Poor support from Bicentennial Center

Don't know if this is the place to go or start, but want to let GL's booking agents know what a lousy job the Bicentennial Center is doing in advertising and providing access to tickets for the August 24 Show. Really hope GL is doing a benefit or at least has a guarantee minimum from the Bicentennial Center.

There is no central place to get tickets reliably. Ticketmaster does not handle tickets for this event. They have placed a few tickets in some music stores in selected towns but when attempting to purchase them the music stores will only accept cash or check as "it will cost them to accept credit cards because they are not making any money on the sales." That is if they realize that they even have the tickets.

Tried twice to purchase directly from the Bicentennial Center but management evicently does not trust the 24 hour ticket sales with a seating chart as they could not tell me what was available, want your money but take pot luck on seating. When I attemtpted to purchase tickets at Tom's House of Music, (listed on the Web as a sales site) he did not even know he was selling them, rummaged around in a drawer and found an unopened envelope with the tickets in them then informed me they were only doing it as a favor to Bicentennial Center and did not make money on the tickets so would only accept cash or check.

I live 200 miles away in Garden City, Kansas and really wanted to attend the show, but is such a hassle getting tickets not worth it.

Hope GL has a great show but have my doubts after this experience.

Don't know if this is the place to go or start, but want to let GL's booking agents know what a lousy job the Bicentennial Center is doing in advertising and providing access to tickets for the August 24 Show. Really hope GL is doing a benefit or at least has a guarantee minimum from the Bicentennial Center.

There is no central place to get tickets reliably. Ticketmaster does not handle tickets for this event. They have placed a few tickets in some music stores in selected towns but when attempting to purchase them the music stores will only accept cash or check as "it will cost them to accept credit cards because they are not making any money on the sales." That is if they realize that they even have the tickets.

Tried twice to purchase directly from the Bicentennial Center but management evicently does not trust the 24 hour ticket sales with a seating chart as they could not tell me what was available, want your money but take pot luck on seating. When I attemtpted to purchase tickets at Tom's House of Music, (listed on the Web as a sales site) he did not even know he was selling them, rummaged around in a drawer and found an unopened envelope with the tickets in them then informed me they were only doing it as a favor to Bicentennial Center and did not make money on the tickets so would only accept cash or check.

I live 200 miles away in Garden City, Kansas and really wanted to attend the show, but is such a hassle getting tickets not worth it.

Hope GL has a great show but have my doubts after this experience.

[vlmagee]

Ken - I can understand that you were frustrated by your experience trying to buy tickets. For what it's worth, it is not unheard of to have to buy tickets without knowing where the seats are. I know there was a concert in May like that, and I have friends with seats for Norwalk who may not know where they will sit until they get to the theater! But they are still going.

For my part, I ordered tickets online from Ticketmaster 5 minutes or less after they went on sale (for another GL show). They showed me the seats and I was surprised they weren't in the first or second row. But I took them thinking that somehow a lot of people had gotten in ahead of me.

Well, guess what? Three days later Ticketmaster was selling much better seats - on the other side of the center aisle. And, of course, they wouldn't exchange mine. So, ordering from them is no panacea either! I would think that the 24-hour ordering line for the Bicentennial Center - which does take credit cards - would certainly deliver tickets. It's probably still early enough to get decent seats.

Just my food for thought.

------------------
Valerie Magee

Visit my GL web site at gordonlightfoot.com

[Tom]

Ah . . . finally a topic I'm am an expert on.
Guess what guys, the time for individually selecting your seats is in the past. With modern technology as it is today, there are too many routes a person can choose when ordering tickets. By telephone centers, ticket outlets, over the internet as well as at the venue, and each are vying for the same tickets at the same time. If you're thinking about selecting your tix, especially on the day they go on sale, then you might as well resign yourself to the fact that your tix will more than likely be upstairs somewhere and the people in line behind you are searching for a rope to hang you with. For with each second you're haggling over where to sit, hundreds of seats are being sold via the more than 150 outlets, phone, venue or wherever. And no, there is not a better way in which to purchase. Going to an outlet close to your home may not be the right choice for the simple reason (and I don't mean to offend anyone here) that depending on the type of music, you may have to go out of your respective neighborhoods and into areas where you normally don't go- where the lines will be much shorter. Remember this tip the next time you go buy tix. Also, by going to an outlet, you'll have to take in account that that seller will not- I repeat, will not know the building as well as the seller at the venue. Another tip. Phone sells are the most convenient (and probably most used method) as you press the redial button while laying in bed and reading the newspaper. Those people have no reason to complain about the high service charge. Internet sells are on the increase as more people are getting computer savvy. They do have an advantage whereas there is a seating chart on-line and can pretty much verify approximately where seats are available before purchasing- but like I said before, the longer you wait the better chance of that ticket not being there when you're ready to pay for it. These rules apply to tix being sold through a ticketing agent such as Ticketmaster. As far as better seats being sold on a 2nd or 3rd day after going on sale- it's the way the computer system is set up. They are programmed to bring up the best seats available at the time of the order. Say front row center. The computer will continue to sell seats in that section for 7 or 8 rows (as an example) before moving to the next best section and selling from it. The process continues in that method until all seats are sold.
In the case of Bicentennial Center- they are selling hard tickets which means they are not sold by computer. Each outlet is assigned an alottment of tix on varying prices/locations. The problem with hard tickets is that there will be certain outlets which will always have the better seat selections- it will be up to the customer to find which locations those are. Not the best way to sell tickets IMHO. And apparently Ken is dealing with an additional case if incompetence.
So, since you've all completed Ticket Purchasing 101, is anyone ready for Intermediate Ticketing? (LOL)

[Mary Ann]

Ah . . . finally a topic I'm am an expert on.
Guess what guys, the time for individually selecting your seats is in the past. With modern technology as it is today, there are too many routes a person can choose when ordering tickets. By telephone centers, ticket outlets, over the internet as well as at the venue, and each are vying for the same tickets at the same time. If you're thinking about selecting your tix, especially on the day they go on sale, then you might as well resign yourself to the fact that your tix will more than likely be upstairs somewhere and the people in line behind you are searching for a rope to hang you with. For with each second you're haggling over where to sit, hundreds of seats are being sold via the more than 150 outlets, phone, venue or wherever. And no, there is not a better way in which to purchase. Going to an outlet close to your home may not be the right choice for the simple reason (and I don't mean to offend anyone here) that depending on the type of music, you may have to go out of your respective neighborhoods and into areas where you normally don't go- where the lines will be much shorter. Remember this tip the next time you go buy tix. Also, by going to an outlet, you'll have to take in account that that seller will not- I repeat, will not know the building as well as the seller at the venue. Another tip. Phone sells are the most convenient (and probably most used method) as you press the redial button while laying in bed and reading the newspaper. Those people have no reason to complain about the high service charge. Internet sells are on the increase as more people are getting computer savvy. They do have an advantage whereas there is a seating chart on-line and can pretty much verify approximately where seats are available before purchasing- but like I said before, the longer you wait the better chance of that ticket not being there when you're ready to pay for it. These rules apply to tix being sold through a ticketing agent such as Ticketmaster. As far as better seats being sold on a 2nd or 3rd day after going on sale- it's the way the computer system is set up. They are programmed to bring up the best seats available at the time of the order. Say front row center. The computer will continue to sell seats in that section for 7 or 8 rows (as an example) before moving to the next best section and selling from it. The process continues in that method until all seats are sold.
In the case of Bicentennial Center- they are selling hard tickets which means they are not sold by computer. Each outlet is assigned an alottment of tix on varying prices/locations. The problem with hard tickets is that there will be certain outlets which will always have the better seat selections- it will be up to the customer to find which locations those are. Not the best way to sell tickets IMHO. And apparently Ken is dealing with an additional case if incompetence.
So, since you've all completed Ticket Purchasing 101, is anyone ready for Intermediate Ticketing? (LOL)

[charlene]

And don't forget that mot of the best seats are bought by scalpers! Then you get to deal with them if you really want good seats! It is a terrible problem up here and I resent everyone of those jerks. Guys like Billy Joel and Garth Brooks try to ease the scalping thing a bit by not having the first 10-20 rows for sale through the ticket agency or venue. They are sold randomly at record stores and given as prizes sorts of things.
I HATE scalpers!!! They stand right beside the ticket lineups and sell them!!! It makes it impossible to get even half way decent seats for people I have really wanted to see, so I didn't go. When a mid-range seat is 65.00 and the scalper wants double it cuts into my pocket book too deep!!
Char

[charlene]

And don't forget that mot of the best seats are bought by scalpers! Then you get to deal with them if you really want good seats! It is a terrible problem up here and I resent everyone of those jerks. Guys like Billy Joel and Garth Brooks try to ease the scalping thing a bit by not having the first 10-20 rows for sale through the ticket agency or venue. They are sold randomly at record stores and given as prizes sorts of things.
I HATE scalpers!!! They stand right beside the ticket lineups and sell them!!! It makes it impossible to get even half way decent seats for people I have really wanted to see, so I didn't go. When a mid-range seat is 65.00 and the scalper wants double it cuts into my pocket book too deep!!
Char

[vlmagee]

Well, in the case of the concert I bought tickets for, the front row center - both sides of the aisle - went to devoted fans who thanked me for the "heads up" on the concert going on sale. At least one of them bought tickets way after I did; possibly both of them as they wrote me days later. I am happy for them, and glad that scalpers were not involved, but I am very disappointed in my seats and probably will not go. When the other side of the aisle went on sale, I could have bought four additional tickets. I missed the most center ones, but could have taken the ones right next to them. Excellent seats. But I was too angry to do that, and even the next day when I tried to exchange the tickets (customer service is only open from 9 to 5 EDT), the seats were still excellent - 2nd row, almost at the aisle. When they refused to exchange them, I decided that I was not going to buy more tickets.

I am almost sorry that I post all the information at my web site, and send out e-mails too. I thought about keeping it to myself until after I bought tickets, but I am not that sort of person. I wouldn't have minded a few people getting in ahead of me, if I had gotten what I know was still available when I did order.

On other concerts - the really big ones - you are right about scalpers or radio station giveaways. But you can't count on those (often you don't know if there will even be one), so you buy what you can get. Many times it is dreadful seats, way up in the second balcony or worse. And this, when you order when tickets go on sale (assuming you get in, of course).

My son wanted to see Billy Joel. The first time, there were NO tickets left when we finally got through (dialing constantly, and two of us doing it on four phone lines). For that concert, we later bought a ticket from a fan who couldn't go. At face value. There are nice people left in this world. The other time, my husband did the "dial Ticketmaster" chore. He got in about 15 minutes after the tickets went on sale, and got seats in the nosebleed section. The concert was great; Billy even did his GL imitation. But I didn't like seeing all those tickets for auction at Ebay. They may have cracked down on scalping now, but the scalpers have lots of other outlets.

------------------
Valerie Magee

Visit my GL web site at gordonlightfoot.com

[Tom]

You don't have to tell me about scalpers . . . they are a ligitimate ticket sellers worst nightmare! We have laws stating that scalpers aren't allowed within a certain footage of the box office, however getting a police officer to actually enforce the law is another matter. And when they DO enforce it, the courts let the scalpers off with a slap on the wrist and before you know it, they are right back at it again. And to actually sell a scalper a ticket really gets my goat. We can't refuse to sell them a ticket, but we sure as h--- can give them the worst seat available- which I have done on numerous occassions!!! But what's even more frustrating are the ticket brokers who will employee individuals to stand in line (and you can bet they will be the first 10 people in line at any number of outlets) and collect huge amounts of prime seats. These are the seats that are sold over the internet via e-bay et al for exhorbitant prices. And yet this type of scalping is considered legal. It makes no sense to me- but there are people out there who will pay these prices, leaving fans without deep pockets stuck with seats in the ozone level. It doesn't seem fair, does it?

[Mary Ann]

You don't have to tell me about scalpers . . . they are a ligitimate ticket sellers worst nightmare! We have laws stating that scalpers aren't allowed within a certain footage of the box office, however getting a police officer to actually enforce the law is another matter. And when they DO enforce it, the courts let the scalpers off with a slap on the wrist and before you know it, they are right back at it again. And to actually sell a scalper a ticket really gets my goat. We can't refuse to sell them a ticket, but we sure as h--- can give them the worst seat available- which I have done on numerous occassions!!! But what's even more frustrating are the ticket brokers who will employee individuals to stand in line (and you can bet they will be the first 10 people in line at any number of outlets) and collect huge amounts of prime seats. These are the seats that are sold over the internet via e-bay et al for exhorbitant prices. And yet this type of scalping is considered legal. It makes no sense to me- but there are people out there who will pay these prices, leaving fans without deep pockets stuck with seats in the ozone level. It doesn't seem fair, does it?