A frog Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I managed after I don't know how many attempts to make it to the payment page, and even have it processed, only to have an error message and be kicked out of the site. Although checking my credit card activity online, the order did go somewhere pretty much every time I tried to pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonbfisher Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Four tickets sent to basket at 10.01 - couldn't get to basket. Basket logo not showing any tickets. T u r n i n g c i r c l e ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A frog Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Well, I just receive the order confirmation after all. I had let my membership lapse and am in two minds about renewing it, on the one hand it was never like that as a friend, on the other, I'm not sure why I should reward their incompetence. Their repeated assurances every booking period that they are looking into the issue aren't reassuring. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Well, I'm glad someone actually got as far as getting their hands on their tickets - I couldn't even get to the seating plan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A frog Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Anyone who manages to get tickets in their basket should try emailing Online.Booking@roh.org.uk My order had been processed by the time they replied to my email, but they did reply very quickly, past experiences taught me to take screen grabs of my basket in these circumstances, but I'm guessing they could help you even without. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneMarriott Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Total nightmare - worst experience yet! Endless error messages and I finished up at one point with 18 tickets in my basket. I only wanted two! Even the phone went funny "the number you have dialled has not been recognised" x 10 or so. Then worked up a sweat when my shopping basket miraculously appeared, trying to remove all the unwanted tickets plus several unwanted donations in the 1 min left to complete the transaction. Got there eventually to place the order for the two tickets I originally tried to get three quarters of an hour earlier. Sorry to all those whose tickets I must have been blocking all that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Sorry to sound smug but I actually did better than usual. I found tickets available just before 10am, booked what I wanted, then, come 10am or shortly after, tried to buy them when all hell broke loose as described above. After much cussing and tearing of hair I was surprised when an email came through confirming my booking even though I thought I hadn't been able to complete the booking process. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 after 50mins, got 2 top of Amphi standing places - AND a Stalls circle standing place into the basket. Took 3-4 goes to login, and was fearing the hang would chuck me off the site - but managed to pay for them too! Site seems a lot more responsive, now all the tickets sold.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I fail to see why these constant IT issues keep arising they've been happening for years, with the exception of a couple of booking periods last year. Other sites work OK. Tweets to ROH show equal frustration "outside". Not exactly "world class" is it :-( 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 (edited) Well, got what I wanted .... but at a Churchillian price .... Maybe this was the ROH's answer to a celebration of 'blood, toil, tears and sweat'. May the great man rest in peace .... The rest of us weren't living in such this morning ... Well, not when tangling with the ROH. And, just think, it's not even April yet. What I wonder will transpire when the next general booking period launches on 31st March ... ??????? Oh, dear .... How did Sondheim put it: 'Perpetual Anticipation'. And here was I thinking it would be quick. Thank heavens I booked the entire morning off. Something told me I knew better. Edited January 27, 2015 by Bruce Wall 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Macmillan Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 So, "the back end server is at capacity." How unfortunate - just when folk may be wanting to tell the ROH where to stick their system!? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 So, "the back end server is at capacity." How unfortunate - just when folk may be wanting to tell the ROH where to stick their system!? Touche ..... Those same fragrant thoughts passed through my own mind. Bless you, Ian, for making me smile 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 What on EARTH is a Error 503 backend read error?! No idea but I was sick of seeing it by the time it appeared on my screen for the 900th time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Having asked in vain for years that Access Members have a separate booking day, I have finally managed to get tickets for Fille - but although they are front row, they aren't aisle or end of row seats. I therefore apologise to the person who will be sitting next to me because I'll have to put my crutches on the floor AND wiggle my left foot when it goes numb. Grrrrrrr, ROH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Well, I did *finally* manage to get some tickets, about an hour after booking had opened, but needless to say there were no tickets for the Ashton insight left Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Well I just went on line and booked for Northern Ballet at the Linbury with no problems. Not so with the Illa Masqua sale however! (Couldn't book earlier as was out for the day) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneMarriott Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Well I just went on line and booked for Northern Ballet at the Linbury with no problems. Not so with the Illa Masqua sale however! (Couldn't book earlier as was out for the day)[/quot e] Lucky you, Janet. It was Northern Ballet I wanted two tickets for and it took three quarters of an hour of struggle and blue language to achieve that modest goal. Perhaps I'll wait until the evening in future ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I didn't even know that NB were coming. How did I miss that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Logged on just before 10:00, selected my tickets, then spend the next half hour feverishly trying to buy them before they were lost to me! After seeing that damned error message I don't know how many times (and trying - fruitlessly- to phone the box office), I suddenly looked at the screen and saw that it had FINALLY let me into PayPal. PayPal then said I'd paid - but the ROH website apparently disagreed. Another 15 minutes and I eventually got the confirmation email. Went for a lie down in a darkened room to recover from the stress..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPD444 Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 To all those out there who have been frustrated today and previous days it can tell you its all about money. For 36 years I worked in the city, in I.T. I was I.T.Director and my systems had to cope with transactions worth hundreds of millions of pounds every day 365 days a year 24 hours a day. Big money - so I paid big bucks to people who made sure the I.T. systems worked. Top staff got well over £1k per week most over £2k per week. If the system failed clients took their business elsewhere - big loss to the company. The ROH do not have this problem. For systems to show error messages means software has been changed and not tested properly and released into a live environment without proper testing and no back up in place. Disaster. But they really don't care because they will sell the tickets anyway. We can't go somewhere else because there is nowhere else to go. We want to see the RB so they know we will moan but do nothing about it. We are a captive market. The old adage says if you pay peanuts you get monkeys and that is what the people who are employed by the ROH are poor quality programmers, system designers and software testers because if they were any good they would be sacked for releasing rubbish like this on there customers. The people who apologise are the same people who are creating this mess. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coated Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 (edited) Thanks to Janet for the Architect / Mixed programme reminder! I thought that was booking as part of the summer season - phew. This morning's 503 errors (the applications way of saying that SOMEONE NEEDS TO FIX IT PRONTO - panic now) might well be a crowd issue, but there are so many new bugs on the system it's getting tiresome. For iPads, Chrome has now ceased working for actually putting tickets in baskets (but it will block the ticket you tried to select for 30 minutes...), Firefox is currently working but it can take forever for the 'select your own ticket' screen to come up, I can't register my payment details using any browser for love or money after accidentally deleting them, and my favourite: after paying, I can now enjoy browsing the ROH site inside a frame under the secure.worldpay.com URL. Not sure that ought to happen, and if it was planned, they need a new plan. Edited January 28, 2015 by Coated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Did anyone else end up with several "voluntary" £3.00 donations in their basket? Before I lost the first lot of tickets (Grrr), the site was telling me I had about 7 items in my basket. When I could eventually see my basket there was £15 worth of donations which I couldn't remove as the site crashed every time I did so. An hour later when - after about 19 attempts - I got some tickets in my basket, I left the £3.00 donation there rather than risk losing the tickets again. I know it's not much but after the utter fiasco of yesterday I begrudge being manipulated into donating once, let alone 5 times. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 To all those out there who have been frustrated today and previous days it can tell you its all about money. For 36 years I worked in the city, in I.T. I was I.T.Director and my systems had to cope with transactions worth hundreds of millions of pounds every day 365 days a year 24 hours a day. Big money - so I paid big bucks to people who made sure the I.T. systems worked. Top staff got well over £1k per week most over £2k per week. If the system failed clients took their business elsewhere - big loss to the company. The ROH do not have this problem. For systems to show error messages means software has been changed and not tested properly and released into a live environment without proper testing and no back up in place. Disaster. But they really don't care because they will sell the tickets anyway. We can't go somewhere else because there is nowhere else to go. We want to see the RB so they know we will moan but do nothing about it. We are a captive market. The old adage says if you pay peanuts you get monkeys and that is what the people who are employed by the ROH are poor quality programmers, system designers and software testers because if they were any good they would be sacked for releasing rubbish like this on there customers. The people who apologise are the same people who are creating this mess. I don't think you can blame the Social Media Content Managers for creating the mess - they certainly get plenty of stick as the "front line" of the ROH. I think the problem lies in the unwillingness to separate Opera and Ballet booking days, and for me personally, an unwillingness to give Access Members a separate booking day and/or phone line. People have been suggesting all these measures for years, only to be met with a firm "No". The basic idea needs re-thinking, but I don't think it's fair to blame the people who apologise, i.e. the SM Managers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hfbrew Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Did anyone else end up with several "voluntary" £3.00 donations in their basket? Before I lost the first lot of tickets (Grrr), the site was telling me I had about 7 items in my basket. When I could eventually see my basket there was £15 worth of donations which I couldn't remove as the site crashed every time I did so. An hour later when - after about 19 attempts - I got some tickets in my basket, I left the £3.00 donation there rather than risk losing the tickets again. I know it's not much but after the utter fiasco of yesterday I begrudge being manipulated into donating once, let alone 5 times. Ouch Spanner. My "like" is in sympathy! I also unwittingly paid £3 donation, not even sure what for. But having lost two lots of more favourable seats for La Fille, I didnt dare fiddle with the booking when I finally got through to checkout! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Ouch Spanner. My "like" is in sympathy! I also unwittingly paid £3 donation, not even sure what for. But having lost two lots of more favourable seats for La Fille, I didnt dare fiddle with the booking when I finally got through to checkout! Same! :-) I'm just glad that only one donation was there at the end; had I been forced to pay 5 lots I would have phoned them today in a huff and demanded a refund! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I ended up buying nothing as the seats I wanted were gone. I'm not to bothered as Fille is on at the cinema anyway. Still do not understand why the system which was working perfectly well most of last year has now been tinkered with again is a total mess AGAIN! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmhopton Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I wanted to buy early as I wanted tickets for Osipova's Fille. I was at work (why does public booking always start on a Tuesday?) so took an early break hoping to get through quickly only to get this irritating error message. I blamed my elderly pc and had to log into someone else's computer and was eventually successful then when I saw everyone's posts I realised I wasn't the only one! I did manage to get the tickets I wanted though the rehearsal was sold out. As the insight days and rehearsals are so popular I don't know why they don't have more in the proper theatre thereby making more money and giving people a chance to attend. Incidentally I've been disappointed that the insight days have been downgraded to evenings. I used to love them but can't justify travel and accommodation just for a couple of hours or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billboyd Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 It seems that the number of Stalls Circle standing Day Tickets has risen from 8 to 12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loveclassics Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 What I don't understand is why they keep changing the system when it's working! It really WAS OK last year but now it's gone backwards. Is it because they are trying to develop an app for smart phones or do they fail to test it against newer versions of the browsers? Firefox seems to be releasing new versions every other month so that must entail a sizeable investment in testing. I was feeling sorry for myself because family issues mean I can't risk booking tickets too far ahead but now I'm actually feeling rather relieved! My sympathy towards everyone who has suffered, yet again, from the ROH's inability to keep a stable booking system running. I shall see Osipova's Swan Lake and Fille at my local cinema instead and the only thing I will miss is seeing old friends from Ballet.co. Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Various cast changes for the 4 Temps bill: http://www.roh.org.uk/news/cast-changes-the-four-temperaments-and-song-of-the-earth-on-30-march-and-8-10-14-april Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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