Digital Ticketing

[No ideas for a name]

It appears Goodwood is moving to digital tickets. As far as I understand it, this will be in place for MM83.

On the face of it, I am not so sure this is a good move (for customers) - though this thread might change my mind, or realise the error of my ways.

Apparently you will need a Goodwood app. on your phone, to which tickets are 'delivered'.
It is claimed that you don't need an active data connection at the point of entry - but have to download/enable or some such the ticket to your device immediately prior to the event.

I for one, don't want to have any extra 'apps' on my phone. The last time I tried the Goodwood app, it used all the battery quickly, and got very hot (though I guess they have moved on from that generation 1 version).

Obviously no postage charge that gets added on at the end, though it does appear there is a booking fee. Others can comment, but I was pretty sure this had been outlawed. I thought that the headline price had to include any fees - adding a fiver to the day isn't the end of the world, but still isn't really on. (Point of principle, but I would prefer if they just added the booking fee to the ticket price and be done with it).
Maybe the booking fee shouldn't exist for Members?

The claim is that you can still pickup a metal swing badge at the event - so I don't see the gain going 'digital'. My prediction that this will become a souvenir swing badge that we will have to pay extra for in due course.

I can't really see any benefits to us as customers.
Any thoughts as to how this will work out?

[No ideas for a name]

the-norseman said:

It will work out the same way that all other events do that are digital.

I hate having to install third party apps for stuff, so I download them a few days before I actually need them to make sure its working, use them on the day then uninstall them.

Fair point - I haven't used any 'digital tickets' before, so not really sure how well it works out.
It might not be as bad as it seems once I try it.

Just found Goodwood's FAQ https://www.goodwood.com/help/digital-ticketing/

It seems you get your tickets a long time before the event and have to hold them in a digital wallet. Purchasers can transfer the tickets to guests who then have to have their own downloaded app.

[No ideas for a name]

Terminator X said:

Old man alert

Ha, ha..
I did think that might be the view when I wrote the posting

As it happens I do (or at least used to) write mobile applications (or apps as the youngsters call them) on industrial terminals and more recently on Android phones. Maybe thats why I have a bit of a negative view of the idea of digital tickets - I can see it being a bag of trouble.

[No ideas for a name]

FA57REN said:

7. Screenshotted the tickets so I don't have to go through this nonsense again.

Pretty sure that isn't going to work.
As far as I understand it, the codes displayed are dynamic (ie. change with the date/time you view them).
I think that the earliest that is likely to work is if you screenshot them on the morning of the event.

(I reserve the right to be completely wrong about this)

Off to see if I have any Members' Meeting tickets...

[No ideas for a name]

Ooh, yes I do.

That wasn't too much trouble. I was really expecting to be getting closer and closer to the event and the app not be working.

[No ideas for a name]

Well, this is going well, massive queue at the gate.



Edit: Actually not too bad once in, main queue seemed to be to cross the road. But then you need to scan again to get your metal badge, and in that 10m distance, the signal was poor so had lots of retries.
In and got badge.

Looks like a really hot day coming up.

Edited by No ideas for a name on Saturday 18th April 08:15

[No ideas for a name]

Monsterwunsch said:

How much do you think it cost them to make up 10s of thousands of individual ticket packs and post them to everyone?

And all of the admin that comes with printing thousands of QR codes.

As far as I am aware, it is all outsourced to Fine Print Services - they look to be highly automated.
Serial numbering each badge with a QR code is pretty trivial. They still need paying for what they do of course.

There is no saving on the swing badges as they have made them anyway - as it happens, I think that was in response to complaints that attendees considered that a part of the event, and still wanted a badge.

What happens to this mysterious 'booking fee' of £5 that gets added at the checkout? We also used to get charged carriage for the tickets.. and that was way more than the postage element.

Countered by the event having to buy and staff four sheds for two days where you could queue up to collect your unserialised swing badge.

[No ideas for a name]

alexabsolute said:

Anybody else's ticket app never open further than this, my mrs bought my tickets which has already been an issue as have needed to pinch her email address to login, havent been able to get on the app once to view my tickets, would happily pay extra to receive paper tickets in the post, as concerned ill have issues on the days (doing all 4)

Just checked mine, and it opens fine.. even shows my tickets for next year's Members' Meeting!
Did the app ask you to log in or did it not even get that far?

[No ideas for a name]

jimmsy said:

On this, at the Members' Meeting screenshots did work.

AFAIUI, the ticket should have an animated 'spinner' in the top left. A screenshot obviously has a static version.

For 83MM, the ticket checking people were told they could ignore the spinner - and therefore scanning a static image would work.
There is no guarantee that the instruction to ignore the spinner is still current.

Of course, you can't be worse off!