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bea stoker · 05-11-2009, 02:31 PM

(05-11-2009 02:24 PM)basingstokeroyal Wrote:
(05-11-2009 01:43 PM)bea stoker Wrote:
(05-11-2009 12:50 PM)basingstokeroyal Wrote: Looking forward to the fireworks tonight, lets hope its not delayed again like in previous years with all the free loaders clogging up the entrances!!

Nope, the delays were caused by people not having bought tickets in advance, and there being insufficient staff on the gates to sell tickets to them, the staff were walking up and down the space around the queues trying to fast track people who were queuing who already had tickets, and shepherding them in through the unclogged gate.

We will never agree on that one - lets call it a combination of both.

I can't call it a combination of both, as it wasn't. Tickets were being sold as fast as they could sell them.

basingstokeroyal · 05-11-2009, 02:51 PM

People who wanted tickets were queing up behind people by the memorial thinking they were in the que for tickets when infact those people had no intention of buying tickets but just waiting for show to start.

bea stoker · (This post was last modified: 05-11-2009 03:17 PM by bea stoker.)

(05-11-2009 02:51 PM)basingstokeroyal Wrote: People who wanted tickets were queing up behind people by the memorial thinking they were in the que for tickets when infact those people had no intention of buying tickets but just waiting for show to start.

Jumping the main queue. Whether they were in the main queue waiting for tickets or getting in through a different route makes no difference to the number of people who bought tickets at the gate, no difference to the rate at which tickets could be sold and no difference to how long it takes to sell tickets to all who wanted to buy one at the gate.

basingstokeroyal · 05-11-2009, 04:54 PM

But if you have 500 people outside the main fence waiting to get in, or just not bothering to pay, you cant blame the organisers for delaying the show due to vast numbers out of the arena. I expect tonight to be no different.

bea stoker · 05-11-2009, 05:06 PM

(05-11-2009 04:54 PM)basingstokeroyal Wrote: But if you have 500 people outside the main fence waiting to get in, or just not bothering to pay, you cant blame the organisers for delaying the show due to vast numbers out of the arena.

Indeed not, they delayed the show because there were still people who hadn't bought advance tickets queuing to pay to get in, once the queue of those waiting to pay to get in had been processed the show started shortly afterwards.

basingstokeroyal · 05-11-2009, 05:12 PM

Because those poor people were trying to get through the freeloaders and be recognised by the cashiers in order to get in.

I see a pattern here!! :-)

bea stoker · (This post was last modified: 05-11-2009 05:39 PM by bea stoker.)

(05-11-2009 05:12 PM)basingstokeroyal Wrote: Because those poor people were trying to get through the freeloaders and be recognised by the cashiers in order to get in.

I see a pattern here!! :-)

the cashiers were fully occupied processing the people in the queue, whether those wanting to get in but avoiding the queue to pay were in the queue or not it would have taken the same amount of time to process everyone who wanted to buy a ticket. As I said earlier there was so much space around the gate people with tickets were being pulled out of the queue and walking past it to get though the gate.

No matter what spin you want to put on it the delay to the start of the show was caused by a mismatch between the number of people without pre-purchased tickets wanting to get in and the number of people selling tickets at the gate. It was not caused by people waiting outside the gate who didn't want to go in.

What pattern do you see?

Harvey · 05-11-2009, 05:56 PM

I've got an idea start the show when it is supposed to start.......

Buy the ticket early to avoid disapointment. If you dont have a ticket arrive at 6pm when the gates open to ensure you have a ticket.

If you turn up at 7.25 without a ticket then hell slap it into you if you miss the start - why delay it for those who were prepared in the beginning.
But we British love a Queue, some people live for the day they can stand in one just so they can complain.

basingstokeroyal · 05-11-2009, 07:44 PM

Bea Stoker - just have to disagree i am afraid.

Harvey - good point but i suppose its like football in a way where a vast amount of fans particularly in the lower leagues go to games at the last minute and that is where a large portion of the income comes from. Problem of purchasing tickets in advance is the hassle of getting them compared to getting them on the night, but the hassle has been far greater on the night as far as Basingstoke has been concerned.

Della · 05-11-2009, 08:00 PM

I wanted to go but there is now no chance I can get away from work. I have finished my work but need to wait for colleagues who have not. Sad

I always buy my ticket on the night as I want to see what the weather is like before I commit. I would rather pay a pound extra than risk wasting £6. Also the on-line booking is rubbish (they post physical tickets instead of letting you print your own) and tickets are only on sale from places like the Willis Museum or the council offices that I never go to. If they were on sale in ordinary shops, perhaps more people would buy in advance.

Going on previous years, I felt that the tickets sold on the night were unnecessarily fiddly meaning that the person on the gate took really quite some time examining the ticket by torch light. I don't know why they don't just buy a packet of pink paper and a packet of yellow paper and give a blank yellow sheet to adults and pink to children. People could put the paper in the recycling bin as they went in and the 'tickets' would be so clear to see that they could be easily checked at a glance so the queue could march in and would not be held up.

Like Harvey said, turning up 5 minutes before the start without a ticket is unfair on others as it holds up the start. This could be easily solved by stopping ticket sales on the night half an hour before the start in the same way as theme parks don't let you join a long queue just before closing time.

Also, as the council offices area is always crowded with people who want to watch without going in, I don't know why the organisers persist in using this as the main entrance while closing the entrance by the bandstand and reserving Crossborough Hill for the disabled. If the problem is that by-standers are in the same area as the queue for tickets, it makes sense to move the queue to another entrance.