Car parking and stewarding.

[Pavilionaire]

I think the club have been in denial for too long that there are actually a lot of people who want to come to the match by car. My message to Barber:

1. Accept that there will be motorists.
2. Educate the stewards properly so they know the roads, the directions, the locations of the car parks, the ticketing procedures.
3. Man the exits properly. Get 2 or 3 stewards working as a team to get the cars out of the car park efficiently. Last night there was one bloke at the Bridge Car Park trying his best, but cars approach the exit from 3 or 4 different directions. Meanwhile, 100 yards away his pal was standing by the railway bridge with his thumb up his arse. I bet that lad did nothing all night but stand there. Similarly, there's always a steward the other side of the bridge before the match and all he seems to do is slow down the traffic that would otherwise pass under the railway line with no fuss.

 

[happypig]

My Email (edited for brevity) :

I am a season ticket holder in the East Upper. This year, I bought a parking season ticket for Sussex University after getting a bit fed up with standing in the rain waiting for a train the previous two seasons.
Overall the matchday parking experience is very positive; I can leave home at a reasonable time and be parked up and in the ground about half an hour before kick-off. Getting away can be a bit delayed but we accept that as many thousands are also trying to do the same.
Last night, however, it all came undone. Coming along the A27 from the east, there were huge queues for the car parks; I don't know if it was the University or the Bridge, I suspect the latter as I went past, turned around and came at it from the other direction.
There were long delays getting into the University and when actually in there I was directed to car park 1 but that seemed to be very full, given that there were still quite a lot of cars behind me.
I cannot help feeling that you underestimated the number of Parking Season Ticket holders that would turn up and over-sold the number of spaces; a feeling backed up by seeing a number of cars parked in unusual places on the walk back.
I also think that foreseeable, and therefore avoidable, delays were introduced by allowing "pay on the day" parking, making entrance to the car parks extremely slow.
I really hope that we can get a result against Hull in the replay but I am concerned that a 6th round tie against Sunderland will bring the same level of chaos and disorganisation.
Last night I, and it would seem, many others missed the kick off, something I don't wish to repeat.
I hope you can take some action so that the problems are not repeated.

Paul Barber's reply

I’m sorry that you experienced delays last night. Unfortunately, a combination of extreme weather conditions, fewer train services as a result, more people driving, an accident on the A27, and a broken down bus (not one of ours) at the university car park did cause longer than usual delays in securing access to car parks.

As I am sure you can appreciate, these are all circumstances outside of our control. Despite this, the vast majority of supporters were in their seats for kick off and all car parks (and train platforms) were clear within 90 minutes of the final whistle. We will always do the best we can to minimise delays to supporter travel but with crowds of between 20,000 and 30,000 attending our matches, there will always be some delays and more so in exceptional situations.

I hope this provides some perspective. Thank you for your support.

I wasn't happy with that so I sent another

Many thanks for your reply, however it doesn't address the overselling of the University car park. I have heard of people with Parking Season tickets being turned away and no-one else but the club can be blamed for that.

PB's reply to that was

The car park was busy but not sold out. I am sorry if the steward provided such information. I am aware of one permit holder who was initially declined entry to the car park but who was subsequently allowed in and was able to park. Clearly, this was an error on the steward’s part initially. We do employ 1,200 match day staff. There will be times when errors occur or information provided is inaccurate.

Unfortunately, as I have also explained, there were a number of circumstances last night that created delays that were outside of the club’s control. I appreciate that any delays to journeys are very frustrating but, in my experience, the Amex has one of the best transport systems I have come across in football. The delays our fans experience from time to time are actually quite rare and far from extreme.

Moving between 20,000 and 30,000 in and out of football stadium environment for an evening match in rush hour traffic and through extreme weather conditions – where forecasted train travel disruption, plus unforeseen accidents and break downs – compound the conditions is always going to be a challenge for any football club. We communicated travel information as early as we could with as much information as we could.

Despite this, the vast majority of supporters were in their seats for kick off and car park clearance times after the match were entirely in line with our averages for home matches. In the circumstances, and as frustrating as any delay is, I’m satisfied that our staff did the best they could in very difficult circumstances. Unfortunately, it is simply not possible for us to control every single travel variable.

So there you are. It wasn't the club's fault, everyone else was to blame. Only one person was turned away because the car park was full and that was a mistake because it wasn't over sold.

 

[edna krabappel]

I'm not sure what you expected the Chief Executive to say in this position?

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

I'm not sure what you expected the Chief Executive to say in this position?

Perhaps he may have been expected to say that he would enquire as to why the stewards clearly did not communicate nor know that they were sending hundreds of cars into an already full car park.

 

[East Preston Gull]

****ing shambles!!
Left bognor at 5 and got stuck in traffic(not clubs fault) arrived at Sussex university park with prepaid ticket at 7.30! Queued for half an hour, told that no more spaces were available due to train problems( dunce). No alternative parking offered by **** steward with attitude. Finally parked on double yellows outside ground. Got to match for half time. My boys 12th birthday treat. What a joke! It was the complete incompetence of the marshaling that wound me up!
A lot of new young fans have been let down here. Some family's even gave up and went home! Sad day in my albion supporting history.

 

[Goldstone1976]

From PB's second email: "The car park was busy but not sold out."

That's a statement of fact. One has three choices: believing him, giving him the benefit of the doubt in that he has not been informed that the car park was sold out, or believing that he has lied.

From all previous public and private communications with him, I do not believe the third option is accurate. He's a man who would, imo, have asked the question about how many tickets were sold in advance of the relevant person in the club before replying to a supporter. That individual may, of course, have lied to PB. That would be a pretty dangerous thing to do - PB doesn't strike me as the sort of man who would take such behaviour lightly. So, imo, the most likely scenario is that he's telling the truth.

The one thing that may not be covered by his response is how many tickets were POTG. I very much doubt that they kept a live record of how many tickets were being sold on the gate and were adding them to the total number that had been pre-sold in order to ensure that no more than the maximum capacity was sold. Presumably, however, they do know this morning how many were sold in total (assuming that the stewards did in fact give ticket stubs to all POTG customers - the alternative is that they may have.... no, I'm not going there).

 

[happypig]

I'm not sure what you expected the Chief Executive to say in this position?

I would have liked him to say that he accepts that the stwearding of the car parks isn't up to scratch and the management team would look into areas where improvements could be made. I don't expect him to take responsibility for stuff that isn't his fault but there are areas of responsibility that are firmly in his lap and that he could at least look at. For instance they need to look at the time taken to get cars into the car parks when there are a considerable number of casual users and see if there is a better way. It's called "Continuous Improvement" and, leaving aside corporate bullshit, is almost ubiquitous in every organisation these days.

 

[Mackenzie]

So there you are. It wasn't the club's fault, everyone else was to blame. Only one person was turned away because the car park was full and that was a mistake because it wasn't over sold.

Job done then. Nothing to do with the club, everything is fine......

 

[Titanic]

Does this mean we can all HATE Barber again and BLAME him for everything... after last week's LOVE-IN?

 

[East Preston Gull]

From PB's second email: "The car park was busy but not sold out."

That's a statement of fact. One has three choices: believing him, giving him the benefit of the doubt in that he has not been informed that the car park was sold out, or believing that he has lied.

From all previous public and private communications with him, I do not believe the third option is accurate. He's a man who would, imo, have asked the question about how many tickets were sold in advance of the relevant person in the club before replying to a supporter. That individual may, of course, have lied to PB. That would be a pretty dangerous thing to do - PB doesn't strike me as the sort of man who would take such behaviour lightly. So, imo, the most likely scenario is that he's telling the truth.

The one thing that may not be covered by his response is how many tickets were POTG. I very much doubt that they kept a live record of how many tickets were being sold on the gate and were adding them to the total number that had been pre-sold in order to ensure that no more than the maximum capacity was sold. Presumably, however, they do know this morning how many were sold in total (assuming that the stewards did in fact give ticket stubs to all POTG customers - the alternative is that they may have.... no, I'm not going there).

At 7.30pm I was told the car park was sold out, by the steward. I said one of those places is mine which I have paid for!! He could not have cared less. The sad thing for me was my little lad looked at me, not crying or moaning at all and said " I don't think I will bother coming next time dad". Pissing in a bottle in the back of a car is not what a 12 yr old boy wants to do on his birthday.

 

[Goldstone1976]

At 7.30pm I was told the car park was sold out, by the steward. I said one of those places is mine which I have paid for!! He could not have cared less. The sad thing for me was my little lad looked at me, not crying or moaning at all and said " I don't think I will bother coming next time dad". Pissing in a bottle in the back of a car is not what a 12 yr old boy wants to do on his birthday.

I'm not in any way saying that everything was fine last night (see my previous post on this thread). When I arrived at 17:55 it was already clear it was going to be a complete mess. All I was seeking to do was to assert that, imo, PB wasn't lying in his email replies. He may well have been misinformed. Clearly there are major lessons to learn from last night and it is disappointing that PB didn't seem to take that point on board - external factors cannot have been the only reasons for the mess, though they no doubt contributed to it.

It is a matter of deep regret that your son had such a miserable time. I'm sorry for you both.

 

[East Preston Gull]

I'm not in any way saying that everything was fine last night (see my previous post on this thread). When I arrived at 17:55 it was already clear it was going to be a complete mess. All I was seeking to do was to assert that, imo, PB wasn't lying in his email replies. He may well have been misinformed. Clearly there are major lessons to learn from last night and it is disappointing that PB didn't seem to take that point on board - external factors cannot have been the only reasons for the mess, though they no doubt contributed to it.

It is a matter of deep regret that your son had such a miserable time. I'm sorry for you both.

Thanks for the kind words. My son will now proberbly just want to go and watch the local matches at bognor or even worthing rugby club. He enjoys the ease of it all. Me, I will carry on using my trusty train, pub, match routine!. I think Barber was believing what he was told by stewards. They were idiots and need to be given a lesson in manners and parking management. I have no doubt that this whole shambles has cost the club a lot of potential young fans.

 

[Withdean and I]

It's nice to know that at the very least the CEO is aware of some of the problems last night.

The fact remains though that there were more cars trying to park at Sussex Uni last night than there were available spaces.

I don't know how the system works or if pay on the gate was available - but someone does. And whatever happened that caused the chaos last night should be sorted out.

And we only had the Amex 2/3 full last night. Imagine how much worse it may have been had it been full!

 

[Titanic]

Does this mean we can all HATE Barber again and BLAME him for everything... after last week's LOVE-IN?

Oh NO! Now I am really confused

http://www.northstandchat.com/showthread.php?295844-Replay-tickets-free-to-S-T-holders-and-members

I think we probably have to LOVE him again.

 

[HAILSHAM SEAGULL]

It seems from reading this thread, and my own experiences last night on the train, that the sensible future option for cup ties is to charge a travel subsidy, as per league games.
This negates the problems of queuing for tickets at undermanmed railway stations with one ticket machine.
There are three park and ride car parks and extra buses.
There is only access to the car parks by pre-booked tickets.

I would quite willingly have paid £24 for my match ticket instead of £20 to arrive and leave as per league games.

 

[East Preston Gull]

I still think he is doing a great job, but the parking shambles last night is unacceptable for a Club of our stature.

 

[Creaky]

It's a bit harsh on the people who travel a long distance though, there's only a limited amount of space in the P&Rs. I agree with something that someone said earlier: drivers who do travel some distance should have priority over others.

The club has everyone's address so it should be possible to have a sliding scale: if you live in B&H or Lewes you pay quadruple the current rate for Uni parking; if you live within 20 miles, you pay double the rate and if you live anywhere else you pay the same (or even half the current amount). That way, car parking close by is reserved for the people, like the fella from Newmarket, who are really making an effort.

I would fall into your 'long distance' category and have always used the P&R, bus or coach. I don't understand why it is harder for someone travelling from a distance to use the P&R compared to those who live closer.

I accept that sometimes, especially Mill Road, the P&R sites are inadequate - sorting this problem should have a higher priority in my opinion than the problem of parking adjacent to the stadium.

Reduce the amount of local parking and the bus access, whether P&R, coaches or local buses, would be far more efficient shortening the waiting time after the match.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

I would fall into your 'long distance' category and have always used the P&R, bus or coach. I don't understand why it is harder for someone travelling from a distance to use the P&R compared to those who live closer.

I also fall into this category being from Eastbourne although I don't tend to think of myself as a 'long-distance' supporter. Your suggestion would hit my family hard as for one, my brother who travels with us often finishes work late on a Saturday and the park and ride or train would be too late. Secondly my kids would miss all the evening matches (and at the amex we've had loads) as I don't fancy hanging around the train station with little ones having school in the morning. The need for a certain amount of parking was stipulated in the planning permission. Quite honestly, bearing in mind that it's a small percentage of people actually using the parking, the Albion should be able to provide a good level of service. That's something that has been slipping in recent matches.

 

[Goldstone1976]

It seems from reading this thread, and my own experiences last night on the train, that the sensible future option for cup ties is to charge a travel subsidy, as per league games.
This negates the problems of queuing for tickets at undermanmed railway stations with one ticket machine.
There are three park and ride car parks and extra buses.
There is only access to the car parks by pre-booked tickets.

I would quite willingly have paid £24 for my match ticket instead of £20 to arrive and leave as per league games.

Yes. If the travel works better for league games, why not use the same systems for cup games and charge the levy? Makes perfect sense to me.

 

[Norman Potting]

Used the Uni. Car park. Allowed plenty of time last night and, despite the stewards checking everyone off the list, got to car park one around 19:00. Despite getting lost/confused when going back to car park (it all looks different at night, youngest Potting sorted us out though) didn't have much problem getting out of the car park. It looked worse than it was I thought, followed the many people who were taking the less obvious way out past the Uni. bins and up the idyllically named "Boiler House Hill" and seemed to on the A27 and homewards bound in no time.

Only grouse about last night was that for the second match in a row youngest Potting's card showed up as blocked when we tried to use it so we had to join the (fortunately quite short) queue to get a proper ticket and didn't get to our seats until 10' prior to start after obligatory loo and tea stop.