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Cancellations in the UK caused by coronavirus


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I just received my cancellation email from ROH for Friday's Swan Lake.  There was a form to fill in, asking for choice of refund/donation/transfer to future event.  The fact that 'donation' was already ticked, meaning they were forcing that as an automatic preference if one didn't actively decide on an alternative, really put me off that option.  Had there been a fourth choice, say, of half the cost going to ROH I might have considered it.  But when I give £145 to charity I'd rather give it to people in need of life's essentials.  Difficult times!

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Just now, maryrosesatonapin said:

I just received my cancellation email from ROH for Friday's Swan Lake.  There was a form to fill in, asking for choice of refund/donation/transfer to future event.  The fact that 'donation' was already ticked, meaning they were forcing that as an automatic preference if one didn't actively decide on an alternative, really put me off that option.  Had there been a fourth choice, say, of half the cost going to ROH I might have considered it.  But when I give £145 to charity I'd rather give it to people in need of life's essentials.  Difficult times!

 

Agreed - I thought exactly the same and I'm going to email the Box Office to that effect.  I would love to be able to donate the full price of my ticket, but my husband works in travel and our own future is far from certain and I did consider a half way option of being able to donate 50% of the ticket price as a good solution.

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Following the latest advice from the government, and to avoid contributing to the spread of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak, we have taken the decision with a heavy heart to close the building to the public, and cancel all events, performances and activities up until 19 April.

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21 minutes ago, Ryo said:

Following the latest advice from the government, and to avoid contributing to the spread of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak, we have taken the decision with a heavy heart to close the building to the public, and cancel all events, performances and activities up until 19 April.


Sorry - which company or theatre is this?

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I received below e-mail from ROH at 16:21pm today.

 

Dear xxx,

Following the latest advice from the government, and to avoid contributing to the spread of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak, we have taken the decision with a heavy heart to close the building to the public, and cancel all events, performances and activities up until 19 April.

These unprecedented circumstances will have an impact on all of us: on you, our audiences, Friends, Patrons and supporters; on our dedicated artists and staff; and on the schools and communities we work with up and down the country. During this uncertainty, we will do everything we can to protect our theatre and artistic companies, and return to a regular footing as soon as possible.

In common with many cultural organisations, the ROH is a charity and almost 80% of our funding comes from audiences: from your ticket purchases and donations, and from the money you spend in our restaurants, bars and shop. We therefore ask that you please consider turning your ticket refunds into valued donations to help the organisation you love to return in the best possible health.

You can keep up to date via the ROH social media channels for updates during this ongoing crisis, as well as announcements on a programme of free broadcasts, including performances, we will bring you during this period of closure.

We thank you for your continued support of the ROH, it is invaluable during these uncertain times.

Alex Beard

Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House

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I had something similar with the form for a donation/credit/refund. This said: "If you have booked for multiple events, please submit an individual request for each performance. Really? That means 15 forms for me and 15 forms for them to process.

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27 minutes ago, capybara said:

I had something similar with the form for a donation/credit/refund. This said: "If you have booked for multiple events, please submit an individual request for each performance. Really? That means 15 forms for me and 15 forms for them to process.

 

You would think simply giving them the ticket order number would cut down on a lot of the info you have to type for each ticket you are cancelling

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My understanding is that the Mariinsky and the Bolshoi are closed. I'm in Moscow with a reservation to leave for LA tomorrow on Aeroflot.

 

Hope to be back as soon as possible.

 

It was great to see the folks I know even for such a short visit. I wish them the best.

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3 hours ago, LBC said:

The following LONDON BALLET CIRCLE events have now been postponed or cancelled until further notice:

 

Anna Rose O'Sullivan, First Soloist of The Royal Ballet "In Conversation" - was 6th April

Visit to Dance Forward Easter Course at the RAD - was 11th April

Visit to Freeds - was 20th April

Visit to The Royal Ballet School - was 28th April

An Evening of Words and Music with Gavin Sutherland Music Director/Conductor of ENB - was 5th May

Remembering Rudolf - a special reflection on Nureyev's life and work including reminiscences, film and dance - was 18th May

 

It is hoped to be able to resume activities in June! Fingers crossed.

 

Members are being notified by e-mail or letter but, in view of the wider interest of this programme, it seems important to post the news here as well.

Meanwhile, there are some reports online of recent conversations with guests from the ballet world which people might be interested to read: https://www.tlbc.org.uk/lists/3-reports

 

 

So sad!

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1 hour ago, capybara said:

I had something similar with the form for a donation/credit/refund. This said: "If you have booked for multiple events, please submit an individual request for each performance. Really? That means 15 forms for me and 15 forms for them to process.

 

I had fewer than you, but forgot to uncheck the donation option for three lots of tickets.  I wasn't willing to make such donations, still smarting from the notorious marketing strategy that seemed to discourage regulars and increase prices as a means of doing so, so I resubmitted the options and emailed the box office to explain.  No idea if it will work and I'm embarrassed to have added to the box office's workload, but the complicated system was a real pain.

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Apart from the donation option being ricked by default, I am also not impressed by the fact that, although they send you a confirmation letter after you've submitted the form, the letter does not show you what response you've provided (e.g. which option I've chosen). Thus it's not possible to check if I've inadvertently made an error; I would also have no proof if I later think that they've made a mistake in processing my returns.

Perhaps I am too careless and forgetful to be needing this sort of confirmation, but some not-too-sophisticated platforms such as google spreadsheet does allow submitters to see what the response they've submitted is. The system used by Staatsballet Berlin, where you fill in a form and send it back via email, albeit more complicated, also allows you to keep a copy of your response.

 

So after submitting the forms I also dropped the box office an email to double check. I did take the opportunity to express my gratitude and send my best wishes though, as I imagine many people there, especially those who are not necessarily making all the decisions but are the ones on the frontline dealing with customer feedbacks, are in for an exhausting few weeks.

Edited by KyleCheng
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Ive only got two tickets ....one of them very expensive though...but couldn't see how to return the form twice as am doing different things with the two tickets ...I was  going to ring them tomorrow. 

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Is there any info on how the ROH credits can be used? E.g. how long are they valid for, can they be redeemed online etc.? I’d be happy with credits as I don’t want to cause them a cashflow crisis, but not if there are very restrictive conditions.

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37 minutes ago, MrsBBB said:

Is there any info on how the ROH credits can be used? E.g. how long are they valid for, can they be redeemed online etc.? I’d be happy with credits as I don’t want to cause them a cashflow crisis, but not if there are very restrictive conditions.

 

It says that you can have credit until December 2020. I've tried to copy and paste the page but I can't make it work.

They are asking for the booking number for each individual performance but my tickets are all on the one booking and I have therefore suggested to them that they could save themselves work by treating them en bloc.

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41 minutes ago, MrsBBB said:

Is there any info on how the ROH credits can be used? E.g. how long are they valid for, can they be redeemed online etc.? I’d be happy with credits as I don’t want to cause them a cashflow crisis, but not if there are very restrictive conditions.

 

It just says to be used 'for another performance of your choice until 31 December 2020'.

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7 hours ago, onemouseplace said:

 

Agreed - I thought exactly the same and I'm going to email the Box Office to that effect.  I would love to be able to donate the full price of my ticket, but my husband works in travel and our own future is far from certain and I did consider a half way option of being able to donate 50% of the ticket price as a good solution.

 

I've managed to do something a bit like this by donating one of the three tickets I had to fill the form in for today & requesting a refund for the other two. I can't afford to donate the lot, being a temp who had to give notice for my job yesterday, but wanted to donate something. Assuming closure extends into May/June then again I'll donate one or two of my tickets & request a refund for the rest.

 

It's a bit ironic that the first season I decide to pay for Friends membership, after 15 seasons of ROH-going, then turns out to be the one when up to a third of the season may be cancelled!

Edited by Dawnstar
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47 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

Interestingly, I've not yet received anything yet about refunds or otherwise from ROH, even for tonight's performance.  Perhaps they're doing it in alphabetical order...

 

I had something several hours ago, and I'm further down the alphabet than you are.

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5 hours ago, MargaretN7 said:

And if you would like to donate part you could always take the refund then give back your chosen amount.

 

Is the ROH a charity?  Could we Gift Aid it if we took a refund and then donated it?  That would certainly be beneficial if so.

 

I know I said there was no way I was ever going to donate anything after the way the regulars have been treated over the past year and a half, but think I may make an exception, given the circumstances.

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7 hours ago, LinMM said:

Ive only got two tickets ....one of them very expensive though...but couldn't see how to return the form twice as am doing different things with the two tickets ...I was  going to ring them tomorrow. 

You have to fill in the form for one ticket, choosing your option of refund/credit/donation, submit it and then click on the "send another form" box to do the same for the second ticket.  This may save you a long wait on the phone.

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9 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

Interestingly, I've not yet received anything yet about refunds or otherwise from ROH, even for tonight's performance.  Perhaps they're doing it in alphabetical order...


Maybe it’s by different categories. Now I come to think of it , a couple of my bookings were ‘public’ ones. 

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9 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

Interestingly, I've not yet received anything yet about refunds or otherwise from ROH, even for tonight's performance.  Perhaps they're doing it in alphabetical order...

 

Even if you have had it, I think it's quite easy to miss the bit about getting refunded - I did at first. The text of the email itself only mentions refunds in the context of hoping you donate instead. Then there's a link below the signature saying "Review the options available to you as a ticket buyer".

 

It does seem slightly less clear than it should be.

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17 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

Even if you have had it, I think it's quite easy to miss the bit about getting refunded - I did at first. The text of the email itself only mentions refunds in the context of hoping you donate instead. Then there's a link below the signature saying "Review the options available to you as a ticket buyer".

 

It does seem slightly less clear than it should be.

 

Which is no doubt intentional, as is the default to 'donate'. I don't really think this is the time for playing these sorts of games. Sadler's Wells were very clear and upfront about the options available. I was intending to donate some of my ticket money, but this sort of thing makes me hesitate to do so.

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Cancellations in TV. Filming of EastEnders, Casualty, Holby City and Doctors has ceased. Broadcast episodes now decrease from four to two days a week using footage already filmed. That will leave considerable gaps in the schedules, especially if added to the televised sport that is no longer going ahead.

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1 hour ago, rowan said:

Cancellations in TV. Filming of EastEnders, Casualty, Holby City and Doctors has ceased. Broadcast episodes now decrease from four to two days a week using footage already filmed. That will leave considerable gaps in the schedules, especially if added to the televised sport that is no longer going ahead.


hopefully the BBC have more than Mrs Br*wns B*ys to fill the gaps!! 

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