The Poolie Bunker

Just got my tickets for Wycombe

I wish Pools would talk to Wycombe about their ticketing arrangements which are first class. Home fans can buy tickets on line once they open an account. Away fans and casuals can phone in. When I called I got the "all our operators are busy you are in a queue" and after about ten seconds got through to an operator. Better than the thirty odd phone calls you have to make to Pools to talk to anyone in the ticket office. Well done Wycombe. Come on Pools it can't be too difficult to sort out.

See all this talk of ticketing arrangements raises a question.

Where was everyone up to the end of January?? We consistently failed to get 5000 people through the gates. Up to the end of 2006, we consistently failed to get 4000 people through the gates. Take the season ticket holders out of that and the club are servicing 1800-2800 people. Less those who choose to pay on the gates. Last game I was at (Wycombe) there was 3711 there, less season tickets that's about 1500 people.

Now everyone wants a ticket it seems we expect them to have banks of people just waiting on the phone call, whereas for a lot of the season, they'd be sitting looking at each other.

Not really that fair is it??

But buying the tickets online seems to be a great idea.
If you can book a holiday over the Internet surely they can make it possible to buy tickets to a football match.

I don't want banks of people - but I do want them to answer the phone and not get cut me off after 20 seconds every time I ring in. I'm an exile and I am not going to travel 520 miles for a home match without knowing I have a ticket when they tell us that tickets are selling out. Its not rocket science to have a ticketing system and its an area where the club are not up to the required standard.

Don't forget the revenue for ticket sales above that from season ticket holders is all marginal income. How much revenue do they lose from not letting people buy tickets in a 21st century way? All season ticket holders probably started as casuals. Bunkerites complain about the people of Hartlepool going around in Manure or Mags shirts and then make it difficult for them to get tickets! It aint good business

The whole ticketing situation at Pools is a complete farce, this fucking database malarky is a joke too.

You could buy tickets on the turnstile yesterday so why not just open 4 or 5 turnstiles on the CK side at 11am and let people buy tickets from there then just walk straight back out? I know of people having to queue for over an hour to get tickets.

Are the club really as stupid as they appear? Who is the 'brains' behind all this?

But it's never sold out is it?? Even Darlo at home dropped 120 short of a sell out. The games that are advertised as busy still drop a thousand short of a sell out.

Unless there's some big local heroes playing, like the Mags or Mackems, it'll never sell out. I'd say you can travel with confidence.

I'll bet our house Bristol Rovers doesn't sell out either. 6300 tops.

Thats the point. One of the reasons we don't sell out is because punters can't get tickets. Its all lost revenue.

Well there's the rub Splod, I'd say we haven't got a potential sellout simply because enough people don't turn up, not because they don't think they'll get in, but because they use it as an excuse. There's almost always tickets available on the turnstiles. Sometimes one turnstile runs out 'cos the distributions awry but a short walk gets you in.

But I agree they should have someone answering the phone, that's just good business manners. I'm told if you dial for reception you get through, if you dial for the ticket office you don't. That does want putting right.

Splod, do Wycombe post the tickets out or can you pick em up at the ground on Saturday?

I've been well narked by the Pools ticket office phone message on many occasions meself, "we are currently busy serving customers in the shop". What's that supposed to mean? If you don't live in Hartlepool or thereabouts we don't value your custom? We haven't got the wit to allocate one member of staff (at least) to dealing with telephone purchases? Or what? Either way it's an outstandingly amateurish approach to keeping (all of) your paying customers happy. And it would be so, so simple to put right.

I hope someone has told the 2 teams from Bristol that they are swapping opposition and leagues for the last game of the season then

Don't know if you can pick them up. They're posting mine out to me - and no charge for post or using a card

Bristol Rovers could be a cracking atmosphere if they're still in with a chance of a play off spot. They took 40,000 to Cardiff for the paint pot cup so the Vic could sell out

Splod wrote:


They charged me £1.50 (I'm sure she said per ticket) when I booked mine on a Credit Card. Maybe I should have used a Debit