Why isn t the queue moving Ticketmaster?

Ticketmaster, one of the world’s largest ticket sales and distribution companies, has come under fire recently for long wait times and lack of movement in their virtual queues for highly coveted tickets. As a leading ticket provider for major concerts, sporting events and theater productions, Ticketmaster facilitates ticket sales for a significant portion of live entertainment globally. However, despite their dominant position in the industry, Ticketmaster’s queue system for popular events has been plagued by complaints of little to no progression and endless waiting.

What causes the lack of queue progression for high demand events?

There are a few key factors that contribute to the standstill queues that Ticketmaster customers experience:

• High demand – For extremely popular events like Beyonce’s Renaissance tour or the Super Bowl, demand dramatically outweighs supply. Millions of fans try to access very limited numbers of tickets, so queues remain packed.
• Bots and scalpers – Large scale ticket brokers use bots and other software to buy up tickets quickly, edging out real fans. This artificially inflates demand.
• Technical issues – Ticketmaster has faced website crashes and glitches during major sales, freezing queues entirely. Their systems are not always equipped to handle huge traffic surges.
• Intentional slowing – There is speculation that Ticketmaster intentionally slows queues to build suspense and push customers towards more expensive tickets.

The bottomline is the causes all stem from the huge supply and demand mismatches that occur in hot ticket releases. Ticketmaster’s servers and queues are overwhelmed by millions of fans competing for very limited tickets.

What are fans experiencing during Ticketmaster queue stagnation?

Based on numerous complaints and media reports, here are some of the most common experiences customers have during motionless Ticketmaster queues:

• Little to no progression – Despite waiting hours or days in the virtual line, customers see their queue position barely move, if at all.
• Repeated queue resets – Many customers are kicked out of queues and forced to restart from the back multiple times.
• “Sold out” messages – After endless waiting, fans are ultimately informed tickets are sold out and removed from the queue.
• Wasted time – In the end, most customers have wasted significant time waiting for little or no payoff.
• Frustration – Understandably, unmoving queues lead to enormous frustration for fans eager to get tickets.

In summary, stagnant Ticketmaster queues result in wasted time and frustration for customers. The system fails to effectively facilitate ticket sales for mega-popular events where demand vastly exceeds supply.

What can Ticketmaster do to improve queue flow?

Here are some measures Ticketmaster could take to improve queue flow and the customer experience:

• Update site capacity – Bolster website servers and bandwidth to handle massive traffic surges during sales.
• Optimize queue system – Redesign queues to ensure smoother progression and reduce resetting issues.
• Combat bots and scalpers – Implement more robust bot prevention and strictly limit ticket purchases.
• Set fan limits – Allow only 4-6 tickets per customer to reduce bulk buying.
• Stagger sales – Spread ticket releases over multiple dates to ease strain on systems.
• Increase transparency – Provide queue wait time estimates and frequent status updates.

Modernizing their website infrastructure and queue design, enforcing sales limits, staggering releases and enhancing customer communication could significantly enhance Ticketmaster’s queue operations.

Example of a Recent Ticketmaster Queue Fiasco

A prime example of Ticketmaster’s failures with stagnant queues occurred during the 2013 Beyonce and Jay Z “On the Run” tour ticket sales. The tour was one of the most highly anticipated in years, with “BeyHive” fans desperate for tickets.

Issues arose immediately when millions of eager fans crashed Ticketmaster’s website right at the ticket release time. After implementing a queue system, customers then faced endless waits with no meaningful line movement. Some reported waiting 8+ hours without progress. Even celebrities like Whoopi Goldberg complained about stagnant queues publicly on social media.

The biggest frustration came after customers invested all that time when most were ultimately booted from queues and informed no tickets remained. In the end, tickets popped up on resale sites like StubHub at exponentially inflated prices. Fans felt the queue system was a total waste of time and only benefited scalpers.

The “On the Run” tour queue disaster illustrates how unmanaged demand, lack of server capacity and reseller schemes contributed to a terrible customer experience. It highlighted how Ticketmaster’s model continues to fall short for major events.

Case Study: Super Bowl Queue Frustrations

Another real-world example that epitomizes Ticketmaster’s queue failures is Super Bowl ticket sales. As one of the largest sporting events globally, demand for Super Bowl tickets is astronomical with over 1 million fans vying for around 70,000 seats.

In the last several years, aspiring Super Bowl ticket buyers have experienced the full gamut of Ticketmaster’s queue issues:

• Extreme wait times – queues can exceed 4+ hours with no progress
• Frequent resetting – customers get kicked out and forced backward constantly
• Instant sell-outs – the minute customers access tickets, they are gone
• Bot traffic – up to 60% estimated to be non-human traffic

Examining 2022 Super Bowl ticket data reveals how these problems manifested:

This data shows the futility of Ticketmaster queues in high-demand situations. Fans invest hours just for tickets to vanish instantly, while scalpers scoop them up. The value provided by these stagnant queues remains minimal for customers.

Is Ticketmaster Slowing Queues Intentionally?

One hotly debated question around Ticketmaster is whether they intentionally slow queues to drive up demand and prices. Some evidence and theories suggest this could be occurring in some cases:

• Highly desirable tickets that move slower in queues tend to end up resold at higher prices.
• Artificial supply constraints juice demand for VIP packages and upgrades.
• Wait times that exceed 1 hour often see no meaningful progression.
• Sudden queue speed increases when smaller batches are released.

However, Ticketmaster representatives have firmly denied these accusations. They claim any issues are due to genuine technical limitations and sky-high demand, not deliberate slowing. Overall, no concrete proof exists either way, but skeptics point to patterns of intentional queue dragging.

How Can Customers Improve Their Queue Outcomes?

Navigating Ticketmaster’s stagnant queues can be massively frustrating, but fans aren’t powerless. Here are some tips customers can use to enhance their queue experience:

• Prepare early – Log in to Ticketmaster in advance, load payment info, and pull up event pages ready to join queues right away.
• Coordinate queues – Have friends/family join queues simultaneously to increase chances.
• Try lower demand events first – Build up “queue points” on your account by waiting for lower demand events initially.
• Avoid peaks – Join queues right at on-sale times before masses of people pile in.
• Use an app – The Ticketmaster mobile app tends to have lower volume than desktop sites.
• Have a backup plan – Register for fan club or venue presales as a Plan B option.

While not foolproof, small efforts like these can help fans enhance their queue and ticket-buying outcomes. However, significant changes on Ticketmaster’s part are still needed to solve stagnant queue problems at a macro level.

Conclusion

In closing, Ticketmaster’s frozen queues and lack of progression stem predominantly from extreme supply and demand imbalances. For hot events, millions of customers simply cannot be adequately served under current systems. While Ticketmaster deserves criticism for its shortcomings, the core problem is insufficient inventory in a legal live event ticketing industry plagued by reseller exploits.

Truly resolving queue stagnation may require major systemic changes. However, Ticketmaster also bears responsibility to dramatically improve infrastructure, fairness enforcement, queue design and communication transparency. Until significant changes are made, expect customer frustration to remain sky-high over stagnant queues that seem increasingly fruitless.