2/26/2011

Solutions to the GT Issue (30 Seconds to Mars)

First of all let me say, I appreciate you finally took the time to explain all this “early entry” issue. While I might understand the reasons you mention, it would have been nice to let us know about the changes BEFORE you put the tickets on sale. That way, people could have been aware of the situation, and then it was up to their discretion to buy the GT or not. This way it only seems that, because some of us complained about it, you feel the need to explain your actions. Why didn’t you feel the need to explain that you were taking off the “early entry” before doing it, if, as you claim, so many complained about it?

Let me explain some personal, and some not so personal reasons why some of us buy GT and are concerned about “early entry”. First, some of us have jobs and cannot “skip” them to queue all night/day like we could when we were at school. We rely on these jobs to buy those GTs but also to be able to eat and have a roof to live under, so we cannot call in sick or simply skip it to queue. Our only option was having the “luxury” of the Early Entry.

Now add the fact that some of us travel from other states (I personally travel from other country). Again there is no way a person can queue for, say 8 hours, jump (and touch the sky) for 2 hours, and then get back on the road and drive for another 3 hours to get to the next show. And start all over again: queue, jump, etc. Again we could only rely on Early Entry.

Have you thought about those who have some kind of illness? Those unable to stand in the same place, or sit for long periods of time? Those with some kind of health problem that makes it impossible to queue? Some of us bought those GT because we knew that was our ONLY option to get close to the stage. Where is the fairness in your actions when it comes to us??

You ask for productive solutions. Well I’ll give you my two cents.

1. I see people asking for things to go back the old way, where the band would have signing tables, would stop for pictures and a chat with the fans, not GT only. We have to realize that the band is pretty known right now, and things cannot stay like that. They would spend hours and hours to try to please us all and that would be impossible

2. Give refunds to those unhappy with your services. Obviously, you would end up losing money because there are a lot of us. So probably an option you wouldn’t even consider.

3. Sell less GTs BUT keep the Early Entry so there’s a place in the barricades for both GTs and Gas (although again, it means you won’t get as much money…it all comes down to money huh?). This might be a solution for the future, but what about those who have already purchased their GTs??

4. Some of the GT buyers have young children and they cannot afford the time to queue when they have to look after them at home. Or even worse, have the kids queuing for hours no matter if it is cold, hot, rainy… They bought the GT to make sure their kids had an amazing experience (think about FUTURE buyers)

5. Since you can’t please everyone, here’s what I thought. You can have two different lines for GA and GT (that way makes it easier for you to give them the bag with the goodies and the bracelet). Have the barricades divided in two (right and left side). Have the right side completely divided (as in barricades at the sides and back, as the shape of a square) and save it for those who bought the GT1 (you surely know how many of those are, so you can have an idea of how much space you need). That way we don’t need to get in early, we only need to know that we will have a place, A GOOD PLACE, that WE HAVE PAID FOR reserved to us. The rest of the barricade (left side) will be for those with GA who have queued for hours and surely deserve it too. GAs get their barricades, we get our barricades. You get your money, we get a happy show.

This has been done by many groups for many decades, so I don’t see it being a problem on your side to put it all up together, that’s if you really want to. Here are some examples:



Obviously these pictures represent a whole stadium, and we are delaing with a smaller venue, but the idea would be much simpler too. Something like this:

I don’t think I need to remind you of the huge effort buying a GT means to some of us. We save for months for things like this (remember it’s not only the GT, it’s the gas/flights and hotel expenses too). We understand you have to make money out of this, end of the day it is a business. But you need to offer a service appealing to people, and trust me, Package 1 isn’t appealing anymore.

If you agree with this solution for the GT, please take a minute to sign our petition and let The Hive know that we cannot be treated like this.

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