Tickets?

[clenz]

Re: Tickets?

I never said that anyone is dumb in the ticket office. What I said is it is a horrible tool (the software system) for the stated problem. The problems are:

1. Collecting PII (personally identifying information) that you may or may not use
2. Can't tell who is at what level of PSC membership
3. Expending effort writing down, processing, and refunding ticket orders that never have a chance of happening
4. Pissing off your customers with FUD
5. costing the university money - a charge back typically costs $15-$30 per charge, plus all of the transactional fees.

The reasons are right there in you posting. You do not have a system of record. You are trying to keep multiple SOR (paper forms, PSC memebrship and credit processing) synchronized, which always fails when more than a few transactions are processed. Always.

I own a business, and regularly specify system design of software applications. As I always say, treat the problem, not the symptom.

The problem is that you should have one application that is capable of storing the following information (or several applications that can work in near real time).

a. A buyer's contact information, including
b. PSC membership levels
c. season ticket holder status for a sport
d. how many season tickets they have
e. how many playoff/event tickets they want
f. billing information for CC
g. need for wheelchair access, if any, and quantity
h. ability to be on a wait list

The system should be able to accessed by multiple people at the same time. People should be able to enter their requests online, with all of the information you need, so you don't need 10, 20 , 50 people on the phones. And the management should be able to have a dashboard that will tell them every minute / five minutes / on demand, how many seats are left.

Then, the credit cards should be ran, run in an order way to prioritizes PSC membership privileges, season ticket requests, etc. The entire billing process for 2,000 tickets, once started should take no longer than 5 minutes of one person's time.

If you already have that, why do I not see it working? I have writing the high level specifications in about 10 minutes. I could think of ways to improve it given more time, but why?

This is the difference between for profit sector and the government.

Wrong on all counts in terms of what UNI uses in terms of a system. You know ZERO about what records UNI has...you would be shocked how much information that the system that the ticket office keeps.

You are so wrong on every count that you posted I literally laughed out loud.

[clenz]

Re: Tickets?

I just don't think it's UNI's problem...it's the NCAA's issue! That's who we need be mad at...why wouldn't they send us 4000 tickets if we sell 4000? Makes little sense. I share your frustration, just think we should direct it towards the people giving UNI the tickets.

This. Keep blaming the ticket office though...it just makes you look that much more dumb.

[clenz]

Re: Tickets?

NCAA has reserved great seats down low. You are getting the privilege of sitting with other UNI fans. That's what people want, rather than a purple marshmallow in a sea of orange TN fans.


UNIHH1997 is a perfect one off example of the what a crappy tool does to a fan trying to support their team. I don't know why this is so hard. I bet I could have the system speced and built in less than two months of full time work.

Again...wrong.


You build a system that is better than the system that UNI was given from TicketsWest.


You build a system that can intake thousands of orders, not charge them, save the credit card information while not charging them, then design the system to sort out from those THOUSANDS of requests what 1500, or whatever our block was, gets tickets, charge those people, permanently delete that information for those who don't get tickets, and get e-mails sent out faster.



Good luck with that. The PSC and athletic department had to hear how many tickets we even got before they could go through and start assigning seats from our allotment.


Again, you know absolutely zero of the process and it is 100% clear. Don't speak of it again, as you will look even more like a fool in this case.

[mtrain4]

Re: Tickets?

I'm guessing that most people could head down there Friday and find decent (not great) tickets for $50. Too many Kansas people had to have booked in advance and when it gets to crunch time, they are going to want to at least recover at least a portion of their purchase.

[olivestreet95]

Re: Tickets?

I'm guessing that most people could head down there Friday and find decent (not great) tickets for $50. Too many Kansas people had to have booked in advance and when it gets to crunch time, they are going to want to at least recover at least a portion of their purchase.

ding..........

[06panther10]

Re: Tickets?

clenz, the customer is always right.

For obvious reasons, your opinion on this matter is extremely biased.

[clenz]

Re: Tickets?

clenz, the customer is always right.

For obvious reasons, your opinion on this matter is extremely biased.

Keep thinking the customer is always right. They aren't.

[Panther Cat]

Re: Tickets?

Oh, and the reason some of you werne't getting asnwers to your questions is because the ticket office didn't have the answers from athletics, PSC, or the NCAA. .

Don't want to start this again, especially because we are in the Sweet 16 but.....that is why Rick Hartzell is no longer here, because they wouldn't let the athletic department be in charge of athletic tickets, crazy concept huh?

Anyways, don't mean to get this going again because I know what clenz is saying, it's not the ticket offices fault. UNI only had so many tickets so they are trying to piece everything together as fast as they can.

If you head to St. Louis you will get tickets, there will be tons of scalpers. Just make sure you know the seating charts a bit because they will tell you every seat is center court!

[Trapped in California]

Re: Tickets?

Again...wrong.


You build a system that is better than the system that UNI was given from TicketsWest.


You build a system that can intake thousands of orders, not charge them, save the credit card information while not charging them, then design the system to sort out from those THOUSANDS of requests what 1500, or whatever our block was, gets tickets, charge those people, permanently delete that information for those who don't get tickets, and get e-mails sent out faster.



Good luck with that. The PSC and athletic department had to hear how many tickets we even got before they could go through and start assigning seats from our allotment.


Again, you know absolutely zero of the process and it is 100% clear. Don't speak of it again, as you will look even more like a fool in this case.

If its so great, how come people keep complaining? 2,000, 5,000, 15,000 people are continously wrong year after year, and 1 of 50 minimum wage work study workers has all the answers?

[PantherChic]

Re: Tickets?

Hey now, it's a happy time guys!

[Panthers to the Bone]

Re: Tickets?

This isn't directed towards the ticket office. Here is my thoughts (I think fairly objective).

1. UNI had to know how many tickets they were to be given by Sunday night (probably earlier)
2. UNI has over 3000 season ticket holders I believe. UNI has others who are season ticket holders only and also PSC members only. You have to know that based on the proximity of the next two rounds that you are going to get flooded with requests. The 2.5 times the number available (i.e.: 3,750 ticket requests) demonstrates that. Advertising that you have tickets available when you know the likelihood of non-PSC members getting them is unlikely is not going to be good PR, IMO.
3. If 500 was the initial number of tickets, and knowing you can get up to 1250, the 'rank' list needs to be put together and then let people know. How come other schools are getting their info out quicker---I know that at least one other 'non-BCS' Sweet 16 school had their notices to fans out BY Monday at 5PM.
4. I fear that people are waiting around and when those 2500 ticket request individuals realize on Wednesday at noon that they don't have tickets, they may get discouraged and then not go to STL. Not good PR, IMO.
5. I also know that the NCAA is a little slow on getting clear info out, so I understand that it can be a small process, but I believe that it's more on the travel component rather than the actual ticket info that they are a little slow. This is probably what frustrates me about the situation...the delay in getting people clear answers when this process should have been (and has been proven to be by other schools) wrapped up earlier in the week.
6. The ticket forms were to be sent in by Monday after Selection Sunday. That's pretty clear. For those who didn't get in, that's too bad. But, if they wanted to make a priority list of those who sent in requests afterwards, they should put together a PSC/season ticket holder priority list for those extra tickets they get. That just makes sense to me.

[clenz]

Re: Tickets?

If its so great, how come people keep complaining? 2,000, 5,000, 15,000 people are continously wrong year after year, and 1 of 50 minimum wage work study workers has all the answers?

You again know nothing about the process. He'll the ticket office isn't even in charge of seating people, only taking requests. The *****ing about 99% the things that are *****ed about don't go to the tcket office

[JCPanthers]

Re: Tickets?

6. The ticket forms were to be sent in by Monday after Selection Sunday. That's pretty clear. For those who didn't get in, that's too bad. But, if they wanted to make a priority list of those who sent in requests afterwards, they should put together a PSC/season ticket holder priority list for those extra tickets they get. That just makes sense to me.

This is what upsets me about this whole thing. For those who got the original ticket form in on time, they should be given priority. Period. If all those orders are filled and we have extra tickets...then you can open it up to those additional requests that came in after the original deadline.

[Deke3]

Re: Tickets?

This. Keep blaming the ticket office though...it just makes you look that much more dumb.

Take a chill pill! Go back and re-read my post I was actually sticking up for the UNI ticket office. It's the NCAA who is screwing us. You guys have a tough job, but take it easy on the public road my friend. You got to have bigger shoulders dude...

[ubuntuCAT]

Re: Tickets?

You again know nothing about the process. He'll the ticket office isn't even in charge of seating people, only taking requests. The *****ing about 99% the things that are *****ed about don't go to the tcket office

This part is true, the PSC is in charge of seating. The PSC should should have some tool so they can sort members by highest priority. That way as soon as they find out how many tix we get they can instantly notify who gets tix. If we get 1250 tickets they just take the first 1250 ticket request starting at the top.

There is no excuse for this process to not be almost instantaneously once the deadline for requests is reached and the number of tix is known.

I still don't understand why we don't get more tickets. Ok the NCAA will only give us 1250 "good" tickets in the lower bowl, fine give them to the most deserving (season ticket holders, PSC members). After that 1250 is gone buy another block from the remaining tix in the dome. I would be fine with being higher up but with panther fans. And if they bought that block, the tickets would be better than me waiting until Wednesday afternoon.

Traveling was dead on that this shows the difference in government and for-profit business.