So, What Happens When...
...you show up for your annual Flames Date Night with your wife at the Saddledome...and the ticket reader refuses to read your tickets, telling you they are no good?
Well...Now I have an answer to that question.
First, I have been buying tickets from this Season Ticket Holder for at least 5 years now, and have NEVER had a problem. Not once did I think or suspect that that was where the problem was. He is good people, and I knew he'd never double-sell his tickets
I go through the first line, and get the red X. I had him try a second time, then on a different barcode, and got the X again.
Thinking perhaps it was his machine, and never having had this problem ever before, I went to a different line, and tried that. Same thing. We stepped out of line and went to the ticket office that was right there. They said that was a ‘sales only’ office, and I needed to go to the main ticket office.
On the way to the main ticket office, I called the STH to ask for his thoughts and/or advice. At that time, he advised he’d do what he could.
After a bit of an adventure finding it, we get to the main ticket office and explain what happened. That I bought the tickets from a STH, like I have many times before. That I downloaded them onto my phone, like I have many times before. But this time, they didn’t scan. The lady takes my phone (since my tix were on it) and looks at them and types a bunch of stuff into her computer.
“These tickets have been printed already, and they’ve already been activated today. The persons who have them are already inside.”
I raise my brows, and am thinking less-than-kind thoughts about going to the seats and seeing what’s what myself if they’ll let me in for 5 minutes. She asks me my name, and the name of the STH. I provide both, and she heads off.
She comes back in a couple minutes, and tells me that she has contacted the STH and he’s vouched that myself and my wife are the people he sold the tix to, and we are and should be the rightful holders of the tickets.
She tells me that they will now have an usher/security go to the seats and have a talk with the people sitting there, to let them explain themselves. There is nothing we can do but wait. Thankfully, they have big screens with the game on at the desk.
We never do see her again, but about 20 minutes later, a fellow comes walking out from the back, approaches another fellow at the counter, and asks him “Are you [WhiteTiger]?” I lean over, and catch his attention. “I am.” He comes over to me.
“We’re sorry for the inconvenience. We have printed off two good tickets for you and hope that the rest of your evening is a pleasant one.”
I thank him and my wife and I set off quickly. The tickets were basically the same ones we’d had. They were one section over and one row down. I knew I’d be able to see ‘my’ seats from my new seats and thought that this would be pretty interesting.
We ended up missing about 15 minutes of the first period with all the muss and fuss. The couple sitting in ‘my’ seats appeared to be at least in their late 60’s. They also seemed very chummy with the fellow sitting beside them.
I was impressed with how the Saddledome staff handled it. It was probably the easiest solution for them, to print off 2 seats they knew weren’t sold that were pretty much equal to what I’d lost. I imagine that the couple sitting in ‘my’ seats were likely the victims of scammers, too. I hold no ill will towards them.
Made ‘date night’ a bit more...interesting...than I’d wanted, though.
I wrote this up, as I've been wondering what happened if you bought tickets and showed up and they didn't work. I'd even, during some of the downtime while waiting for an answer, surfed CP for an answer and didn't find it here. So I'm kinda hoping that if this happens to someone else, and they turn to CP for answers, they'll find some.
If this doesn't belong here, mods can delete it.
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