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Post by borobob on May 2, 2023 15:36:50 GMT
Seems to be quite a row on the Gulls website re the suggested entry prices for next season!
Depending where you stand/sit, admissions are £19, £20 or £21!! on advance purchased tickets. £2 more!! on each one on a matchday!!
Seems to be upsetting a few locals and deterring them from attending, and probably quite a few visitors as well??
Entry on top of travel costs, food and drinks etc, makes that an extremely expensive day for level 6!!
Even more so if you happen to book a weekender!
Madness!
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Admin
Administrator
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Post by Admin on May 2, 2023 22:04:49 GMT
We are way below where our admission prices ought to be.
The default thinking is, more expensive = less demand (and the corollary of course).
But, sometimes it doesn't work like that - set prices low and many will assume what's on offer isn't that good - so, while some are attracted, some stay away from what they judge what must be a poor quality product if it's that cheap (despite having never experienced it).
Far better to set the stall out early, charge what the level is worth and trumpet far and wide this is a major step forward (which it has been).
But that ship sailed last summer, so now we're in catch-up mode, which is far harder to do. Erm, same product as last season, but charging £££ extra next season? That's a far harder sell.
Pricing psychology 1-0-1.
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Admin
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Post by Admin on May 2, 2023 22:35:40 GMT
And four more things.
Firstly ...
Offering admission tickets online in advance is a great idea. But ... it might also be a good idea to offer a price incentive for advance purchases (I would suggest at least a £2 saving over the price at the turnstiles, with the advance purchase deadline set at midnight before the game). Some buy, but cannot attend? Hey ho.
Instead, we are in the position of charging more for advance purchases (by loading on a processing fee) than if fans simply rock up on the day. D'oh!
Secondly ...
The Club should become completely cashless. Older fans will remember how operating as a cash-only club worked. It wasn't good, and, with a little bit of investment, the opportunities for "leakages" can become history. (I'm not commenting in any way on the many fine people who work or volunteer at the Club on matchdays today, but, was that always the case in the past?)
Thirdly ...
Bang the matchday prices up to the level we're playing at, at least a £3 a match increase for adult turnstile admissions, while massively improving the season ticket offer. The early bird prices ought to be set at 16 games, increasing to 18 games for those who miss the deadline.
Fourthly ...
Take a look at "occasional" season tickets that will suit shift workers and those who have child-minding responsibilities every other weekend. A 10-match scratch card or whatever at £2.80 off the turnstile admission price?
Enough for now!
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Post by rob1966 on May 3, 2023 6:49:56 GMT
I'd like to see a season ticket offer with possibly staged payments rather than all in one go. Might make them a bit more affordable and sell a few more?
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Post by pugh1 on May 3, 2023 13:13:19 GMT
Don't like point 2.
I don't want a cashless society which this would be another step towards.
Use it or lose it and all that.
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Post by betweenthesticks on May 3, 2023 14:36:17 GMT
Like Pugh, I'm dead against the country going cash free. Let's not forget the unbridled joy of discovering a hidden tenner in your jacket pocket just when the landlord calls " Time"! 😀
I like the idea of the ten match scratch card. I suggested a similar idea last year in the form of a book of ten tickets but a scratch card or even just 10 spaces to get stamped on entry could work.
Never have understood the logic of charging advance tickets at a higher price than the gate...?
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Post by psimms50 on May 3, 2023 15:30:52 GMT
Agree, l also think a cashless society is not a good move!
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Post by borobob on May 3, 2023 15:55:57 GMT
Seeing how many problems people are having just parking a car with card only machines, you really do have to wonder!!
Saying that though, and from a 'real Luddite' , the cash machine at the 50/50 table is slowly starting to bear fruit, although it still fails on occasions!!
The cashless society, and technology in general, is passing by a whole generation of people, without anyone having a care in the world!!
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Post by boromike on May 4, 2023 8:05:17 GMT
I am so pleased others are rejecting the idea of a ‘cashless society’. On a personal note without cash being an option I would have missed a fair few matches this season. Saliently, cash is King.
More generally the list of reasons below against a cashless society (that I have plagiarised from elsewhere), should put everyone off the idea and open eyes as to what a cashless World will actually mean, and more importantly the negative consequences it will have for future generations.
A cashless society means no cash. Zero. It doesn’t mean mostly cashless and you can still use a ‘little bit of cash here & there’. Cashless means fully digital, fully traceable, fully controllable. I think those who support a cashless society can’t be fully aware of what they are asking for. A cashless society means:
* If you are struggling, you can’t do an odd job to get you through.
* No more cash slipped into the hands of a child from their grandparent when going on holidays.
* No more money in birthday cards.
* No more piggy banks for your child to collect pocket money & to learn about the value of money.
* No more cash for a rainy day fund or for that something special you have been putting money away for.
* No more side hustles because your wages barely cover the bills or put food on the table.
* No more charity collections.
* No more car boot sales.
* No more selling bits & pieces from your home that you no longer want/need on Facebook for a bit of extra cash.
* No more cash gifts from relatives or loved ones.
What a cashless society does guarantee:
* Banks have full control of every single penny you earn and how you spend it.
* Every transaction you make is recorded.
* All your movements & actions are traceable.
* Access to your money can be blocked at the click of a button when/if banks need ‘clarification’ from you which will take about 3 weeks, a thousand questions answered & five thousand passwords.
* You will have no choice but to declare & be taxed on every pound in your possession.
* The government will decide what you can & cannot purchase.
* If your transactions are deemed in any way questionable, by those who create the questions, your money will be frozen, ‘for your own good’.
I could write lists for 5 days & still not finish explaining how utterly awful a cashless society would be, for everyone. Even for the goody two shoes who wouldn’t dream of not declaring a few quid.
Forget about cash being dirty. Stop being so easily led. Cash has been around for a very long time & it gives you control over how you trade with the world. It gives you independence.
If you are a customer, pay with cash. If you are a shop owner, remove those ridiculous signs that ask people to pay by card. Cash is legal tender, it is our right to pay with cash. Banks and shops are making it increasingly difficult to use cash.
Please open your eyes. Pay with cash & please say no to a cashless society while you still have the choice.
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Admin
Administrator
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Post by Admin on May 4, 2023 9:18:26 GMT
Perhaps a point is being missed. My thought is that the Club's matchday operation would benefit from going cashless (as several clubs in our division have already done).
My reasoning is pragmatic - handling cash is expensive (counting it, storing it, paying it in at the bank and arranging change costs resource, time and money) and inherently carries more risk for various reasons.
For the record, I'm NOT advocating for a cashless society in general.
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Post by borobob on May 4, 2023 9:47:19 GMT
For all the reasons listed by Mike, I am in total agreement re a fully cashless society. I fail to see how it can work!
Some form of exchange/bartering system has evoked over thousands of years, through gold and precious stones, and coins and notes are the latest edition of that system.
A fully automated electronic system will, eventually replace them I'm sure, but it will take a couple of generations to come to fruition, and by then something else, magical and wonderful, will surely replace that! That's for the future of our grandchildren to sort out!
Until then we muddle through as best we can, or at least for a few more years when the majority of us won't have to worry about it.
It IS the 65+ age group that seem to be less savvy, tech wise, that it affects most, so the answer is bring a teenager along with you, if you can to work the magic buttons, and the faff of electronics that baffle us most!!
Successive governments and businesses seem to ignore the fact that the grey generation is the one with the most collective wealth, and they are being ignored in favour of 'progress'!!
!Similarly, supermarkets are shrinking the number of operated checkouts in favour of self scanning systems, which I refuse to use!!
Apologies to those of the age group that are quite happy with tech, by the way
I also understand Nigel's point of electronic entry to games, and the efficiency it brings to the operation.
I cited another Club in a recent post, and their cashless entry system. It did seem a bit slower, but on the flip side, I notice their attendances have increased considerably since the introduction of it. Coincidence? or maybe it has eliminated 'accountancy' errors in the counting.
I refute in that, by the way, casting any slight on any well meaning, volunteer, turnstile operators, past or present at any Club.
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Post by boromike on May 4, 2023 10:59:32 GMT
Perhaps a point is being missed. My thought is that the Club's matchday operation would benefit from going cashless (as several clubs in our division have already done). My reasoning is pragmatic - handling cash is expensive (counting it, storing it, paying it in at the bank and arranging change costs resource, time and money) and inherently carries more risk for various reasons. For the record, I'm NOT advocating for a cashless society in general. I genuinely don’t see how it would benefit the club. Excluding those that rely on cash would surely be a negative for attendances? Doesn’t the club have to pay a transaction fee on every card transaction? If that is the case I assume the club would prefer cash payments. The solitary benefit I can see for the club is that it would remove the opportunity for theft, which I appreciate may have been a problem in the past but I do not believe for a second is now. Even if it was an issue though, surely protocols could be put in place to ensure anyone ripping off the club would be caught. My view is that we shouldn’t be encouraging the removal of the option to pay with cash anywhere! Doing so is playing right in to the hands of government and big corporations. Essentially, we shouldn’t be asking for institutions to go cashless but instead we should be resisting it to a man.
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Post by boromike on May 4, 2023 11:02:44 GMT
For all the reasons listed by Mike, I am in total agreement re a fully cashless society. I fail to see how it can work! Some form of exchange/bartering system has evoked over thousands of years, through gold and precious stones, and coins and notes are the latest edition of that system. A fully automated electronic system will, eventually replace them I'm sure, but it will take a couple of generations to come to fruition, and by then something else, magical and wonderful, will surely replace that! That's for the future of our grandchildren to sort out! Until then we muddle through as best we can, or at least for a few more years when the majority of us won't have to worry about it. It IS the 65+ age group that seem to be less savvy, tech wise, that it affects most, so the answer is bring a teenager along with you, if you can to work the magic buttons, and the faff of electronics that baffle us most!! Successive governments and businesses seem to ignore the fact that the grey generation is the one with the most collective wealth, and they are being ignored in favour of 'progress'!! !Similarly, supermarkets are shrinking the number of operated checkouts in favour of self scanning systems, which I refuse to use!! Apologies to those of the age group that are quite happy with tech, by the way I also understand Nigel's point of electronic entry to games, and the efficiency it brings to the operation. I cited another Club in a recent post, and their cashless entry system. It did seem a bit slower, but on the flip side, I notice their attendances have increased considerably since the introduction of it. Coincidence? or maybe it has eliminated 'accountancy' errors in the counting. I refute in that, by the way, casting any slight on any well meaning, volunteer, turnstile operators, past or present at any Club.
I wouldn’t be so sure it will take a couple of generations. The predictions are that there is going to be a big push for it in the next 2 years and the absolute deadline is 2030.
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Post by pugh1 on May 4, 2023 11:12:33 GMT
I won't use self scan in supermarkets either I will queue to be served by a real person If there isn't one available I will leave the basket and walk out
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Admin
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Post by Admin on May 4, 2023 11:25:47 GMT
I genuinely don’t see how it would benefit the club. Excluding those that rely on cash would surely be a negative for attendances? Doesn’t the club have to pay a transaction fee on every card transaction? If that is the case I assume the club would prefer cash payments. Two things. Both St Albans and Hampton & Richmond have gone cashless and their attendances have not been negatively impacted. The reverse if anything. Yes, electronic transactions carry a fee, however many businesses have worked out this overhead is less onerous than the cost and risks of counting, storing and paying in cash and obtaining change. For example, Barclays charge business customers between 60p and £1.20 per £100 when cash is deposited. Similarly exchanging notes and coins incurs a charge of £2.40 per £100.
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