Paid for ticket but messed around at venue.

drbluebox

I booked a very rare treat for myself for a weekend at a convention where there was photoshoots which you paid for and autograph signings.

I have disability which makes it difficult to stand for too long and when I went to see a guest I was only 3rd in queue at that time (was busy all day otherwise) just as it was my turn I was informed he was going on his lunch and he would be back in a hour and I asked will it be a hour or longer and was told it will be exactly a hour. I ask if I can get a ticket to hold my place or confirm I will be able to get a signature that day as some of the stars were doing (including the ones at next desk) and was informed no.

I come back 15 minutes early and hes not there, and they confirm hes "on the way" I end up waiting a hour more but just miss a paid photo I wanted, but during that hour wait I asked multiple times if I can leave as had photoshoot and come back, and even if I could sit down as I have disabilty (though I didn't mention which one) and was informed should I leave the queue I would lose my spot and at that time there was almost 100 people waiting to see him so it would be lucky if I got a chance to get a signature that day.

I rush down to get the photo done knowing it finished just a few minutes before and despite the star being there and the next session not started and me explaining the reasons I was refused to get a photo or a refund.

I know you could say its my fault but I sent a polite email to the organiser explaining this and how the staff told me and others many times he was on his way but they themselves were unsure of where he was and relied on radio contact and the response from organiser was that the star was there till 6pm (actually he left early) so I could of come back later and it was my own choice to stay in queue and staff would of been happy to save my space if I told them I had a paid photo to get to (which is untrue) and thus as per their rules no refund.

So what to do now? Swallow the loss of money? Or would it be wrong to do a chargeback? Or something else?

Fosterdog

I'm assuming this was a comicon type event from your username and description of the setup. Have you ever been to one before?

I've been a few times and the type of queues you describe and the long waits particularly for the more popular people are completely normal. I was devastated at the length of the line to meet Robert Englund a few years ago and chose to not bother as I would have spent my whole day waiting and missed out on other things I wanted to see and do that day. A friend of mine was there (we didn't go together) and chose to wait to see him and missed out on loads of other things.

I'd also be surprised if any staff would have had time to hold your place as they are constantly running around to keep things organised and running smoothly. If your disability is bad enough you should have contacted them ahead of the event to let them know and find out what they could do to help, if standing for too long is the problem you could take your own lightweight camping type chair, I've seen plenty of them used at these events.

They also tend to work in the way that the individual person sets the fee for the photos and autographs and that they are the ones paid rather than the event organisers who only charge for the entry tickets. I can't see you being entitled to the money back for the photo as you overbooked yourself for the day and missed your slot, if you did eventually get your autograph you also wouldn't be entitled to that refund, if you didn't then they oversold for that and you should get a refund.

It sounds like this "star" is a bit of a jerk, I've heard that some are so unprofessional at these events and don't care that their fans are what has help make them famous and helps keep them famous and without their fans they would be nothing. Others no matter how exhausted and no matter how many back to back events they have done they have a fresh smile for every fan.

bris

After taking my son to Comic con in may this year I seen for the first time how those signings work. It's organised chaos there is no way the staff could hold your place.


The stars were there at set times, if you didn't get to the front of the line they just got up and left, not their fault as the queues were huge so they had to go at some point. One thing I did note though was that everyone who was in the queue who paid got their signing before they left for the day. So I can only assume you weren't in the queue when it was time for the star to go home.


The busiest signer at comic con was Warwick Davis, his line was huge but he was still there signing until the last person.

fleshandbone

Warwick Davis does my head in, he is so annoying, get him off the tele!