Customer Service - Top Priority ... Not

[openEnd]

Regarding the two £5.00 vouchers that were sent with season tickets. Great incentive I thought, introduce up to 2 people, £5.00 each for the Colchester home game.

Now I know someone who wasn't brought up in a footballing household, has NEVER been to a match before and recently (couple of seasons ago) expressed an interest to go to a game. Anyway for a number of reasons we still haven't managed to arrange it. So when these vouchers dropped through the door, I gave him a call to see if he fancied it. He 'bit my hand off', agreed £5 was great value, he even managed to get his brother to take the other. Fantastic I thought.

So down to Ashton Gate to buy 2 tickets for 2 friends who have never set foot in Ashton Gate before. Everyones a winner I thought.

Whilst waiting in the queue, although not party to the full conversation it was apparent that the man being served was unwilling to pay the Credit/Debit Card surcharge. He walked out without tickets.

So then it's my turn, after filling in the vouchers and choosing seats near mine, the girl said £10.00. I handed over my switch expecting to hear 'We have to charge £1.00 for switch. I don't agree with this charge, and usually pay cash to avoid it, but I was in a hurry and was resigned to paying it.

But this time she didn't say it ..... Instead she said 'We have to charge £1.00 per ticket' . The reason for the other bloke walking out was now perfectly apparent.

So I said £1 on a five pound ticket? I voiced my dissaproval of this excessive charge to the Shop Manager (Steve?), who to be fair wasn't in disagreement with my feelings, he told me to put any complaint to Colin Sexstone.

I walked out without tickets, so that's 2 lost sales in 5 minutes purely on the back of the club's greedy ticketing policy. For a club losing £1,000,000 + per year, where's the sense in this? Why do this club seem to make the purchasing of match tickets so unattractive? (no surcharges on merchandising)

Ok, I have since returned, with cash and bought the 2 tickets, and hopefully City will put on a five star performance and perhaps one (or both) or my friends will catch the bug! , but had I not returned (which they can't have guaranteed) 2 potential regular Ashton Gate paying customers lost, maybe forever? The other bloke who walked out, who knows, perhaps he returned, perhaps he didn't?

Shortsighted policies like this make my blood boil.

Anyway as instructed I reported this to Colin Sextone's PR 8 days ago, I was told he was in meetings all day, so I requested a call from CS. His PR put a note in his diary to return my call. Ok I understand he's busy but 8 days and he can't find a 5 minute window to call a supporter with valid concerns on a club policy that HAS forced two supporters to walk out without buying tickets? Thanks very much Colin. I'm so glad we're so high on your list of priorities.

As a side point, has anyone bought large quantities of tickets this season on a credit/debit card? Were you charged £1/ticket and not transaction? Were you happy about it?

[Guest Moose]

It's definately £1 per ticket!!!!

I'm sure there's a valid arguement to adding these charges based on the cost of debit/credit transactions, but in this day and age when the use of cash is definately less popular it does seem hard to swallow.

By making it a flat charge I guess it makes things a bit easier from a calculations point of view, but on a £5 ticket that's a 20% surcharge!!!!

There must be a better way of handling this........

Moose.

[cheshire_red]

I believe it will depend where the club bank and the arrangement they have with that bank but; a debit card transaction costs 30p on average. On a credit card it's 4 - 5% depending, therefore 40/50p on a £10 transaction. Therefore the club are making £1.50 / £1.70 on two tickets and the money is in their bank automatically. Gross profiteering?

[openEnd]

It's definately £1 per ticket!!!!

I'm sure there's a valid arguement to adding these charges based on the cost of debit/credit transactions, but in this day and age when the use of cash is definately less popular it does seem hard to swallow.

By making it a flat charge I guess it makes things a bit easier from a calculations point of view, but on a £5 ticket that's a 20% surcharge!!!!

There must be a better way of handling this........

Moose.

←

I understand there are related back charges, that have to be recouped but I also know they aren't £1.00 per transaction, let alone eg. £5.00 for a transaction involving 5 tickets. I also understand that the club are unlikely to round down, hence the £1.00 last season.

Would a member of the FCF raise this at their next meeting, it's not only disgraceful, but more importantly making AG even more unattractive to the casual fan than it already is (on the pitch).

[Riaz]

In the clubs defence, i've bought tickets for various events by card and there is almost always a charge.

[Cider Queen]

In the clubs defence, i've bought tickets for various events by card and there is almost always a charge.

←

There might possibly be a charge but I doubt very much it is PER ticket.

I think the post above explains that the banks charge X amount per transaction but City are charging PER TICKET - it's well out of order.

A friend of mine (Season Ticket Holder) recently bought 2 extra tickets for the Doncaster game, 2 tickets for Huddersfield away and 2 Coach Tickets for Huddersfield and she was charged an EXTRA £6. She was also told that if she had the tickets sent to her that would cost her an extra £1.

I cannot see how Mr Sexstone and the club can justify this sort of money, fair enough per transaction but not per ticket.

When my friend spoke to Colin Sexstone at the open day to query this he told her she was the first to complain about it and basically gave the impression that he couldn't care less what she thought. She was Livid and call Sextone a horrible little man!

[purple_monkey_dishwasher]

In the clubs defence, i've bought tickets for various events by card and there is almost always a charge.

←

Yes, there is normally a booking fee involved with any event. However, when I bought tickets for one of the gigs at the ground, I ended up buying them from the Bristol Ticket Shop. Even with their additional booking fee they were still significantly cheaper than if I'd bought direct from the club. How can buying direct from the venue be more expensive than buying through an agent?

[openEnd]

In the clubs defence, i've bought tickets for various events by card and there is almost always a charge.

←

I was expecting this sort of reply 'Other places do it, so we do too', Colin Sexstones PR (Rita Someone) said much the same during our conversation (although she did make it clear it was not official policy, it was her personal view). A great piece of PR I thought, to say such a thing, officially or not.

Won't that charge be called a booking fee, for a booking agent?

We are dealing directly with the venue, not via a booking agent.

And why can't this club do something FOR the supporters? Something out of the ordinary for once?

[Guest citycityman]

yep, theres always some kind of booking fee now in most places BUT i think the club is ripping off the fans.. I work in a cinema,,, You only pay a booking fee if you pay over the phone or book on the internet, anyything booked at a box office and over the counter should NOT be charged, ive a feeling there is some kind of law in that so its worth looking into, i'l get back to you all..

[Riaz]

i bought tickets for a couple of concerts recently, and for both concerts there was charge PER ticket........

I'm not saying its right, i'm just saying its common place.....

[purple_monkey_dishwasher]

i bought tickets for a couple of concerts recently, and for both concerts there was charge PER ticket........

I'm not saying its right, i'm just saying its common place.....

←

Yes, it's common practice for a ticket to include a booking fee. But that's because you're usually buying through an agent that wants commission from the sale. Even if the club was acting as an agent to itself for gigs, it doesn't explain why their fee was substantially more than other agents in Bristol.

[bristolmod]

blimey you lot.

its a pound? Not the end of the world..

There are many more bigger issues than a pound extra on a ticket.

Its your club, it costs for each transaction.. deal with it... or go to a cash point before going to the ground, you lazy gits.

yes, maybe it shouldnt be a quid a ticket but thats the least of our problems.

c'mon guys!!

[Jacs]

The club obviously sees it as an easy way to make money!

I have no problem with them covering their costs but this is blatant profiteering on the their part and very bad customer relations!!

Ps They also charge a further £1 if you want the tickets posted out to you and then send them on a 29p stamp!!

[openEnd]

The club obviously sees it as an easy way to make money!

I have no problem with them covering their costs but this is blatant profiteering on the their part and very bad customer relations!!

Ps They also charge a further £1 if you want the tickets posted out to you and then send them on a 29p stamp!!

←

And with people like bristolmod, they'll continue with their greedy little scam.

Yes it's a pound, but for the sake of a pound they could have missed out on 2 special offer tickets sales (only £10.00 admittedly), plus countless potential repeated spin offs from the 2 new faces I'm bringing along. More tickets, programmes, refreshments, merchandise etc, etc.

All lost revenue if someone less fanatical about this club had walked out and not returned.

[next_year_I_hope]

i paid by cheque and didnt get charged no fee better whisper that they will probably add a charge on that and also i don't agree with this crap that if u buy your ticket on the day you have to pay more. what a joke

[zookeeper]

And with people like bristolmod, they'll continue with their greedy little scam.

Yes it's a pound, but for the sake of a pound they could have missed out on 2 special offer tickets sales (only £10.00 admittedly), plus countless potential repeated spin offs from the 2 new faces I'm bringing along. More tickets, programmes, refreshments, merchandise etc, etc.

All lost revenue if someone less fanatical about this club had walked out and not returned.

←

I think the last statement sums it up. The club relies on this devotion to the club much in the same way that music concerts can add a surcharge.

I suppose the question for them is extra profit from the existing customer base vs new customer income.

I think it is obvious which route they have taken

[Desso]

Everyone seems to be missing the point. The Directors are not out to fleece the supporters and line their own pockets. Any "extra" money that is forthcoming goes towards either funding the club we love or to bank charges. No one is making money for themselves and it annoys me sometimes to read so called fans accusing the club of ripping them off.

As someone said earlier it's only a quid it' not the end of the world.

[Jacs]

Everyone seems to be missing the point. The Directors are not out to fleece the supporters and line their own pockets. Any "extra" money that is forthcoming goes towards either funding the club we love or to bank charges. No one is making money for themselves and it annoys me sometimes to read so called fans accusing the club of ripping them off.

As someone said earlier it's only a quid it' not the end of the world.

←

Then the club should say so and stop hiding behind the "legitimate charges" argument.

I would rather have paid extra on my season ticket price or even given the club extra money as part of an organised fund raising drive.

Grossly over charging for postage and booking fees causes bad PR and makes people feel as though they are being ripped off.

And it isn't just a one off payment of a quid either. Say you buy 15 pairs of away tickets, booking fee £2 per time = £30, you then get them posted to you at another £1 a time 15 x 1 = £15, that totals an extra £45 per season!!!!

It's not the fact the club are making money that I object to, it is the way its being done!!

[StapleHillPhil]

Everyone seems to be missing the point. The Directors are not out to fleece the supporters and line their own pockets. Any "extra" money that is forthcoming goes towards either funding the club we love or to bank charges. No one is making money for themselves and it annoys me sometimes to read so called fans accusing the club of ripping them off.

As someone said earlier it's only a quid it' not the end of the world.

←

But other than the concerts, I don't see where the club are trying to attract new sources of income. Even with the £5 tickets, its me, rather than the club, that has been tasked with the job of filling these otherwise empty seats. Everytime the commercial department target the same group of core fans, and there comes a point where you've got to say enough is enough. openEnd has obviously reached that point, and I think many more are not far behind him.

[Guest routabout]

I must admit, the decision to make it per ticket is pretty disgusting profiteering, in my opinion. Strange, because I thought Sexstone was supposed to be damned good at his job. He has done well in other areas, like getting the gigs to the Gate, but this is a blatantly bad one. I get the impression that Mr S is generally a good businessman, but not a people person.

I don't think he really cares much for us fans and I had an interesting insight into his character once, which is what make me think this. It's only a little thing, but to me it might say a lot about him. So as not to stir things up, it was simply that I was stood very close to him at the Gate once. He had stopped in his walking about, because a small procession of children were crossing his path. Say 10 kids at the most 10-13 years old. For me, it was the look that fleeted across his face at this minor inconvenience. Steady contempt. It remained there, until he saw me looking at him and I think my expression said it all, I wasn't impressed and was a little shocked to be honest. He walked off quite sharpish. Now I appreciate that he may be a very busy man, but he was walking down the steps of the upper Dolman at the time and I don't think he was in any particular hurry as I saw him wandering around other stands for a while too. I imagine he was just doing a visual check of the stands, as there was a match to be played a couple of hours later.

It's little things like that that say a lot about people and I don't think this was just a bad day for him, as he doesn't come over too nicely anyway, in my humblest of opinions. I don't think I'd want him to go though, as I think he is good for the club, overall. When we are eventually clear of our debts, I think he will be the man to thank.

As this might be seen as a defamation of character, I just want to add that this was the impression that he and his actions gave to me. I'm not saying that I am right, it is just my opinion, based on my own observations and I have no special training that would qualify me to make such an assessment. It is just the feeling I had.

By contrast, my opinion of Mr Lansdown is that he is a nice genuine fella, who when I shouted out "Steve!" a little angrily, to try to get my boy's attention, Mr L started walking towards me apologising, maybe thinking that I'd been calling to him and thought he was ignoring me. A humble, down-to-earth millionaire, is my opinion of the man and a true City fan to boot!

See? I can be critical of those at the club, but I think I'm fair.

[Guest Stafford]

And why are tickets bought on the day more expensive than those bought in advance? It means that supporters living some way from Ashton have to pay their surcharge per ticket if they buy ahead of the game, thereby losing a chunk of their advance purchase discount. And why is there a £3 differential between advance and on-day purchases for category B matches, but it falls to £2 for category C matches? The whole ticket thing is so not customer friendly.

[zookeeper]

It's little things like that that say a lot about people and I don't think this was just a bad day for him, as he doesn't come over too nicely anyway, in my humblest of opinions. I don't think I'd want him to go though, as I think he is good for the club, overall. When we are eventually clear of our debts, I think he will be the man to thank.

←

To counter the argument Sexstone was very active in a walk to cure juvenile diabetes. He chaired the whole fundraising event and trust me this was not an easy thing to do. He devoted a lot of his own spare time to do this.

On a side note if anyone is intertested in this charity they do an awareness walk in ashton court on the 11th September. More info is at www.jdrf.com

or click here

[Guest routabout]

Fair comment. There's a plus point chalked up for him. My view of him shifts ever so slightly.

[zookeeper]

And why are tickets bought on the day more expensive than those bought in advance?  It means that supporters living some way from Ashton have to pay their surcharge per ticket if they buy ahead of the game, thereby losing a chunk of their advance purchase discount.  And why is there a £3 differential between advance and on-day purchases for category B matches, but it falls to £2 for category C matches?  The whole ticket thing is so not customer friendly.

←

It could be said that in fact the tickets purchased on the day are in fact the proper price and there are discounts for people who buy advanced ones, which is very customer friendly.

I imagine the differential is greater because the prices are higher for category B matches and the demand is higher for these games. It makes sense for them to encourage people to buy advanced tickets to reduce the rush on the day

[Guest routabout]

I thought I heard crickets outside earlier, but now I think it was the sound of hundreds of City fans going.

Sanity in the asylum! Half full or half empty? It's a matter of opinion really.

Well said zookeeper. Crack yo whip an keep dem animals in deir places!

The surcharge-per-ticket policy still sucks huge eggs though.

[XBOXMAN69]

Regarding the two £5.00 vouchers that were sent with season tickets. Great incentive I thought, introduce up to 2 people, £5.00 each for the Colchester home game.

Now I know someone who wasn't brought up in a footballing household, has NEVER been to a match before and recently (couple of seasons ago) expressed an interest to go to a game. Anyway for a number of reasons we still haven't managed to arrange it. So when these vouchers dropped through the door, I gave him a call to see if he fancied it. He 'bit my hand off', agreed £5 was great value, he even managed to get his brother to take the other. Fantastic I thought.

So down to Ashton Gate to buy 2 tickets for 2 friends who have never set foot in Ashton Gate before. Everyones a winner I thought.

Whilst waiting in the queue, although not party to the full conversation it was apparent that the man being served was unwilling to pay the Credit/Debit Card surcharge. He walked out without tickets.

So then it's my turn, after filling in the vouchers and choosing seats near mine, the girl said £10.00. I handed over my switch expecting to hear 'We have to charge £1.00 for switch. I don't agree with this charge, and usually pay cash to avoid it, but I was in a hurry and was resigned to paying it.

But this time she didn't say it ..... Instead she said 'We have to charge £1.00 per ticket' . The reason for the other bloke walking out was now perfectly apparent.

So I said £1 on a five pound ticket? I voiced my dissaproval of this excessive charge to the Shop Manager (Steve?), who to be fair wasn't in disagreement with my feelings, he told me to put any complaint to Colin Sexstone.

I walked out without tickets, so that's 2 lost sales in 5 minutes purely on the back of the club's greedy ticketing policy. For a club losing £1,000,000 + per year, where's the sense in this? Why do this club seem to make the purchasing of match tickets  so unattractive?  (no surcharges on merchandising)

Ok, I have since returned, with cash and bought the 2 tickets, and hopefully City will put on a five star performance and perhaps one (or both) or my friends will catch the bug! , but had I not returned (which they can't have guaranteed) 2 potential regular Ashton Gate paying customers lost, maybe forever? The other bloke who walked out, who knows, perhaps he returned, perhaps he didn't?

Shortsighted policies like this make my blood boil.

Anyway as instructed I reported this to Colin Sextone's PR 8 days ago, I was told he was in meetings all day, so I requested a call from CS. His PR put a note in his diary to return my call. Ok I understand he's busy but 8 days and he can't find a 5 minute window to call a supporter with valid concerns on a club policy that HAS forced two supporters to walk out without buying tickets? Thanks very much Colin. I'm so glad we're so high on your list of priorities.

As a side point, has anyone bought large quantities of tickets this season on a credit/debit card? Were you charged £1/ticket and not transaction? Were you happy about it?

←

I had a similar customer service incident with him last year, when he refused to refund a ticket that had not been used because of sickness. He showed no compassion then. The guy is an arogant ###### if you ask me. I have no time for him.

[Dorset_Cider]

I have not read all of this thread........ but I ended up asking a very kind friend to get my tickets for the AFC Bournemouth game due to the saving on booking fees.

He lives around the Bristol area and it saved me a fortune what with a pound per ticket if I had bought in my usual manner by credit card ..... plus I think it was something like another quid for the postage.

In all honesty STUFF THAT ............ I'm not made of money

The fortune saved was something like £6.00 / £7.00 .........

The best bit is I don't think I'm tight..... I'd pay the booking fee as I have done in the past but not per bleeding ticket.

Who cares?

Well I do for a start.........................

[twaters]

I had a similar customer service incident with him last year, when he refused to refund a ticket that had not been used because of sickness. He showed no compassion then. The guy is an arogant ###### if you ask me. I have no time for him. 

←

Was the game sold out? that would be the only reason i would agree with him was if the ticket was denying another supporter. As we havent had a sold out game for a while i guess he was just being a bit tight.

As for the whole charging, i too have been a victim of this nonesense, however its because i live three hours away and buy my tickets over the phone. Its expensive enough with Petrol, Bridge, Ticket and Dinner, so a pound seems like nothing, but add that up over the season it adds up.

I went to see Charlton last season against spurs, £26 for a nice seat, great veiw, cracking atmos, premiership football. Two weeks ago i paid £20 (inc booking fee) for a league one poo match with a wooden seat and and ill be back for MK Dons,

I actually cant believe how stupid i am. Grrr @ city for taking the pi55 so much out of us dedicated supporters, what a joke.

[robins72]

I believe it will depend where the club bank and the arrangement they have with that bank but; a debit card transaction costs 30p on average. On a credit card it's 4 - 5% depending, therefore 40/50p on a £10 transaction. Therefore the club are making £1.50 / £1.70 on two tickets and the money is in their bank automatically. Gross profiteering?

←

Definitely not with me. If it was I'd charge the club double!

Just kidding I'd pocket it really to get players for the transfer window or improve our poor catering facilities

[cinker]

Definitely not with me. If it was I'd charge the club double!

Just kidding I'd pocket it really to get players for the transfer window or improve our poor catering facilities 

←

Catering Yes. I wonder if the new Commercial Manager will better Mr R.Gould's performance in getting Clarks pies or 'in-date" food.