Hurricanes Lounge XXVII: BURN THE NEW SERVERS!

[garnetpalmetto]

That actually makes a lot of sense. And I'd imagine it will help with their renewal rate (couldn't hurt).

Indeed - as it stood the main "installment" plan they had was that you pay a 30% deposit, then pay 10% payments from June until December, so 8 payments in total. Looking at it, if we switched over to the 11-month plan we'd be paying about $127.41/month instead of a $420.45 deposit followed by 7 payments of $140.15. I feel like there has to be some sort of catch, though, aside from the automatic renewal.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Indeed - as it stands the main "installment" plan they have is that you pay a 30% deposit, then pay 10% payments from June until December, so 8 payments in total. Looking at it, if we switched over to the 11-month plan we'd be paying about $127.41/month instead of $420.45 and then 7 payments of $140.15. I feel like there has to be some sort of catch, though, aside from the automatic renewal.

I dunno, there might not be a catch here. This sort of thing is proven to help renewal rates and upgrades. In a former life I set up a lot of payment plans like these, and they really are much more effective in getting people acclimated to spending at a certain level without feeling the pain of a large deposit. If the Canes are smart, they'll get as many people as possible on these plans so that they don't have to send that painful March deposit invoice, which causes mayhem like what we saw today among the STH. Also, it's a lot easier to convince people to upgrade their STH packages when they're being asked to simply increase their monthly by a set amount, as opposed to asking for that same monthly increase PLUS a 1/3rd deposit.

It might help them from an accounting point of view as well, providing a steady year-round income stream. But I'm not sure whether that's desirable for an NHL franchise compared to the rush of deposits at one time. Most businesses would prefer the slow and steady, but pro sports is weird.

 

[Bub]

The pause was how I was tasting it by myself. I didn't prolly look particularly smart out, speaking to myself "south... northcarolina, southnorthcarolina".

-ern feels cheating, as does weaselishly not naming the place "South North Carolina".

Another thing is that so many place names here start with South/North/East/West (especially here in New England), that just calling something by one of those words can be confusing if you're talking about a geographically imprecise area, rather than a specific town/city/whatnot. For example, I live in southern Maine, and literally no one ever says "South Maine."

 

[tarheelhockey]

Another thing is that so many place names here start with South/North/East/West (especially here in New England), that just calling something by one of those words can be confusing if you're talking about a geographically imprecise area, rather than a specific town/city/whatnot. For example, I live in southern Maine, and literally no one ever says "South Maine."

I suppose that's the distinction, isn't it? Precise places as opposed to imprecise areas?

Western North Carolina and eastern North Carolina are places mentioned regularly in day to day conversation. They even have their own Wikipedia pages:

Western North Carolina - Wikipedia
Eastern North Carolina - Wikipedia

Nobody ever talks about West North Carolina or East North Carolina. Those sound like formal place names. Like North Raleigh (which is not called northern Raleigh) or East Charlotte (which is not called eastern Charlotte).

Or, to make it even more distinct -- West Virginia compared to western Virginia.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

I dunno, there might not be a catch here. This sort of thing is proven to help renewal rates and upgrades. In a former life I set up a lot of payment plans like these, and they really are much more effective in getting people acclimated to spending at a certain level without feeling the pain of a large deposit. If the Canes are smart, they'll get as many people as possible on these plans so that they don't have to send that painful March deposit invoice, which causes mayhem like what we saw today among the STH. Also, it's a lot easier to convince people to upgrade their STH packages when they're being asked to simply increase their monthly by a set amount, as opposed to asking for that same monthly increase PLUS a 1/3rd deposit.

It might help them from an accounting point of view as well, providing a steady year-round income stream. But I'm not sure whether that's desirable for an NHL franchise compared to the rush of deposits at one time. Most businesses would prefer the slow and steady, but pro sports is weird.

Solid points made, THH. As an aside, anybody remember a year or two ago when somebody in BoH claimed that we hadn't received our STH renewal stuff yet and that that was a sure sign we were relocating? Then when I pointed out that we had received our renewal e-mails about two weeks prior the narrative changed to be that that didn't mean anything? Good times.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Solid points made, THH. As an aside, anybody remember a year or two ago when somebody in BoH claimed that we hadn't received our STH renewal stuff yet and that that was a sure sign we were relocating? Then when I pointed out that we had received our renewal e-mails about two weeks prior the narrative changed to be that that didn't mean anything? Good times.

I'm SO glad those threads survived the migration. They're going to provide fodder for years and years to come.

 

[Lempo]

I suppose that's the distinction, isn't it? Precise places as opposed to imprecise areas?

Western North Carolina and eastern North Carolina are places mentioned regularly in day to day conversation. They even have their own Wikipedia pages:

Western North Carolina - Wikipedia
Eastern North Carolina - Wikipedia

Nobody ever talks about West North Carolina or East North Carolina. Those sound like formal place names. Like North Raleigh (which is not called northern Raleigh) or East Charlotte (which is not called eastern Charlotte).

Or, to make it even more distinct -- West Virginia compared to western Virginia.

Precise and formal names were exactly on my mind when asking. I was hoping the folks in charge would have had some puckishness in themselves to even semiformally name something with somewhat defined borders to South North Carolina.

They had Frank jr. jr. in Friends. Phoebe's brother who knocked up Eric Forman's mom.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

Precise and formal names were exactly on my mind when asking. I was hoping the folks in charge would have had some puckishness in themselves to even semiformally name something with somewhat defined borders to South North Carolina.

They had Frank jr. jr. in Friends. Phoebe's brother who knocked up Eric Forman's mom.

The best puckish naming conventions I can think of are a quartet of small towns in South Carolina in Orangeburg and Bamberg Counties named Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Precise and formal names were exactly on my mind when asking. I was hoping the folks in charge would have had some puckishness in themselves to even semiformally name something with somewhat defined borders to South North Carolina.

They had Frank jr. jr. in Friends. Phoebe's brother who knocked up Eric Forman's mom.

It's even worse in SC. Instead of calling it North South Carolina, or even northern South Carolina, they call it Upstate South Carolina.

 

[RodTheBawd]

It might help them from an accounting point of view as well, providing a steady year-round income stream. But I'm not sure whether that's desirable for an NHL franchise compared to the rush of deposits at one time. Most businesses would prefer the slow and steady, but pro sports is weird.

Obviously depends on the industry, but from my experience, the one-time event would be preferable.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Obviously depends on the industry, but from my experience, the one-time event would be preferable.

Yeah, that's been my experience as well. In an old job where I used to negotiate deals, we always tried to get as much of the money upfront as we could. For accounting purposes, we still had to spread the total income over the length of services provided (on the books), but we wanted as much cash up front as possible.

 

[Bub]

The best puckish naming conventions I can think of are a quartet of small towns in South Carolina in Orangeburg and Bamberg Counties named Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

These are all places in Maine:

 

[NotOpie]

In all the discussion about season ticket renewals, I understand both sides of the debate. Emotionally, the timing sucks for STM renewals coming out as the team, which many of us thought/hoped would finally make the jump back into the playoffs, seems to be finalizing yet another season of playoff-less hockey here in NC. Yet we have a professional sports team and it is an optional entertainment expense that many of us choose.

I tend to agree that more promotions are better than fewer and I also agree that long-suffering season ticket holders probably deserve some sort of spiff for hanging in there. There's just no good timing for this.

 

[tarheelhockey]

In all the discussion about season ticket renewals, I understand both sides of the debate. Emotionally, the timing sucks for STM renewals coming out as the team, which many of us thought/hoped would finally make the jump back into the playoffs, seems to be finalizing yet another season of playoff-less hockey here in NC. Yet we have a professional sports team and it is an optional entertainment expense that many of us choose.

I tend to agree that more promotions are better than fewer and I also agree that long-suffering season ticket holders probably deserve some sort of spiff for hanging in there. There's just no good timing for this.

TBH I think a lot of the moaning and groaning from the Twitter crowd would have been avoided, had Don Waddell not explicitly made the case to the News and Observer 6 months ago that it was in STH's best interests that the Hurricanes do the exact opposite of what they are currently doing.

I'm totally fine with Dundon opening up the lower bowl, because I'm an upper bowl guy and it only benefits me to have better seats. But doing that in the exact same season that you told those lower bowl folks that you would never do that to them... not the best way to cultivate good feelings.

Then there's the timing of the announcement on top of all that.

 

[NotOpie]

TBH I think a lot of the moaning and groaning from the Twitter crowd would have been avoided, had Don Waddell not explicitly made the case to the News and Observer 6 months ago that it was in STH's best interests that the Hurricanes do the exact opposite of what they are currently doing.

I'm totally fine with Dundon opening up the lower bowl, because I'm an upper bowl guy and it only benefits me to have better seats. But doing that in the exact same season that you told those lower bowl folks that you would never do that to them... not the best way to cultivate good feelings.

Then there's the timing of the announcement on top of all that.

That certainly had to be a factor. I'm an upper bowl season ticket guy too, but didn't take advantage of those promos (shitty travel schedule this winter/spring), but I would have. I also get the concept behind devaluing an experience....I just don't see it the same way personally, but do understand the alternate view(s).

My sense is that if there are additional benefits to being a season ticket holder, it is a way to both reward and encourage more season ticket sales. As some have said, there may be a perception that the value received for the money spent isn't as great as it was or should be. In most businesses, alternatives to straight discounts are used to address that type of perception.

 

[GoldiFox]

I don't see the downside of most fans waiting until well after Free Agency to make a purchase decision. The amount of ticket demand isn't going to dramatically increase between now and the start of next season. Even a pipe dream like Tavares isn't going to suddenly fill the box office with calls. So the start of next year will look a lot like the end of this year (ie: likely Canes Pass territory). Dundon will still want the lower bowl filled.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I don't see the downside of most fans waiting until well after Free Agency to make a purchase decision. The amount of ticket demand isn't going to dramatically increase between now and the start of next season. Even a pipe dream like Tavares isn't going to suddenly fill the box office with calls. So the start of next year will look a lot like the end of this year (ie: likely Canes Pass territory). Dundon will still want the lower bowl filled.

The biggest downside is you gradually lose incentives if you wait to renew, including what amounts to cash money in the form of food/bev credit.

 

[Unsustainable]

It's even worse in SC. Instead of calling it North South Carolina, or even northern South Carolina, they call it Upstate South Carolina.

I’m looking in York SC

 

[Lempo]

It's even worse in SC. Instead of calling it North South Carolina, or even northern South Carolina, they call it Upstate South Carolina.

Now that's just literally messed up. Literally because apparently they on the East Coast US mess up the map up with the elevation and the Upper and Lower nominations that are most oft used when there are rivers in the play.

I mean my domestic province of Satakunta historically was Lower and Upper Satakunta but they were the western and the eastern parts respectively. It goes to craziness with for example Nile which flows upw... I mean to North.

 

[Lempo]

I’m looking in York SC

Stop looking in his Kessie, he ain't gonna trade and fantasy league stuff go to other thread anyway.

 

[HisIceness]

At least South Carolina has the decency to name their counties as the city in which they reside in.

 

[Lempo]

At least South Carolina has the decency to name their counties as the city in which they reside in.

I kind of appreciate the "keeping it real" way of Russia keeping the area surrounding St. Petersburg still named as Leningrad Oblast.

 

[Unsustainable]

Today is my 17th service anniversary.

 

[Breakdowns]

Today is my 17th service anniversary.

Are you in army?

 

[Unsustainable]

Are you in army?

No, just feels like it since I work for a highly government regulated company. Lol.

That and my director is a retired General