How do you think show directors or promoters think about the reviews they read. Do you think they'll reject an artist who posts a review starting with "never do this show"? Conversely, do you think they will go out of the way to accept an artist who writes positive reviews thinking it might give their show some good publicity for next years application numbers?
Or do you even consider show directors when writing reviews, good or bad?
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
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I write a lot of reviews, here and elsewhere. My rule of thumb: If I'm worrying about whether a particular draft will irritate a director, or adversely impact my chances of getting into one of their shows, then I should:
a) Sit on the draft for a day or so;
b) Rewrite it with an eye toward being fair, complete, and accurate.
That solves the issue 95% of the time.
If I am true to my principles about those things, then I post with a clear conscience.
I never have mentioned to a show director that I post reviews anywhere. And I'm typically surprised to find that they know, anyway, and usually go out of their way to thank me.
My husband and I had our own business doing A/C work for many years. One of the things we learned is that the vast majority of people who are unhappy will just go away. The small percentage of people who take the time to complain, as long as they're not totally out of line, can help a business improve and are important to hear out. I would hope that a promotor with a good business sense will appreciate the people who take the time to point out issues. I have a lot of respect for the promotor of the Orlando Downtown Art and Living show. After I gave the show a poor review he came by to see me at another show and offered a free booth space if I would give it a try again because he felt he had addressed a lot of my concerns. There is a person who cares about improving his show.
On the other hand, one of the benefits of running your own business is you can decide that you just don't want to deal with a particular customer. If a person goes on an unconstructive rant against a particular show I wouldn't blame the promotor one bit for pulling the app before jurying. The trick is to be constructive and fair and remember that promotors are reading these. The good ones are at least.
And if I start a review with "never do this show" I hope I'm taking my own advice.
Well said Alison, a good business takes fact based, constructive critisism to heart and will do whats necessary to improve to keep their customers. I wrote one review on this site, it never occurred to me that it would benefit or work against me at any time.
What I'm asking about is the show reviews that totally trash a show. Obviously that particular artist won't want to apply to that show again, but what of other shows where the promoter might read the review and wonder if their show will get trashed by that same person if they let them in?
There was a recent thread about Amy Amdur's enforcing her refund rule. It went on and on for what seems like forever. I remember reading a short comment in the middle of the thread about watching the person who started the thread commit career suicide.
Or the glowing show reviews might make that reviewer desirable for an up and coming show to think that they may get that kind of review out there.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
Larry, I see where you are going with this. It goes back to my "be nice" comment. If you are objective and aren't calling a promoter names, but pointing out flaws in the show, I would hope other promoters would take it in stride.
That being said, excessive or continual complaining (i.e., never or rarely have anything good to say about anything!) would certainly make me think twice about having that person in my show.
I make a point of calling people on bad service so they can improve. I also make a point of calling people on good service, especially exceptional service. They need to hear the good with the bad. Balance your reviews/posts...if you always come across as complaining or whining, that's how people will see you.
I'm curious to read what other artists think about it. Also there should be a template somewhere for writing a useful review of a show. Maybe a ten point check list with room for a few comments. I'm just trying to find out what others think
If you pay attention to the reviews, you'll see that most are written by artists relatively new to art shows and the more experience an artist has, the less likely they are to write a review, good or bad.
Larry Berman
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100
"Also there should be a template somewhere for writing a useful review of a show. Maybe a ten point check list with room for a few comments."
Larry, I think this is an excellent idea. Many show reviews tend to be so subjective. Plus often they are imbalanced, as the reviewer either raves about the show or pans it. In reality, most show reviews would be somewhere in the middle. A checklist would enable a person to step back and think about an objective assessment.
I do think it is more likely that a person will write a review if they are unhappy. Just like good service seldom receives a compliment. When I review hotels I find I am much faster on the draw when I’ve been to a bad one. I’m trying to become more aware of that, and write good reviews when well served. When an artist pans a show, they know they might be burning their bridges, but they no longer care about going back.
The option of anonymity in AFSB is a great plus for me. I write my reviews (which I hope are balanced!) there more often, so fear of retaliation doesn’t affect what I write. I WAS blackballed years back by a for-profit promoter once after a complaint: that’s affected my attitude.
This quote from a recent show review says it all. If I was the show director and read this, you bet this person wouldn't be back.
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