Finals 2022 -- Saturday's Attendance?

[CrownBariDad]

35 minutes ago, lawdn said:

My experience from the different days was that some scanners could read the tickets from my wallet app (Apple) while others could only read the barcode from Ticketmaster app or website. This despite Ticketmaster suggesting tickets be added to wallet ahead of time to avoid connectivity delays. Staff at the gate had to instruct attendees how to pull up the bar codes, resulting in delays. Maybe people had figured this out before arriving Saturday, but it could have worsened the already bad delay Saturday.

We were lucky. I think we got the same young lady all three times we were scanned in -- she even recognized us on Friday and Saturday. She knew how to read the tix from my Apple Wallet, but it did take a couple attempts to succeed.

It did seem simpler and faster when scanning paper tickets in years past. 

[Terri Schehr]

1 minute ago, CrownBariDad said:

We were lucky. I think we got the same young lady all three times we were scanned in -- she even recognized us on Friday and Saturday. She knew how to read the tix from my Apple Wallet, but it did take a couple attempts to succeed.

It did seem simpler and faster when scanning paper tickets in years past. 

All three days, no problem scanning tickets.  Jim had it up and ready to go and both tickets were scanned in an instant.  I haven’t had a paper boarding pass in years.  We went paperless way before DCI. 

[Tim K]

16 hours ago, Terri Schehr said:

I wonder if we’ll get an official response as to chaos yesterday evening? 

If it’s a DCI issue, probably not. We’ll here in a few months when they begin the real push for tickets how next year will be different but no apology. If it’s a LOS issue, DCI will make an official apology soon and assure us it will never happen again.

[Terri Schehr]

9 minutes ago, Tim K said:

If it’s a DCI issue, probably not. We’ll here in a few months when they begin the real push for tickets how next year will be different but no apology. If it’s a LOS issue, DCI will make an official apology soon and assure us it will never happen again.

I bought my BIG 3 tickets Thursday at noon.  I must be crazy.  I just keep reminding myself that I really enjoy watching the marching members perform and I want to support them.  

[lawdn]

11 minutes ago, Tim K said:

If it’s a DCI issue, probably not. We’ll here in a few months when they begin the real push for tickets how next year will be different but no apology. If it’s a LOS issue, DCI will make an official apology soon and assure us it will never happen again.

Any assurances from DCI about resolution and non-repetition of problems caused by LOS fault are likely meaningless.

[lawdn]

31 minutes ago, CrownBariDad said:

We were lucky. I think we got the same young lady all three times we were scanned in -- she even recognized us on Friday and Saturday. She knew how to read the tix from my Apple Wallet, but it did take a couple attempts to succeed.

It did seem simpler and faster when scanning paper tickets in years past. 

To clarify - the few LOS gate staff on hand seemed to be capable. One apologized that he had been given a scanner that could only read bar codes.

[CrownBariDad]

1 minute ago, Terri Schehr said:

I bought my BIG 3 tickets Thursday at noon.  I must be crazy.  I just keep reminding myself that I really enjoy watching the marching members perform and I want to support them.  

Me, too. But The Wife is now teaching full time so it might be a solo trip next year.

I am on the fence about that 8 hr drive. We'll see. 

[Tim K]

1 hour ago, Jurassic Lancer said:

When an organization says everyone is ####ed up but them, you can bet that organization is the one who is ####ed up.

Whether or not Saturday was DCI’s fault is hard to say. I’ve been told Colts game can be a disaster too. You may recall that when LOS hosted the Super Bowl they were hardly prepared for that event. Unlike other stadiums like Gillette or Met Life, LOS can’t modernize and have things such kiosks where you can order food which would have eliminated long lines for concessions. If LOS can’t handle a crowd like DCI which is not exactly a rowdy crowd, they’re in trouble.

I think though Saturday did expose DCI cracks. The organization of the shows is top notch, no question. But did you think the 50th was handled with the fanfare it deserved? No program book? Michael Boo’s passing may have been a partial reason why, but I know of some people who volunteered to produce a history. No video montage featuring 50 years of classic corps? The history exhibit DCI did not produce was relegated to an inconvenient spot. In my opinion, all of this speaks volumes for cracks in the organization which may account for why more serious issues are handled improperly or not at all. I think not rehiring people laid off during Covid, which in all fairness may be due to lost revenues, is taking a toll.

[2muchcoffeeman]

1 hour ago, Terri Schehr said:

I wonder why this wasn’t addressed beforehand though?  For example. We’ve sold X amount of tickets and we’re expecting a bigger crowd than usual for the anniversary event and we’ll need more ticket scanners.  It’s better to be proactive than reactive.

100% this. The fact that LOS showed up on Saturday, Aug. 13 with only 7 scanners is a failure certainly of LOS management, but also of DCI not to write certain venue performance requirements into the contract, one of them being the minimum number of scanners/gates/employees/ramps/doors/elevators needed to be in working order at the required times.

. . . and if DCI failed to anticipate LOS would come up short and would blame lazy workers who didn't show up, that's a failure of DCI, too -- not to anticipate that specific excuse, to but to anticipate whatever circumstance that might jeopardize LOS performance of its end of the bargain.

DCI is an event-planning enterprise. Asking it to have a Plan A, B and C for its showcase event doesn't strike me as unreasonable. The LOS contract should have hell-to-pay provisions for the kind of train wreck on display Saturday. If it doesn't, DCI isn't fighting hard enough for its own paying customers.

Maybe DCI did have an A, B, and C. Maybe B was the measly 10-minute delay the put into place. If so, Plan B sure was inadequate. It struck me as an insult to the first 3 or 4 corps, and their fans.

 

Edited August 15, 2022 by 2muchcoffeeman

[CrownBariDad]

4 minutes ago, Tim K said:

Whether or not Saturday was DCI’s fault is hard to say. I’ve been told Colts game can be a disaster too. You may recall that when LOS hosted the Super Bowl they were hardly prepared for that event. Unlike other stadiums like Gillette or Met Life, LOS can’t modernize and have things such kiosks where you can order food which would have eliminated long lines for concessions. If LOS can’t handle a crowd like DCI which is not exactly a rowdy crowd, they’re in trouble.

I think though Saturday did expose DCI cracks. The organization of the shows is top notch, no question. But did you think the 50th was handled with the fanfare it deserved? No program book? Michael Boo’s passing may have been a partial reason why, but I know of some people who volunteered to produce a history. No video montage featuring 50 years of classic corps? The history exhibit DCI did not produce was relegated to an inconvenient spot. In my opinion, all of this speaks volumes for cracks in the organization which may account for why more serious issues are handled improperly or not at all. I think not rehiring people laid off during Covid, which in all fairness may be due to lost revenues, is taking a toll.

We REALLY wanted a 50th Yearbook. And I missed going to see Bill's Drum Corps history exhibit -- yes, it should have been in LOS not somewhere across the street. (He was sitting behind us at Finals, so we did have the chance to say Hey. Our streak is intact.)