New ticket design leaving money on the table for ISU?

[Jason Svoboda]

For those of you that have season tickets, you know that Indiana State has changed the look of the tickets. Prior to this year, the tickets were on the generic Ticketmaster stock and had all of the necessary information including the ticket type designation. Starting this year, the season tickets are custom in the fact they're full color and they look pretty good -- however, there is much less information on them. One piece of information is the adult/child ticket designation.

When you buy a family season ticket, you get 2 adult and 2 child admissions for every home contest. Individual admission runs $9 for an adult and $3 for a child, so a $6 difference or $12 difference per game. Since the tickets are not marked, if the tickets are used by an adult, Indiana State has a potential of a $36 loss per child season ticket. While $6 per game or $36 per season isn't a huge number, that oversight and lack of quality control is leaving money on the table for an athletic department that 1) needs the cash and 2) operates at a 70%+ subsidy as it is.

Hope that makes sense. I'm all for the custom tickets, but they need to have the necessary information on them.

 

[mohoops247]

I loved the new ticket design this year; I'm one of those people that keeps all my ticket stubs and my collection was getting pretty boring with all of the generic Ticketmaster ones..haha. The game-specific tickets with school logos is definitely a nice upgrade.

The point you make about the adult/child ticket designation is very important though. Hopefully they realize the oversight and get it corrected moving forward so that they aren't leaving money on the table.

 

[sycamore tuff]

I find the ticket design too busy. I am getting older and my eyes enjoy being able to find information easy. However, it is just a ticket and I can live with the designs. The tickets do need to be marked as adult or youth. The tickets we purchased last week at iu were marked as such.

 

[Sackalot]

It just isn't surprising that this oversight happened. I am sure they will figure it out...and also, you have to think that most ticket holders will be honest and not use them for adults....ha..ha..ha.

 

[Bally #50]

I would like to know why MY season tickets were just stapled together Ticketmaster copies. I realize they still work the same but I was also a bit surprised that they were basically in an empty envelope and not with a thank you letter or anything. No biggie but they continue to miss the boat on some of these things. It all adds up.

 

[Jason Svoboda]

I would like to know why MY season tickets were just stapled together Ticketmaster copies. I realize they still work the same but I was also a bit surprised that they were basically in an empty envelope and not with a thank you letter or anything. No biggie but they continue to miss the boat on some of these things. It all adds up.

Interesting.

My package came in a manilla envelope. Each season ticket had a football schedule attached to it. The package also included:

1) Parking Pass
2) Playing by the rules - Compliance Pamphlet.
3) 2012 VB/WS/FB/MXC/WXC mini schedules
4) Terre Haute First Advert

No thank you letter, either. However, I got a thank you letter when I received my renewal packet several months back.

 

[Bally #50]

Are you guys trying to REALLY piss me off? There was NOTHING in mine, other than some company flyer I would never use. Not too sure why other than maybe I was later than some, I got zilch. I am not trying to make life difficult for anybody, but it was my second year of season tickets and I doubled the order so I thought a Thank You might have been a nice gesture. I even had to remove the staple from my tickets~

 

[Jason Svoboda]

Are you guys trying to REALLY piss me off? There was NOTHING in mine, other than some company flyer I would never use. Not too sure why other than maybe I was later than some, I got zilch. I am not trying to make life difficult for anybody, but it was my second year of season tickets and I doubled the order so I thought a Thank You might have been a nice gesture. I even had to remove the staple from my tickets~

That is how mine were last year. Pissed me off because I ripped a ticket removing them. No parking pass? If not, you need to call and have them send that out.

 

[Bally #50]

I used to get a parking pass because I donated a good amount of money. Did you purchase more than two or do you donate to the SAF? All this really sounds petty if you bother Ron P with this kind of crap but honestly, I am amazed at times how many opportunities to do something nice for their ticket holders and they do NOTHING. I was totally shocked about that empty brown envelope. I'll call them about the parking.

 

[Sycamore Proud]

I used to get a parking pass because I donated a good amount of money. Did you purchase more than two or do you donate to the SAF? All this really sounds petty if you bother Ron P with this kind of crap but honestly, I am amazed at times how many opportunities to do something nice for their ticket holders and they do NOTHING. I was totally shocked about that empty brown envelope. I'll call them about the parking.

When you treat your longtime, loyal fans this way it is not in the least petty.
Treating season ticket holders this way is:
a. disrespectful
b. an oversight
c. another error in a long series of ISU PR nightmares
d. laziness
e. all of the above
This is another example of the athletic department or the ticket office failures. Hopefully RP believes someone took the initiative to do this correctly. It was handled poorly. RP needs to know. If this is a ticket office (Hulman Center) issue that is beyond RP's control, well then Dr. B. needs to become involved. This is bad business, and college athletics are a business. I swear that I have had MS and HS students organize and staff a business and manufacture an market a product with a profit. My 6th graders understood PR and it role in keeping customers happy. I may be rambling and making a mountain out of a mole hill with this. But you don't treat your most loyal customers this way.

 

[Bally #50]

As with the Out-of-Towner's fiasco's the last two years, RP had no idea we even had a problem with either one. My guess is that: c. another error in a long series of ISU PR nightmares is the culprit here and that Ron has no idea about this kind of stuff. I am tempted to bring it up to him but I doubt I will. Hopefully someone on the AD staff is reading this type of stuff on here and brings it up in the near future in a meeting. Since I get to the games I attend VERY early, parking is not a real issue with me as I park within 40 feet of their lot anyway but Lord, all this stuff makes me cringe when I read it and when it happens to you, you just shake your head and say why.

 

[Sycamore Proud]

Since you are hesitant about this, I will email him and ask him to check this thread. I'm sure he is not aware. I also feel he would want to know.

 

[Jason Svoboda]

I used to get a parking pass because I donated a good amount of money. Did you purchase more than two or do you donate to the SAF? All this really sounds petty if you bother Ron P with this kind of crap but honestly, I am amazed at times how many opportunities to do something nice for their ticket holders and they do NOTHING. I was totally shocked about that empty brown envelope. I'll call them about the parking.

Nope. All I purchased was a family season ticket package and I haven't donated to the SAF. If nothing else, call them and ask them for your parking pass. While I normally tailgate, it came in handy during Homecoming as I went to tent city so having the guaranteed close parking was perfect.

 

[Bally #50]

SP, it would be different if I didn't really like Ron. I do know he does not like being bothered by the little stuff, although he has never told me that directly but I can sense it.

 

[Sycamore Proud]

I understand Bally. I just don't feel this is the little stuff. These types of things can keep a good program from being a great program in the eyes of those who value it the most. Customer relations is a vital part of a great program, don't you agree? If we aren't happy, how will the newcomers to ISU going to feel? It's the you never get a second chance to make a first impression thing to me. I know that we will be here regardless of these types of things. But will the newcomers?
SP

 

[Sackalot]

I understand Bally. I just don't feel this is the little stuff. These types of things can keep a good program from being a great program in the eyes of those who value it the most. Customer relations is a vital part of a great program, don't you agree? If we aren't happy, how will the newcomers to ISU going to feel? It's the you never get a second chance to make a first impression thing to me. I know that we will be here regardless of these types of things. But will the newcomers?
SP

I agree that it is vital. Problem is that the typical consumers view of what is acceptable customer service and ISU's (as a blanket statement) view of customer service are two entirely different things. I view, putting a thank you note in with a season ticket holder's tickets as common sense. ISU does not. I view contact with alumni beyond a e-newsletter as vitally important, ISU does not. I view development of relations with young alumni as vital, ISU does not. I view something as simple as returning a phone call to an alumnus as vitally important to public relations, ISU does not.
These are all petty and generalizations, but when you put them all together and you put them into context...its a big deal!

 

[Bob Evans]

They could take a lesson from cdbaby.com. Even though their order confirmation email is tongue-in-cheek, it's a very humorous thanks.
Also it's a great place to buy cd's from indie artists. I've found some great stuff there.
Their order confirmation email is included here for your entertainment:

Bob-

Thanks for your order with CD Baby!

USPS

Your CDs have been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow.
A team of 50 employees inspected your CDs and polished them to make sure they were in the best possible condition before mailing.
Our world-renowned packing specialist lit a local artisan candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CDs into the finest gold-lined box that money can buy.
We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved "Bon Voyage!" to your package, on its way to you, in our private CD Baby jet on this day, November 4, 2011.
We hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. In commemoration, we have placed your picture on our wall as "Customer of the Year." We're all exhausted but can't wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Sigh...
We miss you already. We'll be right here at http://cdbaby.com/, patiently awaiting your return.
--
CD Baby
The little store with the best new independent music.
http://cdbaby.com [email protected] (503)595-3000

 

[Sycamore Proud]

I agree that it is vital. Problem is that the typical consumers view of what is acceptable customer service and ISU's (as a blanket statement) view of customer service are two entirely different things. I view, putting a thank you note in with a season ticket holder's tickets as common sense. ISU does not. I view contact with alumni beyond a e-newsletter as vitally important, ISU does not. I view development of relations with young alumni as vital, ISU does not. I view something as simple as returning a phone call to an alumnus as vitally important to public relations, ISU does not.
These are all petty and generalizations, but when you put them all together and you put them into context...its a big deal!

It certainly seems then that someone high up in the administrative ladder needs to visit a proctologist (that's the OFC term for colorectal surgeons) and get their head squarely on their shoulders and address the issue immediately.