Carlisle (A)

[Cubbins Paratrooper]

Don't really understand the stick the club is getting here. Surely as long as you get your ticket before Saturday 13th November there isn't a problem?

As it happens, there are a number of issues here, Harvey, though am thinking you may be on a bit of wind-up. I will briefly oblige you.

It is worth pointing out now that my personal expectations for delivery have not been impacted by the Amazon next day concept and they remain reasonable.

It makes sense, for all sorts of reasons, that the vendor, in this case the Club, despatches the goods, if they are in stock, within a short time of the customer having paid for them. This generally means early receipt and peace of mind for the customer and generally reduces any ongoing logistical burden on the vendor. It also means that the customer has the product that he or she has paid for, not an unreasonable expectation. In the case of away matches, in particular, it is the crucial piece in the jigsaw. If the railway lets you down, there are options such as driving, flying, cycling, bus etc. Without your match ticket though, everything else is irrelevant.

If for any reason there is a delay (which does happen) simply let the buyers know either in advance or post-purchase, through an email (using the customer database) or via social media channels as to what is going on. If the buyer knows what is happening, a massive percentage of customer concerns are automatically managed and disappear because there is information flowing and most reasonable people 'get it'. Maintaining radio silence should not be an option as it leads to customer frustration, loss of goodwill plus even more work for the vendor as customer concerns and complaints have to be answered and addressed, wasting valuable labour time that be constructively used elsewhere.

Leaving despatch/delivery to the last minute is asking for trouble, particularly as you are relying on the third party, over which you have no control, to do the job. Things do go wrong and first class post and tracked mail do not necessarily arrive when you want them to or hope they will.

Our own Royal Mail home delivery generally occurs between 11am and 2pm. If the despatch is late and the delivery is delayed and the tickets do not arrive until Saturday of a game, we are screwed as we have to get the 7.30am or at the latest, 8.30am train out of Euston, especially as the scuffers have insisted on a 1pm kick-off for Carlisle away. We will have paid for match tickets, paid for trains (never cheap) and will not have the option of paying on the day yet will not be able to get into the game. Some like to travel the day before or incorporate the match into a mini-break. Late delivery the day before does not assist them either.

The other main matter is that if items are despatched within a day or two of them being purchased, you have a reasonable idea of when they should arrive and can make 'enquiries' with plenty of time to spare and more importantly, time to find a solution if they do not arrive.

I note a tweet from the club which stated that in the future, 'a system will be in place'. Hoping to high heaven that this is the case though it suggests that up until now, it has been done on a wing and a prayer. I do appreciate that this is one of the growing pains that the club is enduring. That said, facilitating Barrow fans to watch football matches home and away should be up there on the list of priorities.

In the interests of balance, well worth reporting that both Sutton and Ipswich tickets arrived yesterday (via paid for Special Delivery) and my nervousness and stress can focus on the team's performance rather than whether getting in to an away ground will be a challenge. Happy to report this and hopefully a signal that Mr Pointer is getting things organised on the ticket front. Therefore, well done Mr Pointer and well done the club. Long may it continue.