Photo Credit: Stephanie Warsen

As Chicagoans (and seemingly everyone else on Earth) scrambled to get their Lollapalooza tickets on Tuesday March 24, 2015, some were experiencing technical difficulties that ain\’t nobody got time for. When its time for the Lolla 3-Day pass online purchase showdown, some resort to having multiple browsers open on multiple devices, all just to make sure one of their applications can secure the tickets soon enough. Apparently, no matter what crazy methods were used this year, many Chase customers could not catch a break. The bank\’s fraud protection left a lot of hopeful Lollapaloozers stranded at the gate on Tuesday. As both early-bird and general admission 3-day tickets sold out within 45 minutes of the 10 o\’clock a.m. time of sale, many Chase users were notified of an inability to process their payments. A Chase spokeswoman spoke out on behalf of the fiasco:

\”Due to a systems issue, some customers were unable to purchase Lollapalooza concert tickets,\” a Chase spokewoman said Tuesday. \”We have since fixed the issue and apologize for the inconvenience. Customers should contact us if they have questions or concerns.\”

Many took to Twitter to express those questions and concerns, to which Chase responded to some with apologies. This is an unfortunate PR issue for the national bank: many people\’s attention was tuned in to social media that Tuesday morning as things sold out quickly and people complained in general. Attaching Chase\’s name to the issue caused quite a negative buzz around the brand. Many did take to saying their friends had scooped them a ticket and Chase is lucky, otherwise they would have some really negative things to say.

Regardless of whether Chase was your bank or not, they are not the only entity to blame an inability to secure a pass for this year\’s highly anticipated killer line-up. Sheer traffic to the website often leave hopeful buyers out of luck when it comes to snatching a ticket as the site takes a while to process orders of such high volume. Whether its your seventh Lollapalooza or your first, you have to be on your game and have the mouse ready. Ticket resale forums, websites, and communities immediately saw a rush of people trying to relinquish a pass following the sold out event. For some, waiting until July when the wristbands are physically mailed is simply not an option. Buying a pass straight off an online purchase does leave time and room for people to get scammed out of buying a real pass. Though being patient for a couple of months can be torture, I do not imagine many have success begging online for a pass just an hour after they sold out. Good things come to those who wait, people!

 

Source: Chicago Tribune