Why are you giving up your season plan?

[PowerBoater69]

Attendance has been a big issue this week. The Post ran an article, WJFK is discussing the topic, lots of chatter on the internet. MLB has a problem with fewer fans in general and the Nats are a part of the drop. Anyone can chime in on why they are going less often but I'm really more interested in plan holders. When I drop my plan that is 162 fewer drops in the bucket, so plan holders dropping out have a bigger impact than another fan simply going to fewer games.

I put down price and traffic.

Prices keep going up and that wouldn't even bother me except that the season plan prices are higher than market value, so why would anyone buy a plan? I used to sell about half my plan to friends and via StubHub and since last year I typically can't make back 50% my money on resales. The original selling point of the plans were to save money if you attend a lot of games, since that is no longer true the only other reason I can think of is playoff priority and that is becoming less likely.

People complain about getting to and from FedEx, but Nats Park is even worse for crowded games. Now that game times are routinely over three hours and with worse than ever DC traffic I have to leave around 5:30 and get home after 10:30 (and I live in Alexandria). I don't mind a few times a year but I can't do that for 20+ games. For a Nats game that comes close to selling out it's a six hour commitment.

The reduced customer service doesn't bother me much because I never interacted with my reps too much anyway. But I haven't had a rep all season and so the team doesn't seem to care about the loss of my account.

[Slateman]

Should this be rephrased to "Why are you not going to the ball park?"

[Terps and Nats]

I don’t make too many games because I live in Frederick and I have two small kids who just want to play and eat ice cream.  I’d rather just not spend the 100.00 plus and 5-6 hours for a game I’d hardly watch

[JCA-CrystalCity]

We probably aren't giving up our plan because we like being able to get into the Norfolk Southern area. I've got a large group and very few have 6+ games, so there's less of an inconvenience factor.  I enjoy just going, and by Metro I'm typically home in an hour, which is fine.

I agree on the resale aspect but we live with it.  Frankly, I eat a lot of seats.  If I take a couple and don't fill the 4th seat, it's like I am paying double.  I'd be tempted to pick up some of the other deals, like $65 a month to go to as many games as I want, were it just me.

[PowerBoater69]

I don’t make too many games because I live in Frederick and I have two small kids who just want to play and eat ice cream.  I’d rather just not spend the 100.00 plus and 5-6 hours for a game I’d hardly watch

Kids who want to play and eat ice cream are prime time for ballgames. I was getting my kids to at least a half dozen games if not more back then. Now they are older and won't go with me to more than a couple a year. I used to bring a bag full of every snack from the grocery store to keep them happy for half the game, then turn them loose to buy ballpark goodies to get me through the end. Taking the kids you can get the cheap seats, although I did pay extra for the close in parking to limit complaints.

[PowerBoater69]

We probably aren't giving up our plan because we like being able to get into the Norfolk Southern area. I've got a large group and very few have 6+ games, so there's less of an inconvenience factor.  I enjoy just going, and by Metro I'm typically home in an hour, which is fine.

I agree on the resale aspect but we live with it.  Frankly, I eat a lot of seats.  If I take a couple and don't fill the 4th seat, it's like I am paying double.  I'd be tempted to pick up some of the other deals, like $65 a month to go to as many games as I want, were it just me.

Giving up my plan is a no brainer, it is a complete waste of money these past couple seasons. What worries me is that the head of my ticket group for my good seats for a small number of games might decide to opt out, I'll find out in a couple weeks.

[Count Walewski]

I have a toddler who is too young to go to games. This is the primary reason I have only been to 3 MLB games the last 2 years.

The team being bad doesn't necessarily mean I'll attend fewer games. A bad team means cheaper tickets.

[flyingdonut]

I have been in a plan with several other people since 2005 - our seats are tremendous. We're giving very serious thought to bailing for several reasons, but the absolute biggest one is the way we're treated by the organization.

Hey Nats organization - here's a hint...we're the effing backbone of your fanbase, and we give you (roughly) $35,000 per year for those seats. Could you have our sales guy actually call us back?

[Baseball is Life]

I have three full season plans but I'm thinking of dropping one or two. I'm just tired of managing ticket groups. I've been doing it since 2005 and I started with friends and now I have a lot of strangers in my groups who are transactional and don't seem to appreciate how much work I put into it. The point may be moot. I have a feeling a lot of people are going to drop out next year so that will make my decision easy.

I will always maintain at least one plan just because it motivates me to go to games. I also like some of the benefits like 20% discount on purchases at the park. It's never been about saving or making money for me or I sure would not have kept my plans through the thin years when tickets were impossible to give away much less resell.

I've always been lucky to have really good reps so service is not my issue. But I do get irritated with all the tech issues the Nats have with their Access site every damn year.

[HalfSmokes]

Forms friends who live around here, the lack of metro past the airport is a big reason they aren’t going, both the inability to ride metro and the increased traffic as a result

[mitlen]

Forms friends who live around here, the lack of metro past the airport is a big reason they aren’t going, both the inability to ride metro and the increased traffic as a result

On weekends especially, there ought to be express buses from the construction to the Park.    Hell, they could probably charge a basic fare and make a little money on the deal.

[PowerBoater69]

They could have played six innings but didn't. Then waited until beer sales ended to call the game. Limited exchange options. Making fans wait in the rain to swap tickets or risk getting stuck with a day game. Same old story.

The beer taps weren't working at multiple stands. Under staffed (but very helpful) ticket rep room.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

by the way, you have to jump on ticket exchanges if you can't make the  make up Wednesday afternoon. Act fast.

[HalfSmokes]

by the way, you have to jump on ticket exchanges if you can't make the  make up Wednesday afternoon. Act fast.

Anyone else find it odd that third parties have better rain policies than the team?

[machpost]

We're not jumping ship just yet, but judging by the announced attendance numbers for some of the poorly attended games this year, they've already lost a lot of season plan holders.

I'm tired of the poor customer service, the exorbitant, ever rising concessions prices, and the ever lengthening games. Nine innings shouldn't be taking 3–4 hours during the regular season.

[Upper Level Dad]

I’ve been a half season holder since 2005.

My reasons are overpriced tickets and the new ticket exchange policy costing me “value” on my tickets.  Couple that with kids schedules getting busy and I’ll just buy from StubHub.

[PowerBoater69]

I’ve been a half season holder since 2005.

My reasons are overpriced tickets and the new ticket exchange policy costing me “value” on my tickets.  Couple that with kids schedules getting busy and I’ll just buy from StubHub.

Great point about the ticket exchange, I had forgotten about it because I found it to be a downgrade from the old system.

[PowerBoater69]

I have three full season plans but I'm thinking of dropping one or two. I'm just tired of managing ticket groups. I've been doing it since 2005 and I started with friends and now I have a lot of strangers in my groups who are transactional and don't seem to appreciate how much work I put into it. The point may be moot. I have a feeling a lot of people are going to drop out next year so that will make my decision easy.

I will always maintain at least one plan just because it motivates me to go to games. I also like some of the benefits like 20% discount on purchases at the park. It's never been about saving or making money for me or I sure would not have kept my plans through the thin years when tickets were impossible to give away much less resell.

I've always been lucky to have really good reps so service is not my issue. But I do get irritated with all the tech issues the Nats have with their Access site every damn year.

I'm dropping my own plan but keeping a piece of another plan I'm in, the lead for my other plan just sent out a note that she is dropping her other plan. Seems like a lot of us are scaling back rather than dropping out completely.

[PowerBoater69]

Seven days left until my price lock expires and there is no going back. I'm dropping my tickets largely because my kids are at an age where they're done with baseball for a while***. But I still want to feel wanted by the team. No phone call? After 12 years together? What kind of business model allows long term customers to walk without any attempt beyond bulk email to try to convince them to stay?

Even worse, I complained about an issue with my account, left two messages, and no call backs. Ever since the Revenue Chief left this teams doesn't seem to have an interest in retaining long term sources of revenue.

***Growing up my family was single income military in a city with no baseball team, I got to go to about one game a year. I kept score and would review every play of the game over and over again for years. My kids have been to a bunch of spring training games, opening day games, playoff games, road trip games, and dozens of just plain old regular season games. Spoiled brats.

[mitlen]

Seven days left until my price lock expires and there is no going back. I'm dropping my tickets largely because my kids are at an age where they're done with baseball for a while***. But I still want to feel wanted by the team. No phone call?

I've found that "customer service" has become a cliche that means nothing  ...   for the most part in all lines of business.        I can't imagine running a business and not being in touch with my full time customers on a regular basis.    To not get back when you have a question or a problem is not acceptable.    I was listening to Pollin (Ashew sitting in) and Loverro this morning on my walk-about.    They were bemoaning the awful business sense of the Nats when it comes to promoting All Star balloting.    It appears the organization doesn't know what "customer service" is.    Therefore, they can't provide it.

[LoveAngelos]

1.Ticket prices and concessions.
2.Hardly any perks for being a plan holder now.
3. Had enough of out of town fans.
4. Glad to see Harper go for that kind of money but Rendon is going to walk.
14 years is enough

[Five Banners]

Anyone else find it odd that third parties have better rain policies than the team?

Standard decisions from the committtee

[Kenkeni]

Like most I'm considering giving up my four plans at the end of the season.  We've had half season plans for the past five seasons.  The Nat's ownership group takes the lifeline of their business for granted, not giving us anything for being loyal customers.  Poor customer service, bad personnel decisions, increased pricing on concessions, ect.  I've been watching the game day prices on StubHub and Tickpics lately.  I can get better seats than mine for less money on most days.  It's a no brainer.  Should have done this the year they canned Dusty.  Definitely don't want to pad the Lerner's pockets when they let Rendon walk.  I can be a fan from my recliner in the basement...

[LoveAngelos]

I've found that "customer service" has become a cliche that means nothing  ...   for the most part in all lines of business.        I can't imagine running a business and not being in touch with my full time customers on a regular basis.    To not get back when you have a question or a problem is not acceptable.    I was listening to Pollin (Ashew sitting in) and Loverro this morning on my walk-about.    They were bemoaning the awful business sense of the Nats when it comes to promoting All Star balloting.    It appears the organization doesn't know what "customer service" is.    Therefore, they can't provide it.

A banker once told me the most important person in a bank is the teller. Not much of that sentiment going around these parts anymore

[mitlen]

A banker once told me the most important person in a bank is the teller. Not much of that sentiment going around these parts anymore

Front line people (and satisfied customers) are the people who get you the return customers.     I am amazed that no one regularly calls (texts) season ticket plan holders and just asks, "How's it going?"     Toss in a call every once in awhile from one of the Lerners to long time plan holders   ....

On the other side of the coin, bad customer service drives folks away.     IMHO the novelty of MLB in DC has run its course.