Friend or No?

[J pold]

Wow I'm pretty surprised in the response to this thread. I look at in a totally different way. If someone offers me a ticket to the game I assume that i'm going to pay. I can't remember that last time I attended a game on someones grace and didn't say before the game "How much do I owe you?"

Even if I know the answer will most likely be nothing at all. And even in that situation i'm buying the guy a couple beers.

I think it's pretty pathetic that you would assume that because he doesn't ask you to pay that you should get it for free. At least have the courtesy to offer up something in return for him taking too you the game.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Perhaps my viewpoint is slightly skewed as I don't have an NHL team that sells out every night in my backyard.

Most people here if they have season tickets and can't go will give them away so someone's using the ticket. Reason being I could just walk up 5 minutes before the game starts and score a decent seat in the rink anyway.

Calgary's a bit different when it comes to the Flames. So I'd assume you'd have to pay.

Mind you I'd over to pay regardless.

[Wookie]

Wow, I've never taken anyone under the assumption that they're paying. If I want to collect on the tickets I sell both, not one.

I've also never assumed that anyone who's offered to take me to a game is expecting me to pay. I've never paid to be a guest. Something about that seems wrong.

If you invite someone you sure as heck should be telling them right away you're selling them the ticket too!

[Eastern Girl]

Yeah, I assume they want me to pick up the price of the ticket, but to avoid any assumption, I just flat out ask what I owe them. If they aren't asking me to pay, then I would probably get them dinner or some drinks or something.

I would never assume someone was just giving me the ticket and I certainly wouldn't end a friendship over someone making me pay my share. I do think the person with the tickets should have been clear on whether they were free or not, but there is a shared responsibility to not assume on the part of the person receiving the ticket.

[moon]

If someone offers me the ticket I would assume that they would have said "I have an extra ticket for $20 bucks if you want it" if they expected me to pay.

If a friend asks me to go to the game and then mentioned after the fact that he expected me to pay I would be shocked. Not sure I would end the friendship over it but I would have wondered why he didn't mention it when offering the ticket.


Also, would depend on the game/seat. For a pre-season game it seems pretty cheap to expect payment from a buddy.

[RougeUnderoos]

Originally Posted by moon

If someone offers me the ticket I would assume that they would have said "I have an extra ticket for $20 bucks if you want it" if they expected me to pay.

Yeah, exactly. It was "offered", not "offered for sale". It should be a freebie.

This scenario sounds like a bit of trickery and the guy was trying to unload the ticket without telling his friend the real deal. That's weak.

If he's a good friend, give him the gears about it all season. If it's not a good friend, chalk it up to him being a cheapskate and forget about it.

[sadora]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

Yeah, exactly. It was "offered", not "offered for sale". It should be a freebie.

I think that what most people are trying to get across here is that freebies should never be assumed. If they don't tell you up front you should still ask/offer to pay for your ticket, if they refuse then good on them. The point is simply to avoid this type of situation.

[moon]

Originally Posted by sadora

I think that what most people are trying to get across here is that freebies should never be assumed. If they don't tell you up front you should still ask/offer to pay for your ticket, if they refuse then good on them. The point is simply to avoid this type of situation.

It should be the other way around. If you are offering someone a ticket you should let them know what the cost would be. Especially if it is a friend.

If you expect to get paid for the cost of the ticket that should be included in the initial offer to the friend to attend the game.

"Hey, do you wanna come to the game on Friday? I have a ticket for $20."

Pretty simple if you ask me.

[Jayems]

Originally Posted by Howie_16

Actually, I see this a different way.

You get invited to a game and you're not sure if you are expected to pay, how about offering to pay before your friend asks you for money? Flames tickets are expensive, and unless it was your birthday, I think it was presumptuous to assume it was being given to you free of charge.

He could then accept the money, or not. If he gives you a free ticket, you should at least be kind enough to buy a couple rounds of beer for him.

100 % agree.

Never assume. Offer to pay, he'll gladly say "don't worry about it" if it's free, or vice versa.

I have a buddy with season tix and when he invites me, even though I know it's free, I still offer to pay. He always refuses money, but never refuses beer

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

If he's a good friend, give him the gears about it all season. If it's not a good friend, chalk it up to him being a cheapskate and forget about it.

Giving him the gears about it all season is worth the price of the ticket.

Else, make the world a better place. Punch the ######-bag...

[Howie_16]

Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale

Giving him the gears about it all season is worth the price of the ticket.

Else, make the world a better place. Punch the ######-bag...

I think we need a poll here. Who is the ######-bag: the guy selling the ticket without asking for money up front, or the guy expecting to go to games for free?

My vote is for the latter.

[habernac]

I never assume. If someone asks if I want to go to a game, one of the first things I'll ask is "how much?".

[FlamesKickAss]

Originally Posted by Howie_16

I think we need a poll here. Who is the ######-bag: the guy selling the ticket without asking for money up front, or the guy expecting to go to games for free?

My vote is for the latter.

X 2

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Howie_16

I think we need a poll here.

Done; however I chose to omit the word "######bag" from the options.

[HotHotHeat]

Originally Posted by habernac

I never assume. If someone asks if I want to go to a game, one of the first things I'll ask is "how much?".

Me too. Is that rude?

[Devils'Advocate]

The simplest way to preserve friendships is to NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING. When someone gives me a ride home, I offer gas money even though it is rarely taken. When a coworker said they were getting a new computer desk that matched their office decor and I could have the old one - asked how much he wanted for it. And when a friend asks if I want a ticket to a hockey game I say it depends on the cost. I never assume anything to be free and it avoids a lot of hurt feelings.

Now the secondary question is - should a friend offer a ticket for free? And I think that depends on where the ticket came from and the respective financial situations. For me, the *ONLY* time I offered a ticket to a friend and charged him for it was when it wasn't my ticket to give away. Me and my friend Steve bought tickets together, but Steve got sick and gave me the ticket "to do as I saw fit". So I offered the ticket to my friend Bill for $20. And the $20 went straight back to Steve.

[ma-skis.com]

Originally Posted by J pold

Wow I'm pretty surprised in the response to this thread. I look at in a totally different way. If someone offers me a ticket to the game I assume that i'm going to pay. I can't remember that last time I attended a game on someones grace and didn't say before the game "How much do I owe you?"

I would agree, just saying, "what do I owe you?" even if it is a gift, shows that you're being considerate or at least recognizing that they might've had to pay out of there own pocket, and then you can buy beer after that to say thanks or whatever.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by ma-skis.com

I would agree, just saying, "what do I owe you?" even if it is a gift, shows that you're being considerate or at least recognizing that they might've had to pay out of there own pocket, and then you can buy beer after that to say thanks or whatever.

that's probably the most polite way to say it for sure.

[V]

I'm with habernac. "I'd love to. How much?" is always the first thing out of my mouth when this situation arises. It clears things up immediately.

I just can't believe that a situation like this is calling into question a friendship. People and their fricken drama. Unreal.

[sadora]

Originally Posted by moon

It should be the other way around. If you are offering someone a ticket you should let them know what the cost would be. Especially if it is a friend.

If you expect to get paid for the cost of the ticket that should be included in the initial offer to the friend to attend the game.

"Hey, do you wanna come to the game on Friday? I have a ticket for $20."

Pretty simple if you ask me.

This can be looked at in another way.

"hey, I have a free ticket for tomorrow night, do you want to come?"

I know this is semantics now, but if the word free doesn't make it's way into that sentence one should never make the assumption that the offer actually is free. This is something that we've all been through at some point and it comes down to people's inability to communicate properly.

Look, I agree that the original offer should have been clear about wanting to receive payment for the ticket but it wasn't, so why is it correct to assume that the offer is complimentary?