WrestleCon sent out the following today….
Thank
you for your patronage at WrestleCon 2014 in New Orleans; we are thrilled to
have had you join us in celebrating many wrestling superstars, both past and
present. While we deemed the event to be successful overall, we are aware that
there were some shortcomings, and wish to address those with you.
To
start, please accept our apology for the long lines encountered by guests who
pre-ordered admission to WrestleCon Session One on Saturday April 5th; we
understand that by pre-ordering, you expected early access and ease of access,
guarantees which were not delivered to many of you. We acknowledge that the wait
many of you endured was completely unacceptable and embarrassing for our
company, but wish to offer an explanation of the circumstances that resulted in
the delay.
When we first booked The Sugar Mill, we envisioned using part
of the outdoor courtyard space for the staged events, and much of the outdoor
space to facilitate registration of patrons who pre-ordered. However, when our
staff arrived in New Orleans and was faced with the significant threat of rain
for the entire weekend, we were forced to put a tent over the courtyard. In
doing so, we recognized that we would be cutting our available space for
registration significantly (the only option for tent placement was right in the
middle of the outdoor area).
However, we thought that providing the
entertainment promised (Mickie James Concert, Colt Cabana Live, Goldberg
Q&A, etc.) was more important than prioritizing registration space. We were
forced to choose between facilitating faster registration, or providing the
entertainment we advertised, and we chose to do the latter.
Aside from
the space issue, we had a staffing issue. We had contracted with some local
volunteer staff to work the event, many of whom showed up late on Saturday. We
attempted to secure more staff, but we were unsuccessful. As a result, we had
less space than we needed, and fewer staff than we needed to facilitate
registration efficiently for Session One.
Lastly, we know many customers
who pre-ordered were frustrated that the Walk-Up line was moving far more
swiftly. Even though we only dedicated one staff member to work this line, we
felt it was necessary to keep it open and moving, since we also made assurances
on our website that customers who pre-ordered autographs and photo-ops did not
also need to pre-order admission.
Ultimately, facilitating a simple cash
or credit card transaction took far less time than facilitating pre-order
check-ins, which resulted in that line moving more quickly.
We are not
attempting to excuse the wait time that many of you experienced; however, we did
make decisions that we thought were in the best interest of the event overall.
Moving forward, we have decided that if WrestleCon is to continue in 2015 and
beyond, we must identify an electronic ticketing system that can better
facilitate entry to the convention.
We envision a system that allows
customers who pre-order to receive electronic tickets; those tickets would be
scanned quickly at an entry point, similar to admission to a concert or sporting
event. If we cannot eliminate the check-in/registration process entirely in
future years, and move to a more efficient electronic ticketing system, we will
not host WrestleCon in the future.
Aside from the wait time experienced
by many of you, there was an additional issue related to one of the WrestleCon
vendors, who did not deliver the services promised to, and pre-paid for by, our
customers.
WrestleCon makes its best attempt to only contract vendors who
have a reputation of delivering our customers the guest experience advertised.
While WrestleCon cannot claim responsibility for the vendor shortcomings, we do
wish to assist you in securing a refund or other remedy. We ask that you first
contact the vendor directly to attempt to resolve the issue; if you are not
successful, please email [email protected] with a description of your
situation, and we will intervene as appropriate. We also plan to discontinue
future business with vendors who are not able to provide a sufficient remedy for
failing to deliver services guaranteed at WrestleCon 2014.
Again, we want
to thank you for supporting WrestleCon. Our staff is one of the most dedicated
you will find; we work throughout the year to provide an event where wrestling
fans can gather and share stories, make memories, and celebrate the industry we
all love so much.
Our pledge to you is to move forward having learned
from the mistakes of this year, and ensuring that we provide a far more patron
friendly experience in the years to come. If you wish to share an individual
concern, or have a suggestion regarding future WrestleCon events, please email
us at [email protected].
Best,
WrestleCon
