How the tickets SHOULD be done.
I posted this 4 years ago and hoped that admin would see it and adjust. It's really a simple solution and is very fair.
Ticketing Idea for next year:
Sammy has been so wonderful through the years to reward his most loyal fans with free shows on his Birthday! It really shows what a great guy he is and it’s a testament to all of us Readheads that we would spend the nights in the street to party with him on his birthday.
I think the decision to sell tickets was good and necessary. With the change in traffic along the cantina, the recent weather, and lets face it, all the extra drinking going on, it was just a matter of time before there was some kind of accident on that sidewalk and that would just devastate Sammy. One out of control drunk driver is not that far from a reality down there. If that happened, the party would be over for all of us. Not to mention the liability for the cantina, etc. They do have personal injury lawyers down there too.
I have been giving the ticket situation a ton of thought. It is sad that some people that have been going for years did not get Tix, but I also think it is great for all the first timers. However, I think that the system failed miserably. After reading about how many people get multiple shows etc.
But I think I have a solution for next year that would be an extremely fair way to go for all and I hope Sammy & staff agree. It seems to me that most Redheads would be very happy to get just one show if they go to Cabo, just so long as everybody else gets just one show as well.
It seems to me that this can be accomplished very simply.
First, upon announcement of the show dates, all Redheads that are planning on being there need to register that they are going as always. In order to register, you must have a valid credit card on file with redrocker.com. Included in your registration must be the last 5 digits of your Passport or Drivers License numbers.
Once all members register the dates they are in Cabo, the system randomly picks members for one show at a time (beginning with the B-day bash and working backwards). I would even say that in order to get 2 tickets, you must provide your guests name and ID digits at the time of registration. We all know who we are going with.
The system will not select the same registered member twice for two shows until all registered members have either gotten tix, or they are sold out for all shows. If everyone registered gets a set of tix after 3 shows or whatever, the system starts all over again. If you ONLY want to be charged for 1 show (yeah right) you could even Opt out of a second round.
Also, the system would recognize anyone with a duplicate Name and ID # and not allow that double registration or perhaps a 2nd set of tix.
Once the selection process is done, members that are selected get an email with a link to confirm their order. That way if there are 2 members that are going together that were selected, they can release 2 tickets that they would not be able to pick up. It could even easily be set up that the registered members that did not get Tix could be the first selected the following year. Any orders not confirmed would go back into the pool.
It may sound complicated, but the program would not be that difficult to write. I know my IT director could do it easily. I am sure that ALL of the fans would at the very least feel that they had a fair shot and would show up to party in the driveway if they didn't get them this year.
Once you arrive in Cabo, all ticket purchasers and guests, must show up like now to pick up the wrist bands. They must show the proper ID to get them.
I would love to hear feedback on this. Maybe I am missing something, but if enough people agree, just maybe it would work.
- bob087's blog
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5 Redhead Comments
Some great ideas - it does seem unfair that some people get drawn more than once. I have also heard that people still find ways to enter more than once and then get drawn multiple times. I hope your ideas get some consideration.
The lottery SUCKS!! I have been saying it for three years. I have not been selected in any of the three. I got a second chance ticket the first year of it. I only got it because they gave u a code and u were in charge of getting it YOU!! Not some computer. Agree with Doug put it back in the hands of the people. How many people have to complain before it changes??
Hey Doug. Of course I remember that system (that was what prompted this post in the 1st place), but it was a cluster all the same. People getting kicked out at the last second, some not knowing how to be sure they selected 2 tix, and again good loyal fans getting skunked while others got multiple shows. I just feel for everyone out there and would like to see something done like this that would make sense.
My two cents is all.
See you in Cabo!
A few years back the tickets were sold as a live internet sale just like every concert out there! You would get your wristband (ticket) after showing your drivers licence at the pick up time the day of show! Put the fans back in charge of getting our own tickets!!!! Most people want it this way!!!!
Bob, your idea makes a lot of sense and would be an improvement for sure. I have never seen any indication from the admin that they are open to suggestions however. If I were trying to run this aspect of Sammy's empire, I would try to get feedback from my customers/fans in order to ensure that I was delivering the best possible experience. If the admin were open to suggestions or ideas from a focus group, one thing that would be helpful would be to release the statistics of how many registrations are made and how many tickets are distributed. From there, some experienced Birthday Bash fans could help guide the process from the customer's perspective, like you have tried to here Bob. What a novel concept. Ask your customers what works best for them. I agree that the chance to see one show vs. a skunking is appealing. My viewpoint is from someone who has been skunked in all of the last 3 first round lotteries however. People who have had the opposite luck from mine would argue to keep it the same...until they get skunked.