Leslieville Cheese Market prepared The Hawaiian Steak, Saffron Fennel Cream Soup and Wafella.
The Hawaiian Steak: Rye bread, spam, Swiss cheese, coleslaw, green onions, Hungarian smoked paprika spread.Wafella: Gluten-free waffles, coconut gouda and Nutella® Photo taken by Ingrid Goh.
What do you get when you combine more than 1,400 lbs of cheese, 700 loaves of bread, and special ingredients such as kimchi, figs, Nutella®, and Doritos®? The hottest Toronto food fest ticket kicking off the year 2014.
Tickets to the inaugural Grilled Cheese Fest sold out two weeks prior to the highly anticipated event and individuals resorted to online classifieds in attempts to obtain coveted access to this exclusive event.
Conceptually, it was a great idea: all-you-can-eat grilled cheese, soup and three beer samples for $39.99+HST. Not a bad treat for a cold winter’s day. Unfortunately, it wound up being a poorly executed idea and a public relations fiasco for Joylister, the event organizer.
The event organizer’s last minute call for volunteers was an omen of what was to come. There didn’t appear to be more than 40 volunteers in the briefing meeting, which was held in the main lobby of the Roy Thompson Hall prior to the start of the event.
Eager customers gathered 45 minutes prior to the event to secure a good place in line, as event organizers warned customers on their website to arrive early. And in this case, the early bird did get the worm. Once entering the venue, they waited about 10 minutes at each station and were able to try the majority of the different offerings.
This, however, did not last long. What had once been a roomy rotunda soon became packed elbow to elbow, as people descended to the venue at the end of the work day. Short lines multiplied into long intersecting lines, resulting in unorganized herds of cold, hungry and angry people.
Lobby Lines – Photo by Ingrid Goh.
Those who were looking to redeem their beer tickets also experienced confusion as they waited in line at the Roy Thompson Hall concession stands, only to be redirected to specially set up beer stations.
Customers who had walked the PATH (without their jackets) were stunned when they were told that they had to wait outside in line in below freezing temperatures to access the building. This line started at the main doors, heading north on Simcoe Street, and then turned west on King Street West, ending right before David Pecaut Square. It was reminiscent of the Toronto International Film Festival—except in frigid temperatures.
Line stemmed from the main doors along Simcoe St. and then turned west along King St. ending at Metro Hall. Photo by Ingrid Goh.
One person indicated that they waited over an hour in the cold, only to wait another 30 minutes indoors for a small piece of grilled cheese. Others told similar stories.
Some individuals realized that soup lines were shorter than grilled cheese lines. But by 9 p.m. most soups and sandwiches were gone. At that time beer lines were short, but were serving warm beer.
Many irate customers looked for someone to complain to, and when they couldn’t find the organizer, they took their complaints to social media. Facebook and Twitter were all abuzz with complaints and cheesy remarks such as not gouda and edam shame. One person pasted the Joylister’s company registration information on Pastebin so that customers could directly contact the organizers to demand a refund.
The organizers eventually stationed themselves by the venue’s main door, collecting complaints and emails. It was there that one person ranted that they were in the PR industry and the event was not handled appropriately.
The following day, all Facebook comments were deleted and Joylister posted an apology message indicating that they would personally address each email that they received.
What went wrong?
The Roy Thompson Hall North and South lobby is designed to hold 1,500 for cocktails according to its rental website. A press package distributed to media indicated that organizers expected over 2,250 guests.
In addition to overselling the venue, there were reports of electrical problems since the venue was not designed to handle the electrical demands of multiple grills. Luckily one vendor, Gorilla Cheese, operates out of a food truck and was able to prepare grilled cheese outside the venue while volunteers ran back and forth with platters.
Despite a few hard working volunteers, not all of them appeared to be used in the most effective manner. Some volunteers were not only seen eating and taking pictures of their food, but also drinking alcohol, instead of trying to improve the situation.
Brian Tao posted the following lesson for Joylister:
– Limit the number of ticket sales (Don’t overbook your event)
– Find a less challenging venue
– Find an effective way of dealing with crowds
– Find someone who knows about traffic flow
– Stagger ticket entrance times
– Process refunds ASAP
Cheesewerks created an exclusive sandwich for Grilled Cheese Fest called Zurich. Gunn’s Hill 5 Brothers, Gouda/Swiss, Honey-Roasted Figs, Green Apple. Photo taken by Ingrid Goh
The shortcomings of the event overshadowed the stars of the event. This included classic grilled cheese sandwiches to creations such as The Zesty by Gorilla Cheese; Zurich by Cheesewerks; General Kim by Cut the Cheese; Tattooed Chicken by MELT grilled cheese; and Wafella by Leslieville Cheese Market. At 9 p .m., recognizing that many customers did not receive any food, Cheesewerks tweeted to their followers that they would give a free Beijing or Zurich grilled cheese sandwich over the weekend to those presenting an event ticket at their store.
| The Math:
17 different grilled cheese sandwiches + 9 assorted soups + 7 types of beer = potential for greatness 2,250 reported guests – 1,500 venue capacity = 750 oversold When the math doesn’t add up, things may start smelling worse than Blue Stilton Cheese |
