West Ham’s seemingly well planned digital season tickets only shocker is meeting growing fury from the fans.
ClaretandHugh has made its position clear; the vulnerable – and others who want them -must he given their usual cards. We will continue to fight for the old, powerless and those who are lost within new technology. We have no intention of letting this one go.
Expecting old people to simply get on with it should they be in such positions is not right – nor is keeping them standing in the rain to get a ticket printed out by the club.
We can do better than this – if Man United and Liverpool have managed it so can we!
Meanwhile here are some random comments on the growing controversy from Claretandhugh readers:.
- I sincerely hope that our board reconsider this strategy, match day support is the life blood of the club, we come in all shapes, sizes, ages and physical levels, surely we can’t have a system where those that need the most help are asked to endure the most arduous task!
- All we keep hearing from football is the game is nothing without supporters.
The club(like others) are at a crossroads with many of our supporters having got used to not going. The club should be doing everything it can to make our lives easier. We’ve lost many fans disillusioned with the move to the athletics stadium. We’ve lost many others disillusioned with the atmosphere around the club, it’s no longer we’re all in this together, it’s faceless stewarding, take it or leave it attitude. We are now about to potentially take out a lot of older supporters who don’t do digital and online.We are also taking out people who share season tickets as they have done for years who maybe can’t afford one on their own. This club alienates itself from its true supporters. All these committees and boards are worthless, they pretend they are engaged and they are not, it’s lip service. Man U, Liverpool, the two most successful clubs found an easy way. Did the old cards need changing? NO, or let people have the option, it’s not hard. Six months ago they are begging to get us back, now they don’t care, they’ve sold the season tickets so stick two fingers up at those mugs again.
I’ve had my ticket for nearly 40 years, this isn’t the club I grew up loving.
This club is about greed and stuff anyone who needs help.
- You couldn’t make it up.
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Not very considerate to those of us who are not local & already have a long journey to get to the game & then have to allow goodness knows how much extra time to visit the ticket office ???
- What’s to stop me printing my Digital Ticket off at home and then passing it on to someone else (or forwarding the email)? What’s the reasoning behind this move? I thought it was to do with Security, knowing who was in a specific seat etc.I’ve heard about people who share Season Tickets and have myself allowed my Card to be used my someone else in my Family when I’ve been unable to attend for some reason – the Club don’t like you doing this and this ham-fisted, Ill thought-out Digital Ticket Scheme is wide open to abuse.Has it anything to do with the Covid paranoia that has gripped our society? I can’t see the point of it!
- So to watch football now I have to have a ticket app and a vaccine passport app on my phone, after traipsing halfway round Stratford. I miss the days when for a big game you just went to Upton Park early, lined up and paid 10 bob to stand on the North Bank.
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I’m struggling to identify the benefits – seems to be an awful lot of disadvantages though. I hate change for change sake – and this seems just that to me. I’ll certainly be notifying the club of my opposition.
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What happens when your phone runs out of charge or just breaks down as you approach the turnstile. Card for me and all us oldies please
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Also it is amazing how many people do a lot of mucking about with their phone at the front of the queue, and how often the scanner can’t read the barcode or QR code first time – QR or barcode on paper is much quicker!
West Ham, the club is run by people who think that they understand the supporter’s needs, but like this government stumble from one embarrassment to another.
You couldn’t make it up……But this IS West Ham where anything can happen.
its a joke and the media office is the worst
I have said for years why don’t we make the tickets bio metric and valid for a number of years like a passport. Would solve a lot of these problems and be better for the environment than most alternatives.
Like others I thought this was about security but it seems with printed ticketing you can still share around family ok. In my case it means different family members can take turns to go with my autistic son.
I thought the club were relaxed about ticket sharing as it ensued the stadium always looks full.!
They don’t get it Hugh – it ain’t broke – not for the non-digitals. For younger ones who live for phone apps, great. My wife and I are over 65, she has mobility issues after a stroke – so make us fumble with mobile phones and paint a big target on our backs ‘rob me’ embarrass my wife with her lack of dexterity or just send us to the ticket office – we don’t matter obviously. Shame on you WHU.
My brother falls into most of the categories people have voiced on here. He is a technophobe (doesn’t make him a bad person), doesn’t have a smartphone or access to a computer with a printer. Now in his 70s, he finds the trek to the Stadium bad enough without having to present himself at the ticket office hours before kick- off to queue to get a ‘real’ ticket. He’s had his season ticket since 1969 and it’s a disgrace the way the Club are treating him and hundreds of supporters like him. SORT IT OUT WEST HAM!
Not having, or wishing / intending to have the vaccine means I am denied access to use my season ticket AT ALL despite my attendance at and support (emotional and financial) of the club for 40 years… I’d be interested to know how much they resisted this bollox on my / our behalf, barely I suspect… the delay, I suspect, is with any app and it’s integration possibly with the nhs app… freedom day, my arse, as the individual societal practices and pastimes are locked down one by one… where are the lawyers on this..?⚒ as each suggestion during lockdown was met with ‘ooh, they can’t/won’t do that’ seems to be just to have bided time for each facet to be prepared for implementation at the appropriate time and opportunity… if you can’t look back in retrospect and see this whole situation seems agendised then you probably still wear a mask indoors and in your car 🚙 too..x ⚒☯️🖖🏻✌🏻⚖️🤞🏻