"Members" Frustration Thread

+1

I have also asked many questions, and I don't think everybody in the FO understands it either. To me, membership should coincide with being a season ticket holder. I guess that's too simple though....

 

No you're not, James and I got into a discussion about it on Twitter with Kyle from the Front Office from the front office. The members thing has the feeling of being disorganized. It seems like every few weeks they throw something new out as a members benefit.

As you said (and I agree with it) what they're doing with the members benefits seems to be devaluing season ticket holders.

My understanding though is as a member you'll be able to get access to the member's club pre-game 3 times a season, at least I think that's how it works.

My biggest issue you touched on, the fact that they're giving away 600 tickets in the Cauldron for the opener. That's over a quarter of the 2,000 seat section. I mean seriously? They couldn't sell those 600? They couldn't give a few more to the Cauldron to try to sell?

 

not really. It is true that it isn't the most clear right now, I don't find it confusing. Being a season ticket holder is what gets me into games. It is what I have always paid for, a bulk discount for an ensured spot to a game.

I see the members benfits, as extra stuff that I am not paying for, so its no reason to get frustrated with. It seems to be a developing program so it isn't complete or finished. Which means I await anxiously for new stuff to be unvield. If it isn't that cool, I am not that disappointed, for I did not pay for it. Just as long as you take a look at from angle of it is a gift and not an entitlement, your frustrations melt away.

 

I don't know about values or devalues -- I bought a season ticket because I wanted to go to all the games and it was the cheapest method. Nothing can change that unless they start grouponing madly and I didn't buy the season ticket to get a slap on the back. Sure it is a commitment to the team and so on but at least in my case I was thinking with my wallet. If the "member" perks ever allow me to not have a season ticket, and get buy as cheaply I doubt I will bother but then there are always tickets to things like the Gold Cup included that make it worth while. At least for me the ST was a rational purchase rather than an emotional one.

What I will say is I am tired to death of the whole "Member" thing. You stole my thunder a bit by putting this out, I was going to blog on it today so here goes --

- The "membership" thing seems so much more important to Sporting KC than the fans. Nobody I know is jumping through hoops about being a member and from what we have heard -- it sounds like Sporting Club Groupon mixed with a points program. Wooo.

- Membership hasn't been defined at all. It means nothing. "Am I a member?" - I guess, but I am a fan and I was a fan before this marketting nonsense started confusing people and hopefully a fan when they decide that a Season Ticket Member is a Season Ticket Holder, a Member is a Fan. They are trying to redefine by renaming and it seems ill thought out like they are making it up as they go along.

At the end of the day its just confusing and irritating people, we get nothing of substance when you talk to people just the same tired "member member member" company line.

I just want a ticket, and with that ticket I want to watch a game. It is a timeless simple concept that dates back millennia and they are messing with it. I am sure they will tell us that via membership they want to build the fan base and have it be a valuable thing but I want people in the stands who love the team not the discounts that might come with it. This is soccer, not ********ing Cosco with free membership.

Hell I could achieve the same with Dollar Dog Night -- it works, even for the Royals, if we had the marketting to actually tell anybody.

If they want a massive fan base and a full stadium and strong season tickets they need to put a winning team out on the field. Win trophies. ******** the membership, I don't need an affinity program, make the team exciting and people will come and then keep it exciting and they might stick around. That is the only value I want for my hard earned dollars.

Being a member doesn't make me a fan, it is really just getting to be a bit of a tired concept now.

I am sure the meat will come sooner or later but being a member doest have any value in itself, I don't feel like a part of anything because of it. It is just a worthless buzz word right now.

http://joinsporting.com/

 

Wait, what? I missed this somehow. If they gave away 600 cauldron tickets, that's insane. Who did they give them to? People who are going to cheer?

 

I've been saying these things to people I know since the whole concept was rolled out, I was just fearful of posting it on BigSoccer because any slight negative view of the team is constantly met with a wave of "how dare you!" posts from the ass kissers who would do anything to not piss off the team. So thank you for starting this thread, you've empowered me to voice my opinion. My opinion is that "Member" is a euphemism aimed at trying to make the concept seem cool, yet it really isn't and what it has done to quite a few people is alienate and confuse them.

One side note: The Members Club, at least as far as I can tell, was created as a place for the Cauldron to congregate before, during and after the games. I support the idea that fans from other areas of the stadium can't go into it. Those fans have been dedicated and given support for many years, and I'm not belittling that commitment. But the Club is for the Cauldron to thank us for the above and beyond support that we have given and will continue to give. In short, if you want to come to the Club buy tickets in the Stand and come on in, you're more than welcome.

I'm with James though, I don't need extra benefits but I will take them when they come along. I look at it as an added bonus, not as something I expect because of my monetary commitment. I've held season tickets at about 6 different locations in two different stadiums and all I ever expected was to watch soccer. Now I'm entering my 3rd stadium and am a "member" yet I don't know what that means. I'm confused by it, but in the end it isn't a big deal because I'm going to a soccer game in LSP in 5 days and it will be a dream come true. I'm just a bit annoyed that the word is thrown around so freely when pretty much everyone hears it and thinks the exact same thing.

 

http://www.thesportingway.com/2011/06/details-for-members-ticket-program.html

 

Here's the deal with these tickets. They probably could have sold them. They chose not to. There haven't been tickets available to buy in the Members Stand for weeks, so this was a choice that was thought out. I tried to buy 8 tickets for the Stand a couple of weeks ago and was told no, and I've always been given whatever I wanted from the team when I opened my wallet. That was a clear signal to me. Now that I know why I was turned away I think it's a brilliant idea. Give tickets to people who are already going to the game, they will bring friends, enjoy the atmosphere and possibly purchase tickets for future games. They could sell the tickets and not know the people who were buying them or they could give them away to people they know (I got mine at First Friday, so they know I'm committed and will give them to people that will stand, sing and cheer). To me this is yet another long term approach advertising tactic that is a great idea. Don't let it devalue your tickets in your mind, I highly doubt that is the point you should be taking from this.

 

I have no idea what it means. Don't really care. I'm with the camp of people that wonders what it means to be a "Member." Since it's confusing, I don't waste any brain power on it. In fact, when we were deemed as "Members," something in the back of my mind (subconsciously) said, "Yup, not going to waste my memory bank trying to figure out this nonsense." So, while I read the e-mails, the press releases, social media, etc., I guess I don't notice the use of the word "Member" as much as everyone else. Since I didn't get it in the first place, I guess I just gloss over it.

 

The free ticket thing irks me. The club is either trying to get people out there who would not normally go (I understand this), or the club is worried that the Cauldron section will not be full on Thursday. Both of these scenarios worry me (just a little bit ).

If the demand is there than why not make people pay? Giving something away that has value doesn't make sense from a sales stand point, UNLESS there is a lack of confidence in the product.

I tell you though, ESPN and national TV be damned. I'd rather have empty spaces in the stand over a bunch of hand sitters. Just me though. This night is for the hardcore, and the new believers to be baptized. Give the looky-loos their free ticket later, if it's needed.

 

I think that's a pretty good case for the 600 freebies to the opener - they create some buzz, and since the word was spread primarily to people who are already hooked into the club, you stand a pretty good chance of putting the "right" people in those seats, and there's a good chance they keep coming back.

But this whole "become a member, get free entrance to three games" thing, well that sets my cynical MBA-educated senses a-tingling. Yes, part of the objective here is to find people reasonably interested in soccer, show them the product, and hope to turn them into regular customers, or even STH down the road. But when you add that in to the "membership" benefits, with the discounts and deals from various "partners", then what's also going on here is that Ongoal and it's "partners" have decided that these "free" members (and especially the demographic information attached to them) are worth a perceived $50-60 in retail value to acquire. (Of course, the wholesale cost of a ticket that will likely go otherwise unused is just about zero.) There is also some small cost in irritating those of us who are willing to pay full freight for our tickets, but I seriously doubt that irritation convinces more than a handful of people to stop buying tickets.

Somewhere, a former member of this board is frothing at the mouth and screaming "YES YES YES SEE THE EVIL ONGOAL HAS BROUGHT!!!" However, since I don't believe that a Glorious Heartland People's Soccer Collective is a viable concept, I'll just accept it as a cost of being a fan of professional sports in the 21st century and not worry over it. Well, not as long as the product is watchable.

 

This one bothers me. I was OK with just about everything else. The Cauldron is a great group of people and they make the games fun, get the atmosphere energized and are among the most ardent supporters of the club. If any group deserves a place to gather during games, it is the Cauldron. However, there are many of us that are just as dedicated supporters of the club that don't choose to sit in the Cauldron for a number of reasons. For example, if you have kids, the Cauldron is not the place to be. The antics, behavior and F-bombs are just not kid friendly in close quarters. From across the field, it just looks like you are have a great time. Up close it's a parent's nightmare. Anyway, we have been season ticket holders for years, traveled to away games, and supported the club at watch parties. We pay more money for a ticket than a members stand price and can only get into the club 3 times in a season? Wow. That just doesn't seem right. What do member's like us get (other than 3 opportunities in the club)?

By the way, I was in the Club today at about 10am. It looks awesome. Rob was there helping get the place ready(thought he would be in Toronto). He had the music turned up to about warp 6 and the televisions on. It is going to be a great place to gather.

 

+1 ^^this^^

 

To touch on this further, I understand why they do it this way. There's no way they can build a bar that seats 18,000 and the cauldron is the obvious choice as it's the biggest concentration of devout fans. That said, I'm very tired of some of the fans continually implying/explicitly saying I'm not as much of a fan because I choose to sit somewhere else.

 

I get both sides of the argument on this topic. Here's a few random thoughts I have about it.

While you do pay more for your ticket, you have probably have a better view of the field and quicker access to the concessions, first aid, and merchandise in the main concourse. So as far as seat value goes, you are paying more for a better match viewing experience.

You mentioned that you would like more access to the Member's Club, then you said that the Member's Stand (Cauldron) is not a great area if you have kids (which I'm assuming you do). If you don't want to take you kids into the Member's Stand, you probably aren't gonna want to take them into the club either. It's gonna be filled with the same, filthy-mouthed, drunk people. The Member's Club is gonna be a bar that serves food. Not a restaurant that serves booze. More Coach's than Applebees.

When the original stadium plans were being discussed for the Bannister location, there were talks about a 3-story restaurant/pub in the stadium. I'm assuming it would have been for all fans. Since the stadium has been moved to the Kansas side, that idea had to be scaled down, I would assume, because there's just not enough room. The Member's Club isn't big enough to accommodate all fans. I kind of feel that it's weird for people to complain about the MC who don' have access to it. Would you suggest that there be no club at all then? So all fans are equal? Stadium Communism?

Also, don't underestimate the FO's main goal of getting the Cauldron's dollar. I know that a lot of fans tailgate hard. But The Cauldron is the biggest, organized tailgate every week in the parking lot. It starts 3+ hours before the game. A lot of people stick around after to discuss the match and wait for the lot to clear out. It's simple Marketing 101 for the FO to try their hardest to get the Cauldron inside the stadium spending money in their club. Not out in the parking lot drinking their own beer and eating their own food.

Anyway, these are just some random thoughts I have about it. I wish there was a big enough club for everyone to attend. But there's not. You buy a ticket to watch a match. I think a lot of fans forget the whole point sometimes.

There's a simple solution ... Buy a ticket to the Member's Stand if it's that important to you. Hell, the team is handing out 600 free ones to the opener. Grab one just to go into the club and check it out. Then go sit in your regular seats.

 

OK, just so I'm clear...this thread is for members to vent frustrations with other kinds of members? Or are we trying to determine which kinds of members we are...or if we are members? I'm so confused.

Seriously - I'm with Adam. I've got a ticket to the game. I know where me (AND my family, thank you very much) will be standing on game day. I'm pretty sure I'll be cheering for the same team as the rest of you. Not necessarily cheering better, but maybe in a different way than some of you.

Fine, some of us are frustrated that they are giving away tickets to the Cauldron. And yes, I've seen this go horribly wrong in the past when you wind up with people there who shouldn't be there. And yeah, some of you are frustrated that you don't have access to the club. But really - can you honestly look at our beautiful new home, the fact that we - through all of the nail biting years - still have a team and do nothing but b*tch at each other? Wow. Sorry, but I've waited too long for this day to quibble over this BS. I'll be there Thursday with a bottle of champagne to celebrate with my Cauldron, former-Cauldron and non-Cauldron friends. Feel free to join me...or you could just stay home and rant on your computer about being wronged by someone or something.

 

I don't get all the whining about the Members Club.

The logistics of the situation make it pretty obvious why it's open only to the cauldron during the game. First, the space issue. Second, if you've been in the stadium, and especially if you've been in the cauldron, you realize it's pretty isolated from the main stands. To get to the members stand on the tour from the west stand, you had to basically walk on a sidewalk next to the field. I don't think the team wants to deal with hoards of people walking back and forth next to the field grabbing beers.

The cauldron is unique for a reason. The fans in it aren't better, they're just different, and there's a different atmosphere created by a section filled entirely with this type of fan. If you were to mix in families and kids and hand-sitters, it wouldn't be the cauldron. Similarly, if the Members Club were open to everyone and not located in the cauldron, it wouldn't be the Members Club. It would be just another concessions option with tables and tvs, like that sports bar in Kauffman Stadium. And I've never heard people clamoring to go there during games.


That said, I do understand the general frustration about "membership." At the time of the announcement there was a lot of innuendo from the team about bells and whistles to be announced later. The away tickets are cool, but that's not a viable option for most folks. As Ben said, the whole point is to watch soccer in the first place, so there's no sense complaining about extras. But there certainly was a lot of hype that hasn't really been met up to this point.

 

I sympathize with fans who would like to go into the Club and can't, and I even went so far as to mention that there are many (thousands) of fans that have committed a lot to the team and won't be able to join us. The point that 18,000 people, or 5,000 for that matter, can't fit in the space is the key. The team is trying to do something special for a segment of fans and I think that's cool. Keep in mind also, the team did this for us so I wouldn't blame the fans. I'm going to take advantage of what they offer me, and if they value those of us that stand in the Cauldron a bit more than the fans in other areas of the stands that isn't my fault is it? This isn't a discussion about dedication, it's a discussion about a business taking care of their core supporters and there are going to be people in the fringes that may not agree.

Also, it is an opinion that the Cauldron isn't kid friendly. There are many children that have been raised in the section and in my opinion every single one of them is a on a great path in life. I wouldn't dare question your parenting tactics, just want to point out that you can have kids in the section, many people do and I intend to have mine there from age 1 on. It's actually a good place to show your kids how NOT to act by pointing out the idiots as examples.

I hope you aren't talking to me with this one. I don't question any fans support or that I'm more of a fan than them, and I haven't in this thread. People choose to be committed to whatever level they want to and that is fine, but there is some truth to the point that some people are more of a fan than others. I don't think this discussion is about that though. But, I think it is a fair point to say that a higher percentage of the Cauldron/Members Stand are more committed and "more of a fan" than the rest of the stadium. It makes perfect marketing sense for the FO to target the Cauldron to maximize their money spending in the stadium because many of us, myself included, will actually go out of our way to spend money and reward the owners for buying the team and building the stadium. And I'm sure there are people like that outside of the Cauldron, my point is about the percentages though.

I think most importantly people have to come to grips that certain sections have certain pros and cons, and I don't think it takes a genius to figure that out. Sideline seats have better views, suits have better food/drink but cost an arm and a leg, the Members Stand has a bar we can go to but not the best view, etc. You know what you are getting when you buy your ticket and you have choices to make. The FO can't make everyone 100% happy with their setting but I'm sure they are doing their best to please us all as much as they can.

 

This. I tried to word it and didn't do it as well as you did. The fans aren't better, aren't cooler, and don't think they are. Just different and should be segregated for a reason.

 

While Club access on game day would be nice, the real benefit would be having a great space that is dedicated on the away games...at least in my mind. Game day, I will still tail gate, go to my seats (where I won't have to stand most of the game) with my spouse (who prefers to sit out of the Cauldron), and then retreat back to the parking lot.

More power to those who have access to the Club duirng the game...it is a reward you should enjoy. I am content with a great venue and seats that are outstanding for the price--$35 for dead center field 8 rows up (compared to Chiefs tickets and $27 parking). I have nothing to complain about.

 

To me, the "member" thing comes across as the FO trying too hard to be different. I kind of feel the same way about the new name, but at least I'm able to explain the name and I understand the thinking behind it.

As others have already stated... can't you just sell me tickets so I can go watch a soccer match? Does this really need to be complicated & convoluted?

But what do I know... I'm just a member. (I think)

 

This is all good conversation and not meant to pit one group of ticket holders against another. There is no jealousy (OK, maybe a little) but not enough to make any difference. Bottom line is that the club is awesome and it will be my place to go when the team is out of town. As for the games, I will be sitting in a great seat that is 20 feet away from the grass right on the center line of the field. It just doesn't get much better than that. As for access to the club, I will pick and choose my 3 games carefully (more like the next 2 games because my first pick will be for opening night).

 

This was thread was more about the membership platform itself ... rather than the members club which is not open to all members just members of the members stand. At some point they have to realize how stupid this all sounds?

I have friends I used to tailgate with that won't be allowed in there -- if they still want to meet up in a parking lot outside and have a beer I'm more than happy to so. It al depends who is where for me, except I can buy an 18 pack of beer for a few bucks, have it last a few games and they simply cannot compete with it for value. I'd rather see the people I am used to seeing so I'll go wherever they are unless its ********ing miserable outside. I understand why its limited, I also understand what its like to be excluded from something.

I'm irritated about the free tickets for a number of reasons. I bought an extra ticket for my brother in law ... a new fan, just here because of the stadium and a perfect candidate for a helping hand into fandom. I wish I'd known all he needed to do was wait .... fortunately I went via the Cauldron and not Ticket Master.

I don't like that the FO held back tickets for the Members Stand when people I know wanted to buy tickets in there and were unable to. We now have those people claiming free tickets and looking to sell the ones they bought in the south stand or just feeling like they were held out on.

I feel that for somebodies first ever soccer game maybe they might want to not get pelted with beer and be heckled for not singing songs they don't know? Dunno about you guys but you have to wonder if they know what the hell they are getting into. Talking with FO peeps has them saying that is the environment and soccer experience they wish to give people ... I'm not so sure I'd appreciate that if I turned up with my kids and wasn't sure what I was getting into.

The South Stand may have been a lot more appropriate an environment.

I think they should have just made them available via Ticketmaster, the cauldron and other outlets until the last day or two before the game and then handed them out free if there were any left over.

 

I had the thought this morning that if they were giving away tickets in the South Stand instead, we wouldn't be complaining. I believe that too be true as well, they probably would have been lauded for the giveaway there.

Missed opportunities.