Prom Planner - booking today....

[Anastasius]

Waiting room full.

I do wonder why the process doesn't allow for the most popular concerts to be rationed some other way than by internet queue lottery, by , for instance, linking purchases together, requiring purchase for more than concert.
This already happens of course for the LNOTP, and is common elsewhere, EG in football.

That is bonkers and totally unfair. I thought you were all in favour of equal opportunities for all. Not those in salaried income who can afford to buy lots of tickets. Shame on you for suggesting it.

[Anastasius]

If I'd known I could hit the RAH site every 2 seconds (or even 1 second ...) I might have written a script to do that! Now would that have been fair? Just because I might have the skill to do that, or could find/pay someone else with such skills - that would surely not be reasonable.

....

Oh stop moaning ! He didn't write a script, he just hit the button. Like me. If you have only been hitting the button between making a coffee and eating a donut then it's not surprising you haven't got in easily.

[Anastasius]

Same as B-o-D. I'm clearing the cache, and using I Explorer and Chrome by turns , and all I get is the same "unavailable" page. I did my Proms plan last year and it was a lot better.
Once again the IT for booking shows itself woefully short of delivering satisfaction to customers ((Royal Opera House is the one most frequently responsible for soaring levels of frustration?). And I have a fibre internet connection, on a desktop (so no wi-fi) PC. At the RoH I've just stopped going. And at the prices being charged for the Proms I might just do the same.........

It is nothing to do with the speed of your connection but the ability of the Royal Albert Hall servers to cope with the volume. Having said that, no reason why they couldn't increase server capacity for today.

[Petrushka]

Got in at 4045 at 9.16 and all done and dusted at 10.20 though I did have a problem when my credit card couldn't be accepted (no idea why) so used my debit card instead. Just hoping that I'm not charged twice. This compares pretty well with every year I've tried and I'm happy enough.

Dave2002: You're one of the computer whizzes on here so I really don't know why you have so much trouble. I find it best to avoid doing anything else on the computer (especially wasting precious time coming on here!) while the process is ongoing. My humble little laptop coped just fine and broadband here isn't brilliant.

[teamsaint]

That is bonkers and totally unfair. I thought you were all in favour of equal opportunities for all. Not those in salaried income who can afford to buy lots of tickets. Shame on you for suggesting it.

Lots is your word.
Link was mine .
Besides anybody with any nouse who really wants sought after tickets for just a single event Could easily borrow a few quid extra and sell the unwanted "linked" ticket on Viagogo, and join in the money making that the debenture holders benefit from.
Capitalism for the masses . Hurrah.
Edit: FF will be so pleased when it becomes apparent that the Proms ticket queue thread went political.....!!

[Norrette]

It just seems dismal to longstanding regulars, the the online ticketing coincided with the introduction of, let's say, 'family' proms. Recalling the Dr Who fiasco, I suggested back then that these non-classical music proms be put up for sale on a separate day, thus reducing the queues.

Having said that I don't mind the count down, it's the trying to get into the queue in the first place, that's frustrating.

One thing I have learned - the first time it went online I tried to book for myself and a few friends - and I failed to get tickets. Now I just book for myself I get my choices every time. Easy to squeeze in a single seat.

[Petrushka]

Still haven't had the e-mail confirmation through after 20 minutes. This usually comes through quickly. I've got the order receipt so I imagine that should be ok. Just a tad worried I might be charged twice.

[VodkaDilc]

Got in at 4045 at 9.16 and all done and dusted at 10.20 though I did have a problem when my credit card couldn't be accepted (no idea why) so used my debit card instead. Just hoping that I'm not charged twice. This compares pretty well with every year I've tried and I'm happy enough.

I had exactly the same experience. I tried my usual credit card three times and an alternative once and they were all refused. With time running out, i used my debit card and had no problems. I checked with the bank later and they could see the failed attempts, but not the reason.
Without the payment problems I would have been complete by 9.15 - over two hours shorter than last year.

(Confirmation email arrived almost immediately.)

[Dave2002]

Oh stop moaning ! He didn't write a script, he just hit the button. Like me. If you have only been hitting the button between making a coffee and eating a donut then it's not surprising you haven't got in easily.

OK - you do sound smug.

I am now down to 415 on my iPad, and yes - I did read the thing on the page about not using tablets - but it works, and the other methods haven't so far. I note you perhaps have some IT skills yourself, so surely you can see that there must be better ways of doing this, without requiring mere potential customers to sit glued to their computers and tablets hitting refresh every few seconds.

Some form of electronic ring back could work perfectly well, for example, and could handle much larger queues. It's simply laziness on the part of organisations that they can't be bothered to figure these things out, and get them tested.

[Simon B]

That is bonkers and totally unfair. I thought you were all in favour of equal opportunities for all. Not those in salaried income who can afford to buy lots of tickets. Shame on you for suggesting it.

A variant on this was precisely what did happen until not so long ago.

Bookers for Price code A concerts (i.e. the less crowd pulling ones on the whole - BBC orchestras etc) used to be given priority when also booking for the BPO/VPO etc. Right or wrong, a fact.

As for the "experience" this year: Usual. Tedious. Ennui inducing.

[Dave2002]

As for the "experience" this year: Usual. Tedious. Ennui inducing.

Absolutely.

I did succeed in getting tickets for one concert which I wanted using my iPad - and I had the confirmation within minutes. The other, clearly much more popular one, was completely sold out, though that happened with a similar concert last year, and trying again later on was, oddly, successful.

I can remember the days when booking for concerts at venues such as the RFH I simply filled in a form, and posted it off with a cheque. Generally worked fine. This online stuff is just a pain, and while the use of computers could make the processing at the box office end simpler, there is really no need for the online activity. Some other venues still work that way.

[Bert Coules]

I tried - and am still trying - to telephone the box office and book in the old-fashioned way. Hopelessly optimistic of me.

[Cockney Sparrow]

It's simply laziness on the part of organisations that they can't be bothered to figure these things out, and get them tested.

My feeling exactly. I know little about IT (and why should I, just to buy tickets??). I just had to press the F5 button a lot (and then wait - in fact, still in the queue!)

I restrict my posting here - there is an element of condescension, learning not exactly worn lightly and acquired, determined antipathy between quite a number of posters. I'm not fussed if my grammar is not quite right and some smart Alec decides to comment on it. If only this website had a button to send posts, or OT branches of threads to a section entitled "The place where people discuss points (of varying importance, possibley to the point of exhaustion) OT, snipe at each other, etc".

Having said that, its no reflection on the good folks who spend their time, selflessly, moderating and organising the forum, to whom thanks are due - thanks for a place for followers of Classical (or non popular) music can meet for information and to exchange views. And thanks to the many pleasant and helpful posters, who also are willing to help other forum members, who contribute to discussions, again spending their own time for the benefit of others. (Dave - just to say, of course, you are in this latter category - you must spend much time in posting here, and none of my other observations are particularly aimed at the posters in this thread).

[Cockney Sparrow]

It is nothing to do with the speed of your connection but the ability of the Royal Albert Hall servers to cope with the volume. Having said that, no reason why they couldn't increase server capacity for today.

Despite my ignorance on IT matters, i suspected as much. Of course there is a reason - they would expend time and money organising extra resources, and they have decided I can either put up with pressing the refresh button for 65 minutes or (putting it politely) go away. This only engenders a negative attitude - the last thing I will do is spend any money at RaH. Particularly on meals, drinks etc. I'll eat and drink elsewhere......

[Keraulophone]

Clicking incessantly before, during and after 9 am... let into waiting room at 9.55, 6737th in queue... presented planner at 11.34... took 4 mins to receive 75% of my requests.

A very tedious process, and a seemingly random one circa 9 am.