Thursday, September 02, 2010
DESPERATE TIMES CALL FOR DESPERATE MEASURES.
Kind mg.com commenter Harvey wrote in to say:
I"m a “Sunday” plan holder. Just got a call from Mets Ticket Office apologizing for the season and offering 2 free box seat tickets to any remaining 2010 game. I guess they don’t want acres of empty seats showing on tv (as if anybody is watching)
I know that attendees of the recent focus groups were also emailed a day or two later and offered free tickets to the weekend series with the Braves in September. My source was not told where the seats were, but they assumed that they would be somewhere in the Promenade, given where the Mets usually have handed out freebies in the past.
However, the seating location is not the thing I am the most astonished at.
I am the most astonished, however, at the notion that someone FROM THE METS is actually apologizing for the season. This is appropriate, and frankly, a long time coming. I believe that TBF is still incensed at the end of 2007, when the scoreboard flashed something stupid instead of “Thanks for buying tickets. Thanks for a great year. Thanks for coming to the ballpark even though we sucked.” There was zero acknowledgment that we paid and paid and paid only to watch the Mets lose over and over and over again. So this is a step in the right direction.
But it isn’t enough. Like everything else they do, they are doing it wrong. They are only doing it halfway. Where is the video of Jeff Wilpon and Mr. Met standing on the pitcher’s mound with an empty Citi Field saying, “We know you’re disappointed in this year. We are too. I want to personally apologize to all of you, and want to assure you that we’re taking every step to make things right for 2011.” Where is Jeff going on Francesa to take phone calls from Mets fans? Where is the SNY pregame show where Kevin talks with a Wilpon about how disappointed they are and how they want to apologize to the fans?
I don’t do this for a living and I came up with all of these things in 15 minutes of sitting at my desk. There are other things that could be done. Emails, radio ads, postcards, take out an ad in the Sunday paper. It’s not hard to get the message across.
Of course, they then have to tell us how things are going to be different next year. I realize that in many cases they don’t know, or can’t say yet. But there are so many other decisions they could make right now. If they told us right now that, for example, they were lowering ticket prices - and really lowering them, not just reranking games from Gold to Silver - people might start to show up. If they were going to make sure that concession prices didn’t go up for 2011. Or, go for the totally blatant appeal and (like the new Rangers ownership) say that you are lowering the prices of beer and parking.
Hell, LOWER THE PRICES OF BEER AND PARKING FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON.
Seriously, this isn’t my job and it’s not hard to think of ways you could demonstrably show remorse, demonstrably show commitment, demonstrably show action.
So, don’t stop here, New York Mets: we’re listening. As always, we want to believe.
P.S. Here’s a tip: Don’t send out Dave Howard. He is rude, dismissive and condescending to fans.
Posted by Caryn at 12:37 PM
Got the same call today. I’ve been a plan holder since 1985 and I’m 60/40 NOT renewing next year. Why pay for 15 games when I’m in NJ, 5 are weeknights and they’re a pain to get to during the week. If I wanted weeknights, I wouldn’t buy a SATURDAY plan. PLUS as we know the Mets don’t discount for plan holders, so I may just get 6 or 7 single game tix.
AND, if you want to know my feelings on Mr. Howard, check out my last 2 blog posts at http://www.adamswolf.com.
Thanks, Adam. I was going to write a separate post about my ticket buying plans, but I can’t see any way that I will renew either of my plans for 2011 for the same reasons you lay out. Why bother because there’s no discount and because I can walk up and buy rows 1-4 IN MY SAME SECTION?
Plus I bet they start asking us for the money in November this year.
Did you take the tickets they were offering? Did you tell or ask them anything?
Do we know who they are offering free tickets to? I.e., plan holders who have held tickets for more than 5 years, etc. Because frankly, if I’m a ticket holder for several years (as I am, since 07) and I don’t get the call when others do, I’ll be PISSED. I will also mention it when they send me my invoice.
On another note, I want to split my package for next season. 7 games each, in section 527, 4th row near the aisle. Send an email if you’re interested.
I did take them, basically for 2 reasons.
1) My father can really only go to day games now, so I grabbed a Sunday since the rest of my games are at night.
2) I do have a goal to be in every part of CF, as I’ve done at Shea (and I do mean EVERYWHERE), so the chance to sit in a new area was in it of itself appealing - I better not be in my (current) section!!
The calls started today. I don’t think we can start getting pissed at them just yet. They are making the calls themselves, not using a phone room - let’s cut them a break here.
Thanks for the offer but we’d rather buy our own seats, to games we want to go to, and pick where we want to sit.
Also, you know what else? Three years of plan holding is not seniority. I say that as someone with her own paltry four years of plan holding. There are people who have actually suffered for far longer. If I don’t get offered this perk, because they’ve decided to give it to people with 5+ years of history as a plan holder, I will tip my hat.
USUALLY, they go by the $ not the years. I’ve been a plan holder since 85 and got really screwed with when I could get my first tix at CF a couple of years ago (until I really let them have it)... I found out that folks who had a ‘larger’ plan (ie more $) got to purchase before I did and that someone who had a Sat (or Sun) plan for 1 year had the SAME opp that I had.
As a Saturday plan holder, I’m not sure what I want. Terms like “apology” and “remorse” don’t quite fit the bill, but maybe I’m just over-thinking this. I don’t think I’m the only person who believes that as long as the Wilpon’s hit their planned bottom line they honestly aren’t that disappointed with the “performance” of the team. To them, I get the sense that performance hinges on the flux of incoming money. However, they should realize that poor performance on the field will impact their financials in the longer term. Like… uh, next year?
I want the ownership to acknowledge publicly that the team is underperforming (okay, “sucks”) and that they share the same disappointment as the fans. I want them to act like they understand what it’s like for us to invest our time, our money, and (unfortunately) our hearts into this team and be perpetually crushed. Maybe I shouldn’t make it sound that dramatic, but I’ve actually watched most of the Atlanta series and get sick watching them look defeated.
In conjunction, the little niceties of reduced prices, free tickets, and whatnot are a requirement and will help drive home that they understand our pain and that they are willing to help get more fans back in the stands. Perhaps this will even convince us natural-born suckers to buy another plan next year. I had almost considered upgrading from my top-o-the-stadium seats, but don’t want to dump more money into the waste bin. We’ll see where things go from here, but I am not optimistic.
Ken, how would you feel if your Saturday plan was actually a Saturday plan, and not a Saturday-and-a-couple-weekdays-you’ll-never-sell plan?
I remember discussion last year that the first year of Citi there was so much interest that the weekend folks took their lumps because they could resell those weekday tickets. But now you’re basically paying a surcharge on your ticket plan to get weekend games.
I’ll answer that as well, Caryn.
It would be a start - but just a start. Hey Wilpon(s): Want to know how to bring me back next year?
1) Saturday ONLY, please. Not only did I not ask for 5 weekday games, but get the pleasure of having tix for the Washington Nats 3 times overall (that’s 20% of my games this year)
2) Perks for longevity (I’ll let you figure that out)
3) MUCH better row selection. I’m happy in my section, but the fact that Row 13 is my ‘best option’ (especially when I was in Row E at Shea) ain’t cutting it!
4) THINK about raising ticket prices in 2011, based on the last few years of play on the field is an INSTANT deal breaker.
There’s a start for you
Keep posting, I can tell you that people are reading.
But you know they’ve been reading. And watching. And having focus groups. And we’ve been writing letters. And complaining. And calling WFAN.
At this point they would have to be willfully deaf. However, I wouldn’t disagree with that diagnosis.
Yes, Caryn. I would certainly appreciate the Saturday plan actually having all Saturday tickets. One weekday wouldn’t be a big deal, but I think it’s something like 10 + 5. We live about 90 minutes north. We’ve made one weekday so far this year and have either sold off or eaten the rest. Not sure I’ll be heading to the plan Pittsburgh mid-week game after the probable beat-down against Philly on the 11th.
Adam has some good suggestions, including the perqs for plan holders with seniority. We’re not super-long-term folks, but have had the Saturday plan since 2002 (when Robby Alomar was going to make us a World Series contender, ack!). I also remember being able to call up and request aisle seats and specific locations when I got our Saturday plan. That went away in Citi Field. It would be nice if that could be accommodated. I understand that they need to work in season ticket holders and some of the other plan folks first, but I’ll wait my turn.
As the one who started this whole topic, i’d like to pipe in. I’ve had the Sunday plan since 1986 (a good year to start). I agree with the other comments about the change from all Sundays to 10 and 5 weekdays. I also concur that being exiled to the last rows of the Promanade is an insult. It is also insulting not to be allowed in any of the clubs, being treated like suspected shoplifters in the Citifield stores and putting up with other indignities from Citifield staff to watch a terrible product.
When Citifield opened a group of 20 or so us who sat together on Sundays opted for the Promanade seats. We got a good section (517) but had to accept those terrible rows.For this year only 8 renewed. Next year none will.
Harvey, I also thoroughly despise the receipt-checking charade when leaving the store. I have walked in there with two other bags, into which I could have stuffed any number of items, but they’re going to check that the item in the official bag hasn’t been stolen by me. I do not understand this. At all.
I did not get a call today. So far, everyone who has reported getting a call has significant tenure. I honestly don’t have a problem with that. Those of you who stuck in there year after year with cash on the barrelhead should get preference.
I got the call from them. Been a plan holder since 1999, so maybe they are doing the longevity thing. And might I say, while I have no idea where our tickets will be (we pick them up the day of the game), I think this is a terrific gesture on their part. Being a plan holder since ‘99 means I sat through ‘02, ‘03 and ‘04, and I certainly don’t recall them issuing any “mea culpa” tickets when the season fell apart.
BTW, I agree with everyone else that Saturday plans should be just Saturday plans. Not a fan of the bonus weekday games either.
Actually, I know that Meg got a call on Sunday, as did TBF. They specifically said “field level seats”. We’re going Friday.
Log me in as “been called.” They actually called my office Friday afternoon, but I had left early for the long weekend. We still need to contemplate which game to attend (assuming we are gluttons for punishment).
As a follow up I very much appreciated the call and will be curious to see what “box seats” means. Field level? Free food? I’m telling you, I’m hoping that the Mets step up and give us something good.
I was too chicken to ask, but did anyone find out what section our seats are in? If it’s Prom Box I must say I’ll be disappointed.
They said “field level”. There were three locations they told us but I can’t remember them.
But we weren’t told anything about free food.
It’s a decent gesture but it’s also because they know that no one is buying tickets and they don’t want the ballpark empty. If we are there then we buy beer and food. It is not coming entirely from altruism.
Got the same call today. I’ve been a plan holder since 1985 and I’m 60/40 NOT renewing next year. Why pay for 15 games when I’m in NJ, 5 are weeknights and they’re a pain to get to during the week. If I wanted weeknights, I wouldn’t buy a SATURDAY plan. PLUS as we know the Mets don’t discount for plan holders, so I may just get 6 or 7 single game tix.
AND, if you want to know my feelings on Mr. Howard, check out my last 2 blog posts at http://www.adamswolf.com.