My wife and I traveled to Dallas from Illinois to attend the much-anticipated Dallas 30th Reunion at SouthFork Ranch. Participating in a ticket pre-sale offered a 20% discount, so our $500 tickets cost $400 each. As reported by the news media and other attendees, the $100 ticket holders ended up with the same experience as any of the other ticket holders.
Since I got a $100 experience ($80 with the presale discount), we feel the experience was worth $160 total. We paid $800 total, so I feel an appropriate remedy is to refund me $640.
There were 4 separate price levels with each price level promised more benefits than lower price levels. I'm so glad I didn't pay for $1,000 tickets! Since there was NOTHING to differentiate my experience from a $100 ticket experience, I feel my logic is reasonable.
We only purchased the VIP level to have the "table visit" from the cast, the photo op with the cast and the opportunity to mingle with the cast.
Reserved seating did not exist. There was no apparent "host" or "emcee" for the event and the vast majority of attendees could not hear what was going on in the stage area.
A complete mess! And... Completely avoidable. I don't believe the event organizers intended this outcome, so they aren't intentional crooks. Their obvious incompetence caused this situation and they now need to take personal responsibility for their actions and decisions.
Additionally, it is not clear how much is being donated to charity. I would like to know how much of my ticket price can be claimed on my taxes as a charitable contribution.
The amount of angst this experienced has caused is unreal. I pity those who traveled internationally for this event.
As it is, I purchased VIP tickets, roundtrip airfare, 2 nights hotel accommodations, meals, etc.in Dallas and received very little in return for my investment, especially in light of what was expected due to the Austin Media Group's promises.
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