Guest 'Flow Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 Carrying this over from the Phil O'Donnell Thread as it is, obviously, not for a thread remembering our great captain... Any roads, really setting myself up for this but gonna take one for the team as it were and try and address some of the major gripes surrounding club communication. I had initially typed out a 2000(ish) word post about the improvements we've made but I think that probably would be counter-productive. Instead of all that, I will take points and opinions on things! I think looking back on things, I perhaps gave the wrong impression about my position when I first got involved (maybe I didn't fully understand what it was going to entail) and maybe that has increased some of the frustrations... Building up hope? I dunno... Anyway....... I can imagine people are reading so far and thinking - big mistake - but hey, I can try and address different issues on that side of it with my club hat on and give you an open and honest reply. Answers may not be what you like to hear and indeed, you may not agree with them but I will do my best. Although this can be used as a 'suggestion box' type post, please don't also see it as gospel on everything that will happen either. A lot of things that sound and look simple and effective aren't always, upon investigation, possible. So, what on the communications side of things can we improve on (form an orderly line )? Hopefully some debate on the issue will be a good thing... 'Flow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hampden'91 Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 Having any communication is a step in the right direction, 'cause it seems non existent at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 'Flow Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 Okay.... In terms of what? We have had approx 30 articles on the website last week and a similar number this. This ranges from times and dates of fixtures, articles and stories as well as contractual obligations. What, on the website front, can we do better? We also have a full-time member of the club (as well as the new General Manager) browsing this and other MFC forums on a daily basis to try and takes points of view on board and react to relevant points and in some cases, respond to them (although, I have found that is, most of the time, actually counterproductive). Not many SPL clubs can say that? How do we improve on that? I see the lack of communication thing aimed a lot and a good proportion of it is very true indeed (the Accies ticket thing being one recent one I can remember which was down to an email getting sent to the wrong person and not me - an internal error as it were) but I am very keen to open up the accusation in order to make it better... If I can get to the bottom of what it is we're doing wrong - over and above the obvious (i.e. the example above) - then I hope it'll be better for everyone ya know! 'Flow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dosser1886 Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 Hats off to you Flow for being willing to confront this issue and hopefully move this forward in a constructive way. Website is a vast improvement on what was available previously. Hampden'91 why bother to post. My main gripes from the top of my head. Communication (or lack of) over changes to ticket pricing for Old Firm and other away fans. Information regarding state of undersoil heating, proposed move to another Stadium. Getting a hold of anyone at the club tried calling about 15 times today to find out opening times of the ticket office, no response from any number. When you are coming through from Glasgow this can be a real pain in the arse. On-line ticketing - why not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepper Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 I would try and make sure the contact details you have for season ticket holders are as up to date as possible. It appears that quite a few folk don't get a season ticket renewal letter or letters such as the "Dear Supporter" letter re the new pricing scheme. Don't set and subsequently miss your own deadlines without any update for the Fans on the website. If you say for example a list of names is going to be up on the site for Friday it should be, otherwise an update should be issued so we aren't left in the dark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 I still don't have my letter about the new pricing shaboodle, and someone asked me just a couple of days ago whether or not the Accies games was still pay at the gate. Communication isn't just about the website - personally I've not had a problem with that. On another note, there's also talk about the ticket office not being open tomorrow. Is there anything confirming or correcting this on the website? I don't actually know, I've not checked as I already have my ticket - but has the club sufficently communicated the situation to the supporters and, if so, why are so money now possibly screwed for tickets given they assumed they could get them on matchday at Fir Park? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweed Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 Your right that there have been lots of different things on the web last few weeks, in fact, all season long. I've been off sick last couple of weeks so I have noticed a lot more of what has been going up and all of it is stuff I want to know but if I had been working and not checked the web for a couple of days then there is stuff I would have had to go looking for and seeing as I'm lazy would have missed. Perhaps some way of making things stay prominent longer. I think the club are going in the right direction but when something is promised must be delivered, if the club don't know don't mention dates that cannot be met but being fair lessons seem to have been learned. Also think it is frustrating that McGhee let something about heating slip on Radio Scotland, people have been questioning it ever since and the club said nothing until a game was off. If as you say people read these forums daily then they must have known people wanted clarification and as a result people now make the reasonable assumption there is no functioning USH - even if there is the support is suspicious. So basically I'm saying be open with the fans rather than trying to hide stuff. And bear in mind we're a grumpy bunch so you probably do get criticised more than you deserve to about some things. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Stall Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 So, what on the communications side of things can we improve on (form an orderly line )? 'Flow Send out the letters to all season ticket holders. A good number of ST holders on this forum alone are still waiting their letter. Would be a good start. Also, perhaps a regular email newsletter type thing. Can't be hard to set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 'Flow Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 dosser1886 (only putting your name at the top so if anyone else posts in between times then people will be aware as to who I am replying too), The whole thing surrounding the Old Firm ticketing thing was handled badly and stemmed from a misunderstanding within the club. John Boyle, on behalf of Motherwell FC, released a statement three days later explaining what had happened and I think has also explained this to the Motherwell Supporters Trust Board when he (along with Leeann) met with them recently. I presume the MST has filtered the bones of those discussions down to their members... It came from, as I've said, a misunderstanding and what was released initially was supposed to be for up for discussion as opposed to be circulated as confirmed which it was. A pretty big mistake, no doubt, and needless to say lessons have been learned on that one. For the avoidance of doubt - if anyone missed the most updated statement (which, as I mentioned, was released two or three days after the first) - prices are now running as standard and each game would be assessed on a match-by-match basis in terms of offers or reductions. Season Ticket holders were mailed (I know not everyone got one - that is another issue in itself which is currently being addressed) to outline the revised plan which was to offer targeted deals for Season Book holders at three different games in the winter months (the first of which starts next Saturday at home to Inverness CT). The Stadium issue is totally different completely. It was recorded and minuted at the last AGM of the club (held at the beginning of 2008) that the Board were discussion (nothing more) the option of adding a ground move onto the agenda in terms of the long-term plans for Motherwell FC. The reason why there has been no real update is because those plans and initial talks are pretty much still on-going at the minute and nothing with any real substance has taken place. As Mark McGhee said in his article, talks have recently been held with the Council about the issue but there has been nothing really worth noting that would require the fans to know about. If something as big as moving stadia were to move to a more advanced stage of discussion then I would like to think the club would very much involve the fans (infact, for my part and my position I would openly campaign for fan involvement should discussions move to the next stage. If that involves the Supporters Trust or some other group of fans then so be it). But, as I've said, the fact of the matter is that nothing concrete has taken place. You'll understand that given today's release from the SPL, it would be totally foolish of me to talk about the USH topic but when all the dust has settled then I am sure I and others can debate it (or more so, from my point of view, the communication around it). Mark McGhee was, however, quite open and honest about it all post Hearts cancellation and his quotes are still publically available. On the issue of the telephone system, following someone's post in the pinned thread regarding Leeann's reply to Keith, there are people currently looking into that at the moment. Not sure what, if anything, has gone wrong but it’s certainly being looked at. In terms of the communication side of things though - other than being difficult to get a response (which I appreciate is bad enough in itself but I assume there is a proper reason for that), what about the telephone system could we improve? Is there sufficient information on there? How often to people use that automated system? I am keen for this not to be a Q&A about gripes but more a - "I think you could perhaps do this better by........" type of thing and I can give answers on that basis.... No Online or Phone Orders for Inverurie.... There is a pretty simple answer to that and Leeann covered it in her reply to Keith yesterday. We don't, at the minute, have a good enough system or procedures in place at the club to cope with it... Hands up, no hiding or smoke screens. People have accused us of not learning lessons from Nancy but I would disagree strongly and say that we have, big time (I am sure I'll be asked about Nancy and the infamous ballot later so I'll leave that one for later). I am sure you can imagine what the ticket office is going to be like when these tickets go on sale.... Bedlam. We only have two points of sale (which is being looked at) and a lack of resources. If we are selling over the phone, the girls in the office could spend all their time answering calls which would be going crazy and not able to serve people at the desk. Online ticketing is pretty simple too - we could put them online but two things would happen... One, the system would probably crash creating more un-due frustration and annoyance and those people standing in the line outside the ticket office would face a wasted journey as no doubt most of the briefs would be snapped up quicker than the girls could sell them from the office. Again, referring to Leeann, she has said we were in a lose lose situation here and people were most certainly going to be left out in the cold. We've tried our best to minimise that as best we can and are working strongly to have a much better system in place for next season. ‘Flow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellgirl Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 I think there's sufficient information on the automated system when you phone the club, it's just that sometimes, you want to be able to speak to a person rather than leave a message on an answerphone. I had a situation recently which wasn't directly connected with being a Motherwell fan, I had to speak to someone in the club, it took me 2 days to be able to speak to an employee of the club and that was only when I made it clear that I needed to speak to someone in a very short timescale. I don't know of many businesses where no one seems to answer a telephone. It all seems to come down to investment in MFC, not enough employees to cope with a large sale of tickets, not decent enough software to be able to cope with online ticketing, letters being sent out in triplicate to some people and not to others, the undersoil heating debacle. I can perfectly understand why John Boyle doesn't want the open chequebook after we went into administration but when an SPL club is being run on a shoestring it leads to the above. It also seems to be leading to fans finally losing patience. Motherwell fc are going to have to do a lot and quickly if they want to show fans that they take the running of the club and the fans seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 What about the 'Tannoy' system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hampden'91 Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 'Flow my initial thoughts wern't ment as a piss take, but a genuine possitive move that we as fans now have a direct line of communication with the running of the club and a way of getting direct answers, my appologies if it was not taken as this. Your communication relating to ticket pricing has been the only real communication as you will have seen from the feedback and number of threads on here. There does seem a dely on info on Main club website, Accies being most recent example. In how thinks can get better - To try and help the poor girls at ticket office, surely as we enter 2009 they could have a quicker system than having to hand write everything relating to ticket pruchases. Most other gripes have been mentioned by other in other threads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 'Flow Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 I would try and make sure the contact details you have for season ticket holders are as up to date as possible. It appears that quite a few folk don't get a season ticket renewal letter or letters such as the "Dear Supporter" letter re the new pricing scheme. This has been brought up in quite a few posts so I'll quickly address it to let you know what is happening. The information we have on our database hasn't been adequate for a long time. John Boyle, who does get a lot of stick on here, has been completely instrumental in pushing through a new CRM system which, despite taking a frustrating lack of time to finish, is at 99% ready. That should allow for individual client profiling which is hoped, over time, will eliminate the errors in mailing to season ticket holders. It also has a lot of other benefits including tracking sales (which will hopefully work hand-in-hand with ticketing in the years ahead) and push emails / newsletters that you should see starting very soon indeed. Duplicates happen, as I've discovered, when people come in to renew their season ticket during the summer and when buying more than one (for example, for their kids of family members) put it all under the one name. This then processes three letters for the one person at any one mail shot. The new system should, in the long term, eradicate that… The major problem on that front is that if we're to finally move into the email age (which we should've) then we need to get as many emails addresses as we can. We don't have a lot at the moment but you should see a drive in the coming weeks and months to not only gather email addresses, but also fill in the blanks of our new database system which should hopefully make for a much, much smoother means in which to letter, email or whatever. But drawing back to what the thread was about – How do we effectively communicate to fans how we're doing this? Do we send put up a story on the net every time we aim to eradicate a problem such at this? What I would plead for is some degree of belief in that if nothing is said about small improvements we're trying to make, then it doesn't always necessarily mean we're not working on them! Don't set and subsequently miss your own deadlines without any update for the Fans on the website. If you say for example a list of names is going to be up on the site for Friday it should be, otherwise an update should be issued so we aren't left in the dark. By this I assume you are referring to Nancy as any other named deadline, as far as I can recall, has been met. The Nancy ticket ballot was, without any shadow of a doubt, a major cross against the club. It basically came down to a lack of man power (despite hiring in five different temps) to process the data we were receiving. Again that highlights issues that we've (and Leeann) has talked about earlier. We accept, without doubt, that putting on a time deadline without the proper care and attention (the data protection law about posting names and personal details was one we did encounter and was flagged up to us) was an unmitigated mistake. But the big problem is that by the time we said we were going to publish the list of names, we were only about 70/80% of the way through processing the requests and publishing a list not complete would've caused mayhem for the people that had applited but hadn't, as yet, been added. We also had the unbelievable bad luck of having our internet and email system die due to a flooding in the local exchange which took three days to fix. This meant we had no email (hence the Yahoo account which, despite being far from ideal was the only real option we had) and had to try and work around that. But the underlying point about setting deadline that can't be kept has already been very much taken on board and I don't think you'll have seen many since. Indeed, the only other time I can remember was just this week when we said we'd have further information on tickets "tomorrow" which was dully posted the next day (despite the fact that we didn't have the tickets and couldn't confirm a release date - we wanted to try and keep fans totally up to date after Inverurie had announced details a wee bit earlier than we had planned). 'Flow PS. I will reply to others later - I will get through as much as I can before my fingers fall off... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dosser1886 Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 Cheers Flow, We can all be an unreasonable bunch at times - we are football fans after all, and coming at this from the other end it must be really frustrating if not hurtful for your attemps to be met with such negativity at times. Phone systems in itself isn't too bad, you just need to actually have people available at the end of each of the options as opposed to it going to voicemail. There was a default message relating to Nancy ticket information at that time could something similar not be available i.e. Option 2 for tickets then gives you opening times and info on if tickets are available or not, a bit more admin to keep it up to date but a useful feature IMO. I appreciate that some issues such as USH & and Stadium are sensitive, but the info only seems to come out when Mark McGee lets the cat out of the bag when being interviewed, and the little snippets that we hear obviously leads to conjecture and rumour. We all love our club, we just want to be even more proud of them by having the admin side of things sorted out. I'm sure you'll be "damned if you do, damned if you don't" to a certain extend but I for one really appreciate this healthy conversation and engagement with the club, official or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 What about the pie stalls (price,queue's etc etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 'Flow Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 Send out the letters to all season ticket holders. A good number of ST holders on this forum alone are still waiting their letter. Would be a good start. Also, perhaps a regular email newsletter type thing. Can't be hard to set up. Big Stall, You will have read above mate about the lettering issues and what is currently going in with a view to fixing it! No promises it will be sorted over night, of course it won't, but our new database system will hopefully begin to give us a much more effective and accurate communication tool Weekly push email / newsletter (which will contain exclusive news as well as links to stories on the website that you may have missed due to the increased content) is expected very soon (see, no specific time date ). I've subscribed to as many in the SPL and England as I can to try and pick the best bits out based on our time and financial resources! Again, this has come directly from Mr Boyle who has been on my case nonstop to get it completed. It's actually overdue hence why I am adamant that it will be popping into the inbox of 'Well fans (well, the ones we have email addresses for) very, very soon. When it is fully operation, we will obviously have a subscription notice on the homepage of the official site too... 'Flow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 'Flow Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 I think there's sufficient information on the automated system when you phone the club, it's just that sometimes, you want to be able to speak to a person rather than leave a message on an answerphone.I had a situation recently which wasn't directly connected with being a Motherwell fan, I had to speak to someone in the club, it took me 2 days to be able to speak to an employee of the club and that was only when I made it clear that I needed to speak to someone in a very short timescale. I don't know of many businesses where no one seems to answer a telephone. It all seems to come down to investment in MFC, not enough employees to cope with a large sale of tickets, not decent enough software to be able to cope with online ticketing, letters being sent out in triplicate to some people and not to others, the undersoil heating debacle. I can perfectly understand why John Boyle doesn't want the open chequebook after we went into administration but when an SPL club is being run on a shoestring it leads to the above. It also seems to be leading to fans finally losing patience. Motherwell fc are going to have to do a lot and quickly if they want to show fans that they take the running of the club and the fans seriously. wellgirl, Being honest, I am not too sure what has happened to the phone system but as I've mentioned, following the post on the pinned thread an investigation is underway. If it is something as simple (and equally frustrating) as a technical issue then obviously we would endeavor to have that solved immediately... More will be known about that in the next week or two (Christmas and New Year taken into account)... 'Flow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 'Flow Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 What about the 'Tannoy' system We need 'el Alex back eh? Naw, after what seemed like years or total head scratching, I think we've finally managed to crack the problem with the tannoy. We've certainly had feedback from the East that it is now, finally, working! What about the Cooper? Obviously I am in the POD stand and can hear it as clear as a bell but as far as I am led to believe, things look like they've finally been resolved? 'Flow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 'Flow Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 'Flow my initial thoughts wern't ment as a piss take, but a genuine possitive move that we as fans now have a direct line of communication with the running of the club and a way of getting direct answers, my appologies if it was not taken as this. Your communication relating to ticket pricing has been the only real communication as you will have seen from the feedback and number of threads on here. There does seem a dely on info on Main club website, Accies being most recent example. In how thinks can get better - To try and help the poor girls at ticket office, surely as we enter 2009 they could have a quicker system than having to hand write everything relating to ticket pruchases. Most other gripes have been mentioned by other in other threads. Hampden91, There was a release put out about the ticketing announcement shortly after the first was announced (if I can recall, the first was put on Tuesday and the second was Thursday). The letter to Season Tickets (and as we've covered, the technical's behind that are currently being addressed) was aimed at trying to give a clearer indication as to what exactly was going on and the plans going forward. What delay in terms of information on the club website is there? That's not going defensive there at all in case it appears that way - obviously if there is something that can be better then I want to strive to get there. The Accies one was down to an email going to the wrong person (hence why it was correct in the programme and not the website) but was quickly rectified when it was highlighted and a news article was published on the home page outlining ticketing requirements. Other than that, we try to have ticketing information on games (particularly away games) three weeks in advance via the latest ticket information page ---> Click Here In terms of the ticket office - again, see previous about new database system which should bring us into line with other more modern ticketing services. Won't be fixed over night but in the long term should make for more efficient dealings when entering the reception area either to buy tickets or an individual query! 'Flow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 'Flow Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 What about the pie stalls (price,queue's etc etc.) I have to admit to not being a regular at the Pie stalls anymore (too fat) but at the same time, alot of the complaints that were more than frequent on here over the years appear to have dried up... Certainly since Lindlay have came in...?! Not really a 'communication' issue per say but whilst we're on the subject, what is the general consensus now on the kiosks? Better? 'Flow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brazilian Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 Well done Flow in taking this on again hopefully be able to clear some issues up and buy time on others until resolutions are forthcoming. I don't see the personal abuse you speak of but not being you I don't suppose I'd pick up on it, mostly I see frustration and much of it due to the little things which then erupt in major issues when other things are wrong. The phone system is not working!, I'm sure a number of people will be along shortly to mention how for the last two days during business hours they have been calling every half hour to try and find out ticket office hours for Accies tickets. Its all very will having a trick system with automated messages but I'm sure everyone will agree if those messages do not answer your query then rage will ensue . as for Voicemail customer facing functions should not have voicemail on their extensions. If a customer is calling they should get an answer even if that means getting re-routed up the ladder all the way to the top until someone answers. And since i mentioned it,although too late for Accies tickets, Ticket office opening hours what are they again? has the fanbase been informed that reduced hours will operate next week, might make a difference for anyone wanting St Mirren tickets. Half price season tickets, where can I find them, noticed an A4 sheet lying in the office today with the prices. you've mentioned the new database for season ticket mailing is that new new or should I not be on that from the start of this season? What happened to the pitch during the close season? JB told us it was getting ripped up and totallly re-laid all the doubters might have more sympathy had we been told what really happened and the reasoning behind it. Whats happening with the stadium bookies? we were told they would be re-opeing in the next week or two? some months ago, but it doesn't seem to have happened?? I appreciate your efforts as I appreciate everyones effort doing the best for MFC, just sometimes things seems to get put in the way of what is best way forward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 'Flow Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 To slightly turn it on its head... What do the fans 'expect' in terms of good communications? At the moment I think we have a fairly decent Official site which is updated as much if not more than any other in the SPL. We have a pretty decent programme! I think we'll be in the top four when they produce the yearly 'league table' of proggies which is a marked improvement on where we have been previously. Aside from those "positives" (at least and my eyes and bear in mind I accept they are not the finished article) - what else do fans expect? What else can the club do to stop these seemingly endless posts about how poor we are at it? What else can we do so fans think that if nothing else, at least the club is decent at getting the message across? 'Flow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ML1 Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 The ticketing fiasco in itself is a complete joke pricing wise but if youd like to concentrate on the actual communication then the initial release , did we have an official media conference when it was put out by mistake or was it only John Boyle on radio waxing lyrical about it that night ? He didnt sound too confused about it. Maybe its just me but the speed he was on there that night and the night last season where he aplogi .... grovelled to Celtic fans about the postponement seems in marked contrast to his approach to us , last i heard from him the pitch was being ripped up , and we'd have a bowling green this year. Things like the above mean there is very little if any trust in what the club actually do tell us in fact its bordering on offensive when they expect you to swallow any old pish . "An initiative to make football cheaper for all" aye right as those fans furthest away pay £7 more than the Glasgow two. The official site now has a blank page for anyone looking for pricing .What good is this for non regulars , anyone in fact .Everyone wonders what happened to the South Stand offers and when John Boyle changed his mind about the Rangers game only being an experiment , we're wondering if he'll extend the experiment to their neighbours. The club likes to communicate that its skint when explaining away why we cant put a bet on in the stadium why the food is terrible fayre and value , the East Stand Tannoy is rotten , our target signings are bottom end and so much more , so how much did we make from this little earner with Rangers ? Do those in charge at the club understand the depth of ill feeling a lot of our support has for the Old Firm and the wedge being driven between the fans and club when the perception is those in charge are bending over for them ? Was this communication 3 days later explaining that it was a big mistake appear on the official site ? Apologies if it did , i must have missed it Details were gathered preseason for a new database , others ive put down have had no communication at all from the club in this time Trying to get through to speak to anyone on the phone at Fir Park is a hit or a miss. An email reply is about as rare . Undefendable People have been asking on here all week if the ticket office would be open tomorrow , no mention on the official site of any opening hours even in updates about how sales were going. Although in the recent past ticket office times on the site have seen people travel distance only to be greeted by a closed door and pulled down shutters. Its all good and well saying lessons from Nancy were learned but folk are scratching their heads about how to get tickets for tomorrow and may have even missed out. Regular meetings between club and fans , even using the websites/a chatroom for an hour one night a month would certainly help as at present bad feeling is just festering and lingering , the length of time to communicate with ST holders wasnt on especially when the letter sent to Rangers fans reps was sent out first , who's fans come first at Fir Park ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellgirl Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 I can't speak on behalf of anyone else but I think that things started to go a bit amiss during the summer, there was the issue with the concessions and the season tickets, the concession age being raised from 60 to 65. There was info about this on the official site, but nothing was very clear, people weren't sure why this had happened . Fans also weren't sure what would happen if someone was over 60 and already had a season. I think sometimes the problem is, when you are getting an explanation and information is given a bit at a time, by the time people do know the full reasons, frustration has already set in. With regard to the ticket issue, the concessions for the Old Firm and other concessions, this caused a lot of comment on unofficial sites and fans weren't happy, but then everything changed again and fans were left wondering what was going on. I know that there has been explanations given as to why the issue happened with the changes in prices but fans didn't know that so you have situations where fans think they can bring kids along for a reduced price. Then all of a sudden that disappears off the official site and is replaced by something else and it causes confusion. It isn't a dig at anyone but I think lately Motherwell fc have probably made life for themselves a lot harder than it needed to be. With regard to John Boyle, I don't know if this would come into the communication issue, but he has made decisions lately that made people seriously question whether they would be back at Fir Park at all. I think possibly the club underestimated the amount of fans who were upset about having shelled out for a season ticket and then discovered that they would have been cheaper or as well off paying cash at the gate. Maybe that issue caused so much ill feeling because fans just feel that they aren't consulted about anything, anytime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmcalpin Posted December 19, 2008 Report Share Posted December 19, 2008 No Online or Phone Orders for Inverurie.... There is a pretty simple answer to that and Leeann covered it in her reply to Keith yesterday. We don't, at the minute, have a good enough system or procedures in place at the club to cope with it... Hands up, no hiding or smoke screens. ....I am sure you can imagine what the ticket office is going to be like when these tickets go on sale.... Bedlam. We only have two points of sale (which is being looked at) and a lack of resources. If we are selling over the phone, the girls in the office could spend all their time answering calls which would be going crazy and not able to serve people at the desk. Online ticketing is pretty simple too - we could put them online but two things would happen... One, the system would probably crash creating more un-due frustration and annoyance and those people standing in the line outside the ticket office would face a wasted journey as no doubt most of the briefs would be snapped up quicker than the girls could sell them from the office. Thanks for being so candid Flow. As you know securing tickets for fans living a good distance away has been a long running problem for me and many other fans. Indeed I've just emailed Leeanne about that. I accept your explanation about the inherent difficulties and am prepared to leave it for the foreseeable future as long as I know the issue is being dealt with. I'm sure however there are ways to get round that and no doubt you'll identify them ie set up a database of fans living more than say 20 miles from the ground. These fans could then get telephone/online access (but not preference) in games where tickets are in short supply). I knowthat telephone calls can be very frustrating - I spent something like 25 minutes last week trying to explain to a colleague an extremely important instruction. Without such interruptions it would have taken perhaps 1 minute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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