I received an email confirmation today for my tickets to the USA vs Czech Republic match. I'm so excited!! Where are the USA supporters staying (i.e. hostels or hotels or other)? Most importantly where are you guys partying before and after the match?
That'll probably be the case, but I'm pissed FIFA is hitting me up for two shipping charges...one on each order in the same phase (resale).
Hey all, FYI, last night I got an e-mail confirmation WITH a tracking number from FIFA. It says to make sure someone is home, blah, blah, blah... The only problem is that, as you already know, I got my tickets the other day! Also, nobody at my household signed for them, although I think the guy saw us shut the door so the dog wouldn't go nuts (at least I hope so). So it looks like FIFA will alert you as to when your tickts should be coming (for those of you lucky enough to get some through them).
Yeah, the Germans can mess up Customer Service too. The email letting me know that the tickets are coming arrived today, three days after I got my tickets. Not a big deal since I got them without any problems. Here is the eMail: Dear football enthusiast, The FIFA World Cup 2006(TM) is approaching. We are all conscious of this important event's special flair already. It will certainly be a dream come true for you Mr. XXXXX. The requested tickets with the purchase order number XXXXXXXXX have been reserved for sending to you. Please note that we have also commissioned a reliable delivery service that is appropriate for this event's significance. We not only need our DHL courier service but also you in particular for that purpose, of course. The consignment will be delivered to you by DHL Express within the next 10 days. Please ensure that either you or another person in your household will be present to receive these tickets at the address which is stated below. Delivery address ----------------- Forename: XXXX Surname: XXXX Street: XXXX Address supplement:XXXX City: XXXX Postal code: XXXXX Country: XXXX You will be informed by means of an advice note left in your post box, if you do not meet the courier or postman. Please check whether there is any post for you there as well. If you establish that neither your consignment nor an advice note is received within the next 10 days, you can trace the despatch of your consignment by inputting your tracking ID at the following link: http://www.dhl.de/dhl?tab=1&skin=hi&check=yes&lang=de_EN&xmlFile=3000571 (Please copy this link into your browser's address lines, if you cannot click on it). Then please click 'Track&Trace Express International' on DHL's home page and enter your tracking ID in the appropriate panel: tracking ID: xxxxxxxx Your way to the FIFA World Cup 2006(TM) We would like to arrange for your way to the stadium to be as easy and comfortable as possible because every game's venue has its own peculiarities, which you should take in account when travelling to and from the daily games. You can therefore find detailed information about your way to the stadium and helpful literature about the tickets in the column entitled 'Destination Germany - your way' at the www.FIFAworldcup.com site on the internet: namely, really individual information for your game or your game's venue. We are looking forward very much to welcoming you to the FIFA World Cup 2006(TM) in Germany! Yours faithfully, Your 2006 FIFA World Cup (TM) Ticketing Center
You've got to understand, the DHL packages were flown over. But your email had to pass through European customs and Interstat control, get loaded on a container for a ship, wait for the vessel to be fully loaded and all documentation completed, then cross the Atlantic, where it probably put into Baltimore or New York, offloaded (and you know how slow the longshoremen's union can jam these things up), then into the local email system before it's delivered to you. It can take weeks to get these emails out, so it's actually a tribute to German efficiency that this email got to you so quickly. It would have taken the Belgians, bloated bureaucrats that they are, much, much longer. And don't even get me started on the South Americans -- their emails can take years.
Sorry to be so sarcastic... just as I recall Germans are notorious for their bad customer service. I remember once trying to buy a ticket for a flight I was late for in Frankfurt. The woman at the checkout chided me and said, essentially, "Well, I'll sell you the ticket if you insist, but you'll never make the flight anyway so you're really wasting my time". Turns out the flight was delayed and I ran through the airport for no reason whatsoever and actually had to wait an hour for the flight depart. Which she could have checked but it would have been too much effort. Compare this to Warsaw where when I wanted to change a a flight ticket the service agent escorted me to the front, to get the ticket corrected, made sure it was correct, then walked me back through, making sure I got to the front of the lines so that I wouldn't miss my flight. "German customer service" is a bit of an oxymoron, not to be confused with "German efficiency", which imho is also a bit overrated.
. "Don't swallow your anger. If you're being treated badly, feel free to pitch it right back. Germans admire directness and a show of resistance or even anger can lead to an immediate improvement in service. At the very least, it will make you feel better". No problem What's the tipping protocol in Germany? Is gratuity added automatically??
You round up a bit, but not too much. E.G. you have a dinner tab that's 23 Euro, you hand the waiter 25 Euro and call it even. The waiter will generally have a special wallet that's pretty much a cash drawer and settle things with you tableside, if you are not paying with plastic. BTW, the rest of the Spiegel guide from whence that article came is well worth a read.
not just that, but it had to be converted to the US standard font scale based on dots per inch rather than using a european metric font. That's all done manually by union labour thanks to the German dockers union, which is still strong in this day and age.
I've received confirmation of my seat locations. Does anyone know where the highest concentration of US supporters will be? I'm curious how far away I'll be.
Looks like Category 3. If you can pass along the approxmate section, block, etc. for each U.S. match, I could provide you with a diagram of exactly where you're located. The Magpie
Will the tickets from USSF all be together , like cat 4's all together , cat 3's all together ? I sure hope so . Was that how it was in 02 ?
Danke Ultra Peanut! Quite informative. I found the French to be moreso like this than the Germans in my last travel to Europe. I think it is a continental thing really. Perhaps they simply know we are Americans before we even utter a word... you know... as a whole, we as Americans do not have the very best reputation for being tourists. (snobby little brats doesn't cover it)... People should at the least try to emerse themselves in some of the culture and customs.
A couple of years ago, I read some article about an Expedia travel industry survey ranking different nationalities and their travel reputations. They considered a tourist's behavior, politeness, willingness to learn the local language, trying local delicacies, and spending on the local economy. The best tourists were: - Germans - Americans - Japanese - Italians The worst tourists were: - British - Israelis - Irish - Indians
I took the time to learn a bit of Korean (i.e. listening to tapes during commute) before the last world cup, and the natives were very impressed that someone would take the time to learn some of their language. It opened up many doors that otherwise would not have. (including impressing some very beutiful women enough in Busan that they they took is to their local nightclub! ) I doubt it has the same effect in Germany (being that English is MUCH more common than in Korea), but none the less, whenever I travel, I think it is a good rule of thumb to alteast be able to say the basics. -Borders books sells their Pimsler Language CD's for under $20. So far I'm pleased with what I've learned.
You are correct, but not sure how they got their hands on it. The company was founded in San Francisco back in the late 60s. IIRC there was a pretty big scandal surrounding one of the founders. And now that you mention it, I notice the company colors are similar/the same as Deutche Post, the German mail service. Scary.