Blind seat selection all depends on luck?, Spend a thousand yuan "watching pillars" at the concert venue

Since the beginning of this year, the concert tickets of many celebrities have been almost sold out in seconds, and at the same time, consumer complaints about concerts have also rapidly increased. Recently, at a concert held in Haikou, Hainan, the audience demanded a refund in unison because they couldn't hear the singer's singing clearly; In May of this year, a viewer complained that the organizer of a certain singer's concert was selling "pillar tickets". Some viewers spent more than 1000 yuan, but their vision was blocked by the pillars built by the stage design. Despite spending money, the on-site experience was not satisfactory. Is there a feasible solution to the problem of blind seat selection during the concert? How to further regulate the cultural performance market?

01

Fans claim to have spent a thousand yuan on concert tickets

I only found out on site that I was "looking at the pillars" throughout the entire process

Last weekend, the 2023 Afternight Tour concert in Haikou came to an end. The concert, which had a maximum ticket price of 1280 yuan, was soon discovered by the audience to have many problems such as unclear hearing.

Since the beginning of this year, consumer disputes have been on the rise due to poor concert viewing experience. Previously, Jiang Tao and his family made a special trip from Zhejiang to Shanghai to watch a concert of a well-known singer. However, due to the lack of a seat diagram provided during the ticket issuance, upon arriving at the venue, he discovered that the seat he had purchased, with a face value of 1299 yuan, was completely covered by giant pillars built on stage.

A "pillar ticket" with a high angle view

Multiple blocking videos sent by Jiang Tao to reporters show that some high priced ticket positions, due to their proximity to the stage, have a field of view of almost only one huge pillar; Looking down from other higher occlusion positions, the pillars divide the stage in half along the diagonal. A netizen said that singers can still see people as they move around, but they can't see them for a longer time.

Due to severe obstruction of the viewing angle, hundreds of on-site viewers joined the rights protection group, hoping that the organizer can provide a reasonable solution.

Jiang Tao said, "On May 20th, which was a special day, the organizers took this position out for sale. They also refused to admit it and said they discovered the existence of pillar positions two days before the stage was built. The rights protection group we built has grown from 7 people to over 700 people."

View of "pillar tickets" closer to the stage

Coincidentally, in late July, there was also a situation where the viewing line was obstructed during another singer's concert. Audience Li You said that he and his friends purchased a ticket for 799 yuan at the time, and there was a seat diagram when the ticket was issued. Li You said that from the diagram, the view should be good.

Some concert seats are set on the stage extension line, and the audience can hardly see the performance on stage.

But upon arriving at the scene, Li You found that the schematic diagram was not accurate. Due to the large screens and other hardware structures on both sides of the stage, Li You and his friends are almost located on the extension line of the screens. If the singer does not reach the very edge of the stage, everyone has no idea what content is being performed.

02

Concert venue cannot be seen or heard clearly

Difficulties in consumer rights protection

I bought expensive tickets, but the concert venue was not visible or heard clearly. Jiang Tao and Li You both felt that protecting their rights was reasonable, but the entire process was fraught with difficulties.

Jiang Tao said that on May 20th, he posted a reminder to those who watched the concert on the evening of May 21st to communicate with the organizers in advance. Regarding the event on May 20th, they proposed that the organizer should publicly apologize and the corresponding department should punish the organizer.

But by July, the Shanghai Consumer Protection Commission stated that the mediation had ended, and the final solution sought was to distribute 200 yuan shopping cards, "not including compensation, they are called 'heartfelt funds'.". As for whether the audience's position meets the standard of receiving a 200 yuan "heartfelt gold", it will be determined by the organizer after providing photos.

However, the rights protection of Li You and his friends did not go smoothly. After the media intervened, the organizers proposed three solutions: unverified ticket refunds, on-site registration of refunds for viewers who did not watch, and priority purchase.

Regarding this, Li You expressed that he cannot accept it: "For example, if I bought a problematic piece of clothing and I demand compensation from you, would it be normal for you to reply to me, 'Next time there are new clothes coming out here, you can prioritize buying them?' In fact, this matter can be completely avoided. Firstly, should tickets be sold for certain positions in the concert, and secondly, what is the ticket price for this position?"

△ "Pillar Tickets" and "Wall Root Tickets" greatly discount the viewing experience

03

Expert: Suggest developing tiered refund and reform rules

Some practitioners have expressed that due to the fact that the invoicing time is often earlier than the completion time of stage construction, there may be some situations where there is obstruction in certain positions, which can only be remedied through appropriate refund rules. However, if the audience does not enter the venue, they will not know about the obstruction, and once they enter the venue, they will not be able to refund the ticket, which will lead to actual conflicts.

An analysis suggests that from a human visual perception, seats with a 15 to 30 degree angle extension of the pillar opening and closing should not be sold.

The reporter also consulted several professional stage construction and exhibition decoration staff, who stated that the majority of seat obstruction issues can be avoided in advance. "In fact, as long as you put in more effort, don't set up lamp stands or pillars, don't place seats here, and earn less money, it can be completely avoided."

From a visual perspective, some professionals have stated that seats within the range of 15 to 30 degrees of pillar radiation should not be sold.

Chen Yinjiang, Deputy Secretary General of the Consumer Rights Protection Law Research Association of the China Law Society, believes that when consumers purchase performance tickets online, they encounter blind selection of seats and only discover at the scene that they are "pillar tickets" and "wall root tickets", which is suspected of infringing on consumers' right to know.

"Consumers are unaware of the location when buying tickets, but the operator is aware of it. If they fail to inform the consumers, their right to know is clearly being violated. Consumers can certainly demand a refund or appropriate compensation."

In the following concerts of the same singer, the radiation angle of the pillars will no longer have seats set.

But what are the standards for compensation? Should the cultural performance market establish relatively unified viewing standards? From the process of rights protection in multiple concerts, there is currently no answer. This month, the China Consumers Association made suggestions on the issue of "pillar tickets".

Li Zhi, a staff member of the Consumer Complaints Department of the China Consumers Association, stated that relevant performance ticketing platforms and organizers should consider how to better protect consumer rights and improve the consumer experience.

For example, when formulating service terms, drawing on the mature practices of other service industries such as aviation and railways, a tiered refund and change rule is formulated, and tiered rates are implemented based on different refund and change times. Based on the principle of fairness, reasonable refund and change rules are formulated and made public to consumers, ensuring that consumers are fully informed and actively confirm before purchasing tickets.

If a "no return, no exchange" ticket is launched, refundable and exchangeable tickets should also be launched, and reasonable prices should be set for consumers to choose independently and conduct fair transactions. It is recommended that the relevant regulatory authorities strengthen the supervision of the performance ticketing market, explore the establishment of a nationwide unified performance ticketing supervision service platform, monitor the source and flow of performance tickets in real time, promote open and transparent performance ticketing transactions, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.