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Post by Philip Ayres on May 7, 2015 17:41:08 GMT
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Post by Bogatan on May 26, 2015 21:15:21 GMT
Registration went live. Registration went KABOOOOM!!!
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Post by Benn on May 26, 2015 23:42:20 GMT
So this is where the traditional Botcon whining begins, huh? And yet people still give them hard-earned money to do this to them...
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Post by Pinwig on May 27, 2015 9:27:46 GMT
They could do this better by adding bolt ons as they can confirm what it will cost them. Put up a basic registration as soon as the hotel is sorted so people know they can go and get in and book rooms. Then worry about toy packages and charging an arm and a leg for top name guests as and when they can confirm them. Leaving the registration until they have everything in place, which is now what, two or three weeks before the con, is always going to cause a server crash. There's no way round this for them now without paying out big time for a more solid back end.
It's astonishingly poorly managed. No common sense.
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Post by The Doctor on May 27, 2015 12:03:12 GMT
So this is where the traditional Botcon whining begins, huh? And yet people still give them hard-earned money to do this to them... Exactly and also why Botcon/Fun Pub have no incentive to improve their customer service. -Ralph |
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Post by Pinwig on May 27, 2015 14:24:31 GMT
What, you mean praise poor customer service in the hope they respond positively? Isn't that more likely to make them think, "wow, these idiots will put up with anything"?
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Post by Bogatan on May 27, 2015 16:52:12 GMT
I gave up worrying about them, aside from anything else Hasbros interest in the club and convention appears to be close to zero now a days. I really doubt they would go out of their way to replace the existing club and con if FP were forced out.
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Post by legios on May 27, 2015 21:29:24 GMT
What, you mean praise poor customer service in the hope they respond positively? Isn't that more likely to make them think, "wow, these idiots will put up with anything"? I think what Ralph is getting at is that if a commercial concern realises that even if people complain bitterly about the service they receive but continue to pay the company for that service then they have no reason or motivation to spend the money to fix it. In fact quite the reverse. Basically by continuing to pony up money for Funpub's services Transformers Fans are sending the message that the bad service won't affect Funpub's profits - and like any commercial concern, if it doesn't impact profits then they aren't going to do anything about it. Karl |
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Nigel
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Post by Nigel on May 28, 2015 21:04:28 GMT
I just found myself on the Club website and noticed that they have a tutorial for their new registration system. Seriously? Their system is so bad that they have to show people how to use it?
After last year, when I really planned to go, but was put off by Fun Pubs incompetence, I haven't even considered going this year. I don't feel I've missed out.
Edit. I just looked at the website. There a nice though small guest list this year, but yeep! You have to pay an extra $200 to meet Frank Welker! The toys are very underwhelming, but when did Hasbro do a new Pretender mould?
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Post by Pinwig on May 28, 2015 21:19:54 GMT
The ape shell is a Fun Pub original for the con.
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Post by The Doctor on May 30, 2015 9:33:40 GMT
I recently registered for a convention that isn't happening for another 5 months. Took under 2 mins to do and I got the physical paper ticket in less than a week. How can it be so hard for Fun Pub (who do this for a living) to do simple things like that? But then so long as folk keep giving them money they'll never change, forgetting that they won't get *new* business.
-Ralph
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Post by Pinwig on May 30, 2015 10:13:32 GMT
It may happen, eventually. On this week's RFC there was quite a long segment where they discussed how a lot of people are beginning to turn to alternatives, and the one person on the team who was still resiliently sticking with Botcon got quite a bit of flack. RFC have generally stuck with the party line in the past. It's like shifts in political opinion though, it'll take years for it to come to fruition, but there does seem to be a movement now toward stuff like TFCon instead.
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Nigel
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Post by Nigel on May 30, 2015 11:04:22 GMT
I've always wanted to go back to Botcon, but FP's seemingly increasing mismanagement puts me off going while they're in charge. I previously went in 2003, the latter days of 3H. (That's one of the reasons I want to go back - after having wanted to to go to Botcon for five or six years, it changed its name so technically I've never been.) It's interesting that there were only two official conventions under the Hartman-less 3H before Hasbro revoked the licence after criticism of the organisation, while FP have had the licence for ten years now.
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Post by legios on May 30, 2015 11:23:16 GMT
Just to fill my "devil's advocate" role for a second, have we ever had any evidence that the withdrawal of the license from 3H has any causal link to the criticisms they took from the fanbase (as opposed to, say a desire to centralise the fan event sideline with FP to make it easier to manage?). I remember that it coincides with a rise in fan grumbling, but I'm not sure if there is any confirmation of causation? Anyone know, I am genuinely curious because it falls into the time I was active in Transformers Fandom.
Karl
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Post by Bogatan on May 30, 2015 13:42:12 GMT
I think 3H properly fell apart. Didn't a whole set of exclusives not get produced till after a convention. Did Hasbro in the nd have to produce something at their own expense?
FP for all their customer service crap and general sense of incompetence have managed to put together a convention every year and produce everything they announced on time aside from the TFSS which they should just accept will only ship to them in the run up to Botcon and adjust their subscription service to acknowledge it. It might be the minimum goals possible but they are at least meeting them.
And for the most part their end products have been fun. Thats where the idea of boycotting them falls down, because Botcon is fun, its not perfect, there solution to long lines was to offer a Golden ticket that allows a few hundred to bypass many of the lines. People bought it though. But AA has problems too, the annual waiting for the Saturday night events to start is as annoying as Botcon registration.
Its like I hate dealing with Sky, but if I want to watch Game of Thrones legally I have to have Sky or wait a year for the blurays release. FPs no different in my mind, Botcon means putting up with FP, GOT means putting up with Sky.
Having said all that, the mood is changing. FP dont have many defenders left, and just about zero good will. With TFCon and other smaller events theres now competition. Every FP screw up or delay probably makes one or two more people try an alternative.
TFCon can boast their own exclusives and with 3P becoming so accepted and even favoured by some, those arent seen as lesser than the Botcon offering any more. Plus side of that is that FP have upped their game in the last two years (sort of) Scorponok and Oilmaster have at least seen them try something new. They desperately need to move on from their rigid 5 toy boxset format though. Thedross brings down the really good stuff so badly.
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Post by Andy Turnbull on May 31, 2015 9:43:59 GMT
yeah 3H went Tango Ultra.
There were payment issues regarding guests, hotels and to Hasbro which resulting in Hasbro yanking the license.
Andy
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Post by Andy Turnbull on May 31, 2015 9:46:11 GMT
A thing I have learned over the years, is that if I went into a business arrangement with Hasbro and provided I met the minimum order quantity for Hasbro I could have any of the Botcon exclusives manufactured for me. They have no rights to them, so if a rival more international fanclub came about well...
Andy
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primenova
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Post by primenova on Jun 19, 2015 11:26:57 GMT
Which is better at showing us new photos? Botcon 2015 (some photos already online) or the massive range of Toyko show from whenever it was but must have been this last week? I guess Hasbro would get lots of hate e-mails if they don't show the Autobot combiners (Ironhide etc) but could we have anything revealed that is unexpected?
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 19, 2015 11:59:06 GMT
The Tokyo show is the end of this week and this weekend while Botcon is on. Botcon meanwhile has hardly started yet.
Reveals tomorrow at the Hasbro panel. Previous years tell us what to look for so we'll see the August releases (Optimus Maximus and Starscream) and something nextyeary, probably Scattorshot since he looks like the limbless Voyager with Onslaught. Be surprised to see Bruticus here, reckon that'll be SDCC. g2 Superion possibly. RID - who knows? Official reveal of the TRU exclusives?
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primenova
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Post by primenova on Jun 20, 2015 8:49:45 GMT
One thing unexpect from Botcon is FM lines shots (using letters so not to spoil any reveals) while TS have shown us something to get Primal over.
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