Worst Company In America: Ticketmaster VS Citibank
A bailed out bank? Or the ticket scalper's best friend? Who makes your blood boil?
It's #5 TicketmasterVS #4 Citibank:
This is a post in our Worst Company In America 2009 series. The companies nominated for this honor were chosen by you, the readers, and seeded according to number of nominations. Keep track of all the goings on at consumerist.com/tag/worst-company-in-america. Download the bracket here.
Post a comment
Comments:
the two words i hate most in the english language: "convenience charge".
Ticketmaster needs to be shut down. They are thieves and pirates, pulling stupid tactics that bankrupt venues, bands, and their fans! I'll be on the 2nd row cheering any AG on that decides to take them on for unfair business practices.
I have ticketmaster pulling an upset on this one.
Call me naive, but why isn't TicketMaster considered a monopoly? If I want to have a choice between who I want to buy tickets from for an event, and I don't have one, how is that fair?
Well, besides a 3rd party outlet, of course. StubHub, Craigslist, scumbag scalper
@Skankingmike: That ticketmaster has been able to do what they do for so long is a case study in tolerated madness.
I spent a long time going to shows that were under ticketmasters radar but everytime I do need to go to a larger event it's the same ridiculous charges I had to deal with 15 years ago.
Citibank just took balilouts. The used tire company near my house has received bailout money at this point. He rode to his Congressional testimony in the center of a large tire.
It was a tough one for me, because I have issues with both companies, and Citibank treated me like sh!t the last time I asked them for help. But Citibank just simply doesn't care, whereas ticket hackers is much more overtly evil. It's a matter of degrees, but Ticket Smackers wins.
@bostonhockey: Maybe they're not seen as "important enough" to worry about. Or they somehow found a way around it all?
TicketMaster. Overpriced monopoly wins this one.
Since Citibank's Customer Service just treated my like crap - they ARE the WORST COMPANY!!!
I agree that Ticketmaster is horrible - the monopoly that needs to end - but I rank them as a kind of a luxury.
Meanwhile Citigroup tanked the Economy and caused quite a few job losses in the past year.
@bostonhockey: Two reasons:
1) There ARE other local options in many areas. (Here in Seattle, for example, we have TicketsWest).
2) They haven't forced venues and performers to deal only with them. They've just made themselves very attractive to venues and performers.
As long as venues and performers (on paper, at least) can choose which ticketing agent to use, it's not an illegal monopoly. Unfortunately, there simply are not enough LARGE options to make their competitors viable for large venues and popular performers.
A good example of this is the much-mentioned Pearl Jam 1994 tour which was cancelled because of a disagreement with TicketMaster - but by 2000, they were using TicketMaster as their ticket vendor again.
As much as I hate Citibank I'm going to have to vote for Ticketmaster. I have a choice not to use Citibank, Ticketmaster is forced on me if I want to see a show. I rarely bother going to shows now because of the Ticketmaster monopoly. Ticketmaster is killing culture and the arts!
@bostonhockey: what? no free marketeers offering their take on this yet?!? "you don't have to buy tickets. you can choose not to see a show. therefore, they are not a monopoly."
anyway, our anti-trust department hasn't done a whole lot lately in terms of regulating companies based on monopolistic tendencies. so, in reference to your questions: is TM a monopoly? maybe. does anybody of importance care? not in the slightest.
Ticketmaster. A font of uncontrollable evil.
Evil trumps therefore Ticketmaster wins this round.
This is probably one of the hardest choices in the whole bracket.
Please vote for CITI. Citi is the worst!
Citibank. Buying from Ticketmaster is optional. So is using Citibank, except that Citibank preys on the less fortunate, and sets them up to make a killing off of them through never-ending interest and fees. Citibank aggressively goes after these people with mailings, offers and other marketing schemes designed to entice people deep into debt. Then Citibank changes the rules to get even more money from them for as long as possible.
Ticketmaster takes advantage of its monopoly, and trades on tickets as if it were legitimate commodity trading. Ticketmaster is definitely broken and can't be entrusted to fix itself. But, Ticketmaster will leave your grandmother alone if she doesn't try to do business with Ticketmaster. Citibank is a predator, who will go after your grandma's pocketbook, take her to the cleaners and tell her it's her fault.
@CoarseLive: Let's not forget that the Congress passed the measures that gave Citi all our money. I get tired of saying this, but the bailout wasn't the result of the banks, it was our government. The banks could be faulted for *taking* the money, but what company wouldn't take free money? The fault mostly lies with our elected officials for the bailout fiasco.
You all are friggin idiots for letting TM get this far.
You don't have to buy tickets.
You have to have a bank (unless you hide your money under the better).
Get over yourselves. Sheesh.
@razremytuxbuddy: Buying from ticketmaster is optional only in the sense that buying the tickets themselves is optional. Nearly 100% of the time, if you want to see that show, you have to buy the tickets through tickmaster...and pay extra for the "convenience" of monopolization.
There are, however, other banks. Which are all bad, but bad choices are better than none?
But you don't have to bank with Citi. Often times if I want to go to a concert, Ticketmaster is my only option. Hence the TM hatred.
@pal003: I don't really get why it matters if what they sell is a luxury or not.. A bad company is a bad company.. and charging me money for printing on my own paper and ink is just.. evil.
Citigroup received $50 billion from the government (us) and then turned around and jacked up their interest rates and fees on their credit cards. They're screwing us twice - taking our tax dollars and making us pay through the nose for credit. True, they're not a monopoly, but they're one of the biggest and baddest in a really big and bad industry.
@sweetnjoe: if ticket master had it their way they'd charge a fee for you to go outside, start your car, drive on a highway...
Gee, in my area, I have the option to bank with about 15 different banks of national and regional access and about 10 different credit unions that I am eligible to join.
On the flip side, for about 90% of my concert/show going purposes I have a single choice for buying my tickets: TicketMaster.
Ticketmaster wins this round. Feel free to whine about it later sweetnjoe.
@StanislausBabalistic: Maybe think of it as a date.
You ask Ms. Ticketmaster out for dinner and a movie. After an expensive dinner, to your surprise, she wants a large buttered popcorn, a large Coke and a box of Junior Mints at the movie. The movie snacks just cost you as much as dinner. You don't have to go out with her again. But if you choose to again sometime, you know what you're in for.
Meanwhile, Ms. Citibank is practically throwing herself at you, so you finally decide to go out with her. She tells you she's on the pill, but later you find out she's pregnant...and a stalker. Eighteen years later, you finally no longer have to make a payment to her every month, so you think she'll stop calling and hanging up on you every hour. She might stop calling, but will continue to try everything she can think of to get you back.
@sweetnjoe: Really? Is your reasoning skills so skewed that when you type "you have to have a bank" you don't take the next logical step and think "there are other banks not named Citibank"? Ticketmaster is the name of ticketing game and we're all losing. Citibank is one of many banks, credit unions and yes mattress brands.
You don't have to buy tickets, but if you want to, you have to use TicketMaster.
You don't have to have a bank, but if you want one, there are plenty to choose from other than CitiBank.
Thank you. I still vote TicketMaster, but I appreciate seeing a real reason why one should vote the other way. I actually thought this vote would be a lot closer than it is.
You're probably right that Citi is the worse company. But TicketMaster is the one I have to do business with. If you don't like Citi's rates, there are other credit card companies. If you don't like TicketMaster's fees, your only choice is to skip the show.
@affilsarah: Yes but TicketMaster is just pure evil. If there is a Satan, he is head of the company.
@Skankingmike: My wife works for Brown Paper Tickets, a smaller, non-evil competitor. They had shirts for a while that said "No Ticket Masters, No Ticket Slaves."
Ticketmaster because they suck and I have no personal experience with Citibank.
@AHepburnGuy: As there are other ticketing companies as well. If you don't like it, oh well. It's the venue's decision ultimately who they sign the contract with.
It's a joke that you all consider "fees" that are not even placed by this "evil" the biggest issue and have pushed them to the final 4 - when you've got bigger problems at a bank if they screw you over.
Just think for a second.... yeah, it still doesn't make sense to me that TM is even in the top 8 right now. The consumerist is just so skewed against it.
Ticketmaster is a SERVICE. Of course it's gonna cost money. Would you rather them charge you to use their website?
Your opinions just don't make sense when you think about how adolescent-minded they are.
I think Ticketmaster deserves a special mention/award (e.g. "The Silver Douche") even if they don't win in the end. I say this because how many kids and fans WANT to see a show but end up getting gouged in the end by fees, etc.
@sweetnjoe: There really aren't other ticketing companies. Any place else you buy a ticket from gets their tickets from Ticket master.
It's not about costing you money, it's about adding $50 to the price of a ticket for 10 different fees.
@bostonhockey: Not necessarily, you still have Live Nation (unless they merge with TM) and Tickets.com as venues along with a number of regional ticket suppliers.
@LegoMan322: Mr.Guy...not sure how you made it into there or why its under you. Just ignore the rant on the guy/gal next to you. : )
@snowburnt: Again, TM is not and never has been in charge of fees. How many times does this need to be said?
And there are other companies. Your venue chooses the company they want to use though, so that's what you have to deal with if you go to concerts....
@Framling: It wouldn't surprise me if they could make more money from t-shirt sales than ticket sales. I know I want one of those shirts.
It pisses me off that ticketmaster wants to charge me extra so I can print my tickets at home! That makes no sense at all.
For what it's worth, ticketmaster isn't a friend to the scalpers either. I've been stuck taking a loss on tickets to games I couldn't go to thanks to ticketmaster's fees. Even sold out or playoff games, it's still hard to sell a ticket for more than face value, even though you have to pay Face +10 or more for the actual ticket.
Maybe elite scalpers have access to fee-free tickets somehow, but for the every day guy trying to unload a pair, they suck out loud.
Uh, I guess I'm in the minority, but Citi has been treating me reeeeally well since the bailout. Disturbingly well. What-are-you-up-to-and-why-did-you-buy-me-flowers well.
@sweetnjoe:
>TM is not and never has been
>in charge of fees. How many
>times does this need to be said?
Who IS in charge of fees?
Here's an example.
1 ticket to see U2 in Chicago: $250
Actual cost of ticket when all is said and done, $275.55
Here's the breakdown of the difference between the ticket price and what you pay:
Convenience Charge: 14.95
Building Facility Charge: 2.00
Shipping option (print your own): 2.50
Order Processing Charge: 5.35
Taxes: .75
TicketMaster is obviously not in control of the taxes, and I'll give them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the facility charge. So out of the $25.55 in extra charges, 89% appears to be charges that TicketMaster has direct control over.
Do you know something we don't?
I'll give them a "convenience charge" when I hang up the phone or refuse to use their services.
when will this company go away? why do we need a Ticketmaster
Does that make us slaves?