Social club reserved seating

[Bernard Shakey]

Thanks Steve

What you're saying now is "These seats are available to Social Club members ONLY who have booked a seat in that area before and DO NOT already have a seat somewhere else in the Stadium. No other St Kilda member can buy into that area."

So, Social Club members who have not booked a seat in that area before are not able to do so now? Very strange marketing there.

I think you have stuffed up big time and are now failing to dig yourself out of the hole. Enjoy your time with the club.

[Teflon]

Steve - appreciate you coming on to provide some info on this.

Can you also advise what happens to SC members on roll over plans re this new reserved seat option for SC's?

Many thanks

[saintnick12]

How does the club know if we've book tickets there before?
Do they have access to our ticketmaster records?
The club would know I have SC membership and that I haven't previously had a reserve seat. Do they assume then that I sit in the SC area each week?
As it happens, we do buy SC tix every week. Infact, I'm right onto it at 9am the sat before each game, and we usually had the same seats. Probably 7 or 8 games a year we managed to get the exact same seats. It was a lot of work and if I'm lucky enough to have got those as reserve seats, we'll be more than happy, even though its more money and will be more the following year. We have put in a request for our favourite seats and a second preference of a general area. We put it in straight away so can only hope we are successful ...its a wait and see.

THe process itself has been a shambles. I did not even realise until seeing it on here. I then had another look at my membership sheet and sure enough theres a tick box there, but it doesn't really explain it at all. Being on rollover plan, I didn't look that closely at the actual renewal from where it was. I did read the actual membership brochure though several times and there's no mention of it there. My dad even had thrown his form out given he knew it was rolling over. So when I phoned up i've ended up having to fax it all in, some on the forms and some added on handwritten and mum and dad no longer had their forms. I phoned to find out if my fax had been received but they were not able to tell me. I was to assume yes given the fax said it went through, but its a big assumption. They suggested I call again in a few days once they are all in the system. They also said that was only for the direct debits to commence and the actual seat allocations won't occur until the new year. I would hate to work at the club and dealing with some members must be really challenging. But we all love our footy and this sort of stuff is very important and very stressful when we don't know what's happening. Our group has been sitting in the same seats or very close to the last five years, and I've been the one doing all the work with the ticket buying. if we end up with crap ones up the back due to this shambles of a process I will not be happy....

[Teflon]

How does the club know if we've book tickets there before?
Do they have access to our ticketmaster records?
The club would know I have SC membership and that I haven't previously had a reserve seat. Do they assume then that I sit in the SC area each week?
As it happens, we do buy SC tix every week. Infact, I'm right onto it at 9am the sat before each game, and we usually had the same seats. Probably 7 or 8 games a year we managed to get the exact same seats. It was a lot of work and if I'm lucky enough to have got those as reserve seats, we'll be more than happy, even though its more money and will be more the following year. We have put in a request for our favourite seats and a second preference of a general area. We put it in straight away so can only hope we are successful ...its a wait and see.

THe process itself has been a shambles. I did not even realise until seeing it on here. I then had another look at my membership sheet and sure enough theres a tick box there, but it doesn't really explain it at all. Being on rollover plan, I didn't look that closely at the actual renewal from where it was. I did read the actual membership brochure though several times and there's no mention of it there. My dad even had thrown his form out given he knew it was rolling over. So when I phoned up i've ended up having to fax it all in, some on the forms and some added on handwritten and mum and dad no longer had their forms. I phoned to find out if my fax had been received but they were not able to tell me. I was to assume yes given the fax said it went through, but its a big assumption. They suggested I call again in a few days once they are all in the system. They also said that was only for the direct debits to commence and the actual seat allocations won't occur until the new year. I would hate to work at the club and dealing with some members must be really challenging. But we all love our footy and this sort of stuff is very important and very stressful when we don't know what's happening. Our group has been sitting in the same seats or very close to the last five years, and I've been the one doing all the work with the ticket buying. if we end up with crap ones up the back due to this shambles of a process I will not be happy....

I too wwould like front row seats after being SC for asquillion years and losing all foundation membership rights.....but how are these seats being allocated? surely not on a "submission" basis?

Im on a roll over plan also - would hate to be slugged up to $300 more a year to find out Im seated out back near the toilets.....but I cant see and havent heard any info on how seats are being allocated??

[Genghis]

I too wwould like front row seats after being SC for asquillion years and losing all foundation membership rights.....but how are these seats being allocated? surely not on a "submission" basis?

Im on a roll over plan also - would hate to be slugged up to $300 more a year to find out Im seated out back near the toilets.....but I cant see and havent heard any info on how seats are being allocated??

I hear ya - I log on just before 9am every Sat morning the week before a game so we can get the seats we want. We were Foundation SC members too and I will be very unhappy if we fork out all this money for a reserved seat only to be stuck at the back. It would be nice if our loyalty as SC members was recognised somehow...

[saints4ever]

I too wwould like front row seats after being SC for asquillion years and losing all foundation membership rights.....but how are these seats being allocated? surely not on a "submission" basis?

Im on a roll over plan also - would hate to be slugged up to $300 more a year to find out Im seated out back near the toilets.....but I cant see and havent heard any info on how seats are being allocated??

I hear ya - I log on just before 9am every Sat morning the week before a game so we can get the seats we want. We were Foundation SC members too and I will be very unhappy if we fork out all this money for a reserved seat only to be stuck at the back. It would be nice if our loyalty as SC members was recognised somehow...

I used to log in at 9am every sat to get our seats too. last year I knew I had commitments that meant I would not be able to get to computer every Sat morn so took a level 2 reserved seat near my brother. I prefer to sit in Social club area and would reserve there in a heartbeat if possible (but agree not up the back!). Very annoyed to now read that I can't go back there!!

I agree the 'fine print' about the change was very well hidden... not obvious at all. And for someone like me who stupidly renewed at the family day, not something I have really been made aware of at all until reading here on saintsational....

Another foundation member not really happy....

[Saints43]

What you're saying now is "These seats are available to Social Club members ONLY who have booked a seat in that area before and DO NOT already have a seat somewhere else in the Stadium. No other St Kilda member can buy into that area."

So, Social Club members who have not booked a seat in that area before are not able to do so now?

I also cannot understand why social club members who haven't booked there before or currently have seats booked elswhere would not be informed of this.

Surely if you are a member of the social club you have every right to be informed of the possibility of reserving a seat in the social club area?

[asiu]

Finally, I'm not prepared to debate the relative merits of decisions like this, on this, OR any other website, but I'm more than happy to talk in person or on the phone to any St Kilda member - my number is on saints.com.au or you can just call the Club and ask for me.

I hope you'll see from this post that I want to be transparent in the reasons why we make the decisions we do at the Club and also that I think it is very important that as members, you know that the Club is fairdinkum about hearing your views.

i don't see transparency or fairdinkumness.

signed

another pissed off foundation member.


(you'll use the website to lay down your excuses but not the merits of decisions .......... hmmmmmmmm........OH WELL THEN , I will not take phone calls or emails from the club should i ever decide to stop tipping my money in year after year.)

i've already ceased attracting a new member a year.


AT THE VERY LEAST , at least we understand each other Steve.

and on a web site of all places.


u joker u.

[barks4eva]

Footy First's Platform:

Q What will be the changes to the membership packages? To put it bluntly what’s in it for me?



A We agree that changes needs to be made with regards to acknowledging our loyal and passionate members. Without locking into exactly what it will be, Footy First will seek input from the members. It is evident when you look around other AFL clubs that St Kilda is a long way behind membership incentives.


What Westaway really meant was once he is has the members votes, and is in power, then he does not give a stuff.

Gone is about looking after "loyal and passionate members" ...and in less for more $$$$.

There was a Foundation status of 8,500 rewarding long term loyal Social Club members set up by the previous board, which was eroded by this current board and I know as fact that a Social Club member who joined up for the first time in June 2009 for the sole purpose he thought we would make the Grand Final received a level 2 seat at the 2009 Grand Final while Social Club members of fifteen years were given standing room tickets!

So much for Westaway's comment that changes need to be made rewarding long time loyal and passionate members!

The board had already made the decision to move to Seaford, but did NOT make this information available to members when they were after votes to oust the previous board!

I wonder WHY!

They promised to be more inclusive but they continue to foist jumper designs on us without any say from the members at all, spmething Archie Fraser promised but never delivered on and the same nonsense continues!

At the 2008 AGM I warned of the possibility that we might play Collingwood in a Grand Final in the next few years and that we might be forced to wear a clash jumper and that it was imperative to have our home jumper with a white back and not one with a wide stripe as wide as the Grand Canyon, to better represent OUR club in a Grand Final on the world stage in as close to OUR traditional strip as possible!

Westaway said" WE WILL BE WEARING OUR HOME JUMPER IN A GRAND FINAL"!

Oh yeah, really!

The biggest lame duck president since George W Bush!

Now another stupid clash jumper design, will they ever learn, FAIR DINKUM

Then without any consultation and almost zero information they changed the Level 2 reserved seating and now again the same old, piss weak info and contempt for the members who are the backbone of the club continues!


Quote Westaway

A We agree that changes needs to be made with regards to acknowledging our loyal and passionate members. Without locking into exactly what it will be, Footy First will seek input from the members. It is evident when you look around other AFL clubs that St Kilda is a long way behind membership incentives.


An absolute crock, a load of total bollocks and a pack of lies!

The sooner these idiots are removed and replaced by a board that will listen to the members and be inclusive the better!

[matrix]

i actually got a level one seat
but everything else was correct

honestly members should be rewarded for loyalty when you get sc memberships every year for ten + years

and then getting a standing ticket at the gf is a slap in the face.

i can remember the word loyalty being used in a slogan once...im sure of it

[saintsrus]

The letter also outlines that if you choose to buy a seat from the Club you will not be disadvantaged by the delay - sales in this area have only just begun and there are plenty of seats still available.

These seats are available to Social Club members ONLY who have booked a seat in that area before and DO NOT already have a seat somewhere else in the Stadium. No other St Kilda member can buy into that area.

Steve

We still are yet to see our letter and they are on sale already, if we miss out you will have 8 very angry foundation members

[saint66au]

Steve..or anyone..

Is it the plan to turn the entire SC reserve into yearly reserved seating..or will there be a cap and some seats held back for sale on a week by week basis?

[Iceman234]

Can't be bothered reading 5 pages of any SS thread these days so hoping someone feels for my plight and answers my queries.

I have a group of eight and I book those reserve seats in Aisle 19-21 every Saturday morning at 9.00 a.m. All are long term SC members, six are foundation and beyond.

Some of those ticket holders pay on an annual once-off payment and others roll-over. Some who pay as a once-off don't come back to Aus until mid-December when they will pay up-front I'm sure as always. But as a group I organise our seats each and every Saturday morning the week before the game.

Do I have to now settle on permanent seats in that Aisle 19-22 area?

Doesn't worry me that much financially but if I had to have permanent seats beside/behind/in front of me every week I would go mad and belt me, which is why I always liked the idea of floating seats.

[saintsRrising]

Do I have to now settle on permanent seats in that Aisle 19-22 area?

.

Well one can only guess.

Steve has stated that this area is going to sell reserved seats to only those SC members who have reserved a seat there in the past on a per game basis. (or at least not said by Steve..they will be given first opportunity to)

This is say Y number of Members.

There will be most likely more Y Members than seats that can be reserved (on the basis that the area was always full and in the later part of the season once we had flooded up to 11,500 SC Members).

Y is most likely a lot less than 11,500 , but how much less?


How many of Y will reserve a seat?

Who knows??? At present I would guess that the majority of Y's are blissfully unaware of the change.

When the letter comes out that Steve said we already had, despite us telling him we did not, then a lot more Y's are going to become aware. even with a second letter, I would still imagine that some will not read it, and in particular those on the roll-over automatic renewal process.


How many will not want to reserve and will simply accept to sit in GA on level 3, or stand who know? I have one group of friends who did sit in the SC are will now sit in the AFL Members are instead. Most of us do not have such a attractive Plan B though.

If a lot of Y don't...then will the club allow SC to reserve it on a week by week basis? Steve was mute on this.

If a lot of Y do...then evidently it is a first in best dressed basis.

[hellorocky]

I was able to phone the membership line yesterday and ask a couple of q's.

There are 3500 seats on offer in the new reserved area that used to be weekly booking. (I didn't ask how many other SC members had reserved elsewhere)

Seats will be allocated in the order they are received in. The guy said they had had quite a lot of members take up the offer already. (I didn't ask how many 'quite a lot was')

Only those that don't have a reserved seat elsewhere will be able to reserve in the sc area from 2011.

I got the feeling it was a call centre environment and further info wasn't offered, just answered my specific questions and didn't elaborate. So probably not St Kilda staff as such.

Anyway, sent our booking of 4 in, they've really got us over a barrel. Crap draw for country travelers will probably mean our seats will be vacant for a few games

[asiu]

morning steve.

[saintnick12]

Steve..or anyone..

Is it the plan to turn the entire SC reserve into yearly reserved seating..or will there be a cap and some seats held back for sale on a week by week basis?

When I asked this question on Monday 29/11 I was told that they expected the whole SC area to be sold out as reserve seating and that if I took the chance to try and book weekly I would likely miss out altogether as they were expecting it to sell out as reserve seats.

I also am still only assuming they have received my fax. When I called to confirm the next day they said to wait a few days until they were all in the system. I haven't gotten around to calling again as I'm still interstate on holidays. The whole process is a complete shambles. They'll start taking our money now, but won't tell us what we have until next year and then it's bad luck if its crap seats. I take a three year old with me some weeks too, so am very particular about the seats I book when booking each Saturday, yet the may well charge me $80 each for crap seats at the back in the middle of a row, which I would never have bought. Yet none of us get any choice. The whole thing is very annoying and frustrating. The lack of information on this is amazing. I understand why the club is doing it....it's the way they are doing it that is really annoying me.

[Saint_Ash]

I hate this reserved seat crap, not just in the social club area but in the whole stadium.

With the first 6 rows of the whole city side wing now available for reserved seat holders it means that almost every home game will be classified 'level 3 premium reserved seat' game. Another cash grab.

Obviously reserved seats works for some people but not for others, taking my situation. I rarely sit in the social club area because I usually go to the footy with different groups of people.

When I know in advance that no-one else is coming along I generally book in the SC area for myself, that way, even though I am not with people I know, at least I can be guaranteed to be with other Sainters. Now this option is being taken away.

I do not want to get tied down to a reserved seat because of the fact that I go with different people. One week my brother may come with me, another week 3 friends come along. I have no problem with sitting on level 3 for these situations, however it is getting harder and harder to get a decent seat without getting there at least an hour before the game, and with the first 6 rows likely to be reserved (at a minimum on both wings if not behind the goals too) it makes it very difficult.

What do I do??

Do I reserve a seat in the social club area and let it sit there unoccupied for most games and only sit there when I need to?
If I do that I run into trouble for any 'Fully Ticketed' games, where I can't reserve a seat anywhere else in the stadium and as such can't go with anyone else.

[didzee]

Have received letter today stating mostly what's been said on here
Good luck everyone.
Seatlotto!

[Solar]

seems they are scaring people into buying the reserved seating, suggestioning that there will be a good chance they will all be sold as reserved.

Two things. One, now living in geelong I will toss up whether to come watch the game live or just go to the pub and watch it there. Cheaper food, drinks and I don't pay heaps on travel as well. As others have said, there are those of us who don't like the idea of the same seats week in week out, what if your stuck with the same people who keep yelling out "get off raph!!!!"..... that would make me look forward to the game!!!!

Second thing is that in a couple of years time there will be big areas of empty spaces down stairs as those who only became social club members for the grand final ticket don't bother to turn up because we are not winning 20+ games a year. Those of us that have been social club members will no be their either because the club would have taught us not to bother. We will keep being a member of the club but not bother trying to get a decient seat each week.

We have sat in that area from the beginning, back then people had the chance to choose reserved seating or have to book each week. To change this now is short term money making.

[Genghis]

We have sat in that area from the beginning, back then people had the chance to choose reserved seating or have to book each week. To change this now is short term money making.

And it's treating all long-term SC members with contempt considering a 10-year member (or more) could end up in Row ZZZ and someone who signed up last year could get a prime position. Do they want our loyalty or not?

[Iceman234]

I've taken the punt with chooklotto and put all my groups member ID's on the one form as I couldn't gather all the different forms together until after Christmas probably.

So now wait and see if...

a) they accept it in that format,
b) they accept it without other member's renewals (some overseas members pay in full rather than roll over - and won't be back in Oz til next week), and
c) if all goes well, where the hell they lump eight of us.

I am really incredibly disappointed with the club over this and have expressed my views to them. But it doesn't change the system this year.

The floating seats really suited us but I'm just not game to take the chance on not getting SC seating at all, especially for bigger games.

[saintnick12]

I've taken the punt with chooklotto and put all my groups member ID's on the one form as I couldn't gather all the different forms together until after Christmas probably.

So now wait and see if...

a) they accept it in that format,
b) they accept it without other member's renewals (some overseas members pay in full rather than roll over - and won't be back in Oz til next week), and
c) if all goes well, where the hell they lump eight of us.

I am really incredibly disappointed with the club over this and have expressed my views to them. But it doesn't change the system this year.

The floating seats really suited us but I'm just not game to take the chance on not getting SC seating at all, especially for bigger games.

I faxed mine in on the 29th. I only had two of the forms with me. Mum and Dad had thrown theirs out as they are on rollover and didn't think they needed it. When i phoned the club originally said I needed all the forms but then let me put the other two details in the notes on my form. All of us are on rollover, but I only had two forms. I wrote notes including all their details on my form. I was worried they wouldn't accept me signing them up as they are on their own rollover plan, not mine. When I phoned early last week to make sure they had received them, they couldn't tell me as they hadn't put them all in the system yet. I'm interstate at the moment, but finally got around to calling them this morning and they checked each membership number and confirmed it had been received and that we are in the system as a group. That was a relief. They couldn't tell me anything about the seating other than we would find out in the new year. As I had mentioned a particular area on the application as I had been told I could do that, he did say today that they would call me before allocating if that area was not available. I doubt that would actually happen though. He did say they had received a large volume of applications.
As someone rightly called it above...Seat Lotto....

[matrix]

i actually got the letter today

bit late
lucky i dont actually want a reserve seat