if anyone has a spare ticket or two please let me know...bit annoyed as have been let down by a mate and now they are sold out! would love to go though
This is a bloody wind up. I rang this morning to book tickets as they went on sale to season ticket holders. I was told I couldn't book them over the phone. I had two choices - turn up at the Valley in person with Voucher B (not practical as I live in Norfolk), or send my vouchers in by post. I have done this but I find out the tickets sold out this evening. Surely there has to be a better way than this voucher thing? I spend a huge amount of time and money following my team from where I live yet because of geography, I am always likely to miss out when the tickets are sparse. Surely some alterative arrangement can be made? What about a pre booked reserve arrangement where Season Ticket holders can reserve seats over the phone with the Voucher being sent by post to follow up? I live close to Colchester so this would have been easy to get to but now I can't go. I have just started trying to go to as many away games as possible after several years when I just couldn't for family reasons. This makes me less inclined to go in future.
Quite agree Bing, it's something that really annoys me that you have to travel in person to buy a ticket, have they never heard of a computer? It can't be that difficult to organise a system whereby this sort of thing is handled over the phone. I've complained by email, phone and in person on numerous occasions I think the best response I ever got was that the current system 'benefits fans who live closer to The Valley'. OK so now we're discriminated against because we live outside of SE7.....
Fortunately this should be the last of the recent ticketing fiasco's as after Colchester most of the away game tickets for the remainder of the season will probably be on general sale. Still, it is annoying to miss out on a game you would have liked to have gone to.
Agree. I live in Cornwall and it's not possible to just turn up and buy a ticket when they go on general sale to red card holders. Sometimes I can get a mate or family to pick up a ticket for me, but these people have to work too and can't just take time out to go to the ground.
Remember it's not a ticket office anymore, it's a.........Commercial Centre - so with a 21st Century name it ought by now have a 21st Century service, not some throwback to the 1960's.
Not going to start the great debate of VG again but it is games like these that it pays off and yes i have been to other away games, i would look at getting tickets in there end.......not as if they are bunch a nasty bunch
[cite]Posted By: WhenIwasLittleBoy[/cite]Not going to start the great debate of VG again but it is games like these that it pays off and yes i have been to other away games, i would look at getting tickets in there end.......not as if they are bunch a nasty bunch
I have toyed with Valley Gold membership again. (I used to be a member when I lived in Kent). However to get to a home game (in addition to a season ticket) cost me £35 quid for rail tickets for me and my lad (with a family railcard), or more if I go by car (120 miles each way). If I go to away games it costs in the main more for travelling plus the ticket costs. £10 per month is a lot to justify to be honest.
[cite]Posted By: WhenIwasLittleBoy[/cite]U do of course get a discount from the season ticket price if u are VG.......tenner is hardly going to break the bank,
[cite]Posted By: Rothko[/cite]Sorry, but the system is shambles that you can't just call up, quote your season ticket number, and get a ticket.
fully agree, particularly when you hear first hand accounts from people like Bing who travel all over the country following us. The system simply isn't working.
i spend my sept-june up in sheffield at university and it is only through friends and family down here that i manage to get the vast majority of my away tickets sorted out, i totally agree with rothko and others on this, it's 2007 and we're still all collecting bits of cardboard like idiots and having to travel in person to charlton or rely upon the horrendous postal system. we all already have a number. we all already have a red membership card thingy. how hard is it to keep a database tally everytime someone orders a ticket to whatever game in order to keep a check on entitlement?
It seems to me that the solution is some kind of online facility where each member/ST holder has his own CAFC ticket account complete with password. This account can then be accessed in three ways
1. over the phone (giving some password/security details)
2. at the Valley (with a voucher or password/security details)
3. On line (with some password/security details)
If there are additional restriction such as VG member with first priority, then can all be built into the system
I reckon that once up and running you will need less staff to run it as more and more people will buy on line, the tickets will be sold strictly on a first come first served basis not based solely on who can get to the Valley on time.
No doubt the club would need to spend some cash to set it up but the database of who buy tickets will be useful for marketing purposes.
The view is that as such a system is only needed for one game a season ie Colchester then it is not justifiable. It's not one I share.
That we fail to capture purchase info on our existing customer database is a real waste of valuable customer info IMHO. It also means we have a much slower system as we have to rely on the postal service and/or allow time for personal visits when we could be taking on-line and phone bookings. The Palace game is a classic example of this as tickets went on general sale only a few days before the game. This uncertainty must, IMHO, deter some people from going.
On line and phone purchasing would also allow the club to sell the tickets much earlier ie before the actual tickets have arrived from the home club as seats could be allocated later (although this would be difficult to administer)
On Ledge's key question point good idea. All ST and red card members have an unique ID number already and tickets sold this way could then be posted out only to the registered home address.
I would suggest that you pass your polite comments on at customerservices@cafc.co.uk from where a very nice person will pass them on to the relevant manager.
[cite]Posted By: Henry Irving[/cite]The view is that as such a system is only needed for one game a season ie Colchester then it is not justifiable. It's not one I share.
There is also the issue, much aired on here that the away support turn out for our club is poor and way below many of our similar rivals. Take the Palace for example. As I understand it we just about sold out our allocation but it was touch and go. If we had gone for a larger allocation (provided Tango man was prepared to let us have some), we almost certainly would have been stuck with some. I suspect that Palace on the other hand will have little problem selling their allocation at the Valley. How are we ever going to grow our away support base if we make it so hard for ourselves?
Investment in the kind of ticketing system I am suggested would allow a much better handle on the scale of demand. If the tickets or request for tickets for games come in quickly and early, then it will provide useful information if the club decide to get some additional tickets.
An online system could enable the club to have a dialogue with its members when the fixtures lists come out.
You could ask members for their plans for going to away games. This could also be done by post if necessary by a simple form which could go out when the fixtures are announced for those members who don't use computers. Shock horror you could even get telesales people to ring members at the start of the season to obtain this info. Your database will also allow you to contact fans at the time that tickets become available reminding them of their original plan.
The earlier you have a handle on the potential demand, the better.
We aspire to be back in the premier league again. More and more clubs are moving to new larger grounds. You cannot obtain unlimited tickets but within the limits available we should as a club be better organised to grab what tickets are available and market them to the full.
[cite]Posted By: WSS[/cite]i'd much rather the club spend money on getting us back to the Premier League rather than some fandangled ticketing system to be honest
They've already spent the money on it, so be nice if they used it
I think that if you had posted your voucher B last week when the stipulations were announced you would have got a ticket. i used to do this when i didnt live close to the valley.
Comments
Fortunately this should be the last of the recent ticketing fiasco's as after Colchester most of the away game tickets for the remainder of the season will probably be on general sale. Still, it is annoying to miss out on a game you would have liked to have gone to.
Remember it's not a ticket office anymore, it's a.........Commercial Centre - so with a 21st Century name it ought by now have a 21st Century service, not some throwback to the 1960's.
I have toyed with Valley Gold membership again. (I used to be a member when I lived in Kent). However to get to a home game (in addition to a season ticket) cost me £35 quid for rail tickets for me and my lad (with a family railcard), or more if I go by car (120 miles each way). If I go to away games it costs in the main more for travelling plus the ticket costs. £10 per month is a lot to justify to be honest.
Oh yeah I'd forgotten that......:-)
fully agree, particularly when you hear first hand accounts from people like Bing who travel all over the country following us. The system simply isn't working.
1. over the phone (giving some password/security details)
2. at the Valley (with a voucher or password/security details)
3. On line (with some password/security details)
If there are additional restriction such as VG member with first priority, then can all be built into the system
I reckon that once up and running you will need less staff to run it as more and more people will buy on line, the tickets will be sold strictly on a first come first served basis not based solely on who can get to the Valley on time.
No doubt the club would need to spend some cash to set it up but the database of who buy tickets will be useful for marketing purposes.
That we fail to capture purchase info on our existing customer database is a real waste of valuable customer info IMHO. It also means we have a much slower system as we have to rely on the postal service and/or allow time for personal visits when we could be taking on-line and phone bookings. The Palace game is a classic example of this as tickets went on general sale only a few days before the game. This uncertainty must, IMHO, deter some people from going.
On line and phone purchasing would also allow the club to sell the tickets much earlier ie before the actual tickets have arrived from the home club as seats could be allocated later (although this would be difficult to administer)
On Ledge's key question point good idea. All ST and red card members have an unique ID number already and tickets sold this way could then be posted out only to the registered home address.
I would suggest that you pass your polite comments on at customerservices@cafc.co.uk from where a very nice person will pass them on to the relevant manager.
Will offer the ticket to family first, if no takers I'll stick it up here.
Minimum bid £30 :)
There is also the issue, much aired on here that the away support turn out for our club is poor and way below many of our similar rivals. Take the Palace for example. As I understand it we just about sold out our allocation but it was touch and go. If we had gone for a larger allocation (provided Tango man was prepared to let us have some), we almost certainly would have been stuck with some. I suspect that Palace on the other hand will have little problem selling their allocation at the Valley. How are we ever going to grow our away support base if we make it so hard for ourselves?
Investment in the kind of ticketing system I am suggested would allow a much better handle on the scale of demand. If the tickets or request for tickets for games come in quickly and early, then it will provide useful information if the club decide to get some additional tickets.
An online system could enable the club to have a dialogue with its members when the fixtures lists come out.
You could ask members for their plans for going to away games. This could also be done by post if necessary by a simple form which could go out when the fixtures are announced for those members who don't use computers. Shock horror you could even get telesales people to ring members at the start of the season to obtain this info. Your database will also allow you to contact fans at the time that tickets become available reminding them of their original plan.
The earlier you have a handle on the potential demand, the better.
We aspire to be back in the premier league again. More and more clubs are moving to new larger grounds. You cannot obtain unlimited tickets but within the limits available we should as a club be better organised to grab what tickets are available and market them to the full.
They've already spent the money on it, so be nice if they used it