Never call the Olympic hotline

The Olympics hotline is a sham. 10 minutes spread over three separate calls, where each time you have to wait a minute and a half before the automated voice informs you of all the terms and conditions and then you get a choice of either tickets or customer services .  It doesn’t matter which one you choose because, on either option, after being told there are ‘high call volumes’, it says ‘the other person has cleared’.  No!  That’s a complete swindle but it sums up the ticketing fiasco.  Given the website is a joke, there should be some telephony back-up.  At least with the tickets bit it cuts you off after 15 seconds, instead of keeping you holding on for another two minutes like customer services.  If you are told you can speak to someone that should be the least to expect.

I can understand high call volumes and don’t mind waiting but just to be cut off like that....  It is probably down to rubbish technology  incompetently applied and therefore unable to handle mass calls but this should have been foreseen.  Combined with the website, there have been NHS computer launches that have been more successful.

How do I express my fears about my purchased tickets having not arrived or try to buy new ones?  The automaton said that if the tickets you have bought have not arrived just go down to the box office two days before the event, show the card used to buy them and collect there and then.  Oh yeah, because the ‘box office’ is just a few minutes away down the road. Not!  And which ‘box office’?  Does it have to be at the specific venue or can any box office do the job?

The Olympic Games in London have been wonderful but the administration of the ticketing is woeful.