That's very magnanimous of you however it's not our club, it's Roland's. Since he owns 5 or so clubs then I think he can afford to make a small gesture the home fans. It won't cost much if anything at all to offer a free ticket for a friend. There are plenty of empty seats to fill and those go that will probably buy some food and drink, a programme perhaps. Charlton may even make some money out of it. I value my time and money, as I said any other industry and we'd be spitting feathers.
very kind of you to suggest a way for our owner to waste more of his money on us , he'll do well not to lose a substantial amount out of his money on us and if he does by some miracle make some money out of us it will be cos he's risked a big sum and we will have to be doing well ! you clearly want a bit more from the club and Rolands pocket and i think we have enough cheap/free seat promotions already still each to their own
That's very magnanimous of you however it's not our club, it's Roland's. Since he owns 5 or so clubs then I think he can afford to make a small gesture the home fans. It won't cost much if anything at all to offer a free ticket for a friend. There are plenty of empty seats to fill and those go that will probably buy some food and drink, a programme perhaps. Charlton may even make some money out of it. I value my time and money, as I said any other industry and we'd be spitting feathers.
Thats being very generous with other people's money though dont you think...
As I've said in one of the earliest posts Charlton have already given Season-Ticket holders two free tickets to bring a friend along to two games this season, not to mention the free ticket for the Derby County match so how many free offers do people want the club to release?
England's netball team must face Tri-Series opponents New Zealand behind closed doors at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre following "significant damage" to the Copper Box Arena. The arena floor was rendered unplayable following a fitness exhibition. Four games due to be staged at the venue over the next two days have either been cancelled or switched. England Netball (external) are expected to pay out refunds totalling £50,000 to Copper Box Arena ticket-holders. "There were holes on the floor. The damage was assessed by [The Copper Box Arena management company] Greenwich Leisure and they decided that the floor was unsuitable for netball," Joanne Adams, England Netball's Marketing and Commercial Director said. "Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate ticket-holders at Crystal Palace because there isn't seating." England, ranked third in the world, won their first game on Saturday, beating Jamaica 46-38 at Wembley Arena. New Zealand, second in the world rankings, beat Jamaica, rated fourth, 52-46 in Friday's opening match.
We were misled, the club handled it all wrong and I don't it's too much to expect something in return. Other people's money ? I think I invested quite a lot of my own money in tickets etc. " free tickets " ? Really ? I thought I paid for those as part of an incentive to buy a season ticket. Can't see it's money wasted if it retains the goodwill of the fans, surely that was one of the motivators behind the valley express offer. I think it's important we're not taken for granted.
BTW those " free tickets " were courtesy of the previous regime. You're making Roland sound like some wonderful philanthropist. He may turn out to be but I very much doubt he bought the club and others out of the goodness of his heart without any self-interest.
I think everyone is missing the point that AB made. They are not offering tree coach travel as a gesture of goodwill, they are offering free coach travel so as to prevent some of those that were not going to go to the midweek game from asking for a refund. As the coach journey was not completed the club, probably, have to offer a cash refund. Also, those that paid for a ticket for the game (and are not season ticket holders) would be entitled to a refund on the match day ticket as well. Thus the club are not, exactly, offering free travel, they are just offering travel opposed to a refund - i.e. they are managing to sell it as they would have to refund it otherwise.
That makes any claim for the club to offer something similar to those that made their own way there a bit irrelevant. The club might be 'doing the right thing' but if they don't they will be effectively paying the fans for a match ticket and the coach travel to stay at home!
It's a no-brainer for the club, and even if we ignore the coach travel element, any fan that has paid for a ticket that doesn't come to the re-arranged fixture is going to ask for that money back - and I'm guessing it will be a lot more than the £7 it costs to coach them in.
It seems the club has shifted its position again (unless I've missed something). Either that or they just didn't explain themselves properly. t think its latest position on Valley Express is the right one - not sure what to make of the last bit though. It suggests to me they are coming under pressure and are looking for a way to respond, but given that many people will have come from outside the Valley Express area I am not sure it will help much.
Club statement on Jan 20th (above): A free Valley Express service will be running on the day of the rearranged match (date TBA), with the same pick-up points as on January 11th, which means all supporters that attended the postponed match from London, Kent and parts of Sussex and Surrey can enjoy free return coach travel. Fans will need to book their place via the usual Valley Express system at least three days in advance of the match and will need to provide proof of purchase from the original fixture.
Club website tickets page on Jan 23rd: Valley Express travellers that had booked for the original game will remain booked on for the rearranged fixture and will not have to repurchase. If you are unable to attend please contact the commercial centre to swap the coach ticket for another game or if you require a refund. Additionally, any Charlton fan who suffered significant inconvenience due to the game's postponement should contact the commercial centre, in order that they may also receive free coach travel to the rearranged match against the Tykes. For more information, please contact Dhiran Jayasundera in the Valley commercial centre by calling 0871 226 1905 or email dhiran.jayasundera@cafc.co.uk.
I raised the point about other fans who wouldn't be compensated by the scheme with the club when we (cas trust) responded to the initial story and was told it was currently being considered.
It seems the club has shifted its position again (unless I've missed something). Either that or they just didn't explain themselves properly. t think its latest position on Valley Express is the right one - not sure what to make of the last bit though. It suggests to me they are coming under pressure and are looking for a way to respond, but given that many people will have come from outside the Valley Express area I am not sure it will help much.
Club statement on Jan 20th (above): A free Valley Express service will be running on the day of the rearranged match (date TBA), with the same pick-up points as on January 11th, which means all supporters that attended the postponed match from London, Kent and parts of Sussex and Surrey can enjoy free return coach travel. Fans will need to book their place via the usual Valley Express system at least three days in advance of the match and will need to provide proof of purchase from the original fixture.
Club website tickets page on Jan 23rd: Valley Express travellers that had booked for the original game will remain booked on for the rearranged fixture and will not have to repurchase. If you are unable to attend please contact the commercial centre to swap the coach ticket for another game or if you require a refund. Additionally, any Charlton fan who suffered significant inconvenience due to the game's postponement should contact the commercial centre, in order that they may also receive free coach travel to the rearranged match against the Tykes. For more information, please contact Dhiran Jayasundera in the Valley commercial centre by calling 0871 226 1905 or email dhiran.jayasundera@cafc.co.uk.
I'm torn on this one, to be honest. I think it is a good PR gesture to offer free travel to all fans but I worry that those that are still sulking will not be happy under any circumstances and ths cost of trying to make everyone happy could escalate.
I'm mindful of the fact that it is our club, so it is our money (not literally) that is being spent to buy forgiveness from the fans for what I'm sure was an innocent mistake. If this whole debacle costs £200k then that could be the difference between getting in another striker or not.
It seems the club has shifted its position again (unless I've missed something). Either that or they just didn't explain themselves properly. t think its latest position on Valley Express is the right one - not sure what to make of the last bit though. It suggests to me they are coming under pressure and are looking for a way to respond, but given that many people will have come from outside the Valley Express area I am not sure it will help much.
Club statement on Jan 20th (above): A free Valley Express service will be running on the day of the rearranged match (date TBA), with the same pick-up points as on January 11th, which means all supporters that attended the postponed match from London, Kent and parts of Sussex and Surrey can enjoy free return coach travel. Fans will need to book their place via the usual Valley Express system at least three days in advance of the match and will need to provide proof of purchase from the original fixture.
Club website tickets page on Jan 23rd: Valley Express travellers that had booked for the original game will remain booked on for the rearranged fixture and will not have to repurchase. If you are unable to attend please contact the commercial centre to swap the coach ticket for another game or if you require a refund. Additionally, any Charlton fan who suffered significant inconvenience due to the game's postponement should contact the commercial centre, in order that they may also receive free coach travel to the rearranged match against the Tykes. For more information, please contact Dhiran Jayasundera in the Valley commercial centre by calling 0871 226 1905 or email dhiran.jayasundera@cafc.co.uk.
I'm torn on this one, to be honest. I think it is a good PR gesture to offer free travel to all fans but I worry that those that are still sulking will not be happy under any circumstances and ths cost of trying to make everyone happy could escalate.
I'm mindful of the fact that it is our club, so it is our money (not literally) that is being spent to buy forgiveness from the fans for what I'm sure was an innocent mistake. If this whole debacle costs £200k then that could be the difference between getting in another striker or not.
£200k is a bit of a wild number. The home coaches I would put at £5k, the aways £1.7k. Casual staff costs, say 450 people @ average £8 an hour including on costs is about £3.5k an hour. Potentially five/six hours, but probably only paid for two. They'll only have sold a minority of the programmes, but may have covered the cost. Doubt if the police costs amounted to much for Barnsley. Something for wasted food, road closure/cleaning and lounge cleaning. Full time staff will just be expected to work extra hours when it is played. I would say the late postponement itself cost the club at most £30k, maybe less than that - you could argue that the cost of the dome was wasted, but it did help get the Oxford match on.
In addition there will be revenue foregone because the match is now played in midweek, but that would have been true whenever it was called off.
Yes, sorry, laziness on my part. I read a figure somewhere (on here) and didn't do the maths. However, irrespective as to how small (£30k is not, exactly, peanuts) the point remains the same. I am happy for the club to pay out for good PR, but I'm not sure that money couldn't be better used elsewhere. I would not, for example, take advantage of a free coach, even if it saves me money in petrol because it's not what I normally do and I'm not, personally, desperate to punish the club for the game being postponed at late notice.
Having said that I had driven to my Dad's and we were on the way when the game was called off and we went back to his house for the afternoon, so it was hardly a wasted trip for me.
Good little extra gesture but in reality I think they know it's not gonna cost them much more. I doubt many people who usually drive, train it etc are gonna change their normal routine and get the coach. The reason I never get coaches to games is because it's more restricting for you as you have set times and not a lot of free time. I suspect most are the same. But I can't really see what more they can do, just one of those things. Some lose out, some don't.
Good little extra gesture but in reality I think they know it's not gonna cost them much more. I doubt many people who usually drive, train it etc are gonna change their normal routine and get the coach. The reason I never get coaches to games is because it's more restricting for you as you have set times and not a lot of free time. I suspect most are the same. But I can't really see what more they can do, just one of those things. Some lose out, some don't.
I expect you're right in this case, especially for a midweek game. However, when we did run free travel to a match against Bolton, albeit in the Prem, and in the very early days for match ticket purchasers, the demand was enormous. I was quite surprised at the effect charging £5 had on take-up in 2005, considering people were already paying £20 plus for match tickets.
AB, does that mean that it would be a worthwhile exercise, or were a lot of those taking advantage of the free travel season ticket holders?
I think it would pay for itself for a Saturday game on a one-off basis however the club has been running a very tight Valley Express service since Wendy and I left, which is fairly straightforward to do, i.e the same 10 or so coaches on the same routes each week. You might put on 40 coaches on a promotion, as we did numerous times, and that's a rather different game organisationally, so I doubt they are set up for it at present.
Comments
you clearly want a bit more from the club and Rolands pocket and i think we have enough cheap/free seat promotions already
still each to their own
As I've said in one of the earliest posts Charlton have already given Season-Ticket holders two free tickets to bring a friend along to two games this season, not to mention the free ticket for the Derby County match so how many free offers do people want the club to release?
From the bbc
England's netball team must face Tri-Series opponents New Zealand behind closed doors at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre following "significant damage" to the Copper Box Arena.
The arena floor was rendered unplayable following a fitness exhibition.
Four games due to be staged at the venue over the next two days have either been cancelled or switched.
England Netball (external) are expected to pay out refunds totalling £50,000 to Copper Box Arena ticket-holders.
"There were holes on the floor. The damage was assessed by [The Copper Box Arena management company] Greenwich Leisure and they decided that the floor was unsuitable for netball," Joanne Adams, England Netball's Marketing and Commercial Director said.
"Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate ticket-holders at Crystal Palace because there isn't seating."
England, ranked third in the world, won their first game on Saturday, beating Jamaica 46-38 at Wembley Arena.
New Zealand, second in the world rankings, beat Jamaica, rated fourth, 52-46 in Friday's opening match.
That makes any claim for the club to offer something similar to those that made their own way there a bit irrelevant. The club might be 'doing the right thing' but if they don't they will be effectively paying the fans for a match ticket and the coach travel to stay at home!
It's a no-brainer for the club, and even if we ignore the coach travel element, any fan that has paid for a ticket that doesn't come to the re-arranged fixture is going to ask for that money back - and I'm guessing it will be a lot more than the £7 it costs to coach them in.
Club statement on Jan 20th (above): A free Valley Express service will be running on the day of the rearranged match (date TBA), with the same pick-up points as on January 11th, which means all supporters that attended the postponed match from London, Kent and parts of Sussex and Surrey can enjoy free return coach travel. Fans will need to book their place via the usual Valley Express system at least three days in advance of the match and will need to provide proof of purchase from the original fixture.
Club website tickets page on Jan 23rd: Valley Express travellers that had booked for the original game will remain booked on for the rearranged fixture and will not have to repurchase. If you are unable to attend please contact the commercial centre to swap the coach ticket for another game or if you require a refund. Additionally, any Charlton fan who suffered significant inconvenience due to the game's postponement should contact the commercial centre, in order that they may also receive free coach travel to the rearranged match against the Tykes. For more information, please contact Dhiran Jayasundera in the Valley commercial centre by calling 0871 226 1905 or email dhiran.jayasundera@cafc.co.uk.
I'm mindful of the fact that it is our club, so it is our money (not literally) that is being spent to buy forgiveness from the fans for what I'm sure was an innocent mistake. If this whole debacle costs £200k then that could be the difference between getting in another striker or not.
In addition there will be revenue foregone because the match is now played in midweek, but that would have been true whenever it was called off.
Having said that I had driven to my Dad's and we were on the way when the game was called off and we went back to his house for the afternoon, so it was hardly a wasted trip for me.