Project stuff myself with crab during the Crab Feed FAILED. 

The San Francisco Crab Feed on April 28th at Fort Mason, San Francisco didn't sit well in my tummy. No, the crabs didn't give me heartburn because in the first place, they already ran out of crabs by the time I got there at 3ish pm. The event started at 2 pm for general admission and was slated to end at 5pm. Obviously not even half way through the event, all the crabs were gone which leads one to think that they, the major sponsor Pinchit, oversold the tickets! Once you hear about an org overselling tickets, it is mostly due to very poor planning or plain old greed. I pity those who had to drive all the way from out of the city to attend this event only to find out that they will not be able to eat all-you-can crabs as described online. Would they refund transportation cost, too?


Bad communication 
I've been standing there for 30 minutes drowning myself in 2 glasses of overpriced, crappy wine when one of the staff reassured us, the people in line, that there would be more crabs coming in 20 minutes since he spoke to the "CEO." Another 30 minutes later, still no crabs, the other people in line were getting very impatient, and some started to leave with a pissed off face. At this point, another staff started counting people in the line with green Heineken straps in his hand, and a blond gal told us there were no more crabs coming (what!), and we needed to sign our names for refund on a paper pad taking another 30 minutes or so. As a token of waiting in line for more than an hour, we would be able to eat the left-overs (what!!) soggy salad and forgettable garlic bread and get free alcohol (what can I drink when the white wine is already sold out?!!).

Here is my recommendation
As someone who has attended many food events in/around the city (as a food blogger, as part of a vendor or for pleasure), turn people away at the entrance when food runs out. The Pinchit staff didn't do this and even let us line up for more than an hour for nothing.

Wear uniforms! Who is the official staff? There were people wearing all black who were apparently security but were also telling us that there would be more crabs coming. Another staff in regular clothes also told us the same thing with an added "I talked to the CEO" to make his point.  He later got refuted by another staff also in regular clothing telling us there are no more crabs coming.  Can't the Pinchit staff wear a uniformed big pin, apron, shirt, something (!!) to make them look "official"?

OR don't sponsor this event again. Save yourself from an army of unsatisfied customers. 

Overall, a frustrating, waste-of-time event. More than 100 people didn't get their crabs! What's a crab feed for if people don't get fed with crabs?


A week later
I've decided to publish this more than a week later to wait for Pinchit's prompt response. I received a reply five days later after the event from the Pinchit Support team stating:

****
We sincerely apologize for the Crab Feed fiasco. We are currently working our way through a large-scale refund process. Keep an eye on your inbox for an email detailing refund options. Thanks so much for your patience and understanding. Resolution and rectification are at hand.

Cheers,

The Pinchit Team
****

Ok, so I'm still waiting for that refund process email to land in my inbox. My money's interest is ticking! I'm also intrigued by their use of a "large-scale" refund process. It had to be that big of a flop to be "large-scale" and a "fiasco."

no crabs at the Crab Feed

Got super bored so I took this picture outside