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Incident on The Smiler 02/06/2015

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I do have to wonder if the time delay in reporting testing was calculated for when the chatter about the victims comments on not wanting it open was on the decline

Thoughts anyone?
 
It is tactical indeed, it has quietened down so they need to brinv it back up.

probably a slow news week.
 
Eveyone keeps saying on next week it will open oh no the week after make your minds up i dont think it will open till next season
 
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People keep throwing their dummies out of the pram when it doesn't open on that day and saying it's not going to open till next season.

The ride doesn't have a consciousness, reverse psychology won't work! Geez
 
One thing is for sure when it opens it will have to be right so there is no chance on Earth they will rush it
 
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today was not a good day for the weather and if it was to reopen it needs to be perfect conditions as the ride is on last chance saloon but I'm in the it won't open this season camp.

IMO merlin need to be open. Every company will have its PR/company image disasters and this one is Merlins. They need to embrace it. I would invite every newspaper journalist in the UK. Say we are opening the smiler. Explain to each and everyone of them what happened, in a press conference style so even if the truth was bent by the written media the video news outlets would show the press conference. Then nick should ride the ride. if possible get the HSE to give a short statement.

If towers is open and honest then it will bode well for the future. What the public don't like is lies or what can be viewed as trying to cover the truth. Alton have stated that sub terror and the flume will be closed this season but not with the smiler so if you were booking for scarefest as the average punter and have seen it testing on social media/ paper you might think it will open very soon, this will lead to a negative image.

We live in a world where big businesses run what happens, now I'm sure if the mirror/ sky news were given a juicy apple from alton say a exclusive or even a offer to run I'm sure that they would soon change their tune. The Sun has not even made a story about alton towers and when they did it was just to quickly cover the story due to the close relationship they have.

sorry abut the long post :)
 
It will be interesting to see whether they publish the results of the investigation before or after they reopen the ride.

The impression I've got from people is that the park is intending to open the Smiler after the Scarefest, for the last few weeks of the season.

Ultimately, if the park has to endure another media storm, they'd rather this be after a potential money spinning event.
 
What makes you think they will publish the results of the investigation any more than has already been published? It had been reported the victims have been told it was human error so is much else needed? They may go into a small amount of detail about what had been done to minimise any further risk but can't see a full report being published.
 
MaxPower said:
It will be interesting to see whether they publish the results of the investigation before or after they reopen the ride.

The impression I've got from people is that the park is intending to open the Smiler after the Scarefest, for the last few weeks of the season.

Ultimately, if the park has to endure another media storm, they'd rather this be after a potential money spinning event.
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I believe Alton would release the results of their internal investigation but I don't know about HSE investigation I don't believe it is common for them to release their findings.
 
Leah said:
Don't think it will open this week, purely because the weather has been terrible and a storm is predicted soon.
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I agree, they will not want it to open then close again, can you imagine the negative reaction. Hard to say but maybe next week? Think they would want some operating time under their belt before scarefest.
 
phildenholm said:
What makes you think they will publish the results of the investigation any more than has already been published? It had been reported the victims have been told it was human error so is much else needed? They may go into a small amount of detail about what had been done to minimise any further risk but can't see a full report being published.
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As a matter of good PR practices it would be a necessity that the park makes some sort of formal statement regarding their findings, especially after such a big incident.

Questions would continue to be asked if this wasn't to happen, and the story will drag on. Things that have been written about what has or hasn't been said to the victims, isn't really enough. Some sort of formal statement will need to be published.
 
phildenholm said:
I agree, they will not want it to open then close again, can you imagine the negative reaction. Hard to say but maybe next week? Think they would want some operating time under their belt before scarefest.
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Scarefest is one of the biggest events in the parks calender I'd imagine they would want it open a couple of days before the start of Scarefest. It will only open before or after Scarefest I think.
 
Can't believe some people are suggesting they would only open it after Scarefest to avoid "bad PR" during a major event.

Attendance had been rock bottom all year it can't get any worse from further "bad PR". Who exactly goes through the logic "I was going to go to Alton Towers for Scarefest but now they reopened The Smiler I won't"?

People not visiting for safety reasons are already not visiting regardless of it it reopens or not. At least reopening the ride has a chance to attract guests delaying visits due to the incomplete ride lineup.

Attendance is currently completely dismal so the status quo is not something they want to stick with for Scarefest. They have everything to lose and nothing to gain by delaying reopening.
 
Charlie guscott said:
I think alton towers are watching the forum and newspapers to see the suggestions.
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I doubt they will make their decisions based on forums as most want it open asap but they will be looking at papers to see if they are getting any press and if so what kind of reputation it is giving them in the eyes of the general public
 
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