Complaint Review: Ticketnetwork.com Ticket network

I take exception to the comment that FedEx requires a signature on delivered packages.  I have had several years experience with receiving packages through FedEx and not once did they stop to get a signature.  They ring my doorbell, drop the package and run. I have been home on several occasions where I actually witnessed the FedEx employee running back to his truck and leaving.  The first experience of a FedEx delivery (I was not at home then) involved a rather large check that was in settlement of the sell of our home.  I was taken aback and rather disturbed to find the envelope tucked under our front doormat when I got home.  I still continue to receive packages/envelopes delivered by FedEx but again not once have they ever waited to get a signature.  Now UPS has always required a signature; in fact if I am not home there is a note left with the attempt to deliver telling me when they will deliver again or instructions on what I want done with the delivery. 

I am responding to a comment left by a consumer in response to my rebuttal to the complaint made by Mrs. Nagle. This consumer claims my rebuttal "has holes in it" -- but not so.

Alleged Hole #1: The consumer claims that I contradict myself by saying that TicketNetwork is an E-bay for tickets that does not possess tickets themselves and then later saying that we ship our tickets via Fed-Ex for security purposes. How, asks the consumer, can we ship tickets if we don't have them in our possession? Now, while I understand the logic in this question, there is no contradiction at all. I said "we" only in a broad sense to refer to company policies and procedures. Specifically, TicketNetwork requires all the sellers who list tickets on our website to ship them using FedEx shipping options (usually, 2-day air or overnight). Therefore, when I said "we" ship tickets, I was referring in a general sense to the TicketNetwork policy with which our sellers are forced to comply (again, for security reasons).

Alleged Hole #2: The consumer claims that my argument is bogus because there is no evidence that Mrs. Nagle ever received the tickets themselves, only that she received the envelope. I understand this criticism and I shall go into greater detail about why the evidence (and common sense) actually implies that Mrs. Nagle did indeed receive the tickets.

First, Mrs. Nagle (and, at various points, her husband) changed their story a few times when talking with our customer service representatives. Initially, remember, she claimed that she didn't even receive a package at all. It was only in a later phone conversation that she admitted to that fact. I can't think of any reason for her story to have changed so drastically.

Second, I would like to take a little stroll down the yellow brick road of common sense. Mrs. Nagle ordered three Jonas Brothers tickets for almost $800. She knew that they were being shipped over 2-day air. She received a FedEx tracking number when the tickets were shipped. So, she knew, on the 13th of May, that the tickets would arrive soon. Indeed, they were delivered on May 14th (a day early) and allegedly signed by her daughter. Then an almost two-month period passes. Suddenly, someone discovers there aren't any tickets in the package and calls us on July 8th.

There a number of logical problems with this scenario:

1) The Nagle household must have known the package delivered on May 14th was the tickets. They had the tracking information sent to them on May 13th and knew about the 2-day delivery. Besides, I'm sure the envelope had the return address of their ticket broker on it. These groups usually have names (Ace Tickets, Absolute Tickets, etc) that make it very difficult not to know they're ticket brokers. Consequently, the FedEx package that arrived on May 14th must have clearly contained the Jonas Brothers tickets.

2) The above scenario asks us all to believe that no one in the Nagle household bothered to open the envelope from the ticket seller until July 8th. However, I find this rather hard to absorb. Remember, the Jonas Brothers tickets cost Mr. and Mrs. Nagle almost $800. If I paid $800 for something, I'd be looking out the window for the delivery truck and I most certainly would bother to open up the package after it arrived. Above all, I would want to make sure that the product was exactly what I bought and that it came in safe and sound in one piece. Indeed, at TicketNetwork, we often have people calling us when they don't receive their tickets one-second over the expected delivery time. (I exaggerate, but you understand my point...) Nevertheless, Mrs. Nagle's argument makes the claim that no one even bothered to check the ticket package until around July 8th. I have already made the common sensical monetary argument against this possibility, so I will now make the child-who-loves-Jonas-Brothers argument. As I wrote before, I have a 10-year-old sister and, trust me, if she knew there were Jonas Brothers tickets in a package, she'd tear the thing open, hug them, probably kiss them, but most definitely would want to see them.

Lastly, the consumer who commented on my rebuttal takes exception to my claim that empty packages are not an occurrence in our business operations by pointing out that all businesses make mistakes. In fairness, though, I never said we didn't make mistakes, big or small. My comment was a rhetorical flourish, because, indeed, the empty-package argument is a new one. Indeed, TicketNetwork does indeed sometimes make mistakes -- everyone does. But those mistakes are fixed and we are very proactive in correcting and addressing any errors made. (Indeed, I would hardly be taking an hour out of my time to address this comment if we weren't!). As a result, I am happy to say that we have a very high satisfaction rate among our customer base. If a situation warrants correction, we are more than willing to correct it and to correct it quickly.

The problem with the situation of Mr. and Mrs. Nagle is that there is no evidence of wrongdoing on our part. In fact, basic logic and changes of story indicate that someone in the Nagle household likely lost the tickets. (I confess I lost tickets once, too, so I sympathize indeed.) Besides, if, for some reason, the ticket seller didn't send the tickets, then why? Ticket sellers want to sell their tickets and to offload them as quickly as possible. Over time, the prices of tickets can often fall in value, even those of the Jonas Brothers. Therefore, the sooner a seller can sell, the better, and that's better for the consumer. There is no reason for the ticket seller to lie about not putting the tickets in the package. There is no reason for us to do the same with the Nagles or anyone else. Why would we not want to deliver on a product, per our guarantee?

Again, I'm sorry for the Nagles, but the accusation that our company is a "ripoff" is unfounded. I wish them luck and I hope they find their tickets, but disparaging our business is unfair.

First you claim that your company is just a mediator between parties who want to buy/sell tickets. In your words "like an E-bay for tickets". Therefore you do not have them in your possession. Then you go on to say that "Indeed, we send all our tickets via FedEx to ensure reliable delivery. Tickets are one-of-a-kind items that cannot be replaced and therefore must be handled with great care."

Which is it? Do you posses and mail the tickets or not?

Second, delivery of the FedEx envelope does not necessarily constitute delivery of the tickets. Of course FedEx records will show that the envelope was delivered, but that does not mean it wasn't empty. How many times do you actually open and verify the contents of UPS or FedEx packages when signing for them? Nobody I know does. You sign off on it, the delivery person leaves, you open the package and......
Who signs for the package is unimportant. All it is evidence of is that the ENVELOPE was delivered, not the tickets. The Nagles are not saying they did not receive the envelope. They are saying the envelope was EMPTY. I would consider that as non-delivery as well.

"I would also point out that the high reputation of TicketNetwork (one of the major ticketing websites on the internet) and its parent company TicketNetwork Direct (brandishing the largest ticket inventory in cyberspace) indicate that empty packages are not an occurrence in our business operations."

eBay, Paypal and Amazon are the largest mediators on the net and they expunge scammers and fraudsters on a daily basis. To say that your organization is immune to this is a very bold statement. You have to be a fool or very ignorant to think that fraud of this type does not exist.

I regret the experience of the customer with TicketNetwork, but must say that the story she provides in her commentary is not exactly accurate.

To begin with, TicketNetwork is a website that enables people and licensed organizations from across the country to re-sell tickets to events. In a way, we're like an E-bay for tickets. Consequently, we do not own the tickets listed on our website. It therefore follows that we do not have them in our possession. What we do is provide a conduit that connects customers with ticket sellers. Generally speaking, it is the ticket seller himself (or herself) who possesses the tickets, charges your credit card, and sends the tickets out.

Having said that, the customer concerned ordered three tickets on May 12, 2009 for the July 18 Jonas Brothers show in Boston. Per Mrs. Nagle's order, the ticket seller sent the tickets to the proper address on May 13th. Far from a scam, this is evidence of prompt and efficient service indeed.

According to FedEx, the ticket package for Mrs. Nagle arrived at her house the next day, May 14th, at 1:24pm. (This was a bonus, because Mrs. Nagle actually paid for 2-day shipping) In their copious notes, FedEx notes that the tickets were signed for by an "S. Nagle." Indeed, we send all our tickets via FedEx to ensure reliable delivery. Tickets are one-of-a-kind items that cannot be replaced and therefore must be handled with great care. In tandem with this policy, FedEx will only deliver its packages if a person is present to sign for them. In Ms. Nagle's case, the package was signed for and delivered.

Some time later (July 8th), Mrs. Nagle called our offices claiming that she never received the tickets sent to her. However, the records of FedEx indicate that the tickets were indeed shipped and received. Mrs. Nagle then called numerous times over the next days disputing this. At one point, she changed her story and admitted that the "S. Nagle" who signed for the tickets might have been her daughter. She then claimed that a 13-year-old should not have been allowed to sign for tickets. We, in turn, informed Mrs. Nagle that decisions of who signs for what is made by FedEx, not us. Any dispute in this regard is therefore something to be taken up with FedEx, not our call center employees. That aside, the basic point is that the evidence shows that someone in the Nagle household received the tickets.

Some days later, someone claiming to be Ms. Nagle's husband called our services with a different accusation. Changing his wife's story, Mr. Nagle now claimed that the Jonas Brothers tickets were never in the package to begin with. Again, this is the opposite story from the non-delivery that Mrs. Nagle claimed previously. Now, Mr. and Mrs. Nagle claim that the package was, in fact, delivered. Regardless, we contacted the seller of the ticket order and they assured us that the tickets were in the package. Indeed, if the seller made such a mistake, they would do so at the peril of being expunged from our network.

In response to this, Mr. and Ms. Nagle then wanted to be given a receipt of their ticket order with which to attend the Jonas Brothers event. We explained to them that this receipt will likely not guarantee them entry to the event. For that, they need the tickets themselves. Ms. and Mr. Nagle at various points then asked for us to reprint the tickets. We explained to them that tickets are one-of-a-kind items that cannot be reprinted. (This, indeed, is essential to protect against ticket fraud. You can only image the chaos and double-booking that would ensue for event goers if tickets could be frequently reprinted. Besides which, TicketNetwork is not affiliated with any venue or promoter and therefore does not have the ability to reprint tickets even if we wanted to.) After some back-and-forth, we were able to give Mr. and Mrs. Nagle the specific seat numbers for their tickets (again, information that we don't have on file) but without any reassurance that this information would help them access their seats.

Essentially, the dispute comes down to this: TicketNetwork (and, indeed, no secondary market ticket website in this country) is not responsible for lost or stolen tickets. If a customer receives tickets and then loses them after the fact, as might have happened in this case, that is regrettable, but it is not our responsibility. This policy is explicitly stated in our "Terms and Conditions," to which Ms. Nagle and all other customers must agree before placing an order. Again, this crucial policy is designed to protect against ticket fraud and overselling of seats -- a very proper security for the entertainment business.

Personally, I am sorry for Mrs. Nagle's trouble and the inability of her daughters to attend the Jonas Brothers concert. I have a little 10-year-old sister who would love to see the Jonas Brothers and would be crushed if, suddenly, she found out she couldn't attend the show. However, both our records and the records of a respectable third party organization (FedEx) dispute Mrs. Nagle's claim of non-delivery. I would also point out that the high reputation of TicketNetwork (one of the major ticketing websites on the internet) and its parent company TicketNetwork Direct (brandishing the largest ticket inventory in cyberspace) indicate that empty packages are not an occurrence in our business operations.

On that basis, while I understand Mrs. Nagle's frustration, her claim that TicketNetwork is a "scam" and that she received a blank FedEx package does not ring true. Indeed, a ticket seller who is prompt and efficient enough to mail a package the day after a product was ordered is far from irresponsible and thus unlikely to forget to send the actual product itself. Furthermore, we at TicketNetwork did everything in our power to try to help Ms. Nagle and access information which she thought might help get her into the venue. In fact, various members of our staff spoke with her numerous times (5-6, I'd average) and we kept in frequent contact via e-mail.

Of course, I do not know what happened to the Jonas Brother tickets ordered by Mrs. Nagle once they reached her household. All I know is that, once tickets are received, they are the responsibility of the people who received them. Any resultant loss or misplacement is not something we at TicketNetwork are able to correct.