Review Time
The Into the Fold 3 convention was run very well. As a convention newbie, I felt that the scheduling was clear and the staff were great and knowledgeable. They were incredibly kind to make sure I got a photo that I accidentally missed with two of the guests. They didn't add any unnecessary stress to the experience, and as a newbie (and therefore a bit overwhelmed in general) I don't think I could have asked for a better run convention.
Zero communication and no compassion. Star Fury do not respond to emails and have no flexibility. If you can’t attend they don’t respond or offer anything. We asked for our inclusions - autographs etc when we couldn’t attend and offered to pay for postage-seemed reasonable given the cost of the ticket. No reply. Very disappointing. I recommend only buying tickets in the week before the event. Have attended prior and the event as ok.
The Into the Fold 3 convention was run very well. As a convention newbie, I felt that the scheduling was clear and the staff were great and knowledgeable. They were incredibly kind to make sure I got a photo that I accidentally missed with two of the guests. They didn't add any unnecessary stress to the experience, and as a newbie (and therefore a bit overwhelmed in general) I don't think I could have asked for a better run convention.
First I want to add just to be completely fair: I attended Ascension I and it was amazing. No complaints whatsover about that.BUT! And it's a big but: I purchased my Gold ticket for Ascension II right away because I loved the first event so much, and then they suddenly changed the date and venue completely. I sadly can't attend the event in that other city and at a different time because I'm from another country and I can't organize the travel like that. So, I asked for a refund and the problems started here! No answer to any emails at all. Nothing! And only snarky, rude answers on FB, no refund, no information as to when to expect anything, nobody to talk to about how it will be refunded (my card has since expired, so they should ask for me bank account number to be able to transfer the money back...), etc. I have screenshots of Sean telling me in a sarcastic way that I have no rights at all, and what do I want, what does it matter when they give us back the money, why can't we just be patient... things like that. It's been over 5 months, and I'm not the only one with that problem.Now I had to start legal proceedings and hope that I can get somewhere with them just because the person responsible for the convention has chosen to play the 'power game' and not cooperate. UPDATE: interestingly, just a few minutes after my review was posted here, I got banned from the Starfury Ascension Facebook group.So, this is how they deal with things there... (Luckily, I have screenshots from everythings)
I cannot believe such a big company does not allow refunds or tickets to be sold on to make people lose over £200 and when emailed they just send an auto response disgusting and then guests can cancel at the last minutes and are replaced with mediocre replacementsI have emailed twice before and had the same auto response I can provide dates if you wish the comic con tickets are a fraction of the price and they allow tickets bought for guests to be refunded if cancelled you need to have a good look at your customer service policy
No refund for cancelled event. Despite several emails and tweets to the convention organiser, I have still not received a £260 refund for 2 regular tickets for the Ultimates:Amalgam convention. Attendees were promised a second email giving the option of refund or transfer of tickets to another event, but this email did not arrive. What makes this worse is the fact that the organiser was very good with communication during the pandemic. As a regular customer of this organiser I am very disappointed with the lack of response and just want my money back.
I'd attended my first Starfury convention last week - the Red Dragon 7 one. Being new, I didn't have much of an idea as to how this would be organised, though I did expect a minimum of clear signs and directions for picking up tickets, as well as the rooms we were supposed to visit according to the schedule provided. Unfortunately this wasn't really the case.It was difficult to navigate with no clear direction of who was where, and which areas we were supposed to be in. Some members of staff were helpful, most were not, so I would end up having to speak with fellow Hannibal fans about where we were supposed to be. I'm also autistic, so the disorganisation (+no communication for schedule changes) just made everything more stressful than it needed to be.As for the staffing, I have to say that, as guests, the way we were treated was quite shocking? It was probably what prompted me to write this review in the first place.I'd volunteered for a stewarding position myself, and so I'd seen first hand how rude these people were. The experienced/regular stewards tended to speak down to confused guests, always responded in an immediately aggressive tone when questions were asked (sometimes muttering/cussing about the interactions right in front of said guests). You were treated as if you were stupid for not knowing where to line up, or what the photo op/autograph procedures were.Just as a personal example, my sister (like everybody else) had been given an event booklet. Only hers didn't contain her autograph slip, and so she spoke with one of the workers to ask for one. She was answered with condescension. There was no understanding and barely any room for explanations that she hadn't been the one to lose it. It took around 5 minutes of arguing her case for the lady to simply go and grab her a sheet in the end. No kindness or understanding to be seen.Another problem I have is the lack of ability to take pictures and videos. I don't understand this at all. I remember being rudely spoken to for recording the end of the opening ceremony. It just zaps the fun out of everything when you're reprimanded for trying to keep a few virtual mementos.All in all, it was an okay time. The Hannibal fans were super kind and so so helpful. I just wish I could say the same for the staff (staff who claimed to have been working Starfury/Red Dragon conventions for years).I won't outwardly dissuade anyone from attending these events, but I did just want to leave this here to serve as a warning to other newbies who don't know what to expect. I would highly recommend relying on the guests who frequent these events, rather than the stewards on a power trip.Happy to speak further on this privately if any clarifications are needed.
This was my first Starfury event, but it won't be my last! Great guest line-up, even with the late shuffles due to work commitments. I liked that the photos were in the am, with the talks and autos in the pm. Something to consider though - I was one of the first regular tickets (my badge # was in the 30s) but I was dead last in getting autos (so I missed more of the Q&As), which felt like a bit of a slap. Perhaps next round you could divide the groups so that regular 1-300 were one group and reg 301-400 went with the gold ticket holders instead?
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