December 11, 2003

 

 

 

 

 

Dear White Sox Fan,

 

 

 

The White Sox would like to extend our apologies to the fans who came to the ballpark on Saturday, November 22 and were unable to purchase seats. Our expectation was to sell a limited number of seats while raising a small amount of money for Chicago White Sox Charities. Needless to say, our plans failed.

 

 

 

We were thrilled but surprised by the overwhelming response to the seats, and apologize that demand far exceeded supply and that not everyone was accommodated. The end result was that we disappointed you, our most loyal and supportive fans. For that we are most sorry.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, we do not have additional seats to offer for sale. All inventory, except for the very limited supply of seats and seat parts that is held for repair work on the remaining seats in the ballpark, is depleted.

 

 

 

We value your support and understand your disappointment in the way the seat sale was organized and executed. We do hope you can look past this incident and continue to pull for the White Sox as we prepare for SoxFest and the 2004 season.

 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Christine O’Reilly

 

Director of Community Relations & Advertising

I'd email her back with a good ole :fyou . She is just trying to sugarcoat it.

I'd email her back with a good ole  :fyou . She is just trying to sugarcoat it.

She's just doing her job.

She's just doing her job.

I meant directed at the Sox...not her.

I'm not gonna be a crybaby about it, but we went down there from Naperville and got there well before 9 a.m., and stood there until about 11:00.

 

A bit more than an apology by email is in order, in my opinion.

 

Discounted tickets to a game, a couple of free ones to SoxFest ... anything. They have my name and phone number, they know I'm a season ticket holder. This is the easy way out for them, and I'm a little disappointed how they're handling it.

 

Looks like they're taking PR lessons from the Blackhawks on this one.

I'm not gonna be a crybaby about it, but we went down there from Naperville and got there well before 9 a.m., and stood there until about 11:00.

 

A bit more than an apology by email is in order, in my opinion.

 

Discounted tickets to a game, a couple of free ones to SoxFest ... anything.  They have my name and phone number, they know I'm a season ticket holder.  This is the easy way out for them, and I'm a little disappointed how they're handling it.

 

Looks like they're taking PR lessons from the Blackhawks on this one.

God I am glad you told me you had to see you inlaws that day, or In would have been with you. I slept in

I'm not gonna be a crybaby about it, but we went down there from Naperville and got there well before 9 a.m., and stood there until about 11:00.

 

A bit more than an apology by email is in order, in my opinion.

 

Discounted tickets to a game, a couple of free ones to SoxFest ... anything.  They have my name and phone number, they know I'm a season ticket holder.  This is the easy way out for them, and I'm a little disappointed how they're handling it.

 

Looks like they're taking PR lessons from the Blackhawks on this one.

This sounds right to me. An email is a lameass way to get out of this, IMO.

This sounds right to me.  An email is a lameass way to get out of this, IMO.

That thinkinh is why you are not employed at 35th and Shields.

I drove down there, got there at 8:30 was told the seats would be sold out by the time I got the front, so I left. There was a limited quantity, we all knew this and they were sold. I really fail to see how this was the Sox fault. Standing in line at Soxfest for an hour trying to get in last year, that is a different story. Ticket prices going up 10%, now this is a problem. Piss poor baseball, is a problem. Not having enough seats to sell for charity, I shrug my shoulders to this. If there is a concert in a 3,500 seat venue and you are 3,501 in line whose fault is it?

I drove down there, got there at 8:30 was told the seats would be sold out by the time I got the front, so I left.  There was a limited quantity, we all knew this and they were sold.  I really fail to see how this was the Sox fault.  Standing in line at Soxfest for an hour trying to get in last year, that is a different story.  Ticket prices going up 10%, now this is a problem.  Piss poor baseball, is a problem.  Not having enough seats to sell for charity, I shrug my shoulders to this.  If there is a concert in a 3,500 seat venue and you are 3,501 in line whose fault is it?

Wrong. It's not that simple.

 

1). They let non-season ticket holders in line and didn't check to see if people were season ticketholders or not. This AFTER they said the 9-11 timeframe was for season ticketholders ONLY.

 

2). Insider "CRAP": It was posted on this site, by season ticket holders, that some people (the special people???) were able to buy seats via the internet. Didn't have to stand in line, or anything.

 

3). They never said how many exactly will be available, but they DID say they took out about 6000 seats. Anyone with a brain knows damn well one seat is likely to be destroyed when they take one out. Simple math says there should've been more than a couple hundred available. They damn well KNEW they only had a few to sell. They should've told the season ticket holders, "hey, most of these seats are screwed up ... we only have a few."

 

THEY DIDN'T. They publicized the seat sale on their website.

 

Much of their business success is dependent on good, or even passable, public relations. They failed in this case. To me, the biggest failure is what they did with this lame email. How much of a problem is it, since they collected email addresses and phone numbers, to do a little positive PR?

 

Answer: IT ISN'T TOUGH AT ALL.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if they use these email addresses to try and sell other stuff.

 

So it is NOWHERE near as simple as saying, "We had 3000 seats and you're number 3001, tough luck."

 

I'd much rather they handle a PR-type event with foresight, planning, and the slightest bit of organization, not to mention recognition that season ticket holders went out of their way to TRY AND GIVE THEM MONEY.

 

If they understood those simple concepts, I'd be first in line to say:

 

and