Classic Reading Ticket Fiascos

[arthurfondrelli]

I'll kick off - Man City away in the cup in 2011 (I think).

Club laid on free travel but only took the minimum allocation meaning many people who wanted to go missed out.

Managed to get two tickets by staying up until midnight to secure them, didn't get the free coach.

[STAR Liaison]

Reading-Man Utd 1996 (?) - tickets on sale to all and sundry during midweek working hours incl little kids in United shirts buying for home areas. At least that's how I remember it.

Various attempts at priority vouchers that were photocopy-able.

[dizzynewheights]

Pretty sure STH got first dibs on those Man Yoo tickets ennit

[bloody Volvo driver]

Cannot remember which game it was but defo Elm Park era.

Club decided to give a priority voucher type thing with the matchday programme. Saw at least a half a dozen cars stopping on Tilehurst Road / Catholic church car park oppsoite the Southban entrance, someone then piling out, buying X number of programmes and then driving off again. Club sold out of programmes well over 30 minutes before kick off leaving a lot of disgruntled regulars.

[Winchester Royal]

Birmingham (A) December 2007. Tickets were £15, we took an allocation of 1400 when 3,000 were available. Less a fiasco, more a bad decision. I went in the home end.

[Dan - B15 Royal]

Arsenal away.
Our first season in the premiership, Our first trip to the Emirates Stadium . Yes the club took the full allocation, but they set the points far to low meaning many ST holders missed out. Phone lines were jammed and it was sold out by lunch time on the first day if I remember correctly.

[PieEater]

Play off ticketing outsourced to a company running the system on a laptop which barely worked and you weren't sure if you had a ticket or not after using it.

On the upside they were really pleasant people to deal with on the phone considering they must of got a lot of grief from people using their shambles system.

[Hendo]

Arsenal away in the league cup @ Highbury which I think kicked off the argument on Royalty Points.

[Berry]

Yep the classic corner of the programme vouchers were a real blast, Didnt that lead to a lot of regulars shut out on that Bolton Friday night home game, i know i certainly was

[Schards#2]

Man City away takes the biscuit. F A Cup quarter final and the club applies for 1800 (iirc) tickets. They then compounded this momentously stupid decision by failing to realise that online applicants could apply from midnight meaning that tickets sold out before the ticket office doors opened on the large queue waiting outside.

There followed an interview with some idiot PR man (Craig?) who said he'd take everyone's names and see what h could do, when everyone knew City had already sold tickets either side of our allocation so there was no chance of getting any more.

Vaguely remember STAR backing the club up and saying we should be thanking the club for the free travel rather than criticising this series of shambleses

[Forbury Lion]

A few years back I witnessed a few instances where season ticket holders have found someone else sat in their seat with a valid ticket.

I also recall going to the ticket office with some work makes about 10 years ago to buy tickets for Reading v Brentford a game and when we got back to work we realised they had printed us tickets for an England U21 game in error.

[No Fixed Abode]

Man City away takes the biscuit. F A Cup quarter final and the club applies for 1800 (iirc) tickets. They then compounded this momentously stupid decision by failing to realise that online applicants could apply from midnight meaning that tickets sold out before the ticket office doors opened on the large queue waiting outside.

There followed an interview with some idiot PR man (Craig?) who said he'd take everyone's names and see what h could do, when everyone knew City had already sold tickets either side of our allocation so there was no chance of getting any more.

Vaguely remember STAR backing the club up and saying we should be thanking the club for the free travel rather than criticising this series of shambleses

I think the decision for the lowly allocation was due to the poor following away in the league. It was two fingers up to the fans from the club with the decision they made.

If you don't follow us in the league, then fook you.....

[sandman]

36 years old.

[tmesis]

From a different angle, I recall hearing about how we drew Welling at home in the cup in about '89, and Welling asked for 1000 tickets, so we gave them exactly 1000 printed tickets - despite the fact that the away end held 2500.

[PieEater]

It used to be a regular scam for clubs to offer a small allocation of away tickets to the club as sale or return or a larger allocation with no return.

[ayjaydee]

Going way back in the day - Reading v Blyth Spartans FA Cup replay - draw already made - winners home to Arsenal. IIRC fixture was a midweek afternoon (electricity saving) and about 1,000 programmes were printed with vouchers for the next round. Programmes sold out by the time I got there.

I also missed out on the Bolton fiasco, being next in line when they shut the Southbank turnstiles.

[Nameless]

It used to be a regular scam for clubs to offer a small allocation of away tickets to the club as sale or return or a larger allocation with no return.

I think that is pretty standard still, although not quite as you describe. It's usually a standard allocation on sale or return with the option of additional tickets but as firm sale. Typically it's where the additional tickets could be sold to home fans if not used by away fans. So we might offer 2,400 (half the South) on sale or return because we can't resell the tickets to home fans. We might then offer the rest of the South as well, but on firm sale basis because as soon as 1 ticket has sold to away fans we lose 2,500 potential sales to home fans (just an example, don't think we actually do it very often)

Talking of fiascos, playoff sales were actually amusing as you'd get people queuing all night for tickets but if you turned up about an hour after the TO opened you could walk in without queuing. It's not just the club that get it wrong !

[From Despair To Where?]

I remember a cup game against Newcastle in the late 80's/early 90' s where the tickets weren't numbered. No surprise that Mike Lewis was the commercial manager at the time.

[Green]

Man City away takes the biscuit. F A Cup quarter final and the club applies for 1800 (iirc) tickets. They then compounded this momentously stupid decision by failing to realise that online applicants could apply from midnight meaning that tickets sold out before the ticket office doors opened on the large queue waiting outside.

There followed an interview with some idiot PR man (Craig?) who said he'd take everyone's names and see what h could do, when everyone knew City had already sold tickets either side of our allocation so there was no chance of getting any more.

Vaguely remember STAR backing the club up and saying we should be thanking the club for the free travel rather than criticising this series of shambleses

LOL

[North Somerset Royal]

In August 1980 I went to Elm Park with a friend and my Dad to see the 3rd div game against Swindon. Normally we went on the South Bank but because my Dad was with us I bought tickets for the stand. A couple of minutes before KO two guys came up and claimed we were in their seats. We produced our tickets but they then trumped us with Season Tickets for the same seats. We refused to move but they called a steward who sided with them. The steward found two spare seats elsewhere for my friend and Dad but otherwise it was full. When I complained the best they could do was put me on a bench with the St Johns Ambulance people in front of the stand. Bloody uncomfortable and a terrible view.
Subsequently I wrote to the club and complained and I still have the letter of apology from Joan Webb.