BookMyShow has tendered an apology to Trevor Noah fans after a technical glitch forced the Emmy-winning US comedian to cancel both his shows in Bengaluru. Noah appeared onstage for his scheduled comedy show at Manpho Conventional Centre in Manyata Tech Park on Wednesday, but cancelled the show after realising the audience could not hear him.
For fans who had waited in traffic for hours to watch the comedian perform, the cancellation due to management issues was a massive disappointment. Many took to social media to blast the organisers, BookMyShow, for not doing a basic sound check before the show.
Many also flagged other areas of concern where BookMyShow apparently failed – they said the choice of venue was shoddy and not worth the amount of money being charged for tickets, there was no parking space available at the venue, the washrooms were unsanitary and there was no mobile internet coverage in the area, among other things.
Twitter user Ashok Karanth took the organisers to task in a lengthy Twitter thread where he listed all the areas where BookMyShow failed.
“The venue choice (@manphoco) for this event was atrocious. Terrible access roads, and the parking was utter chaos,” he wrote, adding that some parking spaces were initially cordoned off for supposedly VIP guests, which exacerbated the parking chaos. These spaces were eventually opened up, but remained inadequate for the number of people attending the show.
At 7:45 PM, someone decided to open up these parking slots hitherto reserved for VIPs - cue even more chaos as 200+ cars tried to fit in to 100 parking slots. Not happening! No one from @bookmyshow to be found, just some poor DriveU souls hanging around, watching the fun.— Ashok Karanth (@akaranth) September 27, 2023
Card machines at the venue were not working, and vendors did not have change for those who tried paying in cash, wrote Karanth.
Show start time - 7:30 PM, it's 8 PM, and no sign of it starting because folks are in parking hell. We decide to buy overpriced, cold food - again, no Internet, no UPI, card machines not working, no change for cash. Ha, you can't make this up.— Ashok Karanth (@akaranth) September 27, 2023
He also raised another issue which many others also pointed out – the venue itself was not up to international standards. He ended his post by writing: “You can hide behind traffic woes, but how does that explain the cancellation of tomorrow's show? Bookmyshow has some serious explaining to do.”
BookMyShow also faced the heat from other customers who were left appalled by the mismanagement at the venue.
Really wish the team managing @Trevornoah did their due diligence on promoters, partners and vendors.What a fiasco here in #Bangalore.
Much respect to him for saying he won't start till the audio is sorted and asking for people to get refunds. #Bookmyshow pic.twitter.com/jrlZQfMgJl
— Ishaan Arya (@captainarya) September 27, 2023
This has to b the shortest performance I have ever paid and braved through Bangalore traffic to watch!
Beyond disappointed about @Trevornoah ‘s show getting canned in Bengaluru!! I only have @bookmyshow to blame for their absolutely shoddy job of organising the most basic thngs pic.twitter.com/Q6TaMz2ufv— Aanchal Bhargava (@BhargavaAanchal) September 27, 2023
@bookmyshow you're lucky there hasn't been a riot #trevornoah #bangalore pic.twitter.com/BTb2DbWDOD— Urvashi (@kingfisherontap) September 27, 2023
As a hard core fan of @Trevornoah
I am so disappointed to see how casual and honestly, idiotic the organisers could be.Who doesn’t sound check an auditorium for a comedy show?I can’t wait to catch my most fav male author ever, some where,some day but so sad it wasn’t today. https://t.co/FufRfVowLv
— Anisha Tiwary (@anisha_tiwary_) September 27, 2023
BookMyShow issued an apology on X while confirming that Noah’s two shows in Bengaluru stood cancelled.
“Bengaluru, we are extremely sorry for the inconvenience caused at Trevor Noah’s Off The Record show at Manpho Convention Centre on September 27th,” the ticket booking platform wrote. “The Bengaluru leg of the India Tour for both September 27th & 28th stands cancelled. All customers who purchased tickets for both shows will get a complete refund within 8-10 working days. We deeply regret this experience that our valuable customers faced and hope to be able to bring Trevor back to this amazing city at the earliest.”
Bengaluru, we are extremely sorry for the inconvenience caused at Trevor Noah’s Off The Record show at Manpho Convention Centre on September 27th. The Bengaluru leg of the India Tour for both September 27th & 28th stands cancelled. All customers who purchased tickets for both…— BookMyShow (@bookmyshow) September 27, 2023
“An apology just can't cut it! A convention centre with two concrete walls on the side for a show where acoustics is paramount? Even a newbie wouldn't make that mistake!” wrote one X user.
“How do I lodge a class action lawsuit against the organizers. Spending hours in traffic, paying for the food, super unsanitary Loos can't be settled with just a 'ticket refund'. A sound system is something you should've fixed,” said another.
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