2018-07-29 14:24:28 +0100
To: Mathew Firsht - Applause Store
Applause Store - Treat People With Respect
(The people in the above photograph were held in these pens in 30 degree heat without refreshments for a number of hours)
We would like you to reform your process - if you have a specific guest on a show, we would like you to give priority to actual fans of that guest, fans who want to offer support. This is important not only for the fans but for the guests too. If you have an artist on a show and none of their fans are there then no-one is supporting them by singing along or dancing, there is no atmosphere for them to perform in and no crowd to perform to. We are your customers, we make up your audience and ask to be treated as customers and with more respect.
We would like you to allow your audience members to obtain tickets and leave the queue, not to be held for hours literally like hostages and told no to requests to leave for food and drinks.
We would like you to reform your process - if you have a specific guest on a show, we would like you to give priority to actual fans of that guest, fans who want to offer support. This is important not only for the fans but for the guests too. If you have an artist on a show and none of their fans are there then no-one is supporting them by singing along or dancing, there is no atmosphere for them to perform in and no crowd to perform to. We are your customers, we make up your audience and ask to be treated as customers and with more respect.
We would like you to allow your audience members to obtain tickets and leave the queue, not to be held for hours literally like hostages and told no to requests to leave for food and drinks.
Why is this important?
Your current methods pose a risk to the health and well being of members of the public
You have an unfair ticketing process
You have aggressive team members who should not work in a customer facing role
The Health and Safety of your customers has been compromised in many ways. Your staff speak to your customers disrespectfully, this is unnecessary when asking simple questions and trying to get information. We would like to be treated with more respect and think your current procedures need reform. Your staff have terrible attitudes towards your customers as if they are trained to speak down to people. Managers undermine other staff who are trying to be nice and offer help.
- You hold your audiences in rooms unnecessarily for 10+ hours
- You keep people in line in extreme temperatures not allowing them to leave to get refreshments
- Young children are left disappointed and reduced to tears due to your current methods
- You have targeted specific audience members and made threats to blacklist them from shows
- During X Factor auditions a member of your staff ripped up an audience member's ticket and told her to sit somewhere else or leave
- Another member of your team used physical force to remove an audience member from the floor area
- Another member of your team swore at audience members
- Applause Store accounts have been deleted to stop ticket applications from 'fans'
- Priority does not mean guaranteed entry as you often claim, you still turn people away with priority tickets
- You have no regard for people who have travelled a long way and spent money on travel specifically for your show
- You have an unfair ticketing policy
- Fans of guests are left disappointed as they are not guaranteed to receive tickets or gain entry
Some examples:
X Factor - Louis Tomlinson - Fans were told they were needed for a 'special performance'. They were then not allowed to watch the show at all and were held until almost 9pm just before Louis' performance where the were placed in the auditorium for the performance. The experience was fantastic for fans but fans waited around sitting on the floor for 14+ hours and were given conflicting information the whole time, no-one could leave the area as they were not updated about timings etc and were worried the second they left, they would be called in.
EMA's - Liam Payne - (quoted from a fan) They held us inside a room with no food and said we couldn’t leave.They said they told us before we entered that we couldn’t leave but they didn’t say that at all and when we complained they were really nasty and said if anyone else rings up & complains they’ll kick everyone out of the queue.They had cups of water after we begged but there was nowhere to get food in the building. Eventually they let us out for 10 minutes to get food
Late Late Show - Niall Horan - Fans were taken into a room in high temperatures with no air-con and left for 10 hours, fans were given conflicting information all day, some were told they would not be seeing Niall Horan at all, others were told they would see the performance and not the interview, it was chaos with many fans very upset. They were told they could not leave the building as they would not be allowed back in. There was a small cafe in the building, fans were told to throw their food and drinks away but then could not afford food in the cafe, other fans had other dietary needs the cafe did not cater for eg Vegan. Fans specifically used the promo code NIALL for this show to be then told they would not be seeing Niall but only watching the other guests on the show.
You have an unfair ticketing process
You have aggressive team members who should not work in a customer facing role
The Health and Safety of your customers has been compromised in many ways. Your staff speak to your customers disrespectfully, this is unnecessary when asking simple questions and trying to get information. We would like to be treated with more respect and think your current procedures need reform. Your staff have terrible attitudes towards your customers as if they are trained to speak down to people. Managers undermine other staff who are trying to be nice and offer help.
- You hold your audiences in rooms unnecessarily for 10+ hours
- You keep people in line in extreme temperatures not allowing them to leave to get refreshments
- Young children are left disappointed and reduced to tears due to your current methods
- You have targeted specific audience members and made threats to blacklist them from shows
- During X Factor auditions a member of your staff ripped up an audience member's ticket and told her to sit somewhere else or leave
- Another member of your team used physical force to remove an audience member from the floor area
- Another member of your team swore at audience members
- Applause Store accounts have been deleted to stop ticket applications from 'fans'
- Priority does not mean guaranteed entry as you often claim, you still turn people away with priority tickets
- You have no regard for people who have travelled a long way and spent money on travel specifically for your show
- You have an unfair ticketing policy
- Fans of guests are left disappointed as they are not guaranteed to receive tickets or gain entry
Some examples:
X Factor - Louis Tomlinson - Fans were told they were needed for a 'special performance'. They were then not allowed to watch the show at all and were held until almost 9pm just before Louis' performance where the were placed in the auditorium for the performance. The experience was fantastic for fans but fans waited around sitting on the floor for 14+ hours and were given conflicting information the whole time, no-one could leave the area as they were not updated about timings etc and were worried the second they left, they would be called in.
EMA's - Liam Payne - (quoted from a fan) They held us inside a room with no food and said we couldn’t leave.They said they told us before we entered that we couldn’t leave but they didn’t say that at all and when we complained they were really nasty and said if anyone else rings up & complains they’ll kick everyone out of the queue.They had cups of water after we begged but there was nowhere to get food in the building. Eventually they let us out for 10 minutes to get food
Late Late Show - Niall Horan - Fans were taken into a room in high temperatures with no air-con and left for 10 hours, fans were given conflicting information all day, some were told they would not be seeing Niall Horan at all, others were told they would see the performance and not the interview, it was chaos with many fans very upset. They were told they could not leave the building as they would not be allowed back in. There was a small cafe in the building, fans were told to throw their food and drinks away but then could not afford food in the cafe, other fans had other dietary needs the cafe did not cater for eg Vegan. Fans specifically used the promo code NIALL for this show to be then told they would not be seeing Niall but only watching the other guests on the show.
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