A Wizard Entertainment sales manager managed to royally tee off PvP creator Scott Kurtz just two words into a letter inquiring about the Toronto and Anaheim 2010 Wizard World* Cons.
What exactly were those first two words? “Dear Kurt,” (Mind you, not “Dear Kurtz” or “Dear Scott” but “Kurt”). It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that screwing up a person’s name in a formal address to them is liable to not only make you look stupid, but immediately try the patience of whoever you’ve just sent the letter to. It also gives the appearance that you’ve sent the same letter multiple times to multiple people.
Kurtz posted the embarrassing letter from Wizard on the PvPonline Blog along with a colorful response that blasted the organization and its recent scheduling practices…
Your conventions are total horseshit, so it’s wise to stop branding them with the name Wizard. But no amount of polishing is going to make me want to attended any of the 5 turds your company is going to crap out in 2010, especially when you schedule them against other shows in some bullshit dick measuring contests that serves no other purpose but to fracture an already dying industry that I have nostalgic ties to. [...]Maybe if you cared enough to actually get my name right, or maybe if you cared about creators like the late, great Mike Wieringo beyond what they can do for you THIS FIVE MINUTES, the entire industry wouldn’t all be anticipating your inevitable bankruptcy.
Wizard Entertainment’s head honcho Gareb Shamus has a well documented history of playing hardball when it comes to convention dates, which in the face of economic competition — comes off as heartless.
* Officially these conventions are dropping the “Wizard World” branding from their name.
