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And please explain how they can stop you from Joining a que if your VQ number is called (apart from when the que is to long)?

Simple, you don't call any VQ numbers if there are lots of DP people already in the queue. That means no GP or standard entry people get autographs until DP's have gotten the autograph they've already paid for.

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If people just check the signs in the Olypmia , you should see all toilet signs I saw . No problem at all finding them . And the food was very easy to find to in there .

 

And Jason , the Olympia was much better than Earls court last year . Last summer was my first visit to you , and I was a little afraid to come back this year because it was so crowded last summer with Stan Lee , and now you had so many super stars attending . But this year it felt more organized and more space .exept photo booth F haha

 

Looking forward to come back next summer again ! Book Bryan Cranston now Jason

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Please please please address the issue with pit bosses physically manhandling people into photoshoots, no attendee should ever have to have someones hands placed on them unless they're doing wrong. The MJF shoot on Sunday was one of the worst I've encountered in 13 years of attending events.

Thank you

i am sorry i was there no one was manhadling anyone all they did was have there had behind you and moved it to tall you when it was your time to move forward , the shoot was a long distance from the photographer and it was hard to her the photographer say next like in other shoots , i know it might have seemed odd but it was just a way to let the person know you are good to move forward , hundreds of people went through this shoot i was there over seeing it and directing people just out from he shoot and i only saw happy people that did not feel in any way violated , i do think you are over reacting on this on one is there to upset or push or do something wrong with anyone , we just wanted it to go right for everyone and that has to included MJF who had an amassing time and loved being apart of the event even though he found it very hard work and took a lot out of him , but he would not have changed it for the world as he did really enjoy meeting so many people that had so much love and energy , and he told that to me himself.

 

Jason

 

 

You cannot tell people they're over-reacting about how being touched/shoved/treated by crew members, you can't dictate their experience. You've been doing this for years, as you keep saying, so you must be aware that touching people can lead to adverse problems, such as panic attacks, falling over etc. please address this problem professionally. No one questioned whether MJF was happy with the event, that's an unnecessary addition to your reply.

 

 

 

Alice i think you seem to be looking for a argument ? i am not i a, telling you the truth and thats all , for the shoots where the photographer is a long way from the person going next a tap on the shoulder or a light touch on the back is not unusual also can i point out that EVERY person will have seen this happen to the person infant of them so EVERYONE will know what to expect.

 

How else are we to be affective and efficient in letting you know you are ready to go, these please are noisy and if the camera is set up a bit a way the photographer cannot shout all day or make it work properly , there is a big difference between a list tap or light contact then a shove and no one shuved anyone i was there.

 

now lets not make this into something it was not that is a wast of everyones time , i am on here talking to you all so you get the answers you need and so you understand a little more about what and why things happened and what we plan to do in the future , we do this because we care and we care that you get what you want , constructive criticism is great intel is also great arguing and trying to make something into something is was not is not helpful or good for anyone so lets move on.

 

Jason

 

 

Not looking for an argument, just upset to see someone making a valid complaint about a situation they experienced and being told they're over-reacting. I appreciate you were there but you cannot know that each person was lightly tapped vs. shoved, and like I said touching can be an issue for someone no matter how lightly the crew member does it! I just want people's complaints to be taken seriously and not be dismissed.

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Please please please address the issue with pit bosses physically manhandling people into photoshoots, no attendee should ever have to have someones hands placed on them unless they're doing wrong. The MJF shoot on Sunday was one of the worst I've encountered in 13 years of attending events.

Thank you

i am sorry i was there no one was manhadling anyone all they did was have there had behind you and moved it to tall you when it was your time to move forward , the shoot was a long distance from the photographer and it was hard to her the photographer say next like in other shoots , i know it might have seemed odd but it was just a way to let the person know you are good to move forward , hundreds of people went through this shoot i was there over seeing it and directing people just out from he shoot and i only saw happy people that did not feel in any way violated , i do think you are over reacting on this on one is there to upset or push or do something wrong with anyone , we just wanted it to go right for everyone and that has to included MJF who had an amassing time and loved being apart of the event even though he found it very hard work and took a lot out of him , but he would not have changed it for the world as he did really enjoy meeting so many people that had so much love and energy , and he told that to me himself.

 

Jason

You cannot tell people they're over-reacting about how being touched/shoved/treated by crew members, you can't dictate their experience. You've been doing this for years, as you keep saying, so you must be aware that touching people can lead to adverse problems, such as panic attacks, falling over etc. please address this problem professionally. No one questioned whether MJF was happy with the event, that's an unnecessary addition to your reply.

Nail on head. No need to comment on MJF experience as that is completely irrelevant to the post and shined away from a genuine concern from one of your customers.

 

 

Ericsdonor can you show me where i "shined away" from anything i am sorry i think i responded to every point they talked about , and i am sorry i stand by my statement 100% nothing i saw the total time i was there which was all the time the car and MJF shoot took please was wrong in any way i am sorry you are making coming out of nothing and its these conversations that waste everyones time on here , real issues and be fix by talking trying to make something that is really nothing into something it is not really is a wast of everyones time when you have the chance to talk to someone that can make a difference or change something going forward , so maybe your time should be spent putting a point over that you know needs to be fixed not soothing that is not real.

 

 

I am sorry but i am not casing my tale on this it did not happen and thats the end i was there.

 

jason

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i am sorry i was there no one was manhadling anyone all they did was have there had behind you and moved it to tall you when it was your time to move forward , the shoot was a long distance from the photographer and it was hard to her the photographer say next like in other shoots , i know it might have seemed odd but it was just a way to let the person know you are good to move forward , hundreds of people went through this shoot i was there over seeing it and directing people just out from he shoot and i only saw happy people that did not feel in any way violated , i do think you are over reacting on this on one is there to upset or push or do something wrong with anyone , we just wanted it to go right for everyone and that has to included MJF who had an amassing time and loved being apart of the event even though he found it very hard work and took a lot out of him , but he would not have changed it for the world as he did really enjoy meeting so many people that had so much love and energy , and he told that to me himself.

 

 

 

Jason

 

 

I'm afraid you're wrong in your assumption that there was no man handling at the event. Yes you were there but not everywhere ;)

 

In the Hayley Attwell photo queue on the Saturday, I was gestured to move next to Hayley for my photo. I duly went to stand next to her but Hayley and the customer ahead of me spoke for a few seconds about the customer's tshirt. Rather than interrupt the moment, I hung back only to be pushed in the back by the crew member in an attempt to make me move forward and hurry up. I stood my ground and then moved when Hayley had finished with the person ahead of me.

 

I appreciate the crew members are under pressure to get the queues moving quickly but in this case pushing me in the back was unwarranted and quite frankly wouldn't be tolerated if someone else tried to push someone out of the way in a crowd or queue.

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Cutting the number of people down by filtering out the real fans, from the I just fancy a day out kinda people. Having weekend passes only maybe?? No single day passes? Say £80 for a whole weekend pass, with no single ticket days, maybe the people who are not "real" fans might think, nah, I'm not gonna pay that to go for all 3 days or on the flip side, won't pay it if they're only thinking of doing 1 or 2 days. Just an idea. May make more space for us dedicated folks.

 

That wouldn't exactly be fair on the 'real' fans who can only make it to one day. They'd then be excluded from the event completely if they didn't want to pay for days that they can't even attend.

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I would like to start by saying that by the looks of all the reports we heard about the Saturday, I am actually quite glad now we were only there on the Sunday :smile:.

 

We had a fantastic day and me and my husband only encountered a couple of things that really should have been planned about better which were..........

 

The fact that everyone who had a "normal" pass for the Back to the Future talk ended up having to go outside could have been easily for seen right from the very start! Showmasters new how many tickets had been sold and how busy it would get. It only takes a bit of forward planning to work out how to organise it best and let everyone know before the event happens.

 

The other thing was some of the autographs queues stopped doing the virtual queue tickets and went to open queuing. I understand this may work in principle, how ever when you have a virtual queue ticket of 87 (which I had for Bill Paxton) and you go away thinking, excellent, I'll come back later, say after lunch and I should be able to walk straight up. To come back and see a massive queue cause it had gone to open queue was very frustrating!!! Either do one or the other, otherwise you are gonna annoy people.

 

Now onto things that I feel may work better in the future......

 

Cutting the number of people down by filtering out the real fans, from the I just fancy a day out kinda people. Having weekend passes only maybe?? No single day passes? Say £80 for a whole weekend pass, with no single ticket days, maybe the people who are not "real" fans might think, nah, I'm not gonna pay that to go for all 3 days or on the flip side, won't pay it if they're only thinking of doing 1 or 2 days. Just an idea. May make more space for us dedicated folks.

 

Also, I do feel the diamond and gold passes need to be ltd more. I understand that people who have these should get a quicker/better service as that's what they pay for (bit like economy vs first class flying). However it does seem to have impacted on the people who have standard tickets getting into photo ops and auto's, cause there are just so many diamonds and golds to get through. Making them less would give everyone a chance.

 

I do also think all the photo's/auto's should be being held in the same space. That way people would know exactly where they have to go. This does not necessarily need to impact the traders either, which having the extra hall will hopefully improve next year. Perhaps Tensa barriers could be introduced, which would make queuing more organised and controlled.

 

These points are not designed to criticize, I only make them, as I along with everyone else would like to see Comic Con get bigger and better with more guests and other such stuff and I believe that input from the fans is a great thing as we are the ones who see most of what goes on and we are also the ones who make it what it is supposed to be..... FUN :smile::smile:

 

Thank you Showmasters for the post and as always we look forward to next year :dance:

 

3 days this time :thumbup:

I agree with the BTTF talk queues, however cutting the day passes to just weekend only to filter out the "I just fancy a day out" people wouldn't be fair, plus as you said, you only went Sunday, so that would mean going forward if you could only make the day, you wouldn't be able to go.

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And please explain how they can stop you from Joining a que if your VQ number is called (apart from when the que is to long)?

Simple, you don't call any VQ numbers if there are lots of DP people already in the queue. That means no GP or standard entry people get autographs until DP's have gotten the autograph they've already paid for.

Sorry you have lost me what has this got to do with the original post I replied to ?

The original post said gold shouldn't go before people with tickets ? I said they should

And isn't that what happened DP first then gold then standard, if they start putting VQ numbers up then DPs have finished or no more are in the que at that time.

you can't hold the que all day waiting for all DPs to turn up for autos

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Jason if you are still there could you please answer a question for me on Refunds....

 

I had quite a few clashes on the photo shoots, at some point it was impossible to go from ground floor to top floor in 5 minutes.. When trying to get a refund the Pit boss was not going to Refund the £2.50 on the single ticket.. I am aware that refunds are only done if the guest cancels, but because of the circumstances there was a long queue for Refunds on missed photo shoots... Many people walked away with just vouchers but wanted money back... I was lucky as I stood my ground and was Refunded... What is your official Policy on this when it's not our fault most of the photo shoots ran late too.... :no:

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If people just check the signs in the Olypmia , you should see all toilet signs I saw . No problem at all finding them . And the food was very easy to find to in there .

 

Inside yes, of course , we're talking about when queuing up outside. No mention was made on here about the availability of any of these facilities so why would I even think to ask? All it needed was a post on here to say this would be happening and just to ask someone on the day. Simple but since having this mention it's clear no-one I know had a clue about it.

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Jason if you are still there could you please answer a question for me on Refunds....

 

I had quite a few clashes on the photo shoots, at some point it was impossible to go from ground floor to top floor in 5 minutes.. When trying to get a refund the Pit boss was not going to Refund the £2.50 on the single ticket.. I am aware that refunds are only done if the guest cancels, but because of the circumstances there was a long queue for Refunds on missed photo shoots... Many people walked away with just vouchers but wanted money back... I was lucky as I stood my ground and was Refunded... What is your official Policy on this when it's not our fault most of the photo shoots ran late too.... :no:

 

Hi there sorry i do not deal with that side of things and i do not want to say one thing and find out its not how it works , Mara is the person that deals with that side of things sorry , i leave that to the people that know that stuff inside out ok , just email her and she will they to help as much as she can ok thanks

 

jason

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I just wanted to say a big thank you to Showmasters and the crew for a great event. As I have mentioned before in one of the many feedback threads on here I feel that many improvements have been made since last year which made LFCC this year a much more enjoyable experience than 2014!

 

With a few tweaks here and there that I am sure will be made next year I think it will be even better especially as all the halls in Olympia will be used.

 

As many others have said it would be great if the photo areas could be closer together as it will make it much easier for people with multiple shoots and I love the idea of a rest area where we can take a seat if we have any down time rather than sitting on the floor. :smile:

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It was my first Comic Con and I was a little bit nervous I was going to feel lost, miss things or experience difficulties, but almost everything went smoothly. Yes, it was busy, yes, it was very hot at times, but this is nothing compared to the blast I had. Many thanks to Darren for his article for beginners and all you guys on the forums, I read a lot, and I discovered I was more prepared than I thought!

 

I had an amazing week-end, I met all the guests I really wanted to see and still got time for some more. The experience with the guests was awesome, I went with low expectations as recommended and all of them were a great surprise! Now it is going to be really hard to go with low expectations :smile:.

 

I like the changes planned for next year, so not much to add.

 

The only thing I would change is the queue system to get in the paid talks. For the Game of thrones one, the staff was great and we got in batch by batch. The BTTF one was chaos, I was batch 10 I was at the back and I don't complain, but I know people had low batches and were at the back as well, not fair. And getting the poster after the talk was madness, I had the impression of being stuck in a zombie horde. People went crazy, there was a lady on a wheelchair and no one was moving to let her out and she was beginning to panic. People were pushing to get posters, taking 3 or 4 (to sell on Ebay, I saw one at 99.99£) and it was so difficult to get out once you got your poster. Also I saw people leaving early due to photoshoots so they didn't get one. I think it would be great to give the poster when going in and scanning the ticket!

Edited by Marilou
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I think there were some problems Friday, but fair play they ironed themselves out. I do think the diamond passes were worth it and glad it shows you the fan demand is there. And I thought the crew worked so hard all weekend and virtually all I met were very helpful.

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The only thing I would say is that I can't get Fridays off (I'm a teacher) so I'm likely to miss out on any guests who can only make that day.

 

I will be attending with my sis and her boyfriend (he's a teacher so won't be able to get Friday off!) I think big guests will always do the Saturday anyway and I doubt many guests will just do Friday only. It's probably just as well I will only be attending 2 days as I don't think I have the physical stamina to cope with more than that!

 

 

If you look at the signing days there were a few this year that only did Friday

 

 

The event is open until 8pm, so time for a visit after work :)

 

 

 

 

--

 

Whilst I agree that the Diamond pass holders are what have made the big names possible, I think it is very important to remember that us non-pass holders are still spending a considerable amount of money at this event and probably end up spending more with the traders, sales desk and autograph tables anyway because we're not rushing here, there and everywhere like the Diamond pass holders have to do, due to what they're entitled to. I agree with the earlier comment that it would be a shame to make this an elitist event.

 

 

This.

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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.

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While complaining on the day is always beneficial for all involved, I can understand that some might not want to complain about pit bosses etc. as they might feel worried about taking it to someone else of the same level of power in case it would make no difference.

 

This is a feedback thread, so we are giving feedback of our experience in the hopes it will be different next time, not so much to erase the past.

 

Please don't dismiss us as liars, you can't have seen everything that happened over the weekend.

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Marilou, the lady in the wheelchair that began to panic was my mother. She really wanted the posters cause she was excited to get them and a really lovely woman handed her three - one for her, one for me and one for my sister. I've been wanting to thank her on the forum. I don't suppose it was you? Or someone you knew?

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I know its not Showmasters fault but I hope the venue has functioning air conditioning next year! After the sweatpit of Earls Court last year I was hoping for a slightly cooler event.

 

Perhaps an arrangement can be made that venue staff must run a thorough check to show this is working and they present it to Showmasters leading up to the event.

 

 

the air con was working 100% all day every day the thing is in the UK the air con is not that good as there is only about two weeks a year they need it so its never that amazing , there are a lot of you at the event we were light clothing and that seems to work , i myself had to get around a lot and walked over 48 miles over the 4 days but heat was not the issue for me so thinking about what you are going to wear is important unless you are in costume then its a labor of love :-)

 

jason

 

 

 

i wore shorts and a vest (only putting a shirt on for the shoots as i got to the guest) i found it a horrible experience heat wise and its ruined my photos, i know im a big guy (many patrons are) but thats not the point, it was far far too hot so if air con cant be done to a decent standard (and i accept it cant at many venues in the uk) then a stricter curb on ticket sales needs to come in, i know thats less revenue and perhaps equally less calibre guests but mate, it was very uncomfortable especially around the shoots which were like zoos. the heat had me sweating and red faced much of the day and has in my opinion ruined most of my shoots, which cost me a fair amount of cash. which has also meant I wont be doing as much at future big shows unless theres some changes.

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Jason / team

 

I know you are fans, and want this to be the biggest and best event in Europe. It's certainly getting that way for biggest, but the "best" label... It feels a little like you keep trying to grow before you've fixed things that didn't work before. It's like my physio overloading me with 20 exercises that I'll forget how to do - instead, she gave me 3 to perfect, and once I get those nailed, she'll add more until I reach the desired number. You KNOW how to grow... maybe stop the growth and concentrate on perfecting the quality, so your name is the watchword for quality. Wouldn't it be nice for someone to hear the name Showmasters and think of it in the same league as Apple for customer service? Instead it feels a little like it's Ryanair - more focus on getting bums on seats and making money, less on the actual enjoyable experience. Maybe that's not how you feel - but whereas we visitors are trying to imagine things from your point of view, please try to see things by walking in our shoes. Step away from your organising hats, and try to imagine attending as a guest.

 

Please know that I say all this because I want you to be the best too. I can't make that clear enough. I'm lucky enough to have attended a lot of your events and had some great guest meetings. But those were pretty much all early events from years ago when things were smaller and manageable. I'm not alone (judging by the comments on here) in feeling I'm less and less likely to attend - even if there are some people it would be nice to meet, the stress of attending just isn't worth it some times.

 

I'd love for future events to cause me the same level of excitement as the ones from 2009-2012. I'd get so excited, but know that things would run smoothly, and I'd have a great time. Now, it's not quite dread, but more something I have to endure for a few quick photoshoots.

 

You really could be the absolute best in Europe - but it needs 100% focus on quality for a while, at the expense of growth. Don't shrink, just stop trying to grow for a while, while you perfect things. Because we know you could be truly outstanding.

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Thank you for your comments; most of them make sense and I look forward at the improvements you promise for the next edition. Errors cannot be undone but can be avoided in the future. :rolleyes:

 

However, I wanted to point out, briefly, something that came up on the "Lack of Flexibility" thread. Since you locked the thread (preventing any possible reply to your message) I post here my reply.

In your message regarding the possibility to have a picture retaken, you state: "if there is something that stands out like blinking or looking away or fuzzy image then we will tear the photo in half and put you back in the line at the front to get a re shoot , thats our policy and its what everyone is trained to do , but it is totally down to you to check the photo your self , you HAVE to look at it and decide if you are happy with it to not , it is not down to the crew to check for you , if the image is fine but you feel you do not like it then this is down to the head of crew to look at it and it is down to them , but you may not get a re shoot "

 

So, I checked the picture myself and ask the man in the red shirt if my son could retake the picture but he refused (twice) stating that it was a good picture. As you can see in the picture below, my son is looking away - so your "trained" staff should have conceded a retake without even having me insisting twice. Now, I ask you if, in your opinion, my son's picture should have been retaken or not.

If you think your crew member was right, I will accept your opinion and will not ask further questions. No grudge. See you at the next convention.

If you think that my son has been denied the right possibility of a retake, I expect some form of compensation, in a form you deem appropriate.

Cheers.

mjf.jpg

wow, i can not believe this was not retaken... I feel sorry for you and your son!

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I know its not Showmasters fault but I hope the venue has functioning air conditioning next year! After the sweatpit of Earls Court last year I was hoping for a slightly cooler event.

 

Perhaps an arrangement can be made that venue staff must run a thorough check to show this is working and they present it to Showmasters leading up to the event.

 

 

the air con was working 100% all day every day the thing is in the UK the air con is not that good as there is only about two weeks a year they need it so its never that amazing , there are a lot of you at the event we were light clothing and that seems to work , i myself had to get around a lot and walked over 48 miles over the 4 days but heat was not the issue for me so thinking about what you are going to wear is important unless you are in costume then its a labor of love :-)

 

jason

 

 

 

i wore shorts and a vest (only putting a shirt on for the shoots as i got to the guest) i found it a horrible experience heat wise and its ruined my photos, i know im a big guy (many patrons are) but thats not the point, it was far far too hot so if air con cant be done to a decent standard (and i accept it cant at many venues in the uk) then a stricter curb on ticket sales needs to come in, i know thats less revenue and perhaps equally less calibre guests but mate, it was very uncomfortable especially around the shoots which were like zoos. the heat had me sweating and red faced much of the day and has in my opinion ruined most of my shoots, which cost me a fair amount of cash. which has also meant I wont be doing as much at future big shows unless theres some changes.

 

 

 

as we have said next year we are taking another 40% more space so things should be nicer for everyone involved thanks for the feed back

 

jason

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