Grad ball ticket exchange

[CheeseDaddy]

Apparantly we have to exchange grad ball tickets for wristbands, does anyone know when and where this exchange will be taking place? As always the union website is less than helpful.

[RandomMusings]

I think it was in an e-mail a few days ago? Wristband exchange will take place in the main bar of the union on wednesday and thursday - can't remember the times though I'm afraid. Hopefully someone else will be able to help out there.

Oh, and the plan is for the website content/format to be improved drastically over the summer (or as soon as we can!) - we'll do our best!

[orudge]

I think it was in an e-mail a few days ago? Wristband exchange will take place in the main bar of the union on wednesday and thursday - can't remember the times though I'm afraid. Hopefully someone else will be able to help out there.

I received no e-mail about this... might be best for that to be double-checked perhaps? :?

[James.C.]

asked the women at the general office when i got my ticket, its 11-3 (or 4, can't remember) at the union Wed and Thurs as random said.

[Andrew Mackenzie]

I didn't get an email either, unless I missed it. I've been checking http://www.yourunion.net/gradball2009 but no info up as of yet re exchange. Since the exchange appears to be taking place tomorrow and Thursday at a specific time and place maybe it's worth someone checking if there has been some problem with the email being sent to everyone...?

Does anyone know if I actually need to be there myself to exchange my ticket for a wristband or can someone else take my ticket and do it for me?

[Thalia]

It better be okay for someone else to take my ticket since those hours are right in the middle of the ordinary working day - and I can't imagine I'm the only person going to the ball who works. There are probably a few people not heading up for the ball until Friday as well, as my friend is.

Got to love the union's organisation skills though. They can't even cope with sending out a single email.

[Andrew Mackenzie]

I called the General Office and the ticket exchange is indeed today and tomorrow between 12-4pm at the main bar. You can give someone else your ticket and get them to swap it for you.

In the event you aren't able to exchange your ticket today or tomorrow there will be a "contingency plan" for those without wristbands on Friday.

Still no information up on the Grad Ball website and still no email...

[RandomMusings]

Still no information up on the Grad Ball website and still no email...

I've got on to Stacy about this... hopefully action will happen soon. If Oli's reading this too, perhaps it could be stuck on the website asap?

[Jono]

I know questioning union events policy is like flogging a dead but extremely stubborn horse, but, why do they need exchanging? Is there something wrong with showing up at a ticketed event with a ticket?

[akeenan]

Wristband exchange is indeed 12-4 today and tomorrow (Wednesday and Thursday).

The University's "majordomo" software, that handles their mailing lists, is down, and has been for a while, which means we are unable to send an email to all the students - and believe me, we've tried! As soon as it's back up, an email will be sent out, but for now it's out of the Union's hands. In the meantime, please spread the word that wristband collection has begun - and we'll make provisions for people for people who can't make it; they can exchange their ticket for a band at the door, though this may cause them some delays.

As for your question, Jono, wristbands are needed as they can't be used multiple times - they are attached to one person, and void if removed. If we only used tickets, there's a potential for abuse - imagine two people come in legitimately with a ticket each, then one of them takes both tickets, sneaks out, and gives the spare ticket to a third person. Wristbands are industry standard at events like this, and we exchange them shortly before the event for two reasons - so people have less time to lose them, and so people can't copy the design and make more wristbands - with a value of £35 each, that is a possibility.

Hope that helps - and you'll all be receiving an email about it when the mailing lists are fixed, and please spread the word for now!

Andrew Keenan
Association President

[mhuzzell]

Why can't they just be exchanged on the night when you go in?

If the tickets are taken away when exchanged for wristbands, then people can't do the swap-fraud thing you described.

[Guest]

Is the ball sold out or is it still possible to get tickets?

[Question]

Questions:

How much more incompetent can the Union get?

How many people will be demanding refunds when they and the people they spent money to spend the ball with are caught up in a "contingency" queue made up of 90% of ball attendants?

[RandomMusings]

Mhuzzell, this is something that can be done in theory, but think of the extra queueing time for people who have to swop over from ticket to band in relation to people who simply have to flash a wristband on the way through. For smaller events, this is fine - but multiply it by the nearly 2000 people at something like the grad ball, and this could be a pretty big exchange to coordinate. This is the reason as to why we try to let exchanges happen a little earlier for big events. The exchange was left to Weds/Thurs so that more people could be reached at the exchange, as some people don't come back until the back end of the week.

[irish200]

Top quality organisation as per usual. Still no email. The only source of information being the sinner. Brilliant.

[Sinner User]

Reasons for not giving out wristbands in the first place:

1) so people have less time to lose them

2) so people can't copy the design and make more wristbands

Possible problems with that reasoning:

1) people have just as much time to lose the tickets that are required to collect the wristbands

2) as has been commented on the wristbands are harder to forge than tickets which you give out far in advance

[Andy Monkey B]

So what do we do if we have lost our tickets? Like we put them in a 'safe place' 6 weeks ago and can't for the life of us remember where that 'safe place' was?

[Cain]

This is a small stroke of genius.

When do we find out the contingencies for those attending who work between 12 and 4, or who are not in St Andrews?

Do I get to queue outside for ages while my St Andrews friends breeze in to the marquee?

[ojk6]

Is it me, or is the probability of somebody attempting to mass produce fraudulent grad ball wristbands akin to the likelihood of Gordon Brown standing on his head whilst juggling ice cream?

[RandomMusings]

To all who are interested.... http://www.yourunion.net/gradball2009/c ... _exchange/

Cheers