|
Post by metalhead on Jan 4, 2014 14:41:58 GMT
Big queues. Anyone waiting head down there asap!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2014 14:48:01 GMT
Boothen End and Seddon not even half full. Family stand nearly empty.
|
|
|
Post by kevkj on Jan 4, 2014 14:48:47 GMT
Ticket situation at Stoke is a FIASCO,brought it all themselves with the way they have adopted the membership scheme ,costs them 2000 seats a match at average £30.00
Those running the commercial side want stringing up having upset many supporters..
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2014 16:54:43 GMT
Looks like they should revert back to all paper tickets, until the system is working?
|
|
|
Post by metalhead on Jan 4, 2014 17:09:16 GMT
Looks like they should revert back to all paper tickets, until the system is working? As far as I can tell they should yes. I had to stand in the queue and the whole thing was a shambles. In one case, someone came back because he hadn't been given enough tickets. He had bought two and they gave him one. Shambolic.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2014 17:20:03 GMT
You could afford Coke at Uni ???? TWD
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2014 17:42:23 GMT
Joe Skerratt ?@joeskerratt 41m stokecity_joshw just wondering is this going to be the same for every cup match? I thought Id be able to load a seat onto my season card. Josh Whittaker-Vyse ? stokecity_joshw 39m @joeskerratt When the attendance is expected to be low we can do unreserved seating and therefore load it all on to cards.Making it up as they go along! Of course the irony being that today is going to be a low attendance... what are we expecting? 15k if we're lucky? I doubt we'll see anywhere near 20k... so exactly what is a low attendance? Absolutely fucking shambolic and it means I'm going to stand outside in the pissing rain waiting at 2pm for a paper ticket I could have picked up all week if I'd been made aware of the problems earlier. I wonder how much this ridiculous system has cost us to install? We're already going back to cash turnstiles (surprise, surprise) and there seems to be total confusion about whether season ticket holders buying cup tickets need cards, paper, blind faith or whatever to gain admission to the ground. It's only going to take something to go pear shaped and cause inconvenience and most folks won't want to be arsed with cup games at all. I suspect that today we'll see a load of people paying cash, sitting in reserved seats and all the hassle and chaos that entails. I have no idea how much this system cost, but if I know the board as well as I think I do, they'll have no doubt got the local fucking bandits to do it on the cheap and outsourced any software development to Uganda or some other third world country. The whole thing has been a fucking shambles since day one. I know for a fact for the first few weeks, the scanners weren't even verifying the data on the card, they were simply checking to see if it was a valid Stoke City card, which means anyone who had been given one could have gained access to the ground. As far as I'm aware, it's one of the reasons they were slow sending out non-season ticket cards. The stupid thing is, what they're trying to do isn't a particularly complex system. I am a software engineer myself, and as far as complicated systems go, I'd say a card entry system, that is contained within a single building probably sits in lowest bracket of complexity when considering software development projects. It's kids stuff, the kind of stuff you do at University as your first year project to show the lecturers you haven't spent your entire time snorting cocaine and drinking strong lager. Yet, unsurprisingly, Stoke have totally fucked it up. While I agree there obviously have been issues with tickets since this system was implemented but I disagree with some of your comments. The system wasn't done on the cheap and involved the company that has installed this system in numerous sporting venues including Premier League and Championship clubs. The cards were reading correctly from day one.Nobody gained access to the stadium unless they were entitled to.Problems arose due to cards not being loaded correctly and people who should have been allowed entry were refused but nobody got in without paying. Club cards were held back until all season ticket cards had been delivered or collected.There were delays in that process and the club felt it best to hold club cards back until later. I completely agree that the system has problems and fans are struggling to gain entry for cup games especially but if you are going to raise your concerns with the club please stick to the facts and not heresay and ' my mate says ' stories. Clearly there are issues,let's hope the club listens to supporters concerns and does something positive to sort it. Can someone on the supporters council raise the issue ?
|
|
|
Post by robwahlmann on Jan 4, 2014 17:45:11 GMT
Of course the irony being that today is going to be a low attendance... what are we expecting? 15k if we're lucky? I doubt we'll see anywhere near 20k... so exactly what is a low attendance? Absolutely fucking shambolic and it means I'm going to stand outside in the pissing rain waiting at 2pm for a paper ticket I could have picked up all week if I'd been made aware of the problems earlier. I have no idea how much this system cost, but if I know the board as well as I think I do, they'll have no doubt got the local fucking bandits to do it on the cheap and outsourced any software development to Uganda or some other third world country. The whole thing has been a fucking shambles since day one. I know for a fact for the first few weeks, the scanners weren't even verifying the data on the card, they were simply checking to see if it was a valid Stoke City card, which means anyone who had been given one could have gained access to the ground. As far as I'm aware, it's one of the reasons they were slow sending out non-season ticket cards. The stupid thing is, what they're trying to do isn't a particularly complex system. I am a software engineer myself, and as far as complicated systems go, I'd say a card entry system, that is contained within a single building probably sits in lowest bracket of complexity when considering software development projects. It's kids stuff, the kind of stuff you do at University as your first year project to show the lecturers you haven't spent your entire time snorting cocaine and drinking strong lager. Yet, unsurprisingly, Stoke have totally fucked it up. While I agree there obviously have been issues with tickets since this system was implemented but I disagree with some of your comments. The system wasn't done on the cheap and involved the company that has installed this system in numerous sporting venues including Premier League and Championship clubs. The cards were reading correctly from day one.Nobody gained access to the stadium unless they were entitled to.Problems arose due to cards not being loaded correctly and people who should have been allowed entry were refused but nobody got in without paying. Club cards were held back until all season ticket cards had been delivered or collected.There were delays in that process and the club felt it best to hold club cards back until later. I completely agree that the system has problems and fans are struggling to gain entry for cup games especially but if you are going to raise your concerns with the club please stick to the facts and not heresay and ' my mate says ' stories. Clearly there are issues,let's hope the club listens to supporters concerns and does something positive to sort it. Can someone on the supporters council raise the issue ? But why make it more complicated to buy a ticket? For me it just sounds outright stupid!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2014 18:11:44 GMT
The system could not have been properly tested before implementation.
I would much prefer to book online - if there was a system that worked.
|
|
|
Post by StokieBoy31 on Jan 4, 2014 18:13:15 GMT
And we get to the Turnstile to hand someone my ticket who scans the ticket for me! I could do that myself
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2014 18:16:38 GMT
And we get to the Turnstile to hand someone my ticket who scans the ticket for me! I could do that myself ... a bit like on London Transport. Their system works ok. You pay your money (ticket or Oyster Card) - you travel.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2014 18:52:27 GMT
And we get to the Turnstile to hand someone my ticket who scans the ticket for me! I could do that myself Haha, I'm sure you could mate but a lot of our fans can barely get in the turnstile facing the right way never mind scan themselves in !!
|
|
|
Post by metalhead on Jan 4, 2014 19:40:44 GMT
Of course the irony being that today is going to be a low attendance... what are we expecting? 15k if we're lucky? I doubt we'll see anywhere near 20k... so exactly what is a low attendance? Absolutely fucking shambolic and it means I'm going to stand outside in the pissing rain waiting at 2pm for a paper ticket I could have picked up all week if I'd been made aware of the problems earlier. I have no idea how much this system cost, but if I know the board as well as I think I do, they'll have no doubt got the local fucking bandits to do it on the cheap and outsourced any software development to Uganda or some other third world country. The whole thing has been a fucking shambles since day one. I know for a fact for the first few weeks, the scanners weren't even verifying the data on the card, they were simply checking to see if it was a valid Stoke City card, which means anyone who had been given one could have gained access to the ground. As far as I'm aware, it's one of the reasons they were slow sending out non-season ticket cards. The stupid thing is, what they're trying to do isn't a particularly complex system. I am a software engineer myself, and as far as complicated systems go, I'd say a card entry system, that is contained within a single building probably sits in lowest bracket of complexity when considering software development projects. It's kids stuff, the kind of stuff you do at University as your first year project to show the lecturers you haven't spent your entire time snorting cocaine and drinking strong lager. Yet, unsurprisingly, Stoke have totally fucked it up. While I agree there obviously have been issues with tickets since this system was implemented but I disagree with some of your comments. The system wasn't done on the cheap and involved the company that has installed this system in numerous sporting venues including Premier League and Championship clubs. The cards were reading correctly from day one.Nobody gained access to the stadium unless they were entitled to.Problems arose due to cards not being loaded correctly and people who should have been allowed entry were refused but nobody got in without paying. Club cards were held back until all season ticket cards had been delivered or collected.There were delays in that process and the club felt it best to hold club cards back until later. I completely agree that the system has problems and fans are struggling to gain entry for cup games especially but if you are going to raise your concerns with the club please stick to the facts and not heresay and ' my mate says ' stories. Clearly there are issues,let's hope the club listens to supporters concerns and does something positive to sort it. Can someone on the supporters council raise the issue ? I've given plenty of facts and some opinion. I can't see much of my post being hearsay, I was told by an employee of the club. I trust his information. No it was Not ratboy...for what it's worth.
|
|
|
Post by viewfromthecrowsnest on Jan 4, 2014 20:17:07 GMT
I feel there is nothing wrong in the actual system itself.
Rather the bugs lie in the communication and terminology used by SCFC to us matc-going supporters.
I ordered an extra U11 ticket for this FA cup match: SCFC direct online stated this extra ticket was a paper ticket that needed collecting on matchday. When I collected it, it turned out it was a new red membership card, not 'paper' at all.
Teething provlems... We will all get the hang of it eventually!!
|
|
|
Post by sheikhmomo on Jan 5, 2014 9:52:25 GMT
I feel there is nothing wrong in the actual system itself. Rather the bugs lie in the communication and terminology used by SCFC to us matc-going supporters. I ordered an extra U11 ticket for this FA cup match: SCFC direct online stated this extra ticket was a paper ticket that needed collecting on matchday. When I collected it, it turned out it was a new red membership card, not 'paper' at all. Teething provlems... We will all get the hang of it eventually!! Can you get the hang of things that are constantly changing?
|
|
|
Post by jeycov on Jan 5, 2014 10:05:27 GMT
Yesterdays delays will either make supporters get more organised for the next games needing a card (that is for a non season ticket seat) or put off their attempts to come along to another game.
I would hope that the Club would also clarify / revisit the methods of getting a seat for a game, including setting up an online way of booking
The test will possibly depend on whether we draw in big club at home in the next Cup game
|
|
|
Post by MrMagic on Jan 5, 2014 10:10:17 GMT
I feel there is nothing wrong in the actual system itself. Rather the bugs lie in the communication and terminology used by SCFC to us matc-going supporters. I ordered an extra U11 ticket for this FA cup match: SCFC direct online stated this extra ticket was a paper ticket that needed collecting on matchday. When I collected it, it turned out it was a new red membership card, not 'paper' at all. Teething provlems... We will all get the hang of it eventually!! Can you get the hang of things that are constantly changing? It's not teething problems. They are saying one thing and doing something different without telling supporters. It's says match loaded to card and it's a paper ticket you need to collect, it says it's a paper ticket and it turns out to be a card........ Amateurish at best.
|
|
|
Post by metalhead on Jan 5, 2014 10:12:08 GMT
Yesterdays delays will either make supporters get more organised for the next games needing a card (that is for a non season ticket seat) or put off their attempts to come along to another game. I would hope that the Club would also clarify / revisit the methods of getting a seat for a game, including setting up an online way of booking The test will possibly depend on whether we draw in big club at home in the next Cup game You make it sound like the supporters are at fault, but when I get one email telling me that it's been loaded onto my card and then get told by Josh Whittaker I need to pick it up, how am I supposed to be organized?
|
|
|
Post by bunnyscfc on Jan 5, 2014 10:26:42 GMT
Brilliant to see how not only the club alienating floating fans or those at uni, up visiting relatives etc who want to watch one-off games where there isn't even half a ground full, they are now managing to do it to season ticket holders too.
The scandalous lack of stuff in the club shop every single year and the ticketing farce. Two of the biggest off-field money-spinners.
A third? Corporates - I wonder if they get looked after a little better, eh?
|
|
|
Post by jeycov on Jan 5, 2014 10:41:31 GMT
Yesterdays delays will either make supporters get more organised for the next games needing a card (that is for a non season ticket seat) or put off their attempts to come along to another game. I would hope that the Club would also clarify / revisit the methods of getting a seat for a game, including setting up an online way of booking The test will possibly depend on whether we draw in big club at home in the next Cup game You make it sound like the supporters are at fault, but when I get one email telling me that it's been loaded onto my card and then get told by Josh Whittaker I need to pick it up, how am I supposed to be organized? I have pointed out that the Club need to take some responsibility for the chaos and look to improve it. I'm sure that it must have been very frustrating to be caught up in the situation where you are given information that turned out to have been wrong! I would hopre that the Club would acknowledge their mistake However, it appears that other fans left it to the last minute / weren't fully aware of the card system and experienced significant problems. In an ideal world, anyone wanting to attend games on a casual basis / change seats, needs to register and get a card (it's free) AND the club need to amend the booking system to allow tickets to be added to the cards (online or via the ticket office) so that entry to the game runs smoothly.. The outcome of yesterdays confusion needs to be addressed by the club and encourage more fans to attend
|
|
|
Post by davejohnno1 on Jan 5, 2014 11:58:59 GMT
I didn't have time to post this yesterday as I was on the blackberry but on the 31st December, because I couldn't get the Palace tickets I wanted on-line, I popped down to the club to get them. There was about 6 people in the queue and 35 minutes after arriving, I finally got to the window to be served. Two in front of me was a guy who when he got to the window, asked if he could get 1 ticket for the Everton game for his friend who was visiting him from America and if he could subsequently swap his normal season ticket seat for a seat next to him in whatever part of the ground was available. Easy enough you would think. What followed was the most ridiculous conversation between customer and vendor that I have ever heard and I was scratching my head at just how difficult it was to get a ticket for a foreign visitor and just how unhelpful certain people can be. Having explained the situation, the conversation then went something like this; Fan - Can I get a ticket anywhere in the ground for the Everton game please and could I then swap my normal season ticket seat for a ticket next to it. TO - No problem. Is the person you want the ticket for a member. Fan - No. He's my friend who is over from the States. He came to a game about 5 years ago and I would like to bring him to the Everton game as he's staying with us for a few days over New Year TO - Do you have his name, address and post code? Fan - I have his name but not his address. Can you just allocate him to my address. TO - Sorry. I can't do that. The membership card must be allocated to the address at which the fan lives. If you hadn't already told me that he lived somewhere else, I could have done it but now you have, I simply can't. Fan - But he lives in America and is unlikely to be back anytime soon. Can't I just have a ticket for him. They are on general sale and the game is tomorrow TO - Sorry. Everyone has to be a member. It will only take a couple of minutes and I can give you a card today. What is your friends address. Fan - I don't know. Let me call him? At this point, the guy tried to ring 3 numbers (presumably his mate, his wife, his son whoever). None of them answered. Fan - Sorry mate. No answer. Can't you just set him up as my address. TO - I can't do that as I explained before. FAN - Well can I have the ticket in my sons name instead. TO - Is your son going to the game? Fan - No but he lives with me and he can be a member in case he wants to go to the game in the future. TO - How old is your son Fan - 15 TO - He would be a junior so I can't do that. I couldn't do it anyway because I know that the ticket is not for your son but as he is a junior, I couldn't do it anyway. Fan - I will get an adult ticket for my son. Who is going to know that it isn't my son using the ticket. TO - I can't do that. Your son is 15 so the system wouldn't let me allocate an adult ticket to his card. Fan - So are you telling me I can't get a ticket for my friend? TO - Unless you can get me his address, then i'm sorry. I can't help. Fan - He lives in America for fucks sake. Is his address really that important for your system? Right at this minute, his mate phoned him back just as he was most likely about to lose his temper with the ticket office person and walk away from the ticket office with no ticket. Chances are, if his pal was over from the states, he wouldn't have gone to the game himself had he not been able to get him a ticket. Fan - His address is blah, blah, blah TO - Thanks. Several minutes elapsed whilst everything was keyed in and a card was created and I was being served myself. I had to wait for ages for the 12 tickets that I wanted to be gathered together and during this time the guy then had to endure a real ballache to change his own season ticket seat so he could sit with his friend. I left the ground thinking that we must be close to a sell out for this game given the difficulty the guy was having getting 2 seats together then low and behold, on the day of the game, there was more empty seats in the ground than there has been for 5 seasons. You really couldn't make it all up. The system, the club, its staff are an absolute joke. We may be Premier League on the pitch but off it, we are barely even conference standard. Yesterday was further proof, if any were needed, that the matchday experience at Stoke City is quite simply too difficult for the casual/floating supporter and it needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. I have never heard anything quite like the situation above. Why on earth the ticket office guy couldn't have simply give him a paper ticket, allocating it against his address, given yesterday's fiasco, is beyond me. Even then, why couldn't he simply register the American fella to his mates address? "jobsworth" really doesn't do it justice. EDIT - I don't know if this actually happened but I bet this guy was totally bemused when he walked away with his pals ticket effectively loaded to the card and his own ticket being a piece of paper seeing as how the system is unable to allocate a seat other than your normal season ticket seat to your membership/season card.
|
|
|
Post by sheikhmomo on Jan 5, 2014 12:08:19 GMT
I didn't have time to post this yesterday as I was on the blackberry but on the 31st December, because I couldn't get the Palace tickets I wanted on-line, I popped down to the club to get them. There was about 6 people in the queue and 35 minutes after arriving, I finally got to the window to be served. Two in front of me was a guy who when he got to the window, asked if he could get 1 ticket for the Everton game for his friend who was visiting him from America and if he could subsequently swap his normal season ticket seat for a seat next to him in whatever part of the ground was available. Easy enough you would think. What followed was the most ridiculous conversation between customer and vendor that I have ever heard and I was scratching my head at just how difficult it was to get a ticket for a foreign visitor and just how unhelpful certain people can be. Having explained the situation, the conversation then went something like this; Fan - Can I get a ticket anywhere in the ground for the Everton game please and could I then swap my normal season ticket seat for a ticket next to it. TO - No problem. Is the person you want the ticket for a member. Fan - No. He's my friend who is over from the States. He came to a game about 5 years ago and I would like to bring him to the Everton game as he's staying with us for a few days over New Year TO - Do you have his name, address and post code? Fan - I have his name but not his address. Can you just allocate him to my address. TO - Sorry. I can't do that. The membership card must be allocated to the address at which the fan lives. If you hadn't already told me that he lived somewhere else, I could have done it but now you have, I simply can't. Fan - But he lives in America and is unlikely to be back anytime soon. Can't I just have a ticket for him. They are on general sale and the game is tomorrow TO - Sorry. Everyone has to be a member. It will only take a couple of minutes and I can give you a card today. What is your friends address. Fan - I don't know. Let me call him? At this point, the guy tried to ring 3 numbers (presumably his mate, his wife, his son whoever). None of them answered. Fan - Sorry mate. No answer. Can't you just set him up as my address. TO - I can't do that as I explained before. FAN - Well can I have the ticket in my sons name instead. TO - Is your son going to the game? Fan - No but he lives with me and he can be a member in case he wants to go to the game in the future. TO - How old is your son Fan - 15 TO - He would be a junior so I can't do that. I couldn't do it anyway because I know that the ticket is not for your son but as he is a junior, I couldn't do it anyway. Fan - I will get an adult ticket for my son. Who is going to know that it isn't my son using the ticket. TO - I can't do that. Your son is 15 so the system wouldn't let me allocate an adult ticket to his card. Fan - So are you telling me I can't get a ticket for my friend? TO - Unless you can get me his address, then i'm sorry. I can't help. Fan - He lives in America for fucks sake. Is his address really that important for your system? Right at this minute, his mate phoned him back just as he was most likely about to lose his temper with the ticket office person and walk away from the ticket office with no ticket. Chances are, if his pal was over from the states, he wouldn't have gone to the game himself had he not been able to get him a ticket. Fan - His address is blah, blah, blah TO - Thanks. Several minutes elapsed whilst everything was keyed in and a card was created and I was being served myself. I had to wait for ages for the 12 tickets that I wanted to be gathered together and during this time the guy then had to endure a real ballache to change his own season ticket seat so he could sit with his friend. I left the ground thinking that we must be close to a sell out for this game given the difficulty the guy was having getting 2 seats together then low and behold, on the day of the game, there was more empty seats in the ground than there has been for 5 seasons. You really couldn't make it all up. The system, the club, its staff are an absolute joke. We may be Premier League on the pitch but off it, we are barely even conference standard. Yesterday was further proof, if any were needed, that the matchday experience at Stoke City is quite simply too difficult for the casual/floating supporter and it needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. I have never heard anything quite like the situation above. Why on earth the ticket office guy couldn't have simply give him a paper ticket, allocating it against his address, given yesterday's fiasco, is beyond me. Even then, why couldn't he simply register the American fella to his mates address? "jobsworth" really doesn't do it justice. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. You have to admire the sheer chutzpah of Scholes though. He installs a Supporter ID card on the pretence of it being an entry card then starts issuing tickets again. I wish we had some sort of supporters council to look at this sort of thing.
|
|
|
Post by davejohnno1 on Jan 5, 2014 12:10:50 GMT
See my EDIT MoMo, posted as something of an afterthought! :-)
|
|
|
Post by sheikhmomo on Jan 5, 2014 12:21:54 GMT
See my EDIT MoMo, posted as something of an afterthought! :-) It's quite the three card trick from the CEO of the year dave!
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2014 12:34:00 GMT
I didn't have time to post this yesterday as I was on the blackberry but on the 31st December, because I couldn't get the Palace tickets I wanted on-line, I popped down to the club to get them. There was about 6 people in the queue and 35 minutes after arriving, I finally got to the window to be served. Two in front of me was a guy who when he got to the window, asked if he could get 1 ticket for the Everton game for his friend who was visiting him from America and if he could subsequently swap his normal season ticket seat for a seat next to him in whatever part of the ground was available. Easy enough you would think. What followed was the most ridiculous conversation between customer and vendor that I have ever heard and I was scratching my head at just how difficult it was to get a ticket for a foreign visitor and just how unhelpful certain people can be. Having explained the situation, the conversation then went something like this; Fan - Can I get a ticket anywhere in the ground for the Everton game please and could I then swap my normal season ticket seat for a ticket next to it. TO - No problem. Is the person you want the ticket for a member. Fan - No. He's my friend who is over from the States. He came to a game about 5 years ago and I would like to bring him to the Everton game as he's staying with us for a few days over New Year TO - Do you have his name, address and post code? Fan - I have his name but not his address. Can you just allocate him to my address. TO - Sorry. I can't do that. The membership card must be allocated to the address at which the fan lives. If you hadn't already told me that he lived somewhere else, I could have done it but now you have, I simply can't. Fan - But he lives in America and is unlikely to be back anytime soon. Can't I just have a ticket for him. They are on general sale and the game is tomorrow TO - Sorry. Everyone has to be a member. It will only take a couple of minutes and I can give you a card today. What is your friends address. Fan - I don't know. Let me call him? At this point, the guy tried to ring 3 numbers (presumably his mate, his wife, his son whoever). None of them answered. Fan - Sorry mate. No answer. Can't you just set him up as my address. TO - I can't do that as I explained before. FAN - Well can I have the ticket in my sons name instead. TO - Is your son going to the game? Fan - No but he lives with me and he can be a member in case he wants to go to the game in the future. TO - How old is your son Fan - 15 TO - He would be a junior so I can't do that. I couldn't do it anyway because I know that the ticket is not for your son but as he is a junior, I couldn't do it anyway. Fan - I will get an adult ticket for my son. Who is going to know that it isn't my son using the ticket. TO - I can't do that. Your son is 15 so the system wouldn't let me allocate an adult ticket to his card. Fan - So are you telling me I can't get a ticket for my friend? TO - Unless you can get me his address, then i'm sorry. I can't help. Fan - He lives in America for fucks sake. Is his address really that important for your system? Right at this minute, his mate phoned him back just as he was most likely about to lose his temper with the ticket office person and walk away from the ticket office with no ticket. Chances are, if his pal was over from the states, he wouldn't have gone to the game himself had he not been able to get him a ticket. Fan - His address is blah, blah, blah TO - Thanks. Several minutes elapsed whilst everything was keyed in and a card was created and I was being served myself. I had to wait for ages for the 12 tickets that I wanted to be gathered together and during this time the guy then had to endure a real ballache to change his own season ticket seat so he could sit with his friend. I left the ground thinking that we must be close to a sell out for this game given the difficulty the guy was having getting 2 seats together then low and behold, on the day of the game, there was more empty seats in the ground than there has been for 5 seasons. You really couldn't make it all up. The system, the club, its staff are an absolute joke. We may be Premier League on the pitch but off it, we are barely even conference standard. Yesterday was further proof, if any were needed, that the matchday experience at Stoke City is quite simply too difficult for the casual/floating supporter and it needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. I have never heard anything quite like the situation above. Why on earth the ticket office guy couldn't have simply give him a paper ticket, allocating it against his address, given yesterday's fiasco, is beyond me. Even then, why couldn't he simply register the American fella to his mates address? "jobsworth" really doesn't do it justice. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. You have to admire the sheer chutzpah of Scholes though. He installs a Supporter ID card on the pretence of it being an entry card then starts issuing tickets again. I wish we had some sort of supporters council to look at this sort of thing. I witnessed several similar examples of idiocy on Monday when I went to register 5 people as members just so that they could attend the game yesterday. A number of people in front of me left without buying tickets. It is an insult to clubs in the conference to compare Stoke's ticket office shambles to them. And those people on this thread blaming the fans simply can't have had any personal experience of this shambles otherwise they could not possibly try & defend the club.
|
|
|
Post by Sergeant Muttley on Jan 5, 2014 12:55:55 GMT
I didn't have time to post this yesterday as I was on the blackberry but on the 31st December, because I couldn't get the Palace tickets I wanted on-line, I popped down to the club to get them. There was about 6 people in the queue and 35 minutes after arriving, I finally got to the window to be served. Two in front of me was a guy who when he got to the window, asked if he could get 1 ticket for the Everton game for his friend who was visiting him from America and if he could subsequently swap his normal season ticket seat for a seat next to him in whatever part of the ground was available. Easy enough you would think. What followed was the most ridiculous conversation between customer and vendor that I have ever heard and I was scratching my head at just how difficult it was to get a ticket for a foreign visitor and just how unhelpful certain people can be. Having explained the situation, the conversation then went something like this; Fan - Can I get a ticket anywhere in the ground for the Everton game please and could I then swap my normal season ticket seat for a ticket next to it. TO - No problem. Is the person you want the ticket for a member. Fan - No. He's my friend who is over from the States. He came to a game about 5 years ago and I would like to bring him to the Everton game as he's staying with us for a few days over New Year TO - Do you have his name, address and post code? Fan - I have his name but not his address. Can you just allocate him to my address. TO - Sorry. I can't do that. The membership card must be allocated to the address at which the fan lives. If you hadn't already told me that he lived somewhere else, I could have done it but now you have, I simply can't. Fan - But he lives in America and is unlikely to be back anytime soon. Can't I just have a ticket for him. They are on general sale and the game is tomorrow TO - Sorry. Everyone has to be a member. It will only take a couple of minutes and I can give you a card today. What is your friends address. Fan - I don't know. Let me call him? At this point, the guy tried to ring 3 numbers (presumably his mate, his wife, his son whoever). None of them answered. Fan - Sorry mate. No answer. Can't you just set him up as my address. TO - I can't do that as I explained before. FAN - Well can I have the ticket in my sons name instead. TO - Is your son going to the game? Fan - No but he lives with me and he can be a member in case he wants to go to the game in the future. TO - How old is your son Fan - 15 TO - He would be a junior so I can't do that. I couldn't do it anyway because I know that the ticket is not for your son but as he is a junior, I couldn't do it anyway. Fan - I will get an adult ticket for my son. Who is going to know that it isn't my son using the ticket. TO - I can't do that. Your son is 15 so the system wouldn't let me allocate an adult ticket to his card. Fan - So are you telling me I can't get a ticket for my friend? TO - Unless you can get me his address, then i'm sorry. I can't help. Fan - He lives in America for fucks sake. Is his address really that important for your system? Right at this minute, his mate phoned him back just as he was most likely about to lose his temper with the ticket office person and walk away from the ticket office with no ticket. Chances are, if his pal was over from the states, he wouldn't have gone to the game himself had he not been able to get him a ticket. Fan - His address is blah, blah, blah TO - Thanks. Several minutes elapsed whilst everything was keyed in and a card was created and I was being served myself. I had to wait for ages for the 12 tickets that I wanted to be gathered together and during this time the guy then had to endure a real ballache to change his own season ticket seat so he could sit with his friend. I left the ground thinking that we must be close to a sell out for this game given the difficulty the guy was having getting 2 seats together then low and behold, on the day of the game, there was more empty seats in the ground than there has been for 5 seasons. You really couldn't make it all up. The system, the club, its staff are an absolute joke. We may be Premier League on the pitch but off it, we are barely even conference standard. Yesterday was further proof, if any were needed, that the matchday experience at Stoke City is quite simply too difficult for the casual/floating supporter and it needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. I have never heard anything quite like the situation above. Why on earth the ticket office guy couldn't have simply give him a paper ticket, allocating it against his address, given yesterday's fiasco, is beyond me. Even then, why couldn't he simply register the American fella to his mates address? "jobsworth" really doesn't do it justice. EDIT - I don't know if this actually happened but I bet this guy was totally bemused when he walked away with his pals ticket effectively loaded to the card and his own ticket being a piece of paper seeing as how the system is unable to allocate a seat other than your normal season ticket seat to your membership/season card. That just shows what an absolute farce the ticket system is at our sunday league set up off the pitch.I had to load a ticket onto my daughters card to enable my brother in law to go to the Everton game at late notice the other day otherwise he'd have not gone and not given the club his £37. Who was the person at the ticket office Dave?Bloke with glasses by any chance?
|
|
|
Post by lagwafis on Jan 5, 2014 12:59:25 GMT
I didn't have time to post this yesterday as I was on the blackberry but on the 31st December, because I couldn't get the Palace tickets I wanted on-line, I popped down to the club to get them. There was about 6 people in the queue and 35 minutes after arriving, I finally got to the window to be served. Two in front of me was a guy who when he got to the window, asked if he could get 1 ticket for the Everton game for his friend who was visiting him from America and if he could subsequently swap his normal season ticket seat for a seat next to him in whatever part of the ground was available. Easy enough you would think. What followed was the most ridiculous conversation between customer and vendor that I have ever heard and I was scratching my head at just how difficult it was to get a ticket for a foreign visitor and just how unhelpful certain people can be. Having explained the situation, the conversation then went something like this; Fan - Can I get a ticket anywhere in the ground for the Everton game please and could I then swap my normal season ticket seat for a ticket next to it. TO - No problem. Is the person you want the ticket for a member. Fan - No. He's my friend who is over from the States. He came to a game about 5 years ago and I would like to bring him to the Everton game as he's staying with us for a few days over New Year TO - Do you have his name, address and post code? Fan - I have his name but not his address. Can you just allocate him to my address. TO - Sorry. I can't do that. The membership card must be allocated to the address at which the fan lives. If you hadn't already told me that he lived somewhere else, I could have done it but now you have, I simply can't. Fan - But he lives in America and is unlikely to be back anytime soon. Can't I just have a ticket for him. They are on general sale and the game is tomorrow TO - Sorry. Everyone has to be a member. It will only take a couple of minutes and I can give you a card today. What is your friends address. Fan - I don't know. Let me call him? At this point, the guy tried to ring 3 numbers (presumably his mate, his wife, his son whoever). None of them answered. Fan - Sorry mate. No answer. Can't you just set him up as my address. TO - I can't do that as I explained before. FAN - Well can I have the ticket in my sons name instead. TO - Is your son going to the game? Fan - No but he lives with me and he can be a member in case he wants to go to the game in the future. TO - How old is your son Fan - 15 TO - He would be a junior so I can't do that. I couldn't do it anyway because I know that the ticket is not for your son but as he is a junior, I couldn't do it anyway. Fan - I will get an adult ticket for my son. Who is going to know that it isn't my son using the ticket. TO - I can't do that. Your son is 15 so the system wouldn't let me allocate an adult ticket to his card. Fan - So are you telling me I can't get a ticket for my friend? TO - Unless you can get me his address, then i'm sorry. I can't help. Fan - He lives in America for fucks sake. Is his address really that important for your system? Right at this minute, his mate phoned him back just as he was most likely about to lose his temper with the ticket office person and walk away from the ticket office with no ticket. Chances are, if his pal was over from the states, he wouldn't have gone to the game himself had he not been able to get him a ticket. Fan - His address is blah, blah, blah TO - Thanks. Several minutes elapsed whilst everything was keyed in and a card was created and I was being served myself. I had to wait for ages for the 12 tickets that I wanted to be gathered together and during this time the guy then had to endure a real ballache to change his own season ticket seat so he could sit with his friend. I left the ground thinking that we must be close to a sell out for this game given the difficulty the guy was having getting 2 seats together then low and behold, on the day of the game, there was more empty seats in the ground than there has been for 5 seasons. You really couldn't make it all up. The system, the club, its staff are an absolute joke. We may be Premier League on the pitch but off it, we are barely even conference standard. Yesterday was further proof, if any were needed, that the matchday experience at Stoke City is quite simply too difficult for the casual/floating supporter and it needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. I have never heard anything quite like the situation above. Why on earth the ticket office guy couldn't have simply give him a paper ticket, allocating it against his address, given yesterday's fiasco, is beyond me. Even then, why couldn't he simply register the American fella to his mates address? "jobsworth" really doesn't do it justice. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. You have to admire the sheer chutzpah of Scholes though. He installs a Supporter ID card on the pretence of it being an entry card then starts issuing tickets again. I wish we had some sort of supporters council to look at this sort of thing. Opportunity wasted by not handing over the below. Mickey Mouse c/o the walt disney co. 500 s. Buena vista st. The Magic Kingdom. Burbank ca 91521-9722
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2014 13:01:12 GMT
Dave the twat with the glasses
I used to think that The bloke was sent to this earth to wind me up, but he actually pisses everyone off. Tosser
|
|
|
Post by bayernoatcake on Jan 5, 2014 13:01:21 GMT
What I don't get is that Coates can't actually know that this sort of stuff happens? I know it's not his job to really but when the bloke assigned to do that job is part of the problem then I can't see how it can improve. Scholes is part of the furniture and he either must present a falsified account to Coates (because I don't think he'd accept this) or Scholes himself just hasn't got a Scoobies (Momo we know ). Something is right with how we're run when it comes to this sort of thing.
|
|
|
Post by Sergeant Muttley on Jan 5, 2014 13:03:43 GMT
Dave the twat with the glasses I used to think that The bloke was sent to this earth to wind me up, but he actually pisses everyone off. Tosser I think his name is Graham mate and apparently he's been on a charm offensive of late
|
|