A ticketing shambles

[barnetjohn]

Just managed to secure a ticket for the replay. Was away on holiday but luckily a mate could nip down early after work and got there in the nick of time.

What an absolute farce. No priority given to season ticket holders, members or previous ticket purchasers. Just a shambolic free for all.

Doubtless the club will come up with some corporate horse s**t about demand exceeding supply and the inevitability of many fans being disappointed. The point is the choice of selling system determines who gets disappointed.

Having a free for all means its whoever can get down to the Hive at the drop of a hat (or can get a mate to) who gets tickets. Loyal fans who have followed the club for years miss out because once a year cup fans could get to the Hive first. This was a total farce and entirely preventable.

If the club couldn't post tickets they could still have done online or phone sales where buyers then had to. Collect tickets at the Hive in person. And they could easily have done a priority system for tickets, as Brentford have done.

The decision is shocking for two reasons. First, selling tickets isbread and butter for a football club. It's totally standard to imement a priority system and every club does it. I've go to most home and away games and I think this season haven't been to a single game with more than 1600 Barnet fans. What a farce that I almost missed out on one of the 1600 on offer.

Second: it just shows total contempt for loyal fans. The club gave no thought to loyal fans and evidently didn't care which fans got tickets. It was happy to flog scarce tickets to anyone.

This was a total joke today. I dread to think how many loyal fans have lost out today.

[jerroll]

Surely this is a perk of being a season ticket/member - why do people who turn up to 1 or 2 games get tickets while those who travel to Barrow, Hartlepool & Gateshead miss out due to being unable to get to thl. I was lucky as my flight got back at 11.30 so i went home to get car and went straight to tl!

[barnetjohn]

Completely agree Jerroll. Most clubs explicitly market memerbshios/season tickets using perk of priority tickets as an additional reason to sign up. I'm doing Hartlepool, Barrow and Gateshead away yet nearly missed out on a ticket at the expense of once a year cup fans who could nip to the Hive. Total joke.

[becbee]

Barnet totally under-estimated the demand ( although in fairness, most of us on here probably did also).
I'm retired and had nothing unchangeable planned for today so was able to go during the day and bought 3 tickets. My 2 daughters work as full time school teachers, no way could they have ever got out of work today to go to buy tickets.
There was someone in the queue who said he'd popped out of work quickly to buy his ticket - hardly a quick pop out when he spent an hour in the queue!
My daughters and I are members, go to almost every home match and at least half our away matches - yet if it had been left to my daughters to buy tckets, they'd have had to have gone after work in the rush hour and we'd have missed out on the seating tickets.

[barnetjohn]

Underestimating demand is not an excuse. Firstly, we had 4600 Barnet fans at the Hive for the original match. Hardly surprising that at least one in three of those would want to go to a replay in London that is almost as close as the Hive.

Second, we take over a thousand to Stevenage for a nondescript league fixture.

Third and most important- setting up a priority ticket system is so easy and cheap the club should have done it as a prudent precaution. If we had such a system and we didn't sell out then no harm done.

I don't use the term shambles lightly but this was an utter joke. The club should issue an immediate full apology.

[BEEGONE]

We needed a second thread to moan about tickets why?

[becbee]

I don't disagree, Barnetjohn.
I would no way claim to recognise every Barnet fan but I do think I'd at least recognise the away regulars. There were people in the queue whom I don't recall ever seeing before. Then Village was behind them in the queue.

[NoMagRyan]

Just then I basically ended up in a pseudo-race with four people from Canons Park where we're walking as quickly as we can towards The Hive while pretending we're not racing each other

[DerekRocholl]

We needed a second thread to moan about tickets why?

Emphasis and to give some of our long term contributors a clearer canvass for their erudition. Well seized

[Stuart]

Ridiculous free for all. No priority for season ticket holders and 6 tickets as an allocation was too many. Very many regulars will miss out that's not the way to keep our core support.

[BurntOakBee]

One of the major causes of this ticketing situation is the fact that the replay is on the Tuesday rather than Wednesday next week. With the original tie not played until Monday this week the extra 24 hours would’ve been invaluable for posting out tickets or installing a priority sales period. Poor scheduling by The FA.

The Club should’ve been more than able to set up a phone reservation service for members for a set period whereby they could reserve and pick up at a more convenient time rather than letting them run the risk of missing out altogether.

It’s a shame that our greatest FA Cup run is overshadowed by a predictable admin fiasco!

[DerekRocholl]

One of the major causes of this ticketing situation is the fact that the replay is on the Tuesday rather than Wednesday next week. With the original tie not played until Monday this week the extra 24 hours would’ve been invaluable for posting out tickets or installing a priority sales period. Poor scheduling by The FA.!

No, this was entirely manageable with a miniscule amount of forward thinking and common sense.

[pgbee]

And the implication that if you live miles away and don't get to many matches ( and therefore not worth being a member) , you are a lesser fan. Where were all these 'real' fans in 1975-76 at home to Corby Town, not even born most of them...

[barnetjohn]

One of the major causes of this ticketing situation is the fact that the replay is on the Tuesday rather than Wednesday next week. With the original tie not played until Monday this week the extra 24 hours would’ve been invaluable for posting out tickets or installing a priority sales period. Poor scheduling by The FA.

The Club should’ve been more than able to set up a phone reservation service for members for a set period whereby they could reserve and pick up at a more convenient time rather than letting them run the risk of missing out altogether.

It’s a shame that our greatest FA Cup run is overshadowed by a predictable admin fiasco!

Not an excuse. Brentford managed to implement a priority ticketing system in the same time frame. Barnet could easily have done the same.

https://www.brentfordfc.com/news/2019/j ... h-details/

[Bee_Forever]

I have missed two games all season. Am a member. Was due to be at Halifax until the clowns cancelled it got done over by direct debit.

Even if Tony considered me a customer I would hope my level of custom would merit consideration as a member for priority ticketing.

But no. Following a frantic exchange of messages I had to drop everything at work jump on a bus and sort out tickets.

Clearly the below is nothing but an excuse for the club to take me for granted.

Shameful.

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