Just The Ticket

[Bristol Boy]

[Loderingo]

Very Good post BB. Perhaps the fact that we haven't had this sort of big game for a number of years has led to complacency at the club. Let's hope this fiasco is a wake up call for the club and that the board get together with the fans to explore options like those you've set out and find a fair way of ticketing games like these.

[Tunley Legend]

A lot of sensible suggestions there. Something I do agree with is that when big games come along Season Ticket Holders (I am one myself) should be LIMITED to a certain number. A few seasons ago before I was a season ticket holder but still attending 20 games per season my Dad and I ended up with poor seats at the Millennium Stadium Play Off Final because season ticket holders were buying seats left, right and centre for their Chelsea/Man U/Arsenal/Liverpool supporting mates who fancied a nice day out. Many true supporters like us were given the leftovers at the end. Where are those "supporters" now? Probably crawling out of the woodwork for the first time since to obtain tickets for Saturday, again depriving real supporters of tickets.

I accept that some floating supporters can be enticed to increase our fanbase but what the likes of Sextone needs to learn quickly (as he doesn't appear to realise it at the moment) is that you MUST look after your LOYAL supporters. Why the hell supporters who kept York/Gillingham ticket stubs were not able to be given some kind of priority is absolutely amazing. In fact it stinks of downright incompetence on the part of the commercial department - yet again unfortunately.

There is now a great degree of goodwill amongst loyal supporters who are starting to see some decent football at last (having paid for and sat through a lot of rubbish football in the process) and can also see some success on the horizon. The club must meet the needs of these supporters and if that bloodies the nose of your Chelsea supporting mate or the Corporate Suit who likes to go to the BIG games, then so be it.

[cidercity1987]

A bit of a side issue to this thread...

I was just reading the Boro Rivals site and they seem to think they've sold 2,600 tickets for Saturday. So whose right? 500 or 2,600?

[CodeRed]

A bit of a side issue to this thread...

I was just reading the Boro Rivals site and they seem to think they've sold 2,600 tickets for Saturday. So whose right? 500 or 2,600?

I wondered about that - they were allocated 3150, and havn't returned any yet as there still on sale at 'Boro ,

so with us having sold 1500 this morning it's going to be quite a squeeze for 4000 after the segregation is allowed for, seeing as how full the EE looked when filled with the 2900 that Coventry brought!

CodeRed

[Nibor]

My thoughts on how to stop this cluster**** from happening in future and treat all fans, not just ST holders, fairly:

Priority for buying tickets should be-

ST Holders with stub from last round

ST Holders

Non-ST Holders with stub

General sale aka Billy Big Game.

No one person should be allowed to buy more than 2 tickets until it's clear that they're not going to sell out.

We never have a situation where there will be less than 5 working days between knowing who we have in the next round, and playing the game - and as BB said there's no reason people can't pre-order so each group of priority should get a clear day (preferably two) in which to purchase before they're opened up to the next group as well. The dates for each priority should be published well in advance and planned properly not done in an ad-hoc manner as they were this time.

The club should get a name and address for the database and to prevent touting with each ticket sale, and include a leaflet detailing the online ticketing system with every ticket they give/send out - perhaps with a user id already created for those that don't have them.

It appears that the tickets sold online have to be put on in batches so as to stop the ticket office double selling. This is so poor it's unreal - the ticket office should be selling from the same underlying ticket database as anyone who buys on the internet. The internet interface to that system also needs to have provision for people to enter season ticket numbers or stub numbers to validate their entitlement.

This kind of thing is far from difficult - there are off the shelf applications that could be installed and set up to do this easily. It isn't an IT issue stopping the ticket system from being any good, it's a management issue - it seems that the club just chose a poor product or poor providers and can't get the service tailored to what they need. They should put the whole thing out to tender (sod it, I could write one in a month) because a business that makes most of it's money from tickets MUST have a proper ticketing system surely?

These are pretty simple things but they'd provide a much better service to fans (customers!) and might even make the commercial side of the club look as professional as GJ has the first XI looking.

[Bristol Boy]

My thoughts on how to stop this cluster**** from happening in future and treat all fans, not just ST holders, fairly:

This kind of thing is far from difficult - there are off the shelf applications that could be installed and set up to do this easily. It isn't an IT issue stopping the ticket system from being any good, it's a management issue - it seems that the club just chose a poor product or poor providers and can't get the service tailored to what they need. They should put the whole thing out to tender (sod it, I could write one in a month) because a business that makes most of it's money from tickets MUST have a proper ticketing system surely?

These are pretty simple things but they'd provide a much better service to fans (customers!) and might even make the commercial side of the club look as professional as GJ has the first XI looking.

One key issue for me is for the club to hold it's hands up and say, sorry-This is what we're doing to stop this happening again.

I've no problem with that but I'm afraid that's not the message eminating from Ashton Gate and I sincerely hope that the bulk numbers of tickets sold do not find there way into the wrong hands for what should be a showcase for our club.

[Bristol Boy]

A bit of a side issue to this thread...

I was just reading the Boro Rivals site and they seem to think they've sold 2,600 tickets for Saturday. So whose right? 500 or 2,600?

The Rivals site contains exagerations on occassions so I wouldn't take it as Gospel.

I spoke to Boro's ticket office and they had sold 500 by Monday lunchtime.ST Holders only although, as I said, they expected to sell out all 3,100 after the tickets went on Gen Sale from Weds morning.

CS confirmed in a Radio interview that City had negotiated the return of "more tickets" from Boro which leads me to believe that something in the order of 500 had already been returned and we asked them for an additional 500 appx.

That could mean around 2,000 Boro fans at AG and around 1,500 City Fans totalling 3,500 in the EE, leaving a "1,000 seat Gap"......... and a wacking great steel fence, of course.The other tickets could also have come from ST Holders (500-1,000) who won't come for various reasons-holiday, business etc.

I expect a capacity of around 19,200 and I'm sure CS will provide a breakdown for clarity.

[Bristol Boy]

Very Good post BB. Perhaps the fact that we haven't had this sort of big game for a number of years has led to complacency at the club. Let's hope this fiasco is a wake up call for the club and that the board get together with the fans to explore options like those you've set out and find a fair way of ticketing games like these.

Thank for that and we've now got a cracking opportunity to put everything right in the three weeks between now and the JPT Area Final.

Let's face it, we could sell more on the basis that we MIGHT play Rovers than if we DO play Shrewsbury.

So, from tomorrow why can't ST Holders buy/book their tickets for that game?

PLANNING & PREPARATION PREVENT PI55 POOR PERFORMANCE

[exiledinwatford]

I think there are a couple of points that haven't been mentioned yet (I doubt it though) - although this subject has pretty well been done to death.

1. In July the club are pulling out all stops to get season ticket holders and publicy state that they will be given priority. That means over everybody else whether they have the ticket stub from Orient away or not. Now I woke up after a typical Friday night and didn't make the trip to York although I applaud my fellow fans that did and would not begrudge them priority however, in July the club does its' sales pitch - "buy a season ticket and you get priority" not "buy a season ticket and you get sort of priority along with those who went to Orient etc etc"

2. Why can't the club offer season tickets that "include" all home cup ties? Your credit card details are kept on file and the tickets despatched 48 hours after them being made available. No phone calls, no queing, no frustration and guaranteed satisfaction for both ST holder and club. This idea could be expanded to offer guaranteed away cup tickets as well - season ticket standard (league home), season ticket gold (league and cups home) and of course season ticket uranium (or something) (league home, cups home and away).

I do agree with many points particularly that ST holders should be able to purchase online - can't be too difficult. Every time I ring up the ticket office I only have to give them my credit card details and they know exactly who I am.