Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I ran a race last year that was botched up beyond belief. The course was poorly marked, the volunteers weren't there in time, and people all ran different courses, making it such that times and places meant nothing. Runners were understandably upset...there were people who had put months and months of training into this event. The race director expressed his apologies, and offered to let anyone who participated in last year's event into this year's event at the price of their choosing (they could pay anything from nothing to the standard price, based on what they felt the race was worth). The race will likely lose money next year, but it's setting itself up for future years, and it's better than having no one show up and folding altogether. Ed, maybe you could consider something like that? I wasn't at the Fest, so I have no idea how poorly it went, but based on what I'm reading, it sounds like unless you do something, no one's going to return next year. If this is truly your dream, a little incentive for people who got burned this year might get them to come back next year. It sounds like a bear to organize, and I think people are being a little harsh, but then again, as I said, I wasn't there. I wish you the best of luck with future Food and Music Fests, and hope that you take the lessons you learned this year and use them to make next year a success.

If we all work together, people we can get our refunds and maybe even network to the point of doing a class-action suit against the promoters of this event. I am in the process of looking for a law firm that will take the case. Stay tuned. Don't let them win!

I was there all day, from 8am - 11pm, working on the music half of the festival. And for our part, I think it was a good day. The sound and tech crews were professional and friendly, and I think the music performances were almost flawless. Ok, one glitch with a band who didn't all fit on the small stage. But for such a large event, people truly did a fantastic job from the planning stages to the end.

I do hope Serious Eats and all involved give the food half some further consideration and try again. I did have one of the bagels mid-afternoon. It was a tasty snack.

This event had a lot of potential... too bad it didn't turn out the way it should have.

I don't feel that I need a refund for my tickets- I went, I had a good time w/ my friends, I was able to eat. HOWEVER, I checked my credit card account last night and found that these guys charged me TWO apparently flat fees of $75. I had linked my credit card to two different wrist bands, but we didn't spend anywhere NEAR $75. How could we, when the whole damn system wasn't working? We paid cash for most of our items.

Anyone else have this problem? Any idea on who I should contact regarding being over-charged by the vendors/wristband people/Great American Food and Music Fest? The website itself does not have a contact # or anything.

I'm pretty easygoing and I am prepared to let a lot of thing slide. But come on, people. This is getting beyond ridiculous.

Without question a complete disaster. I am so glad my party figured it out and left after standing in line to get in and then trying to get some food. We only wasted 3 hours. The final insult was being told to stand in line for a refund. No way - we left.

I just got off the phone with Tim Anderson, the manager at Live nation. Nedless to say he is not having a good day. For a refund make a copy of your ticket, mail the original to:

Tim Anderson
Live Nation
1 Ampitheater Parkway
Mt. View, CA 94043
650 967-3000

Good luck!

Thanks to those of you who posted Live Nation's customer serivce line. I called as well and the transaction went smoothly.

Call me crazy, but if they do this again I will possibly attend. I 'm sure what we experienced Saturday was close to the worst it could have been. They have some time to attempt to redeem themselves.

I just had to add something. After waiting hours and hours to get to the Katz counter, the kid running the counter has the nerve to put out a tip cup. Are you kidding me? I just had to laugh at that point.

I thought this would be a great event - obviously it wasn't and I'm glad I didn't travel or spend any money on it.

I tried to go to our city's chili festival this year, and not even halfway through the event, all vendors ran out of food and they cut ticket prices in half...basically, they still wanted you to pay half for absolutely nothing. We politely declined at the gate. Unfortunately the city refused to give parking refunds, so we walked a few blocks and ate at a great restaurant.

What is it with events these days?

I was in envy of folks who had the opportunity to attend this event and am appalled at how it failed. I feel so badly for anyone who spent money/looked forward and worked hard to try and make this happen.

But I must say I agree with foodpr - I didn't even attend this thing and I think the response from SE has not been up to snuff. Clear instructions for getting refunds are obviously in order and have not been provided. Ed, your apology wasn't strong enough and you need to update it - NOW. I know your heart was in the right place, but your execution wasn't and you need to suck it up - particularly if you want to try and rework this and do it again. How you handle this failure will determine if you have a success scenario in the future. Best of luck.

I'm a PR guy and a major foodie. The only reason I didn't attend this past weekend was because of a bum knee awaiting surgery. I'd really wanted to go, but couldn't.

In retrospect, I am glad I didn't.

But even moreso, given my job in PR, I'm stunned.

First off, even great "PR" can't make up for a lack of execution. The product is what the product is -- in this case, it was the GAFAMF, or whatever they're calling it now.

For all of those of you who routinely dismiss PR as some sort of fake balm, here's what my firm would've recommended:

An apology of SE a LOT sooner than Ed's. Comments were spiralling out of control by mid-afternoon Saturday.

An apology better than Ed's. Sorry, but I don't care about your dream or passed blamage.

A direct, easy to use guide on how to get refunds, with numbers and names, right here on SE.

An suggestion box email address (to get some of the bitching offline!) that connects people directly with SE and Ed.

That's it for now. I get paid to do this stuff. But yeah, um, those would be good starts.

SE and Ed, if you want to start to turn it around, email me. Apparently, the douches you've already poured money into haven't help one single bit. Agreed? :)

Good luck!

I've been to a lot of festivals and to Disneyland, and this was by far the most colossally disappointing event I've ever attended. We were there at noon with tix in hand, but left at 4:30, hungry and spending over an hour in the refund line. I won't repeat the details as most of these posts seem to be very similar to our experience. I must add that when we finally got inside the gate around 1:00 and asked a group of employees where we could get a menu and event map, one of them said, "There are no maps and menus - this is a green event." When I said, "Oh...where did they get them?" and pointed to the folks walking past us with them, she replied, "Oh! We have menus??" Sigh (I ended up finding them at a small booth off to the side).

Best thing about the festival: the good humor and camaraderie in the crowds, as everyone was in the same pathetic situation and you couldn't help but laugh a sad, ironic laugh (beats crying, which we did see in the refund line), or cheer whenever someone actually got food and waved it over their heads to the rest of the line as if it was some sort of rare treasure - well, in this case, I guess food WAS a rare and coveted treasure .

Things to think about, should the "organizers" (a generous title, at best) ever attempt this festival again:
- Check out the event site beforehand, and plan out physical space and amount of food to accommodate the large crowds you were expecting...and don't oversell.
- Communication to all employees before the start of the event. There was a plethora of conflicting information.
- Stanchions, and enough employees to control the size, flow and direction of lines and to keep people from cutting in.
- On the back of the Menu, put an Event Schedule and Map, not the Ticketing Options and Prices. We're already in the event - we already HAVE tickets and don't need to know the prices! Oh yeah, and hand them out at the entrance.
- Ditch the "cashless" wristband system that doesn't work.

My boyfriend and I love yummy food, summer festivals, and were really looking forward to a great day of entertainment. We ended up getting Wing Stop hot wings (with an Advil chaser for the hunger-headache), making cocktails at home and reading how much other people felt burned by this festival, too. Awesome.

I would recommend to anyone having a hard time with Live Nation regarding a refund to call your credit card company, explain the situation and dispute the charge.

How can it be all their fault in one breath, and entirely that of another company in the next? The failed wristband system was not responsible for the mile walk to the gate, the hour wait to get in, overselling of tickets, food shortages, inadequately staffed vendors, overpriced water, poorly considered venue, uncontrolled chaos in line-ups, lack of programs, and on and on. I'm sure the refunds are appreciated, but have some integrity--own your mistakes, apologize sincerely, and don't try to place blame elsewhere.