TicketMaster...(Long Rant) >>>>>

[motordavid]

Sucks, imo.
I GOOG'd that and there were pages of rants...

Here's mine:

We copped two tickets to hear Boston Pops and an up&coming pianist do Gershwin this eve.
(I've been to a couple hundred classical/pops concerts, but I was in the mood again.)
The only way one can obtain tix, other than at the box office of the venue, is TicketMaster.

So, I ordered a couple of ok priced $45/head tix and TM has the courage and audacity to tack on,
per ticket:
-Order Processing Fee: $3.60
-Delivery: $2.50 (They "delivered" nothing, as I understand the word;more below.)
-Convenience Charge: $8.70 (I have yet to discover the convenient part; more below.)

So, my 45 buck tix times 2 is $114 out the fookin door. No prob., I order the sumbitches via the net,
in mid Jan. for this eve. I figure it's the cost of their "service" and there really is not a convenient
alternative to getting tickets. (Therein, lies their hook, methinks.)

I never get a confirmation other than the page I printed out. I never get the TM email that allows me
to print out the tickets...and, I'm trying to print out the damn tickets not TM. That must be the "delivery"
and/or "convenience charge", .

As the concert is this eve, I wind my way back through the labyrinth of TM's site, log in, and see my orig. order.
It tells me I should have gotten an email and printed my tix, long ago...that convenience/delivery thing again.

I never got crap from them, so I fill out their on-site form, and explain my situ and ask nicely if they would
expedite the new email so I can print the bastards. The clock is ticking.

Before the site will allow me to submit my request, I have to read a page of jive about AOL, Earthnet, et al,
look at possible "fixes" in my firewall, spam filter, email process, etc. I read until my eyes glaze over...then
they ask me if that was fookin helpful?! I click no. I must then explain "why" it was not helpful. I'm fookin
dying here, by now. I fill out that freakin form, re-hit submit and finally my email for help goes through.
This is at 9:30 am this morning. I check email every 10 mins and never get a peep back other than an automated
"they got it" response.

TheCEO walks in from ball chasing and listens to my rant. She digs into the TM site and notices a ticket order
problem contact phone #.

She calls, as she knows I will threaten the mf'ers, at this point.
She is calm, but is on hold for 22 freakin fookin minutes!

Another 12 mins of arm wrestling with "Brent", whom offers very little
solace and says it must be out computer's fault and their orig. confirming email probably bounced. She reminds
him that we get email from all around the world and from lots of biz/secure sends, all of which come through fine.
He puts her back on hold and calls the venue. They do not physically have the tickets for our seats, as once
ordered on-line, the tickets disappear or, go somewhere and are no longer at the ticket office of the venue,
he says.

He promises to resend the authorizing email, but again suggests that "it does not work for most people's computers". WTF kinda company is this and whom are they bs'ing?!

Well, it finally just came, at 4:00 ish this afternoon, though I never did get a response back from my 9 am email
for help.

I print them, that "Convenience Thing" and we are going to hear the genius of Gershwin.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I hit the TM site, check out this concert and see all they have left is
"orchestra seats" for $75 a head plus a $10.40 per ticket "Convenience Charge" for a will call at the
box office.
A 14% hit on a ticket they do nothing for/with, other than an on-line inventory system?

Is this like a dope franchise that TM has? Who the F has allowed this
usury process to become ingrained in buying a fookin ticket?

Do all the rock concert goers, general slackers and the usual pimple faced attendees put up with
this rip all the time?

Somebody has something really going in this gig...the empty suits at TM
must be laughing up their fookin sleeves every day.
I feel better now, but one really cannot make this stuff up, imo.
BR,md
[email protected]

[xnsf]

very interesting story...

what do they mean..."does not work on most people's computers"? it's just an email with a picture in it.

i think it would be better if you order the tickets via their phoneline, but who knows how well they handle that too.

so...the concert is today? i hope you enjoyed it and worth the extra convenience fee...

[cmyX6go]

Feel better now MD? I must tell you, I don't care what you write, I do enjoy reading you.

:NOADD:

[noncom23]

Nice rant. I get it though. Its all about them.

[X5Jay]

That outfit really pisses me off too - I HATE having to go that route for tickets, but often it's the only option next to paying 4X for scalper's tickets. Those extra charges are total BS! I feel for ya, Bro...

[the head]

Originally Posted by X5Jay

That outfit really pisses me off too - I HATE having to go that route for tickets, but often it's the only option next to paying 4X for scalper's tickets. Those extra charges are total BS! I feel for ya, Bro...

1 find scalpers
2 rob them
3 free tickets

I also cannot stand the TM mailing list I bought tix on thier site once and for the past 6 months I have got one email per day regarding concerts I don't care about and am not going to drive anywhere to see

[broknlgs24]

from what i remember of my TM orders, u should
receive an email w/ an Adobe attachment. do u
know if u have Adobe Reader? granted, having
Adobe has nothing to do w/ u not receiving the
email in the 1st place. best of luck!!!!!

[trueX5er]

wow, that sucks. Reminds me of Comcast Customer Hell....I mean "service"..

[motordavid]

BrokenLegs,
Yes, up to date here. I get email confirmations of all kinds from various
biz's, etc. It was not my 'puter or mail. They never sent it. When they
"resent it", it came through w/o a prob., hours after they promised to
re-send the sumbitch.
* * * * * * *

I'm not really beefing about the extra 24 bucks per se, so much as the
rip freakin off % these bottom dwelling m'fer's are making for a freakin
"service" that isn't. If some slacker wants tix to "10,000 Screamin Midgets",
and can't camp out for two days at the box window or, finda scalper he has
no choice but TM.

And, that's my point, Gang: We have no fookin choice but TM.

A license to freakin steal, imo and their "service" sucks. I personally
hope the Suits at TM get caught with underage girls and/or eat LSD
laced M&Ms, hanging on as groupie-wannabe sycophants, backstage
at one of the concerts they have a freakin monopoly on.

It's a City Hall thing and it's BS...I remember Pearl Jam trying to dodge them for a
few years and, gave up. Change the Rules!

[Quicksilver]

MD; Are you saying you couldn't obtain the tickets using your credit card from the office of the venue? For me at least i never use ticketmaster or any of those ticket sellers for exactly the reasons you expressed. I go right to the concert venue and order tickets.

Originally Posted by motordavid

The only way one can obtain tix, other than at the box office of the venue, is TicketMaster.