So disappointed with our Club!

[weller54]

21 minutes ago, Wasyls Pec Deck said:

The club are crap at considering how young kids get their first taste/ticket and become supporters. I recall giving feedback as such, and saying how they should have a ‘first game package’ where you can get a ticket, meet Filbert a few other basic ‘welcome to the club’ stuff. They responded by introducing something like this, but stipulated that the child already needed to have a ticket and limited it to only a small number per game - ie limiting it and defying the point of it really.

 

I can only imagine what it’s like when they're other hurdles that make this more difficult. They are tone deaf and blinkered on things like this. 
 

I suppose currently for STH they can get guest tickets, but still not everyone wanting to introduce a child will be an STH.
 

If the problem is not enough seats and a demand-side issue, I would like to think the stadium expansion will coincide with taking many of three hurdles away - but I'm not hopeful.

 

 

You're so right!... Make their first experience that extra bit special and you've hooked them for life!!  It's not rocket science is it?  and would cost very little.

I had been considering Albie's first match experience for quite a while, taking into consideration all of his additional needs etc, but I never thought for one minute that my beloved Leicester City would make it so damned difficult!!  It's been a real eye opener.

 

[davieG]

17 hours ago, weller54 said:

The last few weeks has made me see LCFC in a completely different light.

I've been a supporter for 60 years and I've nurtured my Grandson to follow in my footsteps. I've taken him on the Stadium Tour and visits to the club store etc etc...

He's asked for a while to go to see a game, but as he's autistic I've been extra cautious about this as I fear he might struggle to handle the environment and the fact he's only 8 years old.

But, bless him he's been going on and on about seeing a live game...

So, a few weeks ago I started the process of attempting to get tickets for a game. I chose the QPR game as I thought he maybe the less busy match left?

I contacted the club and explained the situation.  Firstly they needed documented evidence of his condition. I explained the diagnosis was an ongoing process and that it could be a year or two before I could give them written 'evidence' of his condition.

Then to actually getting tickets for the game!!...I was advised it would be highly unlikely that they would go on general sale. Even buying membership wouldn't guarantee me being able to get tickets. I also tried to explain that it was a strong possibility that he wouldn't be able to handle the noise/environment and we might have to leave well before the end of the 90 minutes, therefore becoming members would be a waste of time and money.

So, no help from the club in sourcing a ticket for him, no understanding of his difficulties, no empathy, nothing positive whatsoever!!

A very kind member of FT contacted me and because him and his brother were ST holders he arranged to get me 2 tickets!..it was a very kind gesture and my Grandson was incredibly excited when I told him the news.

So we're going to the QPR game, but with zero help from the club.

I will try my best to make this day special for Albie and it will be a lovely memory for me.

..But, right now I'm feeling disgusted with the club and I'm actually questioning why I should support such an uncaring organisation and I'm certainly questioning whether I should encourage Albie to follow them in his future years.

https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/the-stadium-was-immaculate-do-people-rate-leicester-citys-stadium-the-king-power/#people-rsquo-s-thoughts-on-leicester-city-rsquo-s-king-power-stadium

 

This person wrote: “We came here for the England (Lionesses) v Belgium game.

The event was well staffed, not just with police but also stewards who were very helpful and this enabled an all round positive atmosphere and vibe. Once we had parked up, we had a ~20-minute walk to the ground, and there were stewards on the route assisting with road safety etc.

 

"We had contacted the club prior to the game for an autism pack for one of my children, and they were very helpful, provided this without charge, and left it for me to pick up at the ticket office upon arrival. The kit included a lanyard with push bubble strip, a fidget cube, and a set of ear defenders. All came in handy, and he loved the fidget cube, so a big thumbs up on this score.

[Trekerz]

1 minute ago, davieG said:

https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/the-stadium-was-immaculate-do-people-rate-leicester-citys-stadium-the-king-power/#people-rsquo-s-thoughts-on-leicester-city-rsquo-s-king-power-stadium

 

This person wrote: “We came here for the England (Lionesses) v Belgium game.

The event was well staffed, not just with police but also stewards who were very helpful and this enabled an all round positive atmosphere and vibe. Once we had parked up, we had a ~20-minute walk to the ground, and there were stewards on the route assisting with road safety etc.

 

"We had contacted the club prior to the game for an autism pack for one of my children, and they were very helpful, provided this without charge, and left it for me to pick up at the ticket office upon arrival. The kit included a lanyard with push bubble strip, a fidget cube, and a set of ear defenders. All came in handy, and he loved the fidget cube, so a big thumbs up on this score.

Can't get an autism pack if the club don't let him buy a ticket without a membership! Also, cannot really judge the club on England womens games as you know they're looking to impress the FA and change all their rules and regulations when they can't fleece the fans for memberships

[Babylon]

1 hour ago, weller54 said:

Not a problem in isolation no...

But when put together with all the other barriers the club have thrown up then it is.

Fully understand that blue badge holders etc get priority.  It wasn't the case that I would be 'stealing' one of their spaces. I could book a space for £18! But they wouldn't recognise Albie's disability to get the 'discounted ' rate of £10.50!   

 

It's not hard for them to say, at the very least... "on this occasion, we'll sort something out for you". I fully understand them not wanting to open the floodgates, so to speak; if there is an opportunity there to abuse the system, people WILL do it. But it would at least give you the opportunity to try it out and then buy a membership if he gets on ok. 

 

 

[Babylon]

1 hour ago, Chocolate Teapot said:

****ing hell. You've had some bad takes recently but this one wins it for me.

Ha ha, you love piping up, I thought you'd skulked off after your LCFC trust nonsense. 

 

There are a huge amount of people not getting a discount on parking who probably need it. If crowds are an issue get there early, if distance is an issue, arrive early so you can get dropped off outside. There are numerous avenues to take personally here in terms of travel and parking before chucking it at the club and wanting them to sort it out. 

 

The club could certainly be more flexible in terms of tickets as a one-off, especially as I believe he said he's willing to pay.  But I fully understand a long-term position of wanting evidence of disability. People can say "oh nobody would pretend to have x, y, z issue", but they do. People lie through their teeth for disability benefits, blue badges, discounts, etc. It would be lovely if there weren't unscrupulous t****** out there who would abuse it, but there are.

 

You'd expect to be asked to provide evidence from most places, whether it's the cinema, or Alton Towers, so I expect little different here. Maybe that's just me, I don't view it as a special case over any other business, it's long been more about business than anything else. But even those companies, you'd like to think someone would pick it up and bend the rules a little for people, even if it's viewed as good PR!

 

 

[Tommy G]

2 hours ago, Tommy Fresh said:

Pretty sure most places ask for proof though, if you book a ticket at a discounted rate for instance, it'll say requires a DLA letter or whatever on arrival to prove it. I think the lack of direction from the club to help out with how to get what he needs is the bigger issue

Having been to probably 100 places that have said please provide a DLA form I have had to probably a handful of times. 

[StinckleyFox]

3 hours ago, Lako42 said:

Not to sound like a dick but have you actually read what he posted? 

Yes

[Tommy Fresh]

10 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

Having been to probably 100 places that have said please provide a DLA form I have had to probably a handful of times. 

Yeah but they still make a point of having to prove it, aware most won't check but that's probably more down to whoever's on the gates not actually being arsed.

[Babylon]

17 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

Having been to probably 100 places that have said please provide a DLA form I have had to probably a handful of times. 

Many places no longer even accept PIP or DLA forms as evidence. They use a third party like NIMBUS, whom you have to submit evidence to, and they decide whether you warrant the discount or carer ticket. You may have come across it. 

 

I have numerous disabled (some severe and some not) family members, including my partner, and they certainly seem to be trying to reduce the numbers getting discounts and carer tickets. It's getting rarer that they accept any PIP letter as evidence. 

[UniFox21]

It's a shame that things like this are becoming more frequent. We used to see examples of the club going above to help people out regularly, but that seems to become less and less common and more often we're getting the generic corporate responses to fairly simple issues to fix 

[Foxmeister]

6 hours ago, Lako42 said:

Just to balance it out a bit, he's trying to purchase a ticket to a football match, you know, spend money on a product a business sells. 

 

Imagine a world where you might be accused of making up a medical diagnosis in order to purchase a businesses product. 

 

Seriously broken 

 

 

Aside from the mocking nature of your tone I agree with the sentiment. It's bizarre you can't buy a ticket for a game that isn't sold out. I assume this is to protect the revenue from memberships that would become redundant if it was a free for all.

 

I'd like to think nobody would make something like this up to gain an advantage, experience makes me believe this isn't the case, I was merely pointing out the difficulty of differentiating.

 

I hope Albie has a wonderful day, that football becomes something that helps him make sense of the world, one of my daughters has autism and If we'd been as enlightened in the 70s as we are now I would probably have been diagnosed myself but I think I was viewed as a pain in the arse, many still do.

[Guest Lcfc82]

6 hours ago, weller54 said:

This is true..my first stop on Saturday with Albie (post Macdonalds) will be the club shop, I'll be lucky to get away with £100 in there no doubt.  After this dreadful experience of dealing with the club that is going to leave a bad taste in my mouth!!

If he’s autistic I wouldn’t take him in the club shop on a match day. Absolute bedlam in there the last time I went in ( don’t know if that’s the norm )

More lively in there than in the stadium 

[Dan]

This is a club that has truly rested on its laurels at so many levels. Beating a load of teams that we have 8 times the budget of won't fool me that it now has its act together.

[CosbehFox]

3 hours ago, Wasyls Pec Deck said:

The club are crap at considering how young kids get their first taste/ticket and become supporters. I recall giving feedback as such, and saying how they should have a ‘first game package’ where you can get a ticket, meet Filbert a few other basic ‘welcome to the club’ stuff. They responded by introducing something like this, but stipulated that the child already needed to have a ticket and limited it to only a small number per game - ie limiting it and defying the point of it really.

 

I can only imagine what it’s like when they're other hurdles that make this more difficult. They are tone deaf and blinkered on things like this. 
 

I suppose currently for STH they can get guest tickets, but still not everyone wanting to introduce a child will be an STH.
 

If the problem is not enough seats and a demand-side issue, I would like to think the stadium expansion will coincide with taking many of three hurdles away - but I'm not hopeful.

 

 

Some clubs do this stuff really well including issue of their first shirt etc. because they know they need to get that person through the turnstile - competition of rival clubs and other interests. The club don't get stuff because its sell out after sell out pretty much

[weller54]

20 minutes ago, Dan LCFC said:

This is a club that has truly rested on its laurels at so many levels. Beating a load of teams that we have 8 times the budget of won't fool me that it now has its act together.

You are so right.

[Wolfox]

@weller54

 

I am by no means expert, but I’ve been doing a fair amount of work on hypersensitivity for a product I’m developing 

 

Try as best you can to step Albie through what he’ll be experiencing maybe some YouTube videos of the ticket gates, concourse, steps and the seats…. The post horn gallop, What happens when we score and how people shout a lot!  This should allow him to  process what he’s about to experience 

 

Autism can be a true super power for many kids and adults…. I have been privileged enough to do some interviews with people with autism who can bring so much insight and understanding to topics that I’d never got from others…

 

I really hope he has a positive experience…. It’s a great pleasure taking kids to their first matches…. You only go for the first time once…

 

Ben

 

 

[weller54]

9 minutes ago, Wolfox said:

@weller54

 

I am by no means expert, but I’ve been doing a fair amount of work on hypersensitivity for a product I’m developing 

 

Try as best you can to step Albie through what he’ll be experiencing maybe some YouTube videos of the ticket gates, concourse, steps and the seats…. The post horn gallop, What happens when we score and how people shout a lot!  This should allow him to  process what he’s about to experience 

 

Autism can be a true super power for many kids and adults…. I have been privileged enough to do some interviews with people with autism who can bring so much insight and understanding to topics that I’d never got from others…

 

I really hope he has a positive experience…. It’s a great pleasure taking kids to their first matches…. You only go for the first time once…

 

Ben

 

 

Thanks Ben!.. they are sensible suggestions.

You're right, your first game (and how that experience turns out) is vital to how you are going to react to any future potential opportunities to go and see a game.

Everyone remembers their first live match experience.

I certainly do!

White Hart Lane, 1967. Spurs 0 Foxes 1 (Alan Tewley)

I'm praying Albie will have a day he'll never forget and for all the good reasons!