Happy Fourth of July from Seattlest
Seattlest Pix: 09Jul04
Seattlest Pix: 09Jul05
Seattle Int'l Beer Festival Ends at 7 p.m.
In which The Showbox gives the live music-going people of Seattle a belated lump of coal:
The Showbox will officially become a Ticketmaster venue on January 1st, 2007. For all shows going on sale in 2007, tickets will be available exclusively through Ticketmaster. Shows that are currently on sale through our previous ticketing agency, TicketsWest, will remain on TicketsWest. To find out which agency is handling ticketing to a show you want to attend, please visit the calendar at www.showboxonline.com.Also, due to the rising costs of doing business, The Showbox Box Office will be increasing its box office service charge for the first time, to $2.00 per ticket, in 2007. The Showbox Box Office is open Monday through Friday, 11am to 6pm, and is CASH ONLY.
It was bad enough having to pay an extra $1.50 for advance tickets from the Showbox when all the other box offices at venues in town (i.e., Chop Suey, Neumo's, the Croc) sell tickets at face value. But now the two options are either pay an extra $2 per ticket at the Showbox or pay more than $2 per ticket by going through Ticketmaster? No thank you. Showbox, you're officially On Notice.
It's a good thing their announced lineup for 2007 sucks.
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Seriously, WTF is this?
Sad....just sad.
I love the Showbox.....I hate Ticketmaster...I hate paying extra fees....especially to a box office AT THE FREAKING VENUE.
Damn them. Damn them all to hell.
As for the Showbox lineup, I'd probably pay the extra $2 for Peeping Tom. Mike Patton doing hip-hop has to be entertaining.
Fucking lame. Ticketmaster is bad enough, but paying a fee AT the box office just goes against reason.
This is really unfortunate. Boo to you Showbox!
Hi! Brian from the Showbox here. There are some facts relevant to your post that I think need to be cleared up:
Neumo's, The Crocodile, The Paramount and The Moore all charge service charges at their box office. Neumo's is $2.00 per ticket, Paramount is $2.50. The Crocodile and The Moore have lower service charges ($1.00 and $1.50, respectively), but their box office hours are much more limited. Most likely, you just didn't know about the service charge at these venues because many of them don't post it in their advertising. But trust me, it's part of the price you're paying.
The reason we charge a service charge at the box office is so we can be open as often as we are. There are expenses that figure into having a daytime box office, such as staffing, supplies, dedicated internet connection, etc. that need to be recouped, as nearly the entire price of the ticket goes to the talent or the show expenses. If we didn't charge a service charge, we simply wouldn't have a box office.
Our box office service charge is rising 50 cents per ticket, for the first time in ten years of having a daytime box office.
The reason we switched to Ticketmaster is simple -- they were able to offer more services to our customers, at a comparable (if not lower) service charge per ticket to TicketsWest. Also, be aware that both organizations are parts of large, publicly traded corporations; TicketsWest is owned by the Red Lion Hotels conglomerate, so don't think they're an "indie" outlet just because they serve most of the club venues around town.
I'd be happy to answer any other questions any of you might have about our service charges or box office. My email is brian@showboxonline.com. Thanks.
Wow. That's very cool of you to respond to the post like that, Brian. Answers a lot of my questions! Thanks!
Brian,
That's cool you came here to answer questions and all... Still, I have to say 'F Ticketmaster'. They suck so hard it's not even funny.
I guess I'll see you at the ticket counter :).
Yeah Brian, thanks for taking the time, etc.
Look, if you NEED to add an overage to the ticket price in order to pay B.O. staff - then just ADD IT INTO THE TICKET COST! People don't mind paying whatever the ticket price is - what they HATE is paying extra fees ON TOP OF THE TICKET COST! Roll the overhead into the ticket price, and you'll hardly hear anyone complain; add service fees, especially at the venue box office, and you generate a lot of nasty energy aimed in your direction.
If it's a matter of needing to separate the "service charge" from the ticket cost for the purpose of determining the band's/promoter's cut, surely it can't be all that difficult to create a contract rider stating there will be an add-on to the set price for this purpose.
And seriously, TicketMonster sucks - I know. I used to work for 'em.
what about ticketweb? i've heard they're corporately owned by ticketmaster, but they operate independently and treat their customers decently. their service/handling fees are far less than the other sites, and they allow you to purchase tickets for multiple shows within one order. that means a lot more to me.
i've never held any illusions about ticketswest being an 'indie' service (or that it's any better than ticketmaster), but ticketmaster has earned a lifetime of hatred. hell, they're the prime reason that indie ticketing services barely exist in this country. anybody allying themselves with that monopoly deserves to be criticised.
i also agree with comte that having the club's service fee wrapped into the ticket price would probably engender far less critcism than the current practice.
Thanks for commenting, everyone. I do like to hear feedback from customers about issues like these. The reason we don't just add service charge on to the ticket price is:
1. We believe it's more honest to tell customers to know where their money is going.
2. Service charges vary, depending on whether you purchase tickets at the box office, at the door (where there is no service charge at all), over the phone, online or at an outlet. So, rolling in the service charge is not really possible and would create a lot of confusion if we tried.
We do post our service charge in every ad we run and very clearly at our box office, so there should be no surprises to customers when they purchase tickets there.
Secondly, we have not been contacted by Ticketweb or been presented with their policies or features, so I can't really comment on whether or not they're better than Ticketmaster.
I, for one, believe Ticketmaster to be the best agency out there when it comes to customer service, availability of tickets, and additional services for ticket buyers. I hope some of the information I have provided has put some of you at ease a little. Thanks.
Please Mr. McFadin, if you want to switch to Ticketbastard, I mean master, then don't try to pathetically explain your reasons by trying to compare them to TicketsWest. TicketsWest is a regional company and certainly isn't the same kind of company as Ticketmaster. At least stand by your decision to switch instead of making excuses. I'm sure there was plenty of monetary incentive for you guys to switch ticketing companies, but I see you left that part out of your explaination. Lame.
Ticketbastard! How clever!
Seriously though, if you hate Ticketmaster so much, just come down to the box office for a nominal fee or buy tickets at the door for no fee at all. It's not that hard.