Festival organisers defend ‘reasons’ for big queues

Thursday 02 August 2018

Reasons organisers had to ‘beg, borrow and steal’ card readers from local businesses in order to make queues more manageable during a system crash – but they say they have “learned lessons” and are already working on improvements for their next event in four weeks’ time.

The festival saw thousands of islanders don sequins, elaborate make-up and Hawaiian shirts and gather at Coronation Park last weekend to enjoy sets from a variety of cutting edge artists across the dance, reggae, funk and hip-hop spectrum.

This year saw it debut a new cashless payment system in which attendees could pay for drinks using wristbands with pre-loaded credit. But while festivalgoers initially enjoyed shorter queues at the bar as a result, they reported long waits at the wristband ‘charging’ stand of up to 30 minutes.

Later, ticketholders complained of long drinks queues – particularly between 16:00 and 18:00 – leading to some unrest. One islander reported feeling “crushed” amid the “dangerous” crowding.

Organisers have since apologised in a statement on their Facebook page, explaining: “As with each year we are learning lessons, sometimes the hard way, as we strive to make the perfect party for you.”

They said that the “stresses” began when the “entire cashless system was held up in transit, only arriving on site a few short hours before gates opened rather than the morning before as opposed to more than 24 hours before as promised by the courier.”

This was followed by “crashing card readers”, which meant they “begged, borrowed and stole more cars readers from other businesses however the connectivity issues persisted, leading us to believe it was a wider network problem.”

Speaking of the queues, they added: “We always hope that people will get ahead of the queuing curve on the day but crowds all seem to want to come at the same time, and in hindsight we would have liked more team members and more (functioning) devices on the top up desk for those key hours.

“We are truly sorry if anyone felt upset or unsafe during the wait. We put security in place as soon as we realised there was no sense of cohesion and things quickly settled down. We do absolutely understand though that this is by far not an ideal way to kick off your day at a festival.”

Despite the “hiccups”, many festivalgoers described this year’s Reasons as the “best one yet.” 

“The vibe this year was so positive and great to see so many familiar faces dancing their hearts out,” one Facebooker said. Another praised the bar staff for doing “a fantastic job despite hiccups!”

One welcomed the candidness of their apology, stating: “Fronting up and listening to feedback positively is a great attitude to have and one of the reasons (pardon the pun) that you guys improve year on year. Keep doing what you do - Jersey appreciates it.” 

Refunds are now being offered to those who didn’t get to make full use of their wristband, while organisers promised that improvements were already in motion ahead of their next event at the end of this month.

Pictured: Islanders donned their best festival chic for the dance event. (Laura Morel) 

Team Reasons commented: “It takes so many people doing different tasks and providing different skills to make the event happen, but most important you party goers bringing radiant energy that help it reach its happiest possible conclusion. Those who entertain us, those who keep us safe, those who keep logistics smooth, those who feed and water us, and most importantly YOU; straight up, fun, kind hearted music lovers bringing open minds and open hearts to the front. We will always be working towards perfection, but for now musically unforgettable and spiritually uplifting we’re very happy to settle with. 

“Thanks so much for coming. Can’t wait to see you at the Reasons Summer Soundclash on August 26.”