Mindless Monday

In my line of work, I deal with a variety of people on an almost constant basis. I work with our company partners, I manage any sporting event tickets the company has for employees and I run our company events. Basically, I work in Marketing. Sometimes I make people happy, sometimes, I make people angry and sometimes I actually make people think. Me? Make people think? Could ya believe it?

Today being Monday and me being in my usual Monday state of uselessness, I had a minor lapse in intelligence. Really, it was more like a total brain fart.

I’d had a sales representative asking me if we would have hockey playoff tickets for weeks. It seems that he had a very important client that was requesting these, and well, we do aim to please our advertisers so I checked on it. A few charming marketing schemes later, we got tickets.

So, I call the sales rep this morning to let him know. He’s ecstatic. I give him 4 tickets to Game A in the playoffs. He says the advertiser will come over right away to pick them up. The day goes on, I give out a few more tickets. As 5 o’clock approaches I have 4 more tickets left. So I decide to go on the website and see what time the games starts. There it is. Plastered on the home page, Game #3 at 7:35pm. Game #3? Why would they have the series start with Game #3 and start the tickets with Game A?

Shit.

Turns out, Game A was last week. Tonight is Game C. Oh. My. God. I panic.I track down the tickets I gave out internally, a few to upper management, explain the mishap and give them the CORRECT tickets for tonight’s’ game. I try to get a hold of the sales rep who’s already left, but no luck.

Finally he calls me back. I tell him that I can call the box office and have them leave the correct tickets at will call, he just has to call him and let him know. He tells me he can’t. He’s not at the office and does not have his contact information at home. Damn.

He suggests I call the advertisers home office in Michigan and let them know what happened so they can reach him. I call and again no luck. I try every department on their elaborate menu and nothing. I start doing a little online research and find the number to one of his businesses located here in Naples. I call and I ask for him by name.

That conversation went something like this…

Man on the phone: Hello

Me: Hi, can I speak to *****

Man on the phone: (sighs) No. This is not his number. Can I help you?

Me: Oh sorry, I must have the wrong number. Tha-

Man on the phone: Nooo. I just said this is not HIS number. This is ***** I can help you, I just need you to be a little more specific ya know?

Me: Oh. Okay, my apologies. I’m calling from ***** and we gave him tickets to a hockey game tonight but I accidentally gave him the wrong ones. I just need him to know that the correct tickets are waiting for him at will-call under his name and I don’t have his number to let him know.

Man on the phone: Oh really? Yeah okay. I will call him and let him know.

Me: Great! Thank you so much!

Man on the phone: Uh huh. click.

Problem solved…I think. Will he tell him? I sure as hell hope so. If not, I’ll have one pissed off advertiser on my line in the am.