Why the Mets need to hire someone from the Wrigley Field staff

33 Replies to “Why the Mets need to hire someone from the Wrigley Field staff”

1. We had the same positive experience in Detroit and Colorado.

   1. colorado is awesome. great fans. great ballpark staff. beautiful stadium. my favorite in mlb.

2. There’s nothing wrong with the Citi Field ushers.

3. I’ve always had good experiences with the ushers at Citi. I am a season ticket holder, so maybe familiarity is a part of it. I definitely feel most welcome. This has been the case in 2009 in section 312, 2010 in section 319, and the past few years in section 16. I have also observed their interaction with fans that they don’t know, and it has still been friendly, though probably not as friendly as it is toward us. To people unfamiliar with the ballpark, they point out where to get food, where the closest restrooms are, and other tips for getting around the place. The better ushers will even hold you back from going back to your seats during an at-bat. You may find that unfriendly, but the fans you’d be walking in front of call it good ushering. Those Wrigley ushers sound a little TOO friendly. Five times? Leave me alone already!

   1. A season ticket holder in Section 16? I hear they roll out the red carpet there each time you walk to your seat!

      1. Sorry, you were misinformed. It’s actually maroon.

      2. All kidding aside they are very nice there, but I’ve encountered great ushers before the game in all sections when I stroll around.

4. Was at a weeknight game earlier in the season that was not well attended at all. By the later innings a lot of people had left leaving tons of empty seats. Yet security was still shooing people back to their seats who had moved a few rows down to get closer to the dugout for the last few outs.

5. Ushers are pretty good at citi field but they have to follow the dumb rules of not letting us sit where we want but there are ushers that do.. I found one guy that let me and my family sit at field level with out tickets which I know he could’ve gotten into trouble.

6. I had a recent experience where I was standing in the aisle in front of the Promenade Club – this was more than 30 minutes before the game started, and I made sure I was in front of one of the Promenade Club’s pillars so I wasn’t directly in front of anybody – waiting for the graphic of the starting pitchers to come up on the scoreboard so I could get a good picture of it. An usher came up to me, said I didn’t belong there, and when I tried to explain what I wanted he again ordered me to leave, then said he was going to get security, then walked away. I didn’t want any trouble so I left, but afterwards I got a picture of the guy (and he must have known he was abusing his authority because he spotted me taking pictures in his direction and ducked behind a corner to get out of my shot). I filled out a complaint form, and notified my rep as well (I’m a season ticket holder). Some of the ushers can be nice but unfortunately it’s the a$$holes like the guy I ran into that spoil it for everyone.

   1. I used to be in the Loge at Shea. I won’t say which section. One of the ushers used to out a six-pack under an unoccupied aisle seat. I haven’t seen that happen in the new place.

7. I’ve had all positive interactions with the ushers at Citi, even though I’m never in the good seats. I wish they would be a *little* more liberal about seats, especially near the end of a game, but I also understand why the team feels the need to do that from a business standpoint, and you can’t blame the ushers for a policy decision like that. I would like to completely replace every concessions worker there, though. They’re usually fairly nice, but take forever to do simple tasks and spend a ton of time standing around and doing nothing.

   1. @Maggie — why should the concession staff be more able than the actual team?

8. You mean someone in New York was mean and someone in the Midwest showed hospitality? Say it ain’t so! 😉

   1. yeah, pretty much.

      My experience at Citi is practically a red carpet welcome compared to most places in NYC.

9. You mean someone in New York was mean and someone in the Midwest showed hospitality? 😉

10. I rarely venture out of the promenade at Citi (40 game plan holder), but it’s ridiculous to expect that ushers should let you move closer to the game. Fans downstairs are paying considerably more for their seats. Even where there are empty seats they shouldn’t have to put up with people standing in their way or even have to share their elbow room with other people. Moving sections down is appropriately not allowed. If they’re moving you out of the upper deck from one section to another that’s obviously ridiculous, but why should a fan who paid $11 to get into the ballpark be allowed to sit next to a fan who paid $150? They’ll never bother you about sitting in a sunny section in the uppers instead of behind the plate, but I don’t have a problem with them stopping fans from dropping down from prom res to prom gold.

11. Regardless of the different experiences it shouldn’t be hit and miss at Citi!

    The ushers should make everyone feel welcome every game! Unfortunately I have experienced rudeness in all sections from the Citi ushers. They shoo you away just for trying to take a pic.

12. At Shea, if you had a twenty to give to a usher you could sit anywhere you wanted to!!

    1. We used to get shaken down at Shea when the usher ran over to wipe the seat, and then stand there until they got a tip. Seriously? A tip for showing me my seat? A-Holes.

13. I have met many nice ushers at citi. I think that one or two bad experiences doesnt speak for all ushers at citi.

14. I agree with Shannon 100%. Maybe (probably) the rules are coming from Jeff, but the fact that they treat you as if you are visiting a prison and are only allowed in the section printed on your ticket is a bit much. They are practically the only team that does this. Yeah, yeah, I understand the ‘business’ argument, but how come it is not an issue for almost any other team. If I have seats in promenade go down to walk around on field level in the 7th inning, I should really be expected to go all the way back up to promenade if I want to sit down for the last inning of a game in a 3/4 empty stadium? Even the Yankees only check tickets in the ‘club’ sections. You can sit anywhere else and no one says boo to you.
    The Mets are pretty much down to their loyal base right now, and to make them feel unwanted is a huge mistake. In fact, I would have thought that on banner day, given how empty the stadium was, they would have given anyone with a banner field level tickets just to be nice. But again, this is the Mets.

15. Did the ushers make more banners than the ushers at cities field too?

16. I can’t speak for everyone but my experience has been great at Citi. On opening day my son and two nieces were standing near the outfield wall for a picture. An usher walked over and I thought he was going to move us. Instead he asked, “Do you know what will make that picture better?” He then gave each of them a baseball from his pockets. The kids were so happy and it was a great moment for them.

17. You must still be shock for the fine treatment, something sorely lacking at Citi Field. The Mets have nerve being so rude — and I believe those orders come from the top (or bottom, depending which way you’re looking) — especially with the state of our ballclub. Shame on them, starting with Jeff.

18. And let’s face it, if it’s directions you need to spend more money while visiting Citi Field, they’re more than happy to send you the right way. And if there should be an unwritten rule: if seats in the better sections are still empty by the fourth inning, they’re up for grabs. Who comes to the ballpark AFTER the fourth inning, anyway? And if, by chance, the ticketholder does show up, just move to another empty seat. All the perks (free flowers, chances for playing games, etc.) are all given to the people sitting in the box seats. The true fans, those in the bleachers, are simply an afterthought, if that.

19. I have family members who work as ushers at both Citifield and Yankee Stadium. I can assure you that both teams have policies that strictly prohibit the ushers from allowing people to move down from higher sections to better seats under any circumstance. The ushers can be suspended or even removed from their jobs if that occurs and is discovered by team representatives who rove around the stadium during games and check up on the ushers.

    1. All I can tell you is that I go to many games at both stadiums, new and old versions, and Yankees ushers never ask to see a ticket unless you are trying to enter a premium area. Mets ushers ask EVERYWHERE except for upper reserved beyond the behind home plate seats. So ,maybe the Yankees formally have a polcy, but like 90% of other teams, they don’t strictly enforce it, and their team is actually pretty good. The Mets, on the otjer hand, are jealous of a group of their own fans organized by a guy who sells t-shirts. The exact sort of pettiness that one would expect from the petty Wilpons.

20. Exactly!!! On the nose, Shannon!! http://www.mikesmets.com/2009/02/thrown_out_of_shea.html

21. The Mets are terribly run from a PR perspective. Port St Lucie is locked up like a prison. I live in Arizona and have 7 teams within 20 miles of me. You have full access to almost every team and the only thing separating you from the players in a single rope.

    I wanted to see some of the Mets minor leaguers when I was in PSL in February and they kicked me out saying that the Mets staff doesn’t want fans to have access to the minor leagues. The same Mets staff that is doing everything possible to hype up Snydergaard, Fulmer, Lagares, etc. I don’t get it.

    My final point….we had a 1pm flight on Sunday leaving FL and I was watching some early BP. They told me to leave. I politely asked why. The guard in a yellow shirt told me that “if I don’t like it to never come back again”. I wrote a letter to Fred, Jeff and Sandy mentioning this and never heard back.

22. I disagree. A friend and I went to Wrigley in 2005. Paid the Cubs for premium seats next to the Mets dugout. Our seats were in ROW TWO on the aisle between the dugout and home plate, but if I dared to try to move closer to the field to take a picture with my little point and shoot during freaking batting practice, Lois (the fun police) was there to make sure I got back to my seat. It became such a running gag during BP that I have a picture of Lois in my collection from that day.

23. just came back from the latest debacle (4-0) Reds. The ushers were nothing but courteous and friendly and at the end of the game, as we headed out, three different ushers wished us a good night.

    Concessionaires were all friendly too.

    If they are not allowed to let fans upgrade their seats, then that’s a corporate decision.

    1. I have become friendly with some of the security at Citi Field who I feel are more courteous then some of the ushers. It definitely is not like Shea when they would show you to your seat. Maybe they are a little bit “stiffer” now because they don’t get tipped like they used to.Bi think Shannon isn’t trying to knock on the ushers themselves but more the “environment/policies” of the Mets corporate brass

Comments are closed.