Syracuse Goes Mobile Ticketing (Luddites Take Note)

[Pyle]

Oh, there is a total health benefit and that's why this is being done!!! If you think in the coming years there will be a man or woman scanning your ticket you are kidding yourself. They will have a scanner at the gate and you scan yourself in and if there is an issue someone will come to the turnstile to help you. Instead of having 4 turnstiles with 4 people scanning at each turnstile, they will have 4 turnstiles with 1 person watching them all (to make sure nobody jumps the turnstile or slides in with someone else). And if 9 out of 10 people scan in with no issue, great, when the 1 person has an issue then they go help them. Hence...more social distancing.

An automated scanner at the gate could still scan a paper barcode(see every retail self-checkout), you gain nothing. Other than missing my paper memorabilia I have no issues with the policy but it's not about Covid and them saying that it is, well kind of insulting to my intelligence. I haven't actually handed my paper ticket to an employee in quite some time, we hold our tickets out and they zap them, no touch. Whether that barcode is physically in my hand or electronically in my hand makes zero difference.

The arguments about will-call hold some validity except that there wasn't going to be any will-call this year anyway. Lastly, scalpers will not be foiled by a bit of tech, they will probably exploit it.

 

[reedny]

Are the ushers going to have code readers to help people find their seats? I'm fantasizing here -- usher doing something beside standing at the top of the aisles.

Ushers are being eliminated, along with all concession workers. Using the Stern efficiency model - they'll be replaced with vending machines and drones. The drones will hover overhead, read your bar code, flash an indicator signal towards your approximate seat location and douse you with disinfectant mist. They're working on holograms for the players to eliminate the hassle of lockerrooms.

 

[Stern]

An automated scanner at the gate could still scan a paper barcode(see every retail self-checkout), you gain nothing. Other than missing my paper memorabilia I have no issues with the policy but it's not about Covid and them saying that it is, well kind of insulting to my intelligence. I haven't actually handed my paper ticket to an employee in quite some time, we hold our tickets out and they zap them, no touch. Whether that barcode is physically in my hand or electronically in my hand makes zero difference.

The arguments about will-call hold some validity except that there wasn't going to be any will-call this year anyway. Lastly, scalpers will not be foiled by a bit of tech, they will probably exploit it.

They don't want a person standing that close to you to scan. Social Distancing my brother. It's a new world.

 

[Stern]

Ushers are being eliminated, along with all concession workers. Using the Stern efficiency model - they'll be replaced with vending machines and drones. The drones hover overhead, read your bar code, flash an indicator signal towards your approximate seat location and douse you with disinfectant mist. They're working on holograms for the players to eliminate the hassle of lockerrooms.

Ushers will always be there but the concession workers...have you not read how they want more kiosks and touchless payments in the DOME. Yes there will always be concession stands and people behind them, but there won't be as many of them and you will have more self-serve kiosks with pre-packaged foods.

Guys, I'm not saying I agree with every last thing here but its the future its the way things are headed. They are going to start testing it and I hate to break it to ya if it works and people like it, they will expand it.

From Pete Sala May 3rd article:
He noted that the Carrier Dome’s grab-and-go offerings were particularly well-received last year when the school overhauled a variety of concessions locations.

Sala said that the coronavirus pandemic has the school trying to scheme new design plans for at least one of those concession stands on the fly. Syracuse is exploring models that will make the experience as touchless as possible.

“We’re going to model one of the stands to try to have as little interaction and touchless as possible,” Sala said. “It’s a different way to approach a concession stand. We don’t know what that looks like yet, but we can try to get ahead of that curve and try to change the dynamics of the stand.”

 

[reedny]

Ushers will always be there but the concession workers...have you not read how they want more kiosks and touchless payments in the DOME. Yes there will always be concession stands and people behind them, but there won't be as many of them and you will have more self-serve kiosks with pre-packaged foods.

Guys, I'm not saying I agree with every last thing here but its the future its the way things are headed.

It was tongue and cheek.

 

[cusefan88]

I keep all my ticket stubs. I probably have north of 100-125. I understand this is much easier/safer but i will miss being able to add to my collection. Alas it's time to do something with my stubs.

 

[upperdeck]

a grab and go method that maybe 1% even knew existed does it scale to 90% usage?

 

[sutomcat]

a grab and go method that maybe 1% even knew existed does it scale to 90% usage?

I would think so. The biggest time wasters with the concession stands today involve tasks that require manual effort.

Pouring beers or sodas. Putting caps on them. Handing them to the customer.

Asking customers what they want. Waiting for them to decide. Confirming what they heard is what the customer said.

Customizing orders. For sausages, they normally wait until they get an order to take the sausage, put it in a bun, and put the bun in a sleeve. And possibly get peppers and onions.

Having everything ready to go, where the customer takes what they want and all that is needed is to determine what is owed and to take payment, has to be much more efficient.

The other big slowdown is the size of the line and if the average time to process an order goes from 45 seconds to 15 seconds, the queue should be significantly shorter.

Customers might not be thrilled with the lack of hot food, but they might be happier overall with going to a stand and getting what they want and heading back to their seat in dramtically less time than normal.

Given the choice, I know I would far prefer grab and go. I never leave my seat during games because it takes so long and is so painful to stop at one during a game (or even worse at half time). If I go, it is 30-60 minutes before game time..

 

[Bayside44]

I would think so. The biggest time wasters with the concession stands today involve tasks that require manual effort.

Pouring beers or sodas. Putting caps on them. Handing them to the customer.

Asking customers what they want. Waiting for them to decide. Confirming what they heard is what the customer said.

Customizing orders. For sausages, they normally wait until they get an order to take the sausage, put it in a bun, and put the bun in a sleeve. And possibly get peppers and onions.

Having everything ready to go, where the customer takes what they want and all that is needed is to determine what is owed and to take payment, has to be much more efficient.

The other big slowdown is the size of the line and if the average time to process an order goes from 45 seconds to 15 seconds, the queue should be significantly shorter.

Customers might not be thrilled with the lack of hot food, but they might be happier overall with going to a stand and getting what they want and heading back to their seat in dramtically less time than normal.

Given the choice, I know I would far prefer grab and go. I never leave my seat during games because it takes so long and is so painful to stop at one during a game (or even worse at half time). If I go, it is 30-60 minutes before game time..

Also, no exchange of money. Price comes up on a scanner, your phone has cash loaded, place the phone over the scanner and the money is debited. Really fast.

 

[sutomcat]

Also, no exchange of money. Price comes up on a scanner, your phone has cash loaded, place the phone over the scanner and the money is debited. Really fast.

That is what we need. Someday get to the point where you can order what you want and a) have it delivered or b) go pick it up as a to go order from a separate line at the concession stand.

Still sad they did away with the vendors walking around selling food and drink in the stands. I understand it isn't viable with COVID but this was done away with before that.

 

[upperdeck]

Also, no exchange of money. Price comes up on a scanner, your phone has cash loaded, place the phone over the scanner and the money is debited. Really fast.

how exactly does your phone have cash loaded?

 

[Bayside44]

how exactly does your phone have cash loaded?

I load up cash on the crm and the app has a tab with a QR code that you just hold over a scanner when you buy your stuff. Since I haven’t done it since October I’m a little rusty on the details.

 

[Stern]

how exactly does your phone have cash loaded?

Open the APP, load your debit card or credit card on the app. Then you "charge" or "transfer" let's say for example sakes $30 to the App and your credit/debit card gets billed. Now you have $30 cash loaded onto the app. The app has a scan bar code label. You go to the kiosk or concession stand, grab what you want and go scan at the kiosk and say you purchased $11 worth of stuff it subtracts it from the app so you would still have $19 to spend on the app. Any time you zero out the money on the app, you just transfer/charge more from your debit/credit card already loaded on the app.

I have been doing this at Starbucks for years. So easy and convenient.

 

[upperdeck]

what app are we talking about?

 

[Chris02M]

what app are we talking about?

apple pay, samsung pay or individual apps alloy you to pay without inserting a card or reaching for cash

 

[upperdeck]

dont use any of them so i guess i go hungry or eat out in the quad in 2 yrs.. they gonna make those go cashless too? now i have to bring my phone and my wallet to a game? life used to be so easy

 

[OttoMets]

dont use any of them so i guess i go hungry or eat out in the quad in 2 yrs.. they gonna make those go cashless too? now i have to bring my phone and my wallet to a game? life used to be so easy

This is the point that I can't let go of.

Of course it's easy for people who want to do this.

But it's a sea change for those of us who don't. And it's probably not crazy/unfair of me to suggest that SU -- not known for its smart strategy or strong execution -- hasn't put enough thought into this sort of revolutionary change that looks to shut out longtime fans.

 

[Cusefan69]

I would guess the concessions won't be a 100 percent conversion yet. They probably will keep a handful of concessions on each level cash oriented.

 

[TexanMark]

This actually might be a good season to break it in. We'll be lucky if we have 10K fans

 

[MSOrange]

This actually might be a good season to break it in. We'll be lucky if we have 10K fans

Exactly what I was thinking - perfect season to make the change under these circumstances.

 

[DoubleDee]

This is the point that I can't let go of.

Of course it's easy for people who want to do this.

But it's a sea change for those of us who don't. And it's probably not crazy/unfair of me to suggest that SU -- not known for its smart strategy or strong execution -- hasn't put enough thought into this sort of revolutionary change that looks to shut out longtime fans.

We have people on here that have flips, or perhaps don’t even want to bring a phone. I don’t think it’s fair to say Syracuse is shutting out fans. I think technology in general is the one doing that.

 

[721Comstock]

We have people on here that have flips, or perhaps don’t even want to bring a phone. I don’t think it’s fair to say Syracuse is shutting out fans. I think technology in general is the one doing that.

Well, and Covid.

 

[Newhouser]

This is the point that I can't let go of.

Of course it's easy for people who want to do this.

But it's a sea change for those of us who don't. And it's probably not crazy/unfair of me to suggest that SU -- not known for its smart strategy or strong execution -- hasn't put enough thought into this sort of revolutionary change that looks to shut out longtime fans.

That last paragraph is solid. You don't think this will go smoothly based off past performance?

 

[upperdeck]

I figure I am pretty tech savvy. But that doesnt mean I want to carry my phone, use credit/debit cards, tweet all day in the dome. I got tons of apps on my phones but I dont let them use location service unless needed. i dont leave bluetooth/wifi on either.. phones are pretty insecure and for all the valuable information in them, easy to lose/drop/break. I like showing up with $20-$50 and a ticket and thats it to worry about as you get jumbled around in a crowd for 3-4-5 hrs

I would love to see the numbers on just how much that are saving and how much fake ticket scalping/printing is going on at any avg game. at most we are talking a few dozen ticket scams and only then for a big game, but we are inconveniencing thousands every game all yr.

Printing is included in the cost of tickets, you suppose they are passing that savings back?

 

[Pyle]

They don't want a person standing that close to you to scan. Social Distancing my brother. It's a new world.

I don't think you understood my post. I don't care if a Cherry 2000 robot is scanning the tickets, whatever automated device you use to scan, it will read a paper barcode just the same as it would a digital one. You gain nothing from a health/social distancing perspective.