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Stood Up for the Opera

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Venus193:
ETA:  SCROLL DOWN FOR FINAL UPDATE

I have finally calmed down about this, but I'm still not sure what to do.

Early last month I bought tickets for the satellite broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera in movie theatres and this was to be with two friends.  This afternoon was The First Emperor at 1:30 EST and I phoned the Upper West Side friend at 11:15 as I was leaving the house to say I was on my way.  We were to meet in front of the movie theatre at 1 so that we could get decent seats.   East Village Friend arrived at 1 and we waited together.  I phoned Upper West Side Friend and got no answer (she doesn't have a cell phone).  Five minutes later, East Village Friend went inside to grab our seats and I continued to wait....until 1:26.  A zillion cabs came and went during that time dropping off patrons for this sold-out event.

I could have sold her ticket to three people in the meantime, but held onto it.  At 1:27 I ran inside and discovered I had to go up two long escalators to the appropriate floor.  The ticket taker grabbed the tickets out of my hand and tore them.  The tickets were still attached, which meant that one of the tickets for the March 24th event was torn as well.  I pointed this out but he didn't care; he just said that I'd still be able to use the stub.

Rather than argue the point and miss the show I went inside.  It had already begun and as it was too dark to see the seats, I stood by the wall for the first hour, then sat down on the floor.  When the house lights came up in between acts I looked for East Village Friend and couldn't find her, so I found a spot behind the wheelchair area and sat on the floor once again (the theatre design still allows you to see the screen under those conditions).

After the final curtain I found East Village Friend, who had left a message on my cell phone in the interim.  I went to the Customer Service desk to address the issue of the torn ticket; she gave me a refund for it, but not a replacement (the show is sold out).  We walked out then, EVF to a party and I to the subway to come home.  No messages on my cell phone, either, and no attempt was made to call my home number.

This friend is frequently late, but this was over the top. 

What to do now....

Suze:
how could they not give you a replacement for the torn ticket?  You had purchased the seat. Just because the ticket was torn did not mean the seat went bye-bye.

sorry you had a rough time of it.  Really don't know what to tell you about your friend

Gileswench:
I'm utterly appalled that you were not given a replacement ticket for the upcoming show when the theater was entirely at fault and you tried to take care of the problem immediately. I think you need to contact someone further up the chain of command, if possible, and make a stink about that. Of course the show is sold out...you're one of the people it was sold out to! That's horrible customer service on at least a dozen different levels.

As to your WVF...unless she spent that time in the ER or in jail for a crime she didn't commit I think it would take me a very long time to forgive her, let alone take her to another social engagement. Okay, if she was saving orphans from a burning building, I'd probably give her a pass for that, too, but it would have to be on that level.

Venus193:
The replacement ticket would have belonged to the friend who stood us up, so I'm not going to make a big deal of that.  I still have a ticket to the event in question.

The customer service rep was rather appalled that the ticket taker wasn't paying better attention.  However, I wish they would hire CS people whose English was better.

I still don't know what to say to the person who stood us up.  On the one hand I have to wonder whether she (or her elderly cat) got horribly sick or whether she just fell asleep shortly after I talked to her.  She had made no attempt to call me either at my standard number or cell number.

audrey1962:
I'm sorry that happened to you! Not only were you stood up, but you had to sit on the floor to see the performance. I'd be angry too. Please post an update if you hear from your friend.

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