Dear Mr. Taylor

[Beryl H]

I also think it's very unfortunate that the ROH has taken this particular time to go "paper-free", not such clear cast lists as before, no cast change lists readily available, and no information at all about what's on today, this week, how many tickets available, nothing, apart from the costume displays which I really appreciate you wouldn't know you were in an opera house!

[Sim]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

 

You mean charging elitist prices whilst protesting the opposite?

Quite.   Such hypocrisy.

[Timmie]

Last week I found yet another irritation with the ROH experience. The standard measure for spirits in ROH bars is now a double (50ml). So if you order ‘a gin and tonic’ you automatically get a double. This is detailed in the small print in the drinks menu but it used to be a single. The bar manager told me they’d had several complaints about this. Be warned.

[Sim]

Does that mean you are automatically paying double, or are they giving you the amount for which they were charging previously but not giving (I.e, a lot of money for not much alcohol!)?

[alison]

Ha ha, Sim!  What would be your guess, especially based on recent behaviour?   

[Douglas Allen]

I wonder if it would be possible for the administrators of the Forum to collect the responses to this thread and the one relating to the "new" Covent Garden experience (18 pages and counting at present) and send them unaltered as a present to the chairman so that he is aware, at least, of the feelings of a significant group of Royal Ballet goers? The general reaction has been partially appreciative, but largely critical (verging on the scornful in many cases). I don't have confidence that anyone at the opera house follows fora such as this but at least by doing this we would be contributing to that eagerly sought after aim of "feedback".

 

What do people think?

[Sim]

14 minutes ago, alison said:

Ha ha, Sim!  What would be your guess, especially based on recent behaviour?   

😉😉

[Timmie]

30 minutes ago, Sim said:

Does that mean you are automatically paying double, or are they giving you the amount for which they were charging previously but not giving (I.e, a lot of money for not much alcohol!)?

 

Paying double I'm afraid. You can get a single but you have to ask specifically for a single.

 

I like to get a round of sandwiches and either a cup of tea or a G&T to wash them down. Tonight it'll be Tesco Express for sarnies and a G&T in a can .

[Lizbie1]

16 minutes ago, Timmie said:

I like to get a round of sandwiches and either a cup of tea or a G&T to wash them down. Tonight it'll be Tesco Express for sarnies and a G&T in a can .

 

I do wonder how many people are spending less on incidentals at ROH as a result of the various increases and whether revenue is taking a hit.

 

I know that I’ve gone from being a fairly reliable programme buyer to buying them as an exception (only the Ring so far this season). This isn’t just bloody mindedness: I can’t make my budget stretch far enough if I continue to buy them, what with the ticket price rises as well.

[capybara]

1 hour ago, Douglas Allen said:

I wonder if it would be possible for the administrators of the Forum to collect the responses to this thread and the one relating to the "new" Covent Garden experience .

 

These two threads have been drawn to the attention of Alex Beard.

I think that a number of people who post on BCF are doing their best to get some messages across in the best interests of the ROH and the RB.

 

[Vanartus]

49 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

I do wonder how many people are spending less on incidentals at ROH as a result of the various increases and whether revenue is taking a hit.

 

I know that I’ve gone from being a fairly reliable programme buyer to buying them as an exception (only the Ring so far this season). This isn’t just bloody mindedness: I can’t make my budget stretch far enough if I continue to buy them, what with the ticket price rises as well.

 

I’ve stopped going to the restaurant, no pre-show drink, only one interval drink with no snack, sit out the second. So yes I have cut back. And never a programme!

Edited November 26, 2018 by Vanartus

[Fonty]

21 hours ago, Mary said:

House wine no longer available by the bottle ( used to be a good option for a group of us).

 

 

I remember being quite annoyed when I was with a group of friends in Paris, and we went to sit outside a bar.  We tried to order a bottle of wine, and were told they could only serve those with food.  So we ended up having to buy individual glasses, which they had no problem serving to us.

 

Well, they wouldn't, would they?  Considering that we ended up paying almost 50% more for the same amount of alcohol..   

 

 

[Guest]

I have also stopped buying any interval drinks, snacks etc. (I never frequented the restaurant). I have cut down on programme buying. I no longer fill out the questionnaires that I receive by email knowing the use they may be put to.

[alison]

Darlex, these days they only ask you how you'd rate the production, and how you'd rate the ROH.  My two answers are now VERY different  

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, alison said:

Darlex, these days they only ask you how you'd rate the production, and how you'd rate the ROH.  My two answers are now VERY different  

They have definitely lost a lot of good will. I certainly won't be bequeathing anything to them in mine!

[penelopesimpson]

It was certainly noticeable last week that there were far fewer interval drinks.  Get the impression they have just pushed things to far this time - especially with their seeming desire to dispense with their traditional audience.

[ninamargaret]

3 hours ago, Darlex said:

They have definitely lost a lot of good will. I certainly won't be bequeathing anything to them in mine!

And their requests for donations to help with shoes, costume dept and musical scores, all of which I have contributed small amounts to in the past, will now, I'm afraid, get nothing.

[Scheherezade]

21 hours ago, Timmie said:

Last week I found yet another irritation with the ROH experience. The standard measure for spirits in ROH bars is now a double (50ml). So if you order ‘a gin and tonic’ you automatically get a double. This is detailed in the small print in the drinks menu but it used to be a single. The bar manager told me they’d had several complaints about this. Be warned.

 

I became aware of this around the time of the Hvorostovsky memorial when my daughter was horrified to receive an eye=watering bill for 2 G&Ts and was told by the very helpful barman that the staff had recently been instructed to provide and charge for doubles and it was therefore essential to make it clear if only single measures were required.

[bridiem]

2 minutes ago, Scheherezade said:

 

I became aware of this around the time of the Hvorostovsky memorial when my daughter was horrified to receive an eye=watering bill for 2 G&Ts and was told by the very helpful barman that the staff had recently been instructed to provide and charge for doubles and it was therefore essential to make it clear if only single measures were required.

 

And why would you do this if you don't know that to be the case in advance? Appalling.

[Scheherezade]

1 minute ago, bridiem said:

 

And why would you do this if you don't know that to be the case in advance? Appalling.

 

Quite! And the many people who pay by card wouldn't necessarily notice at the time.

[Anna C]

24 minutes ago, bridiem said:

 

And why would you do this if you don't know that to be the case in advance? Appalling.

 

That’s absolutely shocking.  I think I’d be inclined to refuse the drinks and demand a refund on the basis that I’d asked for “A gin and tonic” rather than a “double gin and tonic”.   

[Fonty]

That is very, very wrong of them to do that, and should be stopped immediately.  No pub would be allowed to do that, and I doubt a restaurant would be able to do so without making it very plain at the start.  

 

It is shocking to think that someone might inadvertently drink much more than they realised as a result.  I never drink spirits, and very rarely drive.  Could someone drink a single G & T and drive legally, but be over the top with a double?

[Colman]

It does seem a bit weird. Are you sure it's doubles (50ml) as opposed to large singles (35ml) (which would still be a sneaky change)? Though I suppose if they're technically considered as cocktails then the rules for spirit measures might not apply?

 

3 minutes ago, Fonty said:

Could someone drink a single G & T and drive legally, but be over the top with a double?

 

Don't drink and drive.

[Fonty]

1 minute ago, Colman said:

Don't drink and drive.

 

Well, at the moment drivers are allowed to imbibe a small amount of alcohol.  Hence my question. 

 

But leaving the driver question aside, any establishment serving alcohol should make it quite plain exactly what it is they are serving.      

[Anna C]

22 minutes ago, Colman said:

 

Don't drink and drive.

 

That’s not really helpful and it’s not what Fonty was asking. 

[bangorballetboy]

36 minutes ago, Fonty said:

That is very, very wrong of them to do that, and should be stopped immediately.  No pub would be allowed to do that,

 

Almost every wine bar in central London serves double measures as standard.

[Fonty]

5 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

Almost every wine bar in central London serves double measures as standard.

 

Really?  Well, I wouldn't know, I never drink spirits.  But if the ROH traditionally sold its G & Ts in single measures, then it should be clearly stated that the policy has changed.  Perhaps by putting a notice over the bar area, which would be simple enough.

 

I

[Timmie]

43 minutes ago, Colman said:

It does seem a bit weird. Are you sure it's doubles (50ml) as opposed to large singles (35ml) (which would still be a sneaky change)? Though I suppose if they're technically considered as cocktails then the rules for spirit measures might not apply?...

 

Definitely 50ml. You can see it in their online bar menu "our standard measure is 50ml".

 

And as BBB says all quite legitimate. The problem is that it is a change and so could catch the unwary.

[Sim]

So people can now sit outside the Crush Bar unhindered, eating takeaway food ?  Is this the ROH's idea of 'no elitism' ??  Turning the place into something not far off from our local cinemas?  I suppose soon the audience will be eating popcorn and hotdogs in the auditorium during a performance.  

 

Has it never occurred to the new ROH management that perhaps people actually enjoy going somewhere special?  Those of us boring, pain in the neck frequent attendees perhaps take its beauty a bit for granted, but how about the people who go once or twice a year?  They want to go somewhere special, that is NOT like the places they go to much more often.  Maybe they enjoy getting dressed up, splashing out on a drink or something to eat, or simply enjoying the show in beautiful surroundings.  For many people, it's a special evening (or matinee) out.  I think this whole Open Up is incredibly patronising;  they are assuming that people won't go into the place unless it's reduced to the lowest common denominator.   I think the original idea was good, but clearly it has been very ill-conceived (with some exceptions).

[penelopesimpson]

Spot on, Sim.  Why, why, why😤😤😤😤

[Timmie]

I totally agree. I used to enjoy the whole ROH experience, I didn’t mind paying the slightly over the top prices in the bar and I’d buy my ballet blu rays in the ROH shop rather than the cheapest online because I felt it was a good way to waste my money. The new management are enthusiastically diminishing the ROH experience whilst openly trying to squeeze as much money from me as they can. They’ve changed the rules of the game so I’ve changed my rules to match. I’ll give the bar a miss, buy my discs online and there’ll be more trips to Sadler’s Wells and the Coliseum and less to ROH.

On the way home after last night’s triple bill I reflected on how I feel about the ROH and especially on how to put a positive spin on it. I remain very positive towards the Royal Ballet (how could I feel otherwise after the joy of Symphony in C?) but extremely disappointed with the ROH. The most damning thing I can say is that I am very happy that I’ve only got one more ROH ticket before Christmas and then nothing at Covent Garden until Don Q. Hopefully they’ll have sorted themselves out by next March.

Edited November 27, 2018 by Timmie

[Timmie]

43 minutes ago, Timmie said:

...there’ll be more trips to Sadler’s Wells and the Coliseum and less to ROH...

 

Just wanted to add that the main reason for this is the disproportionate increase in the prices of my favourite seats and because matinee prices are now the same as evening prices.

[alison]

"Outside the Crush Bar" makes me think on the stairs, which would be even worse.