A Strike Out for Mets Fans
Maybe it's just me, but I thought the current trend was to find ways to be easier to do business with.
Not so at Major League Baseball's New York Mets. With the team's new stadium, Citi Field, came a new--overly complicated--seat pricing structure and purchase process. I'm sure if you're buying season tickets or even package plans, the ticket-buying experience is fine. And, hey, if the Mets consider customer value primarily in terms of dollars spent on package ticket sales then that's how it should be. But as a fan who just wants to buy a few seats to a handful of games, the ticket buying experience, well, sucks. And maybe that's the point. Maybe team management wants it to suck so single-game ticket buying fans will opt up to packages.
Here's how it's set up. First of all, there are 13 seating categories. There used to be four. Then there are five game categories. There used to be one. That's 65 different possible seat prices. Some may say it's better that way, because the same seats that cost $245 for a platinum game can be had for a mere $105 at a value game. I say, pick a price for a seat and stick with it. I don't want to have to pay extra to see my favorite Mets' opponent--but I'm sure the Mets expect that I probably will.
When you go online to purchase tickets, you select a seating category. If you don't like the seats it offers, you can't go back to the previous screen to select a new seating category; you have to go all the way back to selecting which game. It took me nearly a half hour to buy three tickets to an upcoming game with all the back and forth of, Is the seating area colored medium blue the Caesar's Club or the Caesar's Club Bronze?, and "No, thanks. I don't want the $138 tickets instead of the $60 tickets."
What would be great would be if you could select seats the way you select airplane seats. Zoom in on a section based on the price or view you prefer, be able to see which seats are available, and click on them to reserve them. If airlines can do it, why not ballparks?
But that's not all. Today is the first day tickets are available for purchase for June through October--unless, of course, you purchased a package or season tickets. Previously, fans could only buy tickets to April and May games. Again, I can only assume that Mets' management wants to "encourage" more package plan sales. And since the weather is questionable in April and May, perhaps they wanted to push seat sales of individual games to what may be less-attended games. I'm all for change, but I remember being able to buy Mets tickets as Christmas gifts years ago. Now, if I wanted to give a friend with an April birthday tickets to a July 4 game, for instance, I'd be out of luck.
I can only assume that I'm a victim of my own status as a low-value customer. I like to go to several games during the season, and the team does offer a variety of package options. But I'm one of "those" customers: the ones who want what they want. I want to select which games I prefer to see, not be forced to see the Phillies when I really want to see the Braves. And I don't want to be stuck with the seats chosen for me by Those in Package Sales, which was the case last time I purchased a package. I'd like to have a say.
Perhaps the Mets will learn what the New Jersey Performing Arts Center learned: In some cases single ticket buyers are as valuable as subscribers. If the Mets had the right analytics in place, it might discover that there are high-value single-ticket buyers who buy that way because they prefer to see certain teams or attend on certain nights. Maybe there's a way to improve the customer experience for those fans.
As for me, if I want to ensure that I get decent seats for next season, I'll start saving now for a package plan.
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Hi Ginger,
Today I opened my email and found numerous correspondance from various colleagues and friends about MLB's subscription pricing nigthmares, so I found your posting to be quite timely.
You are correct (and thanks for the NJPAC kudo) that MLB is taking a dated and lazy approach to defining and rewarding most valuable customers. I would suggest that your purchasing history (which is flying under the Mets radar screen) is typical of a large base of fans that could and should be recognized and rewarded for loyalty.
Every company needs a customer relationship strategy that has multiple customer segments based upon actual value, along with a plan to move customers up the value segment ladder.
You know I could go on for days regarding this topic so I will just say - LET'S GO METS!
The single game issue is just one aspect of the disaster that has become the Mets ticket plan. they're even alintating some of their more valuable customers.
I have been a holder of an 8-game package for the last several years. During the winter I was told that there were no longer going to be 8-game plans and I would need to upgrade to a 15-game plan. After thinking about it long and hard, I decided to take the leap and shell out the additional cash for the larger package.
Of course, after the economy tanked - and the team was unable to sell tickets, they began offering 5-game packages (including an Opening Day ticket). this is after I had made my commitment.
The experience that Mets' customers are getting are horrendous - and we're seeing similar problems in new stadiums everywhere. The new Yankee Stadium, the Dallas Cowboys new building. It's clear that these teams did not AT ALL understand the dynamics that their customers were dealing with in the new economy when decision were made.
TERRIBLE!
Chris,
So true. Citi Field has all new food options (I hear they're great but the lines are massive) and I'm sure that there are souvenirs and T-shirts aplenty. I know I'm due to update my Mets T-shirt...
Liz,
Great point. The Mets used to have 6-game package plans; now they have 15- and 40-game packages. I'm sure the pricing was created before the current economic situation, but perhaps the team could add back the 6-game option.
Having worked for the San Francisco Giants in a past life, I know that the spending really starts once the fan's in the park. It seems like the Mets are cutting off part of their revenue stream to spite their face. 'Course, we never charged New York-money for seats, for the most part, but heck...
I think you should both should consider becoming Red Sox fans instead :)
I totally feel your pain. It's so confusing, and if you add the poor Ticketmaster experience -- unclear "best available" options, the site timing out, and unreadable CAPTCHAs, and it can be a nightmare.
I wanted to buy Mets tickets for my Mom's birthday in April for a game in July. I had to go to StubHub to get tickets for games after May. It was the only option.
With the economy the way it is, most people can't lock into a ticket package, let alone season tickets. So it's the single game customers that will be the ones the Mets organization will make or break the relationship with. They can't control what happens on the field, so they should really pay attention to the other "customer experiences" around the game like ticket sales.
So far, it's not off to a good start. The pitching is a nightmare again, David Wright is in a slump, and Mets fans aren't forgiving based on the team's awful past. The ticket experience may be the last straw. A fancy ballpark isn't going to replace those woes.