Friday, October 10, 2008
GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT.
I realize it hasn’t even been two full weeks since the collapse of the 2008 season, but I get kind of nervous when companies are holding on to hundreds of dollars of my hard-earned money and not telling me when they’re going to give it back to me. The storyline that the Mets are handing out is that they have already refunded everybody’s playoff tickets, but what the beat writers don’t get the specifics on, and what the Mets don’t volunteer, is that all that means is that there’s a credit in your Mets ticket account. They aren’t cutting checks, crediting credit cards, or in any way shape or form physically getting cash back to you. It’s still sitting there, earning interest for Sterling Equities, LLC, while Fred and Jeff try to get us to buy $50 bricks.
Fans are starting to get disgruntled. Steve at the Eddie Kranepool Society already unleashed a rant, while the ever-stalwart folks over at Loge 13 continue to hoist the standard for the average fan. Aside from that, it’s business as usual everywhere else. Fans calling and asking the ticket office are being told that they’re figuring things out now and they’ll let us know within two weeks, to which I say:
WHAT IN TARNATION HAVE YOU PEOPLE BEEN DOING FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS?
It’s not like they didn’t know this was coming. It’s not like there aren’t other teams out there that have had to relocate fans from one stadium to another who they could learn and borrow from.
It’s even more irksome when you realize that uptown in the Bronx, our good friends the Yankees are accommodating everybody. It may be more expensive; you may not like your seat location; but they are accommodating everybody. They even have a helpful website set up (and have had for some time now) to walk ticketholders through the process.
Please make sure you have taken your blood pressure medication before going there, however, because if you are a current partial season ticket holder with the Mets, you will blow your top.
The Yankees are offering as follows:
- A 41 game plan
- A 20 game plan
- A 15 game plan
- And an 12 and 11 game plan
Don’t those sound appealing? Especially when SEVERAL OF THEM INCLUDE FULL POST SEASON RIGHTS! No seriously.
In the helpful FAQ, the Yankees elaborate as follows:
1. Which Licensees are eligible for the Relocation Program?
All Licensees who licensed and maintained a Plan for the 2008 Season will be eligible to participate in the Relocation Program for the new Yankee Stadium.
6. I am a Partial Season Plan Licensee for the 2008 Season. What will my options be in the new Yankee Stadium?
At the present time, all current 2008 Partial Season Plans will be modified for the 2009 Season. However, you will be eligible to participate in the Relocation Program. You will initially be assigned to a Plan in a location that is based upon your preferences as indicated in the Relocation Program Questionnaire that you submitted. Please see pages 40-41 for more information.
7. I am a 20-Game Flex Plan Licensee for the 2008 Season. What will my options be in the new Yankee Stadium?
A 20-Game Flex Plan will not be offered for the 2009 Season. However, you will be eligible to participate in the Relocation Program. We will be offering two separate pre-determined 20-Game Plans for the 2009 Season. You will initially be assigned to a Plan in a location that is based upon your preferences as indicated in the Relocation Program Questionnaire that you submitted. Please see pages 40-41 for more information.
Now, I’m not pretending that the Yankees are suddenly the most fan-friendly team in the Major Leagues. If you dig deeper, you will see that the only seats available to partial plan holders are in the nosebleeds, there are zero prime (or even subprime) seats available. And I work with enough long-time Yankees season ticket holders to have heard the trials and tribulations. I know.
My point is: the Yankees don’t have to do this. The Yankees are the ones who can easily say, “My way or the highway,” and only accommodate full-season customers. They certainly don’t have to go the whole hog and offer a Relocation Plan, and devise a complex seniority ranking system whose purpose is to attempt to reassign people fairly given how long they’ve had a plan and what their current investment is.
Now, maybe the Mets are going to announce this kind of thing in two weeks. Maybe the elves over at mets.com are building a little web site with a Relocation Questionnaire and a virtual reality seating chart that we’re all going to get to use.
But between you and me, I kind of doubt it.
I want my money back or I want them to tell me what my options are for next year, and I want them to tell me RIGHT NOW. Period. They have had YEARS to figure this out in advance. There is no excuse for them to keep us hanging for another few weeks, except, of course, that interest $$$ growing in the Wilpons’ bank account. At some point, there is a limit to greed.
I encourage all partial plan holders to call the Mets and ask what is going on. Be sure to mention that the Yankees are already doing something. Apparently they don’t like hearing that very much.
Excellent post. From an objective cold business standpoint, I can understand why the Mets don’t want to reveal their intentions re: partial plans (since that would go against their goal of maximizing their full season ticket base). However, it is unacceptable for them to both withhold their partial plan intentions AND not refund our postseason invoice payments.
If the refund letter doesn’t show up in the mail today or tomorrow, I’ll try to call the Mets on Monday to indicate that I want my refund immediately as opposed to when they think it’s best to give me back my money.