Oxford 2022

[Triple.H. 1,986]

27 minutes ago, baiden said:

So what do you think they do with all the cash that is taken from programme, bar and food sales? All of what you say is already in place (bar the turnstiles, but they are hardly a necessity). There's plenty of handling of cash going on by employees inside the stadium.

I'm not against downloading an app onto a phone. In fact you don't even need to do that as it can all be done in a browser. But as I stated, there are people not comfortable doing that (or even not able to do that), so why not provide for them as well?

I was actually surprised that the bars and food outlets in the stands weren't card only payments. Obviously the outside bars and food outlets would be a decision down to the owner of each one.

Programmes could easily be an option to choose when buying the ticket and you pick it up on entry

[baiden 90]

13 minutes ago, George Dodds said:

Fine I'm not getting into an argument. 

I genuinely would love to know why, apart from sheer bloody mindedness why anyone would refuse to attend because they cannot pay cash.

Are these people who still get paid weekly in brown envelopes, take their pension books to the post office on a Monday, pay their electricity bills with pound notes and wait for the rent man to call every Friday or have they successfully adapted to change over the years?

As for apps on your phone -great idea and once the cost of developing one has been clawed back potentially a moneymaker but pointless if people then insist on paying cash 

As much as you're trying to make a joke, some of the older generation simply haven't adapted. My father doesn't have a smartphone and has never paid for anything online. The only way he has attended any of the Oxford Cheetahs fixtures so far, is because I've bought him a ticket and have gone with him. I couldn't go this week, so he was unable to attend.

I live 50 miles away from him, so what was I supposed to do? Make a 100-mile round trip so he could go? Post it to him? How are any of these options better than paying at the gate? Sure, it's his loss if he doesn't want to pay online, but at the end of the day it's also Oxford's loss. It's £18 less they've made, and I doubt my father was the only one.

I'm really not sure why you have such a problem with people paying on the gate? There are people there checking QR codes when you arrive (so definitely enough staff), and plenty of employees handling cash inside the stadium. Just make every option available, and everybody will be happy, no?

Edited July 15, 2022 by baiden

[Fromafar 10,363]

5 minutes ago, George Dodds said:

Not like you to try and stir things. 

We don't  have a card turnstile it's a situation which will  be addressed for next season.  The fact that you don't accept an explanation of fact is neither surprising or especially relevant. 

 

Not stirring in the least just pointing out what my opinion  is.You always seem to think everybody else’s opinion is wrong if it differs from yours.

Edited July 15, 2022 by Fromafar

[baiden 90]

2 minutes ago, Triple.H. said:

I was actually surprised that the bars and food outlets in the stands weren't card only payments. Obviously the outside bars and food outlets would be a decision down to the owner of each one.

Programmes could easily be an option to choose when buying the ticket and you pick it up on entry

If the stadium is going to go completely cashless, then fair enough. But it's not, so don't understand why they can't take cash on the gate.

[George Dodds 310]

2 minutes ago, Fromafar said:

Not stirring in the least just pointing out what my option is.You always seem to think everybody else’s opinion is wrong if it differs from yours.

As you so eloquently point out opinions can be wrong.  So your opinion that I was lying about the reason we don't take card payments at the turnstile could be wrong. 

[George Dodds 310]

2 minutes ago, baiden said:

If the stadium is going to go completely cashless, then fair enough. But it's not, so don't understand why they can't take cash on the gate.

I don't know but perhaps that is a possibility. 

[Fromafar 10,363]

4 minutes ago, George Dodds said:

As you so eloquently point out opinions can be wrong.  So your opinion that I was lying about the reason we don't take card payments at the turnstile could be wrong. 

Think you need to read my Post again.I certainly never insinuated you were lying,just pointed out that is was poor not too have a solution.

[Humphrey Appleby 13,957]

13 minutes ago, baiden said:

I'm really not sure why you have such a problem with people paying on the gate?

Very simply because paying cash is potentially open to fraud from employees, can get otherwise get lost/stolen (which itself means you need to assign someone to look after it), and then needs to be physically taken to a bank assuming you can actually find one that's still open these days. In short, it's a pain to deal with now most people (including my 91-year-old Aunt) have a smartphone and are well used to paying for stuff online. 

[George Dodds 310]

9 minutes ago, Fromafar said:

Think you need to read my Post again.I certainly never insinuated you were lying,just pointed out that is was poor not too have a solution.

You state what I had explained as "rubbish" ergo untrue,  therefore a lie, which would make me a liar according to you. 

[baiden 90]

8 minutes ago, Humphrey Appleby said:

Very simply because paying cash is potentially open to fraud from employees, can get otherwise get lost/stolen (which itself means you need to assign someone to look after it), and then needs to be physically taken to a bank assuming you can actually find one that's still open these days. In short, it's a pain to deal with now most people (including my 91-year-old Aunt) have a smartphone and are well used to paying for stuff online. 

The sheer amount of people complaining about it on here should show that Oxford are potentially missing out. But it's up to them at the end of the day, I'll be very surprised if you can't pay on the gate once greyhound racing restarts, though.

And as I've already said, there are plenty of other cash transactions going on inside the stadium, so not sure what they do with that cash if taking it to the bank is such a problem. Perhaps it's pocketed by the employees, so they don't have to worry about it!

Edited July 15, 2022 by baiden

[Fromafar 10,363]

6 minutes ago, George Dodds said:

You state what I had explained as "rubbish" ergo untrue,  therefore a lie, which would make me a liar according to you. 

If your happy that,fine by me.

[HGould 2,213]

We Speedway Fans, (some do some don't but we do seem to have a mentality some Sports don't have) seem to find anything and just about everything to moan at.

Cash / Card / Contactless, Afternoon or Evening , Too dusty / too wet / too deep / too slick, masks or no masks ; quality of food, of toilets - the list is endless isn't it?

The moaning and excuses not to go continue as more Clubs close and more Clubs struggle, but it's always someonelses fault when the Speedway closes as income v expenditure don't stack up or people stay away.

Peolpe drift away.

 

In the specific case of Oxford, words - at least polite ones fail me - Closed for years until an outstanding effort by some visionaries got it back against all the Odds.... its doing a great job for old Oxford fans and no doubt lapsed Swindon / Reading / Coventry / various London and Southern tracks etc. 

Still people moan, lets hope it doesn't close again because of these refusniks

Edited July 15, 2022 by HGould
format correction

[baiden 90]

8 minutes ago, HGould said:

We Speedway Fans, (some do some don't but we do seem to have a mentality some Sports don't have) seem to find anything and just about everything to moan at.

Cash / Card / Contactless, Afternoon or Evening , Too dusty / too wet / too deep / too slick, masks or no masks ; quality of food, of toilets - the list is endless isn't it?

The moaning and excuses not to go continue as more Clubs close and more Clubs struggle, but it's always someonelses fault when the Speedway closes as income v expenditure don't stack up or people stay away.

Peolpe drift away.

 

In the specific case of Oxford, words - at least polite ones fail me - Closed for years until an outstanding effort by some visionaries got it back against all the Odds.... its doing a great job for old Oxford fans and no doubt lapsed Swindon / Reading / Coventry / various London and Southern tracks etc. 

Still people moan, lets hope it doesn't close again because of these refusniks

Okay, so let's all sit back and do nothing! Oxford isn't likely to close because of 'constructive criticism' on a forum, it'll close due to dwindling revenue due to lost ticket sales.

I'm not moaning, I will happily buy a ticket online every week, just pointing out that I think a lack of cash payments is a missed opportunity.

[Humphrey Appleby 13,957]

34 minutes ago, baiden said:

The sheer amount of people complaining about it on here should show that Oxford are potentially missing out. But it's up to them at the end of the day, I'll be very surprised if you can't pay on the gate once greyhound racing restarts, though.

I count precisely three people complaining about it on here, including one who probably isn't likely to go regularly. 

Quote

And as I've already said, there are plenty of other cash transactions going on inside the stadium, so not sure what they do with that cash if taking it to the bank is such a problem. Perhaps it's pocketed by the employees, so they don't have to worry about it!

I'm nothing to do with the Oxford promotion and certainly don't know why they'd have a no-cash policy on the gate but not in the stadium. I could suppose though, that in-stadium sales are easier to manage as they'd go through a till and are more easy to reconcile. 

Back to the point though, I have organised events, including sports events, and not having to handle cash greatly simplifies administration and allows you do things with fewer staff. And in a sport with fine margins that can be the difference between running and not running.

You might be losing out on a handful of customers as a result, but the extra money you might gain probably won't cover the wages of the extra person(s) you need to supervise, guard, reconcile and then bank the cash. Been there, done that, and it's wasted effort when online payment options are available. 

I appreciate it may seem like an inflexible policy, but just to give an promoter perspective...

Edited July 15, 2022 by Humphrey Appleby

[baiden 90]

25 minutes ago, Humphrey Appleby said:

I count precisely three people complaining about it on here, including one who probably isn't likely to go regularly.

Count again. There are three people on this thread, let alone the many others on different threads about Oxford.

25 minutes ago, Humphrey Appleby said:

I'm nothing to do with the Oxford promotion and certainly don't know why they'd have a no-cash policy on the gate but not in the stadium. I could suppose though, that in-stadium sales are easier to manage as they'd go through a till and are more easy to reconcile. 

Back to the point though, I have organised events, including sports events, and not having to handle cash greatly simplifies administration and allows you do things with fewer staff. And in a sport with fine margins that can be the difference between running and not running.

You might be losing out on a handful of customers as a result, but the extra money you might gain probably won't cover the wages of the extra person(s) you need to supervise, guard, reconcile and then bank the cash. Been there, done that, and it's wasted effort when online payment options are available. 

Not all the cash is being taken through a till, though, there are plenty of places where it's taken by a man/woman in front of a table!

I honestly can't see where the extra cost is going to come in. There's no need to employ extra staff, they already have lots of people on the gate checking QR codes, they already need the security for the other cash taken and they already need to visit the bank. And that's my point, if it does cost much more, then fair enough, but just don't see how it could.

You've organised events, so how much of a difference financially is it to have someone take cash and check QR codes, as opposed to just checking QR codes? I don't know, maybe there is a difference. In a worst case scenario, would it cost much more just to have one entrance where cash could be taken?

I guess Oxford knows best. At the end of the day, all I'm saying is it would be nice if they took cash on the gate. It's not going to stop me going if they don't.

Edited July 15, 2022 by baiden