Below is an email from Anthem Group apologizing for their mistakes. It takes major pumpkins to do this and I greatly appreciate them for doing it. Hello,
Please excuse the mass e-mail. This was the easiest way to connect
with everyone that has e-mailed, filled out a contact form, etc. We
were not open on Sunday because of post event wrap-up and have been
sorting through the e-mails, calls and ticket lists in order to get
back to everyone in the most efficient manner. You will receive an
individualized e-mail response over the course of the week regarding
your specific comment/request.
We do sincerely apologize for those that were unable to gain admission
to The New England Dessert Showcase or for any ill experience you had.
There was an unexpected and unprecedented amount of walk-ups
attempting to purchase tickets the day of the event. Although no
walk-ins were given admission, this did further clog the lines. The
hotel security staff also falsely informed many patrons that the event
was closed when in fact we were still allowing patrons in as there
were still several exhibitors sampling. There was enough to last to
the end of the day. Nevertheless, The Anthem Group accepts full
responsibility and wants to rectify the situation.
If you requested a refund and purchased through Anthem we will be able
to connect with you within the next day or so in order to authorize
this. If you requested a refund and purchased through a third party
site (Living Social, Groupon, CoupMe) we are simply waiting on these
sites to let us know if we should refer any refund requests directly
to the site itself, or if Anthem will be able to send a check for the
refund. Anthem prefers to handle the refunds internally as that would
be most efficient and ensure that no one falls through the cracks.
However, we do need to collaborate with these third-party sites before
action is taken on our end. Ideally, this should all be settled
today/tomorrow and we will then instruct you on who to contact at the
appropriate site, or get the necessary information from you in order
to process the request ourselves.
We assure you that all e-mails, calls, contact forms will be returned
this week. The process of verifying admission to the event, proof of
purchase and most notably waiting on the third party websites is time
consuming but we will rectify the situation as quickly as possible. As
a company that has been in business for ten years and has managed
events that (literally) have half a million more patrons, our entire
team understands the importance of the event experience. It is because
of that sincere interest in every individuals' experience and
expectations that we not only will move promptly but also personalize
each response as soon as we collect all necessary information.
Best,
Erica Johnson
The Anthem Group
The New England Dessert Showcase
