[Albion] Introduction of charges for season ticket cards

[pure_white]

The club have said next season will be the last season that season ticket cards (rather than mobile phone downloaded tickets) will be issued free and in subsequent seasons a fee (£20) will apply. Is that morally right? If an existing season ticket holder already has a card does it really per 'customer' cost more to renew compared to a mobile phone download? I have never read anything here or heard from anyone experiencing an actual problem at the turnstiles or ahead of with a card whereas I have heard and seen a range of issues, concerns and problems with a downloaded to mobile phone ticket. lets remember before we judge everyone that its so easy with an app etc. etc., not everyone finds it easy or indeed even has a mobile phone. Has the club got it right or just alienated more fans?

 

[GT49er]

The club have said next season will be the last season that season ticket cards (rather than mobile phone downloaded tickets) will be issued free and in subsequent seasons a fee (£20) will apply. Is that morally right? If an existing season ticket holder already has a card does it really per 'customer' cost more to renew compared to a mobile phone download? I have never read anything here or heard from anyone experiencing an actual problem at the turnstiles or ahead of with a card whereas I have heard and seen a range of issues, concerns and problems with a downloaded to mobile phone ticket. lets remember before we judge everyone that its so easy with an app etc. etc., not everyone finds it easy or indeed even has a mobile phone. Has the club got it right or just alienated more fans?

No problem for the club - it'll mainly affect older fans, many of who will have been STHs for donkeys years - and they'll die off soon enough, won't they.

 

[pure_white]

No problem for the club - it'll mainly affect older fans, many of who will have been STHs for domkeys years - and they'll die off soon enough, won't they.

So a dead supporter solves things?

 

[Jeremiah]

As a season ticket card holder I have also received the e-mail. Personally I could probably work out how to put my season ticket on my phone but I know this would cause me an extra headache as I sometimes forget to charge my phone, or even bring it !

I have also noticed that I will probably have to stump up extra cash as my son has decided not to attend next season and I have transferred his season ticket to my elderly father. He does not have a smart phone (or the internet) and will need an actual season ticket card.

Most people are quite at home with technology but some do struggle with it and are generally treated as second class citizens by society nowadays. Progress eh ?

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I find it difficult to get worked up about this.

 

[GT49er]

So a dead supporter solves things?

Yes, they don't complain about extra payments for not having a smart phone to put their tickets on to - or about flasks, bottle tops and fees to share tickets, etc.

 

[ATFC Seagull]

Do they check ID alongside the card ever? Do they ask for any sort of evidence as to why you need one and can't use your phone?

Not that I am suggesting this but this seems quite a significant loophole on the no transferring of tickets saga.

 

[beorhthelm]

convenience that inconveniences many.

 

[Bold Seagull]

The club have said next season will be the last season that season ticket cards (rather than mobile phone downloaded tickets) will be issued free and in subsequent seasons a fee (£20) will apply. Is that morally right? If an existing season ticket holder already has a card does it really per 'customer' cost more to renew compared to a mobile phone download? I have never read anything here or heard from anyone experiencing an actual problem at the turnstiles or ahead of with a card whereas I have heard and seen a range of issues, concerns and problems with a downloaded to mobile phone ticket. lets remember before we judge everyone that its so easy with an app etc. etc., not everyone finds it easy or indeed even has a mobile phone. Has the club got it right or just alienated more fans?

The alternative question is whether going ticketless and cashless has saved the club enough money that it can freeze ticket prices for another season for the majority of supporters?

If it didn't charge for the card, then lots of people would want one, so I'm guessing £20 is enough of a put off that it encourages the majority of fans to embrace what technology offers and in turn saves the club money, but £20 isn't too much that someone who really doesn't want the technology and only wants a card can have one.

Would be interesting to know what sort of numbers apply for the cards as a gauge of how many people this actually impacts, and whether they feel alienated by it.

 

[Miximate]

Outraged! Barber Out!!

 

[Bold Seagull]

Do they check ID alongside the card ever? Do they ask for any sort of evidence as to why you need one and can't use your phone?

Not that I am suggesting this but this seems quite a significant loophole on the no transferring of tickets saga.

That's a great point, £20 for an ST card is a lot cheaper than paying the £20 for sharing then the Albion+ membership each recipient needs to get.

 

[Lenny Rider]

I find it difficult to get worked up about this.

I’m still reeling from Will Smith’s Hulk Hogan impression.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

I find it difficult to get worked up about this.

Yep and it certainly isn’t a moral issue as intimated by the OP. The club is a private organization and can set whatever fee they choose.

 

[Icy Gull]

I find it difficult to get worked up about this.

Me too, I have mine on my phone. Now where’s that ladder to pull up

 

[Baker lite]

I’m still reeling from Will Smith’s Hulk Hogan impression.

At least finally put to bed those Batman memes.

 

[BN9 BHA]

I have got a ST card and pleased I will still be able to use it next season, also pleased there will be no charge.
I will accept that there will be a charge for the following season, I still don’t want my season ticket on a phone for various reasons.
Just before the Spurs match the SIM card in my phone stopped working and I had to order a new one, having the ST card to get into the match saved me any worries that evening.

 

[Bold Seagull]

I have got a ST card and pleased I will still be able to use it next season, also pleased there will be no charge.
I will accept that there will be a charge for the following season, I still don’t want my season ticket on a phone for various reasons.
Just before the Spurs match the SIM card in my phone stopped working and I had to order a new one, having the ST card to get into the match saved me any worries that evening.

By the by but your entry would have been unaffected by the SIM card as no data connections are required, it’s either a scan of a Q-code image or Bluetooth on top of the turnstile.

 

[Super Steve Earle]

As a season ticket card holder I have also received the e-mail. Personally I could probably work out how to put my season ticket on my phone but I know this would cause me an extra headache as I sometimes forget to charge my phone, or even bring it !

I have also noticed that I will probably have to stump up extra cash as my son has decided not to attend next season and I have transferred his season ticket to my elderly father. He does not have a smart phone (or the internet) and will need an actual season ticket card.

Most people are quite at home with technology but some do struggle with it and are generally treated as second class citizens by society nowadays. Progress eh ?

Not sticking up for the club in this instance, but I can't help thinking that if you can remember to take a season ticket card to get in, you could remember to charge and take your phone, especially if you had your father's ticket on it as well. By choosing not to do so, you are chipping away at the margins by adding to the club's losses if you aren't paying an avoidable loss. Once you have downloaded your ticket at the touch of a GooglePay button, you'll never look back.

 

[BN9 BHA]

Do they check ID alongside the card ever? Do they ask for any sort of evidence as to why you need one and can't use your phone?

Not that I am suggesting this but this seems quite a significant loophole on the no transferring of tickets saga.

I haven’t had my ID checked this season.
No the club haven’t asked for any sort of evidence why I needed a card.

Do you realise the ST card has a photo of the holder on it?
If I did lend my card to someone (I wouldn’t) they would have to look like me (unfortunately) if a random ID check was made.

 

[BN9 BHA]

By the by but your entry would have been unaffected by the SIM card as no data connections are required, it’s either a scan of a Q-code image or Bluetooth on top of the turnstile.

I probably wouldn’t have known this information