How completely discouraging it is to have to deal with Ticketmaster nearly every time I want to see a concert. Every time, something goes wrong, or it is impossible to get decent seats. Let me just relate my latest experience.
I was attempting to buy tickets for Robert Plant at the Orpheum in Boston. I logged onto the internet early and was able to submit a ticket request only 3 minutes after the tickets went on sale. I requested only 2 tickets, and they came back with "We are unable to fulfill your request at this time, try entering a smaller amount." 2 tickets 3 minutes after they went on sale? Are you kidding me?
It gets worse. I got offline and attempted to call. Needless to say (if you have tried this before), the call did not go through. Frustrated, I got back online to attempt to buy separate tickets. I requested one ticket and got what seemed to be a pretty decent seat, so I went ahead for another single ticket, and it was better than the last! How does that happen? To make matters even worse, I then attempted to buy 2 tickets, and there were 2 tickets available together, but at the very back of the theatre. Why were these tickets not available earlier?
The final thing, and perhaps the most serious issue I will discuss, is that I am a legally blind person. I have requested special seating (they have that option right on the ordering page with a handicapped symbol) at least a half dozen times now for different shows. Every time, I have gotten the response "There is no special seating available for this show." Two questions: why do they offer it in the first place, and are they not required to have these seats available?
Couple all this with the fact that they sell huge amounts of tickets to ticket scalpers every show, thus making it impossible for the average fan to get a good seat, no matter how long they wait in line (I stopped waiting in line, because you never get a better seat than you can get on the internet anyway, because of the scalpers), and the exorbitant service charges. Does everyone not hate this company? Why is it only Pearl Jam speaks out against them? They are probably the only band left with a conscience, I guess.
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