Writer of message "I Never Received Emails About European Tour - NPGMC don't seem to care..." here again. Look, it's not a question of sour grapes. Sure, I'm pissed off. From the responses below, I'm clearly not the only one who did not receive emails from NPGMC about the European tour. My details are correct on the site, I don't have junk mail filters, I've a premium service POP mail account and never have a full mailbox.

So, OK, I could have checked this site daily for updates, but that my friends is not the point. Paying for a Premium service, you expect at least a little email from NPGMC about something so important. Failing that (which can result from a simple technical problem which no individual is to blame for and can simply happen), you do however expect NPGMC to reply without making you feel like an inconsequential nobody.

I can accept I missed the presales. I don't have a problem with that. However, I DO have a problem with NPGMC not bothering to check their database to see why I (and others) did not receive emails - why NPGMC simply don't give a hoot. To check their database or respond slightly more genuinely would simply be a little gesture of goodness on their part. But they obviously aren't bothered. Thus, being a Premium NPGMC member it seems is not enough for those who run NPGMC (and it seems also for alot of the people who have replied below). You must also constantly check websites. I can accept that this is obviously the ideal thing to do - and normally, this is my practice (but it shouldn't be required - this is my point). For some of us, it is not practical to check websites all of time - we're not always able to do so. In my case, I happened to be travelling for work in Europe for 2 weeks (11th-25th Sept), and didn't have time to leisurely check fan sites from company computers. However, I did check my email twice a day and expected that if something were to happen, I would get an email. Clearly my loss is that my work trip coincided with the announcement of the tour (12th september onwards) - that is my personal situation.

However, the only reason I wanted to post this message originally was to get some feedback from others about their experience with NPGMC and their ticketing practice for the European tour. This is all. It's not to get sympathy. It's clear that NPGMC need to be more efficient. They could also be less snotty to members who have paid US$100 to get a service from them. I have missed out on seeing Prince this year (it's been 7 since he last came to Ireland) and the truth is it is the fault of NPGMC. They did not send the notification which they said they would to everyone, and they have not accepted any responsibility or being in any way humble about this possible technical error. A little more friendliness and efficiency on the part of the NPGMC is all it takes. If their computers accidentally omitted email addresses from certain correspondence, surely NPGMC could at least apologise to those Premium members affected.

I'm sorry 2 hear dat, but u can try:

www.ticketmaster.co.uk

They have Manchester and London dates, hope u lve in Britian.

Sam

i totally agree with you...the NPGMC's level of customer service is piss-poor and the situation with you is a fine case in point.

i think if anyone gets the balls at a soundcheck they should ask prince why when we pay $100 a month, we ;

a. get such stroppy email responses whenever they muck up
&
b. have to pay £65 for tickets (the highest price of all) when we are supposedly 'members' and have already shelled out $100 to join.

of course, the best thing would be for us all to simply not to renew membership...but, if he is only going to play tiny venues, the chances are if you want to see him from a decent seat these days, you don't have much choice...pain huh?

letsgocrazy said:

Letsgocrazy... i hope u werent serious, nothing is perfect. ANd guys, pls stop ur whinging! Skylight, i feel sorry for u, but u can still go to the Manchester or london venues through ticketmaster if u hurry. But.. u should have checked the Prince.org or the NPG website. It says to check back often.

I too was the victim of a fuck up, but im not whingin, and the presale ticket gives u FREE entrance to an aftershow which makes it very good value for money actually Letsgocrazy.

Guys, Prince is doing his BEST and all u can do is winge. We r so close to the dates, and yet all u can do is complain, winge and moan. Typical British attitude. I dont want any negativity surrounding what is going to b a superb event, and anyone who is unhappy.. "DONT BOTHER SHOWING AT THE CONCERT". Theres bound to b occasional mistakes.

i cant believe it. ur Like insatiable 5 year olds. Never happy, never content, U would only b happy if u had Prince's soul in your hand, and even then u would probably winge about the colour. Get a grip. Hes doing his best.. and its not for a record company.. its for u winging lot.

if you genuinely believe you are getting a good deal and good service from the NPGMC then you clearly have a different idea of service from the rest of us.

oh, and the quip about 'his soul in your hand' was ridiculous...grow up
[This message was edited Tue Oct 1 4:45:39 PDT 2002 by letsgocrazy]

I am with skylight on this one - I tried to get tickets on the pre-sale and had the thing crash on me several times at the point of purchase for no reason at all.

I have sent something like 10 emails politely asking them to honour my order. Having been told two weeks ago that this would be 'taken care' I did not buy public tickets for this reason but nothing of substance has happened.

I have paid the 100 US, had nothing in return and terrible cutomer-service in the meantime.

If they don't sort this out, I am going to cancel my subscription and ask for a full refund of my membership.

You should not set up such a service if you can't run it properly.

meejaboy said:

Fair enough.. but i still dont think it would be right to bully Prince himself, 1-2-1 after he's flown all this way to perform for us. Letsgocrazy reckons we should tell him off at the soundcheck. Can u imagine? He'd then have to perform infront of unhappy fans. thats an awful feeling.

Prince is going alone, with no backing from anyone. he is independent, and yes, customer service should b better, but the club is still in its infacy. Ppl demand alot these days, but yes.. he is asking for alot in $$$ too. I think its right to complain when when we feel hard done by, but dont take it out on Prince himself. Its not all his fault.

Anyway, if u have been hard done by, fair enough. And everyone is entitled to an opinion and to complain. There r email addresses set up for that (the business side of things) But dont take it out on Prince at the soundcheck. Theres a time and a place (letsgocrazy)

The whole point of the club was for us anyway. i think Prince more than anyone wants the club to work seemlessly. Dont forget that, and dont 4get all the shit u guys email the NPGMC. U cant please everyone coz everyone has different ideas!

Lets just enjoy the concert AND the sound check (Letsgocrazy) and bicker afterwards.

PurpleHouse said:

surprisingly i didn't mean i was going to stand up and heckle the small one...however, i'm not so blinded that i think the sun shines out of his arse.

the club is not delivering to a lot of people and everyone has a right to complain should they so wish.

and lets not start kissing his feet coz he's 'flown all this way to play'...for crying out loud, he's charging us all 65 quid a ticket! he's not doing this out of the goodness of his heart!

"i think if anyone gets the balls at a soundcheck they should ask prince why when we pay $100 a month" etc etc...

U were saying letsgocrazy? Fine... b miserable and complain to Prince's face. Hope ur not there when I am.

Re: All of this - I am happy (and pleasantly suprised) to find that the NPGMC people have sorted out my tickets.

It might have taken them a while (and had me on tenterhooks in the process), but they did what they said they were going to do and my faith in them has been re-affirmed.

But on the point of harrasing the man, I kind of agree - it would not be good to have a go at him. Having said that, there are very few avenues for feedback - the aliases are likely all to employees and few employees are going to present negative verbatims to the boss. I would suspect that the man is shielded from much of the feedback from users of the club. It would be good to know that there was some sort of feedback in the system where user's views could be aired and seen by the people who make the decisions.

letsgocrazy said:

Skylight here. Super happy to hear NPGMC have sorted something out for you Meejaboy. This is exactly what they should be doing, trying to help the paid-up fans who've for purely technical reasons suffered along the way. So far I haven't been so lucky (even for just one ticket to one gig - Dublin) but at least some fans are seeing some results now. Let's hope NPGMC will continue this new and welcome trend.

I of course agree with the above - it's not the stuff to heckle Prince himself about before a show. But there should nevertheless be a feedback forum as part of the Club (business is business). In addition, a way for Club members to actually get to know each other. It's crazy, but I actually don't know any other Club member, not even in Ireland! Bcoz, think about it, if Premium fans could communicate to each other through the NPGMC site, then fans who might miss out on ordering tickets, could perhaps link up with other Premium members who can bring along a guest. This would be very cool, and provide a very friendly way to do things - broaden the community, get everyone to know each other. Let's see what NPGMC might think.

All I can say is that I am VERY satisfied with the NPG Music Club.

Every time I buy anything it is here in Denmark only a few days later. I recieved my copy of One Nite Alone (no no no not the live cd : ) ) I think a week after I saw it on the website.

Yes I had problems getting the tickets for the European shows, but I wrote some mails to them and within half an hour I got a return mail that I shouldn't worry, the sale would continue the next day, and the next day there were NO problems.

It seems that only the people who have something to complain about is writing, well I'm happy with the club. Of course nobody's perfect, not even Prince's club.

Sky im a npgmc member and im in northern ireland like u i also missed the presale due to basically the same reasons, i hate 2 say it but i did get a ticket (sorry 2 rub it in!) but im so very happy 2 b going 2 the show, but i am not as happy with the npgmc and its customer service, i mean i havent had a sniff of any cds yet! and when i asked about missing the presale i got a incomplete answer which was dissapointing, i actually made a few suggestions about future ticket allocation but got no feedback, i feel that the club must become more interactive and involve the fans more, and also provide interaction with fans in the same countries etc and id say if that doesnt happen there r gonna b many fans who do not renew there membership, which would b a real shame! im not implying in anyway that Prince b blamed or questioned about the club bcause its those that work 4 the club which r at fault and i can understand everyones frustration at the poor service, u r entitled 2 complain if u arent getting what u paid 4! thats just my thoughts and opions dont hang me 4 them!!!

I have the opposite problem. I joined as a member some time ago and duly paid my $100. I then left my job rather quickly and had to join again, which cost me another $100! When I receive mail from NPGMC they send a duplicate in error, therefore, every time a get a mail I have four of them in my mailbox! Too much information instead. The only bonus I suppose is that I am now taking three of my friends to the concert and I've been getting two copies of the fan club issue CD's.

Still, is it worth $200? No, not when you have to pay £65 for the ticket as well. As for the aftershow, don't get your hopes too high, nothing is guaranteed. The only aftershow I've been to was The Dawn (named after the start-time of the concert) at Bagleys. It was terrible. The venue was over-sold to double it's normal capacity so that by the time Prince showed up, (4.30 am I think) I just wanted to go home. That was not an aftershow and should never have been promoted as one. Aftershows are free and intimate, The Dawn was not.