The ROH booking website - what can we do?

[Emeralds]

2 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

I know there have been various comments previously about the overall tickets page for a production saying a few tickets are available but then none showing as available when you go into the seating plan screen. Today I've noticed the opposite. The overall tickets page says there are 15 tickets available for Monday's Sleeping Beauty performance but the seating plan screen shows, at a rough tot-up, somewhere in the region of 180 tickets available. So goodness knows what the website is up to now! I suppose it's good for potential purchasers to find better availability than the thought but not so good for the ROH if people think there's little availability so don't bother to take a look. (And I wonder if the swathes of unsold side block stalls seats mean they'll be flogged off cut-price to the student scheme at the last minue.)

 

 

Could the loss of tickets (eg when they say a few priced from £x to £y are available but everything has gone) be because some people are also browsing at the same time and have put the tickets in their basket but not paid for them, so technically not sold out as there was no sale? I assume they want to encourage interested buyers to hold on in case the browsing folk don’t end up buying them. 

 

As for the 180 seats, maybe you came at the same time, Dawnstar, as some group/comp/agency allocations just got returned all at the same time🤷‍♀️? I agree it’s a bit strange- but hopefully that resulted in a better range and choice of seats for you to pick. 

 

I’m starting to get used to the quirks of this website, including the very slow page loading for the seats but I now go to put the kettle, check the weather forecast, weed the garden (ok, not that one perhaps 😂) while waiting for it to load. At least I know it’s equally slow for everybody! 👍

[Dawnstar]

1 hour ago, Emeralds said:

As for the 180 seats, maybe you came at the same time, Dawnstar, as some group/comp/agency allocations just got returned all at the same time🤷‍♀️? I agree it’s a bit strange- but hopefully that resulted in a better range and choice of seats for you to pick. 

 

No, it can't have been that because it was the same discrepancy yesterday when I bought a rush ticket. I was looking again today out of curiosity to see if the seat I returned had been re-sold, which it hasn't. (I wanted to swap stalls circle sides as from the performances I attended earlier this season I decided the view was better on the right side than the left. Of course I decided that a couple of weeks after having booked left for Monday's performance!)

[Dawnstar]

The dancer biographies for the First Soloists are now up, in the new format. At this rate I'm not sure they'll get them all back up even by the end of the year, given there are more dancers at each of the main 3 lower levels. The end of season promotions may not help either, as they'll have to reshuffle the main page!

[alison]

I give up.  I actually remembered about Friday Rush for once, spent 5 minutes constantly refreshing the page, but nothing showed up until 13:05 by my computer.  Then suddenly all the dregs showed up, but most of the additional tickets had already gone, including the ones I was after

[Silke H]

On 16/05/2023 at 16:54, Dawnstar said:

The dancer biographies for the First Soloists are now up, in the new format. At this rate I'm not sure they'll get them all back up even by the end of the year, given there are more dancers at each of the main 3 lower levels. The end of season promotions may not help either, as they'll have to reshuffle the main page!

I have it from a very reliable source that they are working hard on the dancers bios and that they should all be back online before too long.

The old bios had to be taken down as the links were broken and unrecoverable due to system updates.

[FionaM]

Perhaps the ROH should have learnt from the Bolshoi Theatre and set up a new website leaving the non-booking part of the old one intact as it is still valid historically and with that info still accessible (past performances, photos, past dancers, past cast lists, past repertoire, etc) .  Doesn’t take too many brain cells to see how and why this would be a good idea.  The bios would not have needed to to be changed either as the links would still be there.  Bios of current dancers always need updating … annually preferably.

[alison]

I've found this a number of times recently:

Click on a performance (Sleeping Beauty/Cinderella) which appears to have tickets available - click on the Use seatmap option.  Get into the seatmap and wonder where the tickets are.  Check the date, and then realise that the date you're being offered is the wrong one (maybe the last one of the run? - and already sold out in this case).  No other dates on offer from the dropdown menu, despite (in today's case) there still being 4 performances of Sleeping Beauty to go. 

 

Also found something similar when checking on availability close to show time.  I assumed that perhaps a 30-minute cutoff point had been implemented, because that night's show wasn't showing.  Yet the other night, when I was seriously considering dashing up in time for Act I if necessary, it was possible to buy tickets almost up to the starting time.

 

I give up trying to work this out.

[Geoff]

Two points worth adding on to this discussion:

 

- There is a muddle about the seat maps for autumn booking, see here for recent discussion:

 

https://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/27763-roh-autumn-23-booking/?do=findComment&comment=408534

 

- Is it just me or is Friday Rush another ROH snafu? Just tried to have a go at 1pm, and got to the waiting room, and relatively quickly got through "within a minute" but then, nothing. Sitting on that sofa, nothing happening. 

 

I am on relatively stable and fast broadband so no idea why this should be. Maybe I did the wrong thing by using the Friday Rush page rather than going straight to the actual performance via the calendar?

 

 

[Dawnstar]

19 minutes ago, Geoff said:

Maybe I did the wrong thing by using the Friday Rush page rather than going straight to the actual performance via the calendar?

 

I use both options & haven't found it makes a difference. Last week I did the going via the Friday Rush page option & it worked fine.

[Geoff]

The ongoing mess for online bookings is unfolding elsewhere on the Forum, the most recent 24 hours of coverage starts here:

 

https://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/27763-roh-autumn-23-booking/?do=findComment&comment=409009

 

[FionaM]

I wonder if other national theatres suffer this amount of technical trouble with booking systems? 🤔 

[Rob S]

I'm getting a message on the ROH website 'Sorry you have exceeded your ticket limit' when I click on Buy Tickets...it first appeared when trying to check availability for the RBS performance when I already had 1 ticket (1 ticket is not the limit) but also appears for Australian Ballet performances I don't have tickets for. Does anyone else suffer this problem? The problem exists whether I'm signed in or not (although I can get round it by using an incognito tab in Chrome)  

[Geoff]

38 minutes ago, Rob S said:

I'm getting a message on the ROH website 'Sorry you have exceeded your ticket limit' when I click on Buy Tickets...it first appeared when trying to check availability for the RBS performance when I already had 1 ticket (1 ticket is not the limit) but also appears for Australian Ballet performances I don't have tickets for. Does anyone else suffer this problem? The problem exists whether I'm signed in or not (although I can get round it by using an incognito tab in Chrome)  

 

Sorry to hear this Rob S. I had the same problem and discussed it in another thread, read on from here:

 

https://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/27763-roh-autumn-23-booking/?do=findComment&comment=409913

 

[J_New]

Really bad today - as others have said, I got the 'exceeded ticket limit' when I had only got 2 tickets, then the site crashed and my basket was empty- it's so frustrating that there are problems every time. Stress levels going up ....  

And now it's saying 'technical error' and nothing works .....

Edited July 11, 2023 by J_New

[ellyb]

What an absolute nightmare this morning! Over half an hour of screaming at my computer and ended up with far worse seats than I planned. Got a wonderful stalls circle seat for Nutcracker rehearsal, which it then removed from my basket when I went to pay. Then there was an error for the next ten minutes or so, and then I was informed I had exceeded my ticket allowance. Finally it let me in to book and I am now the proud owner of a seat high up in the gods. Same with Don Quixote, planned two stalls seats and one front amphi, ended up with three high amphi. Even that told me I had exceeded my ticket limit - for Don Quixote?! At least it's saved me some money I suppose, and with a service this poor I begrudge giving them a penny - very annoying they hold the keys to the Royal Ballet... how can they be this bad...?! 

[JNC]

Sorry to hear bad experiences.

 

I had a very odd experience. First time, I just got a page with three grey (loading?) dots continuously flashing at me. It didn’t look hopeful (usually you get moved to the grey rectangle queue bar thing?) so I quickly tried the website on another device. The three grey loading dots near instantly disappeared and I proceeded to book for my only performance (!) this whole season - DQ for Osipova/Sambe.

 

no queue at all which is very unusual, even if it is quick I usually always see the grey rectangle with the man, or the new page is the picture of the sofa? 
 

anyway I got my tickets and was about to check out, but curiously wondered if I should investigate the nutcracker to see if any scs (alas not for the one date I could potentially do). But then after showing me the seat map it proceeded to put me in a queue (the sofa picture) at which point I stopped playing around and checked out my DQ tickets before losing them (only back amphi but actually row P had sold more than usual I assume due to the fact you had to pay £70 odd for the next chunk in front…)

 

So a mixed experience for me. I’m glad I wasn’t stuck on the grey loading dots page repetitively but odd I didn’t have to queue at all (and odd the grey dots were clearly meant to disappear quickly) meaning the website was likely playing up and not doing what it was meant to do (either blocking me entirely or proceeding me without any queue checks at all). 
 

it’ll be my last booking as a Friend, I’ll be cancelling my membership later this month before it renews and sending an email noting why (ticket prices, but this website stress doesn’t help, poor programming). The fact that I was only really interested in one programme for the whole season, but then due to price increases could only justify going to one performance means from June to December (and perhaps further depending on Manon casting) I will have visited ROH once, so I don’t think I go regularly enough now (partly location, partly prices) to justify a friends membership. If prices were favourable I would have maybe booked 1-2 more DQs and a nutcracker (for old times’ sake as I didn’t go last year!) but I can’t afford/justify it at these prices. 

[zxDaveM]

JNC - perhaps you could go to some of the interesting things happening in the Linbury or up at Sadlers Wells, which are more reasonably priced. IF anything there appeals that is.

 

[JNC]

1 hour ago, zxDaveM said:

JNC - perhaps you could go to some of the interesting things happening in the Linbury or up at Sadlers Wells, which are more reasonably priced. IF anything there appeals that is.

 

I’m going through see ENB’s our voices bill and very much looking forward to that. 
 

unfortunately with the Linbury I’ve found it can be really difficult to get tickets when booking opens. If I lived in London I would be tempted to give lemons lemons lemons a go but I’m at the point where with trains and overnight stays for productions I’m not sure about I can’t afford to risk it. I’m lucky to live near Leeds so I’ll see Northern Ballet’s triple up in its “home”, and can’t see much else in the Linbury this season I’d be interested in (very keen for Sarasota but already predicting I won’t get a ticket). 

[zxDaveM]

Yes, that ENB mixed bill looks terrific. The 'lemons' thing is only an hour, which isn't a lot to come all the way from Leeds for, I can't deny! (Even doing a matinee and evening combined).

[Beryl H]

I had forgotten today was Friends booking and went shopping, on the way back I realised and went into the system at 11am, may have been a wise move as after reading the apologies for bad service today(!), I then proceeded to get a fair selection of tickets! I paid £52 row S amphi for one ticket only as I really wanted to see Osipova/Sambe in Don Q, perhaps there will be a refund? 

[jmhopton]

Well, I was one of the lucky ones (perhaps the only lucky one?) who didn't have a problem today. I logged on just after 9 and was in the queue for about 15 minutes but I was away from home and was using my phone which takes ages for the seat plan to load up. So after 9.30 I went round to the local library and found I was still logged in so didn't have to go back to the queue and bought several Don Q tickets, no problem. Even managed to get a couple of standing tickets though there were none left for the Fumi/Bracewell matinee. Very few standing overall but the standing tickets made it a lot less expensive than usual as as I'd cancelled so many performances earlier I had enough credit to pay for everything, so quite a satisfactory day, marred only by the thought of having to find an affordable hotel for a couple of Saturday nights, something that seems even rarer these days than SC standing tickets.

[Geoff]

These instructions just arrived from the Friends office, let's hope these tips help someone (anyone) to deal with what may be Britain's worst booking website:

 

In order to book, you need to first sign into your online account using your email address and password. We ask that you do not sign in more than 10 minutes before your booking time as this can mean the website doesn’t correctly update to allow you to book.  

If you have signed in and are still unable to book your tickets, the following fixes should be your first port of call: 

• Signing out of your online account and back in again. 

• Refreshing the webpage (method will depend on device and browser). 

• Clearing your browser cookies and data. 

[alison]

But wouldn't it be nice if it just, you know, worked?

[capybara]

47 minutes ago, Geoff said:

These instructions just arrived from the Friends office, let's hope these tips help someone (anyone) to deal with what may be Britain's worst booking website:

 

In order to book, you need to first sign into your online account using your email address and password. We ask that you do not sign in more than 10 minutes before your booking time as this can mean the website doesn’t correctly update to allow you to book.  

If you have signed in and are still unable to book your tickets, the following fixes should be your first port of call: 

• Signing out of your online account and back in again. 

• Refreshing the webpage (method will depend on device and browser). 

• Clearing your browser cookies and data. 

The ROH is getting dangerously near to blaming the user here.😨

[bridiem]

57 minutes ago, Geoff said:

These instructions just arrived from the Friends office, let's hope these tips help someone (anyone) to deal with what may be Britain's worst booking website:

 

In order to book, you need to first sign into your online account using your email address and password. We ask that you do not sign in more than 10 minutes before your booking time as this can mean the website doesn’t correctly update to allow you to book.  

If you have signed in and are still unable to book your tickets, the following fixes should be your first port of call: 

• Signing out of your online account and back in again. 

• Refreshing the webpage (method will depend on device and browser). 

• Clearing your browser cookies and data. 

 

Even if any of these methods work, they're work-rounds for problems that should not be happening. (And telling people to clear cookies/data is really not reasonable, since it causes a lot of subsequent inconvenience.)

 

However, I assume from this message that the ROH is now aware of the nature of the problems, which should mean that they will also be able to prevent them from happening again in future. Shouldn't it?

[JNC]

1 hour ago, bridiem said:

However, I assume from this message that the ROH is now aware of the nature of the problems, which should mean that they will also be able to prevent them from happening again in future. Shouldn't it?

remind me how long we’ve had this “new” booking website (2 years?) and the problems that have recurred since then.

 

I have little faith it will be resolved to be honest, it’s gone on for so long and they know people don’t have a choice as they hold the monopoly on booking tickets as it is…

[art_enthusiast]

On 14/07/2023 at 19:45, capybara said:

The ROH is getting dangerously near to blaming the user here.😨

 

Which is considered a cardinal sin in both areas - the tech and customer service industries.

[postie]

On 10/07/2023 at 12:48, Rob S said:

I'm getting a message on the ROH website 'Sorry you have exceeded your ticket limit' when I click on Buy Tickets...it first appeared when trying to check availability for the RBS performance when I already had 1 ticket (1 ticket is not the limit) but also appears for Australian Ballet performances I don't have tickets for. Does anyone else suffer this problem? The problem exists whether I'm signed in or not (although I can get round it by using an incognito tab in Chrome)  

 

The last time this happened to me .. >>

1. I'd clicked on the seat icon, clicked 'Select', at which point the pop up  'Add to Basket' appears, clicked that and it wasn't available anymore (which I now understand means it is in someone's basket but they are still within the 30-minute buying period, probably looking at other performances). Because it hasn't yet been paid for, the system deigns it available for 'selection' but not available to add to your basket

2. I went back to the seating plan, but now was told I'd exceeded my ticket limit - the difference this time was the first ticket was still in that post-selection/pre-purchase pop up window. Once I deleted that from the pop up  'Add to basket', I could add another.

 

I believe there are variations on this theme but most problems I am aware of are rooted in that period between a seat being available for 'Selection' yet not available for 'Add to Basket'.

 

Edited July 19, 2023 by postie
comprehension

[LinMM]

I don’t see why once somebody has added a seat to their basket it is then unavailable ….whether they’ve paid yet or not! It would save everybody a lot of time and if the original person decides they are not buying it in the end then it can come back on for others. 

[postie]

Fwiw, unless someone can suggest a good reason for it, I'd just take out the 'Selection' stage - i.e. straight into your basket, 20-minues to pay or you lose it

 

Not sure what is gained by the extra step of 'Selection', plus it complicates things for other users..?

Edited July 19, 2023 by postie

[bangorballetboy]

11 minutes ago, postie said:

Fwiw, unless someone can suggest a good reason for it, I'd just take out the 'Selection' stage - i.e. straight into your basket, 20-minues to pay or you lose it

 

Not sure what is gained by the extra step of 'Selection', plus it complicates things for other users..?

 

Fine if you're only booking 1 ticket per performance but a pain in the butt for everyone else (who probably represent a sizeable majority of users).

[Rob S]

1 hour ago, postie said:

 

The last time this happened to me .. >>

1. I'd clicked on the seat icon, clicked 'Select', at which point the pop up  'Add to Basket' appears, clicked that and it wasn't available anymore (which I now understand means it is in someone's basket but they are still within the 30-minute buying period, probably looking at other performances). Because it hasn't yet been paid for, the system deigns it available for 'selection' but not available to add to your basket

2. I went back to the seating plan, but now was told I'd exceeded my ticket limit - the difference this time was the first ticket was still in that post-selection/pre-purchase pop up window. Once I deleted that from the pop up  'Add to basket', I could add another.

 

I believe there are variations on this theme but most problems I am aware of are rooted in that period between a seat being available for 'Selection' yet not available for 'Add to Basket'.

 

To this day it still says I’ve exceeded the ticket limit and won’t even show me the seating map….this is after I have deleted the cookies for the ROH website on Chrome….I guess I’m doomed to be an incognito tab user on my worktop pc for the rest of my career 

[postie]

14 hours ago, Rob S said:

To this day it still says I’ve exceeded the ticket limit and won’t even show me the seating map….this is after I have deleted the cookies for the ROH website on Chrome….I guess I’m doomed to be an incognito tab user on my worktop pc for the rest of my career 

 

Fwiw, I'd have to phone the box office and see if anyone could offer an explanation.