Convenience or Ripoff?

It was reported last week that short of a miracle, Ticketmaster will lose its biggest client at the end of 2008; Live Nation (formerly known as Clear Channel). Is this a good or bad move for consumers? It is anyone's guess, but I am hoping and praying that it is for the better. I still see a lot of concerts, but very often use alternate means to get my tickets so I can get around paying the exorbitant service charges. Why do I do this? I'll break it down for you based on a truly horrendous experience I had in the summer of 2003. At the time, the huge outdoor amphitheater outside of Chicago in Tinley Park was known as the Tweeter Center. The Counting Crows and John Mayer were in the midst of a co-headlining tour and played to their largest paying crowds of their careers up to that point (approximately 30,000 seats were sold). I scored a ticket in the twentieth row a few days earlier and I was delighted until I checked out. Face value on the tickets were $36.50 and somehow, my final bill was $59.50 for one ticket. How can this be? Let me break it down for you.

Ticket: $36.50
Convenience Charge(s) US $12.50
Building Facility Charge US: $3.50
Order Processing Charge US $4.50
Print At Home Charge US: $2.50
TOTAL CHARGES US $59.50

What kind if a world do we live in where this is allowed? The artists were only seeing $36 of the $59.50 I paid. There was a total of $23.50 in service fees. This was whacked and from that moment on, I began seeing fewer and fewer shows as a result. I love music and experiencing it live is unlike anything else, but when does it become too much? If Live Nation ever wants to win back its customers they must begin to slash prices. There is no other options because it is not as if we are in a shortage of entertainment options. Now, I do believe in capitalism and I do feel that if someone provides excellent customer service, they should get paid, but not double the price of the ticket. Can you imagine going out to dinner and having the bill be $100 and all of a sudden with "service charges" its $135 and they still expect you to tip? People would stop going out to dinner.

Here are five simple and no-nonsense ways to win back people into the seats of concerts.

#1 Drop Excessive Charges

Why is there a processing fee after the "convenience fee"? There is no reason for this to occur and it's merely slapping the customer in the face. Drop this charge entirely.

#2 Do Not Charge For Parking In Sheds

One of the most insane charges is the $2-$10 charge to park your car in a field a half-mile from the venue. Want to really attract people to come to your venue, make sure there is free parking, especially when space is widely available. Just a few weeks ago at Ozzfest, which was to be free all around this year, the shed I went to charged me $20 for parking even though the ticket stated that parking had been taken care of. Needless to say, I may not venture back to this venue ever again no matter who performed there.

#3 Make "At Home" Ticket Printing Free

This is one fee I have never understood. There is no charge for mailing you tickets (which has paper, envelope and postage costs)�but they charge you $2.50 to print your tickets at home (where you incur all of the costs of supplies). If anything, they should offer a discount for printing your tickets at home. This is the future of ticketing. If anything, make it attractive for the customer to print their tickets at home by offering a free download, $1 off your order or anything where the customer truly feels that you are trying to accommodate them. Why do people return to their favorite restaurants time and time again? It can be summed up in one word; service. If you provide them with simplistic and easy service, everyone will print their tickets at home.

#4 Offer Incentives For Buying Multiple Tickets
It's insulting buying upwards of four or six tickets and seeing service fee's add up to close to $100. How about offering four packs of tickets in undesirable locations (the lawn, back of the arena, or for shows that have lots of empty seats). Place one $5 service fee for four-packs of tickets instead of putting one on each ticket.

#5 The $5 Service Fee

Give one flat service fee. No service fee should be more than $5. No hidden charges, no parking, no building fees. Plus, $5 should be the high end of the ticket charge. If a concert ticket is $15, charge $2.50. If it's $25, charge $3.50. Tickets for the Stones and Streisand should be $5 or $6 tops. People will feel like they are being taken care of and will spend more money on food, beverages, merchandise and most importantly�they will venture out to more concerts which at the end of the day will be Live Nation's greatest long-term financial reward.

The concert industry has lost thousands upon thousands of customers in the past few years because of Ticketmaster's excessive greed. It's time to make the average customer feel empowered. If you give them a break on the charges and fees, you will be surprised at how many people will begin to attend concerts in large quantities once again and who knows�maybe then you will see a nation of people once again embrace the industry who has largely alienated them.

Anthony Kuzminski can be found at The Screen Door

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