Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list 07:31 - Aug 5 with 3734 views | chrismakin | * stop using third parties for tickets and bring everything back in house Summer has been awful for ticket problems. And even more now. All for the wonderful extra charge of £1.50 per ticket. Bring it all back Inhouse imo. * I will add as 1 poster got a tad sensitive about it. Well aware ITFC doesn't have it's own I.T Dept. All im saying is, what ever they did previously... do that, what ever they've changed to, don't do it. [Post edited 5 Aug 2021 8:34]
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Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 07:35 - Aug 5 with 2447 views | SitfcB | We only got them on board last year |  |
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Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 07:37 - Aug 5 with 2441 views | chrismakin |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 07:35 - Aug 5 by SitfcB | We only got them on board last year |
What a sht show. Hopefully not a long contract lol. |  |
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Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:04 - Aug 5 with 2377 views | BlueRaider | Absolutely ! And in the meantime, while we have masks and screens in planet blue, turn off the music in there so you can hear each other ! |  |
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Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:13 - Aug 5 with 2360 views | DanTheMan | There's good rule of thumb in software, if it's not in your domain, don't try and rebuild it in house. I very much doubt the club has the resources to build and maintain even a simple ticketing system. I guess they could potentially get contractors or a bespoke solution but I imagine that would still cost way more than these other providers. Even some of the big boys haven't bothered. e.g. Man City also appear to be using Seat Geek. Whilst SeatGeek for sure don't seem to be a brilliant provider for us right now, I cannot imagine they're going to be deciding to move it in house. The only thing realistically would be to look at different providers. |  |
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Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:20 - Aug 5 with 2340 views | tivo | Luckily your opinion means f all. From an infrastructure side it has never be 'in-house' - ITFC does not own any ticketing systems, no C2B payment systems and nor does it have any servers to host. Even when it seemed 'in-house' to you numerous 3rd party systems were being used. Scribnia, who we're in partnership with now simplifies the process for the S&M team as it means only one system will need to be used who provides the Front End to the customer, the back end to the team, the charging and the hosting, this in turn means we need less manning for the same work and ticket management as a whole will be cheaper and streamlined. Using one system also means we can do away with multiple interfaces running between systems which again, are costly, and prone to issues. Also, the £1.50 is not an extra charge, it was built into the previous pricing and the ticket prices were reduced slightly in order to facilitate them now being an add on - for sensitive people such as yourself. [Post edited 5 Aug 2021 8:22]
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Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:27 - Aug 5 with 2288 views | gtsb1966 |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:20 - Aug 5 by tivo | Luckily your opinion means f all. From an infrastructure side it has never be 'in-house' - ITFC does not own any ticketing systems, no C2B payment systems and nor does it have any servers to host. Even when it seemed 'in-house' to you numerous 3rd party systems were being used. Scribnia, who we're in partnership with now simplifies the process for the S&M team as it means only one system will need to be used who provides the Front End to the customer, the back end to the team, the charging and the hosting, this in turn means we need less manning for the same work and ticket management as a whole will be cheaper and streamlined. Using one system also means we can do away with multiple interfaces running between systems which again, are costly, and prone to issues. Also, the £1.50 is not an extra charge, it was built into the previous pricing and the ticket prices were reduced slightly in order to facilitate them now being an add on - for sensitive people such as yourself. [Post edited 5 Aug 2021 8:22]
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This is true. I bought five tickets priced at £23. When the bill was broken down the tickets were £107.50 and I paid £7.50 in charges. Exactly £115 as expected. |  | |  |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:28 - Aug 5 with 2287 views | dirtyboy | You could probably improve the quality of your own milk in the morning by bringing it ‘in house’ but consider the implications. |  | |  |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:28 - Aug 5 with 2288 views | Dennyx4 | I think £1.50 per ticket is extremely high. As a season ticket holder, I do not have to worry too much, however if you then look at our next cup game for an adult ticket at £10 - it is 15% extra and for a child's ticket @£5 it is an extra 30%. I could understand a fee per transaction, but per ticket is just a money making exercise. |  | |  | Login to get fewer ads
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:30 - Aug 5 with 2277 views | chrismakin |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:20 - Aug 5 by tivo | Luckily your opinion means f all. From an infrastructure side it has never be 'in-house' - ITFC does not own any ticketing systems, no C2B payment systems and nor does it have any servers to host. Even when it seemed 'in-house' to you numerous 3rd party systems were being used. Scribnia, who we're in partnership with now simplifies the process for the S&M team as it means only one system will need to be used who provides the Front End to the customer, the back end to the team, the charging and the hosting, this in turn means we need less manning for the same work and ticket management as a whole will be cheaper and streamlined. Using one system also means we can do away with multiple interfaces running between systems which again, are costly, and prone to issues. Also, the £1.50 is not an extra charge, it was built into the previous pricing and the ticket prices were reduced slightly in order to facilitate them now being an add on - for sensitive people such as yourself. [Post edited 5 Aug 2021 8:22]
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Of course my opinion means fk all But the opinion of the many who are daily having issues certainly does mean something, and there are plenty who have wasted many hours trying to sort things with the club with no success. How is it I knew 3 weeks ago that there was going to be some form of ticketing issue with season tickets etc, yet not 1 club announcement about it to let the fans know, there are still many who haven't received their ST;s with the game days way and can't get through to the ticket office because of other continuous problems. And whilst im well aware that we didn't have an I,T department at town looking after our systems.. it's been much better run, so what ever the club did indeed change, needs looking into. Agenda 8940474 So yes, my opinion means fk all. But, im 1 customer of many who's opinions should mean something... |  |
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Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:30 - Aug 5 with 2277 views | Durovigutum |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:13 - Aug 5 by DanTheMan | There's good rule of thumb in software, if it's not in your domain, don't try and rebuild it in house. I very much doubt the club has the resources to build and maintain even a simple ticketing system. I guess they could potentially get contractors or a bespoke solution but I imagine that would still cost way more than these other providers. Even some of the big boys haven't bothered. e.g. Man City also appear to be using Seat Geek. Whilst SeatGeek for sure don't seem to be a brilliant provider for us right now, I cannot imagine they're going to be deciding to move it in house. The only thing realistically would be to look at different providers. |
This. Spend £500k on developing a ticketing system software solution then paying to host and maintain it, or hire one that is paid for by your £1.50 admin fee and using the money saved to invest in new players or improving the ground? Everything has an opportunity cost, we have better opportunities. |  | |  |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:32 - Aug 5 with 2264 views | WeWereZombies |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:20 - Aug 5 by tivo | Luckily your opinion means f all. From an infrastructure side it has never be 'in-house' - ITFC does not own any ticketing systems, no C2B payment systems and nor does it have any servers to host. Even when it seemed 'in-house' to you numerous 3rd party systems were being used. Scribnia, who we're in partnership with now simplifies the process for the S&M team as it means only one system will need to be used who provides the Front End to the customer, the back end to the team, the charging and the hosting, this in turn means we need less manning for the same work and ticket management as a whole will be cheaper and streamlined. Using one system also means we can do away with multiple interfaces running between systems which again, are costly, and prone to issues. Also, the £1.50 is not an extra charge, it was built into the previous pricing and the ticket prices were reduced slightly in order to facilitate them now being an add on - for sensitive people such as yourself. [Post edited 5 Aug 2021 8:22]
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Or you could take the view that you already have the staff so you give them the equipment, i.e. Town commission what ticketing machinery is 'in-house' and thus have the agency to control their own 'product'. Make or buy decisions always have degrees along the means of production scale, and the closer you bring that means of production to the source the greater the chances are of guaranteeing quality (if you have a quality product...). If you don't believe me consider the housing market as what can go wrong if you surrender too much agency. |  |
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Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:42 - Aug 5 with 2222 views | Guthrum |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:32 - Aug 5 by WeWereZombies | Or you could take the view that you already have the staff so you give them the equipment, i.e. Town commission what ticketing machinery is 'in-house' and thus have the agency to control their own 'product'. Make or buy decisions always have degrees along the means of production scale, and the closer you bring that means of production to the source the greater the chances are of guaranteeing quality (if you have a quality product...). If you don't believe me consider the housing market as what can go wrong if you surrender too much agency. |
Altho do ITFC have the right technical staff to build, run and maintain a system of that complexity? If not, they won't be cheap to hire. The R&D cost (and timescale) of building a system from scratch will be very expensive, also - with no guarantee the specification will be comprehensive (and, at the same time, lean) enough if not written by industry experts. At some point, it becomes more efficient and cost-effective to use an off-the-shelf system, or all-in service, than to spend the time and money on a bespoke setup which may not end up working any better, but will have less backup and support when something goes wrong. |  |
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Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:44 - Aug 5 with 2214 views | itfcjoe |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:20 - Aug 5 by tivo | Luckily your opinion means f all. From an infrastructure side it has never be 'in-house' - ITFC does not own any ticketing systems, no C2B payment systems and nor does it have any servers to host. Even when it seemed 'in-house' to you numerous 3rd party systems were being used. Scribnia, who we're in partnership with now simplifies the process for the S&M team as it means only one system will need to be used who provides the Front End to the customer, the back end to the team, the charging and the hosting, this in turn means we need less manning for the same work and ticket management as a whole will be cheaper and streamlined. Using one system also means we can do away with multiple interfaces running between systems which again, are costly, and prone to issues. Also, the £1.50 is not an extra charge, it was built into the previous pricing and the ticket prices were reduced slightly in order to facilitate them now being an add on - for sensitive people such as yourself. [Post edited 5 Aug 2021 8:22]
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Whilst I don't disagree with the bulk of the post, the last para is a bit off. It hasn't been communicated ticket prices have been reduced (if they even have) and the admin fee is high - especially when you consider it is the same price when bought in the shops. A mate took his 3 kids to a pre season game and what should have been £25 of tickets ended up at £31, thats a pretty high admin charge. I'm sure there are 'reasons' but rolling them up in the ticket price would be more sensible |  |
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Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:44 - Aug 5 with 2209 views | homer_123 | Completely disagree. Waste of time, resources and money to bring in-house. Town don't have the expertise, knowledge or experience of delivering such a system. I'd rather they continue to balance the investment they are making in the players, coaching staff, ground et al which they have been doing. |  |
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Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:47 - Aug 5 with 2186 views | WeWereZombies |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:42 - Aug 5 by Guthrum | Altho do ITFC have the right technical staff to build, run and maintain a system of that complexity? If not, they won't be cheap to hire. The R&D cost (and timescale) of building a system from scratch will be very expensive, also - with no guarantee the specification will be comprehensive (and, at the same time, lean) enough if not written by industry experts. At some point, it becomes more efficient and cost-effective to use an off-the-shelf system, or all-in service, than to spend the time and money on a bespoke setup which may not end up working any better, but will have less backup and support when something goes wrong. |
Conversely, if you find that either the machinery or the software you have commissioned is not up to the job then you can junk it (at a cost but in the meantime you have leeway to pursue suppliers for recompense) rather than being stuck in some terrible long term contract with the grinding pressure on relationships that various bit of tinkering and short term fixes bring about over the years. |  |
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Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:51 - Aug 5 with 2158 views | gtsb1966 |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:44 - Aug 5 by itfcjoe | Whilst I don't disagree with the bulk of the post, the last para is a bit off. It hasn't been communicated ticket prices have been reduced (if they even have) and the admin fee is high - especially when you consider it is the same price when bought in the shops. A mate took his 3 kids to a pre season game and what should have been £25 of tickets ended up at £31, thats a pretty high admin charge. I'm sure there are 'reasons' but rolling them up in the ticket price would be more sensible |
As I've said above the admin charge is incorporated in the ticket price. My ticket was advertised at £23. I paid the £23 and the breakdown on my bill said £21.50 for the ticket and £1.50 admin. I can't see a problem with it. |  | |  |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:52 - Aug 5 with 2151 views | Pinewoodblue | While it is reasonable to outsource it is not reasonable for the club to call the outsourcer a third party and say the problem is outside of their control. It is the clubs problem and they need to sort it. |  |
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Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:55 - Aug 5 with 2111 views | Guthrum |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:47 - Aug 5 by WeWereZombies | Conversely, if you find that either the machinery or the software you have commissioned is not up to the job then you can junk it (at a cost but in the meantime you have leeway to pursue suppliers for recompense) rather than being stuck in some terrible long term contract with the grinding pressure on relationships that various bit of tinkering and short term fixes bring about over the years. |
Except that junking the in-house system, or even a major breakdown, would leave the club with no means of selling tickets (including to visiting away supporters) until it's sorted, whereas with an external service provider, that responsibility for continued operations falls upon them. Plus their system will be larger, more robust and stands a better chance of being more secure. The club would equally be forced into a long-term process of patching and tinkering with their own setup. Not even the option of claiming compensation or citing failure in order to change suppliers. |  |
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Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:58 - Aug 5 with 2097 views | itfcjoe |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:51 - Aug 5 by gtsb1966 | As I've said above the admin charge is incorporated in the ticket price. My ticket was advertised at £23. I paid the £23 and the breakdown on my bill said £21.50 for the ticket and £1.50 admin. I can't see a problem with it. |
For the pre season friendly the tickets were £10 and £5, but when you bought them they were £11.50 and £6.50, it's the same for the Newport game If they were rolled up like you suggest there wouldn't be a problem - but that isn't the case |  |
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Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 09:01 - Aug 5 with 2020 views | gtsb1966 |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:58 - Aug 5 by itfcjoe | For the pre season friendly the tickets were £10 and £5, but when you bought them they were £11.50 and £6.50, it's the same for the Newport game If they were rolled up like you suggest there wouldn't be a problem - but that isn't the case |
My apologies. I didn't realise that. They definitely are for league games. |  | |  |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 09:04 - Aug 5 with 1993 views | JackSted | I work in IT. @Phil put my name forward I'll sort this mess out |  |
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Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 09:09 - Aug 5 with 1957 views | Pinewoodblue |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:58 - Aug 5 by itfcjoe | For the pre season friendly the tickets were £10 and £5, but when you bought them they were £11.50 and £6.50, it's the same for the Newport game If they were rolled up like you suggest there wouldn't be a problem - but that isn't the case |
Should be a transaction fee, if you buy four tickets then only one transaction fee should be charged. |  |
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Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 09:27 - Aug 5 with 1890 views | DanTheMan |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 08:52 - Aug 5 by Pinewoodblue | While it is reasonable to outsource it is not reasonable for the club to call the outsourcer a third party and say the problem is outside of their control. It is the clubs problem and they need to sort it. |
Realistically though all they can do is chase them, which I assume they will be doing every time these kinds of issues come up. On a more general note, for the admin fee, I'm on the fence. These ticketing systems are not simple to create and certainly not to maintain. Server costs can be pretty enormous to deal with the traffic spiking issues, as you just cannot scale quickly. Whether companies (any ticketing company really) call it an Admin fee, or transaction fee, or whatever, the simple thing is that is how they make their money, and these systems cost a lot to maintain and improve. [Post edited 5 Aug 2021 9:27]
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Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 09:52 - Aug 5 with 1792 views | Cheltenham_Blue |
Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 09:09 - Aug 5 by Pinewoodblue | Should be a transaction fee, if you buy four tickets then only one transaction fee should be charged. |
Don't tell TWTD. Tell the club. They seem to be listening to us these days. |  |
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Agenda item 8940474 for the ITFC what needs doing list on 10:20 - Aug 5 with 1726 views | Swansea_Blue | Oh for the good old days of Clegg, it would have been a simple to do list... 1. Paint turnstiles 59-62 and 1-9 2. Paint turnstiles 10-25 3. Paint turnstiles 26-41 4. Paint turnstiles 42-58 5. Fail to sign overly-optimistic main target Job done. |  |
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