Gift Idea Gone Awry
My mother is an extreme fan of the band, Air Supply (what is also known as an “Air Head”). If you don’t recall, Air Supply is a band with two guys named Russell and Graham, who had some hits in the eighties. If you are 35 or older, you may remember one of Air Supply’s songs.
I didn’t say you would like it, but you remember the song, right? For me, Air Supply was a staple in our home. I can remember countless car rides to school, to swim practice, even our 17-hour family trip down to Walt Disney World and having Russell and Graham to serenade us. And of course, with my mom singing along. I also remember countless weekends where my mom and her girlfriends would take road trips to go to Air Supply concerts. All 8 of these moms in their forties would hop in our huge conversion van, say goodbye to their families and drive off to be swooned by their favorite duo.
My mom is turning 60 this year. My sister and I wanted to do something special for her. As luck would have it, back in November, I saw that Air Supply was touring in 2011. Perfect! This would be a fabulous gift for her and something that all three of us could do together. After checking our calendars and reviewing the concert dates on the Air Supply site, my sister and I decided on April 9th. It is on a Saturday and is here in Chicago which would allow us to make mom’s birthday extra special with a fun girls weekend in the city.
I get to planning. Book the hotel. Make reservations at a trendy downtown restaurant. Sister made sure her family was going to be taken care of that weekend. Mom had this weekend on her calendar. The last item: get Air Supply tickets.
This past weekend I went to the official Air Supply site to purchase the tickets. The site first appears to be somewhat decent for a band site- has the branding of the latest album and the navigation so you can easily select to see their albums, photos, tour dates, shop their store, etc. I click on tour dates and select April 9th. Nothing. No link? Okkaaayyyy…am I missing something? Is there a link to buy tickets at the footer? Do the other dates link to buy tickets? Can I search for “tickets”? Nope, nope and nope.
Next option: Ticketmaster. I see Air Supply listed for all of the tour dates, EXCEPT April 9th. Seriously? Now I am frustrated. I check out Stub Hub. Same thing. I go to the venue’s site. Same thing. The only place that seems to list an Air Supply concert on April 9th is the official Air Supply site. What is this all about? Why would the band list a tour date that didn’t have tickets available to purchase?
It’s Sunday night and it seems my last option is to call the venue to see if they know anything about the concert. As my luck would have it the venue doesn’t open until 10am on Tuesday. Fabulous. I am not sure what happened, but if anything, Air Supply could have put an asterisk by this date saying tickets will be on sale on X date. Or check back on X date for tickets.
I know this seems so obvious, but I have seen so many people miss the number one rule for any ecommerce site: MAKE SURE YOUR INFORMATION IS ACCURATE. Simple mistakes like this can cause frustration, loss of visits, and loss of sales.
Now that my sister, mom and I have planned our Chicago girl’s weekend around this concert date, it doesn’t seem likely that we will actually be going to the concert after all. Even though I know my mom would have LOVED to have seen them, I know we will make her birthday weekend in Chicago special with or without Air Supply. Who needs Air Supply when you have my mom, my sister, and a few margaritas in this fabulous city?
And last but not least, Happy 60th birthday to the best mom a girl could ask for! Even if you are an “Air Head”.
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