EPO bands

[Johnnyseven]

3 hours ago, Supernintendo Chalmers said:

There are two entrances/exits to navigate, very strictly stewarded. You'll either need to be a T&C performer, worker or camper (you get a lanyard to indicate which) or you'll need a specific/general pass to get you through most/all areas. An EPO band alone won't get you through. 

I'll be performing backstage at T&C on friday, how likely is it that i'll get accreditation that will allow through the back way to the SEC?

[BambooShanks]

1 minute ago, bennyboi said:

However, I'd say that just for the collection of the EPO, once in use the QR system is simple, its just " is the band suppose to be in or out?" 

For the guys checking them, I'd imagine that is the case since they would only have a reader that scans and changes the status to IN or OUT or returns an error if it is trying to change a band to the same status it already is.  I'm assuming that this is similar to how your ticket is scanned and validated on entry.

As for checking the registration of the band,  it's very easy for the larger organisations to register them to individuals, but the smaller organisations without the same level of infrastructure may only have them registered to the organisation and not the individual.

 

Either way, it certainly looks like this particular loophole has been closed. As with any system, there's bound to be some exploits  but I'm not smart enough to see any at the moment.

 

 

[bennyboi]

1 minute ago, Kinkyinuit said:

For the guys checking them, I'd imagine that is the case since they would only have a reader that scans and changes the status to IN or OUT or returns an error if it is trying to change a band to the same status it already is.  I'm assuming that this is similar to how your ticket is scanned and validated on entry.

As for checking the registration of the band,  it's very easy for the larger organisations to register them to individuals, but the smaller organisations without the same level of infrastructure may only have them registered to the organisation and not the individual.

 

Either way, it certainly looks like this particular loophole has been closed. As with any system, there's bound to be some exploits  but I'm not smart enough to see any at the moment.

 

 

Yeah, it was fun while it lasted. 

I'm sure there are minds greater than mine working on a fudge for next year. 

[acidliam]

On 5/2/2019 at 4:23 PM, incident said:

Oh yeah, and the advice given by @Kinkyinuit regarding camping on site is really important - security do proactively police public campsites on the Monday and Tuesday to stop staff camping there and will take down any tents they find. You might be able to find a sheltered area out of their gaze, but I wouldn't want to rely on it.

Shit is this the case? We were planning on going down tuesday evening to setup in public camping as we've got performer tickets but most mates are just standard entry, including one whos in our tent.

[BambooShanks]

4 minutes ago, bennyboi said:

Yeah, it was fun while it lasted. 

I'm sure there are minds greater than mine working on a fudge for next year. 

No doubt.

 I reckon there were a fair few guys there who are disappointed that this has ended.  

 

 

[BambooShanks]

Just now, acidliam said:

Shit is this the case? We were planning on going down tuesday evening to setup in public camping as we've got performer tickets but most mates are just standard entry, including one whos in our tent.

I would imagine so, I haven't heard anything about a climb down on this rule. 

It just means you have to re-pitch your tent in public camping come Wednesday morning.

[bennyboi]

8 minutes ago, Kinkyinuit said:

No doubt.

 I reckon there were a fair few guys there who are disappointed that this has ended.  

 

 

I know quite a few of these guys, its a fairly hot topic locally. 

I can imagine, most Screwfixes in the mid-somerset area have sold out of telescopic ladders 

[acidliam]

9 minutes ago, Kinkyinuit said:

I would imagine so, I haven't heard anything about a climb down on this rule. 

It just means you have to re-pitch your tent in public camping come Wednesday morning.

Hmm, yeah ballache but looks like we'll have to do that. Might just set up the 2 manner and save the big tent for an early start wednesday morning then

 

[BambooShanks]

Just now, acidliam said:

Hmm, yeah ballache but looks like we'll have to do that. Might just set up the 2 manner and save the big tent for an early start wednesday morning then

 

Sounds like a plan.  I've done similar in the past and while it's a pain, it'll be done early doors so you can enjoy the rest of your day.

[acidliam]

5 minutes ago, Kinkyinuit said:

Sounds like a plan.  I've done similar in the past and while it's a pain, it'll be done early doors so you can enjoy the rest of your day.

At least we'll have had some sleep tuesday night rather than driving down, so can't grumble I guess.

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

1 hour ago, Johnnyseven said:

I'll be performing backstage at T&C on friday, how likely is it that i'll get accreditation that will allow through the back way to the SEC?

I'm not sure in all honesty as I'm only a camper in T&C but I'd suggest asking when they give you your pass. If it entitles you access to the T&C campsite (the Green Room Bar alone is worth it) then you'll be able to take the back route to the SEC

[EasyUserName]

49 minutes ago, bennyboi said:

I know quite a few of these guys, its a fairly hot topic locally. 

I can imagine, most Screwfixes in the mid-somerset area have sold out of telescopic ladders 

Was it something that was sprung on people?  Maybe if they'd told workers etc in advance enough, people might have made alternative arrangements.

 

I'm curious as to what (if any) impact it will have overall.  I can imagine a scenario or two, where you say are a trader and need an extra pair of hands.  You bring in some extra help "on the side" and that helps reduce your costs and means you can make a more competitive pitch bid next time.  Or simply sell on a couple of entries to subsidise things.  With that money / labour gone, how much impact would it have next time I wonder (people adjusting their bids / services / displays etc to reflect the reduced income etc). 

 

I wonder if it was the fake wristbands that did it in for this.  Wouldn't surprise me if it has traditionally been an ignored problem because it was at a manageable level, until a stack of people got in on the fakes, making the issue more "visual" to the licensing people.

 

 

[shoptildrop]

18 minutes ago, EasyUserName said:

Was it something that was sprung on people?  Maybe if they'd told workers etc in advance enough, people might have made alternative arrangements.

 

I'm curious as to what (if any) impact it will have overall.  I can imagine a scenario or two, where you say are a trader and need an extra pair of hands.  You bring in some extra help "on the side" and that helps reduce your costs and means you can make a more competitive pitch bid next time.  Or simply sell on a couple of entries to subsidise things.  With that money / labour gone, how much impact would it have next time I wonder (people adjusting their bids / services / displays etc to reflect the reduced income etc). 

 

I wonder if it was the fake wristbands that did it in for this.  Wouldn't surprise me if it has traditionally been an ignored problem because it was at a manageable level, until a stack of people got in on the fakes, making the issue more "visual" to the licensing people.

 

 

^^^^^ I would say it was this, as the numbers were too high to be ignored (I have no idea the actually number mind you, was it thousands??)

[LeeHC]

23 minutes ago, EasyUserName said:

Was it something that was sprung on people? 

It was never a legit way in so the festival was under no obligation to tell anyone. In fact as they are (presumably) clamping down on this loophole then the longer they kept it quiet the better...

[Johnnyseven]

53 minutes ago, Supernintendo Chalmers said:

I'm not sure in all honesty as I'm only a camper in T&C but I'd suggest asking when they give you your pass. If it entitles you access to the T&C campsite (the Green Room Bar alone is worth it) then you'll be able to take the back route to the SEC

The Green Room is where we're playing!

Thanks for the info!

[SouthbanKen]

On 6/19/2019 at 5:31 PM, czuk said:

Blue Dot are forcing the use of preloaded wristbands this year and there's a lot of pissed off punters (myself included) as they didn't mention it until the tickets were sent out.  I wouldn't mind it in addition to cash and contactless card but let the punter decide FFS

Not sure why people are pissed off. Standon Calling have used it for a few years. Really simple system, preload your cash, top up online at anytime from your phone. no-one needs to carry any cash at all, all the traders accept it, keeps queues down and increases security. Apply for a refund at the end of the festival (up to a week afterwards i think) any not reclaimed goes to charity. 

[jimbarkanoodle]

Standon Calling have been notorious for delaying these repayments of left over money on the wristbands for several weeks after they promised they would. Basically hoping people forget or give up. Not surprising when the owner of the festival is well known convicted fraudster who was diddling Tesco for a fair chunk of £1millon when employed there.

[watsonjm]

Would be easier if everywhere accepted cards.  Best of both worlds

[SouthbanKen]

7 minutes ago, jimbarkanoodle said:

Standon Calling have been notorious for delaying these repayments of left over money on the wristbands for several weeks after they promised they would. Basically hoping people forget or give up. Not surprising when the owner of the festival is well known convicted fraudster who was diddling Tesco for a fair chunk of £1millon when employed there.

I've only been once, it took a couple of weeks to get the cash back but its not like i had loaded it up with a full months salary so i wasn't overly worried about waiting for my £30 back and anyone who can defraud Mr Tesco gets a thumbs up in my book. 

[incident]

9 minutes ago, SouthbanKen said:

Not sure why people are pissed off. Standon Calling have used it for a few years. Really simple system, preload your cash, top up online at anytime from your phone. no-one needs to carry any cash at all, all the traders accept it, keeps queues down and increases security. Apply for a refund at the end of the festival (up to a week afterwards i think) any not reclaimed goes to charity. 

Thing is, by creating a free account with an app based bank (Starling, Monzo, and others) and using contactless, from a customers perspective you can achieve every single one of those benefits for yourself, and quite a few others. No need to hand over cash to the festival, no need to pay an admin fee when you "cash out", can carry it on for as many (or as few) festivals as you want, and for that matter as those accounts don't charge a foreign currency fee or percentage it works just as well for overseas travel. Your money is also FSCS protected.

I'd flat out refuse to go to a festival that pulled that stunt. There's been issues in the past with festivals going under and keeping the cash leaving both customers and stallholders out of pocket, and as it relies on the infrastructure supplied by/to the festival it creates a potential single point of failure - which caused chaos when Download tried it one year and then learnt their lesson.

[jimbarkanoodle]

agreed- fuck Tesco, but I done some work at Standon Calling one year and I was uncomfortable about how much they were trying to cream money out of punters.

Although this didn't apply to me, it became apparent that there was a very paltry alcohol allowance, and even then you couldn't bring that into the main festival arena. I observed the searches each time punters passed through the campsite into the arena and it wasn't a quick peek into girls bags it was a full on search for booze, food and naughties. Basically you would be stripped of anything, including water, and had to buy food and drink inside.

The cost a pint was £5.50 and this was 4 years ago, so pretty steep!

The cynic in me would tell you that the QR bands which let you pay for stuff are simply there to encourage you to spend more as it is so simple, and you aren't going to bother getting a refund for small amounts. Glastonbury has survived just fine for many a year using good old cash (apart from the off fake 20's that do the rounds), so relatively tiny ones that insist on these QR things make me suspicious.

[bennyboi]

1 hour ago, EasyUserName said:

Was it something that was sprung on people?  Maybe if they'd told workers etc in advance enough, people might have made alternative arrangements.

 

I'm curious as to what (if any) impact it will have overall.  I can imagine a scenario or two, where you say are a trader and need an extra pair of hands.  You bring in some extra help "on the side" and that helps reduce your costs and means you can make a more competitive pitch bid next time.  Or simply sell on a couple of entries to subsidise things.  With that money / labour gone, how much impact would it have next time I wonder (people adjusting their bids / services / displays etc to reflect the reduced income etc). 

 

I wonder if it was the fake wristbands that did it in for this.  Wouldn't surprise me if it has traditionally been an ignored problem because it was at a manageable level, until a stack of people got in on the fakes, making the issue more "visual" to the licensing people.

 

 

No It wasn't sprung, letters  were issued to people on site a week or so ago mentioning the new system. But EPO's werent collected  until yesterday so I think people were just waiting for actual confirmation yesterday and the craic has gone. 

I can imagine the impact isnt that great on vendors, it was only a very small percentage of people with EPO's that a) knew the situation and b) had the minerals to use it. I cant imagine it was more than a couple of thousand extra people that had got in this way before. 

I'd say it was the fake bands in 2017 that put the kibosh on it, it only takes one greedy scouser bugger it all.  

Which is understandable because pass backs for locals is one thing, whole sale flogging of moody bands is another, its just not glasto. 

Edited June 24, 2019 by bennyboi

[Supernintendo Chalmers]

2 hours ago, Johnnyseven said:

The Green Room is where we're playing!

Thanks for the info!

Nice one! Many people think it's the best backstage bar at the festival. Enjoy!

[Mouseboy11]

2 hours ago, bennyboi said:

No It wasn't sprung, letters  were issued to people on site a week or so ago mentioning the new system. But EPO's werent collected  until yesterday so I think people were just waiting for actual confirmation yesterday and the craic has gone. 

I can imagine the impact isnt that great on vendors, it was only a very small percentage of people with EPO's that a) knew the situation and b) had the minerals to use it. I cant imagine it was more than a couple of thousand extra people that had got in this way before. 

I'd say it was the fake bands in 2017 that put the kibosh on it, it only takes one greedy scouser bugger it all.  

Which is understandable because pass backs for locals is one thing, whole sale flogging of moody bands is another, its just not glasto. 

I'm not sure stereotyping in such a way is very 'glasto' either.

[guypjfreak]

12 hours ago, eFestivals said:

reckon they will be, by what i know about what is being issued and documented to individuals this year (that wasn't last time).

Yea mate just phoned me from site. Your right old son..