Are you Renewing for 2013?

[superyan]

Former Sunday Plan 1994-2011, saw them play 4 times on the road in 2012 (2 in WAS, 2 in CLE) but didn't step foot in YS once. And I have to tell you I'm a bit surprised at how little I missed it. It was such a liberating feeling to not have to worry about managing the tickets to games you couldn't go to, worrying about whether you could get rid of them to friends or family or worse, the secondary market for a fraction of what you paid for them. Rearranging your schedule to make it to the few games you could get to. Blah! I shudder to think how I put up with that.
I went into 2012 thinking, wow this will be different, first time in 18 yrs not having a plan to oversee. I'll get to a game or two hopefully but I'm not going to turn my life upside down or break plans to do it. And you know what? It just never fit in, and before you know it the season was over and I hadn't been there. The road trips were going to happen regardless of having my plan or not, we've been doing road trips for years. But for a lot of the reasons you stated above, the amount that I missed being there was surprisingly smaller than I ever thought it would be.
Maybe I just needed a season to not "care" as much. I don't mean not root for them or care for their good fortune in the standings and playoffs. I mean just to not have the burden of what goes into being a STH on top of all that, the financial stake and the worry. Maybe I'll feel different next season and have the urge to attend more games there. Then again, maybe I wont...

That was very well said and I echo almost 100% of it. I still have two plans, but use most of the games as gifts. I barely went to the stadium last year and barely missed it.

[GordonGecko]

The free agent class does suck this year, but Cashman has let Martin & Chavez go and isn't going to make any sexy signings. If Ichiro and Ibanez bolt, and I doubt the Yankees spring for Hamilton (who I also doubt wants to play in NYC), there's going to be a complacent fan base out there for next year. I see even less people renewing and less new business than they could have expected.

[JimmyA]

The free agent class does suck this year, but Cashman has let Martin & Chavez go and isn't going to make any sexy signings. If Ichiro and Ibanez bolt, and I doubt the Yankees spring for Hamilton (who I also doubt wants to play in NYC), there's going to be a complacent fan base out there for next year. I see even less people renewing and less new business than they could have expected.

This is along the lines of what I was thinking. Everyone has been writing about high beer prices, bad secondary market, poor customer service, all that stuff, but another really valid reason for the dropping of season ticket plans is that the team itself has been both frustrating and boring the last couple of years. I think the team's performance in the 2012 postseason alone has cost the team a lot of ticket plans.

[YankeeSTH]

54 votes in on this Poll. What can we extrapolate from the results?

[jyanks]

54 votes in on this Poll. What can we extrapolate from the results?

I am still undecided.
On one hand, I do enjoy my Saturday package. It's nice to go to game on a Saturday, and have something to do in the summer. Plus I love tailgating & going to Stans beforehand.
But, is it worth the high costs (tix, parking, increase in GWB toll)?
I keep asking myself these questions & I am torn....

[sorianoNY12]

Thought this was funny, read it on Glass Door....

“Its not all that it is cracked up to be...”

Former Sales & Service Account Executive in Bronx, NY – Reviewed Dec 13, 2011

Pros – An experience with the Yankees will give you the insight of how never to manage and handel a team if you are ever in a management positions.
And you can make some good friends because you are all in the same boat.
And you get to work EVERY home Yankee game including all other events TOO!

Cons – Extremely low salaries
Commision Plan is always changing
Management has no clue how to sell nor how to handle a NY market
Front line staff, you/us, are never listened to by management
No chance of growth
The only concern of management is money in and new money in. No concern to customer service. They truly believe that people actually still want to buy Yankee tickets. If they screw you the customer there is another sucker right behind you.
Poor Communication
Managers are not qualified nor educated
Unfortunatley HR can not do anything to help
The moral of the entire organization is in the garbage
No job security
Management is constantly screwing the fans and you have to deal with it with no support from management.
Cannot even question a manager
There has been probably 80% turnover since 2009. That is not good! You would be lucky if you found more than 10% of the employees have been there for more than 2 years.
I can keep going…….

Advice to Senior Management – Please quit. You have lost every qualified individual you could ever have. The new management regime which started in 2009/2010 has destroyed the moral of the entire organization…and guess what; we all think you are a joke.

Try sticking with a company through the hard times…not just the easy ones. Can’t sell a team just a new building?

You have not only destroyed individuals but you have turned off some of the best sales people in this industry to sales all together.

Former New York Yankees employee

[StingrayJG]

Thought this was funny, read it on Glass Door....

“Its not all that it is cracked up to be...”

Link: http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Emp...RVW1237540.htm

Pretty much exactly what I would've predicted it is like to work there. A bunch of unfortunate mistreated grunts working the front lines reporting to a bunch of bean counting apathetic managers who hide behind the lines and have absolutely no idea what they're doing but it probably doesn't matter because even if they did they wouldn't care more about it anyway

This is exactly why I never asked to talk to a manager or write any letters to anyone in upper mgmt when I canceled my account, other than the official letter I sent requesting the cancellation. It would've been ignored and just wasted my time.

As expected, no one is listening.

[StingrayJG]

54 votes in on this Poll. What can we extrapolate from the results?

Well, looking at the numbers literally, two thirds of the respondents are either downgrading, cancelling some, or cancelling all. Can't give my surprised face at that.
If this trend is representative of the entire base of STH's, not just the forumers here, that does not bode well for the Yankees. Eventually there will not be another sucker willing to step into that new former STH's place. They have to be getting close to that point I have to imagine.

[Ram Man]

Eventually there will not be another sucker willing to step into that new former STH's place.

At this point the only entities that I could see buying Yankee season ticket plans are businesses that want to use them for promotional purposes. The demand from individuals can't be very strong.

[Perseus71]

I have to agree that I am truly disappointed in the spending after the 2009 season. It's been a major disappointment to say they least. Cashman has done well with his pickups, but the latest with Chavez & Keppinger disgusts me. I also don't understand how they offer YOUKLIS $12 million.

If this off season produces CRAPPY acquisitions, then I will not renew for 2014. I want a MAJOR FREE AGENT! I don't care about the Yankees going under budget, unless they are selling the team (which it looks like). I will save my money, like I did with Knicks & Giants, and just goto 2 games a year. They're no longer a premium.

[jlevin]

I have to agree that I am truly disappointed in the spending after the 2009 season. It's been a major disappointment to say they least. Cashman has done well with his pickups, but the latest with Chavez & Keppinger disgusts me. I also don't understand how they offer YOUKLIS $12 million.

If this off season produces CRAPPY acquisitions, then I will not renew for 2014. I want a MAJOR FREE AGENT! I don't care about the Yankees going under budget, unless they are selling the team (which it looks like). I will save my money, like I did with Knicks & Giants, and just goto 2 games a year. They're no longer a premium.

I'll be honest... free agents don't really do it for me. I think the roster is getting pretty stale. I would be more inclined to go to games to see some fresh talent. I'm not one of those fans that says "If they Yankees don't make the World Series the season is a failure."

As I stated earlier, one of my biggest gripes is the length of games. I've sat through my share of 4 hour Yankee / Red Sox games and it sucks the life out of it. I was thinking about starting an Inside the Lines thread about how people would fix the length of games.

[bl73]

Well, looking at the numbers literally, two thirds of the respondents are either downgrading, cancelling some, or cancelling all. Can't give my surprised face at that.
If this trend is representative of the entire base of STH's, not just the forumers here, that does not bode well for the Yankees. Eventually there will not be another sucker willing to step into that new former STH's place. They have to be getting close to that point I have to imagine.

I believe that the people posting here are not representativeof the entire base. If you're here, you are much more informed, and likely moredispleased with the Yankees in comparison to the overall fan base. And yet over63% percent are choosing to keep some type of season ticket plan. I would saythese numbers look very good to the Yankees and that the new customer/renewalrate is probably substantially higher for the fan base as a whole. The believethat "...there is another sucker right behind you" may be abhorrent,but may also be accurate.

[yankees2010]

If they had any good sales people I am sure they all left during the time period the stadium was full. There was nothing left to sell. Now they have inexperienced, young people just in a boiler room type atmosphere with management that pine for the good old days when they didn't have to worry about selling tickets

[JimmyA]

I believe that the people posting here are not representative of the entire base.

Definitely not representative of the entire fan base. The typical fan posting on this forum (a) buys the cheapest possible ticket plan (b) tries to re-sell as many tickets as possible (c) complains about everything the Yankees do regarding tickets, past, present and future and (d) basically sees ticket plans as a burden rather than as a way of having good seats and going to games.

[RI Dawg]

Stupid question, not sure if it has been answered before (heck, it is probably something someone will say is common knowledge)........but here goes.

My family and I had been getting the 15 game Saturday plans for the last few years, but being from RI, it has become harder and more of a hassle, rather than fun, to get to all of the games........and for the $$$ it costs (tickets, travel, parking/train), we as a group decided that we wanted to not renew, and rather get tickets for a game or two online that we can ALL go to (we had 2 seats, used to have to split games up and so on)...

Anyways, the question is.....we never received any notification asking us if we wanted to renew or not, we did however get notification saying that our bill was ready (with options to pay, etc) ............we have tried to call and email or ticket rep regarding this, but haven't heard anything back.

So if we just DON'T pay, will that effectively signal that we aren't renewing, or are we stuck with the tickets even though we don't want them since the bill is out?

(First time "not renewing", so not sure what the process is)

Thanks!

[jyanks]

Stupid question, not sure if it has been answered before (heck, it is probably something someone will say is common knowledge)........but here goes.

My family and I had been getting the 15 game Saturday plans for the last few years, but being from RI, it has become harder and more of a hassle, rather than fun, to get to all of the games........and for the $$$ it costs (tickets, travel, parking/train), we as a group decided that we wanted to not renew, and rather get tickets for a game or two online that we can ALL go to (we had 2 seats, used to have to split games up and so on)...

Anyways, the question is.....we never received any notification asking us if we wanted to renew or not, we did however get notification saying that our bill was ready (with options to pay, etc) ............we have tried to call and email or ticket rep regarding this, but haven't heard anything back.

So if we just DON'T pay, will that effectively signal that we aren't renewing, or are we stuck with the tickets even though we don't want them since the bill is out?

(First time "not renewing", so not sure what the process is)

Thanks!

Try calling the 1-800-Yankees line & ask to speak to someone. Your rep may have left the company. That happened to me.

[RI Dawg]

Try calling the 1-800-Yankees line & ask to speak to someone. Your rep may have left the company. That happened to me.

The person who was/is my rep is still there, as the email we got regarding billing was from him. I have already called the office and his line directly a few times (left messages to call back) -- but haven't.

We were sort of caught off guard, again like I said, we want to cancel our tickets but never got any notification for renewal prior to a bill. Wasn't sure if that was normal or not and as first time NOT renewing, we are not familiar with the process.

Either way, guess I'll have to call again.

[RayG]

Stupid question, not sure if it has been answered before (heck, it is probably something someone will say is common knowledge)........but here goes.

My family and I had been getting the 15 game Saturday plans for the last few years, but being from RI, it has become harder and more of a hassle, rather than fun, to get to all of the games........and for the $$$ it costs (tickets, travel, parking/train), we as a group decided that we wanted to not renew, and rather get tickets for a game or two online that we can ALL go to (we had 2 seats, used to have to split games up and so on)...

Anyways, the question is.....we never received any notification asking us if we wanted to renew or not, we did however get notification saying that our bill was ready (with options to pay, etc) ............we have tried to call and email or ticket rep regarding this, but haven't heard anything back.

So if we just DON'T pay, will that effectively signal that we aren't renewing, or are we stuck with the tickets even though we don't want them since the bill is out?

(First time "not renewing", so not sure what the process is)

Thanks!

If you do NOT want to renew without having to call or talk to a rep, make sure ALL of your credit cards are taken OFF your account/profile. This will prevent them from auto renewing (even if you hadn't chosen that option before) without your knowledge. They will make several attempts to contact you but you can just let them go, if they happen to call and catch you on the phone, just say no. They will give the spiel about "value for money and the advantages of being a STH, etc, blah, blah". But I think to avoid any surprises, it's best to get rid of the CC's on file with them, and ignore any invoices. They aren't really "Bills", like the Electric or phone company.

[RI Dawg]

If you do NOT want to renew without having to call or talk to a rep, make sure ALL of your credit cards are taken OFF your account/profile. This will prevent them from auto renewing (even if you hadn't chosen that option before) without your knowledge. They will make several attempts to contact you but you can just let them go, if they happen to call and catch you on the phone, just say no. They will give the spiel about "value for money and the advantages of being a STH, etc, blah, blah". But I think to avoid any surprises, it's best to get rid of the CC's on file with them, and ignore any invoices. They aren't really "Bills", like the Electric or phone company.

Good to know, I will pass that along to my father, who has his card on file.

[longtimeyankeefan]

I'll be honest... free agents don't really do it for me. I think the roster is getting pretty stale. I would be more inclined to go to games to see some fresh talent. I'm not one of those fans that says "If they Yankees don't make the World Series the season is a failure."

I am with you on this one, bro. Having become a Yankee fan in the early sixties and suffering through the late sixties/early seventies, I learned to cherish every season regardless of the outcomes. From last season, I will remember things like the team persevering despite losing Gardner, ARod, and Pettitte to injury for extended periods. I will remember Ibanez' heroics in the playoffs. The season was not a failure - it was a success.

As I stated earlier, one of my biggest gripes is the length of games. I've sat through my share of 4 hour Yankee / Red Sox games and it sucks the life out of it. I was thinking about starting an Inside the Lines thread about how people would fix the length of games.

Again, we are on the same page.

Some ideas:

1. Decrease the between innings break. Go to an untelevized minor league game sometime and see how quickly the teams change size and the first pitch is thrown. I understand that TV needs to make money, but in this era of "the first pitch is sponsored by", "the first foul ball is sponsored by" mentality, cutting even thirty seconds from the between innings break would reduce the game by nine minutes.

2. Once you are in the box to face the pitcher, you can't step out. Stop the fidgeting, the glove adjusting, the dancing around and everything already. Exceptions made for fouling a ball off your foot, etc.

3. When the pitcher toes the rubber, he has seven seconds to deliver the pitch or it is a ball. With runners on base, the time can increase to ten or twelve seconds. If he steps off the rubber to send the runner back to the base, he has five seconds to get on the rubber and the clock starts immediately (what does he need a new sign for - he already had the sign of what he was to throw).

4. Once a catcher goes to the mound once in an AB, he is not allowed to go again - on some teams, it seems like every pitch is discussed in person.

[Jersey Shore Yankee]

Does anyone have an inside scoop on what is going on with the Future Game Ticket Exchange Program? The 2012 policy is still up on the website with a message to check back for 2013.

[LHG39]

I sent my rep an email yesterday notifying that I am not renewing. No CC on account either. Just not worth it any more. More expensive, ticket exchange program more restrictive, and the parking and tolls keep going up. I'll just pick my spots and go to a few games via Stubhub.

[Yankees51]

I believe that the people posting here are not representativeof the entire base. If you're here, you are much more informed, and likely moredispleased with the Yankees in comparison to the overall fan base. And yet over63% percent are choosing to keep some type of season ticket plan. I would saythese numbers look very good to the Yankees and that the new customer/renewalrate is probably substantially higher for the fan base as a whole. The believethat "...there is another sucker right behind you" may be abhorrent,but may also be accurate.

But we also have friend or friends of friends with ticket plans. The majority of the people who I know who used to have ticket plans dropped. There were people who I knew that were clueless about stubhub and now know everything about it.

A lot of people will keep some type of plan but not as big of a plan as they used to keep.

To give an idea about things postseason tickets this year you didn't need a STH presale code. There were plenty on ticketmaster through Yankees Universe presale, Mastercard presale, and just tickets available to the general public. Opening Day we were allowed 8 tickets this year and World Series we were allowed 12 tickets. Those were 2 games that it used to only be 2 per account.

[yankees2010]

No disrespect meant to anyone, but why would anyone renew? There are NO advantages left. The Red Sox are rebuilding, the mets games are now 2 weeknight game, and the ALCS is a walk up.

[Yankee Bouge]

No disrespect meant to anyone, but why would anyone renew? There are NO advantages left. The Red Sox are rebuilding, the mets games are now 2 weeknight game, and the ALCS is a walk up.

It's like cigarettes... people know that season tickets are bad for them, that they are an expensive and unnecessary habit and that they will only cause them grief one way or the other.. yet they just can't quit the bad habit!!
People can lose hundreds of dollars on unsaleable season ticket re-sales, watch the team put a mediocre product on the field in view of half empty front row seats and yet they are back for more the following season... It's crazy.
The importance of of Season Tickets to the Yankees died in 2009. I cut my cord after 2010 and I haven't looked back. And I feel healthier too!