Right or wrong to cancel season ticket due to club charity snub?

My Dad, 70, took part in a strictly come dancing style competition at the reebok stadium a couple of months back... For charity.

Before the event he wrote to them to ask if they would be able to sponsor his efforts... No reply.

He wrote again soon after with the same request,explaining his long standing time as a supporter and season ticket holder of over 25 years...
No reply.

A while later he wrote to express his disappointment in having not received a reply...
He got no reply again.

So he wrote a letter addressed to Gartside to similar effect. No reply.

By now the charity event was over.

So he wrote again, addressed to Gartside, saying please cancel my season ticket with immediate effect and refund any direct debits already deducted.
He got a reply to this letter and an offer of a free signed shirt....

But my Dad being all principled and that wrote back and insisted that they cancel his ticket. He said he would have accepted it without a problem if the club had replied in the first place, even if they said they couldn't help... For him it was the fact that he didn't even get a reply that mattered most.

Has he been too hasty or is he right to stick to his guns...

I once sent an email to the club no reply, its the way they chose to conduct their business I guess.  I agree with your dad's principals, but is he cutting his nose of to spite his face.  Maybe they just get too much email to acknowledge them all (any)

You can look at this two ways I would think.

The customer (your dad's) view.

Contacting the club numerous times without reply seems to suggest they don't value his custom, so it makes perfect sense to cease doing business with them if he has a mind too - which he clearly did.

The clubs view.

Presumably with fewer admin staff due to business being in massive debt (reduced staff costs) and having to focus on priority issues such as the renewal of Season Tickets (income generating) at this time if year - then non core business requests - such as your dads requests for sponsorships - are low priority to be dealt with (prioritising workload).

On receiving his request to end his ST, the club made a gesture (free shirt) as a sort of apology which it seems your dad declined.

Overview

At the end of the day the business lost a customer - which is never a good thing - but his initial contact was about a spurious matter (why did he feel the club being £160 million in debt would want to sponsor him?  Did he get sponsorship from Marks and Spencers, Tesco's, Bolton Council, the BBC, British Gas, or anywhere else he's been a customer of?  Will he no longer want to buy his prawn sandwiches from M and S, or pay his Council Tax to the Town Hall?).

The club should have replied to his letters - maybe they would if he had emailed or texted(?) - but I guess they probably hadn't the staff to deal with such matters nor the cost sending out letters for non core business replies.

A dissatisfied customer is more likely to tell others about the service he has received which in turn could mean more loss customers - but I suspect the football over the last season would determine whether people are prepared to renew their ST's rather than your dads issue.

At the end of the day your dad loses the pleasure of watching his team and the club loses his ST and any other income he may spend at the ground.

Result a lose / lose situation to both parties and over a non footballing issue.

Shame really - particularly if we do have a belting season and your dad misses it over something the club would have said no to anyway - if they sponsor one person for one event they would end up sponsoring every person who asked in respect of any event - how else would they draw the line?

Thorough response, Sluffy - I was just going to say he was too hasty.

The club only give a shit about money, funny how they replied to when he was going to cancel.

Sometimes the club makes me feel angry.

I too think he should not have cancelled...

He is now going to miss out on the football he enjoys every week for the sake of making a point....

And the football isn't just what happens on the pitch, it's the social part of being there, seeing people at the match, and chatting about the games later in the week over a brew...

In the end, to the club, it's a season ticket, to my Dad it's a lifestyle change - and does he stop at one season or will he just keep not going. And I feel, at 70, going to the football can keep you active and engaged...

What do I do?

You buy his ticket, you won't be able to cancel it and he'll go so you haven't wasted your money.

Tell your Dad I can get him into my box every home game and it won't cost him a penny.

He'll get the time of his life without giving a single penny to BWFC.

Natasha Whittam wrote:Tell your Dad I can get him into my box every home game and it won't cost him a penny.

He'll get the time of his life without giving a single penny to BWFC.

Isn't your box already overflowing?

He wants to watch Bolton though, not Chorley.