James
TS Founding Member
Meat Pie said:James said:How exactly do you become an elitist?
I somewhat find your comments very rude when you are accusing Fastrack purchasers of being 'selfish' towards those that cannot afford the perk...
Every park guest has already bought access to the rides, you are elitist if you then decide to disregard these other customers by purchasing a queue jump ticket.
I find the sense of entitlement that someone must have to purchase such a ticket to be rude as it shows little consideration for everyone who has already paid for access to the park.
Hmm, I understand your views - although I wouldn't go as far as to say someone is an elitist for buying a Fastrack.
Other people have said similar things to what I would say to you, so I'm not going to repeat what others have said against your views. I however have one question: If Fastrack was never free in the first place, and if there had always been a charge for it since it's introduction - would your views still stand?
Just generally those who are aware of it being free (ha, free, not something you see or hear these days!) many moons ago seem to somewhat have more of a negative view of there being a charge for Fastrack now.
In my views, I see it as an add-on to your day at Alton Towers, or a premium product/perk if you like. You pay the standard theme park charge to gain access then things such as express parking, Fastrack and all day dining you can bundle or 'add-on' to your visit to the park. So Alton Towers could vary from a 'standard' visit to a 'premium' one.
I do not think those 'premium' guests are elitist though. It's just like everything else in life. Some people have personal shoppers. Some people have a valet to drive them around. Some people buy branded products (HP, Nestle, Cadburys etc...). You live and experience life according to your lifestyle or well being. There's no right or wrong it that, it's just how the world works.
I myself cannot afford Fastrack, the cost of it is just ridiculous and something that given how much money I pay to get to Alton in the first place, add-ons are way out of the question. I'm fine with people walking past me with their Fastrack tickets. I just think 'fair enough, they can afford it'.
My issue with Fastrack as it stands is how it is managed. Alton simply sell too many tickets in one go, and this ultimately leaves Fastrack queues with there own queues! Then the main queue gets damaged incredibly by this, leaving an even longer queue. Then staff tell new guests entering the long main queue "You know you can buy a Fastrack ticket for only £X", guest buys the ticket, joins the growing Fastrack queue, main queue is damaged more... it's a vicious circle that leaves both guests in the Fastrack and main queue both frustrated.
The amount of Fastrack guests let through by staff seems to be all over the place too. If staff had a set number of guests (depending on queue times) to let through each ride cycle then it could be managed more well. With the over selling of Fastrack tickets overall. Alton need to place only a set number of Fastrack tickets per 15 minutes, and keep these as time slots then give guests a particular time slot, or with staff at ride entrances, give them the selected number of Fastracks allowed for that time slot. It's not too hard to do, just involves a few of the senior team to sit in a room and work out the figures. At the moment it's all 'profit profit profit'.