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UW ticket office, wtf.
volcanodawg
Member Posts: 282
last night i went and got a jamba juice and had an interesting discussion. i ordered up and obliviously paid and the gal behind the counter said something like, 'oh you are a husky fan' or 'go dawgs' or something like that....instantly im confused bc i am not wearing any UW stuff.... but then i realized i paid with my UW alaska airlines visa card and responded with a simple 'go dawgs'.
gal proceeds to tell me her whole life story of being a husky fan. (i just want my jamba juice and to go ASAP, but i listen) starts off with saying her grandparents have been season ticket holders for 46 years, haven't missed a home game, and they have a purple and gold Christmas tree and UW this, UW that, yadda yadda yadda.
10 minutes later, i'm hardly impressed, heard this before....but i respond with a simple question to be polite, "are they excited for the new stadium?" I was surprised by her immediate answer, which was....."NO!" (emphatically). I'm perplexed now, so i ask why. "Grandparents are on a fixed income and won't be able to afford their season tickets this year and rather than pay the same amount of money and sit in the upper deck which would be a terrible inconvenience....they are choosing to opt out and watch from home instead, despite their passion for wanting to continue to go." their seats were on the 50 yard line, south side, 11 rows up. previously those seats were $1500, now they are over $3000.
i get the responses that are coming....'should have planned for retirement better', 'no surprise in THIS economy', 'later blue-hairs!', etc.....but this got me wondering. Is our ticket office really this fucking dumb that they don't have some sort of grandfather clause or payment plan to bridge the financial gap from the old to the new? not sure how many people are in the same boat but this is just one of those things that seems odd and awkward. The program can't find a way to reward someone for 46 consecutive years of support? not even a commemorative button?! FUCK. not saying they should be getting $.25 hamburgers and $.05 fountain sodas for nostalgic/financial reasons too....but a proactive and well in tune AD doesn't make mistakes like this imo. rant over.
gal proceeds to tell me her whole life story of being a husky fan. (i just want my jamba juice and to go ASAP, but i listen) starts off with saying her grandparents have been season ticket holders for 46 years, haven't missed a home game, and they have a purple and gold Christmas tree and UW this, UW that, yadda yadda yadda.
10 minutes later, i'm hardly impressed, heard this before....but i respond with a simple question to be polite, "are they excited for the new stadium?" I was surprised by her immediate answer, which was....."NO!" (emphatically). I'm perplexed now, so i ask why. "Grandparents are on a fixed income and won't be able to afford their season tickets this year and rather than pay the same amount of money and sit in the upper deck which would be a terrible inconvenience....they are choosing to opt out and watch from home instead, despite their passion for wanting to continue to go." their seats were on the 50 yard line, south side, 11 rows up. previously those seats were $1500, now they are over $3000.
i get the responses that are coming....'should have planned for retirement better', 'no surprise in THIS economy', 'later blue-hairs!', etc.....but this got me wondering. Is our ticket office really this fucking dumb that they don't have some sort of grandfather clause or payment plan to bridge the financial gap from the old to the new? not sure how many people are in the same boat but this is just one of those things that seems odd and awkward. The program can't find a way to reward someone for 46 consecutive years of support? not even a commemorative button?! FUCK. not saying they should be getting $.25 hamburgers and $.05 fountain sodas for nostalgic/financial reasons too....but a proactive and well in tune AD doesn't make mistakes like this imo. rant over.
Comments
Yes.
I actually hate the "I'm old so I shouldn't have to pay what everyone else does " bullshit. Fuckers do that with their taxes too.
It's not just old people, many people can't afford to go to sporting events. Just like a lot of people can't afford to go to Europe, or a 5000 sf house, or a new car. Tuff titties. Revenue is what's needed. If someone will pay $3000 for what was $1500 seats, then good for UW. btw, those seats sound pretty close to my new ones.
So you really think because someone is old and on a fixed income they should pay less than what others would pay for their seats? Fuck, what's next? Hey, I just had a couple of kids, cut me a break. He my kids are in college, but I'm a huge fan, cut me a break. Pay or GTFO.
Also, "can't afford it", or choose to spend the extra $1500 on other stuff this year and come up with a woes me I'm old and fixed income line of bullshit.
I agree with ****** that old fucks shouldn't get a discount but something should be done to at least acknowledge their time as paying customers.
I actually hate the "I'm old so I shouldn't have to pay what everyone else does " bullshit. Fuckers do that with their taxes too.
It's not just old people, many people can't afford to go to sporting events. Just like a lot of people can't afford to go to Europe, or a 5000 sf house, or a new car. Tuff titties. Revenue is what's needed. If someone will pay $3000 for what was $1500 seats, then good for UW. btw, those seats sound pretty close to my new ones.
I think the issue isn't so much about old people being poor but about not rewarding or helping loyal customers - 46 years is a long fucking time.
I agree with ****** that old fucks shouldn't get a discount but something should be done to at least acknowledge their time as paying customers.
this. 100%
I believe the lower rows in the six Heritage sections may be difficult to fill at the $750 donation rate and should have been designated something lower, say somewhere between $350 to $450 per seat. However, the days when prime seats in the lower horseshoe below the drip-line (row T ? or lower) and between the 30 yardlines can be had without some level of Tyee membership are over.
Tyee sections have been expanded significantly on both sides of the stadium while the nosebleed zones in both upper decks no longer require Tyee donations as they never should have before. And lots of high priced (donation level) luxary stuff now available has sold like hotcakes. We now have an expensive stadium to pay for and maintain with private financing. Never again can Husky Stadium be allowed to be neglected and become rundown as it was before. And of course, there's softball and volleyball to pay for.
I'm retired with grandsons who are now starting college and most earnestly want me and their parents to keep Husky Football going until they can assist with and eventually take over the cost. As for Husky Football, I've become conflicted about the value received over the past 10 years for my buck. I think it's possible that without family interest, I might have dropped my support long ago. My oldest grandsons did attend games at Husky Stadium back when we had a good competitive program, but they remember little about it and have never been to a Rose Bowl. Imagine how avid they might become if we ever go to Pasedena again.
Second off, this is the trend around the cuntry, college and pro. I don't like it, but from a business perspective, it's hard to argue with their new procedures. I will say that they should have made a greater effort to accomodate long time (say 5 or 10 years plus) season ticket holders.
It's kind of sad, and it's too bad that the crowd will probably be filled with one percenters and corporate hacks who don't like to make noise, but that's the reality.