(01-22-2005) U2.com Members Only Entitled to One Show -- Interference.com*

[Roland of Gilead]

Propaganda...

A subscription of $40 IIRC. And for the tour you could get 2 tickets for a single show. You filled in the form you had (with a possible second or third choice) and mailed it too them. Then there was a long wait, for which you didn't know whether or not you actually had the tickets. Then you saw on your credit card statement that they had taken your money, but you didn't know for which concert. Finally, a few weeks before the actual date you got mail from them and saw the tickets you ordered.

Yes, let's go back to those days!

Add that to the fact that if moved, well then, those tickets just might never arrive.

 

[Popmartijn]

And of course you never knew exactly where your seat were.

 

[mikal]

i'm amazed at how spoiled some people can be.

 

[Popmartijn]

i'm amazed at how spoiled some people can be.

This is the Internet age, you know. Everything has to be available instantly to everyone. And for free. Look at the MP3 forum here, how many are asking for commercially available recordings (which they want to download, but not pay for them). And how the reactions are when there are audience recordings of a concert. And now how concert sales are.



Marty

 

[mofo82]

a question to all the haters on this forum, did you people buy the memberships?

did you understand that you could only buy presale tickets to one show?

where did you see in clear writing that the limit was one show?

In the past, members could get presale tickets to a few shows, well worth the price of a membership for any band. Now you must pay $40 to get LESS chances, and previous members still haven't been attended to/ sent info/ charged correctly for their purchases/ recieved their items.

How is this spoiled? It's a fair complaint

 

[Evalicious]

i'm amazed at how spoiled some people can be.

it´s sad, really

 

[reneedo]

Touring with U2

Hey people, I've been posting this everywhere so people know they have options if they want to see U2 in more than one city:
I double-checked the ETS tour company that U2 usually uses, and once again they'll be supplying people with help getting to venues around the world. They were a godsend to me 2 tours ago, and my seats were good. Here's the link: http://www.etsys.com/
You can use it as a back-up plan. Hello to everyone from Toronto!

 

[jet_jaguar72]

geez, the info on U2.com ALWAYS said it was for one show. If you don't want to sign up, don't. No one is forcing you. Basically, as stated before you pay an extra 20 bucks per ticket for a better seat. sounds good to me!
I have no idea where all this "u2 is selling out" business is coming from. Last I checked, they always charged for records, concert tickets, merchandise, etc...
U2 is a band that makes music GREAT music and happens to charge for it like all sucessful bands and I have no problem with supporting them as long as the music is still top notch!

 

[mofo82]

I feel very fortunate to have the things I have, live the way I do and to be blessed for those things. I also believe that I have the right to know what I am entitled to as a paying customer no matter where I go. That's everyone's right, or at least it should be. If anyone here on this forum came to where I worked and wanted to have a clear explanation of what they'd recieve for their money, I'd tell them straight up. Why can't U2.com/ Fanfire do that?

With all of that said, does that make it right for a mulit-million dollar business to take advantage of its paying customers by waiting til the last minute to finally come clear with the ordering information?

 

[mofo82]

geez, the info on U2.com ALWAYS said it was for one show. If you don't want to sign up, don't. No one is forcing you. Basically, as stated before you pay an extra 20 bucks per ticket for a better seat. sounds good to me!

\

I called Fanfire, who is in charge of the memberships, to ask and make sure before I ordered, exactly how many shows was I limited to getting presale tickets for. They said no limit on the number of shows, just a limit on how many tickets per show. I made sure of this so I wouldn't get ripped off, and it still happened. Who's fault is that?

 

[starsgoblue]

a question to all the haters on this forum, did you people buy the memberships?

did you understand that you could only buy presale tickets to one show?

where did you see in clear writing that the limit was one show?

In the past, members could get presale tickets to a few shows, well worth the price of a membership for any band. Now you must pay $40 to get LESS chances, and previous members still haven't been attended to/ sent info/ charged correctly for their purchases/ recieved their items.

How is this spoiled? It's a fair complaint

Kev...I hate to say it but I'm not with you on this one. I DID buy a membership and I DID know it was limited to one show. I figured paying 20 bucks extras per ticket to get good tickets for a show was a good deal. It gives me an edge over the casual U2 fan buying tickets to that same show a week later. As for going to other shows...well I'll have to do what everyone else does. But I could justify the additional 20 dollars per ticket to ensure I have a kickass concert experience. All the other concerts following will be major bonuses for me.

Also, I think it can be difficult to step back here and get some perspective. We are all here on Interference because we are major fans...we do things most others might not. Because we are all uber-foccused on tickets I think we're getting a bit frenzied that everyone else here, on top of "outsiders", are all going to be scooping up tix to all the shows we're individually planning on going---I hope I worded that right. Yes, this is going to be a stressful next couple of days but I feel slightly more comforted I have a weeks jump on most people.

I am just feeling blessed to be able to go to a show at all....most likely a total of two or three. I feel very lucky.

 

[isabelle_guns]

Thank god I didn't subscribe to U2.com and that does blow chunks 'cause the Pearl Jam and Bowie fan club allows you to buy as many shows as you want on their pre-sale.

 

[Hallelujah Here She Comes]

a question to all the haters on this forum, did you people buy the memberships?

Yes.

did you understand that you could only buy presale tickets to one show?

Yes.

There might be two ways to read this, I admit. One is that you get two tickets for any single indoor show or 4 tickets to any single outdoor show. The other is that you can get 2 tickets to every indoor show and 4 tickets to every outdoor show. But that hasn't ever been the case, even with Prop, so I'm not sure why anyone would think it would be so this time. And, really, how would that even work? There wouldn't be remotely enough tickets to go around in that case.

Originally posted by mofo82
In the past, members could get presale tickets to a few shows, well worth the price of a membership for any band. Now you must pay $40 to get LESS chances, and previous members still haven't been attended to/ sent info/ charged correctly for their purchases/ recieved their items.

Now, that second part about previous members getting screwed is a valid complaint (and one that I share). And I wouldn't necessarily call complaints about the price of the membership spoiled. It is kind of a lot for what you're getting. But, to me, it's always been pretty clear what I actually am getting.

 

[Popmartijn]

a question to all the haters on this forum, did you people buy the memberships?

did you understand that you could only buy presale tickets to one show?

where did you see in clear writing that the limit was one show?

In the past, members could get presale tickets to a few shows, well worth the price of a membership for any band. Now you must pay $40 to get LESS chances, and previous members still haven't been attended to/ sent info/ charged correctly for their purchases/ recieved their items.

How is this spoiled? It's a fair complaint

I am not a hater, but I will answer your question anyway.

Yes, I understood that I could only buy presale tickets to one show.
The U2.com member subscription FAQ said the following:

Priority ticketing for the 2005 tour. You will be able to buy two tickets for any indoor U2 show or four tickets for any outdoor U2 show during your membership term.

Notice that it says 'any', not 'every' or even 'every one you want', but 'any'. So that would mean any one show you wanted, but only one.

In the past it was also for one show, but less secure and organised. You know, even then previous members still haven't been attended to/ sent info/ charged correctly for their purchases/ recieved their items.



Marty

 

[mofo82]

I'm not saying that the U2 membership should let you buy tickets to every concert either. I am a rational person. I understand limits are necesary to avoid scalping and other fraud, but 1 show? There's over 100 shows on this tour. at the least, on average 20,000 seats per show. A limit of 2 tickets to 1 show? Then don't charge the freakin $40. That's all profit to them.

I really believe that any business that starts charging more $ for any service should also make the right steps to take care of its core of customers. They haven't. Just look at the numbers of unhappy people on this forum. Bad business in my opinion.

 

[Hallelujah Here She Comes]

\

I called Fanfire, who is in charge of the memberships, to ask and make sure before I ordered, exactly how many shows was I limited to getting presale tickets for. They said no limit on the number of shows, just a limit on how many tickets per show. I made sure of this so I wouldn't get ripped off, and it still happened. Who's fault is that?

That's fanfire's fault. And completely retarded. Some idiot at fanfire (they seem to have an abundance of those there) misinterpreted the policy, but the actual policy never changed. I would be angry, too, if I were you. But at fanfire, not U2. It's not Bono's fault some dumbass at fanfire spoke without actually knowing what they were talking about.

 

[mofo82]

I am not a hater, but I will answer your question anyway.

Yes, I understood that I could only buy presale tickets to one show.
The U2.com member subscription FAQ said the following:


Notice that it says 'any', not 'every' or even 'every one you want', but 'any'. So that would mean any one show you wanted, but only one.

In the past it was also for one show, but less secure and organised. You know, even then previous members still haven't been attended to/ sent info/ charged correctly for their purchases/ recieved their items.



Marty

Marty,

I didn't mean any personal attack by the haters comment, but when someone says they used common sense and didn't buy the membership, they are implying that those who did buy the membership DIDN'T have or use common sense. I'm not cool with that.

And in regards to the wording of U2's ticket policy, the phrase 'You will be able to buy two tickets for any indoor U2 show or four tickets for any outdoor U2 show during your membership term.' is SO open ended that it could mean one show or many shows or all shows. If it had said 'any one' show or only one show, that would be very clear. They seem to use the word 'any' in the way that you can go to any show date, that you aren't locked into a specific show in a specific location. So you can see their wording is not that clear. Not a mention of the word 'one' anywhere in their description.

 

[jet_jaguar72]

the wording says to me that you can buy 2 tickets. That's mainly because I know copy writers and work in the entertainment industry. Seems very clear to me. In hindsight it does seem like you could interpret it in another way, but if they were to offer unlimited shows, it would say it.
I still feel like people love to bemoan things too much. We all have enough time to spend on the internet talking bout u2 and buying tickets when other people are living in war torn countries. Lets try to keep things in perspective. bottom line is, we are seeing U2 this year

 

[Hallelujah Here She Comes]

I'm not saying that the U2 membership should let you buy tickets to every concert either. I am a rational person. I understand limits are necesary to avoid scalping and other fraud, but 1 show? There's over 100 shows on this tour. at the least, on average 20,000 seats per show. A limit of 2 tickets to 1 show? Then don't charge the freakin $40. That's all profit to them.

I really believe that any business that starts charging more $ for any service should also make the right steps to take care of its core of customers. They haven't. Just look at the numbers of unhappy people on this forum. Bad business in my opinion.

Now that I'll agree with. This really is the worst customer service I've ever come across, and I've dealt with some pretty awful companies.

And one show for $40 maybe is a bit paltry. But I still think the language was pretty clear. It either meant "one show" or "every show" and every show doesn't make any sense. It is shitty that you were specifically told that there was no limit to the number of shows you could buy tickets for, though.

 

[mofo82]

I just want to say thanks to the few of you who have heard me out on my issues with this whole thing, and didn't get into the insult game. I've had a few instances on this forum where users will go that route when I open up and really say what's on my mind, and I think that wrong to do to people you don't know. It's frustrating but I am very excited to see the band and get the opportunity to see them as well.

 

[mkjc]

Marty,

I didn't mean any personal attack by the haters comment, but when someone says they used common sense and didn't buy the membership, they are implying that those who did buy the membership DIDN'T have or use common sense. I'm not cool with that.

And in regards to the wording of U2's ticket policy, the phrase 'You will be able to buy two tickets for any indoor U2 show or four tickets for any outdoor U2 show during your membership term.' is SO open ended that it could mean one show or many shows or all shows. If it had said 'any one' show or only one show, that would be very clear. They seem to use the word 'any' in the way that you can go to any show date, that you aren't locked into a specific show in a specific location. So you can see their wording is not that clear. Not a mention of the word 'one' anywhere in their description.

The fact that their wording is even open to interpretation is a problem. For god's sake it isn't supposed to be poetry. It's supposed to be instructions for buying tickets. Whether we agree on the interpretation is not the issue. The issue is that it is clear how someone could misinterpret this. It is so clear to me that it appears that Fanfire did this deliberately in order to let some people think they can buy tickets to more than one show so they can sell the membership. It seems very suspicous to me that all of a sudden, a couple of days before the presale, they decide to clarify after weeks of people calling and writing to them to get this cleared up. I say all of this without even touching the other customer service issues that these amateurs have put people through.

And to those of us who talk about famine and other misfortunes in order to calm people down, imagine how Bono would feel if someone in the band screwed up during a song and Bono went on one of his famous tirades and you went up to him and said at that moment think about those poor children in Africa. I have a feeling he'd probably tell you to go f**k yourself.

U2 runs a very tight ship. PM runs like a well oiled machine. Why the hell do they go and choose Fanfire, a company that has a reputation for scewing things up, to run their official fan club?

 

[Bono's shades]

I never paid much attention to how they worded the part about how many shows you could buy tickets for because I was only planning to go to one show anyway. What worries me is I haven't got my e-mail yet!

(Edited to add I went to U2.com and my presale code was there. Whew!)

 

[Roland of Gilead]

I never paid much attention to how they worded the part about how many shows you could buy tickets for because I was only planning to go to one show anyway. What worries me is I haven't got my e-mail yet!

(Edited to add I went to U2.com and my presale code was there. Whew!)

You're set then! Just go to "Tour Info" and use the link. You don't need that email now.

 

[ultrraviolette]

The fact that their wording is even open to interpretation is a problem. For god's sake it isn't supposed to be poetry. It's supposed to be instructions for buying tickets. Whether we agree on the interpretation is not the issue. The issue is that it is clear how someone could misinterpret this. It is so clear to me that it appears that Fanfire did this deliberately in order to let some people think they can buy tickets to more than one show so they can sell the membership. It seems very suspicous to me that all of a sudden, a couple of days before the presale, they decide to clarify after weeks of people calling and writing to them to get this cleared up. I say all of this without even touching the other customer service issues that these amateurs have put people through.

And to those of us who talk about famine and other misfortunes in order to calm people down, imagine how Bono would feel if someone in the band screwed up during a song and Bono went on one of his famous tirades and you went up to him and said at that moment think about those poor children in Africa. I have a feeling he'd probably tell you to go f**k yourself.

U2 runs a very tight ship. PM runs like a well oiled machine. Why the hell do they go and choose Fanfire, a company that has a reputation for scewing things up, to run their official fan club?

 

[slapshot]

Meanwhile, over on Ebay... the scalpers are already at it, gauranteeing GA seats for opening night. Search for "u2 tickets", there's quite a few for San Diego, one with the "bargain" price of $275.00, a few with the "great price" of only $1,199 per pair, and one pair with a buy it now price of $1,999. The bastards are even offering six month financing plans on their ill-gotten tix...



I've posted this before (lookup my first post), and I'll do it again, in hopes that some band, somewhere will try it. There's a real simple way to defeat scalping. Make it known upfront that the tickets are for the purchaser only. No resales allowed. No scalping allowed. Print the buyers name on the tickets, and that buyer must be present, and must have a photo ID for them or their group to get in. (For fanclub presale tix, maybe require a fan club ID card.) No ID, no entry. Bought a scalped ticket off Ebay for a thousand bucks? Sorry, no entry. Would this cause problems for one or two people, if the person who bought their tickets got sick and couldn't go? Sure... but how many of us have problems with this every frickin' concert? For every frickin' band you like? These bastard scalpers quite obviously have people inside Ticketmaster, or they couldn't offer tickets for shows that haven't gone onsale to anyone. The technology is there to prevent this mess and keep the fans happy, why in the world isn't *anybody* at least trying it?

C.

 

[Lucy3011]

I never paid much attention to how they worded the part about how many shows you could buy tickets for because I was only planning to go to one show anyway. What worries me is I haven't got my e-mail yet!

(Edited to add I went to U2.com and my presale code was there. Whew!)

Check your junk mail folder as well. That's where I found my email.

 

[Klink]

Ridiculous. I even called fanfire before ordering my subscription and one of their customer service reps confirmed to me that we could get tickets to as many shows as we wanted. I'm writing them a letter of complaint. This is not only a rip off, but the rules were not at all made clear and in my case, I consider it a dishonest sale. This is not at all consistent with U2s MO. I'm very disappointed and you can be sure I will not be renewing my subscription for any future tours.

Jon

 

[matt76]

Hmmm, I think it is worht joining, if you can get hold of the tickets. I would rather pay 50 british pounds for a ticket (+26 quid membership). It's still cheaper than paying 135 quid per ticket from a ticket tout!

 

[matt76]

I also want to add that if this works, yeah Fanfire make a ton of money, but they have managed to stop ticket touts getting hold of all the tickets (hopefully).

ebay= Twickenham London = 150 quid a ticket =300 quid for 2 tickets
U2.com = 50 quid a ticket + membership = 130 quid for two tickets

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i'm glad i didn't pay the $40 bucks for this...

the only fan club system that i've ever seen work well is Pearl Jam's Ten Club... it's $15 per year, and it's run not by some outside company. the ten club is run by people that pearl jam and their management hand picked and placed in charge... you get a sheet that you send out which entitles you to 2 tickets for one show per tour, much like with the U2 club. you put down your top three shows, and you send your form away, and you get your tickets, usually on the floor close to the stage (depending on how long you've been a member), surrounded by other Ten Club members. everyone normaly gets tickets to their #1 show. in fact, at last year's madison square garden shows they had a total of 13,000 ten club members at the two shows. so then when they go put together a DVD of the first garden show, they've got 6.000 fan club members, all of them in the best seats, on the floor from the stage back... the atmosphere is amazing.