What a Joke!

by jolietconvict on Jan 13, 2006 2:31 PM CST Comment 28 comments

Does anyone know Frank Maloney's e-mail address? The entire Cubs ticketing organization is a joke. I tried to renew my season tickets online, accepting the fact that I had to pay them $35.00 to decrease their cost of doing business. Of course that won't work. So I call 773-404-CUBS. When you follow the voicemail prompts you get a message that the "Season Tickets" voice-mail box is full. Then after letting the phone ring for over 5 minutes to the main operator I'm told that the lines to the ticket office are saturated and that I should just fax in my order.

The Cubs ticketing operation is the worst of any of the major league teams I've dealt with and I've bought tickets from at least 8 of them. It starts with their ridiculous online policy of not allowing you to purchase tickets to more than one game at a time. It continues on with the fact that they do nothing for their season ticket holders. Last year they increased the lost ticket fee from a reasonable $5 per ticket to $20 per ticket. That's more than the face value of my tickets. I would really like to voice my displeasure to Mr. Maloney, in a calm and rational manner mind you. I would suggest those of you who are sick of the Cubs ticketing practices, and I know there are quite a few, do the same.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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first-class organization

why do i get the feeling the scouts are driving ford pintos?

by gaius marius on Jan 13, 2006 3:21 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Oh man...

so I never received my season ticket invoice in the mail and am now in panic mode to try and get this resolved and everything is busy. I had called a couple of times to ask about it but always had to leave a message which was never returned. Since I am now realizing that today is the last day for renewal I am seriously stressing. Anything that you guys can think of?

by sandberg2dunston2grace on Jan 13, 2006 3:32 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Breathe deep

You have until Monday to renew.

by jolietconvict on Jan 13, 2006 3:57 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Love the pseudoname.

I really continue to wonder why people who think this organization is a joke continue to follow it. Seriously, why don't people find a new hobby? I think it makes some people feel superior to point out the flaws and state how they would do it better. This is really annoying. (And this is not to the poster of this diary who has a legitimate complaint about his tickets)

Hey Norm...if you were a hot dog...would ya eat yourself? -SNL

by EbbyCalvinNukeLaLoosh on Jan 13, 2006 4:21 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

that really sucks

my experience was nothing like that. I hope you get him on the phone and rip him to hopefully change their ways. Unfortunately it would take about 20,000 calls like that before change would take place.

You would think they could get a temp agency to man this process and see to it all their customers are taken care of, in the least. Or just staff up.

by socalbob on Jan 13, 2006 3:42 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Maloney's email

FYI...Here is Maloney's email. I have used this and gotten a response

fmaloney@cubs.com

by kaseyi on Jan 13, 2006 3:46 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Thank You guys

I actually couldn't get through at all so I called 720am and told them about what was going on. They put me on hold and they couldn't get through to the ticket office so they said they were going to take care of it, took my name, etc. and to listen this hour as they will have an update as other people have called not being able to get a hold of the ticket office. Interesting. I hope it works. Thanks for the email address, I am going to do that as well.

by sandberg2dunston2grace on Jan 13, 2006 4:02 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

That's one big advantage...

...of the Cubs being owned by a media conglomerate. Heck, it might be the only advantage from the fans' point of view.

by greggie44 on Jan 13, 2006 4:18 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I faxed my credit card info and renewal

this morning to 773-404-4014. I also added a small note that I was disappointed in the off season so far and would hope that with the increased revenue they were getting that this would not be the team that takes the field in April.

I'm sure they just laughed and were glad to collect my $5,832.00

by SonnyJ9 on Jan 13, 2006 4:21 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Letter to Mr. Maloney

Dear Mr. Maloney,

I am taking time out of my day today to voice my continued displeasure with Cub ticketing. From continued poor treatment of season ticket holders to trouble with single-game tickets, I have spoken with few, if any, Cub fans who have good ticketing experiences.

To begin, Cub season ticket holders are provided with no additional benefits except for a subscription to Vineline. This past season the lost ticket fee was increased to $20 per ticket. This is ridiculous as it exceeds the face value of my season tickets. Season ticket holders are offered no opportunity to buy additional tickets as almost every other Major League club offers. There are no special season ticket holder events like most clubs hold. There is no guarantee to the right to purchase tickets for one's seats to other events held at Wrigley Field as most other ballclubs offer. There is no discount for buying an entire season's or portion of a season's tickets. There is no discount offered at team gift shops.

I realize that you have a lengthy waiting-list for season tickets and that the Cubs are very popular right now. I realize that you can offer nothing extra to your season ticket holders because even if they decide not to renew there are others willing to take their place. It would be nice for the Cub organization to show some appreciation to their season ticket holders however.

The reason I was finally compelled to write this e-mail is that last night I went to cubs.com to renew my season tickets. However upon logging into the website I was first informed that I would be charged a $35 "convenience" fee. This is ludicrous as renewing on-line saves the Cubs money. However for the "convenience" I decided to pay the fee. Upon clicking the link I received the following error message:
Error
We're sorry. We are experiencing technical difficulties.

The passed game id "5663728" is not associated with a visiting MLB team.

If you continue to receive this error, please contact Customer Service.

So this afternoon I attempted to call the ticket office. After following the voicemail prompts I received a recording telling me that the "Season Ticket" mailbox was full. I hit zero to be transferred to the operator. After waiting for the phone to ring for 5 minutes I was told that the ticket office line was saturated and that I could not get through today and that I should fax my order in. Luckily I have a fax machine at home and I was able to fax my order. However I'm sure that there were many who were not lucky enough to have access to a fax machine. Finally this leaves me with no proof that I actually submitted payment for my tickets. This seems to follow the general disarray that I have encountered whenever I have contacted the ticket office around renewal time. I realize that this is most likely your busiest time of the year, however your inability to adequately staff the ticket office year after year is, to me, inexcusable.

All that being said there are some things you are doing right. Chief among them being your utilization of the Internet to distribute renewal invoices. This is the kind of forward-thinking steps I would appreciate seeing more of. The Jimmy Buffet lottery was nice, although as I wrote above following the practice of most Major League teams and allowing ticket holders to purchase their own seats would have been nice.

Finally the problems with Cub ticketing are not limited to season tickets. Buying single game tickets from the Cubs can be excruciating. There is of course the hell that is the Virtual Waiting Room. I realize that this is beyond the control of the Cubs due to the tremendous demand for tickets. However once one gets beyond the VWR, the ticketing system frequently encounters errors that end up putting you back into the VWR without having had the chance to purchase tickets. Furthermore unlike most other clubs using Tickets.com the Cubs do not allow you to purchase tickets for more than one game at a time. I realize that some of these issues are the fault of Tickets.com. Tickets.com is now owned by MLB Advanced Media however, which means it is in part owned by the Cubs.

I sincerely hope that the Cubs are taking steps to address these issues.

Regards

by jolietconvict on Jan 13, 2006 4:38 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Send it to macphail too

and the Tribune co., if you can get email addresses for that crowd as well.

If baloney can't do his job, then get someone else who can!

by JFCubFan on Jan 13, 2006 5:31 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I purchased multiple Spring Training...

....games while on tickets.com on Day One of the sale -- I didn't have to drop off and try again but one time. Guess it's the cyber-card you draw. The task was almost problem-free, the wait in the virtual room was fairly short and I was done in 35 minutes. This system has been way worse in the past.

And, Joliet Convict -- this is what you have to put up with when you have this kind of fan base. Drive 90 mins to Milwaukee, you won't have any problems buying tickets -- or try the Marlins, or Royals. No fans -- easy ticket purchases. It's not easy buying Red Sox tickets, say my Boston friends. So -- this is the hand we are dealt with. If we have this Grateful Dead-like following, this is what happens.

The windows are open at the United Center for the Black Hawks, FYI. No problems getting tickets there....sorry you have problems, but I think you have to expect this.

by Smooth Jazz Man San Diego on Jan 13, 2006 4:56 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Not really

Other teams that have high demand (Giants, Yankees, etc.) treat their ticket holders better than the Cubs. I see your point to an extent but it's just a general sign of the attitude of Cubs management.

by jolietconvict on Jan 13, 2006 5:01 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Furthermore...

...that backlog for season tickets isn't going to last forever. By treating their season ticket holders well now they will be building some loyalty for when popularity dips.

by jolietconvict on Jan 13, 2006 5:17 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Joliet-

Good letter. I'd be interested to learn what if any response you get.

by SonnyJ9 on Jan 13, 2006 5:04 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Good Letter

All points well taken.

I will say, however, that the Cubs are not the worst ticket office. Unfortunately, the Nats take that prize. Last year, many people did not even receive their full season tickets before the start of the season. Mine came at the last minute stuffed into an undersized fedex envelope, about three weeks after I was supposed to be able to pick them up at RFK.

by 08Cubs on Jan 13, 2006 7:52 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Pretty sad...

...when all they can beat out is a team that was in business for only a few months.

by jolietconvict on Jan 13, 2006 10:13 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The Cubs....

... tried to email all the season ticket invoices this year. If you didn't get one, it means they didn't have your email address. That's probably why you received nothing -- as they are trying to NOT send anything in the snailmail.

I agree that the $35 "convenience fee" is highway robbery. Last year when it was $5 I renewed online -- but $35? That's ridiculous; I dropped my forms off in person.

You have till Monday, and as noted, you can fax them. If the fax line -- 773-404-4014 -- is busy, try doing it at an off-hour.

by Al on Jan 13, 2006 8:30 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

It is funny...

...that they changed their mode of communication to e-mail yet they increase the charge on electronic responses.

by greggie44 on Jan 13, 2006 8:58 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Well...

... they can charge you for online transactions.

They can't charge you for sending you an email.

Yet.

by Al on Jan 13, 2006 9:19 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

repeat after me

q: what are the cubs about?

a: money money money.

by gaius marius on Jan 13, 2006 9:20 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

You could say this...

... about any for-profit enterprise.

by Al on Jan 13, 2006 9:21 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

only for the cubs

perhaps moreso.

by gaius marius on Jan 13, 2006 10:17 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Your point is well taken...

... but I still believe that they do want to win.

by Al on Jan 14, 2006 4:37 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Which could be said...........

........of any for-profit organization!

by tville on Jan 14, 2006 11:23 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

You should try to get a regular rep

You can actually dial directly to the
ticket office personel and they are usually
pretty good about fixing things. I have dealt
with the same woman for many years. It's not
like they don't want your money. I could have
faxed mine in but I send them Fed X as that
gives me signature and only costs me $5.00

I do find the desire to send ALL invoices
via e mail a little annoying but it seems to
be the way of the world

by jessica on Jan 13, 2006 11:56 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Received a reply...

...from Mr. Maloney. He repeated his displeasure with the $35 fee. He was very polite and actually split his reply into two e-mails. The gist of his e-mail though is that they have too many season ticket holders to do anything for us.

by jolietconvict on Jan 16, 2006 12:46 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I guess...

... I can't blame them. Other teams that don't have as many season ticket holders, do go out of their way to give them perks.

As for the fee, this is all part of MLB trying to centralize ticket sales -- and that is likely going to be to our detriment, as online sales are likely to rack up higher and higher fees this year.

If you have ordered any spring training tickets online, you already know that you must create a MLB.com account in order to do so. This will be the case for regular season tickets as well.

I know that MLB is viewing the Wrigley Field Premium appeal with great interest, as this is seen as a test case. If the Cubs win it (and I do not think they will), look for every team to start its own such operation.

This is NOT a good thing.

by Al on Jan 16, 2006 1:34 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs