RE: BTaP is back!
Discussion
ali_kat said:
No, we do but we need it to be organised properly!
5 weeks notice is no good, even if we do know the date 11 months before
April is no good, we've planned stuff for Easter & have November blocked out for it
Had it been re-booked for 1st Novber it would have been the success it always is
This just about covers it...5 weeks notice is no good, even if we do know the date 11 months before
April is no good, we've planned stuff for Easter & have November blocked out for it
Had it been re-booked for 1st Novber it would have been the success it always is
Event in November and actually book the hotel after the previous event and then release tickets and organise it all in Dec/Jan...
Dont have everyone waiting and waiting for an event that they know is going to happen, but dont release tickets or details about until they are all bored and have started cancelling rooms, then expect it to happen.
Dont then tell them that its a shame the Nov event didnt go so well but it will be back next year, then surprise them all by having it in a different month when its always been in November, so non of the regulars that want to go, can go, as they have all made sure their November slots are free and its now in April.
Communication is massively lacking (no notice and expecting everyone to go) and decisions have been made without consultation with the people who go (changing the months without asking those who attend if they could do it)....
It almost seems like it was destined to fail and was almost made to fail on purpose, it can now be forgotten about... Me a cynic?? Possibly, but its difficult to see how so many assumptions with so little communication with the buyers of the tickets can be done twice without another motive.
Du1point8 said:
It almost seems like it was destined to fail and was almost made to fail on purpose, it can now be forgotten about... Me a cynic?? Possibly, but its difficult to see how so many assumptions with so little communication with the buyers of the tickets can be done twice without another motive.
It does make me wonder that too Advertising it in the wrong forum - Evebts & Travel rather than its own dedicated forum, if you need more do both, but the regulars don't look there so much!
Blaming the demographic changing - PH has changed that itself by not listening to its regulars
I'm certain the Feedback her & the other thread for those that actually DO go will remain un acknowledged and ignored again; whereas comments from those that don't go gets listened to
ali_kat said:
I'm certain the Feedback her & the other thread for those that actually DO go will remain un acknowledged and ignored again; whereas comments from those that don't go gets listened to
Perhaps it's time to acknowledge that PH now is not the hardcore enthusiasts' forum that it used to be. To run something this big you need advertising, and advertising needs footfall. Let's face it, the old guard were of limited value to big advertisers - Lee Noble already knew how to contact Joust! 
PH are on to a hiding to nothing with BTaP. It is of particular interest to a group of people who have been going to it for the last 10 years. Those people have become friends over the years (or cliques, as it is also known). We reckon it costs us about £650 (more than that in the glory years of the auction) to go to BTaP, and frankly if we're not going to see either something new, or a significant number of old friends (a key question for us is 'is Bob coming back from Aus for it this year?'), then it's a bit marginal. Lots of people are in that position now. Look at the November BTaP; it wasn't well managed - perhaps they thought it would just 'happen' as always. We were sat there with a reserved room, and watching PH approach it with very little enthusiasm. In the end, we spent the money on something else.
I'm one of those who thinks that BTaP has had its day. It's unaffordable for a lot of PHers, and inappropriate to make the biggest event of the year accessible to only a few. When this event first got off the ground, the forums were small enough that groups of 2 or 4 would go hoping they would meet some of the most interesting posters. On some of the forums now, the members with the most notoriety are not people I'd want to spend £700 to meet!!
I think there are a few options for PH now. The thing that would bring me back to it as an event in its own right (rather than an opportunity to catch up with old mates) would be to get some keynote speakers in, or hold it somewhere like Gaydon with escorted tours around the museum over cocktails and canapes. Alternatively, ditch it in favour of a series of Sunday service with lunch type events, or something that would be equally appealing to singles or families - a variation on PistonFest? Get the big motor industry/engineering players to showcase their graduate schemes at the same event.
Time for a bit more imagination I think. It's all a bit stagnant.
Edited by Rude Girl on Friday 14th March 11:57
Rude Girl said:
frankly if we're not going to see either something new, or a significant number of old friends (a key question for us is 'is Bob coming back from Aus for it this year?'), then it's a bit marginal. Lots of people are in that position now. Look at the November BTaP; it wasn't well managed - perhaps they thought it would just 'happen' as always. We were sat there with a reserved room, and watching PH approach it with very little enthusiasm. In the end, we spent the money on something else. ]
Tim the Poolman (as I always think of him) was planning a November trip over to coincide; he's planning July now.I did the same & had one booked for this November too! (Having lived there for 6 months I know what too I wanted
)This years money is being spent on something far more exciting to me - a pair of shoes
Rude Girl said:
I'm one of those who thinks that BTaP has had its day. It's unaffordable for a lot of PHers, and inappropriate to make the biggest event of the year accessible to only a few. When this event first got off the ground, the forums were small enough that groups of 2 or 4 would go hoping they would meet some of the most interesting posters. On some of the forums now, the members with the most notoriety are not people I'd want to spend £700 to meet!!
I think there are a few options for PH now. The thing that would bring me back to it as an event in its own right (rather than an opportunity to catch up with old mates) would be to get some keynote speakers in, or hold it somewhere like Gaydon with escorted tours around the museum over cocktails and canapes. Alternatively, ditch it in favour of a series of Sunday service with lunch type events, or something that would be equally appealing to singles or families - a variation on PistonFest? Get the big motor industry/engineering players to showcase their graduate schemes at the same event.
Time for a bit more imagination I think. It's all a bit stagnant.
CBs not _that_ bad I think there are a few options for PH now. The thing that would bring me back to it as an event in its own right (rather than an opportunity to catch up with old mates) would be to get some keynote speakers in, or hold it somewhere like Gaydon with escorted tours around the museum over cocktails and canapes. Alternatively, ditch it in favour of a series of Sunday service with lunch type events, or something that would be equally appealing to singles or families - a variation on PistonFest? Get the big motor industry/engineering players to showcase their graduate schemes at the same event.
Time for a bit more imagination I think. It's all a bit stagnant.
but I do know what you mean, but then there are regulars I prefer not to mix with & Who prefer not to mix with me to - we've got quite successful at that Great ideas, it would be nice to see if they are heard. To try & ensure that they are, do you mind me stealing them & putting them in the Boardroom? I'll give you full credit!
ali_kat said:
Great ideas, it would be nice to see if they are heard. To try & ensure that they are, do you mind me stealing them & putting them in the Boardroom? I'll give you full credit!
Happy enough - go ahead. I have a suspicion though that the team will have a lot on their plates right now, and this is not a good time for them to think about new events. I have no doubt that they have lost a chunk of money over BTaPx2 and they will be feeling the pain of that. There is unlikely to be any appetite to propose an event that would require any investment at the moment.
ali_kat said:
No, we do but we need it to be organised properly!
5 weeks notice is no good, even if we do know the date 11 months before
April is no good, we've planned stuff for Easter & have November blocked out for it
Had it been re-booked for 1st Novber it would have been the success it always is
Fair enough Ali, was just calling it as it appeared.5 weeks notice is no good, even if we do know the date 11 months before
April is no good, we've planned stuff for Easter & have November blocked out for it
Had it been re-booked for 1st Novber it would have been the success it always is
The powers that be couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery now, oh how the times have changed bad management and marketing, last year was one of the first ones I've missed, I even went to one when I needed root canal surgery! I just don't like some of the things that have happened around PH over the last couple of years, perhaps we could organise something ourselves, people have plenty of contacts on here..
tty things that have gone on in PH towers which leave a bitter taste in a lot of our mouths people are just not interested anymoreGassing Station | Black Tie & Pie | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff