouching in an awkward position as I wasnt ready when they took the photo. Luckily I'm smiling on the pic and its ok in that respect, and MJF spoke to me and said he liked my dress (sorry I keep reiterating this everywhere!) so I'm happy about it. If it weren't for that I probably would be really upset. I sympathise with those that arent happy with their photos.

Edited July 26, 2015 by Mrs Cobblepot

[chubarker]

Just read the post from Jason and for the most part I agree with what was said although I've not gone all the way through the other posts so some of this might be repeated..

 

As far as I could see there was only one set of available stairs going down from level three, which were narrower than those to the other levels which did cause a bottleneck on the Saturday. It took us half an hour to get down from Level 3 to Level 1.

 

Another issue was the positioning of the Q for photoshoot A which went right in front of the access to the lift. I know it was moved last minute, but surely someone would have realised that they were blocking access to the lift.

 

Lastly there was the positioning of the bullet time stand, whilst it was an interesting and facination opportunity, people did tend to stop and linger in the area, which made getting around past difficult.

 

Here are my suggestions for next year.

 

Where there are two sets of stairs, make one set up and the other down, sign it and police it.

 

Virtual tickets for the lifts\where there is only one staircase.

 

Don't have guests on the balcony side of the upper level as I found that you had to dodge around and through these Qs.

 

Clearly defined walkways, especially on the balcony area and around any big exhibits like the bullet time stand, which would keep the flow of people moving.

 

Put guests closer to the photoshoots. I.E. Guest that are signing on Level 3 should have photo shoot on Level 3.

 

Looking forward to next year and heard the rumours about using the extra space, but if the preview day is Thuirsday then I'll see you then.

 

Batch numbers on photoshoots. I'd assume that next year all the photoshoots will be batched, can I suggest that gold are called in batch order as well. (Gold Batch 1, Gold batch 2.... standard batch 1.....)

 

Finally the good things:

 

The diamond passes worked well, although I think people didn't fully understand them at times.

 

One thing I would hope would happen next year is that the times of the signings for the duamond pass guests be publicised, only got my Sigorney signature on the Satuday as I was passing after a photo shoot.

 

Sunday there was a notice on the wall with the times Sigoney was signing, so hopefully this would be continued.

Edited July 26, 2015 by Ian Barker