Letter to Ticketmaster
I really, REALLY hate bullshit. And companies that bullshit. You see, if you've tried to go to a concert outside the local music scene, you're probably familiar with a form of bullshit perpetrated by companies like Ticketmaster and other concert promoters who add absurd fees onto the cost of tickets while still advertising the base price for the ticket. Granted, everyone has to take a cut, but the way they do it is so sly that you're in the middle of buying your tickets when you see that there are extra numbers being added to your cost.
Having no other means of buying a ticket for a concert a month away in Hollywood, I, like most other patrons, bit the bullet and grumbled while they raped my wallet. However, being someone who doesn't accept this and just move on, I decided to send their customer service people a letter to express my dis-satisfaction with their service and practices. So here it is:
I would like to know what the justification is for the ridiculous "convenience charge" I am forced to pay if I want to see a show? I understand the need for a business such as yourself to make a profit, but generally that's just done in the form of a blatant markup; not an underhanded fee exceeding 50% of the advertised cost.
I just purchased a $21 ticket to see Sevendust in Hollywood, and yet I'm paying $34.75 for it. Why is that? If you want to sell the tickets for $34.75, then just sell them for that! I have had experiences where I've purchased tickets in cash at the venue box office the night of the show and STILL get charged a convenience fee. I fail to see how this is ANY convenience to me.
On top of that, to add an order processing fee and a facilities charge, it's a scam and obvious to myself and all your customers that you are not interested in fair marketing practices or customer satisfaction in the slightest. Being forced to buy a ticket from your company makes me furious. I'm a musician and an audio engineer myself; I refuse to steal art because I believe in paying to support the music you enjoy and also to support the industries that bring it to you. But who would buy a CD that was advertised at $12 but then charged $1.50 stocking fee plus $0.75 manufacturing fee and a $6 convenience charge? That's right, somebody with no other choice.
When the customer can purchase two of the band's albums for the price of 1 general admission ticket, there is a problem.
You are a vile and smug company only kept alive by the fact that your patrons have no other recourse outside not attending or sneaking into a show. I know this letter won't make a shred of difference, nor would a million of them from customers all across the country. Because you do not care about your customers and that is what makes you a terrible merchant. I hope more artists raise hell for you ala Pearl Jam, and I will shout with excitement if/when your company either goes under (I doubt) or changes its practices to advertise the final price up front (slightly more plausible).
Subsequently, please remove me from your mailing list.
Having no other means of buying a ticket for a concert a month away in Hollywood, I, like most other patrons, bit the bullet and grumbled while they raped my wallet. However, being someone who doesn't accept this and just move on, I decided to send their customer service people a letter to express my dis-satisfaction with their service and practices. So here it is:
I would like to know what the justification is for the ridiculous "convenience charge" I am forced to pay if I want to see a show? I understand the need for a business such as yourself to make a profit, but generally that's just done in the form of a blatant markup; not an underhanded fee exceeding 50% of the advertised cost.
I just purchased a $21 ticket to see Sevendust in Hollywood, and yet I'm paying $34.75 for it. Why is that? If you want to sell the tickets for $34.75, then just sell them for that! I have had experiences where I've purchased tickets in cash at the venue box office the night of the show and STILL get charged a convenience fee. I fail to see how this is ANY convenience to me.
On top of that, to add an order processing fee and a facilities charge, it's a scam and obvious to myself and all your customers that you are not interested in fair marketing practices or customer satisfaction in the slightest. Being forced to buy a ticket from your company makes me furious. I'm a musician and an audio engineer myself; I refuse to steal art because I believe in paying to support the music you enjoy and also to support the industries that bring it to you. But who would buy a CD that was advertised at $12 but then charged $1.50 stocking fee plus $0.75 manufacturing fee and a $6 convenience charge? That's right, somebody with no other choice.
When the customer can purchase two of the band's albums for the price of 1 general admission ticket, there is a problem.
You are a vile and smug company only kept alive by the fact that your patrons have no other recourse outside not attending or sneaking into a show. I know this letter won't make a shred of difference, nor would a million of them from customers all across the country. Because you do not care about your customers and that is what makes you a terrible merchant. I hope more artists raise hell for you ala Pearl Jam, and I will shout with excitement if/when your company either goes under (I doubt) or changes its practices to advertise the final price up front (slightly more plausible).
Subsequently, please remove me from your mailing list.