Allen County War Memorial Coliseum

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 10, 2016/10/13) */
On October 11, 2016, The Coliseum received a notice of a complaint from the Revdex.com. The complaint indicated that this was the second notice and the first notice went without a response. After reviewing our email database, it...

appears the first e-mail was received but somehow was deleted before it was determined a response was required. For this, we apologize.
On September 20, 2016, there was a concert at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum featuring several bands including Avatar, Killswitch Engage, Volbeat, and the main headliner Avenged Sevenfold.
Based on the complaint received, Mr. [redacted] and a female guest had tickets for Section 214, Row 1, seats 8 and 9. When they arrived, they could not locate seat #8. They talked with several Coliseum Team Members in an attempt to resolve the issue. Mr. [redacted] indicated that it took about almost an hour to resolve the situation. Mr. [redacted] indicated in his complaint, that by the time the issue was fully resolved, the headlining act was about half way done and the opening acts had already completed their shows. He further indicated that the Coliseum offered two pretzels and cheese as an offset to the problem during the show. Following the show, Mr. [redacted] indicated that the Coliseum called him to discuss the problem and offered complimentary tickets to a minor league sporting event, which he refused. Based on his complaint, Mr. [redacted] feels he is entitled to a full reimbursement of his ticket cost plus more.
We have reviewed the complaint and discussed this issue with the Coliseum staff who was involved in the problem. The following is what we determined:
In section 214, Row 1, there should have been (and there were) 14 seats. Six of these seats (#9-14) are permanent seats. The first 8 seats in the row (#1-8) are padded folding chairs with handwritten seat numbers on the bottom of the seat. The numbers on the bottom of the seats were not in their proper order so when another guest arrived who had seat #7, they sat in the chair that had a 7 on it even though it was actually the 8th seat in the row. When Mr. [redacted] arrived, it appeared that everyone was in the proper seats based on the numbers written on the bottom of the chairs and that chair # 8 was missing because #7 was next to #9.
After discussion with Coliseum staff, counting of seats, and people in the front row, it was determined that there were indeed 14 seats in the row (please see photo attached). After Mr. [redacted] and his guest arrived, there were also 14 people in the first row. The usher simply moved the other guests into the proper seats.
While this resolution seems simple now, during a live concert, it is difficult to see the resolution in the dark with loud music, and guests wanting to see the show. The Coliseum staff moved Mr. [redacted] and his guest to row two, so they were more comfortable while a final resolution was determined. In addition, all of this was being done while trying not to hinder other guests from watching the show.
In addition to the information above, here is a timeline of events that we reconstructed based on computer access for ticket entry and video footage of the event:
The show started with Avatar playing around 6:15PM
Avatar concluded around 6:40PM
Killswitch Engage began playing approximately 6:55PM
Killswitch Engage concluded around 7:30PM
At 7:42PM Coliseum staff scanned Mr. [redacted] and his guest's tickets as they arrived for the show
Mr. [redacted] and his guest are seen in the hallway purchasing food and beverage at 7:46PM
Around 7:54PM, Mr. [redacted] and his guest made their way into the arena bowl and to their seats for the first time
Mr. [redacted] and his guest are seen in row one standing in front of one chair at 7:55PM
Volbeat begins to play around 7:55PM
At approximately 8:36PM, Mr. [redacted] and his guest leave their seats and go to talk to an usher about the seating issue. This is the first time Coliseum staff heard of the seating issue
Volbeat concludes at approximately 8:45PM
Around 9:11pm the arena goes dark in preparation for Avenged Sevenfold
At 9:13PM, a Coliseum Usher places Mr. [redacted] and his guest in row 2, seats 13 and 14
At 9:21PM, the guests for row 2 seats 13 and 14 arrive
At 9:22 PM Mr. [redacted] is seen talking with Coliseum staff at the top of the section
Between 9:22PM and 9:40PM, Coliseum staff had conversations with the Operations Staff and the Ticket Office staff trying to develop a resolution
At 9:40PM, a Guest Services Staff member returned to the seats and determined people were in the wrong seats because of the numbering issue
Just before 9:41PM, Mr. [redacted] and his guest were in their proper seats
At 9:46PM a Guest Services Supervisor delivered pretzels and cheese to Mr. [redacted] and his guest
At 11PM, Mr. [redacted] and his guest left their seats to leave
Avenged Sevenfold concluded playing at about 11:03PM
Mr. [redacted] stated that he wanted an apology and that no one at the business is accepting fault in our mistake. This is not true. The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum did apologize for the inconvenience Mr. [redacted] and his guest experienced. In fact, the night of the show, "the man" Mr. [redacted] spoke with, who took his phone number apologized that the issue took so long to resolve. "The man" indicated that the seating problem was the Coliseum's fault. Mr. [redacted] even told "the man" that he was the first one to apologize for the issue. In addition, "[redacted]" apologized the next day as well.
The Coliseum assessed all of the above information when an offer of resolution was made. The offer of tickets to a future sporting event was based on the fact that Mr. [redacted] and his guest were late to the show, missing the first two opening acts entirely due to their late arrival. In addition, the decision for a monetary refund is the promoter's decision because the ticket sales money is the property of the promoter and not the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Finally, the decision to offer tickets to a future sporting event, was based on the fact that Mr. [redacted] and his guest were able to see the show uninterrupted from 9:40 until the conclusion of the event.
In his complaint, Mr. [redacted] said the tickets we offered, could be found on StubHub for [redacted] While we only promote the purchase of tickets through Ticketmaster, I found the minor league sporting events we offered, on StubHub for [redacted] per ticket on October 13, 2016 (See Screen Shot Attached).
We again apologize for the inconvenience Mr. [redacted] and his guest went through. We have addressed this issue with our staff to ensure this situation does not happen again. We feel the offer of food items the night of the show and tickets to a future sporting event is a reasonable offer given the circumstances.

Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 12, 2016/10/13) */
To whom it may concern:
To start my name is [redacted] not Mr. [redacted] Being referred to Mr. [redacted] 15 times to a response proves to me that you are not taking my compliant seriously! As you mentioned my guest and I were sharing one seat for the entire set of Volbeat which I thought that was ridiculous considering I paid about [redacted] each for 2 tickets. I don't think its too much to ask for seats at a venue to be properly numbered so when one arrives it is clear where to sit. A patron should not have be bounced around from seat to seat because your staff doesn't know how to number seats 1-14. Not is not my fault. And if you review your videos I actually informed a security guard during Volbeat's set. My guest and I were there strictly to see Avenged Sevenfold and Volbeat, we did not have an interest in seeing the first two acts. And once the issue was "resolved" I was in such a bad mood that I didn't even enjoy myself. Two pretzels, two cups of cheese, and minor league sporting event is not an acceptable form of resolution for your mistake. Front row tickets worth [redacted] of my favorite is worth more than a pretzel with cheese and a minor league sporting event worth [redacted] or so you say is not an equal value. And as I already told [redacted] and "the man" I have no interest in traveling to your venue ever again and I believe you should be able to understand why. Therefore, I honestly don't care if you are bringing this issue up in a staff meeting so it doesn't happen again, that does not concern me in the slightest. So the venue has accepted they made a mistake, they apologized, now all I am asking for is a full refund of [redacted] They mention that money goes to the promoters but the promoters pay the venue to provide numbered seats for the paying guests, therefore the venue should have to eat the cost before they are at fault.
Thank you,
[redacted] not "Mr. [redacted]