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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2019 18:27:14 GMT
Yes, before she had the chance to get drunk and abusive. As soon as the theatre know that someone isn't going to be on, they should be informing people at the box office or just buy putting up those posters. That's fine too. But giving people that option is far better. She probably would have been happier with a refund or she might have been able to come further along in the run. But telling people they have to pay up and shut up is awful. "Pay up and shut up" sounds inaccurate because from my personal experience Gielgud staff have been nothing but accommodating, I feel this lady must've been given the option to be refunded if she was already that upset and making a scene before the show started, but she chose to go in and sit through the entire show. If she didn't properly check the cast board or the notices up in the foyer before going in, then got surprised it wasn't Alfie, well... I have no sympathies. The moment you hand over your ticket and step through into the auditorium, all accountability is yours. I am sure that the Gielgud staff that were on that day were doing their job just fine. But its got to come from the people higher up. We don't know if this mystery woman was given the option of a refund or exchange, I very highly doubt it. We don't know if she made a scene before the show started, do we? Companies really must start putting the customer first. She genuinely may not have seen any notices. There's so much a theatre could be doing; emails, tweets, facebook posts, announcements, even telling patrons as they check their tickets. But they won't. Why? Money and they can't be bothered. They don't want to lost out any profit that might line their pockets. Most theatre don't have cast boards these days, so that's unreliable. If they do, they probably aren't correct. I hope you are never disappointed one day when you want to see your favourite star and they go off ill. This woman is only human. I also partly blame the theatre for selling her too much alcohol. I feel sorry for her and I hope she got a refund, even after her outburst. Something has got to change. - if only I could open a theatre... |
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Post by ceebee on Nov 23, 2019 18:28:21 GMT
Let's face it: folk complaining they've not been able to see Alfie Boe or Matt Lucas are probably not musical theatre fans anyway, so it doesn't really matter.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2019 18:31:10 GMT
Let's face it: folk complaining they've not been able to see Alfie Boe or Matt Lucas are probably not musical theatre fans anyway, so it doesn't really matter. Wow. How distasteful. |
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Post by craig on Nov 23, 2019 18:35:15 GMT
The producers need to look at the ethical implications of star billing... I think this is the key to this debate. |
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Post by Jon on Nov 23, 2019 18:37:42 GMT
"Pay up and shut up" sounds inaccurate because from my personal experience Gielgud staff have been nothing but accommodating, I feel this lady must've been given the option to be refunded if she was already that upset and making a scene before the show started, but she chose to go in and sit through the entire show. If she didn't properly check the cast board or the notices up in the foyer before going in, then got surprised it wasn't Alfie, well... I have no sympathies. The moment you hand over your ticket and step through into the auditorium, all accountability is yours. I am sure that the Gielgud staff that were on that day were doing their job just fine. But its got to come from the people higher up. We don't know if this mystery woman was given the option of a refund or exchange, I very highly doubt it. We don't know if she made a scene before the show started, do we? Companies really must start putting the customer first. She genuinely may not have seen any notices. There's so much a theatre could be doing; emails, tweets, facebook posts, announcements, even telling patrons as they check their tickets. But they won't. Why? Money and they can't be bothered. They don't want to lost out any profit that might line their pockets. Most theatre don't have cast boards these days, so that's unreliable. If they do, they probably aren't correct. I hope you are never disappointed one day when you want to see your favourite star and they go off ill. This woman is only human. I also partly blame the theatre for selling her too much alcohol. I feel sorry for her and I hope she got a refund, even after her outburst. Something has got to change. - if only I could open a theatre... You lost me at feeling sorry for the woman despite the fact she’s in the wrong for being abusive. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2019 18:54:04 GMT
Its deceit, possibly fraud. It's not deceit and it's certainly not fraud, no one can guarantee whether someone will be ill or well on any given day. That is about as basic common sense as it gets, and anyone who chooses to heighten their expectations to unrealistic levels without taking that into account only has themself to blame. Yes, disappointment is absolutely fine and normal, but any form of rudeness or abusive behaviour is not, and as for refunds, well if you don't read the T&Cs then again that's your own fault. You choose when buying to take the risk that the artist will be unable to appear, and if you really don't want to take that rather small risk (in most cases) then it is your money, you could choose to wait until the day. I'm sure missing a star has happened to all of us, but 3 out sick at once is just bad luck, nothing that could be anticipated by anyone, and the producers and theatre still have to pay everyone involved and run their business, so I really don't see why they should have to refund when a star name is out. |
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Post by 141920grm on Nov 23, 2019 19:06:14 GMT
She genuinely may not have seen any notices. There's so much a theatre could be doing; emails, tweets, facebook posts, announcements, even telling patrons as they check their tickets. But they won't. Why? Money and they can't be bothered. They don't want to lost out any profit that might line their pockets. Most theatre don't have cast boards these days, so that's unreliable. If they do, they probably aren't correct. I hope you are never disappointed one day when you want to see your favourite star and they go off ill. I can assure you, the cast board at the Gielgud for this concert is pretty reliable and refreshed daily... I know because I've queued for tickets 4 times this week and have always seen the top 2 Valjean/Javert slots empty in the morning, before being updated as the cast start signing in before the show. And this week there have been illness/absence notices left right and centre in the foyer so... There really isn't much more the venue can do, other than pulling everyone aside individually and informing them the principal cast are off, so they can make up their minds whether to see the show or not. So it really isn't the fault nor responsibility of the theatre to placate disappointed patrons, and as I said before, had she not sat through the whole show before hurling abuse at the cast, I might have had a slight sliver of sympathy for her for travelling all the way only to not get Alfie. Given how she acted, I think she fully deserved what she got including being told off by John in front of the entire audience. Refund or even an apology definitely out of the question for this particular case, in fact, she owes everyone an apology for her appalling behaviour. By the way, thank you for your concern about my potential disappointment; however I always do my homework beforehand, so to say, if I plan to attend a show just for a particular performer- and guess what- I get them every time. |
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Post by shady23 on Nov 23, 2019 19:42:10 GMT
I disagree.
The dates that people were due to be off were clearly shown on the booking pages.
When illness sweeps through a company and lots are off at the same time then there is little they can do about it.
If it hadn't been selling well then they could have possibly transferred people to another date but it's totally sold out so that is not an option.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2019 19:46:17 GMT
Its deceit, possibly fraud. It's not deceit and it's certainly not fraud, no one can guarantee whether someone will be ill or well on any given day. That is about as basic common sense as it gets, and anyone who chooses to heighten their expectations to unrealistic levels without taking that into account only has themself to blame. Yes, disappointment is absolutely fine and normal, but any form of rudeness or abusive behaviour is not, and as for refunds, well if you don't read the T&Cs then again that's your own fault. You choose when buying to take the risk that the artist will be unable to appear, and if you really don't want to take that rather small risk (in most cases) then it is your money, you could choose to wait until the day. I'm sure missing a star has happened to all of us, but 3 out sick at once is just bad luck, nothing that could be anticipated by anyone, and the producers and theatre still have to pay everyone involved and run their business, so I really don't see why they should have to refund when a star name is out. I love it when my comments are taken out of context. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2019 19:56:22 GMT
Its deceit, possibly fraud. It's not deceit and it's certainly not fraud, no one can guarantee whether someone will be ill or well on any given day. That is about as basic common sense as it gets, and anyone who chooses to heighten their expectations to unrealistic levels without taking that into account only has themself to blame. Yes, disappointment is absolutely fine and normal, but any form of rudeness or abusive behaviour is not, and as for refunds, well if you don't read the T&Cs then again that's your own fault. You choose when buying to take the risk that the artist will be unable to appear, and if you really don't want to take that rather small risk (in most cases) then it is your money, you could choose to wait until the day. I'm sure missing a star has happened to all of us, but 3 out sick at once is just bad luck, nothing that could be anticipated by anyone, and the producers and theatre still have to pay everyone involved and run their business, so I really don't see why they should have to refund when a star name is out. You took that line of my comment out of context. Sure. But if they can't guarantee it, they should not advertised the names in the show. It is not at all unrealistic to expect a refund or exchange. The T&C's that they put in place are there just to cover their backs, not to benefit the customer. It shouldnt be the audience taking a risk when buying a ticket, especially not when spending the kind of money tickets cost nowadays. Its the producers responsibility to make sure everyone is onstage when they should be. If someone is ill, the producers should cough up. I dont understand how you could think differently. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2019 20:03:48 GMT
She genuinely may not have seen any notices. There's so much a theatre could be doing; emails, tweets, facebook posts, announcements, even telling patrons as they check their tickets. But they won't. Why? Money and they can't be bothered. They don't want to lost out any profit that might line their pockets. Most theatre don't have cast boards these days, so that's unreliable. If they do, they probably aren't correct. I hope you are never disappointed one day when you want to see your favourite star and they go off ill. I can assure you, the cast board at the Gielgud for this concert is pretty reliable and refreshed daily... I know because I've queued for tickets 4 times this week and have always seen the top 2 Valjean/Javert slots empty in the morning, before being updated as the cast start signing in before the show. And this week there have been illness/absence notices left right and centre in the foyer so... There really isn't much more the venue can do, other than pulling everyone aside individually and informing them the principal cast are off, so they can make up their minds whether to see the show or not. So it really isn't the fault nor responsibility of the theatre to placate disappointed patrons, and as I said before, had she not sat through the whole show before hurling abuse at the cast, I might have had a slight sliver of sympathy for her for travelling all the way only to not get Alfie. Given how she acted, I think she fully deserved what she got including being told off by John in front of the entire audience. Refund or even an apology definitely out of the question for this particular case, in fact, she owes everyone an apology for her appalling behaviour. By the way, thank you for your concern about my potential disappointment; however I always do my homework beforehand, so to say, if I plan to attend a show just for a particular performer- and guess what- I get them every time. Ok, one cast board out of the entire West End. Cool. What about all the others? - Absolutely, they should pull everyone aside and say "hey, you arent getting what you paid for but you arent getting a refund either" They might aswell not even put the names on the posters if producers arent willing to take the heat when someone doesnt appear. Its all backwards and unethical! Somehow, the customer is left out of pocket and upset for the absense of a star, how is that right? The producers have to be willing to apologise for any absense through whatever reason it might be and offer a refund or exchange. If a show is sold out, thats unfortunate. But there are ALWAYS seats held back at every performance incase certain situations like this arise. If there arent, then that's irresponsible. All producers see are pounds signs. If they can flog a seat that could be held back, they will because greed is a thing. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 23, 2019 20:04:05 GMT
It’s getting to the point where you could book a ticket for the Madonna gig for £500, she doesnt show up and some other person comes on and sings) the songs, but there’s a clause in the conditions that say they can’t guarantee her being on so you can’t do anything about it.
Yes I know that’s a very very far fetched analogy but when BOTH Boe and Ball are off we are getting very close to that situation. If Lucas is off too then that’s just beyond all reasonable expectations.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2019 20:05:04 GMT
It’s getting to the point where you could book a ticket for the Madonna gig for £500, she doesnt show up and some other person comes on and sings) the songs, but there’s a clause in the conditions that say they can’t guarantee her being on so you can’t do anything about it. Yes I know that’s a very very far fetched analogy but when BOTH Boe and Ball are off we are getting very close to that situation. If Lucas is off too then that’s just beyond all reasonable expectations. THIS! |
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Post by craig on Nov 23, 2019 20:06:43 GMT
Yes, the theatre / production company etc still have to run their business but they are doing so at a very healthy profit due to inflated ticket prices because of star billing.
If they choose to sell a "concert" featuring several named stars, they should give you a basket of options when those stars are off.
I attended a Kylie concert once. She cancelled halfway through due to illness. I was refunded. They didn't just shove Roxie Wilde front and centre and tell me these things happen.
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Post by craig on Nov 23, 2019 20:08:25 GMT
It’s getting to the point where you could book a ticket for the Madonna gig for £500, she doesnt show up and some other person comes on and sings) the songs, but there’s a clause in the conditions that say they can’t guarantee her being on so you can’t do anything about it. Yes I know that’s a very very far fetched analogy but when BOTH Boe and Ball are off we are getting very close to that situation. If Lucas is off too then that’s just beyond all reasonable expectations. Stop copying my posts before I've even written them myself!  |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2019 20:13:14 GMT
Yes, the theatre / production company etc still have to run their business but they are doing so at a very healthy profit due to inflated ticket prices because of star billing. If they choose to sell a "concert" featuring several named stars, they should give you a basket of options when those stars are off. I attended a Kylie concert once. She cancelled halfway through due to illness. I was refunded. They didn't just shove Roxie Wilde front and centre and tell me these things happen. THIS! Louder for the people in the back. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2019 20:17:47 GMT
I disagree. The dates that people were due to be off were clearly shown on the booking pages. When illness sweeps through a company and lots are off at the same time then there is little they can do about it. If it hadn't been selling well then they could have possibly transferred people to another date but it's totally sold out so that is not an option. If they are scheduled to be off, that's totally different. They should make it very clear to see for everyone who is due to be on and when. But illness, yes, unpredictable. However, someone has to be accountable. And that person should NEVER be the audience member. |
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Post by shady23 on Nov 23, 2019 20:22:11 GMT
Yes but what is the answer if they cannot transfer the date of the ticket (of course you'd never be 100% sure the favourite star/s would be on on the rescheduled date either)
Partial refund?
Full refund?
I genuinely do not know.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2019 20:26:17 GMT
Yes but what is the answer if they cannot transfer the date of the ticket (of course you'd never be 100% sure the favourite star/s would be on on the rescheduled date either) Partial refund? Full refund? I genuinely do not know. The customer could be given any of the following options; 1: to exchange to another date if there's the availability. 2: A partial refund and they can watch the show. 3: a full refund and they can be on their way. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2019 20:29:12 GMT
But I also think if they didn't charge crazy prices, people wouldn't kick up so much fuss. At an average of £90 a seat, I wouldn't be prepared to just say bye-bye to those pennies. Theatre should be accessible for everyone, regardless of who is treading the boards.
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Post by longinthetooth on Nov 23, 2019 20:39:51 GMT
If people have travelled hundreds of miles and spent a small fortune on travel, hotels etc even before taking into account the cost of tickets, I can understand them being upset if their favourite(s) is off sick - but this does not excuse rudeness to the FOH at the theatre. However, what are they to do if a refund is offered? By the time they have discovered that Alfie, Michael, Matt or whoever is off sick, it's too late to go elsewhere when they are standing in the foyer fifteen minutes before curtain up. I don't think there is an answer that will suit everyone.
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Post by Jon on Nov 23, 2019 20:49:11 GMT
But I also think if they didn't charge crazy prices, people wouldn't kick up so much fuss. At an average of £90 a seat, I wouldn't be prepared to just say bye-bye to those pennies. Theatre should be accessible for everyone, regardless of who is treading the boards. It’s commercial theatre, it doesn’t have to accessible. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2019 20:52:58 GMT
But I also think if they didn't charge crazy prices, people wouldn't kick up so much fuss. At an average of £90 a seat, I wouldn't be prepared to just say bye-bye to those pennies. Theatre should be accessible for everyone, regardless of who is treading the boards. It’s commercial theatre, it doesn’t have to accessible. That's a rather elitist way to look at it. Theatre should be accessible for all. It's not a special club for the rich. I do think we might be getting off track a bit now. |
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Post by danb on Nov 23, 2019 21:38:44 GMT
There are several more affordable ways to see this. You just have to have been speedy at ticket release or willing to stand up...for 3 and a bit hours.
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Post by tom on Nov 23, 2019 22:04:27 GMT
I’ve got tickets for Dec 2nd and I’d love to see any if not all of the 4 “names” replaced by their understudies as I know from personal experience that JOJ, Earl and whoever is understudy to Thenardier played by a character from little Britain for laughs are better than Ball, Boe and the one joke wonder from little Britain. However, as it’s the one going out to cinemas I have a feeling they’ll miraculously recover like sarah brightman did in POTO for opening or press night or whatever it was. The people who have seen shows this week probably don’t realise how lucky they are!
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