More reasons to love Ticketmaster
Update 6/27: Ticketmaster sent me a password since I am a member of their Backstage Access thing. And this morning after “your wait is 6 minutes, your wait is 2 minutes, your wait is 8 minutes, your wait is 15 minutes, your wait is 6 minutes,” I got some decent seats. The Ticketmaster lady was fired for not knowing basic facts about the company she works for. Oh wait, that was just a dream
I wish I had taped this to send into Consumerist, but I didn’t since I was at work. And still am, unfortunately. Anyway, I just had the following conversation with a telephone rep at Ticketmaster:
me: So I am on your website looking at the screen for The Cure at Madison Square Garden on 9/23 and it has a pre-sale listed but it doesn’t say what I need to have access to the pre-sale.
she: The tickets go on sale Wednesday morning so you should find out then.
me: But what if I don’t? I don’t want to wake up, get to the computer and find I can’t get in and miss it. So do you know what I would need?
she: You would need a password.
me: But where do I get a password?
she: You would find that information on the event page. Go to ticketmaster.com and-
me: But I just told you, I started the conversation by saying, “I am on the web page and that information isn’t listed.”
she: Well you would need to find that information.
me: But where?
she: On the web page.
me: Could you look at the web page I am looking at? Where is that information?
(pause)
she: You would need to get the password.
me: WHERE?
she: On the radio or on the Internet
me: (incredulous) On the radio or on the Internet? The Internet’s pretty big, where do you think I should start?
she: Ma’am, all I can tell you is that you need to find the password on the radio or on the Internet.
Me: But surely you realize that’s just crazy to advise me to do that?
She: All I can tell you is to try a radio station or on the Internet
me: So you suggest I should just do a search under “pre-sale?”
she: Uh, a search? All I can tell you is-
me: But don’t you think that that’s bizarre? That you, Ticketmaster, cannot tell me how to get access to a Ticketmaster pre-sale?
she: All I-
me: I am asking you as a human being, don’t you think that’s just insane?
she: No, I don’t
me: Can I speak to a supervisor?
she: Ma’am, all I can tell you is that you will need to get a password from the radio or from the Internet.
me: Great, thanks a bunch.
click
I did check that whole “Internet” thing she suggested despite the fact that I got the distinct feeling she didn’t really know what the Internet was, (I had tried the thecure.com before Ticketmaster, so don’t even suggest it) and it looks like the pre-sale is through Optimum Online. Which I don’t have. Fat Bob, if you’re listening, don’t treat your fans this way. Do better next time.
Anyone know a Google for “radio stations?”
All the info a person could need, apparently.
HI, CHECK THE SITE BELOW. THEY SHOULD HAVE WHAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ChainofFlowers/news.htm
Ladies and gentlemen, I would just like to alert you to the fact that you’re never alone when you’re a Cure fan. Thank you, charlottesometimes!
I am glad you got help. But I have to admit I have not seen the word “compuserve” in quite some time.
I know this is about you getting your tickets, and I hope you got (get?) them, but I have to give you props for asking the rep exactly what goes through my mind so often in customer service dealings (yet I never have the nerve to say): “I am asking you as a human being, don’t you think that’s just insane?”
I hope you got your tickets Becca. I’d love to see them live.
Guess I could take a road trip to Chicago…
Mid, ha! I noticed that too. Man, that takes me back.
Julia, I am convinced that CS reps are not, in fact, human, which is why they can’t answer this question.
Carole Anne, you should! They put on a great show.
And now for the update! OK, so the link charlottesometimes provided was for a guy who runs an e-mail list for info. He sent me an e-mail with… the same stuff I already knew. But it seemed promising in terms of getting the password before the pre-sale tomorrow (6/27).
But now I don’t need it! Because Ticketmaster just sent me the pre-sale password as I am a member of their site. Gosh, that would have been nice for the Ticketmaster rep to know and pass onto me, wouldn’t it? So although I am greatly relieved, I am so befuddled at the utter lack of competence at TM that it’s slightly dulled. And, of course, I still have to get online tomorrow and hope I get tickets.
That Ticketmaster rep is really missing a bet. She should chuck working in a call center and get a job in politics. That was a first-rate job of staying on message.
Re: the update: So Ticketmaster gave you a password that enabled you to travel back and forth through time? That almost makes up for their rotten customer service.
Man, I’m sorry I missed this post earlier. I would have suggested that you try “password” or “6969” or “1234”, because almost every user on my network uses one of those 3 passwords.
So was it one of those?
Its not required of ticketmaster representitives to pass out presale passwords. Passwords are usually from the Venue, the promoter or a bands fan club. The backstage access password you received had nothing to do with ticketmaster. that is a MSG promotions company that emailed the password…the ticketmaster rep probably didn’t even have that password. You should be more resourceful. There are lots of websites and blogs dedicated to giving away free passwords, and I bet the cure password is on all of them…in fact – here is one now:
[redacted]
TM was right, you should look around on the internet instead of trying to talk someone in to giving out a password they don’t have access to. Cheers!
Sarpon, it more felt like I was in an alternate universe.
Jane, close! Alas it was BABIGSHOW. That would have been my next guess. But 6969, I’m using that next time.
James, I’ve edited your post of all the passwords so that I don’t have searchers coming from all over for them. However, you are incorrect in that although the e-mail did come from MSG, MSG does not have my info, Ticketmaster does. Thus, it was Ticketmaster who directed them to send it to me. Note the wording:
As a member of Backstage Access, you can purchase tickets TOMORROW, June 27 at 10:00AM through 10:00PM before the tickets go on sale to the general public on June 28 at 9:00AM.
I signed up for Backstage Access through Ticketmaster so I’m guessing they run it. Is it really too much to ask that a person who works for Ticketmaster might know that they have a special membership that allows you access to passwords?
As well, read carefully, I did look around the Internet. But I wouldn’t have had to if Ticketmaster trained their reps in their own policies.
Here is the backstage access information. Its very simple, and its like this with most all large venues.
http://www.thegarden.com/newsletter_about.html
You can sign up for a newsletter for American Airlines Arena in Dallas and receive passwords from them for presales at their venue. MSG is no different. Ticketmaster only sells the tickets – they just provide the service…msg and backstage access pay ticketmaster to sell tickets for them and they provide tm with the password they want tm to put into their system. There is no way Ticketmaster is making up all the presale passwords that float around these days. Every password I posted came from different sources. Mostly the venues in which the event is to take place.
I do think ticketmaster customer service sucks and I’ve had plenty of problems with them. I’m just sure that Ticketmaster would not set up presale passwords and have people calling the customer service line to ask for them. That just costs them money.
Oh, I didn’t say they were providing the passwords. But it wouldn’t have been hard for her to say, “have you tried the venue?” I mean, if you can tell me all that, she should have been able to as well.
But I think I should clarify the post in general. One, as all my posts are, it was just to poke harmless fun, not make a serious case about things. Of course I’m going to try the Internet; my life is spent on the Internet, I wake up Googling my slippers. I just thought it was hysterical to suggest it. Imagine if AT&T did customer service that way: “I don’t know, try the Internet.”
And two, one of the reasons I posted this was to be resourceful. I got a ticket to see the Deftones last year from a stranger by posting “I need a Deftones ticket.” Every hour since I posted this brings people who have never been here before but were Googling regarding Cure tickets. One of them pointed me in a potentially good direction. And I’d wager that’s how you got here too.
I’m just happy you got your tickets. I heard the Cure this morning and thought of you. YaY!
WTF?? I check out ticketmaster and there are TWO dates scheduled nationally…. MSG and some palce in BOULDER?? You’re joking, right? What’s a girl in the South got to do to see the show? (And no, I’m not moving to NYC or Boulder, at least not yet…..)
ETA: Okay, so I actually USED the internet and found the rest of the tour… but damn – no New Orleans… no Memphis??? No love!
I smell road trip!
I once lost a toy airplane, my favorite sock, and three baseball cards all in the same day. Guess where I found them? Yup The Internet.
Is there anything The Internet can’t do? Wait, I’m going to Google that.