Tuesday, September 07, 2010
THE FUTURE STARTS NOW.
In the post below regarding the Mets current desperation good-will effort to offer fans field-level seats to any game for the rest of the year, this comment struck me:
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.
The Mets can do as many internet surveys and focus groups as they want. All they need to do is read that statement again. And again. And again.
The truth is this: I am not renewing my plan for 2011. TBF is not renewing his plan for 2011. We are not buying a ticket plan from the Mets for 2011. Would you like to know why? Sure you would.
- The available seating locations are terrible and short-sighted: I am tired of sitting in row 14. I am tired of row 13 being the best possible row I can get in my section. I am tired of walking up to the box office the day of the game and buying a ticket in rows 1-4 of my actual section. Or rather, I am not tired of it, but I will do that instead of sitting in row freaking FOURTEEN, which is four rows from the top of the ballpark. I know: those rows are saved for full season ticket holders and for walkups. I do not, however, understand why someone who walks up the day of the game is given a seat that is better than mine. Or rather, I do understand this completely, but I am tired of the Mets thinking that this is an okay thing to do. When I complained about being so high up, I was told that I could move - to the Left Field Landing, where the tickets cost twice as much as they do in the Promenade.
Whoever is in charge of this for the Mets needs to be fired. Immediately. They do not know how to do their job.
- No discount: Every single team in Major League Baseball, including the New York Yankees, gives the people who buy their tickets in bulk, and months in advance, a discount on those tickets. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. This means that they can turn around and resell the games they can’t get to and still make a profit by selling them at the non-ticket-plan-holder price. This is good for everyone. I know that the Mets think they don’t have to do this, because there are people who will buy a season ticket plan because they can just swallow the loss of a couple of thousands of dollars if they can’t resell tickets. But that is what keeps the ballpark empty, which isn’t good for anyone.
- The ticket plans are terrible:I loved our old Tuesday-Friday plan because it ensured that we saw one game in every series that came to Shea. The 15 game plans have no rhyme or reason. If you purchase a Friday plan, you get stuck with random weekdays. The weekday plans have no rhyme or reason, there is no attempt to space out the games to give you a good selection of opponents as the season progresses. We already know that the Saturday and Sunday plans require that you purchase 5 games - 30% of your plan - that are during the week. It’s not that there aren’t enough Saturdays or Sundays to fill out the plan, but they cherry-pick the games they think will sell out of them. Apparently, no one has stopped to consider that the people who come to the ballpark on the weekend do so because they can’t get to the ballpark during the week. I suppose the correct statement is not that they do not realize this, but rather, that they do not care.
I don’t want to hear that it’s hard, or it’s difficult, or they don’t have the software, or whatever lame excuse they or anyone else might offer. You know why? Because the Philadelphia Phillies offer plans where you can pick what games you want to go to. The Phillies have a ballpark as small as ours with a team 10x as popular and they have figured out how to offer what I believe is the most flexible ticket plans in MLB. The Mets are bullheaded and arrogant and care so little about the ticket buyers that they cannot be bothered.
[The frustrating thing is, I learn about this stuff because I sit at my desk here in my mom’s basement and go to the web page of every team and read about their ticket plans because that is my idea of doing something that is fun and interesting. I am not paid to do it. So I do not understand how there is no one in the employ of the New York Mets who is not doing this, and instead, they waste time on things like focus groups to find out why people aren’t buying tickets, when all they would have to do is turn on WFAN or read some comments on Metsblog.]
- No reward for seniority: People who have had ticket plans since 1986 should be getting some kind of preference over me, who has had a ticket plan since 2006. Someone who bought a plan and kept it current - maybe with a year lapse here or there - should be rewarded in some fashion. There should be some kind of preferential treatment, whether it be allocation of seating locations for the post season or first dibs at upgraded locations.
Here is the saddest fact of all. As our disposable income has risen, the amount of that disposable income that we give to the New York Mets has been going down, instead of going up. When we moved to Citi Field, we were prepared to step up to a 40 game plan. However, they do not sell 40 game plans in the Promenade, only in the more expensive seats. That makes a 40 game plan out of our price range. Trying to explain that to the ticket rep was like talking to a brick wall. So we bought a 15 game plan, and pick up another one when there are about 7 games left. The rest of our money we spend on the road.
For 2011, we are going to put together a list of games we want to see - we will undoubtedly make a Tuesday-Friday type of plan where we can see one game from each series - and we will go to the box office the day they put tickets on sale at the park and we are quite sure we will end up with seats we are happy sitting in. If we don’t like the seats, we won’t buy the tickets in advance, and we’ll wait for the Mets to release them. Opening Day wasn’t hard to get last year, it’ll be even easier next year. We don’t like going to the Subway Series at Shea, and right now I can count on my dad to get me tickets to the House of Evil.
So why buy a plan? This way, we won’t need to give the Wilpons $1500 in December, and we won’t need to go to games we don’t want to go to. We have a running slush fund for post-season tickets and we’ll deal with going to the secondary market when that day comes. (We’ve considered partnering with people who have full season plans but either we don’t know them well enough or they’re not sitting where we want to sit.)
We aren’t even the kind of fans who would demand to see Omar and Jerry fired before renewing, or that Francisco Rodriguez never throw a baseball for the Mets again, or for the elimination of Oliver Perez or Luis Castillo. Sure, the lousy on-field performance isn’t helping, but it’s not like we’re not going to go to games. We like baseball and we like watching live baseball. We are Mets fans. So we will still go. We just won’t give them our money in a big chunk right before we have to do our Christmas shopping.
I liked being a plan holder. There is just no reason for me to be one any more.
Posted by Caryn at 12:13 PM
Hear Hear!! As of right now, I’m with you. Yes, I reserve the right to change my mind, but ONLY if things with the plans change in a MAJOR way. I’ve been screaming about each of your aforementioned points for a while now and I’m simply tired of all the BS.
I’ll go to about 5-7 games next year and actually choose which ones I want to attend. Think I would have chosen next Wed vs Pit???
-adam
Caryn, I applaud your decision and can not agree more with the changes that need to be made. I loathe the package options now. I would like to say to the Mets that I don’t mind going to a really bad Nats or Pirates matchup, but how about giving me the flexibility to choose which game of an awful series I take in? My only criticism is admitting you will still buy in advance next year albeit not in a package. The bottom line is the still get your hard earned dollar and feel no obligation to reward you for your loyalty.
EJ, I don’t want to be duplicitous and pretend I’m not going to go to games. I’ll still control when, and how, and how much money I give them. Buying the games in advance is more of a matter of convenience for us. But if we go to the box office and they’re still holding those good seats in preparation for all those full season ticket holders they’re not going to get, then I won’t buy.
They’re going to get my hard earned dollar and they don’t reward me for my loyalty anyway. But at least Freddie doesn’t get to go Christmas shopping on the interest payments from my season ticket deposit.
Caryn—
Couldn’t agree more with your well-written piece. I also WILL NOT renew my ticket plan next season. I have always had a Sunday plan because I enjoy spending my Sunday afternoon at the ballpark. I could not go to all the midweek games this year and could not even GIVE my tickets away, so I wound up eating the price of those tickets. I think you have the right idea…buy tickets to the games I want to go to and not worry about sitting so far up that I need oxygen by the time I get to my seat. Last year I had the row before the last row…this year I upgraded to row 13…woohoo!! I hope someone from the Met ticket office reads your blog and makes some changes to their plans. There are no plans to get excited about any more…very sad!!
I’m going to see what is offered first before deciding whether or not to keep my plan. I’m also debating splitting it with someone else, since I automatically don’t have a second person to go with and have to find people—which is harder without a) a winning team and b) a brand new ballpark.
Last year, the Mets moved me to better seats. I’m thinking that if even more people dump their plans, I’ll be sitting in 524 (the closest Prom section that’s not Prom Infield) next year.
That said, I agree with your points regarding discounting and the plans themselves. Those two issues will be the REAL decision-makers for me.
Wow. This makes too much sense. Did you send this to anyone at the Mets ticket office? After reading this, I think it only makes sense to jump on the no-plan bandwagon.
You guys are a year late and a dollar short. I know you dont want to hear it but I told you so last year. Until they treat us wit some respect…Its Stub Hub….Better Seats At Lower Prices….
Ah, yes, Paul, that revolutionary! Paying his percentage to MLB via the radical notion of StubHub!
Do you know that on my roadtrip out west we didn’t use StubHub *once* to buy tickets? Hmmmmm.
Caryn, let me explain my point. I was a Saturday Plan Holder for 23 Years (1986-2009) Started in Mezz 18 and over the years, was upgraded to Mezz 8, than Mezz 2 and finally Loge 10. I believe the trouble started in 2006 because along with the invoice came a note to upgrade to Season Tickets as to not to get shut out of $iti Field.
We all know what happen after 2008, and then, all of a sudden the Mets offered Partial Plans. I would have been sitting right by you for 2009 except for the fact that I was not willing to accept the last few rows of the upper deck. I sat there for many years as a kid but wanted that Loge-Type view between the bases that I earned with the Saturday Plan. All the Mets were willing to offer for plans were Left Field Landing and Promenade Box and Reserve. We decided to take the box in 430 and half way thru the year tried Stud Hub. We wound up with seats in the Caesars Club between the bases for 50% off face value.
We figured this year would be different, we called for an upgrade and were told no new seating sections. Lies…lies..lies cause they called us back with Caesar Club Outfield locations. Unacceptable. So we decided NOT to renew and go with Stub Hub on a game by game basis. The best move we ever made any let me tell you why:
1) We sit where we want. This year, all in the Caesar Club Gold.
2) We go when we want, if something comes up and cant make it…No Problem
No Tickets to eat or try to get rid of.
3) So far we’ve paid $50 to $85 a seat…well below the $112 to $168 face
value.
4) True…the Yankeee Tickets cost us $135, but we decided to treat ourselves, and they were below the $196 face value.
5) Best part….Not stuck with any “Meaningful September Game tickets or middle of the week games a weekend plan holder does not what.
True other teams charge fair prices so there is no need to use Stub Hub. But we talking the Mets here and their crappy plan prices and locations.
Bottom line is the Mets are NOT treating their plan holder with any respect. I am tired of it as I’m sure many people are. Until they make changes I’m just offering another option that works and beats their single game ticket prices!
It’s so simnple even a caveman could do it. (But not the gecko that’s over left field.) First, give plan buyers discounts. As noted, 29 of 30 teams in baseball do this, how the Mets feel they don’t have to do so at the same time as they are working out ways to get people back into the ballpark is pretty laugable.
Second, unravel the squeeze plays they attempted on their fans with the move to Citi Field. If they’re wondering why they never had to offer plan discounts before to sell ticket plans, even with a bigger ballpark and teams just as bad or worse than the 2010 Mets, the answers are all right there.
- Fix the 15-game plans to what they were. For example, weekend plans that are all Saturdays or all Sundays, period.
- Drastically reprice tickets to market value. Anything not in the 500s level either costs over $50 on average per ticket, or is in the outfield where Mets fans (for the most part) dislike the view (tiny batters at home plate, can’t see huge swaths of the outfield under the wall, etc). Shea never had much outfield seating except in the bleachers, which were cheap.
- Admit that they are never going to sell out their best sections solidly to full season ticket holders and stop reserving those spots for potential buyers, only to release them the week before the homestand.
IMHO the Mets have so damaged their relationship with their best fans (ticket plan buyers for personal, not corporate use) that they’ll have to both revert to Shea era plan structures AND give a discount for the first time. Unless they find a way to go undefeated the rest of the way and shock the world by winning the division all of a sudden.
How about this idea: simply stop renewing in the same location every year for partial plans. (They actually have done this already in the fine print, I think; it’s just their software that renews the same location by default.) Hear me out! They could now sell partial plans in EVERY seating category without worrying about some guy with a Friday plan in a good location blocking them from selling it for a full season plan.
Every year, season ticket holders get first dibs on upgrading their locations (or staying put), followed by partial plan holders getting auto-relocated based on seniority and/or number of tickets to the best remaining locations in that seating category. Say you get a 15-game Saturday Plan in Prom Reserved Infield. In a down year you end up in (say) Section 518 Row 5, as all the full season holders get upgraded over to 512-517. In an up year, they sell 518 Row 5 to a full season plan holder and you get bumped up to Row 8, or out to 520, or what have you.
That way, full season plan buyers always get the best locations they paid for (as they should); and partial plan buyers get the best locations after that, better than single game walkup buyers (as they should).
I’d LOVE that because as a plan buyer, full or partial, the biggest grievance I have is the bad location relative to single game buyers, for the same price I paid, despite me being locked in before the season begins. This is probably even more annoying than the lack of a discount, because if that were my sore point I wouldn’t have bought the plan in the first place.
Hear Hear!! As of right now, I’m with you. Yes, I reserve the right to change my mind, but ONLY if things with the plans change in a MAJOR way. I’ve been screaming about each of your aforementioned points for a while now and I’m simply tired of all the BS.
I’ll go to about 5-7 games next year and actually choose which ones I want to attend. Think I would have chosen next Wed vs Pit???
-adam