Dear Roker Report,
The search for Barnes & Benno – Part III
The saga continues in my hunt for the mythical ‘membership scheme’ BBC radio commentary link on the SAFC website.
Thursday 9th September: My wife received an email saying her Arsenal tickets would be with her before the game on Saturday 12th – all a bit of a mystery as she had not applied for any and was not a member of the membership scheme.
Saturday 12th September am: Match Day arrived,
but the Arsenal tickets my wife had not asked for did not – neither did the Arsenal tickets I had not asked for but an email said I would receive.
Saturday 12th September pm: With trepidation, I logged on to the SAFC home page at 7:30 and searched for the ‘live commentary link’, but no link was to be found. However, I was told it would be a good idea for me to join the membership scheme (the one I had already joined) and should click the dreaded BUY button.
The match centre did direct me to TNT Sports and TalkSport, BOTH of which I would have to pay for – this is NOT the live commentary included in the membership scheme.
I am beginning to wonder if the ‘live commentary link’ even exists. Reading comments from other fans, I am clearly not alone in this quest.
I would like to ask: HAS ANYBODY BEEN ABLE TO FIND THE MISSING LINK?
If anyone has, can they please write to Roker Report with the exact directions to discover its location.
Setting aside membership scheme ticketing issues – when it comes to commentary access – a simple transaction has taken place: fan pays money to club for service, then club provides service.
I am starting to suffer serious Barnes and Benno withdrawal symptoms.
Mel Oyston
PS. Does anyone know a good lawyer who specialises in class actions for mis-selling of advertised products?
Ed’s Note [Chris]: As a club, we’ve probably been one of the worst in terms of customer satisfaction for too many years. It stretches back through the leagues and different ownerships of the club and it never seems to work as it should.
We’ve had some lows in that time with various decisions and “upgrades” but they never seem to get it right. Why are we so surprised when things work without any issues attached? This is just one issue in a long line of problems where the club have been crap.
At the top of the list is communication. When people have issues with anything SAFC related it’s quite often a struggle to tell the club, and if you do manage to get that far then the chances of hearing something back is slim. There’s also the fact there seems to be an error in every single piece of club communication, and/or it just serves to confuse people further.
They were happy to take our money for the membership with the promise of very little other than a chance to possibly get a ticket – and they aren’t delivering on the ‘very little’ part that was part of the deal.
What is it with Sunderland AFC on this front? Do they try and do it on the cheap? Do they give a sh*t people have issues with the small number of benefits promised other than an entry into a lottery for a match ticket? I can’t see things changing anytime soon.
Dear Roker Report,
Just wanted to say that the penalty against us in the Arsenal match was a disgrace.
The incident started two yards outside the box, and Saka only went down when he got inside the box.
VAR should have corrected this, as it is where the incident starts, not where it ends up. VAR is not fit for purpose.
The lads deserved to get something out of this game.
They should be proud of their performance against a top team.
TILL THE END
Barry Frame
Ed’s Note [Chris]: If you listened to the pods following the game you’ll have heard us agreeing with everything you’ve said Barry. Although for me, the biggest one was the foul on Mukiele.
