Friday, January 19, 2007

Tottenham Hotspur : Club Memberships : Price Hike 'On The Cards'


Essentially a 'toe in the water' exercise from THFC, but one that raises many questions.

Once you wade through the initial questions which appear to be included only to remind members that you do get...... a scarf/keyring/birthday card/lapel pin/etc etc etc as well as a jump on the general public when purchasing tickets....

It is revealed that the Club are toying with a 'Potential New Club Membership Package'. Which would include...

· A much higher priority for home and away match tickets giving you a much better chance to get tickets for the matches you really want to see;
·
Invitations to exclusive social events for Premium Club Members only;
· Exclusive previews of kit launches and retail sales;
· Free subscription to the monthly Hotspur magazine;
· Exclusive monthly prize draw for a piece of signed merchandise;
· Exclusive product promotions from our Sponsors and Partner

My blood gets up when I see rubbish like the Hotspur subscription thrown in. It has zero percieved value to me or anyone else over the age of 12 and serves only the Club therefore as a mechanism to bump the retail value of the 'product'.

The same is to be said for all the other non ticket purchase related features. If I want to enter a raffle I might do so on a wim if it's FREE to enter but I again absolutely resent having it masqueraded as a 'benefit' to me. It bleedin' ain't.

The last feature of 'promotions from our sponsors etc' is just a disgrace.

Puma or whoever are in commerce with us courtesy of the Club and if there are any 'spins', 'touches' or 'deals' to be done as a result of the vast revenue stream us fans created then again, they ought not to represented as an inclusive benefit within a separately purchased product. That's dishonest.

The questions that begged belief were those that repeatedly addressed the possible spend tolerance of membership purchasers, asking both 'at what point membership would be so expensive you would not consider buying it?' and also ' when would it become so cheap you couldn't believe it was true?'

Both questions supplied as sliding scale of responses, here's question 17:


Q17Using the scale below, at what price would you rate the current Club Membership package to be "SO EXPENSIVE YOU WOULD NOT CONSIDER BUYING IT"?
Click ONE box only

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At some point you know folks, the guy that prepared this said, "We'll nearly triple the current spend and see who bites..." He then went off to join the rest of his family who had put on some human clothes and were making tv adverts for PG Tips tea.

Ought there be tiering to the memberships? Shouldn't those of us prepared to galvanise ourselves in the first instance get the best level of service from THFC automatically? Are we not the ideal customers they would wish to see stream ing through their gates. Shouldn't we be wooed and not screwed?! Mmmmmn.

I appreciate it's business. I'm not a communist. I want Sir Keith Mills to take us to 50,000 seats, but I want a ticket without the good being taken out of it. Tiering of advantage? Go sell this nonsense to Chelsea fans.

What are your thoughts?

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

why do you resent spending money on your club you fickle toad. no wonder spurs are always struggling

Anonymous said...

It does seem pretty unpleasant stuff, especially after the news that the amount of money heading for premiership clubs is verging on the obscene.

Don’t get me wrong if the money were going to be used for the betterment of the clubs and their supporters/communities I would, reservedly, say fair enough but I have a nasty feeling that all the extra cash will end up in the transfer market and players pockets…. How much is enough?

COYS

Anonymous said...

Can I suggest that the idiot that made the 'fickle toad' remark go back to supporting his or her PLC - who knows, it may even have a football club attached to it.

Anonymous said...

RE :Fickle Toad Comment.

It's interesting (but of course not really) that the sort of wanker who leaves this type of comment never leaves even a made up name or the name of their team or.... a real arguement.

Good work Harry, we note the improvement of the site since you stopped writing for other people.

As a supporter for over 25 years, well done from me, anyway.

COYS!

Anonymous said...

Agree with most comments. I do not have a problem paying for a higher level membership if it helps me get tickets. Also if another 20-30 quid a year meant that we would be able to compete with the top 4 and make the CL than thats 30 quid well spent. Having spent over 250 quid to go and see spurs in europe on 2 seperate occassions this year, i do not have an endless pot and at some stage my finance will dictate to me what i can afford. I hope that does not mean i stop going to see my beloved spurs.

Anonymous said...

I can't agree more Harry. As much as I love the club over the last year I am starting to feel fleeced.
I have six season tickets, three being childrens. I spend a good few quid in the shop and over the internet but when talking to the club regarding certain issues they seem to not give a monkeys about the fans. Funny that things have changed a little since having a waiting list for season tickets!
I suppose you call it supply and demand, well what about the real fans?

COYS

Anonymous said...

Some things never change at Spurs and in the last 15 years it's been the fleecing of the fans. I made it as clear as I could that I have no interest in their proposal and regard the current membership price as too expensive. If this is instituted it will be the signal for me to finally abandon attending the lane, and no CL, FA Cup win etc will get me back.

Anonymous said...

I agree that it is a disgrace. I have been a member for the past 5 years, to enable me to get priority when purchasing matchday tickets. I can only make the pilgrimage to the lane once or twice a year as i live in the west of ireland. If the club raise the membership fee then it will mean that i would be paying at least twice the price for my tickets when you consider i can only make it once or twice a year. This means that economically it would be cheaper for me to buy my tickets from a tout. I'd not have to endure the hassle of trying to buy them via the website and i'd probably get a better seat. This price hike is re-packaging the same product with an added bit of window dressing which will only be of benefit to the shareholders and board members. Someone has to pay for the huge wgaes of Mr Levy et al. I would not mind if this were a small inflationary rise but i suspect it will not be. The supporters clubs might be able to manage these increased costs with extra fundraising initiatives but what about those individual members like myself who can just about afford to make the trip. It is us that will suffer most.This is all predicted for next season when the club expect to announce record profits and have the added bonus of a share of the 900mill tv windfall. And we're expected to pay more. If we were buying in galacticos by the bagful,maybe. But we're not and as we have a very young squad with comparitively low wages we don't have a massive wage bill. There is no new stadium or regeneration of whl imminent so what is the money for? Wake up thfcplc the supporters can only take so much. In response to fickle toad most supporters do not resent spending money on their club if it is transparent why thay are spending it, what the money is for and they can see results on the pitch. They do resent ridiculous surveys which basically enquire about how much disposable income they have. And people like you.

Harry Hotspur said...

isthatalump.

Great comment, thankyou.

Anonymous said...

well, harry, still lucky with the draws(except for the scum in the carling). now Feyenoord are out of UEFA CUP. let this be a warning for fans to behave, or else...
I have to say I was a bit scared of them. the tide is turning for the best! positive thinking all of you, this cup can be ours in a few months. we are now getting tiny Polish Wisla. No argument, just smash them, lads.
truelovespurs
COYS!

Anonymous said...

if we get a bye it's not good for business and it's not fair to other teams in competition