Jump to content
IGNORED

Ticketing system


GrahamC

Recommended Posts

Does anyone know what you are supposed to do if you don't have any photographic ID? The website clearly says in red writing that you have to show photographic ID to gain entry, but I don't currently have any? Surely I'm not the only one in this situation? What about children, obviously they won't have ID either?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, phantom said:

Probably worth telling your pal @Bristol Rob that he was talking out of his arse as tickets are still on sale over 5 hours later

I can confirm @Bristol Rob has some very strange mates. 

3 hours ago, RedLionLad said:

I reckon the refunds will be much more exciting than the football.

You’ll receive your £25 refund in 25 equal monthly instalments, commencing 1st July 2021. Unfortunately we are not able to refund the £1 transactional surcharge nor the £1 postage charge. Thank you for your valued support. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is no doubt its a crap system at times, I got my tickets no problem but despite setting up my account with my current e-mail address and all my settings being for my current email address right at the end they say they've sent the tickets to and completely different email address which i assume was linked to my supporter i.d. i cannot find a way of changing it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, kit said:

There is no doubt its a crap system at times, I got my tickets no problem but despite setting up my account with my current e-mail address and all my settings being for my current email address right at the end they say they've sent the tickets to and completely different email address which i assume was linked to my supporter i.d. i cannot find a way of changing it.

you have to ring up to get it changed I have the same problem but only think about it when I don't get an email.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 minutes ago, Pearcy said:

Does anyone know what you are supposed to do if you don't have any photographic ID? The website clearly says in red writing that you have to show photographic ID to gain entry, but I don't currently have any? Surely I'm not the only one in this situation? What about children, obviously they won't have ID either?

Plenty of adults will be in the same boat too. Not everyone has a driving license or bus pass.

 

You can buy photographic ID cards, but why should you if you are already a season ticket holder?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, BTRFTG said:

Plus Ca change, but before letting the club have both barrels there are some fundamental IT concepts folks need to grasp.

For one the club (like most entities) doesn't have a single system, they'll operate a modular system (front end access, Several DBase, Payment Module, Allocation & Updating Module, Comms module) some of which will be bespoke and owned by City, others of which are external. I know from bitter experience there are 'optimal' ways in which to interface with the club (and what you assume may be the fastest isn't always.)

It's also meaningless saying I have a 'X' kit and 'y' access as in themselves both statements are meaningless. There are dozens of variables (many bet Nd your control,) that will signally impact how your and the remote systems interface. (If you like a challenge try running Sky Go on a Win10 platform via a SkyQ/Multiroom connection - rather, don't bother, as it won't work unless decoupled and, no, the internet workarounds quoted do not work.)

By far the biggest/slowest/most error prone element of the transaction is the payment module, which usually involves (at minimum) a handling agency, credit agency, (two) banks and several secure checking processes, including some you may have activated yourself. Many of these are time sensitive and often fall over when swamped with requests. There's little City can do to change that.

Ditto the sensitivity of call handling/queuing systems which often have problems with timing delays with digital telephony (and don't assume because you still pay a line rental you retain a pstn connection - many providers have quietly dropped them shifting to VoIP or similar. Your ear may not notice, a multiplexer might.)

As we're Tier4 up here we didn't even bother trying, but despite my long allegiance I would suggest that in the present climate, with all the constraints, with the sub-optimal experience on offer and with the standard of football on display, if your failure to secure a ticket has you foaming at the mouth and threatens to ruin Christmas, perhaps it's a good time to re-evaluate priorities in life.

Hey @BTRFTG thanks for this.

I haven't a clue what you were saying, but it is very good of you to take the time to say it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, RedLionLad said:

Plenty of adults will be in the same boat too. Not everyone has a driving license or bus pass.

 

You can buy photographic ID cards, but why should you if you are already a season ticket holder?

Passport?

I genuinely can’t believe many adults possess neither a driving license or a passport..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Passport?

I genuinely can’t believe many adults possess neither a driving license or a passport..

My passport is out of date. It ran out earlier this year and I thought because of Covid there was no point in renewing it. Seemed pointless renewing it as I've only been abroad once and who knows when I'll go abroad again? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Pearcy said:

My passport is out of date. It ran out earlier this year and I thought because of Covid there was no point in renewing it. Seemed pointless renewing it as I've only been abroad once and who knows when I'll go abroad again? 

Still photo ID though, as you are using it to prove who you are, not to travel abroad..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, BTRFTG said:

By far the biggest/slowest/most error prone element of the transaction is the payment module, which usually involves (at minimum) a handling agency, credit agency, (two) banks and several secure checking processes, including some you may have activated yourself. Many of these are time sensitive and often fall over when swamped with requests. There's little City can do to change that.

Mate I understand the broader point you're making about the lengthy chain of fallible parts, but respectfully I wasn't giving City both barrels from a position of complete ignorance. A lot of what you described, in particular the bit above, has not only been my job for the past 20 years, but I've literally built these platforms and run the companies that provide them. Also specific to football I've dealt with the vendors City use, and others similar. 

The issue today had absolutely nothing to do with taking payment, not that the description above is true of a contemporary payment capability - City aren't going to scratch the sides of most payment solutions which are usually at the very least able to handle 50 payments a second* without breaking sweat. City's queuing system deliberately wasn't even allowing 50 people onto the site a minute, so taking payment will never be the issue.

The issue today was the vendor to throttle basic access to the site - QueueIT (and you're quite right that City use a whole range of modules and suppliers) - was throwing errors at lots of people who had already waited in a queue for their turn. This is before even getting onto City's site so it's not UX, nor payment, to be fair to City on this occasion not even ticketing, though it wouldn't surprise me if ticketing system vendor advised on it.

As it happens a lad in City's ticket office pro-actively found my number and contacted me and was contacting others with this problem, it sounded like a bit of a nightmare for them with this queuing tech having problems. Can't fault their initiative to sort this out, it's never the fault of frontline staff at City, the frustration is someone else has been paid to get this right - I never get the feeling City care if they get a good deal from IT suppliers.

And yes, it's all largely immaterial given current tier down here, which is why I was looking further afield, having had Xmas ruined, at least having a ticket in a month in the hope things improve (& thankfully someone got me one in the end). Odd remark about "foaming at the mouth" and my priorities - anyone who sat in a queue and had this issue had every reason to be exasperated, and I have zero issues if my priorities include getting home. 

 *most serious payment platforms are geared up for many many more transactions a second than 50 - doing payments for the big online bookmakers in the last hour of a Saturday before the Grand National is a real experience, compared to which selling 2000 tickets in an hour for City won't even register. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tried to buy 2 tickets today (me and a mate in a bubble). Fine til I tried to pay when it wanted to give me some form of credit, but then said this wasn't possible with joint account. Said not possible with this method of payment, but no option to switch. Just wanted to pay money and get ticket. Christ they make it so difficult. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Olé said:

Mate I understand the broader point you're making about the lengthy chain of fallible parts, but respectfully I wasn't giving City both barrels from a position of complete ignorance. A lot of what you described, in particular the bit above, has not only been my job for the past 20 years, but I've literally built these platforms and run the companies that provide them. Also specific to football I've dealt with the vendors City use, and others similar. 

The issue today had absolutely nothing to do with taking payment, not that the description above is true of a contemporary payment capability - City aren't going to scratch the sides of most payment solutions which are usually at the very least able to handle 50 payments a second* without breaking sweat. City's queuing system deliberately wasn't even allowing 50 people onto the site a minute, so taking payment will never be the issue.

The issue today was the vendor to throttle basic access to the site - QueueIT (and you're quite right that City use a whole range of modules and suppliers) - was throwing errors at lots of people who had already waited in a queue for their turn. This is before even getting onto City's site so it's not UX, nor payment, to be fair to City on this occasion not even ticketing, though it wouldn't surprise me if ticketing system vendor advised on it.

As it happens a lad in City's ticket office pro-actively found my number and contacted me and was contacting others with this problem, it sounded like a bit of a nightmare for them with this queuing tech having problems. Can't fault their initiative to sort this out, it's never the fault of frontline staff at City, the frustration is someone else has been paid to get this right - I never get the feeling City care if they get a good deal from IT suppliers.

And yes, it's all largely immaterial given current tier down here, which is why I was looking further afield, having had Xmas ruined, at least having a ticket in a month in the hope things improve (& thankfully someone got me one in the end). Odd remark about "foaming at the mouth" and my priorities - anyone who sat in a queue and had this issue had every reason to be exasperated, and I have zero issues if my priorities include getting home. 

 *most serious payment platforms are geared up for many many more transactions a second than 50 - doing payments for the big online bookmakers in the last hour of a Saturday before the Grand National is a real experience, compared to which selling 2000 tickets in an hour for City won't even register. 

The payment system was used as an illustration as to why things fail, that City's system is anything but City's and why it is never wholly within their control. 

With your experience you'll appreciate that queuing systems operate with similar parameters, often set to milliseconds. If the system checks you are still there or attempts to link for the call and doesn't receive a feedback response it can default to thinking you've left the queue. Could be the various VoIP settings down the chain hold (or segment) calls longer than that of the queuing system. From the systems I've installed there's a formula you can use to calculate erroneous drop rates and there's huge variability depending upon what type of call handling is deployed (perchance City were operating a virtual platform under the current pandemic?) If virtual there are dozens of parameters to tinker with to attempt to minimise the issues you report (but they tend to be dynamic and requiring such monitoring which I very much doubt City have the capacity to do.)

Similarly, you'll know it makes little difference what City's absolute capacity is given the virtual capacity of the systems to which they subcontract and everything to do with how and where data is processed. Buying transaction speeds and rates is one thing, but when things go wrong on the networks and active switching kicks in there are few guarantees. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, GrahamC said:

Passport?

I genuinely can’t believe many adults possess neither a driving license or a passport..

There are some, (as already mentioned) and that’s the point. Just because you don’t believe it doesn’t make what you think the truth.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, phantom said:

One for @JerrySLO I assume 

I know it will only apply to a very small number of people, but the club would have taken this into consideration, or you would have thought so.

I fully understand why the club would want to do this, but some poor bugger(s) could miss the game because of it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, GrahamC said:

Passport?

I genuinely can’t believe many adults possess neither a driving license or a passport..

I was one of those people! Husband hates flying, won’t fly. So when my passport ran out about 20 years ago I didn’t renew as there was little point at the time.

I also passed my driving test before the photo licences were a thing. You passed your test then the licence expired when you are 70. I’m quite a way off this but I traded this licence in for a photo ID one as I needed photo ID to collect Glastonbury tickets when I booked their coach and festival ticket package. 

Maybe a work pass with photo ID is acceptable @JerrySLO lots of people have these?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 22/12/2020 at 11:27, BTRFTG said:

The payment system was used as an illustration as to why things fail, that City's system is anything but City's and why it is never wholly within their control. 

With your experience you'll appreciate that queuing systems operate with similar parameters, often set to milliseconds. If the system checks you are still there or attempts to link for the call and doesn't receive a feedback response it can default to thinking you've left the queue. Could be the various VoIP settings down the chain hold (or segment) calls longer than that of the queuing system. From the systems I've installed there's a formula you can use to calculate erroneous drop rates and there's huge variability depending upon what type of call handling is deployed (perchance City were operating a virtual platform under the current pandemic?) If virtual there are dozens of parameters to tinker with to attempt to minimise the issues you report (but they tend to be dynamic and requiring such monitoring which I very much doubt City have the capacity to do.)

Similarly, you'll know it makes little difference what City's absolute capacity is given the virtual capacity of the systems to which they subcontract and everything to do with how and where data is processed. Buying transaction speeds and rates is one thing, but when things go wrong on the networks and active switching kicks in there are few guarantees. 

Fkcuing hell, makes queueing down the side of the car park to get a ticket sound so much easier 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 23/12/2020 at 22:47, CyderInACan said:

Fkcuing hell, makes queueing down the side of the car park to get a ticket sound so much easier 

Not when there were vouchers to collect, you're stood on the Open End, it's ****ing down and by the time you get home the contents of the pockets of your jeans is papier mache.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...