Posts Tagged ‘Ticket’

Chock Part XII

Friday, March 30th, 2012

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On Tuesday I was with my wife at the

Farewell Match of the Frankfurt football player Birgit Prinz.

She has been FIFA player of the year several times and scored 128 goals for the German national team. The match was great, but until I got there…

The organisation of a wheelchair ticket directly at the German Football Association (DFB) proved to be quite difficult this time. So far I had made only very good experiences during the women’s world cup (see older blogposts).

After my first e-mail with the ticket order apparently ended up in the digital nirvana, it worked out a little better with e-mail number two.

Well, apparently you have to see it sportingly. Such an e-mail doesn’t harm, but doesn’t necessarily help either…

Now the whole event approached rapidly… 3 or 4 days!

I had not received a confirmation if I can pick up my ticket at the box office until the moment when I hit the road to the stadium.

On the matchday I also tried to find out by phone where I could possibly park my car because my e-mail inquiry wasn’t answered either.

When I drove to the stadium I was hoping that an admission ticket would be deposited at the box-office for me, and the parking thing was still not clarified. I knew about the bad parking conditions there.

At some stage I didn’t care, I picked up my wife and drove directly to the entrance of the stadium. It was quite busy there!

Although I didn’t have an admission ticket, not to mention a special parking admission, the very kind marshals actually found an adequate parking space next to the OB vehicle of the regional broadcast station on which I could transfer easily into my wheelchair. Thanks again from this side.

Why the German football association as organiser of the event didn’t create a designated handicap parking area, they probably don’t know themselves. At least 15 wheelers were in the stadium. Where did they park?

If now no ticket had been deposited at the box office, or I hadn’t been able to buy a ticket, even a weekly dosage of my medication wouldn’t have calmed me down.

I got an envelope at the box office in which not only my ticket, but also a VIP parking admission was inside. A little too late, but as a proper German of course I laid out the parking permit in the car ;-)

 

Then in the stadium I actually would have needed my mountainbike tyres for my wheelchair, because the main stand currently consists just out of small homeopathic pieces and some rocks.

Luckily I had a ticket for the opposite stand, which was there ;-)

It was a great farewell game and I am a little sad that Birgt Prinz is quitting her active career.

When I was back home I read an e-mail from the German football association where all my inquiries about ticket, parking… were answered.

The e-mail was sent at 16:45 h, kick off 18:00 h.

The staff member was already at the stadium at this time as she wrote, and I totally uninformed on the road!!!

What a pity that I haven’t met the lady ;-)

I could inquire at the German football association if they wouldn’t sponsor a smartphone for me so that I can be always up to date online about my ticket status.

Translator BL

Eigude Shame Part XXII

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

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Every now and then ones mind needs a bit of culture… might it be tickets for the opera, the ballet, a drama or a trash metal concert, the purchase of a ticket for wheelers always can be very difficult and different at any time you’ll try it. You have to take this sportingly, otherwise only psychotropic drugs may help.

In earlier days you went to the ticket center, placed the money on the desk and you got your ticket, or you didn’t because the event was sold out already. To manage this online wasn’t a problem either.
Next time when you are ordering a ticket online try to search for a ticket for wheelers…

Forget about ordering!!!

Nearly every time the tickets for wheelers are sold by the promoter of the event. What a madness!!!
The reason is a mystery and they probably don’t know why themselves.
Probably it was like this ever since.

At some concerts the friendly mate of the ticket center is able to organize the tickets at the promoter. Then you’re on with only two phone calls, one email, an online transfer of the payment and the hope for delivery of the ticket by mail. If you ordered an additional ticket for your “escort” it means to cross the fingers twice.

Alternatively the ticket or call center provides you with a phone number of the promoter of that event. With a little bit of luck they run their own ticket shop and you reach an arrangement quickly.
If the phone number belongs to the managing director the procedure may take a little time, but you should appreciate that this guy also has other things to do. Razzing him a bit doesn’t harm…

Till now I always managed to get a ticket anyway if the concert tickets weren’t sold out before, but slowly even I get mad…

Project: wheelchair ticket for Sunrise Avenue

Fairytale gone bad!!!

(song title, Sunrise Avenue)

When calling the official ticket center I was redirected to a cell phone number. That mate gave me another extension number. When calling, a cell phone again, I was told that the mailbox is occupied completely, great…! Unusually I got a callback of the managing director himself, he told me that there were tickets available and gave me an email address: tickets@***.de.

During weeks I wrote emails which weren’t answered at all. Meanwhile my pulse went up, so I contacted the band Sunrise Avenue directly on the 6th of January (the email address was posted on the official website of the band) and called attention for the grievance that I was ignored totally.

Today we have the 26th of January and I haven’t got any reply from them either yet. Well, it’s understandable and comprehensible that they can’t answer everybody, and they can easily waive the price of one ticket. Despite that wheelers need a lot of space!!!

Does anybody actually take me seriously???

At the 10th of January I called the official phone number of the ticket center at the promoter of the event again. This time it was a call center, but they couldn’t sell me a wheelchair ticket either. Instead I got a phone number, this time the extension number “0” with which I reached the managing director again, how apt… ;-)

Am I the „Hauptmann von Köpenick“??? (German story)

After a conclusive argumentation of the boss why none of my inquiries were answered he promptly issued me an invoice for the ticket online. After settlement I should receive the ticket by mail.
I paid online immediately!

After a week I inquired on the phone where my ticket was?? The invoice number had been missing and the accounting wasn’t able to assign the payment… ho, ho , ho…!!

The day before yesterday I finally received the ticket, meanwhile the anticipation is limited.

At first sight we couldn’t even see what is the difference to a „normal“ ticket:


Just at a look on the backside you can discover the special feature: besides the handwritten (!) notice ” + escort” there was an official stamp with a signature (presumably of the managing director himself):

I will visit that event in any case, at least to get to know if I am the only wheeler at the concert??

I’m eager to see if I’ll get a message from the band Sunrise Avenue before the concert.

Translator Teo

Football Women’s World Cup Part I

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

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Germany – Nigeria 1:0

I could actually get hold of one of the 100 wheelchair tickets for the stadium.

In total almost 50.000 people fit in the Frankfurt stadium. I consider the contingent of 100 wheelchair places as much too high. Thus you get the admission tickets quasi imposed so that not so many places remain vacant. Ho, ho, ho…

In the preparation I was yet surprised that I received together with the admission ticket a parking permit as well. Look at that:

I am standing with my car directly in front of the

main entrance of the stadium!!!

Ok, the actual match was, let’s call it “valuable”, didn’t have the highest standard in football terms, but the whole event was an experience.

I think I got somewhere some orange tickets lying around…

Translator BL

 

 

Eigude Shame VIII

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

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The attendance of concerts of all kinds is always an event in itself before you even have heard the first sound.

In Frankfurt in the „Jahrhunderthalle“ („hall of the century“) you have to cross the heater room and then up with a freight elevator to reach your seats.

This is even topped in the „Alte Oper“ („Old Opera“). One gets barrier-free through the main entrance to the box-office which is located next to the foyer. When you then have bought your tickets it is not possible to get over the three stairs to the foyer. Then you have to leave the opera house again through the main entrance to drive up a ramp in zigzag at the side/rear entrance, where you have to ring a bell, and an employee accompanies you to the foyer.

The creativity for the appearance of wheelchair admission tickets is unlimited.

Here a special curious example:

Inner standing room (Stehplatz) (for wheelchairs?)

 

With wheelchair hidden object

 

and

Escort Service

Maybe it was just a typo, and it should have been called staying room

Translator BL