Titan Fan Con was this last weekend and like any convention there were problems, unfortunately it seems a few things snowballed.
Titan Fan Con was a two-day convention held at the Ector County Coliseum on June 17-18th. They were a medium-sized convention with some decent celebrity names such as Voice Actress Christina Kelly, Kerrigan Mahan and Barbara Goodson from Power Rangers, and Seth Gilliam from The Walking Dead.
For many, Seth Gilliam was the big draw. Unfortunately, he cancelled which upset many of the fans who were coming to see him.
This is where the conflict started and like every conflict there were two sides.
There was Seth’s side of the story;
And there was Titan Fan Con’s side of the story;
Everything would have been good if it was left at this, but things evolved quickly and it ended up escalating. A few fans took exception and tempers flared on both sides. The moderator for Titan Fan Con’s Facebook page even went to so far as to talk about black listing certain people.
Their moderator forgot a key rule when it comes to dealing with Social Media…NEVER FEED THE FLAMES (or the trolls) because then tempers fly and everyone gets carried away.
When I approached Titan Fan Con and asked them about the issue with Seth Gilliam, I received the following;
We were informed of the cancellation Friday. We then took measures to see if we could get a flight. We had tried to work this out but opted to hold them to adjusting the flights we had already purchased. When we realized it was not an option we began telling people at the gate as they entered. Then it was announced on Facebook. We did issue refund to people who immediately approached us before entering. However, like 90% of shows we only guarantee refunds on guest specific items. (Photo Ops, VIP specific passes) which he had none sold.
Now according to Seth he wanted to go but, “They wouldn’t pay for a change in my flight.” According to Titan, they tried to accommodate, but it didn’t work out.
Most conventions want their celebrities to show up, after all that is the big draw, and they will do whatever they can to ensure the celebrity gets to the convention. However, with many contracts the convention is not obligated to ensure the celebrity appears…it is on the celebrity, provided the convention holds up their part of the contract. If the convention provided the initial tickets, held a hotel room, and even made an attempt to change flights, then they held their part of the contract.
According to Titan Fan Con, Seth had not sold any Photo Ops, VIP passes, etc. (whether these were offered, I’m not sure) so there was no reason for them to go above and beyond, except possibly as a courtesy to their fans.
At one point Seth stated, “I offered to pay them immediately for the change,” which leads me to ask…if Seth was paying for flight change anyhow, why didn’t he pay for the change to begin with? Or just go ahead and make the change? The airlines don’t care whether it is the original ticket purchaser paying to change the flight or their third cousin, they just want money.
However, if the ticket was purchased through a third party such as Expedia, there is the possibility that it was more difficult to change, but I have never encountered that myself.
I approached both Seth and his agent and never got a response…..
It’s a Scorcher
As anyone knows Texas can be hot and the weekend of Titan Fan Con it broke triple digits, which meant everyone was seeking a nice cool, air-conditioned facility to hang out in, unfortunately that was not the case. There was no air conditioning on the first day of Titan Fan Con and many fans complained heavily about that.
One thing that fans forget is that the convention only rents the building; they are not responsible for the building maintenance, bathroom sizes, position of heating vents or where the parking lot is in relation to the building. The convention owners typically try for the best building they feel can/will accommodate their event. The convention has no control over maintenance.
According to Titan Fan Con;
The building had issues with the AC and we were told this was controlled by a separate system in the Coliseum. We talked to them all day and around 5 after we announced early closing due to the heat they informed us they had forgotten to activate 6 of the 8 units. The following day it worked.
So, it appears that Titan Fan Con management did what they could, but their options were limited. If you have a problem with the building, yes you can bring it to the attention of convention management who in turn will bring it to the building owner or take the issue under consideration when they rent next year.
