Bristol rovers game.

[brucie]

You are an idiot then - christ we are not a one man band, we are a professional football club. And it so happens that the xmas/new year period is when we are at our busiest. The analogy is exactly the same whether it is Asda or Torquay United.
I don't quite see the advantage of the online ticketing system. I have purchased tickets for the game today and being faced with a two hour drive to the game I will probably have to queue up for ages to collect the tickets that I have paid for once I get there. This imeans that I will have to set off even earlier.
Whilst it wouldn't affect me I can't see for the life of me why the ticket office should not be open the day before the Exeter game and we should advertise that fact.
Are you seriously suggesting that we wouldn't pick up some ticket sales for the Exeter game by doing this?
Surely we should be doing everything we can to attract people to the game. There will be bugger all to do on Sunday and this is a major chance to get people to attend and make some money in the process.

[Sunnysideup]

Thats almost funny for a f**kwit like yourself.
How many backroom staff do you think there are in ticketing? Two or three?
The office is only open on Saturdays for a matchday.
Are you suggesting loads of people will suddenly drive to Plainmoor on Saturday having decided to buy tickets for Exeter on Sunday?
If they cant make their mind up till then they need to sort their lives out.

If you want to complain that the matches shouldnt be all ticket then fine, thats a valid view, but bleating on about ticketing is just fatuous.

[yeovilgull]

I can see both sides of the argument.

The club on the one hand are thinking about their employees and giving them a few extra hours off over Christmas when, as others have pointed out they will be required to work on Boxing Day.

I do find it a bit odd if they aren't opening Saturday prior to a massive local derby the next day and there will no doubt be other Fondas who will have left it until the last minute and may not realise they aren't open Saturday and who don't have access to the net.

Putting the good employer bit to one side for a minute, from a purely business point of view it would have made sense to open fro a few extra hours. they would probably have only needed to sell half a dozen extra tickets to cover the extra staffing costs which I imagine would have been quite likely. They could have stayed closed an extra day in the New Year one these games are out of the way and given the staff the extra time off then.

Anyway on to the game. Another massive one today and here's hoping for three points. I can't get down due to other commitments but will hopefully manage to catch some of it on Player.

[AustrianAndyGull]

You are an idiot then -
This is true and often we don't come across as professional on frequent occasions but you do have to allow for the fact that the club is operating with what is essentially a skeleton staff. The Xmas period is when we are at our busiest but I fail to see why it is their fault that an individual can't get their ticket / shirt / xmas present from the club shop especially when they are the ones who have left it to the very last minute.

The analogy is exactly the same whether it is Asda or Torquay United.

The ticketing system is amazing and has many advantages. Should you have not left things to the last minute then you could have had a ticket sent out to your home and you didn't have to move a muscle barring the ones in your typing fingers. Should you decide to go last minute then you buy online for collection and set off earlier for your trip should you not like queuing. It really is that simple. I always set off for away games early and give myself an hour or often two spare just incase I hit traffic or whatever and so I'm invariably at my destination at least an hour sometimes two before kick off.

It's just laziness in a climate of 'I want it now and I'm not prepared to put up with any inconvenience' culture. If you have a 2 hour drive then what's an extra hour or so hanging round in Torquay? It will soon pass, you could even take a walk into Babbacombe and watch the sea and relax and appreciate. You could spend and hour or so in the bookies on Babbacombe Road if you are that way inclined or you could have a jar or two in Boots.

The only valid point here is that if at all possible the club maybe could try and draft in an extra body for a couple of hours to help with ticket sales and collections but it's just a suggestion. I don't know if people currently have problems on matchday with this as I don't buy on matchday.
Possibly but it is open the Friday so go down then and get one. Easy.


Are you seriously suggesting that we wouldn't pick up some ticket sales for the Exeter game by doing this?
Surely we should be doing everything we can to attract people to the game. There will be bugger all to do on Sunday and this is a major chance to get people to attend and make some money in the process.

[AustrianAndyGull]

Post went a bit wrong but essentially what I'm saying is that there is 95% no reason to be moaning about this IMO. Yes it's a bit inconvenient, yes the club should maybe be doing certain things better but it's not like they have millions of staff. We are a business but with a maximum of about 3000 or so customers. We can't attract new custom like say a DIY shop or a toy shop. We are what we are, we have what we have and we make do and so should you and stop bleating. If you haven't got tickets then the only person to blame is yourself.

Enjoy the game anyway regardless!

COME ON LADS TODAY!!! I NEED THIS !!!!

[taunton_gull]

I too can see both sides of the argument. Remember the big games were made all ticket as a reaction to the last game of the season which is always a bit of a unique occasion. Today in comparison it will be nothing like that, there's likely to be over 500 spaces in the away end going by what is on the Rovers forum. Given the hassle it seems to have caused some, if the home gate takes too much of a hit I've no doubt the club will change its tune again. I think there has been enough info put out about opening hours and ways to obtain a ticket but given the fact that it is all ticket I'm surprised about the decision to close early on Christmas Eve when this is the busiest time of year for any football club. Also, I'm not completely sure about what the rationale was behind making this game a 1pm k/o. I can't see it being anything other than 'low-risk' and there is certainly no bad blood between the clubs.

[Fonda]

Have already conceded that I should have planned better - but I'm struggling to see why people can't see an issue here? Yes, some people's lives revolve around TUFC so they know exactly the details of the ticketing arrangements for every game. And most do have he internet now, so there is a fall-back (if you're prepared to pay extra). But, and here's the crux, some people have lives to lead and perhaps don't spend all day on the internet. Why shouldn't an individual have been able to stroll up to Plainmoor on Monday afternoon and be able to purchase tickets for the game? It wasn't only huge corporations that were open until a reasonable hour on that day I'm sure - I imagine there were small businesses the length and breadth of the country maximising their earning potential, by working as late as was sensible to satisfy their customers. As long as the club displays this lack of work ethic and simple business acumen, it'll fail. It says everything about the continued lack of professionalism which has been prevalent at the club for as long as I can remember. I wonder if the extra 'booking fee' is part of the reason for the short 'over the counter' hours. I guess this does actually make business sense (making extra for each ticket sold) - as long as it doesn't make your customers feel as if they're being taken advantage of...

[AustrianAndyGull]

Have already conceded that I should have planned better - but I'm struggling to see why people can't see an issue here? Yes, some people's lives revolve around TUFC so they know exactly the details of the ticketing arrangements for every game. And most do have he internet now, so there is a fall-back (if you're prepared to pay extra). But, and here's the crux, some people have lives to lead and perhaps don't spend all day on the internet. Why shouldn't an individual have been able to stroll up to Plainmoor on Monday afternoon and be able to purchase tickets for the game? It wasn't only huge corporations that were open until a reasonable hour on that day I'm sure - I imagine there were small businesses the length and breadth of the country maximising their earning potential, by working as late as was sensible to satisfy their customers. As long as the club displays this lack of work ethic and simple business acumen, it'll fail. It says everything about the continued lack of professionalism which has been prevalent at the club for as long as I can remember. I wonder if the extra 'booking fee' is part of the reason for the short 'over the counter' hours. I guess this does actually make business sense (making extra for each ticket sold) - as long as it doesn't make your customers feel as if they're being taken advantage of...

As someone who is a total technophobe and hates the way it is destroying people (IMO) then I'd disagree with this. I use my mobile for making calls and texting. That's it. It appears that the rest of the population spend the majority of their lives on phones and on the internet so therefore I'd totally disagree with this. You don't have to be sat at home on the PC to be on the internet as once was the case.

As a Torquay fan I DO feel taken advantage of and the product and services on offer are not the best on a consistent basis but they are my team and so I forsake that, may have a little moan but it wouldn't stop me going or feeling disenfranchised just because I couldn't get a ticket at 4pm on Christmas Eve. We are customers yes but we are also fans and if TUFC was no more then I'm sure you could all go and support Plymouth, after all aren't they a bigger club with a better infrastructure and more staff? If that is what you crave then so be it.

[Fonda]

With respect Andy, that's a crock of shite and barely deserves a response. Support Argyle because they're 'bigger and have 'better infrastructure'? I'm not a child. I support Torquay because I was born and bred here. You have managed to stumble upon the issue though - the club are playing on the conscience of supporters. Taking advantage because we're not just 'customers' we're 'supporters'. Well, whilst that might work for the die-hards, it's not destined to entice any latent support.

[AustrianAndyGull]

With respect Andy, that's a crock of shite and barely deserves a response. Support Argyle because they're 'bigger and have 'better infrastructure'? I'm not a child. I support Torquay because I was born and bred here. You have managed to stumble upon the issue though - the club are playing on the conscience of supporters. Taking advantage because we're not just 'customers' we're 'supporters'. Well, whilst that might work for the die-hards, it's not destined to entice any latent support.

Haha, no worries Fonda.

Was a bit of a petulant response I admit.

Agree wholeheartedly with your last point though. Although the club do promote themselves to potential fans I have always felt they don't even scratch the surface and they don't offer enough to the potential fans they get inside the ground to a game either. The matchday experience is pretty bad from the catering upwards and I don't want to criticise uneccessarily but I always feel they know most of the regulars will pay and accept any old sh*te right across the board because they are 'fans' and will come regardless. Without a radical change in direction, someone with a 5th of the ideas of Sir Alan Sugar and the energy of Louis Spence heading our marketing and matchday experiences then we'll never get any new fans in who aren't kids of current fans. That's how I see it.

[Richinns]

I am with Shane on this.

I would expect the club shop and tickets for purchase to be available until 5pm Christmas Eve. Every other retail business are so why not the clubs?

That said - they weren't so may be the club can look at this in the future but for now is it not better left and lets all move forward and hope for another decent performance and three points today.

[Gullscorer]

I may be wrong, because I've not been to the theatre for years, but I believe theatre shows are always all-ticket, and any unsold tickets can still be sold right up to the time of performance; it only needs a phone call to the theatre to check the situation.

So if theatres can do this, why should it not be possible to phone a football ground on the day to see if there are any tickets remaining, and purchase and pick up prior to the game? Seems to me that football clubs are turning away much potential income, particularly on days like today. No doubt Plainmoor today will be about three-quarters full at most.

[Parry]

A few hundred fans will have been put off today because of this ticketing. Stupid from a club who are desperate for the cash.

[Gullscorer]

My original view was that the game should not have been all-ticket. But now I've come round to thinking that the problem is not being all-ticket, but rather it's the way in which the tickets are sold, the restrictions on availability. In the modern age of internet and telephone communication, it should be quite possible for anyone to check availability almost up to kick-off time without having to make speculative last-minute trips to the ground, so there should be no need for the club to ban sales on the day. Whether or not it's a club decision or one made on police advice (and police advice is usually interpreted as an order), for a ground with a capacity of about 6000 it is indeed ridiculous.

[AustrianAndyGull]

I think the argument will run and run as regards the best policy for selling tickets as there are some disagreements about it on this thread. Personally I'm in the camp that the club do more than enough to enable us to buy tickets but I can see ways in which many of you highlighted which could make it even easier for those not happy. It's just a question of whether the club could incorporate these other methods viably in their arrangements. For example, the club closing early on Christmas Eve. Could this have been avoided and how? Maybe if the club did some market research for future things like this amongst fans to get their opinions then maybe they can see if it's a serious enough issue to be acted upon.