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Surrey Cricket Club do not care about their disabled customers
We attended the T20 match at The Oval for the Vitality Blast. I'm an ambulatory wheelchair user so we needed suitable seats and accessible parking. We emailed about booking tickets and booking the parking and were told they would get back to us the following week. We then managed to get through on the phone after waiting 20 minutes to book the tickets and they would they would email about parking but they did not. So with no details of parking we had to phone up again. The waiting time on the phone line was 19 minutes and once we got through and were talking to someone their phone line cut out. No one tried to contact us back. We called back again waiting about 10 minutes and they said they would send it again which they didn't. Then despite all the previous promises we still had no parking details and had to phone again waiting around 20 minutes to get through. Then they finally sent it but when we first spoke to them about the parking they had told us the Oval was outside the congestion zone. But when finally received parking details we found out that they had failed to mention that the parking was a 15 minute walk away from the Oval and in the congestion charge! We didn't have time to register with blue badge for the congestion zone scheme. We had to phone multiple times with staff telling us repeatedly they would send it and they never did. I found the dedicated accessible phone line which just puts you in the main phone queue so is pointless. When we phoned up we were told they were very busy due to international matches and very much gave us the impression that helping get access for a disabled customer to watch domestic cricket was bottom of their priority. We didn't receive any apology in our contact with them. They have a nice shiny accessibility summary that makes them look the part but they do not live up to it at all.
When I got to the ground a man came to help. They got the accessibility team to help us. But I was really not very impressed. They spoke to my carer instead of speaking to me directly. Three of them all then stood around me in my wheelchair watching me get out. The woman stood very close to me. I really didn't need an audience. It all felt very patronising and humiliating. I would rather they spoke to me directly and asked me if I needed assistance to which I would have told them I was okay.
We were able to drop off at the ground. But when my other family member went to park the car at the car park we were supposed to be parking in it was all looked up. No way in. Nowhere to park. The level of incompetence is ASTOUNDING. We had to contact to find another car park. I have never had this level of poor service and accessibility at a sports ground before. Even in non league football! The whole experience was a nightmare.
The only positives were that the cricket was good. And the stewards in our area of ground were very helpful. My radar key didn't work for the accessible toilet but the stewards had one which did.
I can honestly say I will never be going back to Surrey Cricket Club unless they seriously change their practices. My advice would be to spend your money at other cricket grounds that actually care about disabled cricket fans!!
We attended the T20 match at The Oval for the Vitality Blast. I'm an ambulatory wheelchair user so we needed suitable seats and accessible parking. We emailed about booking tickets and booking the parking and were told they would get back to us the following week. We then managed to get through on the phone after waiting 20 minutes to book the tickets and they would they would email about parking but they did not. So with no details of parking we had to phone up again. The waiting time on the phone line was 19 minutes and once we got through and were talking to someone their phone line cut out. No one tried to contact us back. We called back again waiting about 10 minutes and they said they would send it again which they didn't. Then despite all the previous promises we still had no parking details and had to phone again waiting around 20 minutes to get through. Then they finally sent it but when we first spoke to them about the parking they had told us the Oval was outside the congestion zone. But when finally received parking details we found out that they had failed to mention that the parking was a 15 minute walk away from the Oval and in the congestion charge! We didn't have time to register with blue badge for the congestion zone scheme. We had to phone multiple times with staff telling us repeatedly they would send it and they never did. I found the dedicated accessible phone line which just puts you in the main phone queue so is pointless. When we phoned up we were told they were very busy due to international matches and very much gave us the impression that helping get access for a disabled customer to watch domestic cricket was bottom of their priority. We didn't receive any apology in our contact with them. They have a nice shiny accessibility summary that makes them look the part but they do not live up to it at all.
When I got to the ground a man came to help. They got the accessibility team to help us. But I was really not very impressed. They spoke to my carer instead of speaking to me directly. Three of them all then stood around me in my wheelchair watching me get out. The woman stood very close to me. I really didn't need an audience. It all felt very patronising and humiliating. I would rather they spoke to me directly and asked me if I needed assistance to which I would have told them I was okay.
We were able to drop off at the ground. But when my other family member went to park the car at the car park we were supposed to be parking in it was all looked up. No way in. Nowhere to park. The level of incompetence is ASTOUNDING. We had to contact to find another car park. I have never had this level of poor service and accessibility at a sports ground before. Even in non league football! The whole experience was a nightmare.
The only positives were that the cricket was good. And the stewards in our area of ground were very helpful. My radar key didn't work for the accessible toilet but the stewards had one which did.
I can honestly say I will never be going back to Surrey Cricket Club unless they seriously change their practices. My advice would be to spend your money at other cricket grounds that actually care about disabled cricket fans!!
