Hearts fans blast 'nightmare' ticket phone line

ANGRY Hearts fans today warned the club their "nightmare" new telephone system was losing them business and preventing supporters from buying tickets.

Supporters of the Gorgie side have become increasingly frustrated at the length of time it takes to contact staff at Tynecastle since a new telephone system was put in place in December.

Customers complain they have to wait for up to 40 minutes to get through to the ticket office, with some claiming their calls have been cut off before they are even answered.

Some are so exasperated that they have given up trying to buy tickets for matches altogether.

Dan Burnett, 53, from Bonnyrigg, said he was nearing the end of his tether after constant problems getting through to the ticket line.

The father-of-two, who regularly tries to book tickets for his 17-year-old daughter, Ruth, using the new automated system, said: "It's got to the stage where I feel like banging my head against a brick wall. The longest I've had to wait for my call to be answered is 40 minutes, and on two occasions I've been kept waiting more than 25 minutes, only to be cut off at the last minute."

The new seven-pence-a-minute number was introduced to make getting in contact with the club easier. Once connected, the caller is presented with a recorded list of options to choose from via a touchtone service.

However, fans have claimed that they are always placed in a queue under the new system, regardless of the time of day they call, whereas they were able to get through to the old numbers far more easily.

Supporters are angry that they are being charged more for what they feel is an inferior service.

Fellow Jambos fan Crawford Scott, who lives in Paisley, said he has missed two matches recently as he has not been able to get through to the ticket hotline.

"It's been a nightmare," he said. "There are three or four of us who come through from the west and none of us have been able to get through to the ticket office.

"I tried to phone and get tickets and must have tried five or six times but just couldn't get through. I waited almost 40 minutes but still no joy. I would be told I was in a queue and then end up going to a different department.

"I left messages and was told somebody would phone me back but nobody ever did."

And the problems do not appear to be isolated incidents, with supporters logging on to supporters' forum JambosKickback to voice their displeasure.

"I just went from ten to one in the queue then got the message that they are all too busy to answer! Why can't they get this sorted? It keeps happening," said one fan who identifies himself as Jambof3tornado.

Another supporter, Jamo-paul1998, said: "I tried to get through on the phone but all that I achieved was seven minutes of listening to Scott Wilson!"

But Hearts defended their new phone system and urged supporters to be patient. "The system we installed in December is state of the art and is the one used by 70 per cent of English Premiership clubs," said a spokesman. "When the telephones are busy it's not as a result of a failing of the system, it's because we have become a victim of our own success.

"There is an incredible interest in Hearts and more people than ever are trying to get tickets or contact the club. On Monday when our Scottish Cup tickets went on sale we had 600 calls in the first hour but then were a lot quieter the rest of the day.

"Unfortunately, it's not practical for us to have 600 staff answering phones for that hour or so and I would ask people not to call the second lines or if they do to be patient."

Taken from the Scotsman