Joey vs. Ticketmaster: Part One

A few weeks ago, I attended a concert at the Trocadero in Philadelphia (reviewed here). I decided that since I had such a shitty experience, I would write Ticketmaster, just to see what would happen. Here is the summary so far:

[My First Letter]

June 02, 2009

Ticketmaster
attn. Customer Care
1000 Corporate Landing
Charleston, WV 25311

To: Ticketmaster Customer Care

On Saturday, May 30th I attended the Avett Brothers Concert at the Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia, Pa. I purchased tickets via Ticketmaster. Regretfully, I would like to inform you that the quality of the venue seriously detracted from our enjoyment of the show forcing us to leave early.

My issues are as follows:
* The show was oversold: 90% of the capacity was standing room only, but the bar section contains seating in a balcony. Behind this balcony there is an area to sell alcohol and behind that, a full bar. Both of the aforementioned sections offer no view of the stage at all. It is my belief that tickets were sold with that space counted as stage capacity.
* Since there was no space in the upper section, as the main act – The Avett Brothers – starting playing, hordes of people came down from the upper area blocking views and forcing us to move to the side.
* The acoustics in the building focus the sound down the middle center, making the sound in the area we were forced into muddled and dampened.

We could not see, would couldn’t hear the band well, and it was incredibly cramped. We left.

I have been going to concerts for years and while I have been to some I did not enjoy for lighter variations of what I mentioned before, it has never been as bad as it was Saturday evening at the Trocadero, and I never felt the need to write a letter before. Is there anything you can do to correct this? I would appreciate a response via mail or by phone at the number listed above. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Joey Lombardi

[Ticketmaster’s Response]

[My Second Letter]

NOTE: At this point I said to myself “fuck it – I have nothing to lose, I might as well have some fun”. You may be wondering why I removed the customer care associate’s name – it’s because I am sure this is a low level person and I don’t want this to come back on them, working for ticketmaster must suck enough already.

Ticketmaster
attn. [Name Omitted] | Customer Care
1000 Corporate Landing
Charleston, WV 25311

To: [Name Omitted] & Ticketmaster Customer Care

I want to thank you for your response to my letter regarding my bad experience with the Trocadero Theatre and the Avett Brothers Concert held there on May 30th 2009. I understand that Ticketmaster acts as a middle man selling tickets for the venue, but I would have hoped the corporation would hold the venue/themselves to some level of quality standards. Scenarios like the one I experienced on May 30th greatly discourage me from wanting to spend my entertainment dollars on concerts.

As a consumer, I feel there should be a channel/accountable party when the event is sub-standard. I honestly never complain, never write letters regarding bad experiences at concerts (and there have been many). The Trocadero took it too far and to have my initial complaint arbitrarily dismissed because they successfully completed a ticket sales transaction and managed to get the band on the stage doesn’t preclude them or you as a service provider from trying to make amends & improvements.

I would like contact information to the Trocadero office. I could not find an address to send a letter to get them involved in this issue. This isn’t about money, its about acknowledgment that these events can be improved and as the ticket service provider your company has the ability to influence the venues instead of throwing customers to the wolves and taking every available penny on the table.

I want to go to concerts. I want to enjoy them. You should want me to go to concerts and pay your ridiculous transaction fees (I know – cheap shot, but I had to do it). Let’s help each other out.

Sincerely,
Joey Lombardi

I honestly don’t know how far I am going to take this; I don’t expect a refund – it would be nice, I don’t need it. Writing letters the old fashioned way and taking shots at a business that I loathe is far more entertaining. I hope they come back to me with the Troc’s business address, I do plan on sending some letters there (if any of my readers know a contact, send it my way blog at joeylombardi.com).

I will post the rest as it comes.