Ticketing for in-demand events
I went soft, bought into the hype and tried to get Oasis tickets on release day. Now I'm writing about it. Hook. Line. Sinker.
Do I fancy going seeing Oasis? Yes. Do I want to spend half a day in front of a computer trying to get tickets? No. Does the fight to get a ticket make me want one even more? Yes.
There’s a simple solution to allocating tickets to in-demand events:
Allow anyone to book and pay for the tickets they want.
Close booking and pull names out of a hat.
Refund everyone who missed out.
Why isn’t that a thing?
Why have Ticketmaster created a demand-management process that mimics the physical world?
Oh I’m in The Lobby! What does that mean? I sat watching a progress bar for three hours for access to The Lobby? What can I do in the Ticketmaster lobby? What does one do in a real lobby? So many questions.
And look! Revealed! Three more stages of wait till I get to look at tickets. Waiting Room! Queue! then I can Shop for Tickets?! Mon Dieu!
Let’s not forget this is really the second round of ticketing. The application to be in a ballot for access to pre-sale tickets already happened earlier in the week.
Yes that’s right.. a ballot for tickets… I told you it could be done.
It’s almost as if they want it to be chaotic, frustrating, challenging, spoken about, in the press.. oh.. ok.