'Legally Blonde the Musical – worst theatre customer service...' blog discussion

Maccydu

Lots of newcomers to the site plough straight in to argue with Martin?

I call shenanigans!

(Just realised I've been a member for 6 years!! Blimey!!)

nasus88

I am in no way related to the Savoy, just a regular theatre goer.
Like someone else said, I came across this and thought some of the gripes were unfounded.
I do find it's terrible that the theatre staff don't have authority over sorting some things out, more so for the reason i'm sure you're not the first, and won't be the last person not to be satisfied, yet they're the ones taking the grief for things completely beyond their control. They are doing their job afterall.

basilsauce

...please do not try to say that theatre managers are not doing their jobs properly when you obviously have absolutely no idea what you are talking about - these are very separate issues! Theatre managers have very limited powers when it comes to dealing with things such as leads being off/ticket refunds/exchanges etc - the producers could put Mickey Mouse on instead of Sheridan Smith and there is nothing the theatre managers could do about it!

However...Health and Safety and Fire Safety are things that are taken very seriously by both theatre managers and theatre owning companies so I think it is incredibly naive and short-sighted of you to make those sort of comments - fire officers from the London Fire Brigade can and do make unannounced inspections at any time, and if there is anything that is an issue they could cause serious problems for the theatre, so we always had to be on top of safety issues. The company I worked for also had audits by both an independent Health and Safety Company and by Westminster Council -these happened at least every 6 months and covered the whole of the building, checking everything from fire extinguishers to fire exits, staff training, staff sickness, best before dates on sweets and ice creams, bar hygiene standards etc etc. These are the sorts of things that take up a Theatre Managers time, not the show, unfortunately - risk assessments for slips, trips and falls were an incredibly tedious but very necessary part of my job - so Colinpaul I would say to you that you should spend a month walking round a west end theatre analysing every single step in the building for the possible danger it could pose to a member of the public, and working out how to minimise the risk to the public (as I and numerous other theatre managers have done), and then re-think your comments about health and safety, or the lack of it, in theatres!

oakhouse13

Booking seats - if you know one of your party has back problems always check when booking seats beforehand. That's what I do and at least it means you have asked in advance if seats are suited when a member of your party has a particular need.

Steve_Rich

I agree with Davenjon on both points, and that is exactly what I was trying to say. Everything is very complicated and buried / hidden, and it indeed shouldn't be. That is what my analogy was aimed at demonstrating, and Davenjon's reaction is exactly mine, I have to say.

adamnsu

I think its a shame of how the theatre is being managed. I think Martin has pointed out a basic flaw with the theatre company.

The management seemed to be out of their depth, as it seems that they dont have a proper system in place to handle such genuine situation and abuse consumer rights.

I hope he gets compensated for the theatre's poor customer service!

sarahlouise210

I have given this situation a great deal of thought ! I have gone through in my mind the various scenarios and have come up with the following for where the "blame" arises for the situation.
1.. Mrs Martin booked the tickets a week before a hugely popular show and did not check out their position before she handed over payment- this goes against everything you have ever taught us Martin !
2.. When the seats proved uncomfortable you paid to upgrade ( where oh where did they "find" those better seats in what must have been a sold out performance??) .. not enough time was allowed to actually move to the better seats.
3.. The theatre staff did not advise you that there would not be enough time to move to the better seats ...and THIS I think is your trump card! As a goodwill gesture they should offer replacement seats based on this alone. If they had TOLD you that you would not be allowed in until after the first 2 songs you could have made an informed decision...instead you anger at not seeing Sheridan, having bad seats, and paying extra to move was escalated by the icing on the cake...missing part of the show !
This situation could have happened in any show in any theatre...their bad luck it happened to you !!
If they do offer you replacement tickets...please do check out Theatremonkey before accepting them !

metalgal

My aunt had a recent horrible theatre experience. It was a showband evening that would have "everybody dancing in the aisles" a "fun family night out" My dad had bought her and his other sister ( good living christian) tickets as a Christmas present. They were all excited and decided to make a night of it and went for dinner before hand. What they got was absolutely disgraceful. It wasn't a band but on man on an accordian. Drunk off his face. He could barely stand and in the first half played two songs and talked to the audience about his first erection and about his sex life when he was younger. He was that drunk it didn't even make sense. My aunts were horrified and left in the interval. They complained to the theatre and got a letter of apology and their money back. Since then they refuse to go to any other performances in the theatre as they don't trust them any more.

When you go to the theatre you are paying a good bit of money you want it to be the best experience possible or at least be treated in a nice way by the staff when its not.

jillie1974

i'm surprised there was no notice when booking tickets that sheridan msith was not performing. we went recently to see the Sound of Music and when we were booking the tickets it was stated which dates Connie Fisher was singing and when it was the other girl. this was on ticketmaster and it was nice to know we would be seeing her perform.

Fred.Ed

:jWhen Spamalot was playing in the Palace Theatre we went to see it.
On the morning of the performance my husband had an accident and would have been unable to climb the stairs to our seats (in the gods, I think) so I went to the theatre and exchanged for stalls seats, advising the reason. Although we paid an awful lot more we were happy enough with the decision (it was the start of our summer holiday and we were on our way to Florida via London so were in a very good mood). When we arrived at the theatre for the performance we were directed downstairs!! to the stalls. My hubby didn't want to make a fuss so struggled on, making his pain worse. None of the staff seemed concerned and ignored us. After we struggled to our seats, a while later the hub went to the bathroom (so I thought) but actually went to see the manager and complained.
As soon as the interval started the manager came to us and apologised - he also gave us a full cash refund! I was totally shocked at this generosity and excellent customer service, just wish I could remember his name so that he could have the credit!
Hope you get a happy resolution, Martin.