I had no idea how little those folks make.

They get away with it because you would never do it unless you really wanted to be there and watch the games. 81 work days a year on an erratic schedule where you might have 11 in a row then 3 days off, then 3 days on, then a 14 day road trip. Oh, and Thursdays and Sundays are day games so you couldnt have a day job, etc. I'm not excusing them not paying more money but its a weird "job" that I suspect you'd have to love watching the games more than doing the work to sign up for.

Is this going to be like the cashier issue at fast food restaurants that's leading to automated kiosks being installed? There are signs all over the park, and I can find my own seat. I don't need an employee to demand to see my ticket, and simply point to where my seat is when I can already find it without their help.

Yep, hate to shit on someone's job, but I've been to 2 NFL games, a handful of baseball games across varying leagues, and 2 concerts at NFL stadiums recently, and not once did I need to ask for help to figure out where to go. Should really be a job that gets rolled into the security team's duties for the rare occasion it's needed. All the ushers did was slow me down by checking tickets (really not necessary - if you're in my seat, you better believe I'm getting security to move you) and walking too slow when escorting other people.

Just because you didn't need help doesn't mean lots of others don't.

It's less of an issue now with the netting but they did used to run down when a ball or bat went into the stands and make sure the person was ok and signal to what i assume was some sort of medical team. Plus break up fights between drunk idiots. So I guess it is kind of security.

Nutting will just trade them for a few can't miss Double-A ushers.

With the advancement of technology, and the prevalence of cell phones, if it doesn't already exist, I'm sure it would be entirely possible to create an app that guides you directly to your seat. Or to be able to install scanners all over the place where you scan your ticket, and it tells you which way to go.

They're still responsible for giving the "all clear" signal when a foul or HR goes into the stands.

You would be surprised how stupid some people are.

What happens when I sit in the seat you paid for?

To be completely honest, for all of the reasons you listed above, I previously believed that only retired individuals and volunteers staffed these positions. Grateful to have some insight into this

I'm really not anymore. I have several thoughts on the matter, but I'd get downvoted into oblivion for voicing them.

Yes, your specific experience will apply 100% to the tens of thousands of people that are there. No one can possibly be different.

They'll post something about how no one wants to work anymore.

I always tell myself that when I retire I'm getting a summer job working at the stadium. A job like this, a few hours a day here and there at a baseball field, seems more like a way to stay active, be around people, and watch some baseball than about making a living. On the one hand, yes, we can all find our own seats, and an 80-year-old is not going to do much to stop drunks or break up fights, so it's easy to ask what exactly they do. But on the other hand, it's about presenting a human touch at the ballpark, somebody to high-five the kids and be friendly to everyone else, in addition to the benefits of employing older people who might not otherwise be working. I think that's worth a few extra dollars an hour. No doubt they'll all be traded in July.

I used to work there. You’d be shocked at how much help people need finding and/or doing absolutely anything at all

> All the ushers did was slow me down

> if you're in my seat, you better believe I'm getting security to move you

You gotta me kidding me man, right?

The people saying just get rid of the ushers are the same people that bitch when no one is around to help them in the walmart aisles.

You want to get rid of people who are asking to make $13 an hour to replace it with a custom app that needs to be scalable to allow for 30,000+ simultaneous connections, as well as either renting or purchasing and maintaining all the infrastructure that goes along with that.

You are talking about firing ushers and hiring software engineers to replace them.

I come show you my ticket and tell you to move.

They should also get hazard pay for having to endure the on the field product.

I’ll show you my ticket that looks exactly like yours. Now what?

I came to see people’s insights in the comments and I I get to see funny jokes towards the pirates 😂

It was just hanging out there and was too easy to ignore.

It won't have the same seat and section dingus.

Who is to say it won’t?

Wut

My sister in law was tried of the asshole that always sat next to her so I forged a ticket so yes, it has the same seat and section as yours. (Hint: that’s what exactly means.)

I show you a ticket with the same section, row, and seat number on it. Then what? What are you gonna do to get me to move?

It’s such a simple action until you need an usher to help you out…

Wut? Why not just...buy the seat next to hers?

In what scenario would there be two tickets with the same seat and section? That's not how this works.

In a scenario where one ticket is real and the other is not. Who is to say which one is real?

Who tf is printing fake tickets to a pirate game? And why?

I would like less ushers so I can sneak into better seats (they’re empty anyway, why not 🤷‍♀️).

But they should absolutely be paid more even if I have to stay in my standing room

dude--you need to work on your reading comprehension. She HATES you. She doesn't want you to sit anywhere near her. (And honestly, no one else in the section does either, your farts, man, you need to go to a doctor about that.) So I'm sitting your seat, with a ticket that looks exactly (go look up that word, I'll wait...) like yours. So, whatcha going to do, my little name caller?

Probs sit in your lap.

Lol y’all are so goofy

Or simply: I'm not going to move, you can waste $50 on prime seats and I'm going to sit here because you need an usher and without them you need to go to a security area and by the time you do that, I can just as easily stand up and say 'oh, I guess I'm in the wrong seat, I've never seen this guy in my life' and security may ask me to leave, may not, but I'll be several innings in if you need to manage that and then we're back to security is just an usher.

It all falls apart pretty quick.

Relatives husband works in the BO. He gets how little they make and how it's the cost of less than one average baseball player to pay everyone a proper wage. But Nutting is all about draining the well and never paying anything.

Tell me you don't understand how many people swap seats and handle basic duties and have no clue what security does without saying so.

You're doing great.

George_Carlin.meme

no you can just sit somewhere else, i'm already comfortable here

For starters, a lot of people dislike the kiosks and will still use a cashier. The kiosks break down too. But it's also a completely different task than an usher. People want customer service, and a computer can't do that yet, and probably won't for a couple more decades at least.

Lol reddit ppl are... something else man.

Not defending their low pay at all. Just curious, any idea what the ushers bring in for tips?

Why do people think companies deserve employees but employees don’t deserve living wages??

Everyone who is working deserves a living wage, even if they're wrong, and even if they're crazy. There is no such thing as unskilled labor.

Last game I went to the usher refused to do anything about someone taking my seat.

Probably because they don't get paid enough to deal with it 😅

Considering they work in a cashless ballpark and don’t actually engage in any transactions whatsoever, I’m betting it’s $0 a night on average.

Yeah, this is a Pirates baseball problem, not a capitalism problem. /s

Shocking the extreme vitrol we feel for people who we don't agree with.

I dont think that means that none of the fans have cash. I always give the ushers a buck or two when they help me find my seat at the start of the game.

You are an exception to the rule, I promise.

[deleted]

True, true.

Edit: Just read your entire post history and ran a background check on you while I was at it. Had a look at your recent bank transactions through some clever social engineering as well just to be thorough. Tsk tsk tsk, you've said some questionable things here and there haven't you? -100 social credit points.

> Fucking MBAs.

I was about to type this exact shit to you lol. Fucking MBAs man. I actually lose respect for someone when they tell me they have one.

Given that the wages the Pirates pay for this are below the local and national average for that kind of work, it’s both. Structural problems with capitalism, exacerbated by Nutting being a cheap asshole even by robber baron standards.

> There are signs all over the park, and I can find my own seat. I don't need an employee to demand to see my ticket, and simply point to where my seat is when I can already find it without their help.

Ushers serve an important function for disabled fans. I went to a few games several years ago while I was on crutches and in a walking boot due to ankle surgery, and I have an out-of-town friend who comes to games sometimes and relies on a wheelchair to get around because of organ failure-related muscular weakness. Neither of us would’ve been able to get to our seats without the usher’s help.

Ushers are also the first line of response for security concerns due to problem fans. If someone in a seat near you is drunk and disorderly and heading toward violent, you’re supposed to tell an usher so they can alert security. A kiosk can’t do that.