any problems with Tickets.Com?

All 9:30 events remain on sale until midnight the night of the show, so if you run into that problem in the future, kindly as the salesperson to check again, as the show should still be on sale. My guess is that the clerk may have been confused with DC Filmfest events, currently on sale, which are not available on the day of the event, but that's just a guess. I'll send out a reminder to Olsson's so you shouldn't have this problem again.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ggw:<BR><B>This isn't so much a problem as a question of curiosity. I tried to get a ticket for tonight's show at Olssons, but they said they can't sell tickets on the same day as the show. However, I can get them through the tickets.com website. I'm wondering about the reasoning behind this policy.<P>Thanks</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>

Tixx - Thanks for your response.<P>The "confused clerk" scenario is the logical guess, except there were actually four employees involved and they definitely knew I was talking about the 9:30 Club. They all seemed to concur that this was the policy. I asked if this was really the policy (since it seemed like a funny policy) and they reiterated that they could not sell tickets for the 9:30 on the day of the show. They also mentioned that some others had just been in looking for Spiritualized tickets and said that they had checked for the others and that there were 400 tickets still left, so it likely wouldn't be a problem for me to get tickets at the door. In the end I did get tickets at the door and saved myself some fees in the process, so no worries. However, if there is confusion about the policy, it appears to extend beyond just a single employee.

ggw: I sent an e-mail to the Olsson's person in charge of outlet sales and she said she's on top of it, so hopefully you, or anyone else, won't have this problem again. Thanks!<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ggw:<BR><B>Tixx - Thanks for your response.<P>The "confused clerk" scenario is the logical guess, except there were actually four employees involved and they definitely knew I was talking about the 9:30 Club. They all seemed to concur that this was the policy. I asked if this was really the policy (since it seemed like a funny policy) and they reiterated that they could not sell tickets for the 9:30 on the day of the show. They also mentioned that some others had just been in looking for Spiritualized tickets and said that they had checked for the others and that there were 400 tickets still left, so it likely wouldn't be a problem for me to get tickets at the door. In the end I did get tickets at the door and saved myself some fees in the process, so no worries. However, if there is confusion about the policy, it appears to extend beyond just a single employee.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>

I can't figure out how to actually make a purchase on tickets.com. I guess you have to create an account/profile first? No thanks. I think as a customer I should be allowed to decide if I want to just buy the tickets, or create a permanent account.<P>With all the $$$ collected from ticket service charges, maybe 9:30 could eliminate the middle-man and just sell tickets directly to the public. Split the money, half for Seth and half for whoever gets the chore of printing and assembling orders. (Of course you have to pay for the hardware first)<P>Say 9:30 sells *just* 300 pre-sale tickets over the Internet… tickets.com jacks you for like $7 per ticket. So that's $3.50 for Seth, and $3.50 for the envelope stuffer. Times 300 tickets… over $1000 in extra pay for a real live person… might be worth considering…

wow, and then everybody could complain about how MY ticket company sucks

Oh, crap! You've got a point there.

Seth, forgive me or take this as a compliment! But seeing as how the rest of the 9:30 pretty much runs as it should, I can't see why a ticketing system couldn't be put in place to function properly as well.<P>The difference is: to tickets.com the 9:30 is just another client, but to the 9:30 the 9:30 is the most important business in the world. Your stuff will never be as important to anyone else as it is to you… and your staff (for the most part) actually cares about their jobs and the quality of work they do. Not sure if the same can be said of any of the ticket services! <P>So it stands to reason that 9:30 could make ANY new system work, be it one that sells tickets online or one that does something completely different.<P>I'm not saying taking over the ticket-selling chore would be all sh&^s and giggles, but you have to admit that someone with a personal investment in the club is going to do a better job. Plus it will be easier to keep final sales price closer to face value for the customers. <P>I think that's the biggest complaint with tickets.com AND ticketbastard. It just costs too much.

my friend had a problem with tickets.com for the doves show a couple of weeks ago. she went to pick up her tickets at will call and they didn't exist. she had to buy another set of tickets at the window and then fight with them over the phone to credit back her account.

I am sure that we could set up our own ticket system. we could probably start a radio station to promote the music, or set up our own bus service to get everybody to the shows. we just would prefer to let others handle certain aspects of our business, so that we can concentrate on what we enjoy and do best.<P>those are all full-time gigs. it's not a matter of whether we are capable of it, I just don't want my business to become some unwieldly octopus. which is how I think things get impersonal, by the way.<P>the fact is, at the 930 Club itself, we do sell all our tickets with only a $1 service charge. if you want the convenience of buying them somewhere else, the people that sell them for us charge for that service. yes it sucks that it makes the ticket even more expensive, but I have yet to be able to find anyone to sell our tickets for free. and I don't want to deal with the headaches of running a ticket company. then I wouldn't have time to do things like add to this forum.

Here is my complaint. Today, I am going to buy three different tickets. I will have to pay the $3.25 charge for each ticket to be sent to me. However, they will be sent in one envelope (as has happened in the past). Seems a bit unfair? It would seem much more efficient/fair if I could place all three in a shopping cart type of deal and then pay one $3.25 charge for them all.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by kurosawa-b/w:<BR><B>Here is my complaint. Today, I am going to buy three different tickets. I will have to pay the $3.25 charge for each ticket to be sent to me. However, they will be sent in one envelope (as has happened in the past). Seems a bit unfair? It would seem much more efficient/fair if I could place all three in a shopping cart type of deal and then pay one $3.25 charge for them all.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>I've noticed and complained about the same thing before. What about it Tixx? It can only help your company. I know I'm waiting to stop at the Club to buy several tickets for different dates to <B>avoid</B> all of the excessive charges leaving Tickets.com with a much smaller profit. In fact, what I save in surcharges and mailing will alone will pay for one more show! Every other e-commerce company has a shopping cart, you should too.<P>I'm willing to use Tickets.com and have used them many times but I will wait and take the chance of a show or so selling out for the load I plan on purchasing on my next trip to DC just because of all of the mailing fees even more so than the surcharges.<P><p>[This message has been edited by Jaguär (edited 08-01-2002).]

Are we charged the fees at Olssons? I think I will start buying the tickets in person. Today, I just have a really crazy schedule and couldn't get to the store.

Yes, it is a crazy schduel when you're trying to keep up your converstions on eight different threads instead of five.

Sorry for the delay in responding…I will forward your suggestion to the appropriate parties and see what they say. We do have the technology for shopping cart (our baseball teams and Wolf Trap use it, for instance), but it's not something that can be turned on overnight - there is a lot of programming that needs to be done first. I'll keep you posted on the progress (or lack thereof). Thanks!<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by kurosawa-b/w:<BR><B>Here is my complaint. Today, I am going to buy three different tickets. I will have to pay the $3.25 charge for each ticket to be sent to me. However, they will be sent in one envelope (as has happened in the past). Seems a bit unfair? It would seem much more efficient/fair if I could place all three in a shopping cart type of deal and then pay one $3.25 charge for them all.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>

tickets.com is just as bad as ticketmaster. i pay the exact same amount no matter who mails me my tickets. the worst part is, even if i have them at the willcall office, i still get charged the same as if i get them mailed to my house. why do i need to pay three fifty or whatever it is to pick up my ticket at willcall? what good is competition if it does nothing to lower exorbitant service charges?

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Tixx:<BR><B>Sorry for the delay in responding…I will forward your suggestion to the appropriate parties and see what they say. We do have the technology for shopping cart (our baseball teams and Wolf Trap use it, for instance), but it's not something that can be turned on overnight - there is a lot of programming that needs to be done first. I'll keep you posted on the progress (or lack thereof). Thanks! </B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Thanks! As I predicted, my three tickets arrived in one envelope, but I paid a total of $9.75 to have them sent to me.<P>

Service charges should just be called convenience charges across the board. if you don't get off your lazy honker like me, you call the ticketing company to buy the ticket, you're gonna pay a bit more for it, don't be so stupid to think you'd avoid it. Now, to get over it, just go to the box office and pay the ticket price plus $1.<P>that's all that service charge thing is - for your convenience of staying and ordering the tickets a la casa. simple as that. stop talking and go outside…errr…have a beer.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial, Veranda">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by teledano:<BR><B>Service charges should just be called convenience charges across the board. if you don't get off your lazy honker like me, you call the ticketing company to buy the ticket, you're gonna pay a bit more for it, don't be so stupid to think you'd avoid it. Now, to get over it, just go to the box office and pay the ticket price plus $1.<P>that's all that service charge thing is - for your convenience of staying and ordering the tickets a la casa. simple as that. stop talking and go outside…errr…have a beer.</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Excuse me, but the $9.75 in charges that I am talking about is in addition to the $4.00 per ticket convenience charge that I have already paid. I understand that if I am not able to go to the box office, I must pay some type of convenience charge. Fine. But charging me for something that isn't done (sending tickets separately) seems unfair.

wait a sec, I totally agree about trimming the fat. There's no *real* reason other than to make more money for themselves. It's people who don't understand service charges that need to clam it. You've got a valid one there.