***FINAL UPDATE TO ORIGINAL POST***

On Nov. 12, I received word my refund was granted. Please see my post later in this thread with the details.



Original post below:


I'd like to call out OU Athletics publicly here for a shameful customer experience.

I imagine all of you who bought football season tickets got an email within the last couple of days, outlining your refund. If you looked closely, $10 in "fees" were not refunded.

I called Ray Dixson, Assistant AD for Ticket Operations, and pointed this out. He said the fees went to a third-party ticketing portal and wouldn't be refunded to me. I insisted that I paid "X" amount for a service that wasn't provided, and that full amount should be refunded. Even if OU doesn't have that missing $10, it should consider the customer -- in this case, an alum who has supported OU Athletics -- and go about making this right for me. He firmly insisted the school would not be doing that.

I left both a voice mail and email for Julie Cromer and have not heard back.

My point: This isn't about me going broke; this is about the principle of the matter. If it takes the school making an exception on its ticket policy to make this right, it should. Those of you in the business world: Would you risk disenchanting a longtime customer/supporter/advocate just to save $10 in the short term?

Give me a call, Julie.

Read my message again. I'm not going broke.

But the policy remains tone-deaf. Show me a little respect, Ray -- and $10 is very little -- if you want me to be pleased about the experience and feel like contributing many more dollars indefinitely in the future.

I understand his point. It's a matter of the principle. Though it was a lot more money, the university was technically not responsible for the cancellation of the Shamrock Bowl, which my wife and I were planning to go to and had paid for. The amount owed us when the bowl was cancelled was from the promoter, not the university. However, Rev. Dr. Charles J. Ping, didn't take a nano-second to make the command decision to use university contingency funds to give all who had paid to go to the bowl a full refund. I'm sure if Ping was still in-charge and issue was brought to him, he would authorize a refund in this case that would include the processing fee. He was a man of principle. We need more such people.

Several people,including myself, have posted about the lack of communication/responsiveness from the Athletic Department,including the A.D.

I know I've sent Ms Cromer several emails, and never got a response.

I understand that,at times, she may have too much on her plate to get back to someone.

But,there's no reason someone on her staff couldn't.

Then again,despite repeated assurances,I have yet to receive my Bobcat Club Membership Card.

I, for one, think it's a very good sign that Ms. Cromer is ignoring that voicemail.

We're in the midst of a financial crisis that threatens the future of Ohio University and it's athletic department. Returning a voicemail from an alumni who wants a $10 refund from a third party isn't a good use of our athletic director's time.

I'd argue that people here expecting her to reach out to them about something so small speaks more to their own entitlement than it does to the responsiveness of the athletic department.

It does appear that her opening statements about open communication and listening to input from all parts of the Bobcat Family *might* have been insincere rhetoric. Please note that reports of her lack of responsiveness to fans started before the pandemic. I'm still hoping that her tenure turns out well, and I'm not passing any kind of permanent judgement on her, but the early signs are at best somewhat problematic.

This is crazy thinking. Asking for all of your money back for a service not delivered is certainly not an indication of an "entitled" attitude. Why such condescension? Why are you "sitting in the seat of the scornful" and engaging in personal attacks instead of looking at this issue on its merits or lack thereof? He said it was more a matter of principle than of the amount of money involved. So, why don't you talk about your perceptions of the principle involved and not your assessment of the individual making the statement?

Have you or half your staff been on furough?

I invited Neil Young to my wedding back in 1987. Still haven't received his RSVP card.

Read my post again. I DID speak with Ray Dixson, who is in charge of ticket sales. I reached out to the AD only after being rebuffed by Dixson. And yes, when I didn't get a response from the AD, I posted this here for higher visibility.

Let's get back to the issue: Is it acceptable for a provider of a product or service to not refund the entire $$ amount when that product or service was not provided? In what other sector of the economy does a transaction that doesn't get fulfilled still cost you some money?

You all seem hung up on the dollar amount. If it had been $100 in fees not returned, you'd find fault with that. But because it's only $10, then it's completely acceptable? There should not be a threshold "acceptable" dollar amount. That's why this is a matter of principle. And does the timing of budget woes change whether this should be refunded? Sorry, I maintain it doesn't.

And when messages are not returned, then this becomes a matter of respect too.

As the owner of a company,which is classified as an essential business,I have had to be at work everyday,since day 1 of the pandemic.

During NJ's lock down,I was forced to furlough (partially/fully) all of my employees.

75% were given reduced hours.
The rest were furloughed completely.

As of today,75% of my employees are still on reduced hours.
The remaining 25% are back to full time.

Oh,and during that period,we still returned every call and/or email.

C'mon... naming "private citizens"? The AD outranks the football coach, and I'm pretty sure I've seen the football coach's name mentioned on this board. The ticket manager is an assistant AD. And if they're in charge of ticket sales and budgets, then this is something that is in their control.

This is a public institution, and a rather large one. If these folks want to create policies like this, they need to be open to criticism, and the AD ought to be willing to return a message to discuss.

The "policy" they created was likely created with a couple of weeks notice when Covid led to the cancellation of the football season (and then the continued ban on fans attending). That warrants some empathy, in my mind. And given the circumstances, and that this fee was taken by a third party, nothing here makes me think that your reaction and public call out here is anything but petty.

We've all gotten angry at customer service folks, airline policies, etc. How often are you proud about it once you've calmed down?

And beyond that, I still think it's hilariously entitled that you think the AD ought to return your call about the "principle of the $10" they owe you. Congrats, on becoming the Paperboy in Better off Dead.