Well done for yet again backing down very quickly having made a mistake.
One day the senior management at Charlton will learn that consultation isn't sending an email a week before the event saying "We're doing this, what do you think?" and then having to backtrack a few days later when your ridiculous and badly thought out idea (which is actually detrimental to your supposed aim of increasing gates) draws near universal criticism.
Consult properly BEFORE you have made your mind up. Give people a chance to discuss the idea and listen to the criticism, good and bad, of the before you go live. It saves a lot of unnecessary aggro and egg on face.
And you actually make better decisions.
I know Meire and Cahones don't believe that anyone other than themselves can ever be right but they are wrong, frequently.
Pointless if they've kept a £3 surcharge 2 hours before kick off. They'll lose more in pre-match walk up because of this than they will gain from the £3's.
Step sideways and no more (in my opinion). Modern football is expensive enough, even at Charlton's prices, all considered in what we are watching.
Pointless if they've kept a £3 surcharge 2 hours before kick off. They'll lose more in pre-match walk up because of this than they will gain from the £3's.
Step sideways and no more (in my opinion). Modern football is expensive enough, even at Charlton's prices, all considered in what we are watching.
This might be true but with 5,000 lapsed season tickets they need to avoid needing to sell, literally, thousands of tickets on the day as the fall out would be fans complaining that they missed the start, or most of our games kicking off fifteen or thirty minutes late becasue there are so many fans outside of the ground.
If you assume that most fans pay by a card it could, easily, take a minute to serve a customer and with ten windows open (I'm not sure how many they have) and two tickets per transaction it could take over three hours to sell four thousand tickets.
Pointless if they've kept a £3 surcharge 2 hours before kick off. They'll lose more in pre-match walk up because of this than they will gain from the £3's.
Step sideways and no more (in my opinion). Modern football is expensive enough, even at Charlton's prices, all considered in what we are watching.
This might be true but with 5,000 lapsed season tickets they need to avoid needing to sell, literally, thousands of tickets on the day as the fall out would be fans complaining that they missed the start, or most of our games kicking off fifteen or thirty minutes late becasue there are so many fans outside of the ground.
If you assume that most fans pay by a card it could, easily, take a minute to serve a customer and with ten windows open (I'm not sure how many they have) and two tickets per transaction it could take over three hours to sell four thousand tickets.
A problem of their own making, no sympathy from me.. It's football, some people don't decide they want to attend until perhaps midday on the Saturday when they have nothing better on - a £3 surcharge will drive this away.. and all because they don't want to pay some wages and open up more windows to sell them.
Put it this way, they are a business that's sole purpose is to run a Football Club (well, should be) for fans and neutrals to come watch - they don't want this? It's an inconvenience to them if too many people turn up to do this? Ludicrous.
Pointless if they've kept a £3 surcharge 2 hours before kick off. They'll lose more in pre-match walk up because of this than they will gain from the £3's.
Step sideways and no more (in my opinion). Modern football is expensive enough, even at Charlton's prices, all considered in what we are watching.
This might be true but with 5,000 lapsed season tickets they need to avoid needing to sell, literally, thousands of tickets on the day as the fall out would be fans complaining that they missed the start, or most of our games kicking off fifteen or thirty minutes late becasue there are so many fans outside of the ground.
If you assume that most fans pay by a card it could, easily, take a minute to serve a customer and with ten windows open (I'm not sure how many they have) and two tickets per transaction it could take over three hours to sell four thousand tickets.
Thousands of tickets on the day? In this league? Don't see it.
"Meanwhile, two hours before kick-off on a matchday, prices will still increase by £3 for adults, over 65s and U21s."
For the love of God, why?
They have effectively lost me as a customer as I have no intention of buying a ST whilst RD and KM are still at the club. I don't leave near enough to the Valley to justify going there before matchday, I'm not going to arrive 2 hours before the match kicks off (although this is mainly thanks to Southeastern and their crap service at weekends), and my decision to go to the Valley is usually made on the morning.
Can I print off my ticket at home? Or do I need to collect? The club's website is not helpful in this respect.
Maybe I am the one who needs to show them how to use a computer, since no one at the club seems competent enough to make this information easily accessible on their website. Absolute sack of shit this club.
Pointless if they've kept a £3 surcharge 2 hours before kick off. They'll lose more in pre-match walk up because of this than they will gain from the £3's.
Step sideways and no more (in my opinion). Modern football is expensive enough, even at Charlton's prices, all considered in what we are watching.
This might be true but with 5,000 lapsed season tickets they need to avoid needing to sell, literally, thousands of tickets on the day as the fall out would be fans complaining that they missed the start, or most of our games kicking off fifteen or thirty minutes late becasue there are so many fans outside of the ground.
If you assume that most fans pay by a card it could, easily, take a minute to serve a customer and with ten windows open (I'm not sure how many they have) and two tickets per transaction it could take over three hours to sell four thousand tickets.
A problem of their own making, no sympathy from me.. It's football, some people don't decide they want to attend until perhaps midday on the Saturday when they have nothing better on - a £3 surcharge will drive this away.. and all because they don't want to pay some wages and open up more windows to sell them.
Put it this way, they are a business that's sole purpose is to run a Football Club (well, should be) for fans and neutrals to come watch - they don't want this? It's an inconvenience to them if too many people turn up to do this? Ludicrous.
Fault of their own doing.
Yes it's the club's fault, but it will be the supporter's paying on the day that will suffer, if they have to queue for half an hour & miss the start.
Pointless if they've kept a £3 surcharge 2 hours before kick off. They'll lose more in pre-match walk up because of this than they will gain from the £3's.
Step sideways and no more (in my opinion). Modern football is expensive enough, even at Charlton's prices, all considered in what we are watching.
This might be true but with 5,000 lapsed season tickets they need to avoid needing to sell, literally, thousands of tickets on the day as the fall out would be fans complaining that they missed the start, or most of our games kicking off fifteen or thirty minutes late becasue there are so many fans outside of the ground.
If you assume that most fans pay by a card it could, easily, take a minute to serve a customer and with ten windows open (I'm not sure how many they have) and two tickets per transaction it could take over three hours to sell four thousand tickets.
I've no doubt that they are concerned about this, because we are in a bit of an odd situation, but in reality the club is unlikely to sell more than 1,500 tickets over the counter on the day for a league match. There is no history of declining season ticket numbers producing extra match sales.
A good match sale (that is all home ticket sales, not just those on matchday) at Charlton is 3,000 home tickets and a more typical one in recent years 1-2,000. With advance sales and especially the print at home option, the actual demand on the day from 10am onwards is likely to be in three figures and the average purchase is roughly two tickets.
So you are looking at, say, a likely maximum of 500 transactions across 11/12 windows, of which maybe three-quarters is in the last hour - unless of course the idea is to shut the north ticket office.
Friendlies / minor cup matches are a whole other ball game.
Pointless if they've kept a £3 surcharge 2 hours before kick off. They'll lose more in pre-match walk up because of this than they will gain from the £3's.
Step sideways and no more (in my opinion). Modern football is expensive enough, even at Charlton's prices, all considered in what we are watching.
This might be true but with 5,000 lapsed season tickets they need to avoid needing to sell, literally, thousands of tickets on the day as the fall out would be fans complaining that they missed the start, or most of our games kicking off fifteen or thirty minutes late becasue there are so many fans outside of the ground.
If you assume that most fans pay by a card it could, easily, take a minute to serve a customer and with ten windows open (I'm not sure how many they have) and two tickets per transaction it could take over three hours to sell four thousand tickets.
A problem of their own making, no sympathy from me.. It's football, some people don't decide they want to attend until perhaps midday on the Saturday when they have nothing better on - a £3 surcharge will drive this away.. and all because they don't want to pay some wages and open up more windows to sell them.
Put it this way, they are a business that's sole purpose is to run a Football Club (well, should be) for fans and neutrals to come watch - they don't want this? It's an inconvenience to them if too many people turn up to do this? Ludicrous.
Fault of their own doing.
Yes it's the club's fault, but it will be the supporter's paying on the day that will suffer, if they have to queue for half an hour & miss the start.
I also think that missing the first 20 minutes because there is little incentive to buy the tickets a few days before will be more of a deterrent to fans coming that paying what is, in reality, the cost of half a pint of beer.
"Meanwhile, two hours before kick-off on a matchday, prices will still increase by £3 for adults, over 65s and U21s."
For the love of God, why?
They have effectively lost me as a customer as I have no intention of buying a ST whilst RD and KM are still at the club. I don't leave near enough to the Valley to justify going there before matchday, I'm not going to arrive 2 hours before the match kicks off (although this is mainly thanks to Southeastern and their crap service at weekends), and my decision to go to the Valley is usually made on the morning.
Can I print off my ticket at home? Or do I need to collect? The club's website is not helpful in this respect.
Maybe I am the one who needs to show them how to use a computer, since no one at the club seems competent enough to make this information easily accessible on their website. Absolute sack of shit this club.
Fiiish, all of your posts make you sound like an educated, intelligent chap so I assume that you go to things like concerts, plays, musicals, other sporting events and that sort of thing. Would you stroll up to the O2 on a night that a night that had a huge act on and expect to buy a ticket just before you go in? I only ask because if not (and remembering that Ticket master charge something like £10 booking fee per ticket) you must have some experience of planning your life before the day in question. Is it so black and white that for an event that is in the diary for up to ten months before it happens you cannot make a decision to go 24 hours before it starts? And if not you will refuse to ever go again if they make you pay a little extra for not booking in advance?
I know we hate those running the club but it must be very difficult to plan staff rotas when you have no idea what you are going to need. As much as many people would love Roland to lose all of his money and enjoy reducing his income it is just unrealistic for the club to spend thousands of pounds providing staff for peak periods when there is an alternative and they can financially reward those that take advantage of it.
Almost every event that i can think of has an early bird discount - including season tickets. There was outrage on here a few years ago when someone pointed out that a season ticket was not much cheaper that paying match by match. If Airman Brown had introduced the 'surcharge' or 'discount for early payment' back in the Premier League days it would have been heralded as a masterstroke. When we were charging Arsenal fans £45 when the rest of the ground was paying £30 there wasn't an uproar.
Sometimes credibility goes if one criticises absolutely everything. We need to remember that when we 'declared war' on the current regime they were hardly going to bend over and take it up the ar$e now were they?
"Meanwhile, two hours before kick-off on a matchday, prices will still increase by £3 for adults, over 65s and U21s."
For the love of God, why?
They have effectively lost me as a customer as I have no intention of buying a ST whilst RD and KM are still at the club. I don't leave near enough to the Valley to justify going there before matchday, I'm not going to arrive 2 hours before the match kicks off (although this is mainly thanks to Southeastern and their crap service at weekends), and my decision to go to the Valley is usually made on the morning.
Can I print off my ticket at home? Or do I need to collect? The club's website is not helpful in this respect.
Maybe I am the one who needs to show them how to use a computer, since no one at the club seems competent enough to make this information easily accessible on their website. Absolute sack of shit this club.
Fiiish, all of your posts make you sound like an educated, intelligent chap so I assume that you go to things like concerts, plays, musicals, other sporting events and that sort of thing. Would you stroll up to the O2 on a night that a night that had a huge act on and expect to buy a ticket just before you go in? I only ask because if not (and remembering that Ticket master charge something like £10 booking fee per ticket) you must have some experience of planning your life before the day in question. Is it so black and white that for an event that is in the diary for up to ten months before it happens you cannot make a decision to go 24 hours before it starts? And if not you will refuse to ever go again if they make you pay a little extra for not booking in advance?
I know we hate those running the club but it must be very difficult to plan staff rotas when you have no idea what you are going to need. As much as many people would love Roland to lose all of his money and enjoy reducing his income it is just unrealistic for the club to spend thousands of pounds providing staff for peak periods when there is an alternative and they can financially reward those that take advantage of it.
Almost every event that i can think of has an early bird discount - including season tickets. There was outrage on here a few years ago when someone pointed out that a season ticket was not much cheaper that paying match by match. If Airman Brown had introduced the 'surcharge' or 'discount for early payment' back in the Premier League days it would have been heralded as a masterstroke. When we were charging Arsenal fans £45 when the rest of the ground was paying £30 there wasn't an uproar.
Sometimes credibility goes if one criticises absolutely everything. We need to remember that when we 'declared war' on the current regime they were hardly going to bend over and take it up the ar$e now were they?
Load of rubbish, KHA, not least because I didn't have responsibility for the ticket office in the PL and we would never have done such a thing anyway. Neither did we charge Arsenal £45 when the rest of the ground was paying £30. As it happens the board imposed £45 prices on the management team. We didn't agree with it and we failed to sell out the matches as a consequence of it, because there weren't enough verifiable Charlton fans willing to pay that price for the available home seats.
As for the rest of it, "huge acts" don't play to a stadium with 15,000 empty seats. The cost of employing the half a dozen casual ticket staff on matchdays is peanuts next to the revenue. A business that turns away extra revenue with next to no cost of sale attached isn't likely to last long.
"Meanwhile, two hours before kick-off on a matchday, prices will still increase by £3 for adults, over 65s and U21s."
For the love of God, why?
They have effectively lost me as a customer as I have no intention of buying a ST whilst RD and KM are still at the club. I don't leave near enough to the Valley to justify going there before matchday, I'm not going to arrive 2 hours before the match kicks off (although this is mainly thanks to Southeastern and their crap service at weekends), and my decision to go to the Valley is usually made on the morning.
Can I print off my ticket at home? Or do I need to collect? The club's website is not helpful in this respect.
Maybe I am the one who needs to show them how to use a computer, since no one at the club seems competent enough to make this information easily accessible on their website. Absolute sack of shit this club.
Fiiish, all of your posts make you sound like an educated, intelligent chap so I assume that you go to things like concerts, plays, musicals, other sporting events and that sort of thing. Would you stroll up to the O2 on a night that a night that had a huge act on and expect to buy a ticket just before you go in? I only ask because if not (and remembering that Ticket master charge something like £10 booking fee per ticket) you must have some experience of planning your life before the day in question. Is it so black and white that for an event that is in the diary for up to ten months before it happens you cannot make a decision to go 24 hours before it starts? And if not you will refuse to ever go again if they make you pay a little extra for not booking in advance?
I know we hate those running the club but it must be very difficult to plan staff rotas when you have no idea what you are going to need. As much as many people would love Roland to lose all of his money and enjoy reducing his income it is just unrealistic for the club to spend thousands of pounds providing staff for peak periods when there is an alternative and they can financially reward those that take advantage of it.
Almost every event that i can think of has an early bird discount - including season tickets. There was outrage on here a few years ago when someone pointed out that a season ticket was not much cheaper that paying match by match.
Sometimes credibility goes if one criticises absolutely everything. This is not great marketing but there is justification for it, in my opinion.
See I feel like it's different here in the states, if you purchase "at the door" it's cheaper because you avoid the booking and online processing fees. That said, just about all of the gigs I go to are at small venues cuz I'm all indie and hip and down wit da kids and when things get too big they get shit, innit.
Am I the only one who thinks this is just a plot to make it so that they have to employ fewer staff at the ticket office on matchdays? Save that sweet £12/hour or whatever it is the ticket office folks are paid.
Also, I will say that trying to drive purchases/sales online isn't the worst goal in the world. But as with everything they do, it's the execution that's just bad...and bizarre. Launching a "Book Online" campaign would be far smarter. I was looking at tickets for Ipswich and online booking looks perfectly fine (a bit confusing, but all online bookings where you choose your seats can be that way).
"Meanwhile, two hours before kick-off on a matchday, prices will still increase by £3 for adults, over 65s and U21s."
For the love of God, why?
They have effectively lost me as a customer as I have no intention of buying a ST whilst RD and KM are still at the club. I don't leave near enough to the Valley to justify going there before matchday, I'm not going to arrive 2 hours before the match kicks off (although this is mainly thanks to Southeastern and their crap service at weekends), and my decision to go to the Valley is usually made on the morning.
Can I print off my ticket at home? Or do I need to collect? The club's website is not helpful in this respect.
Maybe I am the one who needs to show them how to use a computer, since no one at the club seems competent enough to make this information easily accessible on their website. Absolute sack of shit this club.
Fiiish, all of your posts make you sound like an educated, intelligent chap so I assume that you go to things like concerts, plays, musicals, other sporting events and that sort of thing. Would you stroll up to the O2 on a night that a night that had a huge act on and expect to buy a ticket just before you go in? I only ask because if not (and remembering that Ticket master charge something like £10 booking fee per ticket) you must have some experience of planning your life before the day in question. Is it so black and white that for an event that is in the diary for up to ten months before it happens you cannot make a decision to go 24 hours before it starts? And if not you will refuse to ever go again if they make you pay a little extra for not booking in advance?
I know we hate those running the club but it must be very difficult to plan staff rotas when you have no idea what you are going to need. As much as many people would love Roland to lose all of his money and enjoy reducing his income it is just unrealistic for the club to spend thousands of pounds providing staff for peak periods when there is an alternative and they can financially reward those that take advantage of it.
Almost every event that i can think of has an early bird discount - including season tickets. There was outrage on here a few years ago when someone pointed out that a season ticket was not much cheaper that paying match by match. If Airman Brown had introduced the 'surcharge' or 'discount for early payment' back in the Premier League days it would have been heralded as a masterstroke. When we were charging Arsenal fans £45 when the rest of the ground was paying £30 there wasn't an uproar.
Sometimes credibility goes if one criticises absolutely everything. We need to remember that when we 'declared war' on the current regime they were hardly going to bend over and take it up the ar$e now were they?
Load of rubbish, KHA, not least because I didn't have responsibility for the ticket office in the PL and we would never have done such a thing anyway. Neither did we charge Arsenal £45 when the rest of the ground was paying £30. As it happens the board imposed £45 prices on the management team. We didn't agree with it and we failed to sell out the matches as a consequence of it, because there weren't enough verifiable Charlton fans willing to pay that price for the available home seats.
As for the rest of it, "huge acts" don't play to a stadium with 15,000 empty seats. The cost of employing the half a dozen casual ticket staff on matchdays is peanuts next to the revenue. A business that turns away extra revenue with next to no cost of sale attached isn't likely to last long.
Fair enough on the Arsenal tickets, I thought the £45 prices only applied to those behind the goals.
My point still stands about other events though. If one can arrange that in advance there is no reason as to why one can't make a decision to go to football in advance also. Just because there is no question of getting in doesn't mean that the decision to go has to be made in the morning of the game does it?
"Meanwhile, two hours before kick-off on a matchday, prices will still increase by £3 for adults, over 65s and U21s."
For the love of God, why?
They have effectively lost me as a customer as I have no intention of buying a ST whilst RD and KM are still at the club. I don't leave near enough to the Valley to justify going there before matchday, I'm not going to arrive 2 hours before the match kicks off (although this is mainly thanks to Southeastern and their crap service at weekends), and my decision to go to the Valley is usually made on the morning.
Can I print off my ticket at home? Or do I need to collect? The club's website is not helpful in this respect.
Maybe I am the one who needs to show them how to use a computer, since no one at the club seems competent enough to make this information easily accessible on their website. Absolute sack of shit this club.
Fiiish, all of your posts make you sound like an educated, intelligent chap so I assume that you go to things like concerts, plays, musicals, other sporting events and that sort of thing. Would you stroll up to the O2 on a night that a night that had a huge act on and expect to buy a ticket just before you go in? I only ask because if not (and remembering that Ticket master charge something like £10 booking fee per ticket) you must have some experience of planning your life before the day in question. Is it so black and white that for an event that is in the diary for up to ten months before it happens you cannot make a decision to go 24 hours before it starts? And if not you will refuse to ever go again if they make you pay a little extra for not booking in advance?
I know we hate those running the club but it must be very difficult to plan staff rotas when you have no idea what you are going to need. As much as many people would love Roland to lose all of his money and enjoy reducing his income it is just unrealistic for the club to spend thousands of pounds providing staff for peak periods when there is an alternative and they can financially reward those that take advantage of it.
Almost every event that i can think of has an early bird discount - including season tickets. There was outrage on here a few years ago when someone pointed out that a season ticket was not much cheaper that paying match by match. If Airman Brown had introduced the 'surcharge' or 'discount for early payment' back in the Premier League days it would have been heralded as a masterstroke. When we were charging Arsenal fans £45 when the rest of the ground was paying £30 there wasn't an uproar.
Sometimes credibility goes if one criticises absolutely everything. We need to remember that when we 'declared war' on the current regime they were hardly going to bend over and take it up the ar$e now were they?
Load of rubbish, KHA, not least because I didn't have responsibility for the ticket office in the PL and we would never have done such a thing anyway. Neither did we charge Arsenal £45 when the rest of the ground was paying £30. As it happens the board imposed £45 prices on the management team. We didn't agree with it and we failed to sell out the matches as a consequence of it, because there weren't enough verifiable Charlton fans willing to pay that price for the available home seats.
As for the rest of it, "huge acts" don't play to a stadium with 15,000 empty seats. The cost of employing the half a dozen casual ticket staff on matchdays is peanuts next to the revenue. A business that turns away extra revenue with next to no cost of sale attached isn't likely to last long.
I think he is spot on about the credibility, though.
"Meanwhile, two hours before kick-off on a matchday, prices will still increase by £3 for adults, over 65s and U21s."
For the love of God, why?
They have effectively lost me as a customer as I have no intention of buying a ST whilst RD and KM are still at the club. I don't leave near enough to the Valley to justify going there before matchday, I'm not going to arrive 2 hours before the match kicks off (although this is mainly thanks to Southeastern and their crap service at weekends), and my decision to go to the Valley is usually made on the morning.
Can I print off my ticket at home? Or do I need to collect? The club's website is not helpful in this respect.
Maybe I am the one who needs to show them how to use a computer, since no one at the club seems competent enough to make this information easily accessible on their website. Absolute sack of shit this club.
Fiiish, all of your posts make you sound like an educated, intelligent chap so I assume that you go to things like concerts, plays, musicals, other sporting events and that sort of thing. Would you stroll up to the O2 on a night that a night that had a huge act on and expect to buy a ticket just before you go in? I only ask because if not (and remembering that Ticket master charge something like £10 booking fee per ticket) you must have some experience of planning your life before the day in question. Is it so black and white that for an event that is in the diary for up to ten months before it happens you cannot make a decision to go 24 hours before it starts? And if not you will refuse to ever go again if they make you pay a little extra for not booking in advance?
I know we hate those running the club but it must be very difficult to plan staff rotas when you have no idea what you are going to need. As much as many people would love Roland to lose all of his money and enjoy reducing his income it is just unrealistic for the club to spend thousands of pounds providing staff for peak periods when there is an alternative and they can financially reward those that take advantage of it.
Almost every event that i can think of has an early bird discount - including season tickets. There was outrage on here a few years ago when someone pointed out that a season ticket was not much cheaper that paying match by match. If Airman Brown had introduced the 'surcharge' or 'discount for early payment' back in the Premier League days it would have been heralded as a masterstroke. When we were charging Arsenal fans £45 when the rest of the ground was paying £30 there wasn't an uproar.
Sometimes credibility goes if one criticises absolutely everything. We need to remember that when we 'declared war' on the current regime they were hardly going to bend over and take it up the ar$e now were they?
Load of rubbish, KHA, not least because I didn't have responsibility for the ticket office in the PL and we would never have done such a thing anyway. Neither did we charge Arsenal £45 when the rest of the ground was paying £30. As it happens the board imposed £45 prices on the management team. We didn't agree with it and we failed to sell out the matches as a consequence of it, because there weren't enough verifiable Charlton fans willing to pay that price for the available home seats.
As for the rest of it, "huge acts" don't play to a stadium with 15,000 empty seats. The cost of employing the half a dozen casual ticket staff on matchdays is peanuts next to the revenue. A business that turns away extra revenue with next to no cost of sale attached isn't likely to last long.
Fair enough on the Arsenal tickets, I thought the £45 prices only applied to those behind the goals.
My point still stands about other events though. If one can arrange that in advance there is no reason as to why one can't make a decision to go to football in advance also. Just because there is no question of getting in doesn't mean that the decision to go has to be made in the morning of the game does it?
We had one set of prices in the PL.
I think the point you are missing is this. It's not a question of what people CAN do, but what they WILL do. Booking up to see a band or a show or whatever is an occasional thing driven by your clear appetite for that one-off event. By definition that doesn't apply to everyone attending Charlton matches in League One and the club has an obvious financial incentive to accommodate as many people as often as possible regardless of their level of motivation, because if they don't come that seat will be empty and the revenue will be zero. The promoter of a sell-out show knows s/he can sell the seats so they can limit themselves to the people who are motivated. Sticking obstacles in the way of casual attendance when you have 15,000 empty seats makes no business sense.
"Meanwhile, two hours before kick-off on a matchday, prices will still increase by £3 for adults, over 65s and U21s."
For the love of God, why?
They have effectively lost me as a customer as I have no intention of buying a ST whilst RD and KM are still at the club. I don't leave near enough to the Valley to justify going there before matchday, I'm not going to arrive 2 hours before the match kicks off (although this is mainly thanks to Southeastern and their crap service at weekends), and my decision to go to the Valley is usually made on the morning.
Can I print off my ticket at home? Or do I need to collect? The club's website is not helpful in this respect.
Maybe I am the one who needs to show them how to use a computer, since no one at the club seems competent enough to make this information easily accessible on their website. Absolute sack of shit this club.
Fiiish, all of your posts make you sound like an educated, intelligent chap so I assume that you go to things like concerts, plays, musicals, other sporting events and that sort of thing. Would you stroll up to the O2 on a night that a night that had a huge act on and expect to buy a ticket just before you go in? I only ask because if not (and remembering that Ticket master charge something like £10 booking fee per ticket) you must have some experience of planning your life before the day in question. Is it so black and white that for an event that is in the diary for up to ten months before it happens you cannot make a decision to go 24 hours before it starts? And if not you will refuse to ever go again if they make you pay a little extra for not booking in advance?
I know we hate those running the club but it must be very difficult to plan staff rotas when you have no idea what you are going to need. As much as many people would love Roland to lose all of his money and enjoy reducing his income it is just unrealistic for the club to spend thousands of pounds providing staff for peak periods when there is an alternative and they can financially reward those that take advantage of it.
Almost every event that i can think of has an early bird discount - including season tickets. There was outrage on here a few years ago when someone pointed out that a season ticket was not much cheaper that paying match by match.
Sometimes credibility goes if one criticises absolutely everything. This is not great marketing but there is justification for it, in my opinion.
Save that sweet £12/hour or whatever it is the ticket office folks are paid.
You're obviously not as all indie and hip and down wit da kids as you think.
"Meanwhile, two hours before kick-off on a matchday, prices will still increase by £3 for adults, over 65s and U21s."
For the love of God, why?
They have effectively lost me as a customer as I have no intention of buying a ST whilst RD and KM are still at the club. I don't leave near enough to the Valley to justify going there before matchday, I'm not going to arrive 2 hours before the match kicks off (although this is mainly thanks to Southeastern and their crap service at weekends), and my decision to go to the Valley is usually made on the morning.
Can I print off my ticket at home? Or do I need to collect? The club's website is not helpful in this respect.
Maybe I am the one who needs to show them how to use a computer, since no one at the club seems competent enough to make this information easily accessible on their website. Absolute sack of shit this club.
Fiiish, all of your posts make you sound like an educated, intelligent chap so I assume that you go to things like concerts, plays, musicals, other sporting events and that sort of thing. Would you stroll up to the O2 on a night that a night that had a huge act on and expect to buy a ticket just before you go in? I only ask because if not (and remembering that Ticket master charge something like £10 booking fee per ticket) you must have some experience of planning your life before the day in question. Is it so black and white that for an event that is in the diary for up to ten months before it happens you cannot make a decision to go 24 hours before it starts? And if not you will refuse to ever go again if they make you pay a little extra for not booking in advance?
I know we hate those running the club but it must be very difficult to plan staff rotas when you have no idea what you are going to need. As much as many people would love Roland to lose all of his money and enjoy reducing his income it is just unrealistic for the club to spend thousands of pounds providing staff for peak periods when there is an alternative and they can financially reward those that take advantage of it.
Almost every event that i can think of has an early bird discount - including season tickets. There was outrage on here a few years ago when someone pointed out that a season ticket was not much cheaper that paying match by match. If Airman Brown had introduced the 'surcharge' or 'discount for early payment' back in the Premier League days it would have been heralded as a masterstroke. When we were charging Arsenal fans £45 when the rest of the ground was paying £30 there wasn't an uproar.
Sometimes credibility goes if one criticises absolutely everything. We need to remember that when we 'declared war' on the current regime they were hardly going to bend over and take it up the ar$e now were they?
Load of rubbish, KHA, not least because I didn't have responsibility for the ticket office in the PL and we would never have done such a thing anyway. Neither did we charge Arsenal £45 when the rest of the ground was paying £30. As it happens the board imposed £45 prices on the management team. We didn't agree with it and we failed to sell out the matches as a consequence of it, because there weren't enough verifiable Charlton fans willing to pay that price for the available home seats.
As for the rest of it, "huge acts" don't play to a stadium with 15,000 empty seats. The cost of employing the half a dozen casual ticket staff on matchdays is peanuts next to the revenue. A business that turns away extra revenue with next to no cost of sale attached isn't likely to last long.
Fair enough on the Arsenal tickets, I thought the £45 prices only applied to those behind the goals.
My point still stands about other events though. If one can arrange that in advance there is no reason as to why one can't make a decision to go to football in advance also. Just because there is no question of getting in doesn't mean that the decision to go has to be made in the morning of the game does it?
Sure, there's no reason why you can't . But the decision would nearly always be "no, can't be arsed". Thats because a widecrange of variables come into play. Such as no access to ticket buying on-line at work; not sure whether working late on a Tuesday evening; not sure whether the poxy trains would get you to The Valley by 5:45 anyway; crap weather forecast. I could go on.
"Meanwhile, two hours before kick-off on a matchday, prices will still increase by £3 for adults, over 65s and U21s."
For the love of God, why?
They have effectively lost me as a customer as I have no intention of buying a ST whilst RD and KM are still at the club. I don't leave near enough to the Valley to justify going there before matchday, I'm not going to arrive 2 hours before the match kicks off (although this is mainly thanks to Southeastern and their crap service at weekends), and my decision to go to the Valley is usually made on the morning.
Can I print off my ticket at home? Or do I need to collect? The club's website is not helpful in this respect.
Maybe I am the one who needs to show them how to use a computer, since no one at the club seems competent enough to make this information easily accessible on their website. Absolute sack of shit this club.
Home tickets - print at home, no charge, but not available from 2 hours before KO. So basically print off before 1pm. If you have no printer, order on line before 1pm & collect at collection point, no charge.
OR if you have a smartphone, the ticket on your phone can be scanned at the turnstile. Simple, as long as you can make your mind up whether you wish to go to Charlton by 12.30.
This why fans are not customers. Football should be accessible and cheap and if I want to go without planning in advance that helps make the football experience what it is. That's how I like it anyway.
"Meanwhile, two hours before kick-off on a matchday, prices will still increase by £3 for adults, over 65s and U21s."
For the love of God, why?
They have effectively lost me as a customer as I have no intention of buying a ST whilst RD and KM are still at the club. I don't leave near enough to the Valley to justify going there before matchday, I'm not going to arrive 2 hours before the match kicks off (although this is mainly thanks to Southeastern and their crap service at weekends), and my decision to go to the Valley is usually made on the morning.
Can I print off my ticket at home? Or do I need to collect? The club's website is not helpful in this respect.
Maybe I am the one who needs to show them how to use a computer, since no one at the club seems competent enough to make this information easily accessible on their website. Absolute sack of shit this club.
Fiiish, all of your posts make you sound like an educated, intelligent chap so I assume that you go to things like concerts, plays, musicals, other sporting events and that sort of thing. Would you stroll up to the O2 on a night that a night that had a huge act on and expect to buy a ticket just before you go in? I only ask because if not (and remembering that Ticket master charge something like £10 booking fee per ticket) you must have some experience of planning your life before the day in question. Is it so black and white that for an event that is in the diary for up to ten months before it happens you cannot make a decision to go 24 hours before it starts? And if not you will refuse to ever go again if they make you pay a little extra for not booking in advance?
I know we hate those running the club but it must be very difficult to plan staff rotas when you have no idea what you are going to need. As much as many people would love Roland to lose all of his money and enjoy reducing his income it is just unrealistic for the club to spend thousands of pounds providing staff for peak periods when there is an alternative and they can financially reward those that take advantage of it.
Almost every event that i can think of has an early bird discount - including season tickets. There was outrage on here a few years ago when someone pointed out that a season ticket was not much cheaper that paying match by match. If Airman Brown had introduced the 'surcharge' or 'discount for early payment' back in the Premier League days it would have been heralded as a masterstroke. When we were charging Arsenal fans £45 when the rest of the ground was paying £30 there wasn't an uproar.
Sometimes credibility goes if one criticises absolutely everything. We need to remember that when we 'declared war' on the current regime they were hardly going to bend over and take it up the ar$e now were they?
Load of rubbish, KHA, not least because I didn't have responsibility for the ticket office in the PL and we would never have done such a thing anyway. Neither did we charge Arsenal £45 when the rest of the ground was paying £30. As it happens the board imposed £45 prices on the management team. We didn't agree with it and we failed to sell out the matches as a consequence of it, because there weren't enough verifiable Charlton fans willing to pay that price for the available home seats.
As for the rest of it, "huge acts" don't play to a stadium with 15,000 empty seats. The cost of employing the half a dozen casual ticket staff on matchdays is peanuts next to the revenue. A business that turns away extra revenue with next to no cost of sale attached isn't likely to last long.
Fair enough on the Arsenal tickets, I thought the £45 prices only applied to those behind the goals.
My point still stands about other events though. If one can arrange that in advance there is no reason as to why one can't make a decision to go to football in advance also. Just because there is no question of getting in doesn't mean that the decision to go has to be made in the morning of the game does it?
Sure, there's no reason why you can't . But the decision would nearly always be "no, can't be arsed". Thats because a widecrange of variables come into play. Such as no access to ticket buying on-line at work; not sure whether working late on a Tuesday evening; not sure whether the poxy trains would get you to The Valley by 5:45 anyway; crap weather forecast. I could go on.
Of course you could. It doesn't seem to be such a problem for the season ticket holders though does it? How did the fifteen thousand or so season ticket holders in the Premier League days manage? When we had 27,000 coming do you think they all deliberated on the weather and the train delays?
Now we're just making up reasons to fail to make a decision until the last minute. I never said that people have to plan their lives a week in advance just that it is completely possible to do so.
"Meanwhile, two hours before kick-off on a matchday, prices will still increase by £3 for adults, over 65s and U21s."
For the love of God, why?
They have effectively lost me as a customer as I have no intention of buying a ST whilst RD and KM are still at the club. I don't leave near enough to the Valley to justify going there before matchday, I'm not going to arrive 2 hours before the match kicks off (although this is mainly thanks to Southeastern and their crap service at weekends), and my decision to go to the Valley is usually made on the morning.
Can I print off my ticket at home? Or do I need to collect? The club's website is not helpful in this respect.
Maybe I am the one who needs to show them how to use a computer, since no one at the club seems competent enough to make this information easily accessible on their website. Absolute sack of shit this club.
Fiiish, all of your posts make you sound like an educated, intelligent chap so I assume that you go to things like concerts, plays, musicals, other sporting events and that sort of thing. Would you stroll up to the O2 on a night that a night that had a huge act on and expect to buy a ticket just before you go in? I only ask because if not (and remembering that Ticket master charge something like £10 booking fee per ticket) you must have some experience of planning your life before the day in question. Is it so black and white that for an event that is in the diary for up to ten months before it happens you cannot make a decision to go 24 hours before it starts? And if not you will refuse to ever go again if they make you pay a little extra for not booking in advance?
I know we hate those running the club but it must be very difficult to plan staff rotas when you have no idea what you are going to need. As much as many people would love Roland to lose all of his money and enjoy reducing his income it is just unrealistic for the club to spend thousands of pounds providing staff for peak periods when there is an alternative and they can financially reward those that take advantage of it.
Almost every event that i can think of has an early bird discount - including season tickets. There was outrage on here a few years ago when someone pointed out that a season ticket was not much cheaper that paying match by match. If Airman Brown had introduced the 'surcharge' or 'discount for early payment' back in the Premier League days it would have been heralded as a masterstroke. When we were charging Arsenal fans £45 when the rest of the ground was paying £30 there wasn't an uproar.
Sometimes credibility goes if one criticises absolutely everything. We need to remember that when we 'declared war' on the current regime they were hardly going to bend over and take it up the ar$e now were they?
Most venues or acts or gigs that I have attended over the past few years that have some kind of booking charge
a) usually sell out b) don't discriminate against how you decide to purchase the ticket (online/in person/phone) or when you choose to buy the ticket c) do not have 22 other more or less exact same performance happening throughout the year
It isn't that I don't plan my life well enough, it is usually down to factors such as whether the trains are running, if my friends are going, the weather, and if I decide last minute I can't due to family or work commitments. Charlton play a home game roughly every two to three weeks so I'm quite happy to give a game I intended to go to a swerve for whatever reason. The exception will be big games/derbies.
Out of interest I decided to have a look at how other L1 clubs do this and this practice isn't actually uncommon. Doesn't mean I agree with it anymore but I will concede our club is not the only one punishing casuals/walk-up fans. Others have made the point that at a time when attendances are falling, the club should be doing all it can to encourage fickle fans to get down to the Valley; punishing such fans clearly is not the right way to go, and this is how we differ to most other L1 clubs. We have a 27K seater stadium; over half of the league have less than half our capacity so they have no problems filling their stadium. I'm not expecting us to get anywhere near that number but this price increase does not go hand-in-hand with the already laughable Target 20K campaign.
Anyway I gather someone mentioned that you can print-off tickets; I assume you can do this online and on the day? If so then this would be my best option, and yes I am organised enough to make sure I have ink in my printer
Comments
Martin from Target 20k gently persuading Cajones to change his mind
One day the senior management at Charlton will learn that consultation isn't sending an email a week before the event saying "We're doing this, what do you think?" and then having to backtrack a few days later when your ridiculous and badly thought out idea (which is actually detrimental to your supposed aim of increasing gates) draws near universal criticism.
Consult properly BEFORE you have made your mind up. Give people a chance to discuss the idea and listen to the criticism, good and bad, of the before you go live. It saves a lot of unnecessary aggro and egg on face.
And you actually make better decisions.
I know Meire and Cahones don't believe that anyone other than themselves can ever be right but they are wrong, frequently.
Step sideways and no more (in my opinion). Modern football is expensive enough, even at Charlton's prices, all considered in what we are watching.
If you assume that most fans pay by a card it could, easily, take a minute to serve a customer and with ten windows open (I'm not sure how many they have) and two tickets per transaction it could take over three hours to sell four thousand tickets.
Put it this way, they are a business that's sole purpose is to run a Football Club (well, should be) for fans and neutrals to come watch - they don't want this? It's an inconvenience to them if too many people turn up to do this? Ludicrous.
Fault of their own doing.
For the love of God, why?
They have effectively lost me as a customer as I have no intention of buying a ST whilst RD and KM are still at the club. I don't leave near enough to the Valley to justify going there before matchday, I'm not going to arrive 2 hours before the match kicks off (although this is mainly thanks to Southeastern and their crap service at weekends), and my decision to go to the Valley is usually made on the morning.
Can I print off my ticket at home? Or do I need to collect? The club's website is not helpful in this respect.
Maybe I am the one who needs to show them how to use a computer, since no one at the club seems competent enough to make this information easily accessible on their website. Absolute sack of shit this club.
A good match sale (that is all home ticket sales, not just those on matchday) at Charlton is 3,000 home tickets and a more typical one in recent years 1-2,000. With advance sales and especially the print at home option, the actual demand on the day from 10am onwards is likely to be in three figures and the average purchase is roughly two tickets.
So you are looking at, say, a likely maximum of 500 transactions across 11/12 windows, of which maybe three-quarters is in the last hour - unless of course the idea is to shut the north ticket office.
Friendlies / minor cup matches are a whole other ball game.
I know we hate those running the club but it must be very difficult to plan staff rotas when you have no idea what you are going to need. As much as many people would love Roland to lose all of his money and enjoy reducing his income it is just unrealistic for the club to spend thousands of pounds providing staff for peak periods when there is an alternative and they can financially reward those that take advantage of it.
Almost every event that i can think of has an early bird discount - including season tickets. There was outrage on here a few years ago when someone pointed out that a season ticket was not much cheaper that paying match by match. If Airman Brown had introduced the 'surcharge' or 'discount for early payment' back in the Premier League days it would have been heralded as a masterstroke. When we were charging Arsenal fans £45 when the rest of the ground was paying £30 there wasn't an uproar.
Sometimes credibility goes if one criticises absolutely everything. We need to remember that when we 'declared war' on the current regime they were hardly going to bend over and take it up the ar$e now were they?
As for the rest of it, "huge acts" don't play to a stadium with 15,000 empty seats. The cost of employing the half a dozen casual ticket staff on matchdays is peanuts next to the revenue. A business that turns away extra revenue with next to no cost of sale attached isn't likely to last long.
Am I the only one who thinks this is just a plot to make it so that they have to employ fewer staff at the ticket office on matchdays? Save that sweet £12/hour or whatever it is the ticket office folks are paid.
Also, I will say that trying to drive purchases/sales online isn't the worst goal in the world. But as with everything they do, it's the execution that's just bad...and bizarre. Launching a "Book Online" campaign would be far smarter. I was looking at tickets for Ipswich and online booking looks perfectly fine (a bit confusing, but all online bookings where you choose your seats can be that way).
My point still stands about other events though. If one can arrange that in advance there is no reason as to why one can't make a decision to go to football in advance also. Just because there is no question of getting in doesn't mean that the decision to go has to be made in the morning of the game does it?
I think the point you are missing is this. It's not a question of what people CAN do, but what they WILL do. Booking up to see a band or a show or whatever is an occasional thing driven by your clear appetite for that one-off event. By definition that doesn't apply to everyone attending Charlton matches in League One and the club has an obvious financial incentive to accommodate as many people as often as possible regardless of their level of motivation, because if they don't come that seat will be empty and the revenue will be zero. The promoter of a sell-out show knows s/he can sell the seats so they can limit themselves to the people who are motivated. Sticking obstacles in the way of casual attendance when you have 15,000 empty seats makes no business sense.
OR if you have a smartphone, the ticket on your phone can be scanned at the turnstile. Simple, as long as you can make your mind up whether you wish to go to Charlton by 12.30.
Now we're just making up reasons to fail to make a decision until the last minute. I never said that people have to plan their lives a week in advance just that it is completely possible to do so.
a) usually sell out
b) don't discriminate against how you decide to purchase the ticket (online/in person/phone) or when you choose to buy the ticket
c) do not have 22 other more or less exact same performance happening throughout the year
It isn't that I don't plan my life well enough, it is usually down to factors such as whether the trains are running, if my friends are going, the weather, and if I decide last minute I can't due to family or work commitments. Charlton play a home game roughly every two to three weeks so I'm quite happy to give a game I intended to go to a swerve for whatever reason. The exception will be big games/derbies.
Out of interest I decided to have a look at how other L1 clubs do this and this practice isn't actually uncommon. Doesn't mean I agree with it anymore but I will concede our club is not the only one punishing casuals/walk-up fans. Others have made the point that at a time when attendances are falling, the club should be doing all it can to encourage fickle fans to get down to the Valley; punishing such fans clearly is not the right way to go, and this is how we differ to most other L1 clubs. We have a 27K seater stadium; over half of the league have less than half our capacity so they have no problems filling their stadium. I'm not expecting us to get anywhere near that number but this price increase does not go hand-in-hand with the already laughable Target 20K campaign.
Anyway I gather someone mentioned that you can print-off tickets; I assume you can do this online and on the day? If so then this would be my best option, and yes I am organised enough to make sure I have ink in my printer