[Albion] Upgrading a concession ticket on matchday

[nicko31]

Sadly my Dad was ill on Sunday, so he couldn't use the ticket I'd bought him for his birthday. So thought I'd bring my brother along instead. Went to the ticket window and the computer said NO. It seems its not possible to upgrade a ticket unless you are a STH.

Is this nuts or what? Match was sold out and club turning away revenue and having an empty seat as a result. Just seems a lack of common sense on this policy

 

[mothy]

He should have just used the ticket at the barrier & gone in with it

 

[Coalburner]

Unfortunately, common sense doesn't come into it. You were told THE COMPUTER says no. Game over - if the computer speaks, that is gospel. Isd the computer the employer or merely a tool?

 

[nicko31]

He should have just used the ticket at the barrier & gone in with it

Yeah, but what's the excuse when you get pulled up?

 

[Munkfish]

He should have just used the ticket at the barrier & gone in with it

It would have flashed up as a concession and he would have been stopped by the stewards.

 

[mothy]

Yeah, but what's the excuse when you get pulled up?

I tried to upgrade it but they wouldn't let me..

I know people that have done this lots & never been pulled up

 

[Bozza]

So someone has travelled to the Amex on a match day and is standing there at the ticket office saying "Please take my money so I can get in to the game" and the response was "Sorry, you'll have to go home"?

Very poor.

 

[Moshe Gariani]

So someone has travelled to the Amex on a match day and is standing there at the ticket office saying "Please take my money so I can get in to the game" and the response was "Sorry, you'll have to go home"?

Very poor.

Agreed. Quite ridiculous in fact.

 

[nicko31]

So someone has travelled to the Amex on a match day and is standing there at the ticket office saying "Please take my money so I can get in to the game" and the response was "Sorry, you'll have to go home"?

Very poor.

Yeah, he got back on the train to Lewes and watched the match on Sky. They said only possible for season ticket holder. If the match wasn't sold out I could almost see the point, but it was sold out, bizarre

 

[clippedgull]

Yeah, he got back on the train to Lewes and watched the match on Sky. They said only possible for season ticket holder. If the match wasn't sold out I could almost see the point, but it was sold out, bizarre

Although it's too late now, wouldn't it be worth an email to Supporter services to see the reasoning behind the inability to change a tickets status on matchday?

 

[Easy 10]

The club gets an awful lot right. But this is absolutely pathetic.

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

So are you saying it could have been upgraded but they needed the ST holder (your Dad) to make the transaction. If so could he not have called in passed Data Protection questions and then authorised the payment or you to make change to the ST.

 

[BNthree]

So are you saying it could have been upgraded but they needed the ST holder (your Dad) to make the transaction. If so could he not have called in passed Data Protection questions and then authorised the payment or you to make change to the ST.

No, he is saying only season tickets can be upgraded from a concession price band to a full price band. Regular match day tickets bought for children or seniors can only be used by children or seniors as they can't be upgraded to full price tickets. Which seems crazy. Should be like an excess fare on the trains; paid so much but need to pay a little more.

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

No, he is saying only season tickets can be upgraded from a concession price band to a full price band. Regular match day tickets bought for children or seniors can only be used by children or seniors as they can't be upgraded to full price tickets. Which seems crazy. Should be like an excess fare on the trains; paid so much but need to pay a little more.

Ah I see, like everyone else has already said then, this is ridducloius as its just turning down money and someone who may add more noise to our great premership stadium atmosphere.

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

The club gets an awful lot right. But this is absolutely pathetic.

They do, but their ticketing policy for both home and away fans is increasingly difficult to understand.

 

[kingcole]

I would hope when you complain to the club you and your dad get the apology you deserve with a pair of complimentary tickets for a future game.

It's all well and good the computer saying no but a human had to tell you this too. One would hope there would have been a bit about them to see how wrong what they were telling you was and would have gone through the appropriate channel to sort there and then

 

[Bozza]

Thinking about this, the only reason I can think why this would happen is if the tickets were only available to a subset of fans and it could be perceived that buying the ticket for a qualifying child and then actioning a subsequent upgrade to an adult was a way of circumnavigating that.

However if the adult was a known fan who also qualified to buy the ticket in the first place, then I'm not sure why the upgrade would be refused. I'd even say that if the adult fan was not known, then common sense should prevail, given kickoff is approaching, and the upgrade made but a note made on the fan account to ensure this is not a regular occurrence used to try and cheat the system.

If it's simply a case of "computer says no", ie the ticketing system does not have the functionality to allow a single ticket to be upgraded, then the desire to offer a decent level of customer service should kick in, even if the club miss out on the upgrade cash. No one should be expected to head home from the Amex when a ticket is held and a seat is going to be left empty as a result.

 

[Exile]

No, he is saying only season tickets can be upgraded from a concession price band to a full price band. Regular match day tickets bought for children or seniors can only be used by children or seniors as they can't be upgraded to full price tickets. Which seems crazy. Should be like an excess fare on the trains; paid so much but need to pay a little more.

I would hope when you complain to the club you and your dad get the apology you deserve with a pair of complimentary tickets for a future game.

It's all well and good the computer saying no but a human had to tell you this too. One would hope there would have been a bit about them to see how wrong what they were telling you was and would have gone through the appropriate channel to sort there and then

The sole justification I can imagine for this is the respective eligibility to buy, of the original ticket holder / new attendee.

I.e. I could buy an additional match ticket for a big game, using my lad's fan number (who would have the memberships / necessary points), knowing he can't come, and upgrade it for a mate who did not. In that respect their standpoint is basically the same as that for away tickets, no?

(Not that a human couldn't have been flexible, of course...)

 

[essbee1]

Yeah, he got back on the train to Lewes and watched the match on Sky. They said only possible for season ticket holder. If the match wasn't sold out I could almost see the point, but it was sold out, bizarre

That is, quite simply, a disgrace. Something needs to change.

 

[Moshe Gariani]

The sole justification I can imagine for this is the respective eligibility to buy, of the original ticket holder / new attendee.

I.e. I could buy an additional match ticket for a big game, using my lad's fan number (who would have the memberships / necessary points), knowing he can't come, and upgrade it for a mate who did not. In that respect their standpoint is basically the same as that for away tickets, no?

(Not that a human couldn't have been flexible, of course...)

This is presumably the answer. Obviously the human being rather than the computer should have been allowed to judge the situation for what it clearly was rather than being overly influenced by some rather unlikely possible malpractice.