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Fringe Friends furious as box office leaves them on hold

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Published Date: 15 June 2009
By Michael Howie
Home affairs correspondent
EDINBURGH Festival Fringe organisers have come under fire from angry customers who were forced to wait hours to book tickets on a "priority" hotline.
People who paid up to £18 to become official Friends of the Fringe struggled to buy show tickets in the special booking period over the weekend.

Some who phoned the priority number said they had to wait more than two hours to get through, while others complained they were unable to purchase tickets online.

A Fringe source last night admitted customers had been delayed during "peaks in demand". But organisers insisted they were "very confident" that today's launch of ticket sales to the general public would go without serious hitch.

Some 14,000 tickets have been sold to Friends of the Fringe members since booking opened at 10am on Friday.

But while organisers say they are pleased at the volume of tickets sold, customers told The Scotsman of their anger at the length of time it took to book.

Phil Cornwell, 63, from Longniddry in East Lothian, said: "I started phoning a few minutes before 10am on Friday. It was constantly engaged, right up to 11:10am. When I eventually got though, I was put on a queuing system for another hour.

"I tried again … after being kept on hold for 50 minutes, I finally managed to get through. I dread to think what my phone bill's going to be like."

He was also told he could only buy briefs for half the shows he wanted: "There was some problem on the girl's computer. My wife's going to have to go down and join the queues tomorrow to buy the other tickets."

Organisers are under pressure after a troubled 2008, when the event was blighted by ticketing breakdowns. Last week, festival chief executive Kath Mainland predicted a new booking system installed after last year's debacle would not fail.

However, customers logged on to the Fringe's website to complain that they could not purchase tickets online.

One said: "Trying to buy for a show that's limited to Friends of Fringe but site won't let me do it even tho' there are tickets left for show and I have logged in successfully as a Friend.

"Hopeless trying to buy by phone – never get through."

A Fringe spokesman said the box office was "working" and had sold 14,000 tickets to Friends of the Fringe since Friday.

Tommy Sheppard, director of comedy venue The Stand and a member of the Fringe board, added: "With anything this size, there is always the possibility of teething problems. Hopefully that's all this is."

The full article contains 441 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

 
1

Charles Linskaill,

Edinburgh 15/06/2009 00:16:03

Surely Not!, The beginning of another fiasco for the Edinburgh Fringe, time to 'pull-your-socks-up', before it becomes another disastrous year.

2

,

15/06/2009 00:29:56
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason:
3

Charles Linskaill,

Edinburgh 15/06/2009 00:48:31

#2,

Rather strong for a Monday morning, and I do not see how your comment, has connection to the Edinburgh Fringe, but I am all for being enlightened.

4

RDavis,

Vienna 15/06/2009 07:07:08
What a brilliant con get folk to pay £18 for nothing.
5

dba,

HAYMARKET 15/06/2009 07:16:58
What are the 'organisers' inbibing, inhaling and/or injecting?

First there was last year's TOTAL fiasco!
Second there was the story about an 'emergency' £500,000 grant or they wouold go bust! (Did they ever get it, (who gave them it and was it a grant or a loan?)
Third, now we get 'their friends' being messed about - and the expected 'well in any peak situation - there will be delays' attitude.
Fourth, what's our Festival Czar got to say on this - he's not usually silent! (I look forward to full published details of all of his claims and freebies over the Fringe and Festival period).

NOT GOOD ENOUGH - You guys are being PAID to MANAGE AND ORGANISE A MAJOR public event and at a profit!
GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER (AND QUICKLY) or I suggest you all resign and cancel the whole shambles.
IF you do manage to 'muddle through' DON'T expect a penny of public funds to bail you out if you make another loss...enough is enough...get totally professional and commercial or experience the 'fun' of going bust....(I suggest you all read the definition and legal responsibilities of 'insolvent trading' - REAL companies have to!)
6

Njal,

Edinburgh 15/06/2009 08:31:39
Why don't they just drop the Fringe (and the Festival for that matter) for a couple of years? That way, they could clear the decks of all the administrators who clog these events up. Then local people might sit down and try to remember what the whole thing was meant to be about in the first place. Beats me why performers don't come to play in Edinburgh at other times of the year, instead of trying to compete in one three week period, with everyone else on the planet (and their wee brother's big dog)
7

Fred Leeson,

edinburgh 15/06/2009 09:59:49
#6 Njal
"Beats me why performers don't come to play in Edinburgh at other times of the year, instead of trying to compete in one three week period, with everyone else on the planet."

They do play in Edinburgh all year round in various comedy stands etc.
But the 3 weeks is a chance for them to be seen by tv producers etc and give them a chance of breaking into the mainstream media. It brings everyone who is related to the business together and is a great boost for Edinburgh internationally.
8

Phil C,

15/06/2009 10:52:44
Jeez! This is terrible, a scandal! Rip up the constitution and start again! How can we possibly expect a few luvvies to wait in line, and they've paid £18?

We're lucky that there is nothing important going on, like a government eroding our democracy; a team of ministers, largely unelected and tainted with dishonesty and fraud, running us further into the ground; men still being 'killed in action' and lots of innocent civilians too;.....

See they tickets though. It's intolerable!
9

Skarper,

Edinburgh 15/06/2009 11:34:54
#7 "They do play in Edinburgh all year round in various comedy stands etc.
But the 3 weeks is a chance for them to be seen by tv producers etc and give them a chance of breaking into the mainstream media. It brings everyone who is related to the business together and is a great boost for Edinburgh internationally."

That's a nice idea, but a pretty slim chance methinks, given the shear volume of acts to see. Also, ballet, theatre, painting etc. doesn't perform well at the comedy stands (though that might be amusing)
10

Charlie Alderson,

Not Scotland that's for sure! 15/06/2009 13:27:54
I don't believe it! Someone with nothing better to do had to wait on the phone to buy a ticket for the largest festival in the world!! NOOOO! It's a scandal! SACK EVERYONE!

You're all mental. Shame on those responsible for the story, it's a cheap shot which does nobody connected with the Fringe any good whatsoever. Least of all the staff at ground level who are trying to make work the infrastructure they're given.

And don't even start me on the politics that goes on behind the scenes that led to last year's 'fiasco' in the first place. Maybe the Scotsman should do some proper journalism into what went on...and what sort of 'deals' are currently in place...
11

Fi,

Edinburgh 15/06/2009 14:35:09
#6 - Where were you at our last performance?
I'm part of a local company, producing quality theatre all year round. We fight hard to make a profit at every show, however, because of the enormous costs passed on to performers in the Fringe, we'll be happy to break even on this one. If you want to put your money where your mouth is: Antigone, 17-22nd, venue 40. Scottish premiere of Owen McCafferty's modern adaptation.
12

Fred Leeson,

edinburgh 15/06/2009 16:32:16
#9 Skarper

"Also, ballet, theatre, painting etc. doesn't perform well at the comedy stands (though that might be amusing)"
I did say comedy stand [etc] in order to shorten my post.
But I'll now mention theatres, cinemas, galleries, open air functions, street performers, firework displays, museums , parades, book fairs, science fairs, tram displays, castle displays etc ( for things that I've missed)
13

Evil Jim,

Trying to navigate through the scotsman website is 16/06/2009 11:32:30
I saw the queue moving pretty quickly yesterday

 

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