The first thing I did when I came home was change into dry clothing. The second thing I did was write this email to Wordstock. They contacted me on November 10 to say that the Portland Art Museum would be processing a refund, which I appreciate. As of this writing I have not received the refund.
7 November, 2015
Literary Arts
925 SW Washington St.
Portland, OR 97205
To whom it may concern:
I put Wordstock on my calendar months ago, when the date was first announced. I bought my ticket on September 13, as soon as I knew they were available to the public. This morning, I printed my ticket, exchanged the pens in my bag for pencils and made sure to arrive more than an hour before the first presentation, because I was told there would be lines.
When I arrived at the venue, the line for pre-paid tickets stretched around the block. Seeking to avoid that line, I purchased another ticket because there was no waiting for people who didn’t plan ahead. I then attempted to find the various venues in the Mark Building but got lost in the museum due to the poor map. I gave up my search and went to stand in line for the McMenamins stage at the Whitsell Auditorium.
Because I was in line 30 minutes before the 10:00 session, I was able to attend that session which was great. I stood in line in the rain for the 11:00 session, then stood in line inside to get into the room, then listened to the first 15 minutes of the presentation outside the room while I waited to get in. I noted that several people chose to jump to the front of the line and were not turned away for their efforts.
As with the 11:00 session, I immediately got in line for the 12:00 session, which was in the same building. The room exceeded capacity before I could get in. Facing wall-to-wall people, with no clear path to go anywhere, not to the bathroom, not to the Book Fair, not to any session I had planned on going to, I gave up and headed for home. Walking to the Max train, I saw the line for the First Congregational Church had stretched around the block to Broadway, and this was 10 minutes after the session had started.
I enjoyed a previous Wordstock experience, and waited patiently for the next one. I bought my ticket as soon as I could, and I expressed my excitement about attending the event via social media. As with the last Wordstock, I expected to attend the sessions I chose in their entirety, then walk to the next session of my choice and have reasonably easy entry into the next session of my choice.
Your event did not meet my expectations and I am requesting a full refund of my $15.00 ticket. (Note that I never got my book voucher, not that I could have gotten to the Book Fair to spend the voucher in the first place.)
Sincerely,
Patricia Collins
Also, it’s absolutely ridiculous that they had both pre-sale and day-of tickets, and that the process for the day-of tickets was easier than the one for pre-sale. You presumably haven’t received your refund yet because they’ve probably had a ton of complaints.