So I got an e-mail via my website from the Executive Customer Care Manager at StubHub, who I'm guessing has a Google Blogs notification that pings her when StubHub gets mentioned in a blog. She asked me to call her, which I thought was cool, considering that I had nothing good to say about StubHub in my earlier post, wherein I described my Great George Michael Ripoff.
Long story short, she apologized for StubHub's mistake (though it was really a long series of mistakes by person after person over five days that left me out $200+ in tickets) and credited me $100 at StubHub for a future purchase.
I wasn't expecting to get anything, and didn't ask for anything, so it's certainly better than a poke in the eye. Not sure I'll use the credit, though. I mean, someone would have to be able to properly LIST their tix first, right? And you can almost never get concert or baseball tickets for two people for $100, which means I'd have to shell out more $$ in order to use the $100. AND...if there's a problem, I'm not too keen on calling to get it fixed (though everyone I talked to was nice, no one actually fixed my problem. Which is a problem.) So we'll see.
Later today (or as soon as I get a chance!): An update on all that happened in San Francisco. Great pics to come!
Showing posts with label StubHub. Show all posts
Showing posts with label StubHub. Show all posts
Monday, August 4, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
StubHub Can Kiss My...
business goodbye. Not that they care. I mean, I'm one person. But let me warn you: If you try to sell event tickets with them, you may get screwed. Consider going elsewhere.
Normally, I'm not a ticket seller. I don't buy tickets just to resell...I buy if I want to go. As many of you know from an earlier blog, I snagged George Michael tix back in May. I was soooo happy...the guy hasn't been to the US in seventeen years, and I'm a die-hard fan. (Laugh all you want. I do not care.)
But then I found out the Red Sox were playing the Yankees at the EXACT same time, and my husband already bought us tickets. Luckily, the Sox changed the game time to 1:05 pm, so I thought I was safe...until last week, when they changed game time right back to 8:05 pm, exactly the same time George hits the stage. On top of that, the friend who'd planned to go with me couldn't make it, and neither could my backup George Michael fan. Talk about heartbreaking! But since I obviously can't be in two places at once, and I had someone to go with me to baseball, but not to see George, off to StubHub I went, boo-hooing all the way.
I listed the tickets, but they were only up for two days before the "last minute" deadline crept up, which means you have to re-list using StubHub's Last Minute Services, which the site says is "quick and easy!" Well, here's the dirty truth about their Last Minute Services: It's not even StubHub who runs it. You sign up, tell them where your tix are, and they say they'll get back to you within 48 hours to give you a code to re-list the tickets. (And many places on the site even say within 24 hours. But we'll go with the 48, just to give them the benefit of the doubt.) Did I get contacted in those 48 hours? Nope. And repeated calls to customer service after the 48 hours were up didn't help. The first guy said he saw my request in the system, said I should've already been called or e-mailed, and promised to fix it "right away." No e-mail or call back. The next day I called again. A woman in customer service said, "My supervisor's right here...we'll get this fixed and call you back in 30 - 40 minutes. I'm so sorry this is happening!" Three hours later...nothing. So I call again, and the guy I get in customer service says, "Oh, Last Minute Services doesn't have to call you back. It's optional."
HUH? What happened to "quick and easy" or "24 hours" or even "48 hours"?
Nowhere on the site does it say that. And in the meantime, you check off a box that says you will not sell the tix elsewhere. In other words: you're giving them the right to sell your tickets...but they may or may not even let you LIST them. And you can't go elsewhere. Like to (hint, hint) Ace Tickets. Or, say, turn them over to TicketMaster for a possible re-sale to someone who really wants to see George Michael.
So finally, LAST NIGHT, less than 24 hours before the concert, I get an e-mail with the address to which I must send the tickets so they can be listed for sale. I send the PDF *exactly* as requested within two minutes of receiving the e-mail. An hour later, they send back an e-mail saying it's not a PDF. So I re-send, IMMEDIATELY, and make it clear that it's a PDF of the tickets. No response. No password or code or whatever to allow me to list them for sale now that they have the PDF. And when I called back this morning, they said, "We can't help you."
So I have NO tickets. NO listing. NO money. NO one to contact.
StubHub, you can kiss my...well, you know. (And if whoever at StubHub or Last Minute Services got my PDF file sits in my seats, or gives 'em to their buddies, StubHub, you are SO gonna hear it.)
George, I hope it's a WONDERFUL concert. I'd never sell your tix if I could make it. And I'll never, ever deal with StubHub again.
Normally, I'm not a ticket seller. I don't buy tickets just to resell...I buy if I want to go. As many of you know from an earlier blog, I snagged George Michael tix back in May. I was soooo happy...the guy hasn't been to the US in seventeen years, and I'm a die-hard fan. (Laugh all you want. I do not care.)
But then I found out the Red Sox were playing the Yankees at the EXACT same time, and my husband already bought us tickets. Luckily, the Sox changed the game time to 1:05 pm, so I thought I was safe...until last week, when they changed game time right back to 8:05 pm, exactly the same time George hits the stage. On top of that, the friend who'd planned to go with me couldn't make it, and neither could my backup George Michael fan. Talk about heartbreaking! But since I obviously can't be in two places at once, and I had someone to go with me to baseball, but not to see George, off to StubHub I went, boo-hooing all the way.
I listed the tickets, but they were only up for two days before the "last minute" deadline crept up, which means you have to re-list using StubHub's Last Minute Services, which the site says is "quick and easy!" Well, here's the dirty truth about their Last Minute Services: It's not even StubHub who runs it. You sign up, tell them where your tix are, and they say they'll get back to you within 48 hours to give you a code to re-list the tickets. (And many places on the site even say within 24 hours. But we'll go with the 48, just to give them the benefit of the doubt.) Did I get contacted in those 48 hours? Nope. And repeated calls to customer service after the 48 hours were up didn't help. The first guy said he saw my request in the system, said I should've already been called or e-mailed, and promised to fix it "right away." No e-mail or call back. The next day I called again. A woman in customer service said, "My supervisor's right here...we'll get this fixed and call you back in 30 - 40 minutes. I'm so sorry this is happening!" Three hours later...nothing. So I call again, and the guy I get in customer service says, "Oh, Last Minute Services doesn't have to call you back. It's optional."
HUH? What happened to "quick and easy" or "24 hours" or even "48 hours"?
Nowhere on the site does it say that. And in the meantime, you check off a box that says you will not sell the tix elsewhere. In other words: you're giving them the right to sell your tickets...but they may or may not even let you LIST them. And you can't go elsewhere. Like to (hint, hint) Ace Tickets. Or, say, turn them over to TicketMaster for a possible re-sale to someone who really wants to see George Michael.
So finally, LAST NIGHT, less than 24 hours before the concert, I get an e-mail with the address to which I must send the tickets so they can be listed for sale. I send the PDF *exactly* as requested within two minutes of receiving the e-mail. An hour later, they send back an e-mail saying it's not a PDF. So I re-send, IMMEDIATELY, and make it clear that it's a PDF of the tickets. No response. No password or code or whatever to allow me to list them for sale now that they have the PDF. And when I called back this morning, they said, "We can't help you."
So I have NO tickets. NO listing. NO money. NO one to contact.
StubHub, you can kiss my...well, you know. (And if whoever at StubHub or Last Minute Services got my PDF file sits in my seats, or gives 'em to their buddies, StubHub, you are SO gonna hear it.)
George, I hope it's a WONDERFUL concert. I'd never sell your tix if I could make it. And I'll never, ever deal with StubHub again.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Weekend in Denver
Remember how I said tickets on Stubhub to the Rockies NLCS games at Coors Field were so much less expensive than trying to get seats to see the Red Sox here at Fenway? Well....I ended up cashing in the frequent flyer miles, hitting up my parents for a place to stay (thanks, Mom & Dad!) and flying to Colorado to see Sunday night's game three. Total cost, including four tickets thirty-one rows behind the Rockies dugout, road tolls and airport parking? About $900. An equivalent seat at Fenway--one seat--will set you back the same amount or more.
As you might guess, I had a blast. Took this shot of the water-soaked field between innings with my cell phone, as the grounds crew worked to add layers of dry dirt to the base paths:
They did a great job given the constant rain. I lucked out, seating-wise. We were exactly two rows under the awning. The D-back fans two rows in front of us got soaked, we stayed (mostly) dry. My flight home yesterday got me in at 12:33 ET, meaning I had to race home to see the bottom of the eighth and top of the ninth inning of game four...and wow, was it worth it! Any team that can win twenty-one out of twenty-two games deserves to go to the big show. On top of that, they won an amazing seven straight postseason games, have a likely Rookie of the Year in Troy Tulowitzki, a possible Cy Young winner in Jeff Francis, and a (please, please, please) National League MVP in Matt Holliday.
Congrats, Rockies! Can't wait to see the World Series played in Colorado (hopefully without snow!)
As you might guess, I had a blast. Took this shot of the water-soaked field between innings with my cell phone, as the grounds crew worked to add layers of dry dirt to the base paths:
They did a great job given the constant rain. I lucked out, seating-wise. We were exactly two rows under the awning. The D-back fans two rows in front of us got soaked, we stayed (mostly) dry. My flight home yesterday got me in at 12:33 ET, meaning I had to race home to see the bottom of the eighth and top of the ninth inning of game four...and wow, was it worth it! Any team that can win twenty-one out of twenty-two games deserves to go to the big show. On top of that, they won an amazing seven straight postseason games, have a likely Rookie of the Year in Troy Tulowitzki, a possible Cy Young winner in Jeff Francis, and a (please, please, please) National League MVP in Matt Holliday.
Congrats, Rockies! Can't wait to see the World Series played in Colorado (hopefully without snow!)
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Two Interviews, A Website, and Those Yankees
I'll attack the last part first. I saw a news poll on one of Boston's television stations yesterday afternoon that said 71% of Red Sox fans wanted to have the Sox face the Cleveland Indians in the American League Championship Series, rather than face the New York Yankees. After last night's game, they're getting their wish. But I have to wonder why they felt this way. IMO, either team would be tough. I was just hoping the series between the Yankees and the Indians would go the full five games so the advancing team would be tired before arriving in Boston.
Last StubHub check: cheapest tix to the Boston/Cleveland game are running $293 for the nosebleed section of the bleachers. A good seat near the action is running $2718.
On the other hand, the cheapest tix to the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks first playoff game start at $40. Not great seats, but still. What a price differential. I think I could almost get the airfare out west and a game ticket for what it'd cost me to get one ticket to see the Sox. Insane.
However, I have tres coolio news! First, I e-mailed the revisions on my upcoming novella, Last Stand, to my editor this morning. (Did ya hear the woot-woot sounds?! LOVE when I have a project wrapped!)
Second, Joy Siegel of Working Palms Radio Magazine in South Florida has asked to do an interview with me. It will air down there on the following stations:
WLVJ - 1040AM
WFTL - 850AM
WMEN - 640AM
WFLL - 1400AM
As soon as I know the exact dates and times, I'll post 'em here. I'm also doing an interview with the fantastic Cynthia Leitich Smith for her popular Cynsations blog. Again, as soon as I know the exact date the interview goes live, I'll post it here.
Speaking of live, you've gotta check out Lynda Sandoval's new website, which re-launched today. I think it's one of the best I've ever seen. (And if you haven't read Lynda's books yet--either for teens or for adults--you're missing out.)
And a P.S.: Thanks to everyone who e-mailed me to tell me that Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper IS a seasonal release (I'll stock up next year!) and that Diet Cherry Coke is not. I'll go hunting for that Diet Cherry Coke now and hope they don't replace it with Cherry Coke Zero, which is way too sweet for me.
Last StubHub check: cheapest tix to the Boston/Cleveland game are running $293 for the nosebleed section of the bleachers. A good seat near the action is running $2718.
On the other hand, the cheapest tix to the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks first playoff game start at $40. Not great seats, but still. What a price differential. I think I could almost get the airfare out west and a game ticket for what it'd cost me to get one ticket to see the Sox. Insane.
However, I have tres coolio news! First, I e-mailed the revisions on my upcoming novella, Last Stand, to my editor this morning. (Did ya hear the woot-woot sounds?! LOVE when I have a project wrapped!)
Second, Joy Siegel of Working Palms Radio Magazine in South Florida has asked to do an interview with me. It will air down there on the following stations:
WLVJ - 1040AM
WFTL - 850AM
WMEN - 640AM
WFLL - 1400AM
As soon as I know the exact dates and times, I'll post 'em here. I'm also doing an interview with the fantastic Cynthia Leitich Smith for her popular Cynsations blog. Again, as soon as I know the exact date the interview goes live, I'll post it here.
Speaking of live, you've gotta check out Lynda Sandoval's new website, which re-launched today. I think it's one of the best I've ever seen. (And if you haven't read Lynda's books yet--either for teens or for adults--you're missing out.)
And a P.S.: Thanks to everyone who e-mailed me to tell me that Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper IS a seasonal release (I'll stock up next year!) and that Diet Cherry Coke is not. I'll go hunting for that Diet Cherry Coke now and hope they don't replace it with Cherry Coke Zero, which is way too sweet for me.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
You Know You're A Writer When...
You know you're a writer when you have an entire conversation with your keyboard as you're doing a post-book deadline cleaning.
Me, prying off the space bar with a letter opener: You're disgusting!
Innocent Apple keyboard, speaking in my head: It's your fault. You're not supposed to eat while you work.
Me: Book wouldn't get written otherwise.
Keyboard: But chocolate rice cakes? That's sticky. And crumbly. I don't like the way the fluffy parts feel when they're lodged under my F-D-S-A keys. (And have you checked the option keys at the bottom?)
Me, prying off option keys: Oh, yuck! What's the green?
Keyboard: You tell me.
Me: Hey! Where'd the D key go? You throw it somewhere?
Keyboard: You flipped it across the room when you used the letter opener to pry it off, idiot girl.
Yep, I officially have a wild imagination. I also have a clean keyboard now, which means it's no longer talking to me.
If you can't tell, I'm a tad loopy after staying up late Sunday night to give my novella one final read-through, then staying up again last night to watch the Rockies and Padres game. I missed with my 7-5 Rockies prediction; the game (finally) ended in thirteen innnings with the Rockies winning 9-8. There was a blown home run call in there, as well as a questionable home plate tag at the end. But all in all, a fabulous, hard-fought game--the kind baseball fans love to watch.
I feel awful for Padres fans...the team looked great for a long time, and to have a slow slide at the end (and then lose in a tiebreaker) is disheartening. But I do think they'll be back strong next year. (Have faith, Padre fans!)
In the meantime...I looked up seat prices for the upcoming Red Sox games on StubHub. You could sit down near the field this Friday night if you were willing to shell out somewhere in the neighborhood of $3500 a ticket. Twenty-four hours ago, those same seats were $1280. Talk about inflation.
Me, prying off the space bar with a letter opener: You're disgusting!
Innocent Apple keyboard, speaking in my head: It's your fault. You're not supposed to eat while you work.
Me: Book wouldn't get written otherwise.
Keyboard: But chocolate rice cakes? That's sticky. And crumbly. I don't like the way the fluffy parts feel when they're lodged under my F-D-S-A keys. (And have you checked the option keys at the bottom?)
Me, prying off option keys: Oh, yuck! What's the green?
Keyboard: You tell me.
Me: Hey! Where'd the D key go? You throw it somewhere?
Keyboard: You flipped it across the room when you used the letter opener to pry it off, idiot girl.
Yep, I officially have a wild imagination. I also have a clean keyboard now, which means it's no longer talking to me.
If you can't tell, I'm a tad loopy after staying up late Sunday night to give my novella one final read-through, then staying up again last night to watch the Rockies and Padres game. I missed with my 7-5 Rockies prediction; the game (finally) ended in thirteen innnings with the Rockies winning 9-8. There was a blown home run call in there, as well as a questionable home plate tag at the end. But all in all, a fabulous, hard-fought game--the kind baseball fans love to watch.
I feel awful for Padres fans...the team looked great for a long time, and to have a slow slide at the end (and then lose in a tiebreaker) is disheartening. But I do think they'll be back strong next year. (Have faith, Padre fans!)
In the meantime...I looked up seat prices for the upcoming Red Sox games on StubHub. You could sit down near the field this Friday night if you were willing to shell out somewhere in the neighborhood of $3500 a ticket. Twenty-four hours ago, those same seats were $1280. Talk about inflation.
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