avid_1977 Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Without fighting your corner General, as I know your more than capable. I'm completely embarrassed and shocked at some of the comments on here re final tickets. [some text deleted by mods as it was nothing to do with the General] Keep up the good work Gen UTV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingphil Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Like most things in life today - You can please some folk, but not all. General, I'm just thankful that we are able to encounter these issues by reaching the final in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenjos Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Hi General, any news on you coming to wembley? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bakerbob Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 General I feel you have over reacted to the criticism of the ticket system and the ticket staff. I am sure you would agree the sale of tickets over the internet has not gone well. This I am sure this is not due to the ability and hardwork of the staff, but due to several factors. Having spent nearly 2 days on the internet trying to purchase tickets (which I did in the end) I am sure the hardware/software is not robust enough to cope. In the statement on the OS it said that the site would be open 24 hours a day from 9.00 am Wednesday and no mention that you should only log on at a specific day depending on your ST seat position. I afraid someone was a bit naive if they thought there would not be a rush to get their tickets and I am guessing that the ticketing software was not able to filter the ST holders seat position if specific dates had been given for purchasing. I believe from my own contact with the ticket staff and Nicky Keye they are very professional but have been let down by the system or subcontracted systems which should now be under review before the FA Cup Final. The purchasing software saying you are in a queue and then resetting to zero after several hours or dumping you off the system during the purchasing process is very poor and highly frustrating which I am sure is the reason so many of the comments on this and other sites. People are willing to wait in a queue (we are British) but the information fed to them must be correct and if the dumping of people off is due to numbers going through the purchasing package then reduce the numbers being processed. The above is not a complaint but my thoughts after waisting many hours in front of the computer and now cooling down, I know the problems of managing computer systems and it is the quickest way to go grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulanddonya Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Gen Can I ask you a question to ask the Ticket office (as it is just engaged constantly). I have my tickets so it is more for others, as it is totally confusing. The official site says you can no longer purchase cat.2 tickets online. Therefore a) Have they totally sold out If there are some on sale in your "window" , how many are on sale. As if it is, say , 2000 , then people haven't got an issue. However, if it's 200 - then people will have to make arrangements to queue up etc., as if you desperately want Cat 2 tickets, you are going to have to get there very early. c) When will people know what seat they have been allocated ?. Will this be done via email, or is it a case of waiting until you get your ticket. d) One away from the tickets. When will we confirm what kit we are wearing, as this will influence what kit people buy. Cheers I know most of them are Ticket questions, but everyone is really confused. Gen, I hope the "joke" comment wasn't made at me as, you will see above, I am not even having a dig, just asking some Frequently Asked Questions from the ticketing thread. If you could be kind enough to give this info it would help loads of people out. I would try myself but it is (understandably) constantly engaged. Cheers PS - I used to "love" camping out for the tickets as it goes, was a brillaint atmosphere in the queue, singing, jokes, people going up and down the queue trying to get the "stamp" they were missing, people bringing you breakfast in the morning. I know things have moved on and we don't need to do it anymore, but it has good nostaglic memories ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villarocker Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 Hi General, Can I just say that it is GREAT to see that Freddie Bouma is back in full training and I am sure that I am not the only person who cannot wait to see Freddie back on the pitch where he belongs, putting opposing wingers into the advertising boards, where they belong! Please tell him that he won't be the only emotional person in the stadium when he runs out to take his place in the team again! Up The Villa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-krulak Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 General Krulak here: 1. We are going to the finals of the Carling Cup aren't we??? Just wanted to make sure. 2. All ST-holders who want a ticket will get a ticket...isn't that right? 3. eticketing is screwed up. For some it is a nightmare, for others it just takes a matter of a couple of minutes to get 4 tickets. When "demand" is greater than the "pipes" to handle it, there will always be a problem. We DO understand that there have been problems with the system...We DO understand that. We will be looking hard at what went right and what went wrong and trying to maximize the former and limit the latter. We will be looking at lessons learned. 4. Disabled and ambulant supporters: My goodness, there is no such thing as a third rate Villa Fan. I don't even know how to respond to a comment like that so I won't. What I will say is that I hear you all on the need to look at eticketing for these loyal fans. I promise I will take that one on personally. We need to figure a way to sort this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam_k_17 Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 general, thanks very much for your reply, and thanks for looking into the eticketing for disabled fans, as i said before this isnt personal or aimed at you as we all appreciate the job your doing, just a general gripe at the ticket system and a way we believe can take pressure off sheila and also make ticketing better for disabled/ambulant fans. UTV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Lions_Roar Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 General Krulak here: 3. eticketing is screwed up. For some it is a nightmare, for others it just takes a matter of a couple of minutes to get 4 tickets. When "demand" is greater than the "pipes" to handle it, there will always be a problem. We DO understand that there have been problems with the system...We DO understand that. We will be looking hard at what went right and what went wrong and trying to maximize the former and limit the latter. We will be looking at lessons learned. We'll get another try at the fa cup final! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ricardomeister Posted January 29, 2010 Share Posted January 29, 2010 General, thanks again for your response. The reason I said that the impression I have that ambulant disabled are classed as third rate is simply by going on the evidence in this instance, not because I am trying to be a trouble-maker. It is a fact that able bodied fans have all had the chance to secure seats already. It is a fact that wheelchair users have been sorted at the first possible opportunity. It is a fact that when I spoke to Sheila on Wednesday that she did not know what was happening with ambulant disabled fans and now most of us, who are in C1, have to wait until Wednesday next week at the very earliest before we can try and get through on a very busy ticket office phone line as many of us cannot physically queue up at the ticket office. Based on these facts is my current impression really that unreasonable? Common sense tells me that ambulant disabled fans are only physically able to reach a few seats in the stadium so is it really unreasonable for me to ask that we are sorted as soon as possible rather than left now to fret about whether we will able to get to one of these few seats? As I said before if England Fans can recognise our needs then why, seemingly, can Aston Villa not do the same? Maybe the correct seats have been reserved for us but, if so, why did the Disability Liaison Officer not know this? Again, common sense tells me that if X number of places were reserved for wheelchair users then surely Y number would have been reserved for ambulant fans at the same time. As I said before I do not blame Sheila at all as she is always helpful, though never easy to contact, but I genuinely believe that the evidence shows that at best the communication by Villa has been poor and at worst it shows that our group has been an afterthought. Even when I was told that a row of seats had been reserved for us the row quoted was row 30, which must be the wheelchair row, which does not seem right as England use the row behind. I assume that as you have not responded to my constructive proposals for having a direct phone line for the Disability Liaison Officer and for sorting all disabled fans on the first day of ticket allocation, as England manage to do very successfully, that they are not worthy of Aston Villa's consideration. I find this very disappointing, especially as they are views shared by many other ambulant fans and surely an organisation that happily pays players tens of thousands of pounds a week in wages can afford one extra phone line. All we are trying to do is make our experience less stressful and tiring than it currently is. As many ambulant supporters have progressive medical conditions this may be their last chance to go to Wembley to watch Villa. It is a shame that Villa can do a pretty good job with us at Villa Park, albeit that it is a legislative requirement under the DDA 1995, but seemingly cannot do the same for a big game at Wembley. As I have said I am not trying to cause trouble but merely highlighting where there have been problems and trying to offer constructive solutions to these problems so that everything works in a better, and fairer, way in the future. E-ticketing for ambulant fans is clearly a good idea but, again, it will only work if a set number of accessible seats are reserved for our group and then we would have to be able to select these specific seats online. Thank you for your attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villarocker Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 Hi General, I am sure that the fans who have said that Villa are a "joke" don't actually mean that the club is a joke. It's just frustration aimed at one thing - buying their wembley ticket! I know that it's ticketmaster that the tickets are being sold through but it's hard to remember it at that frantic moment when you have logged onto the villa website, followed the directions to the online ticket site and you find yourself staring at a 10 inch long blue bar, that has to be filled with claret, and after 30 minutes you have moved one inch! You said that 5,000 people logged into the site in half hour. I guess most of those were eager to part with at least the £70 for their ticket, as people want the best view possible, a view that sits them with the main body of Villa fans! Lots of people were buying for others so you could probably say that each of those 5k were purchasing 5 tickets or more on average. If that was the case General, it means that around £1,750,000 was trying to be spent by the Villa faithful in that half hour, which shows just how much we love our club! Please remember that most of these folks will have purchased tickets from ticketmaster before for concerts or alike and will not have experienced that kind of wait. Seeing Villa at Wembley is far more important than seeing Girls Aloud, Kasabian or whoever General, so that's why we were all so frustrated. The word you mentioned was PATIENCE, well these fans have been waiting for 10 years for this and have stood by their club throughout that time. To me, that shows a lot of patience. Hopefully you will also be patient with us and can appreciate that it's over-excitement on our part. We love the Villa and this is what supporting them is all about. Going to Wembley is an unbelievable occasion with the Villa and having experienced it 3 times before, you just can't get enough of it General. I just hope you can be there to share it with us too! One other thing General. If Martin needs help with inspiring the players for the final, ask him to play them the DVD from the 1994 final when we beat United 3-1. The United team that day was full of stars of their past and I am sure the current crop of Villa players will all know just how good that team was! If our team of that day could win, then surely the team of today can win also! Oh, and please tell Martin we all proud of the way he handled the Wenger situation. He was right to say what he did and it was nice to see a manger stand up for our club and players like that. The man's sense of humour is second to none in my opinion! By the way, Freddie's back - YES!!! Come on you Villa boys!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam_k_17 Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 general.. i have been searching for muse tickets at wembley online and found this website seetickets, here is a link and i think a good idea if villa could do the same online incorporating ambulant/disabled fans http://www.seetickets.com/see/price.asp?code=439588 cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avillafan.com Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 General This is a bit of a moan about wembley tickets. I understand the way the club is running things, with season ticket holders get priority etc etc. However, i found out today that all staff members will recieve free ticket each for this game. All they have to of done is worked 14 out of 17 games this season. Firstly, why are staff getting free tickets when i know that theres many who support other clubs, including Birmingham City. Secondly, why should they get free tickets when season ticket holders who spend there hard earnt cash paying for the staff wages to get to games, only be able to have 1? I might aswell get a a job on a match day - watch the game like many of the staff do and get a free ticket. I will then save £450 i payed for my season ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sellyoakvilla Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 Just to add on to the post above...even the food kiosk staff get free tickets if they have worked 14 of the 17 games. My mate is a Birmingham fan and she has a free Wembley ticket just for doing her job opening a few bottles of beer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMB Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 I wasn't aware of the above, and although I have booked my ticket for Wembley this concerns me. With so many loyal fans who spent hard earned money supporting this club, I see no reason why even the food kiosk staff are getting a free ticket to Wembley. Understood that some small perks made available for these staff but I think this is slightly OTT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avillafan.com Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 I could understand if they gave some staff loyalty bonus's if they worked there over a few years but its a disgrace. I know a lady who has worked at Villa Park for 21 years, and shes been ill this season so has only done 13 games - and she miss's out on this scheme. I would like to know whos paying for these tickets? We havent spent anymoney in the transfer market - so is this where the moneys going? Or are Villa making such a profit of us that it covers these free tickets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b6bloke Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 General This is a bit of a moan about wembley tickets. I understand the way the club is running things, with season ticket holders get priority etc etc. However, i found out today that all staff members will recieve free ticket each for this game. All they have to of done is worked 14 out of 17 games this season. Firstly, why are staff getting free tickets when i know that theres many who support other clubs, including Birmingham City. Secondly, why should they get free tickets when season ticket holders who spend there hard earnt cash paying for the staff wages to get to games, only be able to have 1? I might aswell get a a job on a match day - watch the game like many of the staff do and get a free ticket. I will then save £450 i payed for my season ticket. General i think the staff deserve the tickets as they have done a great job over the last few seasons. A big thanks to Nicky and her team as i know she reads this. As for the kiosk staff i'm sure its only full time staff and they are all part of the Villa family. I think peoples concerns takes away a lot of the effort that these guys have put in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gingerlad Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 General, a little bit of a side question in all these messages you get. Aside from the mighty Aston Villa, whats your favourite thing about England? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Secret_Squirrel Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 General i think the staff deserve the tickets as they have done a great job over the last few seasons. A big thanks to Nicky and her team as i know she reads this. As for the kiosk staff i'm sure its only full time staff and they are all part of the Villa family. I think peoples concerns takes away a lot of the effort that these guys have put in. This Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rc_villa1972 Posted January 30, 2010 Share Posted January 30, 2010 General, Not so much a question rather than observation. Some of the questions around tickets for Wembley are a little unsettling. I can understand the sentiment that in todays times we should be able to cope with things - but hey, in the clubs defence its not like we have had much practice at keeping up with 26,000 people trying to login to a website at the same in the "internet revolution". I finally got my ticket on Thursday after my friend was in the queue from around 9:15 on wednesday - it was frustrating, sometimes I thought I wouldn't get the ticket I wanted but hey, its life. As long as I got one - that was all that mattered. With regard to staff getting free tickets, they do a job and on the most part, they do the best they can with the resources they have. If one of the items written in their renumeration is a free Wembley ticket then I bet that most people thought it was written in there but never going to happen. :-) Its not like the £millions the bankers get (and I work in a Finance organisation). I am sure that you look after the staff as much as possible - if the story above is true about somebody being ill this year but has worked for years and years at the villa then that is a "special" case and hopefully she will get her ticket. The main point i want to make is that if anybody deserves a ticket, you and Randy do. Whatever it takes, make sure you are at Wembley, it is a special occasion and will be one big party regardless of the outcome - although a win would be fantastic. Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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