Des Moines Thread - ARCHIVE
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scottycatt:
Hi, guys! That was ABSOLUTELY the least user-friendly site I've ever used for ticket purchasing. I had that same thing happen with the promo code, but I had opened a second window, due to my impatient clicking, and I finally figured out how to get past it.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought so - I was worried about it as this is the first major event for that arena (it's not even finished yet) and there was no way to "practice". I think we should all send the arena feedback to that effect and perhaps they'll make it more user friendly in the future. I know they are going to try to compete with KC, St. Paul, and Omaha so there should be a good chance of Iowa finally getting some top-notch shows
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Seuss:
scottycatt:
Hi, guys! That was ABSOLUTELY the least user-friendly site I've ever used for ticket purchasing. I had that same thing happen with the promo code, but I had opened a second window, due to my impatient clicking, and I finally figured out how to get past it.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought so - I was worried about it as this is the first major event for that arena (it's not even finished yet) and there was no way to "practice". I think we should all send the arena feedback to that effect and perhaps they'll make it more user friendly in the future. I know they are going to try to compete with KC, St. Paul, and Omaha so there should be a good chance of Iowa finally getting some top-notch shows
I failed to mention that the first time I tried to click on "Paul McCartney" on the main page, that link disappeared and instead, I ended up clicking on the Shriner's Circus. Did that happen to anyone else? :
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I TOTALLY agree with everyone about the Iowa ticket site!!!! Thank GOD at about 10:02 I figured to click on the other button, or I would probably still be sitting here!!!!! I got section 118, Row A,seat 11!!!!!I about threw up after it was all over!!!!
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I do have one GOOD thing to say about the site. There was no "convenience" charge and it only cost $3.00 for mailing the tickets. Take that, Ticketmaster!!!
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scottycatt:
I do have one GOOD thing to say about the site. There was no "convenience" charge and it only cost $3.00 for mailing the tickets. Take that, Ticketmaster!!!
Yes, but there was still a $12.50 for 2 $176 tickets - wouldn't that be a convenience fee?? Plus the $3 mailing charge. It is cheaper than TM, however, so I'm not complaining. I have sent an e-mail to the guy in charge of the Events Center telling him what problems/confusions some of us had with their system. I also asked why Des Moines was not included in the pre-sale - there's no reason they couldn't have been. So as not to be a totaly rag, I did tell him how pleased I was that this arena is even happening in our state and that they did a great job in securing a Paul show
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While I am glad to see Paul in the city where I grew up, that website and this ticket buying experience was the worst I've ever had in my life! I couldn't figure it out until I did get someone on the phone who told me what to do. I don't consider myself stupid and I wasted 45 minutes on that stupid site before I got to the tickets. It said 3 minutes, but it didn't take that long for a ticket to come up, probably because I was looking for a single. I got my info entered in plenty of time. I've had an email from a friend who works for KCCI and he said he couldn't figure it out either and was going to propose the problem as a story. He did finally figure it out and got decent seats, but nothing like we all could have if that site was just a little user friendly. I wasted my entire morning and was in a total state of panic. I had the cell phone in one hand, the other phone in the other and working the internet. I'm just glad I finally picked a phone number to call where I got something other than voice mail and the guy told me what to do. Wish I knew who I talked to, so I could thank him.
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My mom got our tickets today!
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I got a reply from the Manager of the Well Fargo Events Center in response to the e-mail I sent yesterday stating the frustrations I and others had trying to use their on-line ticketing system for the first time. I also asked him why Des Moines was excluded from the Friday pre-sale. This was his comment: "As an FYI, the promotional code box was there for the McCartney fan club pre-sale that took place on Friday." Now, who the H_LL knew we could use those codes for a pre-sale and what the hours of the Des Moines pre-sale were? I certainly didn't! I actually called the WF Box Office Thursday afternoon and was told no pre-sale by 2 people - one supposedly a supervisor! I am also a member of the Events Ctr e-mail club and got no notification I could use my password for a pre-sale there. I'm a bit bummed thinking about what seats I could have gotten had I known I could buy on Friday - sure would have saved a lot of stress and tranquilizers yesterday Just wondering if ANYONE out there knew about this??
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I got my tickets for the show yesterday. I'm in section 311 Section B...those were the best seats I could afford...i was on at exactly 1000!!! Being a Student at ISU, I couldn't quite afford anything else. Seuss Are you serious? That's what that promotional code box was for? But I never even saw that stupid box until I bought my tickets yesterday. They should have made that more known...grrr
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band_freak62:
I got my tickets for the show yesterday. I'm in section 311 Section B...those were the best seats I could afford...i was on at exactly 10:00!!! Being a Student at ISU, I couldn't quite afford anything else. Seuss: Are you serious? That's what that promotional code box was for? But I never even saw that stupid box until I bought my tickets yesterday. They should have made that more known...grrr
Great that you were able to score seats. I WORK at ISU and even then it's hard to afford the top seats but I passed up $250 seats in St. Paul in 2002 and said that if I ever got another opportunity, I was going for the whole banana! I was pleasantly surprised that tickets were ONLY $176 (that sounds awful, doesn't it)? Here's the second comment I received form the Events Ctr manager just a few moments ago: "The McCartney fan-club on-sale was a very last minute add by the show (I think we got it Friday AM right before it went up). I'm not sure where they published the info, but I thought it was thru their web site." I repeatedly checked the NEWS section of the website and didn't see anything about Des Moines. Guess I should have called the box office Friday a.m., too - that'll learn me! In the end, I can't complain, I got 2 seats in Section 104, Row 7 - still the best seats I've ever had for a Paul show
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Seuss:
band_freak62:
I got my tickets for the show yesterday. I'm in section 311 Section B...those were the best seats I could afford...i was on at exactly 1000!!! Being a Student at ISU, I couldn't quite afford anything else. Seuss Are you serious? That's what that promotional code box was for? But I never even saw that stupid box until I bought my tickets yesterday. They should have made that more known...grrr
Great that you were able to score seats. I WORK at ISU and even then it's hard to afford the top seats but I passed up $250 seats in St. Paul in 2002 and said that if I ever got another opportunity, I was going for the whole banana! I was pleasantly surprised that tickets were ONLY $176 (that sounds awful, doesn't it)? Here's the second comment I received form the Events Ctr manager just a few moments ago "The McCartney fan-club on-sale was a very last minute add by the show (I think we got it Friday AM right before it went up). I'm not sure where they published the info, but I thought it was thru their web site." I repeatedly checked the NEWS section of the website and didn't see anything about Des Moines. Guess I should have called the box office Friday a.m., too - that'll learn me! In the end, I can't complain, I got 2 seats in Section 104, Row 7 - still the best seats I've ever had for a Paul show D
This is my first Paul Show, so i'm very excited about it...I tried to go in 2002 when i was living in California still, but I couldn't afford tickets, and then i was 1 number off of winning tickets. I was not going to pass up tickets this time, especially since i LIVE in des moines. where do you work at ISU?
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I'm wondering too if anyone else was aware of the Des Moines presale. Who ended up with the tickets then if all of us (with passwords) were unaware? I'm in section 104 too & that was within the first 3 seconds of the public sale. I missed the Chicago presale (at the hospital with my husband), so I thought I'd get better seats in Des Moines. I'm so glad that Paul tried this presale thing, but for me anyway, it seemed very, very disorganized & the information was too slow getting to us. Must say I prefer the old-fashioned paper & envelope.
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band_freak62:
Seuss:
band_freak62:
In the end, I can't complain, I got 2 seats in Section 104, Row 7 - still the best seats I've ever had for a Paul show
This is my first Paul Show, so i'm very excited about it...I tried to go in 2002 when i was living in California still, but I couldn't afford tickets, and then i was 1 number off of winning tickets. I was not going to pass up tickets this time, especially since i LIVE in des moines. where do you work at ISU?
Global Ag in Curtiss. OMG - you will LOVE it! I first saw him in 1990 at the stadium, then twice in 2002 (radio contest for Cleveland show - thanks KIOA!) and then in St. Paul. I guarantee you'll walk out saying to yourself "gotta go again!"
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I will paste in the reply they sent me and they didn't tell me anything about the promotional code being for a pre-sale and this is from the General Manager of the Iowa Events Center. This email came from Andy Long, General Manager at 6:56 AM this morning. You will see it doesn't mention the pre-sale. I would have had front row seats if I had known about the Friday pre-sale, but at least I am on the floor. My cousins got seats, too, and they are going to give me a ride and watch me make a fool out of myself! If I hadn't been after a single, from what this email says, I would have been shut out completely. Thank you for you email regarding your ticket buying experience with the Paul McCartney show. My apologies that your experience was less then enjoyable. To respond to several questions that have arisen regarding the McCartney on sale, I would like to take this opportunity to address your comments and concerns. Tickets sold so well that only single seats were available after about thirty minutes. The demand greatly exceeded the number of tickets available for this show. This is very much a tribute to the talents of Paul McCartney. 1) The internet system did not crash. Over 80% of our ticket sales this morning were via the internet. 2) There is a system in place that allows for up to ten minutes for you to process your purchase on line. After that amount of time, the system ?times out? or ends the process and the seats are released. This is done in trying to balance the tremendous demand for tickets and the need to give you an appropriate amount of time to finish the purchase. By having this limit, it gives more people an opportunity to purchase tickets. 3) During your ticket purchase timeframe and due to E-commerce security, if you click on refresh, try to change screens, or go back into the process, the seats you were looking at are released back into the system for sale. This is typically done to prevent double billing and/or fraud. 4) If you received a confirmation number on your tickets, please contact us again and we will use your credit card to verify the order. If you did not receive a confirmation number, you did not get tickets. 5) Regarding the promotional code that was displayed at the beginning of the process, this code was not necessary to purchase tickets. By clicking on the McCartney name, you immediately went into the ticket buying process. If you had a code (which most shows now use for internet pre-sales or special offers), you would need to input the code, and then still click on the shows name to purchase. As we add more shows, the additional show names will be listed. As with all new systems, there is a learning curve with the process. We will be adding outlets shortly as well as continuing to improve our overall ticketing system. We are continually striving to improve upon what we do and your comments are extremely valuable in that process. Again, the system handled a very high demand for tickets and the percentage of internet sales showed that the system worked. Again, my apologies regarding your experience with the system and I thank you for your comments. Sincerely, Andy E. Long Andy E. Long General Manager
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I forgot to say that this appears to be a standard email that must be going out to a lot of people who complained about that website. He still doesn't say why it wasn't clear what you were supposed to do.
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maccascruff:
I forgot to say that this appears to be a standard email that must be going out to a lot of people who complained about that website. He still doesn't say why it wasn't clear what you were supposed to do.
I got the same e-mail early this morning. However I specifically asked about why Des Moines was not included in the pre-sale so that's probably why he responded about that. I made it clear to him that I called the Box Office Thursday late afternoon and talked to 2 people that told me there would be no pre-sale. I guess I should have called Friday morning and asked again. I can't help thinking what seats I could have gotten if I'd know about the pre-sale on Friday
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I've been emailing with the writer from the Des Moines Register. He said he is going to ask them some "hard" questions about how this happened and about the poor design of the website. He had me forward him the email. I'm afraid the first one I sent wasn't very nice and that is the one the GM responded to! : It was in the email I forwarded to the Des Moines Register, so I will have to keep checking online to see if Kyle Munson writes anything about this. I really don't think anyone used the presale password for Des Moines because the article today says that the first guy in line got 8 front row tickets.
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I have a question, I'm on the student newspaper/yearbook staff in my high school and I was wondering if I could possibly get a press pass and cover the Paul concert in Des Moines? What do you think my odds are on that?
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JimmyMcCullochFan:
I have a question, I'm on the student newspaper/yearbook staff in my high school and I was wondering if I could possibly get a press pass and cover the Paul concert in Des Moines? What do you think my odds are on that?
Having done something similiar in the past I know your chances will be very low. However, your chances would vastly increase if you went to a local station/paper, and asked if they would send you to the show to do a story, as a guest colomn. Sometimes they will do like..diaries or whatever of students...worth a shot. Say it would show the perspective of the younger generation at the show etc etc...could get you some sweet access, and if all else, you write a sweet article. I did something similiar when I was in hs...it works if you pitch it properly
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maccascruff:
I've been emailing with the writer from the Des Moines Register. He said he is going to ask them some "hard" questions about how this happened and about the poor design of the website. I will have to keep checking online to see if Kyle Munson writes anything about this. I really don't think anyone used the presale password for Des Moines because the article today says that the first guy in line got 8 front row tickets.
Good goin' Maccascruff. We get the Register everyday so I'll keep watching for any articles. It was on most news stations this morning about the problems people had navigating the website. In fact, when I was just beginning to tell my sister what problems I had, she said "I'll bet you didn't know to click on his name did you?" I was dumbfounded that she knew (not a Paul fan and wouldn't pay that much $$ to see anyone). Someone in her office and their friends were also trying to buy on-line had the same problem - so it wasn't just US being dumb. It's still quite hard for me to believe that no one in the arena box office knew there was going to be a pre-sale in less than 24 hours - not even a supervisor?? Paul's pre-sale info came out way before that. Anyway, it's water over the bridge now but I still think we got gypped out of some VERY good seats