AFL Final tickets fiascoes

[VL3OJ]

Each year we hear the AFL say things will be better next year and next year rolls around and sure as eggs, it is a fiasco yet again. Ticketek and Ticketmaster say lessons will be learned but nothing happens as they count their coin.

Barcodes not valid, timeouts, a virtual queue of thousands, inability to access tickets from overseas or VPN and hours wasted in the middle of a working week. Where do we turn? ACCC?

As a long time member, I feel betrayed and I feel upset for people who are there week in, week out, even in Ballarat during the lightning, they did not shirk the grassy knoll and continued to watch and now wont be there for the big game.

As for Ticketek - your system really sucks and is not fit for purpose. It should ask how many tix I need and then show me the options still available - it is not rocket bloody surgery is it ...and as for the virtual queue, perhaps beef up the core ticketing systems to reduce the queue size (over 20,000 when I joined).

Anyone else affected?

 

[adammania9]

It's a shambles every single year

 

[Underarm]

Each year we hear the AFL say things will be better next year and next year rolls around and sure as eggs, it is a fiasco yet again. Ticketek and Ticketmaster say lessons will be learned but nothing happens as they count their coin.

Barcodes not valid, timeouts, a virtual queue of thousands, inability to access tickets from overseas or VPN and hours wasted in the middle of a working week. Where do we turn? ACCC?

As a long time member, I feel betrayed and I feel upset for people who are there week in, week out, even in Ballarat during the lightning, they did not shirk the grassy knoll and continued to watch and now wont be there for the big game.

As for Ticketek - your system really sucks and is not fit for purpose. It should ask how many tix I need and then show me the options still available - it is not rocket bloody surgery is it ...and as for the virtual queue, perhaps beef up the core ticketing systems to reduce the queue size (over 20,000 when I joined).

Anyone else affected?

What went wrong today? Seems like it was the smoothest its ever been?

 

[Alex Matt]

Seems like it was pretty smooth today. Logged in 15 mins before 9am for MCC reserved seats. Had to wait something like 10mins after 9am to get in, but once in, there were still front row seats on level 2. I believe all MCC reserved seats are now taken.

 

[Rusty Brookes]

Best I've ever dealt with it. Logged in just before 10.00am - was added to a virtual queue with my position actually known. Once the tickets went on sale, watched myself move up the list pretty quickly and 10 minutes later had tickets sorted.

 

[Stratton_Gun]

A joke that for big games guest tickets can be prioritised over members.

All qbout the $$ as per usual

 

[VL3OJ]

What went wrong today? Seems like it was the smoothest its ever been?

• The barcodes provided to silver members were not accepted
• The process took over 40 minutes for some to get through
• Timeouts occurred and pages aborted
• People overseas appeared to be blocked from Ticketek

Other than that and yet to receive my actual tickets with a barcode until well over an hour later, it was seamless

 

[adammania9]

What went wrong today? Seems like it was the smoothest its ever been?

The mobile app didn't accept MCC barcodes

 

[PonsfordMagpie]

The only improvement I could see is knowing where you were in the queue, rather than it being randomised in previous years.

 

[Cudi]

The mobile app didn't accept MCC barcodes

Club members going through app couldn't even get to screen to enter barcode.

 

[MrBeefSeven]

I think this is just inexperience on my part, but had some issues.
Usually my Dad gets tickets for us but since I was WFH today I said 'hey how about I do it this year'? (we are AFL Silver Members btw)
So I get in after the queue and there are tickets on Level 1 available. Tried to go for one of those and it said there weren't enough. OK fine. Go back out, try to select Level 2, same. Best available, same message a few times.
I think the website thought I was trying to get Level 1 tickets each time. But if I'd just gone in and selected best available to start, it would've just given me some seats on Level 4.
Mind you with the timer ticking down fast and since I'd spent a while in the queue, as soon as I saw some tickets come up I just bought them without a second thought. I have no frame of reference on how fast they go so I thought 'hey better grab these'.
So I got a couple of tickets, but they are standing room around the wing. For those who have done standing room before, what is it like? Feel like a bit of a muppet and I'm hoping I haven't purchased dud tickets/ruined the experience for my dad.

 

[speedpeck23]

I think this is just inexperience on my part, but had some issues.
Usually my Dad gets tickets for us but since I was WFH today I said 'hey how about I do it this year'? (we are AFL Silver Members btw)
So I get in after the queue and there are tickets on Level 1 available. Tried to go for one of those and it said there weren't enough. OK fine. Go back out, try to select Level 2, same. Best available, same message a few times.
I think the website thought I was trying to get Level 1 tickets each time. But if I'd just gone in and selected best available to start, it would've just given me some seats on Level 4.
Mind you with the timer ticking down fast and since I'd spent a while in the queue, as soon as I saw some tickets come up I just bought them without a second thought. I have no frame of reference on how fast they go so I thought 'hey better grab these'.
So I got a couple of tickets, but they are standing room around the wing. For those who have done standing room before, what is it like? Feel like a bit of a muppet and I'm hoping I haven't purchased dud tickets/ruined the experience for my dad.

Seats are definitely better but standing room ok so long as you are not a kid. Not too congested like the old old days. I did standing room for 1976 and 1978 Grand Finals...... I can tell you it was jammed shoulder to shoulder ....got there 10am stood all day....but if you win the atmosphere is the best.....you almost feel like your on the ground and the sound of the crowd reverberates around you.

 

[ibd77]

Yesterday the virtual queue was setup for both Sydney vs GWS & Port vs Geelong but the opening for tickets was split 30 minutes apart. It became a problem for me as I queued half an hour early only for me to enter a closed lobby with a 6-7 minute time limit where I could do nothing. Once timeout, I then had to go to the back of the queue again. The start to end process took me an hour which I was at work trying to secure my tickets.

The smarter option is to allow the virtue queue 30 minutes prior but you cannot enter the lobby until it is open for ticket sales.

 

[MrBeefSeven]

Seats are definitely better but standing room ok so long as you are not a kid. Not too congested like the old old days. I did standing room for 1976 and 1978 Grand Finals...... I can tell you it was jammed shoulder to shoulder ....got there 10am stood all day....but if you win the atmosphere is the best.....you almost feel like your on the ground and the sound of the crowd reverberates around you.

Cheers for the heads up, hopefully still enjoy the game. We are not the tallest so I'll aim to get there early

 

[Bulldog tears]

Each year we hear the AFL say things will be better next year and next year rolls around and sure as eggs, it is a fiasco yet again. Ticketek and Ticketmaster say lessons will be learned but nothing happens as they count their coin.

Barcodes not valid, timeouts, a virtual queue of thousands, inability to access tickets from overseas or VPN and hours wasted in the middle of a working week. Where do we turn? ACCC?

As a long time member, I feel betrayed and I feel upset for people who are there week in, week out, even in Ballarat during the lightning, they did not shirk the grassy knoll and continued to watch and now wont be there for the big game.

As for Ticketek - your system really sucks and is not fit for purpose. It should ask how many tix I need and then show me the options still available - it is not rocket bloody surgery is it ...and as for the virtual queue, perhaps beef up the core ticketing systems to reduce the queue size (over 20,000 when I joined).

Anyone else affected?

Have been going to Bulldogs for 50 years. First time ever I could not get tickets. I joined a queue of about 5000 before 10.00am and got in but bar codes said to be invalid (Silver members forever) rang club and they told me it was ticketek glitch now sorted and to try again. Of course I tried but now in queue of 25000 and it was almost 11am. When I got in nothing left. So angry. We travel 400kms each week to support them and this is what we get. I have Charlie Sutton priority GF ticket purchase but hate to think what a debacle that will be. May as well not be a member and sit home and watch it on FOX because until AFL takes firm action over this it will go on and on .

 

[Rusty Brookes]

I think this is just inexperience on my part, but had some issues.
Usually my Dad gets tickets for us but since I was WFH today I said 'hey how about I do it this year'? (we are AFL Silver Members btw)
So I get in after the queue and there are tickets on Level 1 available. Tried to go for one of those and it said there weren't enough. OK fine. Go back out, try to select Level 2, same. Best available, same message a few times.
I think the website thought I was trying to get Level 1 tickets each time. But if I'd just gone in and selected best available to start, it would've just given me some seats on Level 4.
Mind you with the timer ticking down fast and since I'd spent a while in the queue, as soon as I saw some tickets come up I just bought them without a second thought. I have no frame of reference on how fast they go so I thought 'hey better grab these'.
So I got a couple of tickets, but they are standing room around the wing. For those who have done standing room before, what is it like? Feel like a bit of a muppet and I'm hoping I haven't purchased dud tickets/ruined the experience for my dad.

Standing room is awesome. Atmosphere is off the charts, you've got access to bars and toilets and you can move around. I watched the 2008, 2014 and 2015 Grand Finals in standing room and it was the best.

 

[Gavin Excell]

It's a shambles every single year

The reason nothing ever changes is because members of the media aren't directly mpacted

 

[Gavin Excell]

Standing room is awesome. Atmosphere is off the charts, you've got access to bars and toilets and you can move around. I watched the 2008, 2014 and 2015 Grand Finals in standing room and it was the best.

I watched the 1989 GF in standing room
Had to get there ar 8am

 

[Guardian Hawk]

Still a shambles.

Barcode not accepted. Had to buy a separate seat for my 6 year old son, nowhere near the rest fo us (only a family of 4 and wouldn't allow all tickets to be bought together, despite joining at 10 and going for Level 4.

 

[Gordon Farkas]

I watched the 1989 GF in standing room
Had to get there ar 8am

I did the same at the 1994 GF. Got there at 7.45am to be first in when the gates opened at 8.00.

Please don’t ask me if it was worth it..

 

[Mentallo]

I just came here to say sharing tickets on the Ticketek is absolutely diabolical to the point it almost needs to be investigated by someone, the ACCC I don't know.
So so bad.

 

[Golden_6]

What happened to Dogs members is pretty shambolic. Apparently every single reserved seat barcode (essentially the die hard) didn’t work for the first 40 minutes.

So either they missed out on tickets altogether or got stuck in the nose bleeds. The fault is all on Ticketek by the way.

 

[Dirty Bird]

I just came here to say sharing tickets on the Ticketek is absolutely diabolical to the point it almost needs to be investigated by someone, the ACCC I don't know.
So so bad.

I have a mate who gets 2x free tickets to all games he wants except 9 for the year.

I've used them for 5 games over the past 3 years

But the changes this year didnt work real well

Only 1 of the 2 would open on my phone for the 1 game I used them for this year. The other I had to line up and get a physical one because of the bs.

 

[Doggy Dan]

Looks like the Bulldogs work experience kid sent an faulty reserved seat database to Ticketek. All those with general / 3 game / Dog and Cat memberships were cleaning up while those who pay $1000’s a year were left to question their sanity as to why they couldn’t perform this seemingly simple task! Still no statement from the club or Ticketek as to what actually happened.

 

[Underarm]

What happened to Dogs members is pretty shambolic. Apparently every single reserved seat barcode (essentially the die hard) didn’t work for the first 40 minutes.

So either they missed out on tickets altogether or got stuck in the nose bleeds. The fault is all on Ticketek by the way.

No one missed out on tickets. There was plenty left for the general public sale.