The lady in the MN ticket office not happy

S

SwirlinLingerie

Well-Known Member
Well, that was a waste of time. Being in PST, I made sure I was on my computer by 7 am this morning, ready to pick up a couple IA/MN tickets. I get the feeling the University of Minnesota doesn't enjoy selling tickets to Hawkeye fans.

I repeatedly tried both calling and buying online. I was repeatedly put on hold and forced to listen to the same three Gopher highlights over and over. My efforts online simply led me to a screen that showed Minnesota's schedule with a "buy online" tab for every game but Iowa. For the Iowa game it said "call the U of M ticket office." So I abandoned the online option.

By 8:30 am PST, I was tired of calling and drove in to work, where I immediately called the ticket office again.

I finally got through.

Me: Hello. I don't suppose you have single game football tickets still available, do you?

Gopher ticket lady: (with a slight hesitation, fearing the worst). Which game are you interested in, sir? (she knew).

Me: The Iowa game. (Who else calls about Gopher tickets in August?)

Gopher ticket lady: (slight sigh and a hint of annoyance). Sir, that game is sold out.

Me: That's what I was afraid of. Could you tell me, were there tickets available earlier today for the Iowa game?

Gopher ticket lady: Yes. I believe those were sold online.

Me: (with a hint of annoyance). Yes, that's what I heard too. But when I checked online this morning, starting at 8:55 am Central, and hitting refresh every few minutes after, it said to call the ticket office for the MN-IA game. So, does that mean people had to call or they were able to buy them online?

Gopher ticket lady: (increasingly annoyed): Sir, I'm not sure. Obviously some people were able to buy them online.

Me: I don't see how you aren't sure. I don't see why this is so unclear. Do you know if any more Iowa tickets will be released?

Gopher ticket lady: (with an edge to her voice). You mean Gopher tickets, sir?

Me: No, I mean Iowa tickets to the Minnesota game.

Gopher ticket lady: I am sure Iowa will release more tickets if they aren't able to use their allotment. You could check with the Iowa ticket office.

Me: (realizing I will never get back the 90 minutes I listened to the same Blake Hoffharber highlight). Well, that seems very unlikely Iowa wouldn't use their full allotment of tickets. Doesn't that seem unlikely to you? (I knew I had her in a box on that one).

Gopher ticket lady: Yes, sir. It does.

Me: So, have you taken a lot of calls from Iowa fans today?

Gopher ticket lady: Yes. Nearly all the calls have been from Iowa fans.

Me: Good.

Gopher ticket lady: Goodbye sir.

Long story long, if anyone is looking to a sell a couple tickets to the IA/MN game, please let me know.
 
Well done..after investing that much time, you had to get some answers...just like this guy

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0lvp7a7pmk&feature=related]YouTube - Dirty Harry - Magnum .44[/ame]
 
Seems to me that you were trying to provoke her. What was the point other then a) get a rise out of here and b) make Iowa fans look bad?

I understand the frustration about not being able to get tickets but you had to know that that was a possibility.
 
hwkwyld said:
Seems to me that you were trying to provoke her. What was the point other then a) get a rise out of here and b) make Iowa fans look bad?

I understand the frustration about not being able to get tickets but you had to know that that was a possibility.
Click to expand...

There are times when you just gots to know. I think this was one of those times
 
hwkwyld said:
Seems to me that you were trying to provoke her. What was the point other then a) get a rise out of here and b) make Iowa fans look bad?

I understand the frustration about not being able to get tickets but you had to know that that was a possibility.
Click to expand...

???
 
Hwkwyld - I was polite and professional. But I was also curious and frustrated that the procedure for ordering tickets wasn't clear, even to her. (Or that she wasn't willing to explain). Demand is one thing - but this felt like they were playing games.
 
SwirlinLingerie said:
Hwkwyld - I was polite and professional. But I was also curious and frustrated that the procedure for ordering tickets wasn't clear, even to her. (Or that she wasn't willing to explain). Demand is one thing - but this felt like they were playing games.
Click to expand...

It's been my experience that buying tickets is never clear regardless of the event.

Again I understand the frustration and maybe I read a little too much into your phone conversion, but having worked in a call center I can tell you that there's only so much that's in your control as an operator. You can only work with what you know or are told.

Call center tip of the day...

If you get "disconnected" while the operator is speaking, you just got hung up on. Oldest trick in the book. People are less likely to either call back or be as upset if they think something's wrong with the line. Besides an operator would never hang up while they're talking right?
 
hwkwyld said:
It's been my experience that buying tickets is never clear regardless of the event.

Again I understand the frustration and maybe I read a little too much into your phone conversion, but having worked in a call center I can tell you that there's only so much that's in your control as an operator. You can only work with what you know or are told.

Call center tip of the day...

If you get "disconnected" while the operator is speaking, you just got hung up on. Oldest trick in the book. People are less likely to either call back or be as upset if they think something's wrong with the line. Besides an operator would never hang up while they're talking right?
Click to expand...

Or you tell them to hold on while you research the problem and boom all of a sudden you found your self transfered to technical support! lol
 
SwirlinLingerie said:
Well, that was a waste of time. Being in PST, I made sure I was on my computer by 7 am this morning, ready to pick up a couple IA/MN tickets. I get the feeling the University of Minnesota doesn't enjoy selling tickets to Hawkeye fans.

I repeatedly tried both calling and buying online. I was repeatedly put on hold and forced to listen to the same three Gopher highlights over and over. My efforts online simply led me to a screen that showed Minnesota's schedule with a "buy online" tab for every game but Iowa. For the Iowa game it said "call the U of M ticket office." So I abandoned the online option.

By 8:30 am PST, I was tired of calling and drove in to work, where I immediately called the ticket office again.

I finally got through.

Me: Hello. I don't suppose you have single game football tickets still available, do you?

Gopher ticket lady: (with a slight hesitation, fearing the worst). Which game are you interested in, sir? (she knew).

Me: The Iowa game. (Who else calls about Gopher tickets in August?)

Gopher ticket lady: (slight sigh and a hint of annoyance). Sir, that game is sold out.

Me: That's what I was afraid of. Could you tell me, were there tickets available earlier today for the Iowa game?

Gopher ticket lady: Yes. I believe those were sold online.

Me: (with a hint of annoyance). Yes, that's what I heard too. But when I checked online this morning, starting at 8:55 am Central, and hitting refresh every few minutes after, it said to call the ticket office for the MN-IA game. So, does that mean people had to call or they were able to buy them online?

Gopher ticket lady: (increasingly annoyed): Sir, I'm not sure. Obviously some people were able to buy them online.

Me: I don't see how you aren't sure. I don't see why this is so unclear. Do you know if any more Iowa tickets will be released?

Gopher ticket lady: (with an edge to her voice). You mean Gopher tickets, sir?

Me: No, I mean Iowa tickets to the Minnesota game.

Gopher ticket lady: I am sure Iowa will release more tickets if they aren't able to use their allotment. You could check with the Iowa ticket office.

Me: (realizing I will never get back the 90 minutes I listened to the same Blake Hoffharber highlight). Well, that seems very unlikely Iowa wouldn't use their full allotment of tickets. Doesn't that seem unlikely to you? (I knew I had her in a box on that one).

Gopher ticket lady: Yes, sir. It does.

Me: So, have you taken a lot of calls from Iowa fans today?

Gopher ticket lady: Yes. Nearly all the calls have been from Iowa fans.

Me: Good.

Gopher ticket lady: Goodbye sir.

Long story long, if anyone is looking to a sell a couple tickets to the IA/MN game, please let me know.
Click to expand...

Classic!
Did she sound like Marge Gunderson? :D
"Ya, sure, you betcha those Gopher tickets are all sold now."
 
They probably just want to give the Gopher fans a few weeks to buy the Iowa game tickets before they offer them to anyone else.

Call them in a few weeks and I'll bet they will sell them to you.

Their job is to sell tickets and generate revenue for the University.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top