Monday 23 July 2012

ATP and the saga of the Dutch Olympic tickets

For anyone who, like me, has been digging around for Olympic tickets on various European sites for the last however-many-months, the last month has been a nailbiting wait to see if these various Danish, Dutch, Deutsch and other websites could deliver. Top prizes to the Germans, who sent their tickets promptly in a lovely blue folder with complimentary lanyards.

Less good news for those of us waiting for the Dutch, however. As of this morning, I am still awaiting delivery. Rather than continuing to impotently send e-mails which only generate automated responses, I decided to call them up for a chat.

Firstly, don't call the London number. They haven't got a clue and will simply tell you to call the Dutch number.

I did call the Dutch number, and I spoke to an extremely polite chap with perfect English. He told me that Royal Mail actually opened a load of the envelopes as they were suspicious about the contents (they were sent insured, which means apparently that they travel in sealed crates) and then had to repack everything with new envelopes, new labels etc, which is why everything took so long. They cleared Customs last Thursday and were sent to the central sorting office. From there, they expect things to be delivered in between 2 to 4 days, so it could be as late as tomorrow or Wednesday. They are asking everyone what their absolute deadline for receipt is (factoring in getting tickets to friends, travel to London etc) and are considering various contingencies such as ticket reprint, collection at venue, collection at the London office (which is in Waterloo) etc.

If you still don't have your tickets, send them an e-mail with the reference number in the subject line, and they will send you a personal response by the end of the day once they have rounded up all the necessary information. I felt much reassured by the call, though I must say that I will not feel truly relaxed until I am holding my athletics tickets in my sweaty palm...

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