Monday, October 19, 2009

Why I Hate Ticketmaster

Here is an email exchange I recently had with Ticketmaster customer service.  A different representative responded to me each time, but I have deleted their names to protect the (somewhat) innocent.  Note that despite the fact that they have royally screwed me out of getting good seats, they appreciate my business!  Feel the love shine through

Friday, October 9, 2009 7:14 PM
Message sent on behalf of Goldenvoice, event promoter for the upcoming
Pee-wee Herman Show:
Hello, this is Ticketmaster Customer Service with an important reminder
for your upcoming Pee-wee Herman Show. These shows were previously
scheduled at The Music Box on Sunday, November 8th, 2009 through
Saturday, December 19th, 2009, but have moved downtown to Club Nokia
January 12th, 2010 through February 7th 2010.
To speed up this process, Ticketmaster has automatically refunded in
full your original order (including all handling and service charges)
for The Pee-wee Herman Show at The Music Box on October 7, 2009. While
Ticketmaster has already credited you in full, it may take up to 7-10
business days for your financial institution to post it to your account.

As a previous buyer, you have the exclusive opportunity to re-purchase
tickets for any of the new shows.
Simply respond to this email customer_support@ticketmaster.com>
, or call Ticketmaster at 1-800-653-8000 and provide us with your
original confirmation number. This exclusive opportunity will end on
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at 9:00 pm-PST.
Tickets become available to the general public on Thursday, October 15,
2009 at 10:00 am-PST.
Please note, seats are available on a first-come, first serve basis,
based on availability.
The seating available for purchase at Club Nokia are as follows:
Floor, VIP Balcony & Lower Balcony = $65
Upper Balcony = $49.50
General Admission Floor Standing = $26
Please note: Standard Fees and Delivery Option payments apply
In addition, there are a limited number of VIP Packages available for
$125. They include: Premium Floor Seating, access to the VIP Lounge, a
limited edition poster, and souvenir.
Previous purchasers for events at The Music Box will have exclusive
access to a Meet and Greet with Pee-wee Herman. Details are still being
confirmed, so please be patient and look for an announcement from
Goldenvoice soon.
We want to thank you in advance for your patience as we make these
exchanges. We have already processed 5000 tickets in just two days! We
hope to make this process as smooth as possible and appreciate your
business.
If you have any questions, please contact Ticketmaster online at:
http://www.ticketmaster.com/h/asktm.html
Thank you for using Ticketmaster.

10/13/2009 01:25 PM EDT
Customer (Josh B) -
Hi, my original order # is xx-xxxxx/LA1. I'd like 2 seats at Floor, VIP Balcony or Lower Balcony ($65) for whichever show has the best seats available. If it's necessary to choose my dates, I'd like seats on 1/12 or 1/16 at 8pm.

Thanks,
Josh Bell

10/15/2009 03:20 PM EDT
Dear Josh,

Thank you for contacting us. Our goal is to provide World Class Service to every customer, every day. In order to release order information, we require that you respond with the following information:

Cardholder name:
Last four digits of the credit card used:

Please note that this information is required as a means of protecting our customers private information. Once the above information is received and verified we will promptly respond to your request.

Sincerely,
Ticketmaster.com Customer Support

10/15/2009 07:33 PM EDT
Customer (Josh B)
Cardholder name: Joshua Bell
Last four digits of the credit card used: xxxx

10/17/2009 12:26 PM EDT

Dear Joshua,

Thank you for contacting us. We regret any inconvenience. To purchase tickets, please log back onto www.Ticketmaster.com or contact via telephone at (800)745-3000.

Thank you for using Ticketmaster, where we continually strive to provide World Class Service to every customer, every day! We really appreciate your business, and hope we were able to resolve any problems or answer any questions you had. Please reply to this email if we may be of further assistance.

Sincerely,
Ticketmaster.com Customer Support

10/18/2009 12:33 PM EDT
Customer (Josh B) -
I'm not sure I understand. I thought that because I had tickets to the original show, I was entitled to purchase tickets to a new show before they went on sale to the public. I sent the email prior to the tickets going on sale, yet it took a few days for someone to get back to me. Now I've been going back and forth over the last few days with customer service. Now it appears that I have to buy tickets myself and will not be given any kind of priority based on owning tickets to the original shows. Is this correct?

10/18/2009 12:40 PM EDT
Dear Josh,
Thank you for contacting us. Yes, that is correct. We were able to do the priority exchange until October 14, 2009. After this date the tickets went onsale to the general public. Since the tickets are onsale to the general public now and you did not process your exchange by the stated date, iyou would like tickets you will need to purchase them on line at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling our sales department at 800-745-3000.
Thank you for using Ticketmaster, where we continually strive to provide World Class Service to every customer, every day! We really appreciate your business, and hope we were able to resolve any problems or answer any questions you had. Please reply to this email if we may be of further assistance.
Sincerely,

Ticketmaster.com Customer Support

10/19/2009 01:56 PM EDT
Customer (Josh B) - 
Please check the message thread below. I emailed Ticketmaster on October 13 and no one got back to me until October 15. So it is not my fault the order did not get processed by the 14th, it is Ticketmaster's error. The email clearly stated that a person could call or email to get tickets before the public on sale, yet clearly that was not the case. Unbelievable.

10/19/2009 02:14 PM EDT
Dear Josh,
We are in receipt of your recent correspondence submitted to our customer service department. As a service oriented company, the satisfaction of our customers is always our utmost concern.
Please be aware that Ticketmaster deeply regrets the initial difficulty you encountered when attempting to exchange your tickets for The Pee Wee Herman Show as were unable to respond to your e-mail before Wednesday, October 14, 2009. Ticketmaster makes every effort to represent the product for which you are paying in a forthright manner and we understand the frustration of not receiving anything less than the World Class Service that we strive for everyday. We regret any bad faith that may have surfaced as a result of your experience with our company. However, please note that as tickets for the event in question are onsale for the general public, you may now contact our sales department to place a new for this event (which is the same thing that was done for customers that contacted us before Wednesday, October 14, 2009).

Thank you for the opportunity to address you concerns and appreciate your business.
Sincerely,
Ticketmaster.com Customer Support

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

My claim to fame

Whitney at Pop Candy was nice enough to feature my 10 top albums of all time.  Just wish I hadn't taken the goofy picture

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/popcandy/post/2009/10/list-of-the-day-hellsbells53s-top-10-albums/1