Guest JohnnyDefault Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 I got my letter from John allegedly explaining the reason for the recent pricing initiatives and indicating that as a season ticket holder - I can bring an NOn ST holding adult and a child to one of 3 upcoming games at Fir Park - ICT, Fatkirk or Hackies Without going into it line by line - and coming across as a completly negative phud. The initiative is a good one - and probably should be in place anyway (for a couple of games per ST per season) It doesnt revard or recompence me as a ST holder personally in an way (although I'm not looking for that anyway) Skirted round the Rangers game ticket debacle - without admitting that it wasn't any more successful than last seasons CIS semi. Talks about how hard it is to turn kids in schools on to the well in the face of the OF (Then why incentivis people from the local are to come and watch the OF????????) had a stupid proper physical cut and pasted John Boyle Signature on it (i.e. you could see tha edges of the bit of paper it was cut out of) - not a big problem granted - but how hard is it to scan, clean up and attach a signature digitally and professionally. All in all - a valliant attempt - but many many miles short of building the bridges that need to be built. In fact, no, quite disappointing really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dosser30 Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 I'll be taking the missus for a nice romantic game against Hamilton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fat_tony Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Have these letters been sent to all season ticket holders or just some? I've not received anything at all. I wonder if they're still sending stuff to my address from 4 years ago in Aberdeen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelmen Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Nope not had a thing off them, mind you i am still waiting for my season ticket renewal form..... maybe i will get both at the same time... Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 I've not received anything either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cakes Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 For anyone who hasn't seen it......... Dear Supporter, I am writing to update you on a number of matters relating to your club and how you can help us to move forward. The club has been involved in a series of experimental ticket pricing initiatives to try to drive forward revenues and expand our supporter base. Scottish football at the moment is in a bit of a crisis as attendances continue to drift downwards. This is caused by the easy availability of matches on television as well as the high cost of attending live football, particularly in the current economic climate. What concerns me is that fans, particularly young fans, get out of the habit of regularly attending matches. As far as our own supporters are concerned, we have been trying to encourage young people to come to matches and, to that end, have been distributing attractively priced tickets to the schools whereby if an adult attends, the child can come free. We believe this is vital for the long term health of the club to get youngsters behind their local team. This is no small task, particularly given the Old Firm's grip on the footballing fraternity. To this end, I would ask you to play your part. We are offering every adult season ticket holder a free adult and a juvenile ticket for one match from a choice of matches in the coming months. We would ask you to give these tickets to friends or family to give them a taste of Fir Park in the hope that they might return and become more regular supporters. To redeem these tickets, choose your preferred match from the list below and call into the ticket office to collect your tickets using special voucher H. In order to control numbers and manage safety on match day we are unfortunately only able to offer these tickets via the ticket office and you must redeem in person. No phone or internet bookings available. The choice of matches are: MFC v Inverness CT on 27 December 2008 — tickets must be collected on or before 22nd December MFC v Falkirk on 24 January 2009 - tickets must be collected on or before 19th January MFC v Hamilton Academical on 14 February - tickets must be collected on or before 9 February For security purposes, in order that we can give final numbers to the police, bookings these free tickets will stop 5 days before the match in question. This will give us time to process the numbers. Strictly no ticket exchange will be allowed on the day of match. We will try to locate your friends for your first choice match and wherever possible in the stand where you are a season ticket holder however please be aware that we require the flexibility to utilise available seats. Should that stand fill up, your friends will be accommodated comfortably in another part of the ground. This will be done on a first come first served basis so the earlier you book, the better chance your friends will have of sitting in the same stand as you. As we approach Christmas, do remember that we have half season tickets available, perhaps as a gift, individual gift vouchers and a range of hospitality packages from children through to adults which might also make suitable Christmas presents. There was some discussion and criticism of our decision to reduce the prices for the Rangers game. I would like to give you an insight into our thinking. This experiment came about by the fact that it was a Wednesday night game in November which was to be shown live on television. We have noticed an alarming drop in Old Firm attendances over the last coupleof years. We used to have pretty full crowds but now, on some occasions, we are lucky to get 8,000 at an Old Firm match. In addition, at Old Firm matches, there are very few concession tickets made available. We decided to reduce prices for this match to see if we can boost attendances and if there was any latent demand that we could tap into. Old Firm matches are an important source of revenue to the club and we must continually monitor the situation and not assume that we have a captive market. I hope that you have noticed the significant improvement in our website in the last few months. We have invested a considerable amount of money in improving this offering and, over the next month or two, I will be unveiling a new communication system to season ticket holders and we hope by doing this we will be able to keep you more up to date with what's happening at the club. Thank you for your continuing support. Kind regards. John Boyle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faddyisgod Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Got mine as well. I suppose the free tickets may come in handy for the family but I'll reserve judgement on Mr Boyle's latest offers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete57 Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 I got mine last week. Though must admit I was slighly confused how 2 free tickets for somebody else compensated me for the extra money I could end up paying! Not that Im bothered though, if all this new pricing nonsense brings in more 'well fans then Im all for it. Even if it brought in more 'real' football fans from the other 'wee' teams and created a bit more revenure/atmosphere then that would be great too! But i cant help but think we are just pandering to the old firm and begging them to come and infest us with their bile for less income.... But surely we must be missing something... our board couldnt be that stupid could it?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lukebmfc Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Got mines the other week, it's anything to fill the ground,atleast their trying I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brazilian Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Not received a letter for either of my tickets, heard about them hitting front doors last week and thought they might be spread out a little for franking purposes but didn't think we have enough ST holders for them to be spread out more than a week, It won't be like Motherwell FC to miss out on a opportunity to further isolate individual supporters with initiatives so we'll have to wait and see if this letter gets to all the intended recipients. for me and from reading the above, its just yet more spin from him at the top glossing over the complete and utter fuck up that was the latest kick in the teeth incentive campaign Its about time the club realised that calling a spade a spade is whats needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yir Elder Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 I got mine last weekend, a half decent idea cos it benefits Well fans only. Here's hoping there are some initiatives ahead of next season that help the loyal season ticket holders too, think we deserve it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_P Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 I got one letter in, no sign of the one for the urchin Darryl yet, which is care of my address. Was pleased to see the communication from the club as I had reckoned they would let it lie and only lettered us when they wanted the dosh again come renewal time. I'll take up the offer of bringing someone along for one of the games, and am happy to do my bit to spread the good word but for me as one or two have said it didn't address some of the main gripes that people had. The club still have to come up with an appropriate carrot to dangle to their existing season ticket holders or they'll risk folk either not renewing or holding fire to last minute and denying them the revenue they badly need over the summer months. No matter how they dress it up, and how understanding the punters are about their aims, the season ticket this year has become less value for money with their initiative. Even more so if you chose to take up their 19.9% interest rate installment deal. In my eyes they still have something to give back to these folk, and diluting the value even further and asking for further understanding as folk get freebies isn't quite it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albi Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Excellent, free ticket for me when I'm back up at Xmas and the Accies game on my birthday! Thank you Mr Boyle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaag Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 I'm with Albi, i think that although it could potentially have been done in a better way, the thought and idea behind it is a good one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatcalf Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Nothing more than a sop to disgruntled diehards and way, way short of what's required. John Boyle yer an erse of the highest order with no understanding of how fans think. Rose and Swinburne are supposedly 'fans' yet they sign their name to this eejits fanciful notions. They all need drummed out of The Ark asap. Oh for someone with a bit of common sense and a rather large wad behind them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbcmfc Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 As a non season ticket holder, it's getting ridiculous how much I'm being encouraged to go to games! I get a few games a season from my dads ticket, some from my mate and his dad, and then they start giving away tickets!! If i wasn't so stingy, I'd be slightly embarassed! In all seriousness though, I had genuine reasons for not buying season tickets for the last few seasons (work commitments, lack of funds, blacklisting), but have no reason to rush out and buy one next season, other than to avoid getting labelled a sponger! So I can completely understand why ST holders are still a bit underwhelmed!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unknown Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 and also you getting banned from FP... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albi Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 It seems the purpose of the scheme is to get season ticket holders to bring their friends who dont normally go to Fir Park anymore and get them back into the habit of going to the football every week. I doubt bringing a friend along to 1 game will make a difference, but if each season ticket holder was allowed to bring a friend for (say for example) 3 games (maybe 2 category C games and 1 category B game for instance), wouldnt that get them more into the habit of going to the football every other Saturday? It is a good scheme but it has to be followed up by sensible pricing. £22 for 90 minutes of football is, quite frankly, ridiculous. Especially when you factor in travel costs, food costs, etc. The current pricing in the SPL (not just Motherwell) means that going to the football is becoming an indulgence or a treat rather than something you do every other Saturday. If, next season, the cost of entry for an adult was £15 (maximum) and kids go free then this, coupled with the current scheme, would give massive benefits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brazilian Posted December 17, 2008 Report Share Posted December 17, 2008 So how is this going?? Has everbody else received their letter from the club? Has anyone actually been up to the Ark and arranged the complimentary tickets for the up and coming matches?? It's no surprise but I have still not recieved a letter to my home address for either of the two tickets registered here. It must be so difficult to send out what 2000-2500 thousand letters?? Was just on the phone to my mate who normally benefits from these freebies and he asked if he was getting any , that got me thinking and you know what these freebies don't grow the fanbase by any significant amount they might boost attendances here and there and my mate and his wee boy might regard MFC as their second/local team but they are never gonna become regulars at the Ark under the current setup with the ridiculous match scheduling, live matches on TV and the suicidal pricing structures in the game. I wonder if the club even study the true impact of the freebies or reduced gate prices for token matches, strikes me that the short term nature of the policy being repeated over and over has never worked and will never work. Merry Christmas everybody I've just depressed myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaag Posted December 17, 2008 Report Share Posted December 17, 2008 I wonder if the club even study the true impact of the freebies or reduced gate prices for token matches, strikes me that the short term nature of the policy being repeated over and over has never worked and will never work. This is the only part of your post i disagree with. i'm sure the club has put a lot of thought into these promotions, and, if run properly over a sustained length of time can have a fairly significant impact on the local fan base. It's simple marketing really. Lose a few pounds on promoting these things, but even if the club gains an additional 100 regular supporters out of it, that could potentially be worth an extra £180,000 to the club over 5 years (based on an entry fee of £20 and 18 home games a season). At the end of the day, for the club as a business, the cashflow is as important as it's perceived reputation in the town. Both are equally as important as each other. With money being as it is, I'm sure MFC wouldn't go wasting money on these promotions without doing a bit of homework first. That said, I think they could make a lot more of an impact if promoted effectively. Sometimes you have to speculate to accumulate. That's why I think it's vitally important the club ensure that these letters are delivered as and when they should be. Given the fact that this is pretty much their only avenue of promotion (other than the 'fishel site) then it's just wasting the chance otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted December 17, 2008 Report Share Posted December 17, 2008 I don't have my letter yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Stall Posted December 17, 2008 Report Share Posted December 17, 2008 I don't have my letter yet either. Sieb_Dykstras_Barmy_Army got his letter though and told me about its contents, Im still at a loss as to how this benefits me. It'l obviously benefit one of my mates who I will get a free ticket for (If i recieve the letter before the three games are actually played) , but how does it actually benefit me, the season ticket holder?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cambo97 Posted December 17, 2008 Report Share Posted December 17, 2008 Same here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted December 17, 2008 Report Share Posted December 17, 2008 Ach well, I guess it's sort of nice to know that our club is just as big a shambles as always, and it isn't that I'm just not worthy of a letter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottW1886 Posted December 17, 2008 Report Share Posted December 17, 2008 2 season ticket holders in this house, 1 letter.... My mum and dad haven't received their letters either. 3 non-receipts to add to the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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