A letter to Live Nation UK

Dear Live Nation

I would like to extend my thanks to you for making my Friday rubbish. Fridays are supposed to be good days, happy days, filled with laughter and growing excitement about the weekend. Instead mine was spent cursing and clenching my fists and sighing very heavily.

I hope this letter contains some useful advice that will stop people feeling the way I did when I tried to purchase Flight of the Conchords tickets this morning.

I sat at my computer, fingers itching with anticipation, I’m a dab hand at this ordering tickets online business now. I know the tricks. I had multiple screens open. Different ticketing sites. I was ready.

And when the clock struck 9 I clicked. I clicked and clicked and clicked.

Disappointment rained down on me. Ticketmaster, my normally incredibly reliable booking office of choice, seemed to sell out in the first 5 seconds of going live, which I still haven’t figured out.

I decided to stick with you. Live Nation was the website that the fan page on Facebook was telling everyone to go to.

And I got them!! They were there. On my screen. All I apparently had to do was enter my Username and Password.

Excuse me?

What Username? You didn’t give me a username. Was I supposed to know this information? I went back to my e-mails all the while watching the timer gradually counting down to the moment when my reservation would be lost and my tickets would go to someone probably undeserving.

I couldn’t figure it out. I tried my e-mail address, I tried the nickname you asked me to create for some unknowable reason, I tried my real name. I capitalised, I hyphenated and then the inevitable happened.

You sold out.

I would like to applaud you for your prompt response to my enquiry as to how I was supposed to know what my Username was. You replied within minutes and I call that good customer service.

And it was then you told me that if I was booking tickets with you I needed to also register with Eventim UK, your ticketing partner.

Now call me a crazy person but wouldn’t it be a good idea to let people know this somewhere on your website? Perhaps in big bold letters. I would imagine it’d come in handy for the people that come to your website to, you know, BUY TICKETS. Or maybe when you send people an e-mail confirming that their account has been activated you could put a little notice in there.

It might be worth thinking about to avoid future customers having an equally crappy Friday.

Now I’ll never get to see Brett and Jermaine

Yours sincerely,

The Girl

PS I do realise that in your FAQ section there is an explanation that you are using Eventim UK as of 1st February 2010 and that you will need to register with them to buy tickets but I’m talking about BIG BOLD LETTERS somewhere. You know. Big. And Bold.


PPS I hope you don't find this letter troublesome but...I told you I was freaky.