I first came to the Valley in March 1956 to watch a 1st Division game against the champions Wolves . Then you had a turnstile and I think it cost about a shilling for me to go and stand on the famed East Terrace having made the effort to get there. And I did have a Season Ticket from the time of our return to the Valley, but have not renewed. Now I'm expected to go to a crappy Division 3 game to pay an extra £5.50 to buy a piece of paper that I will have to join a queue to get hold of, and then make my way to an Oracle type device to get in. I don't think that's progress, I do think it is a rip off.
I shan't be back until sanity is restored.
And I hope Covered End's beloved app falls off, or whatever appendage gives him the most satisfaction.
A lot of elderly people are not on line, what do they do? Suck up the extra charge and keep quiet. Oh no, these are exactly the fans KM is happy to see the back of.
Obviously, you get someone else to do it for you.
I'm sure you wouldn't refuse to sort out your parents tickets would you ?
Also there is a difference between day before and two hours before.
When you say "we all need to keep up" you sound like Katrien when she said "The owner does things his way and the fans just need to accept it"
Sorry, people don't have to do anything. It's a business who's core activity is selling tickets to football matches.
I buy clothes on line but there are still clothes shops in the high st and i use them. I can also ring up and order clothes on the phone and I do (insert your cardigan jokes here). The retailers know that people want to buy in different ways and give them the choice. That is "keeping up". People now want more choice, more ways to buy but they don't want to be punished for those choices.
It's not as if we're selling out every week. Why make it harder?
Unfortunately, the reaction to this has forced @AFKABartram and I to re-think our plans to introduce a posting surcharge of £2.50 per comment, £3.00 for starting new Discussions (£1.50 fee for Discussions that are in the wrong category, or have been covered already in a Discussion created up to 72 hours previously) and £27.50 for any post mentioning those current or previous members who should not be named.
As part of our re-think, we've decided to push ahead regardless, but please note that it will remain free for members to write out their comments and discussions on a sheet of paper and post them where ever and when ever they deem appropriate.
Unfortunately, the reaction to this has forced @AFKABartram and I to re-think our plans to introduce a posting surcharge of £2.50 per comment, £3.00 for starting new Discussions (£1.50 fee for Discussions that are in the wrong category, or have been covered already in a Discussion created up to 72 hours previously) and £27.50 for any post mentioning those current or previous members who should not be named.
As part of our re-think, we've decided to push ahead regardless, but please note that it will remain free for members to write out their comments and discussions on a sheet of paper and post them where ever and when ever they deem appropriate.
I thought most clubs charged more at the gate than buying in advance.
Except Charlton are charging more than face value for buying in advance. Unique.
Is this correct ?
Home tickets - If you buy online (presuming it works) you don't pay extra, unless you are calling the £1 postal charge extra & it's fair enough that they don't lose money on the postage.
If you print your own ticket it costs nothing.
If you collect your ticket it costs nothing. No difference collecting or buying imo.
I presume everyone on here can work out how to buy online can't they ? (presuming it works).
Away tickets - buy online & pay the £1 postage.
It all seems pretty standard to me. No different to cricket or racing .
I'm all for getting the regime out, but this site is fast becoming a whinge fest.
£2.50 if you buy at the ticket office
£3 extra per ticket plus £2.50 if you buy at 1.05pm on a Saturday. So a dad, mum and two kids pay an extra £14.50. Or they could try and buy on line while in the queue, hope the wi-fi and the ticket system is working, pick tickets on a phone when they don't know the stands well and hope they get four together.
Or a club with under 6k STs and likely to have 17k empty seats could just get a real human being to say "Yes, we'd love to sell you a ticket to see our team, where would you like to sit? no extra charge as we really want you to come back again and again".
And all this when we know the on-line booking system isn't fit for purpose.
Agreed, so buy online. Everyone reading this surely has the capability ?
That is quite a claim. For example an eleven year old might be reading this, but not have the other things needed to buy online like a credit or debit card. In addition what about the people who are not online?
You would expect a minor to get their parent to pay /sort it wouldn't you ?
Not every minor has a parent looking after them.
Their guardian then.
Are you also going to respond to my points about not having a smartphone, or are not online, and are prepared to make the effort to be a personal caller to the Valley? This is nothing to do with moaning for moaning sake in case that's how you want to respond. It is about practicality, and treating a range of fans reasonably.
If you don't have a smartphone, buy online the day before. Buy before 1pm on the day or pay the extra charge after 1pm.
If you're not online I'm sure virtually everyone knows someone that is and could do it for them.
Seth, you don't need to make the effort to take an hour out of your day to travel to The Valley. The internet has arrived, buy it online for free.
CE. The point I have been making over and over again is the extra charge applies to personal callers at any time, not only after 1pm on matchdays.
What an absolute waste of time the Target20k lot are. So to not pay extra we have to buy online more than 2 hours in advance and print it ourselves or use a smartphone? Most of the time I do that anyway but for a lot of people I know, they pay on the day when they arrive. This will put them off coming and for a group set up literally to improve attendances to be involved in this decision it is just such a farce.
Ugly money grabbing techniques. I won't be at the valley this season.
Surely you can buy online without charge at any time up to kick off ?
Buy online on your phone at say 2.30 and scan your phone at the turnstile ?
The £3 charge is to deter people paying at the ticket office, the same as other clubs do, cricket does, racing does, greyhounds do, theatre does ...........
This is an online forum, surely people can buy tickets online ?
I can see both Seth's and your argument.
I would say that the club are not encouraging the casual fan to attend.
For clarity, I'm not saying I think it's good news. I'm saying it's the way of the world.
I agree that it's not encouraging ANY fan to come.
It's encouraging people to buy online & they are penalised for not doing so.
Having said that, it's what most people on here want anyway. Not buying a S/T, go to the occasional home game, but go to most of the aways. So why all the complaints ? It's a little bit like being offended on behalf of someone else.
The public are generally penalised for not keeping up with technology.
Banks started shutting tills and putting in machines about 30 years ago. If they hadn't we'd still be like AFKA and cashing cheques at the till.
Electricity companies charge more or did for pre payment meters and less if you pay by direct debit.
My dear old mum still refuses to trust DDR's, even though they've been around for what, more than 40 years ? So she chooses to pay more.
If you shop online you often get a better deal.
I booked my MOT online last week, it was much cheaper than paying on the day.
There are loads of deals available online that aren't in shops.
I could go on and on (and usually do).
My lads do most of their shopping online. They wouldn't dream of going to Charlton midweek to buy a ticket. It would not even enter their thought process.
It's the world moving forward and you either move with it or pay the penalty.
I thought most clubs charged more at the gate than buying in advance.
Except Charlton are charging more than face value for buying in advance. Unique.
Is this correct ?
Home tickets - If you buy online (presuming it works) you don't pay extra, unless you are calling the £1 postal charge extra & it's fair enough that they don't lose money on the postage.
If you print your own ticket it costs nothing.
If you collect your ticket it costs nothing. No difference collecting or buying imo.
I presume everyone on here can work out how to buy online can't they ? (presuming it works).
Away tickets - buy online & pay the £1 postage.
It all seems pretty standard to me. No different to cricket or racing .
I'm all for getting the regime out, but this site is fast becoming a whinge fest.
Mate it Varney or Elliott had done the same you would have not heard a word , it's getting very boring now and your right it's no different to what's going on in the grown up world ...
Ha, ha very good CE, but lets not let anything get in the way of a good old moan at the regime eh!
Maybe its the club's way of getting back at the protesting fans that are not renewing!
I wouldn't be surprised at all if that was part of their thinking. She sees things in terms of winning and losing not what is best for the club so would see this as a way of punishing those nasty "customers" who don't do what she wants.
Or it could be she just didn't think it through a bit like the vista lounge and the crossbars fiascoes
I thought most clubs charged more at the gate than buying in advance.
Except Charlton are charging more than face value for buying in advance. Unique.
Is this correct ?
Home tickets - If you buy online (presuming it works) you don't pay extra, unless you are calling the £1 postal charge extra & it's fair enough that they don't lose money on the postage.
If you print your own ticket it costs nothing.
If you collect your ticket it costs nothing. No difference collecting or buying imo.
I presume everyone on here can work out how to buy online can't they ? (presuming it works).
Away tickets - buy online & pay the £1 postage.
It all seems pretty standard to me. No different to cricket or racing .
I'm all for getting the regime out, but this site is fast becoming a whinge fest.
£2.50 if you buy at the ticket office
£3 extra per ticket plus £2.50 if you buy at 1.05pm on a Saturday. So a dad, mum and two kids pay an extra £14.50. Or they could try and buy on line while in the queue, hope the wi-fi and the ticket system is working, pick tickets on a phone when they don't know the stands well and hope they get four together.
Or a club with under 6k STs and likely to have 17k empty seats could just get a real human being to say "Yes, we'd love to sell you a ticket to see our team, where would you like to sit? no extra charge as we really want you to come back again and again".
And all this when we know the on-line booking system isn't fit for purpose.
Agreed, so buy online. Everyone reading this surely has the capability ?
That is quite a claim. For example an eleven year old might be reading this, but not have the other things needed to buy online like a credit or debit card. In addition what about the people who are not online?
You would expect a minor to get their parent to pay /sort it wouldn't you ?
Not every minor has a parent looking after them.
Their guardian then.
Are you also going to respond to my points about not having a smartphone, or are not online, and are prepared to make the effort to be a personal caller to the Valley? This is nothing to do with moaning for moaning sake in case that's how you want to respond. It is about practicality, and treating a range of fans reasonably.
If you don't have a smartphone, buy online the day before. Buy before 1pm on the day or pay the extra charge after 1pm.
If you're not online I'm sure virtually everyone knows someone that is and could do it for them.
Seth, you don't need to make the effort to take an hour out of your day to travel to The Valley. The internet has arrived, buy it online for free.
CE. The point I have been making over and over again is the extra charge applies to personal callers at any time, not only after 1pm on matchdays.
Covered End it's almost as if you don't like people being people, or that every has to conform to one type of person. On this discussion it is about the practicality of buying a ticket at face value. That is not an unreasonable thing to discuss, or indeed an unreasonable thing for the range of supporters to expect. it may be that you personally have the wherewithall to do the online and smartphone thing, but not everybody is the same as you.
Times change and whilst I agree with some actions, I disagree with others.
Charging someone for a face to face transaction is wrong. If you don't want to serve face to face transactions on a non matchday, then just come out and close the ticket office, except on a matchday.
I never used the ticketing website, but I have had read that people have had issues with over the last 12 months. If the site is not fit for purpose, then make sure it is before possibly now getting more traffic on it.
If people are organised and plan in advance, then it should be not much of an inconvenience, but if you wish to make a late decision on attending a home game, then be prepared for an extra £5.50 on top. For a club that will have less season ticket holders and the lowest attendance figures since we returned to the Valley, well their lack of business sense here is worrying, but not a surprise with the clowns in charge for the past 2 1/2 years.
Will this make more people purchase a season ticket, or just make people turn away from it all and possibly get out of the habit and not come back. The club can not afford to lose people.
Have to say that Covered End makes a very good point. Yes we all know the people running our club are idiots and yes this new pricing scheme is a hilariously bad idea, but lets face it, it's 2016, is it really that hard to book a ticket online?
Most people on here are going to pick and choose their games, they'll likely have decided a few days in advance if they're going to attend, so is it really that much of an issue? I'd hazard a guess that most people on this site have bought tickets for a festival/club event/concert online or checked in for a flight online. Most people have smartphones too, so i'm sure if you wanted to go to a game (and i know many won't), then you could easily buy your ticket online.
I can understand Covered End's arguments AND I recall from last season at least one away game where paying at the turnstile carried a £5 surcharge
However, it just comes across as bad PR at a time when there will be an awful lot of tickets to shift. Ryanair can charge people more if they use certain cards, or book late because their planes are full. If we were in the PL, then you have such an attractive product that you can push the punter around, but we're not
Move with times = Lets have house music in the lounges
Same thinking that says "I do it/like it so all my customers will too"
Yes, encourage more online purchases. it is cheaper, it means the club have more customer details and a record of sales, it all makes sense.
But get your IT payment platform working and don't expect everyone to use it because they won't.
Don't punish potential customers for not using you on-line system. Even the club's wording is wrong. it should be pay less if you buy early not you pay more if you pay late but a difference in price is still a difference in price.
Incentivise people to start using the online service don't punish them or worse exclude them for not doing so.
What the club have done is sneak out an increase in match day and face to face costs, they haven't explained it or sold it at all.
The basic question shouldn't be "can we get away with this and save a few bob?" but "Can we sell more tickets this way?"
If the answer is we can sell more if we encourage more online purchases 1. where is the evidence for that? and 2. How do we encourage on line purchases. How do we make it attractive to everyone not just hard core fans or IT savvy fans. What is going to encourage people to register on the site, what are the benefits? What are the objections that need to be overcome?
None of that was discussed with the target 20k group and I doubt it was even considered.
It was a simple "We need to lay off some more staff, get rid of five ticket office staff and make everyone go on line by charging a fee for walk ups and on the day purchases so we won't need as many staff".
For the last few years my attendance has always been from buying a ticket at the ground on the day. Usually about half an hour before kick off. Although i could do it on line i prefer to buy my tickets this way. So next season i won't be going at all. I might give Dulwich Hamlet a go or Welling but not Duchatelet's team.
I am over 65. Why does it take £3 worth of additional adminstration time/effort by the club if I purchase my ticket less than 2 hours before the game? Just seems so unnecesssary. It defies logic and almost smacks of some marketing consulting firm having been paid no doubt large sums to come up with new pricing strategies (read penalties in this case) and these having been taken on board unquestioningly.
Just seems like another little twist of the knife from a management (or CEO?) who dare I say it yet again? - oh go on - 'doesn't care'.
Earlier today my son phoned and asked me to get an extra two tickets for Bury away for his two friends...both Charlton very regulars. I have had this discussion on here, indeed heeded Covered End to an extent. When he got home from work (he is young and tech/internet savvy, his job depends on it) and we all sat down to a Plum family dinner cooked by yours truly. As usual my son had his laptop next to him. I said to him, I want you to get the tickets online, use my credit card, so I can go to the Valley tomorrow to collect them without a surcharge. he said OK (after all three of the tickets were for him and his mates). After saying 'this is stupid' and stopping and starting again from fresh he eventually said 'can't you do it by phone?' It turns out that he would have to input the names, addresses and email addresses of all four of us to buy the tickets online. Unsurprisingly he didn't have that information immediately to hand. So I will end up being a personal caller to the Valley tomorrow to buy tickets for the Bury away game...AND THEY WILL CHARGE ME EXTRA FOR DOING SO! The online system was actually tried, believe me, and it wasn't possible to complete. Presumably the snorters on here will say I should have anticipated what information was required for all four of us and we ought to have had it to hand. All I will say is I tried following Covered End's advice, spirit of open mindedness and all that, and it didn't work for me. How is my experience as a fan to be justified? I am somehow at fault? Moaning for moaning sake on this issue?
Covered End it's almost as if you don't like people being people, or that every has to conform to one type of person. On this discussion it is about the practicality of buying a ticket at face value. That is not an unreasonable thing to discuss, or indeed an unreasonable thing for the range of supporters to expect. it may be that you personally have the wherewithall to do the online and smartphone thing, but not everybody is the same as you.
Seth, I've resolved your personal problem.
Buy the ticket online at zero cost, then get your bus from Lee Green to Charlton to collect it.
It costs you nowt and you still get to see The Valley.
PS If you're not lucky enough to have a freedom pass or are too young to qualify. Please take an OYSTER card, or these days you can actually pay by card, debit or credit if it "wireless".
Buses NO LONGER ACCEPT CASH. Sorry, if that ruins your day, but it's the best I can come up with.
The world is totally mad when an organisation with a diminishing customer base actually seemingly acts to force it even further down. Target20k must finally admit defeat and walk away they are nothing but a prop to pretend they are engaging with the support base.
Comments
I shan't be back until sanity is restored.
And I hope Covered End's beloved app falls off, or whatever appendage gives him the most satisfaction.
The world has changed I'm afraid, & we all need to keep up.
http://www.kentcricket.co.uk/ticketing-shop/tickets
I'm sure you wouldn't refuse to sort out your parents tickets would you ?
And their gates are poor too I hear.
Also there is a difference between day before and two hours before.
When you say "we all need to keep up" you sound like Katrien when she said "The owner does things his way and the fans just need to accept it"
Sorry, people don't have to do anything. It's a business who's core activity is selling tickets to football matches.
I buy clothes on line but there are still clothes shops in the high st and i use them. I can also ring up and order clothes on the phone and I do (insert your cardigan jokes here). The retailers know that people want to buy in different ways and give them the choice. That is "keeping up". People now want more choice, more ways to buy but they don't want to be punished for those choices.
It's not as if we're selling out every week. Why make it harder?
Maybe its the club's way of getting back at the protesting fans that are not renewing!
As part of our re-think, we've decided to push ahead regardless, but please note that it will remain free for members to write out their comments and discussions on a sheet of paper and post them where ever and when ever they deem appropriate.
I would say that the club are not encouraging the casual fan to attend.
I agree that it's not encouraging ANY fan to come.
It's encouraging people to buy online & they are penalised for not doing so.
Having said that, it's what most people on here want anyway. Not buying a S/T, go to the occasional home game, but go to most of the aways. So why all the complaints ? It's a little bit like being offended on behalf of someone else.
The public are generally penalised for not keeping up with technology.
Banks started shutting tills and putting in machines about 30 years ago. If they hadn't we'd still be like AFKA and cashing cheques at the till.
Electricity companies charge more or did for pre payment meters and less if you pay by direct debit.
My dear old mum still refuses to trust DDR's, even though they've been around for what, more than 40 years ? So she chooses to pay more.
If you shop online you often get a better deal.
I booked my MOT online last week, it was much cheaper than paying on the day.
There are loads of deals available online that aren't in shops.
I could go on and on (and usually do).
My lads do most of their shopping online. They wouldn't dream of going to Charlton midweek to buy a ticket. It would not even enter their thought process.
It's the world moving forward and you either move with it or pay the penalty.
This is what I'm saying.
I wouldn't be surprised at all if that was part of their thinking. She sees things in terms of winning and losing not what is best for the club so would see this as a way of punishing those nasty "customers" who don't do what she wants.
Or it could be she just didn't think it through a bit like the vista lounge and the crossbars fiascoes
That is not an unreasonable thing to discuss, or indeed an unreasonable thing for the range of supporters to expect.
it may be that you personally have the wherewithall to do the online and smartphone thing, but not everybody is the same as you.
Charging someone for a face to face transaction is wrong. If you don't want to serve face to face transactions on a non matchday, then just come out and close the ticket office, except on a matchday.
I never used the ticketing website, but I have had read that people have had issues with over the last 12 months. If the site is not fit for purpose, then make sure it is before possibly now getting more traffic on it.
If people are organised and plan in advance, then it should be not much of an inconvenience, but if you wish to make a late decision on attending a home game, then be prepared for an extra £5.50 on top. For a club that will have less season ticket holders and the lowest attendance figures since we returned to the Valley, well their lack of business sense here is worrying, but not a surprise with the clowns in charge for the past 2 1/2 years.
Will this make more people purchase a season ticket, or just make people turn away from it all and possibly get out of the habit and not come back. The club can not afford to lose people.
Most people on here are going to pick and choose their games, they'll likely have decided a few days in advance if they're going to attend, so is it really that much of an issue? I'd hazard a guess that most people on this site have bought tickets for a festival/club event/concert online or checked in for a flight online. Most people have smartphones too, so i'm sure if you wanted to go to a game (and i know many won't), then you could easily buy your ticket online.
However, it just comes across as bad PR at a time when there will be an awful lot of tickets to shift. Ryanair can charge people more if they use certain cards, or book late because their planes are full. If we were in the PL, then you have such an attractive product that you can push the punter around, but we're not
Same thinking that says "I do it/like it so all my customers will too"
Yes, encourage more online purchases. it is cheaper, it means the club have more customer details and a record of sales, it all makes sense.
But get your IT payment platform working and don't expect everyone to use it because they won't.
Don't punish potential customers for not using you on-line system. Even the club's wording is wrong. it should be pay less if you buy early not you pay more if you pay late but a difference in price is still a difference in price.
Incentivise people to start using the online service don't punish them or worse exclude them for not doing so.
What the club have done is sneak out an increase in match day and face to face costs, they haven't explained it or sold it at all.
The basic question shouldn't be "can we get away with this and save a few bob?" but "Can we sell more tickets this way?"
If the answer is we can sell more if we encourage more online purchases 1. where is the evidence for that? and 2. How do we encourage on line purchases. How do we make it attractive to everyone not just hard core fans or IT savvy fans. What is going to encourage people to register on the site, what are the benefits? What are the objections that need to be overcome?
None of that was discussed with the target 20k group and I doubt it was even considered.
It was a simple "We need to lay off some more staff, get rid of five ticket office staff and make everyone go on line by charging a fee for walk ups and on the day purchases so we won't need as many staff".
Although i could do it on line i prefer to buy my tickets this way.
So next season i won't be going at all. I might give Dulwich Hamlet a go or Welling but not Duchatelet's team.
Just seems like another little twist of the knife from a management (or CEO?) who dare I say it yet again? - oh go on - 'doesn't care'.
I have had this discussion on here, indeed heeded Covered End to an extent.
When he got home from work (he is young and tech/internet savvy, his job depends on it) and we all sat down to a Plum family dinner cooked by yours truly. As usual my son had his laptop next to him.
I said to him, I want you to get the tickets online, use my credit card, so I can go to the Valley tomorrow to collect them without a surcharge.
he said OK (after all three of the tickets were for him and his mates).
After saying 'this is stupid' and stopping and starting again from fresh he eventually said 'can't you do it by phone?'
It turns out that he would have to input the names, addresses and email addresses of all four of us to buy the tickets online.
Unsurprisingly he didn't have that information immediately to hand.
So I will end up being a personal caller to the Valley tomorrow to buy tickets for the Bury away game...AND THEY WILL CHARGE ME EXTRA FOR DOING SO!
The online system was actually tried, believe me, and it wasn't possible to complete.
Presumably the snorters on here will say I should have anticipated what information was required for all four of us and we ought to have had it to hand.
All I will say is I tried following Covered End's advice, spirit of open mindedness and all that, and it didn't work for me.
How is my experience as a fan to be justified? I am somehow at fault? Moaning for moaning sake on this issue?
Tickets are available to buy in person from The Valley’s ticket office, by phone or by going online. Click here to visit out ticketing website.
Read more at http://www.cafc.co.uk/news/article/2016-17/charlton-athletic-tickets-201617-bury-3184295.aspx#sDhULkeoUJtTVisi.99
Buy the ticket online at zero cost, then get your bus from Lee Green to Charlton to collect it.
It costs you nowt and you still get to see The Valley.
PS If you're not lucky enough to have a freedom pass or are too young to qualify. Please take an OYSTER card, or these days you can actually pay by card, debit or credit if it "wireless".
Buses NO LONGER ACCEPT CASH. Sorry, if that ruins your day, but it's the best I can come up with.
Buses NO LONGER ACCEPT CASH. Sorry, if that ruins your day, but it's the best I can come up with.
Bugger, I've just given KM another idea.