Royal Opera House Winter season 2022/23 booking experiences

[alison]

What is this new hell the ROH website is inflicting on us?  I can't book anything!  Literally.  When I click on a seat, the picture comes up with seat number and pricing details, but no button to put it in the basket.  I've watched as other standing tickets vanish before my eyes, but can't do anything about it

[bangorballetboy]

15 minutes ago, alison said:

What is this new hell the ROH website is inflicting on us?  I can't book anything!  Literally.  When I click on a seat, the picture comes up with seat number and pricing details, but no button to put it in the basket.  I've watched as other standing tickets vanish before my eyes, but can't do anything about it

 

I'm having no such problems (Chrome on ipad or iphone).  Also no issues with the ability to delete the donation.

[Angela Essex]

11 minutes ago, alison said:

What is this new hell the ROH website is inflicting on us?  I can't book anything!  Literally.  When I click on a seat, the picture comes up with seat number and pricing details, but no button to put it in the basket.  I've watched as other standing tickets vanish before my eyes, but can't do anything about it

Same happened to me earlier but just chose a different SCS seat (sadly it wasn’t as good as the one I wanted) and then it let me proceed.

 

I think it does that if someone else has the seat in their basket and are in the process of paying for it but the website hasn’t registered the seat as sold yet. It’s really annoying isn’t it?

 

I think putting two SCS in your basket and if it won’t let you proceed removing the better one then trying to check out again so I you don’t have to waste time re selecting a different seat is the way to go. That’s what worked for me today. 🤯

[alison]

No, no, it wasn't that at all.  Every SCS place I tried was the same - no Select option.  That was on Firefox.  It was as if I was stuck in the pre-sale seat view still, despite refreshing, backing out and so on.  I changed to Edge and that was okay, but by then I'd lost 20 minutes, and most of the best places   Haven't been able to get anything for a couple of Beauties.

[Mary]

My sympathies Alison- I had a similar VERY frustrating and annoying experience in Friends' booking, , and also use Firefox, so......

I really do NOT understand though why it only works with some browsers..... and how on earth is one supposed to know beforehand?  Many people really don't even think aout what browser they have - and even if we were forewarned,  it could change, no doubt, every time.

 

[Henry]

Hello Alison @alison

 

I had the same problem trying to book tickets on a mobile phone last week using Chrome on an Android phone.  From the Seatmap, selecting a seat, the seat details are displayed - but no red "Select" button.  I checked that evening comparing using my PC with using the mobile phone.  The select button is displayed on the PC but not on the mobile phone.  I reported the issue to Customer Services and had the following reply.

 

"Many thanks for getting in touch and lovely to hear from you. 

I am making enquiries with our Digital team and will be in touch when I hear back. 

With best wishes,"

 

I will let you know if anything further is heard.  I'd suggest that you also report the issue to customerservices@roh.org.uk  

The more customers that report the issue, the higher the priority is likely to be.  At least they can advise on the website not to use your mobile phone for the time being! 

 

 

 

[alison]

The mere thought of trying to use the seat selection option on a phone is enough to put me off!

[Dawnstar]

I'm impressed at anyone who can manage to book on a phone since the seat map changed. I find the new-ish seat map hard enough to use on a laptop.

[Geoff]

3 hours ago, alison said:

What is this new hell the ROH website is inflicting on us?  I can't book anything!  Literally.  When I click on a seat, the picture comes up with seat number and pricing details, but no button to put it in the basket.  I've watched as other standing tickets vanish before my eyes, but can't do anything about it

 

Alison, I sympathize. At the risk of repeating myself, here is what I posted elsewhere more than a month ago. This might be a similar issue:-

 

 

[LinMM]

Having said I’ve had a problem deleting the choice to donate before …..yesterday I was booking Woolf Works and found it very easy to do this but am sure you couldn’t delete before now until got to final payment page whereas yesterday the decline button was right next to the choice to donate so much easier and clearer and knowing exactly what paying before final page  

 

It’s not that I mind donating occasionally but just not with every ticket! 
Not much ballet for me between January and March just two trips to Woolf Works. Am saving Beauty until the summer. 
 

Edited October 27, 2022 by LinMM

[San Perregrino]

2 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Having said I’ve had a problem deleting donation before yesterday I was booking Woolf Works and found it very easy to do this but am sure you couldn’t delete before until got to final payment page whereas yesterday the decline button was right next to the choice to donate so much easier and clearer. It’s not that I mind donating occasionally but just not with every ticket! 
Not much ballet for me between January and March just two trips to Woolf Works. Am saving Beauty until the summer. 
 

Just to clarify, it’s a suggested donation of £3 with every booking, not every ticket. I have never had a problem removing it from my basket if inclined to do so.
Also it’s worth remembering that the ROH does not charge a booking fee as is the case with many other organisations. Eg Sadlers Wells £3.50. The NT adds a suggested 5% of the order value. Ticketmaster, AXS etc charge much higher amounts.
As a donation rather than a booking fee the ROH is able to claim gift aid if you tick the box, thereby receiving £4 for every £3 donated.

[LinMM]

I only ever book one ticket at a time though! Even with two tickets yesterday I booked each one separately! My choice I know but that’s why it slightly ( not massively) annoyed me as I hate any suggested donations where the amount is filled in for you …..even if as little as £3! 

In the past because I couldn’t see how to delete at the point it was suggested I sometimes reduced the amount to £1 when booking another ticket etc. 

In the days when the ROH sent out tickets it probably was reasonable to ask for £3 but these days as they want you to book online and it’s no longer easy to roll up at a box office and book in person then I’m not so sure. 
You also may feel more or less generous about this depending on what you are paying out for tickets. 
 

[Lizbie1]

It irks me too - I find it presumptuous to put it in without a by-your-leave - and makes me feel less inclined to make a donation than those sites where there's an additional screen you go through. The RSC do it too and I dislike it then as well.

 

But presumably they've tested what gains them the most donations and enough people leave it in that it's worth annoying the likes of me!

[Emeralds]

I can easily delete the donation on Safari, and it’s random as to whether the donation gets added or not as well. However, the main problem is still that the seating takes too long to load, whether I pick my own or allow the website to pick for me. But I like the fact that the e tickets go very quickly to my account and it’s efficient to retrieve.