batch_91
New member
Anybody living away from Sussex may be interested in my email to the man himself and his prompt reply...
Good afternoon Paul,
Further to your recent announcement regarding ID checking to clamp down on swapping fan numbers, I would like to offer some feedback as a fan living away from Sussex.
I have been living in Sheffield for most of the last decade, meaning that apart from the odd home game over christmas, I can mostly only be seen at the northern away games, usually 8 or 9 games per season. Not usually a problem, but I'm sure you can appreciate that the issue of loyalty points and tickets selling out quickly become increasingly common and will certainly be worse next season (we all hope).
I understand that fans loyalty should be prioritized, but I feel this is unfairly weighted against those that cannot attend home games. My 80-90 loyalty points per year are a fraction of the 1000 given to every season ticket holder, it means that I have no hope of attending the high demand games without resorting to using the help of a friend or relative. I find this particularly frustrating as I can only see this problem being made worse as the clubs success increases.
I would urge you to review the clubs policy on loyalty points in future, keeping in mind the ex-pat southerners flying the blue and white flag up north.
I'd also like to take the opportunity to thank you for your fantastic work being done at the club, I often enjoy listening to you speak, and the fact that we have this line of communication is a testament to the fan engagement that you have helped to foster, I consider you a strong asset to the club.
Many thanks
His reply...
Thank you for your email and kind words.
I do appreciate the points you make regarding where you live and the great efforts you still make to support the club. I have addressed many similar points from Spurs (in one of my previous roles) and Brighton fans for many, many years now. By the same token, I addressed different questions on “loyalty” when having responsibility at The FA for travelling England fans.
The reality is that no loyalty point system is perfect. There will always be compromises. Most football clubs have to weight loyalty programmes to their home support as this is where we generate the most revenue which, in turn, funds the club and, ultimately, our footballing budgets. We do not make any money from selling tickets to away matches. Our small commission barely covers our costs.
Our loyalty point system was designed by the chairman, personally. As you may be aware, Tony is a mathematician so it is finely tuned to reflect loyalty as best it can given what I have said above. Our increasing awareness off the issues we've explained and tackled this week will, I hope, start to eradicate the current mis-use of loyalty points which should help those with less points secure tickets a little more often.
You’re right, however, that should be secure promotion, there will be many matches next season when demand for away match tickets will likely exceed supply. In those situations, you never know, some people may thank the club for the actions we have taken this week to protect the integrity of the loyalty point system!
Thanks again for your support. It's very much appreciated.
Kind regards, Paul
Paul Barber
Chief Executive
Good afternoon Paul,
Further to your recent announcement regarding ID checking to clamp down on swapping fan numbers, I would like to offer some feedback as a fan living away from Sussex.
I have been living in Sheffield for most of the last decade, meaning that apart from the odd home game over christmas, I can mostly only be seen at the northern away games, usually 8 or 9 games per season. Not usually a problem, but I'm sure you can appreciate that the issue of loyalty points and tickets selling out quickly become increasingly common and will certainly be worse next season (we all hope).
I understand that fans loyalty should be prioritized, but I feel this is unfairly weighted against those that cannot attend home games. My 80-90 loyalty points per year are a fraction of the 1000 given to every season ticket holder, it means that I have no hope of attending the high demand games without resorting to using the help of a friend or relative. I find this particularly frustrating as I can only see this problem being made worse as the clubs success increases.
I would urge you to review the clubs policy on loyalty points in future, keeping in mind the ex-pat southerners flying the blue and white flag up north.
I'd also like to take the opportunity to thank you for your fantastic work being done at the club, I often enjoy listening to you speak, and the fact that we have this line of communication is a testament to the fan engagement that you have helped to foster, I consider you a strong asset to the club.
Many thanks
His reply...
Thank you for your email and kind words.
I do appreciate the points you make regarding where you live and the great efforts you still make to support the club. I have addressed many similar points from Spurs (in one of my previous roles) and Brighton fans for many, many years now. By the same token, I addressed different questions on “loyalty” when having responsibility at The FA for travelling England fans.
The reality is that no loyalty point system is perfect. There will always be compromises. Most football clubs have to weight loyalty programmes to their home support as this is where we generate the most revenue which, in turn, funds the club and, ultimately, our footballing budgets. We do not make any money from selling tickets to away matches. Our small commission barely covers our costs.
Our loyalty point system was designed by the chairman, personally. As you may be aware, Tony is a mathematician so it is finely tuned to reflect loyalty as best it can given what I have said above. Our increasing awareness off the issues we've explained and tackled this week will, I hope, start to eradicate the current mis-use of loyalty points which should help those with less points secure tickets a little more often.
You’re right, however, that should be secure promotion, there will be many matches next season when demand for away match tickets will likely exceed supply. In those situations, you never know, some people may thank the club for the actions we have taken this week to protect the integrity of the loyalty point system!
Thanks again for your support. It's very much appreciated.
Kind regards, Paul
Paul Barber
Chief Executive
