I assumed that was the case?? Certainly when I joined the WL nine years ago, the most I could be put down for was 2 tickets.Originally Posted by kingdomkerry
To get people off the waiting list and on to the block booking. Im on the WL around the 1,500 mark and im sick of waiting.
My solution is the FAI give people on the block booking a maximum of 2 tickets each thereby being able to offer more people on the WL the chance to get their two tickets on the BB.
I assumed that was the case?? Certainly when I joined the WL nine years ago, the most I could be put down for was 2 tickets.
i get 4 tickets and all 4 go to the same lads all the time. one has gone to away games for over 20 years. why should 2 of them not be allowed to keep their tickets just because they are under my block booking?
No one is saying they shouldn't be allowed keep their tickets. I think the point is that if there are 4 people going then each person should have their own customer number (or maximum of two tickets per customer number) so the FAI can better track who's taking tickets for each match and ensure they're distributed fairly when demand is particularly high (as in the upcoming play offs for example).
This would help avoid the situation which arises with some blockbookers (although not very often I would presume/hope), and which has been mentioned in other threads, where they basically control large numbers of tickets for each match and are therefore in a position to allocate them as they see fit and without necessarily taking into account who's been to matches previously etc.
In this scenario you and your friends would have nothing to worry about as the records would show the tickets have gone to the same lads each time.
Last edited by eaststand85; 03/11/2009 at 1:25 PM.
i would agree with what you say here. all should have their own number and you cant just pass on your block booking. however, i do think that some lads just dont understand that the likes of me dont just order 4 tickets and dole them out to whoever. the lads i attend with have been going for years
I doubt if people have control of large number sof tickets and allocate as they see fit. For most games recently it has been very difficult to sell tickets at face value.
There are people carrying bbings who miss quite a few games but they will end up having to pay for the if they can't be passed on or pass them on at a loss.
By limiting the number of bbings you only create more admin work for the FAI. You might get a few dropouts from guys who forget to send back the form.
The reality is that at the moment there is more demand than supply.
Exactly gspain.
No "system" will resolve that.
But a fairer and more transparent system such as that suggested above would help matters.
I'm not sure what your point is here. As ES said, the debate isn't how many tickets are there- it's are they distributed in the best possible way.
You're also kind of contradicting yourself by saying BB'ers are struggling to get rid of them and then saying it's more demand than supply?
Lets face it if you can only buy 4 tickets general sale at a time - why should you be able to book 6-8 tickets at a go. It's practically touting/travel agent style behaviour. Harsh maybe, but even a kind view is that it's a throwback to an earlier time when demand was lower and communication/IT infrastructures were non-existant. No excuse for it in a digital age.
the system needs an overhaul which in the short term would be more work but would be infinitely tidier and fairer than what we currently have. As for admin work - they already utilise what has to be one of the most complex mass-distribution systems I have ever seen. It can only be improved.
At the moment it wouldn't surprise me if block bookings are carried on 5 years after lads have moved abroad, passed away or changed their name by deed poll
having said all of that it's a time of major upheaval for them so I'm prepared to cut the FAI some slack. when things settle down at New Lansdowne and Vantage falls flat, I'm hoping they will take the opportunity to look at it all more critically and set up a proper system.
Last edited by dynamo kerry; 03/11/2009 at 3:08 PM.
Would the same thing not happen, we break a current 6 ticket bb allocation into 3 groups of 2. Will those 3 groups not continue to order their tickets regardless of whether they can attend or not, passing them on if they cannot?
This as pointed out also increases admin work for the FAI, not our problem, but it has proven to be a big one for them in the past.
I would suggest we stick with the current system but make it more transparent. The FAI should not accept any increases in current bb allocations, which most people know they will nearly always oblige with at the start of a campaign. Then someone should be given at least a campaign by campaign update on their WL position, with perhaps extra progress for attending friendlies or other games offered, although I am not 100% sure about how this would work, as money comes into it etc.
But certainly more transparenty is needed, with one of their lovely emails each year to update waiting listers.
that is not true at all. you are not able to increase your allocation
Everything you're suggesting there is adding admin.
I'm keen to find out if there are 4 guys with 30,000 bits of paper in there in Abbotstown dealing with this.
I agree with what you're saying- they should be doing all that as well as limiting future block bookers to 2 per person and as you say denying any further requests for increases!
You have a block booking I take it Polster? (or access to one)
I was going to add the administrative point before as its the most obvious. Its also more costsly not just in terms of man hours but stationery, postage etc etc.
They must have a system of either excel spreadsheets with Access or a proper DB system, there is no way they could spend the days and nights giong through 50k by hand....
I'm a bloke,I'm an ocker
And I really love your knockers,I'm a labourer by day,
I **** up all me pay,Watching footy on TV,
Just feed me more VB,Just pour my beer,And get my smokes, And go away
There are current circ 30000 BB tickets - how many block bookers are there ?5000 ? 10000 ?
I believe the FAI allow you to change the name and take over bbings. I'm not certain of that. Even if they don't those bbings will still have a real person who considers it their ticket.
Likewise when Man Utd realsied one of the season ticket holders was 106 they gave an amnesty and allowed the person using it (presumably a grandson or granddaughter) to have a ticket in their own name.
You could argue that once a person dies they shouldn't be allowed to pass on a bbing to their children but I wouldn't agree with that.
Just to clarify I'm saying the demand for bbings is far greater than supply not the demand for tickets for individual games such as friendlies v Poland or Serbia.
I certainly have sympathy for those on the WL. However I don''t think there is an easy solution and certainly not one that involves taking tickets from those who currently have them.
At the end of the day, its all about bums on seats or more so sales for the fai, notice we all have a CUSTOMER no, not a fan no.
They will do a certain level of admin on the BB and in fairness in comparison to some other sporting organisations, it works quite well. Most BBs attend the games, a certain percentage will always find their way into the wrong hands.
The BB system means a guaranteed sale for the FAI, which is what matters most to them. I suspect and hope the recent WL letter is an attempt to panic people into purchasing VC tickets, now that the Irish team is on a high. For example, were they to leave such a strategy untill Jan/Feb, we could very well be out of the WC and sale prospects may not be as good. Id be surprised if this strategy will yield much sales and hopefully the WLs will get allocated a greater BB allocation before LR actually reopens.
My block booking number is over 13,000 and I've had it for four or five years.
We're not arrogant, we're just better.
Cruel people would wish it on them around now..
The WL: got priority over bbers who wanted to increase their allocation and rightly so. You can't increase your allocation and haven't been able to for ages.
No idea how many bbers there are. Many clubs and leagues are also in the system.
My father got a customer number circa 1988 after we got a scare when told Belgium 87 was sold out (we got tickets though). He had block bookings going back to the 70's but let it lapse. I got mine shortly after that although my number is lower than his. The numbers are around the 4,000 mark.
Have the FAI ever withdrawn a BB ticket allocation when it has been found that the ticket has ended up in the hands of a tout ? - because there are shed loads appearing on carious sites
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