More Lessons from Stub Hub

Thank you to everyone who's read the blog and commented on it here or on Facebook. I truly appreciate it.

Stub Hub responded to my blog and to my posting on their Facebook page. They took the time to craft a thoughtful response and I wanted to share with you all what I felt about it.




"Hey Kelsey we totally get it, there's nothing worse than getting shut out for your favorite band and then seeing someone else selling those tickets for a lot more money. Keep in mind, as a marketplace a ticket is only worth what somebody else is willing to pay for it. If no one is willing to pay double for the ticket, then those tickets will keep getting lower in price. So try checking back over the next few weeks and hopefully you'll find something more in your budget."

For this, I applaud them. To me, here's what they did right:

1) Personalized response: Stub Hub got rid of the cut & paste response and gave me something that was real. This made me think that I was talking to a real person, who was passionate about the company, and wanted me to love it too.
2) Acknowledged the issues that I was upset about: In my posting, I talked about not being able or willing to spend so much money on tickets. Stub Hub got that and acknowledged that I was hurt and sad I wasn't able to see my favorite band. They showed that they understood why I was upset, which is the first step to remedying a solution.
3) Offered a solution: Stub Hub offered me a realistic promise. They offered me something they could reasonably deliver on and further acknowledged that there was some things that were out of their control.

The point of my ranting before was to ask why have a Facebook page or a Twitter account or be at all engaged in social media if you don't actually intend to be engaged? Social media allows for a two way street- not only am I allowed to say something about the company, the company is allowed to say something to me. If you're not going to be truly concerned with what I have to say, you come off dishonest, insincere and fake. There is a very thin veil with social media and just having it isn't enough. You have to be able to use it properly.