I am an avid local fan of Formula 1 Grand Prix. Firstly, I would like to thank Singapore GP Pte Ltd for making 2009 FORMULA 1™ SingTel Singapore Grand Prix a success. Having watched F1 in Singapore for the past 2 seasons, I am certainly glad that there's improvements made this year as compared to the previous year. More photoshooting points are set up within the walkabout zone, which I am quite satisfied because I am also an avid photographer. However, this year's grand prix has also proved to be a less rewarding one especially for those walkabout ticket holders.
The first thing I would like to point out is on the movement that walkabout holders are entitled to. I am not denying the fact that last year's walkabout ticket holders were more privileged in terms of accessibility. Indeed, this year walkabout holders are solely limited to zone 4. And even after the race, walkabout ticket holders are turned down by security officers when they just simply wanted to have a peek of the garage. I do agree that while the organisers are concerned about the ease of traffic of the crowd, but I must also say that this is an annually event and why can't we just have a peek of the garage and be satisfied?
Another issue to highlight is about the selling of official programmes. Ticket holders have paid quite a hefty price just to get a better feel of the race, however, are rather "amazed" to their knowledge that those magazines are sold at $20 still, even after the race ended on Sunday. I am able to understand that while the organisers wanted to prevent last year's incident whereby a lot of fans are able to get away with free programme magazines after the race, but however this year I witnessed officials who drove onto the pavement to the official programmes booth and recalled all the remaining stock. Another incident which I witnessed on Sunday was one tourist who was hoping that the magazines could be bought at a discounted price so that she could keep it as a souvenir. However, the staff in charge of the booth insisted that the price could not be discounted and to the dismay of the tourist, she left unsatisfied and complained to her friends about it. In my opinion, those fans who purchased the 3-day passes should be given the privilege of getting the programme magazines free. The organisers may issue a coupon for redemption of the offical programmes magazine per 3-day passes purchased. Any additional magazines could be bought at $20 each.
This year's event is certainly different from last year. I recalled last year when the marshals were gladly giving away free drinks after the race such as bottles of soft drinks and mineral water. However, this year I witnessed the staff from the drinks booth consuming the drinks themselves and this proved the unprofessionalism of the staff. From these few incidents, I have actually reached a conclusion that the staff are less flexible, and less friendly as compared to last year. While I could remember the smiles on the staff last year, I experienced a gloomy F1 sensation this year just by the first impression of the staff. Comparing this year's experience to the previous year, I could only rate a 6/10 for this year.
I am certainly looking forward to a better Formula 1 experience in Singapore next year.
Originally posted by striderz_o405:
I am an avid local fan of Formula 1 Grand Prix. Firstly, I would like to thank Singapore GP Pte Ltd for making 2009 FORMULA 1™ SingTel Singapore Grand Prix a success. Having watched F1 in Singapore for the past 2 seasons, I am certainly glad that there's improvements made this year as compared to the previous year. More photoshooting points are set up within the walkabout zone, which I am quite satisfied because I am also an avid photographer. However, this year's grand prix has also proved to be a less rewarding one especially for those walkabout ticket holders.
The first thing I would like to point out is on the movement that walkabout holders are entitled to. I am not denying the fact that last year's walkabout ticket holders were more privileged in terms of accessibility. Indeed, this year walkabout holders are solely limited to zone 4. And even after the race, walkabout ticket holders are turned down by security officers when they just simply wanted to have a peek of the garage. I do agree that while the organisers are concerned about the ease of traffic of the crowd, but I must also say that this is an annually event and why can't we just have a peek of the garage and be satisfied?
Another issue to highlight is about the selling of official programmes. Ticket holders have paid quite a hefty price just to get a better feel of the race, however, are rather "amazed" to their knowledge that those magazines are sold at $20 still, even after the race ended on Sunday. I am able to understand that while the organisers wanted to prevent last year's incident whereby a lot of fans are able to get away with free programme magazines after the race, but however this year I witnessed officials who drove onto the pavement to the official programmes booth and recalled all the remaining stock. Another incident which I witnessed on Sunday was one tourist who was hoping that the magazines could be bought at a discounted price so that she could keep it as a souvenir. However, the staff in charge of the booth insisted that the price could not be discounted and to the dismay of the tourist, she left unsatisfied and complained to her friends about it. In my opinion, those fans who purchased the 3-day passes should be given the privilege of getting the programme magazines free. The organisers may issue a coupon for redemption of the offical programmes magazine per 3-day passes purchased. Any additional magazines could be bought at $20 each.
This year's event is certainly different from last year. I recalled last year when the marshals were gladly giving away free drinks after the race such as bottles of soft drinks and mineral water. However, this year I witnessed the staff from the drinks booth consuming the drinks themselves and this proved the unprofessionalism of the staff. From these few incidents, I have actually reached a conclusion that the staff are less flexible, and less friendly as compared to last year. While I could remember the smiles on the staff last year, I experienced a gloomy F1 sensation this year just by the first impression of the staff. Comparing this year's experience to the previous year, I could only rate a 6/10 for this year.
I am certainly looking forward to a better Formula 1 experience in Singapore next year.
Ah I spotted the line inside the official guide 'Marina Square, Esplanade Theatres and Suntec City will be open for business as usual and are accessible to the public.'
I wonder if the bolded form is true?