CAST received over 800 individual comments expanding on the questions raised in the August / September on-line ticketing survey and all of these comments will be passed on to the Ticketing Manager.
If you submitted a comment or question that is not covered below or one you would like us to investigate further please email secretary@castrust.org
There were some comments that were made by a number of different people and the top twenty were raised in a meeting with the Ticketing Manager (Katie Cowling) and Head of Communication (Tom Rubashow). The outcome was as follows:
1. The most common comment about how the current system could be improved was concerning the transaction charge of £1.50 which is payable even when printing at home.
The TM’s view is that this charge is in line with common ticketing practice and is necessary as it covers the costs of the on-line system. In answer to the question that it seems contradictory to be trying to encourage people to buy online and yet charge them less if they buy face to face she said that it did not appear to be inhibiting the growing trend towards online purchasing. She added that for many there is a cost of getting to the ticket office which also has an impact on an individual’s decision to purchase online.
TR stressed that a transaction fee was chosen rather than a per ticket booking fee, giving supporters the opportunity to purchase for multiple games or multiple people at once with just one transaction fee.
CAST has looked at the ticket websites of some of our future opponents. We note that Bristol City and WBA do not make any charge if tickets are bought on line but printed at home. Luton have a standard match booking fee of £1. We will continue to raise this issue with the club.
The new system does allow for “special offers” where games can be linked and priced at a discounted rate if purchased together. For example there will be a deal allowing fans to purchase with a discount the two upcoming Saturday 12.30pm kick-offs (Cardiff City and Sheffield Wednesday).
2. Ticket office should be open Mon – Sat
The ticketing team have noted a decline in demand for face to face purchasing at the ground and have formed the view that it is not a good use of resources always to have someone available at a ticket window. They have therefore decided not to open on Monday mornings and all day Thursdays. In answer to the question why not have someone doing other work but available to callers when required they said that it was a better use of resources if staff could concentrate fully on their task in hand.
3. Is it the club’s plan to leave fans with no option but to purchase online?
No. The TM has noticed an increase in on-line purchases since last season’s play-offs but she recognises that there are still many people (CAST survey recorded 35%) who prefer phone or face to face purchasing.
4. Why couldn’t play-off tickets have been purchased from the ticket office?
It would have simply been overwhelming of ticket office staff who were fully engaged dealing with online processing. Also, the tickets were with a distribution centre so only a limited selection could have been held at The Valley for personal purchasing.
5. Why couldn’t Wembley tickets be print-at-home?
Wembley didn’t allow this.
6. What is the availability of staffed phone lines if have an online problem?
The ticket office phone line is staffed when the ticket office is open – i.e. Monday to Friday 9 to 5 except for Monday 9-1 and all day Thursday. However, you can also email tickets@cafc.co.uk and the ticketing team will reply to you within 48 hours at most.
7. Why not provide online chat for people experiencing problems?
The TM felt that the team's availability by phone and their commitment to answering emails within 48 hours (and usually shorter) means that this wouldn’t be a good use of resources.
8. Shouldn’t more loyalty points be awarded for away games?
Under the new system fans who travel away are now recognised in terms of loyalty. The loyalty system is always open to review but the CAST survey showed that 85% of respondents thought the current system was fair.
9. What do I do if I think my loyalty points are wrong?
Email tickets@cafc.co.uk
10. Could away tickets bought at the away ground be added to loyalty points?
No, as this would be too open to misuse, but you can buy tickets online and have them posted to you or pick them up at the away ground.
11. How do I link my account to someone else so that they get loyalty points?
Full instructions are available on the CAFC ticket website. Log in and go to TICKETS on the top left of the page. Find HELP GUIDES / LINKING ACCOUNTS in the drop down menu.
12. Can you make it easier to link VG membership to the ticketing website?
Your VG membership is linked manually by VG staff when you join VG so this should not be a problem in future. If you are in any doubt about whether your membership is registered please email sharron.sherress@valleygold.org.uk
13. How do I get a student ticket?
You will need to contact the ticket office via email at tickets@cafc.co.uk providing your valid student I.D and the ticket office will be able to enable the student price class in your account. If you wish to bring a student guest to the match at the student rate you will need to ensure s/he has set up an account and provided proof of student status.
14. I cannot buy an u11 ticket without buying an adult ticket, but I already have a season ticket.
The online system can’t deal with this situation at present as, for safeguarding reasons, it won’t permit an under 11 in the basket without an accompanying adult. The TM will investigate this but, in the meantime, you will need to buy the ticket in person or by phone.
15. I would like to have an online view of pitch when choosing seats
This feature will be incorporated when the system is upgraded in October.
16. Is there any possibility of selecting your seat for away games?
Unfortunately not. Tickets are released in blocks by the home club and a new block can’t begin to be sold until the existing one is sold out. However, in some circumstances, the CAFC ticket office might be able to help you if you contact them by telephone.
17. My print at home confirmations doesn’t arrive after I’ve purchased my ticket
This has been a problem when using gmail, but it seems to have improved of late.
18. Why are there no updates on ticket sales?
There are. For home games the number of seats available is listed for each block. For away games a running total can be found at the top of the relevant page.
19. Can the club give more notice of away game ticket sale dates?
The TM tries to provide as much notice as possible but can’t announce a date until the tickets have actually been received from the away club. If there is a delay it will sometimes mean that tickets go on sale without advance warning to ensure that there is sufficient time to sell through the phases.
20. Why are the FAQs so hard to find?
This will be remedied soon. They will be reviewed and moved to a more prominent position in the ticket section of the website.