FLC report on ticketing issues

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A while ago I asked for suggestions on how to improve everything concerning ticketing at the club. Lots of you made comments, thank you.

I produced a report which was sent into the club in January. We (3 of us) then had a meeting with Russell Cushing, Hazel Greener, the PR Manager, and Lynn Birmingham the ticket (Box) office manager to discuss our suggestions.

The club DID listen long and heard to what we had to say, so much so that the meeting lasted over two hours rather than the scheduled one hour. A number of our suggestions were immediately accepted, the majority they wished to go away and investigate further. They requested that we didn't publish our report until they had had a chance to reply.

I believe the club are still looking at our suggestions but we need to show people we actually have tried to do something about ticketing. I have added the report to the FLC web site at www.nufc-flc.com for everyone to have a look at. If you would like a Word document to read at your leisure then just email me and I'll send you one.

I'd also like any feedback, further suggestions.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2002

Answers

A piece

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2002

Excellent report with some good ideas. Implementation of some might be tricky (such as the away season ticket) but necessity is the mother-f**ker of invention...or something like that.

My tuppence. The regional grouping of away tickets is more promising, like a cockney ticket and a North West ticket (whch could take in ManU, Liverpool, Bolton*, Everton* and Blackburn* - *if they stay up!). I think a number of PL clubs would be interested in that kind of cooperative seating. After all, they are all interested in bums on seats paying cash. Administrative nightmare, but would ease the general availability of getting hold of away games if you're not a home ST holder.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2002


There was much discussion around the London season ticket, that then went on to the concept of a regional ticket. As you suggest the club saw it as a potential nightmare. The most important thing was to ensure that those people who go to every game, or say more than 10 away games, shouldn't be missing out for the benefit of London based fans.

This was why I suggested there should be 1000 of them to cover the bigger games in London where there are guaranteed 3000 seats. The problem we hit was that the committed fan who went to every game would probably buy the season ticket and then we're back to where we started from. There was a discussion around London supporters clubs handling it, but there seems to be as many supporters clubs in London as there are pubs with Newcastle supporters in them.

The regional ticket was discussed, mainly cos we'd had some feedback from some people in the midlands who didn't want anything to change. They were more than happy with their ability to get tickets and felt any change would make things worse. The conclusion we came to was that there wasz a big demand for a ticket for London because of the numbers of people involved, but there wasn't really for other regional tickets. The club were off to have a look at their list of addresses for people who applied to see if they could back up this gut feel.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2002


Great report. Well done - a lot of work has gone into it. Much appreciated. I'm one of those exiles who has brought my daughter up to be a Newcastle fan...but can never get tickets for London games. I've done my time of keeping quiet and applauding politely in "home" ends - simply can't do it anymore.

I understand the probs involved, but would welcome the chance to buy a pair of London "away" season tickets. But I - and many others in similar situations - won't show up on club records. With all the away tickets going to season ticket holders, there's never been any point in applying.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2002


Thanks for the report, MacB. I hope the issues of transparency and customer service are among those accepted by the club. Certainly how to allocate tickets requires more effort. Just getting them to listen is a huge first step. :-)

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2002


They really did struggle with the whole concept of transparency. We tried to persuade them that if they announced on the advert telling people to apply for tickets how many ticketys were available. This was a huge step for them, and was one of the longest discussion points ! They have a siege mentality built up over a hundred years that essentially they wil tell the fans the minimum they need to know. If they do ever tell the fans things then they only need to do it once.

We explained that if they always said .... "the Derby tickets go on sale next week, please apply by Friday, NUFC have 2800 tickets available" .... and did this for every game then people would start to trust them. Instead Pride Park is going to have gaps, people will say 'we could have had those', 'club let us down again' etc. No. What if the number of tickets changed from one year to the next, they asked. Well still say how many we have. But what if it changed .... ad nausea. 'You must know how many you have in your hands to sell'.

We may have got close to changing minds on that one, but I suspect we'll have to repeat the discussion to get the message through. Although who they are protecting isn't at all obvious.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2002


Jeez! What if the number changes from season to season???? If it takes them that long to understand a concept as blindingly obvious as announcing the allocation of away tickets, you really have to wonder how they manage to get anything done! You hardly need a degree in PR to work that one out. Not sure there are kudos big enough to give the FLC for managing to get anything through that kind of mentality. Many thanks to you all for trying. Little by little, maybe the trust between both sides will be established.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2002

Thanks for all your work on this MacB. It really needs sorting out.

-- Anonymous, March 19, 2002

The meeting we had did raise the trust level hugely, and it may help us in the future but it is head banging stuff.

Something that made me smile was the way in the meeting the two ladies always refered to Russell Cushing as "Mr Cushing", got to keep these girls in their place !

-- Anonymous, March 19, 2002


MacBeth, Here's one you could take back to them. Proof can be provided.

My mate Simon applies for the tickets for us and was away on business in Southampton last week. He phoned up the club to ask when the applications for the Arsenal game should be in as nothing had appearedin the papers. Conversation went something like this.

Si: When do tha applications have to be in.

NUFC: Friday

Si: It hasn't been put in the papers.

NUFC: No we've put it on the internet site.

Si: But I'm in S/hampton and haven't got access to the internet.

NUFC: Well you wouldn't be able to see a paper anyway (aprubt and rude manner)

Si: No but me mother would.

NUFC: Well it's on the internet.

Si: Me mother couldn't switch the computer on never mind get on the internet.

Needless to say the woman on the ticketline was rude and unhelpful. Not all fans have access to the intenet and many fans don't bother with their internet site because it's naff.

-- Anonymous, March 19, 2002



Another one for you Macbeth.

My Dad calls up to ask why he didn't get a ticket. The woman tells him they didn't get his voucher. My dad asks how this can be so when it was in the same envelope as my brothers voucher and he got a ticket.

Blatant lies, dodgy handling or blatant misplacing of applications?

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002


Andy

I've sent both your comments to the club for an answer, hopefully there'll be somthing in reply ! Don't hold your breath

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002


Anyone got the 'phone number of "Trouble at the Top"? About time the Board actually visited the coal face and saw the problems themselves

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002

Cheers Mac.

The good news is that Si only missed out on one ticket but I could be getting three off another mate so me dad might be going now anyway. I definitely am. First class on Toon Travel train departing 5am.

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002


I still find it really odd that the club won't let me change the season ticket I use to my own personal details rather than those of my friend who was offered a second ticket and let me have it. What possible justification is there in having the wrong name on the ticket? This cannot help keep troublemakers out of the ground (they don't have a clue who I am) and makes no sense at all insofar as getting useful management information about the fan-base is concerned.

I would have no qualms about filling in some forms showing my age, sex, occupation etc and would make a bundle more sense than continuing to pretend that I am somebody else. WTF did they offer people a second ticket as an inducement to move seats for if they didn't want the right names on them? Surely the fact that I am a white, middle-class, low-income office-worker, father in his mid-30's would be an invaluable piece of information when trying to work out how we fare WRT to ticketing policies?

I tried again to change the details last week and was once again informed that tickets are non-transferrable. That may wash with Marcelino but we need to be a tad more forward thinking than that.

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002



Softie,

The guy who gave me the ticket had to write to the club telling them it was MY ticket and should be in MY name NOT his as he would never use it! They eventually got it sorted after a year!

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002


To be fair my mate Si's dad died and the club transferred the ticket name and details to his mother with no trouble at all. Even changed the name on the seat quickly as well.

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002

I think killing myself would be a bit drastic Andy, I just want to change the name ;-)

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002

But if you get yer mate to put you in his will to receve the ticket and then bump him off!!!!!!!!!

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002

Bad news Softie, you are in the worst possible demographic, middle aged, white, heterosexual, (no matter what the others say), blue collar, non disabled.

If only you were a black, Jewish, lesbian, unemployed greeny whale they would act quickly

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002


allegedly the club are one of the leading clubs in stopping discrimination against any individual, they treat everybody like sh*te.

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002

The concept of consumer sovereignty is not really an issue for a football club is it? I mean you can't exactly storm along to the ticket office and say "Well if that's your attitude, I'll take my business down the road to Sun- erm, thankyou so much for your help, I appreciate it's impossible for you to do anything about it, I'm sorry for wasting your time by asking, you've been most helpful".

Perhaps if they introduced a competitive element, service could be improved. Set up 4 separate companies, one to sell tickets for the Leazes, one for the Gallowgate etc, rather like the system that worked so well with the railw-

No - I can't see a way round this myself.

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002

Bloke who said he wasn't goin now says he is goin and won't let us have a ticket. Dad can't go now. Some people have no consideration.

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002

Like I was saying on another thread, there's no militancy or active protest in this country with football clubs (at least little in the PL to speak of).

Q. If NUFC fans felt very strongly about an issue would they show their displeasure by: a)going to the game, but turning their backs to the pitch, b)not going to the game and protesting outside, c)complain into their pints until they went sour, but still go to the game, buy the merchandise etc?

I know football clubs are in an odd position (e.g. all the wrangling with the EU over player contracts) and are an anomoly in the marketplace (like Jonno highlights). But fans these days still turn up week in and out, no matter what the club does (overcharge for replica strips, SoS, serve up mediocre/drab football (though not of late), generally have a bad attitude to customers).

The only way to affect proper change is to speak the language clubs understand - bums on seats, money in the till.

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002


problem is if we all take the bums on seats appraoch to hurt them in their pockets they'll do something like giving themselves bumper dividends on their shares, sell said shares, disappear off to Spain and thos eof us left will have a club with less money, spiralling in to despair

you can't beat them you know

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002


Try a bit of applied skullduggery Softie. Just write in that you've had a change of address. Ok, you'll still have your mate's name on the ticket, but at least any post should come to your address instead of his.

Knowing them, it wouldn't surprise me if they reason that any season tickets that stop being used by the person who's name they bear, should go back in the pot to be dished out to somebody on the waiting list.

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002


Would that be the people who were already on the waiting list who took up the tickets offered to other people on the waiting list(who may or may not have been ahead of them) who had already obtained tickets from someone further up the list/friend/deceased relative/etc? ;-))

-- Anonymous, March 20, 2002

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