How we got screwed by the ticket department.

[seanmichaelhunt]

How we got screwed by the Burning Man Organization ticket department:

My roommate David and I were hoping to make this our first burn. We spent the better part of a year doing research, reading the survival guide, blogs and stories, and watching every video out there. We joined a theme camp, and volunteered our time, effort, resources, and skills to making sure it would be a great experience for us, as well as others.

The biggest challenge of this was the sheer cost. David and I are both artists, myself an actor and he does multi-medium creative work. Neither of us has had steady income in the last year, and I recently lost my secondary job. We worked hard at pulling from resources we already had, to avoid spending money, and we both applied for the low-income ticket program.

Our first attempt to obtain tickets was through the lottery, which we entered at the lowest tier, because it was the most we could afford. We all know how the lottery went. Just to make sure we covered our bases, we both registered for STEP, in the hopes of getting an offer for the least expensive ticket, and we both applied for the low-income ticket program.

David was awarded a low-income ticket. I got a very nice email saying "after careful consideration…"
I was however, lucky enough to be offered tickets through STEP, and after scraping together what I could, and a little help from some friends, I was able to afford it. I received an email that said this:

"You are being offered tickets at whichever face value is available, plus applicable delivery and service fees. You will have 72 hours to buy tickets using your unique link - nobody else can use it and it cannot be shared. After 72 hours the purchase link will expire and the tickets will be released to the next person on the list."

I went to my "unique link" registered in my name, that "nobody else can use and cannot be shared", which was sent to me, at my email address, and I purchased the "non-transferrable" tickets using David's credit card (as mine did not have the required balance) and I paid David in cash. The other ticket was reserved for a friend who could afford it.

"Non-transferrable" was a term seen and stated often when referring to STEP tickets and I think everyone understood that these tickets were "non-transferrable". I took that to mean this:

These STEP tickets, which I registered for under my name, are being offered to me, and me alone. No one else may purchase these tickets and I may not purchase them and give them to someone else. When I click on my "unique link" and pay for these tickets they will belong to me and be in my name, as I was the person they were offered to.

Turns out, this is not what "non-transferrable" means at all. A week ago, David got an email saying his low-income ticket had been revoked. According to Rebecca he had purchased tickets, in his name, for himself through STEP and therefore was not eligible for a low-income ticket. David sent an email back trying to explain, I did too. The only response he received (I received an auto-response saying my email had been received) was that as he had purchased the tickets with his credit card, they were in his name and were "non-transferrable". If he doubted this he could refer to the STEP "FAQ". I referred to the "Frequently Asked Questions" regarding STEP, though I find FAQ a strange place to be sent for official rules and regulations. Here is what I found:

Q:I bought my STEP ticket with my friend's credit card and now it's in my friend's name. Can I or my friend have the name changed to mine?
A: No, tickets purchased through STEP are non-transferable, which means no name changes. For your friend to get their money back they will need to sell the ticket back into STEP.

Notice anything funny about this? Yeah, I did too. First of all, there's the past tense wording. "I bought my step ticket…" This already happened. Someone already made this mistake and you're telling them it can't be fixed. If this question is being asked so "frequently" as you put it, don't you think you should have warned people beforehand. Shouldn't it have been stated that you could not purchase a STEP with someone else's credit card, that in order to purchase a ticket you must have a credit card in your name? Why did I receive a confirmation email that I had purchased tickets, and why do I keep receiving ticket holder updates? How many other people bought a ticket with someone else's card and think they have a ticket in their name at will call? I can assure you, this particular frequently asked question did not appear here until after people started buying STEP tickets, because this question could not have been asked, until after people started buying STEP tickets. So why am I being referred to this as proof that I should have known better when it did not exist until after I made my purchase.

So here we are, me with no ticket, and David with one he can't afford. Here's the kicker. A couple weeks after I bought, (or thought I bought) STEP tickets, I received another email:

"We know you already received notification that you were not awarded a Low Income Ticket for Burning Man. We've had some cancellations and were able to reconsider your application, and are happy to be able to now tell you: Congratulations, you’ve been awarded a Low Income Ticket to BurningMan 2012, Fertility 2.0!"

Wow! If I had only known, I wouldn't have gone through all I had to scrape together enough for the STEP ticket I bought (or didn't buy). I responded with a polite decline saying I had already acquired a ticket and to pass it along to the next person in need. I turned down this ticket based on the fact that I already purchased a ticket in my name. Now Burning Man Organization is taking away David's low-income ticket as well, based on the purchase of the exact same ticket I turned mine down for.

So what? "Ha Ha Ha, neiner-neiner-neiner, you fell into our trap and now your screwed!" That is what I hear coming from the ticket department. This whole mess; all the bureaucracy, and red tape, and fine print have made me realize something. The Burning Man Organization ticket department has turned into exactly what Burning Man was created to escape. Mindless automatons, more interested in numbers and rules and statistics than in real people with real concerns. They have, in fact, become the man. When I make it to the playa this year, which I will, and Saturday rolls around and I'm watching him burn, it will have very special significance for me.

Sean Hunt

[trilobyte]

It is a sticky situation, but hardly some cleverly designed trap. It reads more like a comedy of errors, with you and your friend playing the parts of Laurel & Hardy (or insert another comedy team). Looking back, STEP probably should have canceled your order for using someone else's credit card - if you recall, that was a big item during the main sale registration, the name on card and name on order had to match. And looking back, it was a big mistake for your low income applicant friend to use his credit card for a STEP order. It was pretty clear both in the low income details and in the STEP program details that they were only intended for people who could not purchase a ticket through any other means. Unless you had reached out to someone on the ticket team to explain your situation before making those moves, I would have expected nothing less (well, I wouldn't have expected you to get a late low-income offer, that was a surprise).

My advice would be to send an email to Participant Services using the partiserv@burningman.com address, and explain the situation (it would be in your best interest to lose the attitude, you guys made mistakes and need them to try and help you). Include your names, email addresses used for orders/applications, the confirmation numbers, dates, and info about that secondary offer that you declined thinking that you had a ticket through another means. I wish you the best of luck, hopefully they're able to help you out.

[theCryptofishist]

trilo
you handled that with a lot more class and clarity than I ever would have.
Thank you

[Jackass]

It reads more like a comedy of errors, with you and your friend playing the parts of Laurel & Hardy (or insert another comedy team). I wish you the best of luck, hopefully they're able to help you out.

.

[Lonesomebri]

"Q:I bought my STEP ticket with my friend's credit card and now it's in my friend's name. Can I or my friend have the name changed to mine?
A: No, tickets purchased through STEP are non-transferable, which means no name changes. For your friend to get their money back they will need to sell the ticket back into STEP.

Notice anything funny about this? Yeah, I did too. First of all, there's the past tense wording. "I bought my step ticket…" This already happened. Someone already made this mistake and you're telling them it can't be fixed. If this question is being asked so "frequently" as you put it, don't you think you should have warned people beforehand."

In other words, if this happens so often why don't you warn people like you did in the FAQs, just not that way.....

These facts are presented past-tense but you could have and should have read them before trying to buy tickets with your friend's card. That was the warning, just because it's worded past-tense doesn't make the meaning beyond reason, or that it doesn't apply, or doesn't make sense until you purchase tickets.

[JovReef]

Yea ... all of your 'comedy of errors' could have been avoided if you read all the rules. They were all there beforehand.

[Dr. Pyro]

And it seems to me if they got their money back, look at all the tickets becoming available right now. Why not just buy a couple of those? Nobody screws you but yourself. Artists. Lay off the bong and try to be worthwhile for a change.

[vargaso]

WHEN DO BURNING MAN TICKETS GO ON SALE?

[seanmichaelhunt]

Trilo. Thanks for your comments. I sent an email to Participant Services as you suggested. Just a few points: A Comedy of Errors is a play by William Shakespeare about the mistaken identities of twins separated at birth. It doesn't really bare any similarity at all to this story. No where in A Comedy of Errors do characters named "Laurel" or "Hardy" appear. Similes don't mix any better than metaphors.

[Savannah]

The term "comedy of errors" has entered modern vernacular, indicating a series of compounding and cumulative mistakes, which you made (and should accept that you made). You didn't simply "Get screwed". You made errors. We all do. It's not the end of the world. Learn to take responsibility; it saves time and makes people more inclined to help you, even if the fault is yours. And good luck.

[Eric]

Similes don't mix any better than metaphors.

"Comedy of Errors" in the context used is an idiom, not a simile or a metaphor. In other words, "a ludicrous event or sequence of events" - it's common usage in American English when referring specifically to a situation and not to a play.

[BBadger]

Third-party-facepalm.jpg

[Lonesomebri]

Trilo. Thanks for your comments. I sent an email to Participant Services as you suggested. Just a few points: A Comedy of Errors is a play by William Shakespeare about the mistaken identities of twins separated at birth. It doesn't really bare any similarity at all to this story. No where in A Comedy of Errors do characters named "Laurel" or "Hardy" appear. Similes don't mix any better than metaphors.

.......and yet the ticket purchasing agreement alluded you.......?

If only the Bard would have addressed the matter of how credit cards are issued.

[theCryptofishist]

English major who never took Econ 101...

[VultureChow]

"Comedy of Errors" in the context used is an idiom, not a simile or a metaphor. In other words, "a ludicrous event or sequence of events" - it's common usage in American English when referring specifically to a situation and not to a play.

I never realized how much we relied on idioms.

[seanmichaelhunt]

I'm happy to say that the ticket department has completely resolved this issue. If I could take back anything mean I said about them I would. Unfortunately I can't delete this post so this comment will have to do. Thanks to everyone who responded to this post for you thoughtful comments.

[Wrath]

...

...

...just... WOW.

[Stephendragonfly]

First screwed and then unscrewed by the inscrutable. Defiantly a comedy of errors.

[Lonesomebri]

First screwed and then unscrewed by the inscrutable. Defiantly a comedy of errors.

Much ado about nothing......

[plantmandan]

Now just make sure you don't forget to bring your tickets with you.

[theCryptofishist]

First screwed and then unscrewed by the inscrutable. Defiantly a comedy of errors.

Much ado about nothing......

Um, Henry IV Part 1? Hamlet? Much Ado About Nothing? Ceasar and Cleopatra?

[vargaso]

It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.

[Lonesomebri]

First screwed and then unscrewed by the inscrutable. Defiantly a comedy of errors.

Much ado about nothing......

Um, Henry IV Part 1? Hamlet? Much Ado About Nothing? Ceasar and Cleopatra?

Laurel and Hardy.

[junglesmacks]

...and this is why all the trolling on the BM FB page about the big bad ticketing department doesn't hold water. Time after time, they prove to be fair and helpful as much as possible even when people completely fuck up. Bravo for the hard work they do and the amount of bullshit they put up with.

[Nipple]

If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended: That you have but slumbered here, While these visions did appear

Wait... this whole thread was a dream sequence? I want my money back!

...and this is why all the trolling on the BM FB page about the big bad ticketing department doesn't hold water. Time after time, they prove to be fair and helpful as much as possible even when people completely fuck up. Bravo for the hard work they do and the amount of bullshit they put up with.

It's often I see conspiracy charges leveled at the Org over prices and this and that, and I have yet to come up with clear and concise motives for any of the "screwing" or "cheating".

"I told myself...one more job, and then I'm out. Now all I need to do is ensure these two tickets are held at Will Call instead of being shipped, and then I'm off to Costa Rica to live the rest of my days!"

[junglesmacks]

Or even where any screwing or cheating is happening!!

It's the borgs fault that so many people wanted to buy tickets this year? It's their fault that you were unable to get a ticket and continue the ineptness even now when it's raining tickets left and right? It's just unreal to me the amount of virility that exists this year that is so misdirected at the BMORG.

[portaplaya]

It's just unreal to me the amount of virility that exists this year that is so misdirected at the BMORG.

Well, the theme is Fertility 2.0.


Perhaps you meant vitriol, not virility.

[junglesmacks]

It's just unreal to me the amount of virility that exists this year that is so misdirected at the BMORG.

Well, the theme is Fertility 2.0.


Perhaps you meant vitriol, not virility.

Lol.. touché. You're correct. Vitriol.

[Savannah]

I'm happy to say that the ticket department has completely resolved this issue. If I could take back anything mean I said about them I would. Unfortunately I can't delete this post so this comment will have to do. Thanks to everyone who responded to this post for you thoughtful comments.

Almost everyone on ePlaya has said something they wished they hadn't. And your example might help someone else avoid doing the same thing. The resolution is a hopeful testament to the patience of the Ticket Department, whose work must be pretty challenging.

Heck, I think it also makes you look a bit better, having come back with an improved attitude.

Glad you got all fixed up. See you on the playa.

[Foxfur]

I'm enjoying the fuck out of this thread.
Do you see any fuck remaining in this thread? No?
That's because I enjoyed every last bit of fuck right out of it.