Forced To Call Ticketmaster Over 225 Times About Pee-Wee Herman Tickets
Ryan had a dream. Not an unreasonable dream for any fan: he wanted to see Pee-Wee Herman perform live. Many fans, including Ryan, were thrilled when a limited engagement of shows was announced in Los Angeles, and Ryan bought tickets and made plans to travel cross-country for the performance. Then the concert promoter and Ticketmaster stole his bike. Metaphorically. He says he attempted to call Ticketmaster over 225 times (the line was busy) and the Pee-Wee debacle still isn't solved.
A couple of months ago, Pee Wee Herman announced that he'd finally be returning to the stage after 25+ years for a limited engagement series of performances at the Music Box Theater in LA. As a lifelong fan, I jumped at the chance to see this once-in-a-lifetime show. I called as soon as the tickets went on sale, purchased a pair (about $100) and scored a reasonably priced plane ticket (roundtrip Baltimore to LA for $250).
The stars had aligned and I was going to see Pee Wee Herman on November 14th. I couldn't believe it!
...then it all went to shit.
Two days ago, I received the following email notification from Ticketmaster:
Due to popular demand, the Pee-wee Herman Show is moving to a larger venue and has new dates. It will now take place in downtown Los Angeles at Club Nokia, LA Live. The new dates are rescheduled for January 12, 2010 through February 7, 2010.
As a previous buyer, you have an exclusive opportunity to exchange your tickets for any one of the new shows. Simply call Ticketmaster at 1-800-653-8000 and provide us with your original confirmation number. Seats will be exchanged on a first come, first serve basis. This exclusive opportunity will begin on Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 10:00am and will end on Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at 10:00 pm. Tickets will be available to the general public on Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 10:00 am.
But....but....but....I had already purchased my plane tickets. And what about all of those people who booked hotel rooms?! What were they going to do? This couldn't be happening. The Pee Wee I remember wouldn't have done this to me.
But I sucked it up. After-all, this was my one chance to see the man who had once inspired me to drunkenly do the "Tequila" dance on top of a bar. I couldn't miss this. No matter what.
I should have known better than to listen to myself. I'm an idiot. I should never listen to myself. And today at exactly 9:55AM EST, I began what would turn out to be a VERY long day with Ticketmaster.
9:55AM - First call to Ticketmaster....busy.
9:56AM to 10:05AM - Multiple calls to Ticketmaster...still busy.
10:06AM - Phew. I finally reach a Ticketmaster representative.
10:07AM - Ticketmaster representative informs me that the email that read "10:00AM" should have read "10:00AM PST". I hang my head in shame.
12:55PM (EST) - I begin calling Ticketmaster all over again. Busy.
12:56PM to 1:45PM - I call Ticketmaster more than 150 times on three different phones. Busy x150.
1:46PM - I reach a Ticketmaster representative. She seems confused about the ticket exchange. She tells me that her system won't let her access the event. I need to call back in one minute. I inform her that I had already been calling for more than an hour. She doesn't care. I begin to think that she secretly hates Pee Wee.
1:47PM to 2:15PM - I start over. Busy x75.
2:16PM - FINALLY. I get through to someone who can help me! She seems aware of the whole Pee Wee situation. By the tone of her voice, it sounds like a nightmare. She stays on the line with me as we pick the perfect tickets.
2:20PM - YES!!! I have tickets! Not only do I have tickets, but I have THIRD ROW tickets. It was a long process, but totally worth it. Third row. Wow!
And then God punched me in the face.
5:30PM - I begin reading people's complaints on Twitter about their ticket situations. Some people can't get through to Ticketmaster. Others couldn't get tickets that were comparable to the ones they had originally purchased. Others were being charged extra for their new tickets.
5:31PM - Wait. Being charged extra. I better check my bank account.
5:33PM - Fuck.
5:34PM - Fuck fuck.
5:35PM - It sinks in that I had just been charged $160 for this "exchange". That means I'm down $100 for the original tickets, $160 for this new and improved "exchange" pair of tickets, $250 for the airline tickets (PLUS whatever else they'll charge me for switching my flight)....oh, and....$30 for an overdraft fee.
Wait. Overdraft fee?! Yes. The helpful representative FORGOT to tell me that this was not the typical "exchange" most people in the free world are used to.
This exchange would require me to buy NEW, more expensive tickets without my knowledge.. And would require me to wait 2-3 weeks for a refund on my old tickets. And would force me to over-withdraw on my bank account.
5:36 PM - 8:45PM - I spend these next three hours on hold, occasionally talking to Ticketmaster representatives. Once in a while, I get through to a representative who inevitably transfers me to the next representative. I ask for supervisors. I get put back on hold. I ask for new departments. Back on hold.
8:46PM - I start losing it.
8:47PM - I begin realizing that I've just spent (ref: wasted) my entire day trying to fix problems related to Pee Wee Herman tickets. I'm too old for this.
8:49PM - I get through to a supervisor. In the wrong department. Of course.
8:50PM - I inform the supervisor of my situation and that: "I need this fixed now. No more waiting on hold. No more transfers. Just a resolution. I want my $30 overdraft fee back."
8:51PM - Back on hold. Supervisor needs to talk to Customer Service supervisor. Of course I wasn't talking to a Customer Service supervisor. That would make sense.
8:56 PM - Supervisor returns. He informs me that there's nothing they can do, but if I want, I can be put back on hold to talk to the Customer Service department.
8:57 PM - I tell him to have the Customer Service department call ME. Back on hold.
9:00 PM- Supervisor tells me that they don't make outside calls.
Ryan isn't the only person angry over the postponement, or even the only Consumerist reader. We wish we had secret powers over the mysterious fortress known as Ticketmaster.
Fans of Pee-wee Herman angry over show's postponement [LA Times]
(Photo: nyki_m)
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Comments:
The secret word of the day is "BULLSHIT"!
This is probably one of the most frustrating stories I've ever read on this site. I would recommend an EECB of epic proportions, and make sure to add addresses to the theater, the promoter, anyone advertising this, etc. If the OP doesn't end up getting refunded for the extra $160 plus the overdraft fee, I'd go to small claims court over this.
Also, in all fairness to Ticketmaster (WTF?), this situation could have been avoided if Pee-wee could have kept his commitment.
I'm no producer, but since the venue was booked and (presumably) everything was green-lighted to go with the original show, could they not have simply *added* the extra shows to the original, so that fans who bought tickets and made arrangements could see the show and those who could not get tickets to the original show could get tickets to the *new* show?
Am I applying too much common sense here?
My husband went through this same exact situation yesterday for our PeeWee tickets! Funniest part - the email confirmation we received had a link to a customer service survey!
Wait.
People actually watch Pee-Wee Herman? This is an incredible story.
@squinko - is pretending there's a star:
Unfortunately I don't see an EECB doing any good. Ticketmaster knows they suck, and they know people will buy tickets from them anyway, so they have no incentive whatsoever to not suck so much. EECB, posting to Consumerist, etc., is only effective at making a company do the right thing if the company cares about its public image. Ticketmaster doesn't. The OP spent all day on the phone with them, and he was so pissed at this awful treatment that he gave them his business anyway!
There are only two ways this gets fixed; either legislature passes that requires them not to suck, or so many people stop buying tickets to Ticketmaster shows that venues and artists are forced to use other ticketing agencies. If you hate Ticketmaster, stop giving them your money!
@squinko - is pretending there's a star: Seriously. I'm not even involved in this and I'm angry. Ugh @ having to rebook his flight. Ugh @ everything. This is ridiculous.
@UCLAri: This week 150,000 people bought the new KISS album. Nostalgia makes people do funny things.
@vladthepaler: A 3rd option for some venues - start selling tickets in house. There are several theaters in the Twin Cities that have their own online stores to sell tickets. It's basically works the same as any other online store.
This isn't feasible for every single venue, but it is possible for the majority.
Unfortunately, I think you're right about what it will take to make a change. People need to avoid TicketMaster, and they need to inform the venue using TM why they won't be buying tickets to that specific show. Nothing will change as long as the money keeps rolling in.
Ticketmaster truly sucks. They are the single biggest reason I attend far fewer live events than I did in the past. It would have been far better though to use a credit card for this as you might have been able to dispute the second charge that you never really authorized and avoided the overdraft.
It seems like so many of the stories on this site can be summed up, "If Woody had not used his debit card none of this ever would have happened." OK, that's a gross oversimplification but credit cards offer more protections when shopping than debit cards do. It surprises me that people don't use them over debit cards. I know the old argument, "it keeps me from spending money I don't have" but does it really? When the bank happily authorizes an overdraft and slaps you with a $30 fee how is that helping you?
my cousin Steve is quoted in the LAtimes article. Steve is indeed a huge pee wee fan(his own shows reek of Herman like comedy). What sucks is he actually got a hold of ticketmaster and they only offered him a 100 dollar price tag to trade for 1st row seats. His current 1st row seats aren't "comparable" to the first row seats at the nokia club. Either way he's screwed because the later date means his darling wife is going to be very close to giving birth.
Ultimately it's a clusterfuck of a comeback for Pee wee. Screw him and screw ticketmaster.
I call shenanigans! I think this guy is exaggerating. Quite a bit.
1:47PM to 2:15PM - I start over. Busy x75.
75 telephone calls in the space of 28 minutes? That's 5 calls every 2 minutes. Think about it -- dial, ring, ring, "Your call is important to us" message, hang up, repeat. You've got just under 22 and a half seconds to do that. For 28 solid minutes. No. Way.
"Ryan had a dream. Not an unreasonable dream for any fan: he wanted to see Pee-Wee Herman perform live."
"Not an unreasonable dream for any fan: he wanted to see Pee-Wee Herman perform live."
"he wanted to see Pee-Wee Herman perform live."
"he wanted to see Pee-Wee Herman"
"Pee-Wee Herman"
I think I've found the problem.
Seriously, chills are running down my spine.
You could probably go to certain movie theaters after hours and watch him perform...ZING!!!!
On a more serious note, Imagine if Ticketmaster and LiveNation were allowed to merge. Customer service would probably get worse.
@Smashville_not taking it seriously: +1. I don't know if we should blame TM or PeeWee (I'm guessing TM?). But, if a show is receiving a great response, isn't it wiser to just ADD shows to the current venue vice changing the venue and dates altogether? Or is that just my silly common sense speaking out of turn? This smacks of a way for TM and/or PeeWee's promoters to bilk fans out of more money. Super shady...
No. Not: "dial, ring, ring, "Your call is important to us" message, hang up, repeat"
Instead speeddial, BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP, Hangup, speeddial.
@Smashville_not taking it seriously: There is actually a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to putting on a show like this. I don't think it had anything to do with him wanting more money. Especially considering the cost of the venue plus production as you get bigger. It may have been at first, he had a grand idea but didn't know if anyone would turn up, so had to go with a much smaller production than he wanted, but as tickets started selling, he realized he could give the full show at a bigger theater. A bonus for both himself as an artist and his fans who will get to see the whole show instead of a hole in the wall knock off version.
Yes, some people would have to change plane tickets, but you figure the majority of people who would go to a show would be local. The same things happen when an artist has to cancel a show due to being sick. This is also why when you buy plane tickets for something like this, you go through a company that will let you cancel and get money back... if one indeed exists, because things like this happen all the time.
Ticketmaster is a whole other issue. They should have done things differently to make life easier. But this is Ticketmaster, and they are dodgy as all hell. Between them and Live Nation, they will end up killing the entertainment part of the entertainment industry before it's all said and done as long as performers continue to use their services.
Thank you, valued Ticketmaster customer. You may pick up your tickets in the basement of the Alamo.
$160 for a ticket, $250 for a flight, $??? for a hotel room. Wow...just wow.
@Smashville_not taking it seriously: It's not that he couldn't commit. There was a much larger demand than anyone previously thought, so they decided to move the shows to a bigger venue.
@UCLAri: Pee-Wee's live show is very funny and is intended for adults. You should check out the DVD of one of his shows on Netflix. It's great.
@UCLAri: Hey, before that whole "theater" incident, he was quite the comedian. Even after the incident - still a funny dude. So he got caught doing something we ALL do, but in a public forum. Well, semi-public. Doesn't mean he lost his sense of humor. Hell, he probably gained some insight and a ton of jokes.
@heltoupee: The OP did say at one point that he was on three different phones. If you're using more than one phone and hitting re-dial, it might not be that hard.
Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Playhouse is. You have to see it for yourself.
@Smashville_not taking it seriously: In all fairness to Ticketmaster, Ticketmaster is a company the deserve to circle the bowl and leave skid marks.
@heltoupee: I can make about 10 phonecalls in one minute using redial and two phones. I could make 200 in 30 minutes or less, not even including his third phone
So I wonder what happens if tickeetmaster sells out this new venue (which they apparently will, if they haven't yet). Does anyone who hasn't traded yet get told you're SOL? Sounds like SOP for Ticketmaster, but even so
@fusilier:
Heh. I know what you mean. I am so mad for the OP that I might call TM myself and complain about how this was handled, and I didn't buy tickets!
@JollyJumjuck: Agreed, keep the original shows at the smaller venue and then add on a second round of shows at the larger venue. Obviously, the promoter did not realize that the show would be in such high demand, but when changing venues like this at the last minute, they need to make the process a bit easier and more convenient for those fans that jumped at buying tickets for the first show.
OP: "Hey Ticketmaster, you guys are horrible."
Ticketmaster: "I know you are but what am I?"
@starrion: That and using more than 1 phone. When I need to speak with a CSR, I will often times use more than 1 phone to increase the liklihood that I will be able to grab the one free line at the instant that someone else got off the line so that I can then sit in the que of phone calls.
What the heck? Why did they cancel the first one, why not just ADD the second one?
Does not compute.
When this says the phone was busy, does it mean busy like a busy signal, or busy like put on hold? Because in either situation I don't see how calling back over and over on three phones helps.
It is ridiculous that they charged him $160 more dollars without mentioning it to him, but I have to wonder... if someone doesn't have enough money in the bank for a $100 hold on his account (which I don't really think is surprising or out of the ordinary) then how can he afford to take a plane to this event?
I don't want to defend Ticketmaster too vehemently, but it would be completely unreasonable to expect them to take care of the plane tickets. This situation sucks but overreacting and casting blame doesn't improve anything.
@heltoupee: You need to be introduced to my little friend "redial". I'm sure you two will get along just great!
@heltoupee: Clearly you've never tried to get through to Ticketmaster, or something like a radio station when they're running a promotion. 6 calls or more per minute on one phone is not out of line.
Bad customer service is what happens when you have a monopolistic MegaCorp like TM effectively owning 80% of the ticket market. It's just another reason why the merger with Live Nation should not happen.
Seriously, how many other industries have a monopoly as strong as theirs? TM has exclusive contracts with the majority of venues which is why you never see any overlap between the shows they ticket and, say, the ones Live Nation sells. Who made it legal that basically one company controls all the tickets?
The last time Congress got involved in this a whole lot of nothing happened. Maybe now that Pearl Jam are reforming, they can take up the cause again, but I doubt it. I think they learned their lesson the last time.
I'm pissed off just reading that.
I thought PeeWee was in jail.
This is why I NEVER buy tickets through Ticketmaster. Other cheaper options are 1) buy at venue box office where, amazingly, real people help you and don't charge a convenience fee, 2) buy on site day of event, 3)buy on craigslist/ebay
Alas, my options don't really help the OP, but they help me feel better.
Just Wow.@Jesse: How could it possibly get worse?
I know, I know... I'm seriously underestimating their creativity.
@RogerTheAlien: True, but... that's what you do in a porn theater. People don't exactly go to watch the plot. I think Pee-wee/Paul Reuben just got a bad rap because he was involved in a show targeted to kids.
Don't we all Laura? Pee-wee was awesome growing up.