Doing the Best They Can…?
AeroforceOne and their members recover from bad days and sleepless nights
Written and Researched by Rhianna Anglin
WRITERS NOTE:
I am in no way affiliated with AeroforceOne, Aerosmith, or HK Management. This is strictly an observation written by an unbiased fan who has spoken with both parties involved in the issue. In this article, AeroforceOne members have spoken out about the wrong-doings they have experienced at the hands of Fans Rule Inc., the company that manages AeroforceOne, the Aerosmith Fan Club, AF1 gives their comments about their side of the story for the first time.
On a personal note, I cannot say that I am unbiased completely. I feel AF1 was incredibly unprepared for the events that took place on the weekend of April 21st through the 23rd, and still have yet to regain member trust. I believe they underestimated greatly the problems they would have and would cause, and the club had no idea how to fix these problems. Through a series of sometimes misguiding and occasionally patronizing e-mails, AeroforceOne members were on their own when it came time for tickets to go on sale for the 2001 Just Push Play World Tour. AF1, as stated before, were unprepared for the ammount of members who would want tickets. Now, members get a chance to voice their opinions, and AF1 representative Neil Donnahue gives information as to what happened. I would like to state – for the record – I am NOT an AF1 member, nor have I ever been. I do not believe a fan club membership decides how dedicated a fan is (as is proven throughout the pages of this article). I am simply an observer to the events that have occurred. Hopefully, this article will bring attention to this situation, and AeroforceOne Members will finally get their say.
Rhianna Anglin
August 10, 2001
Aerosmith fans are some of the most die-hard fans that any band could have. They go to all extremes to prove their loyalty to America’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band. To most fans, Aerosmith is #1 all the time - so it is no surprise that most Aerosmith fans greatly anticipate a world tour – and plan on attending as many shows as possible.
Many Aerosmith fans buy memberships with the band’s fan club, AeroforceOne, in order to ensure they will get the best seats at the shows they choose. Everyone I was in touch with over the course of the last month has stated premier concert seating as the number one reason for being with the club. For years, AeroforceOne has given its members choice seating according to seniority (the number of years a person has been a member). For example – an eleven-year member should receive better seats than a two-year member. This has been a policy that has really attracted the majority of the members to AF1, and kept them happy.
On March 6, 2001, Aerosmith released Just Push Play – the group’s first album since 1997’s Nine Lives. Fans had been eagerly anticipating its release, and the tour that would follow.
Aerosmith is known for their large-scale world tours – shows that sell-out all over the world, 2 to 3 years of touring, a chance to see America’s Band come to your town. No one would be surprised to see how exited the typical Aerosmith fan is when tour dates are released.
To fans, Aerosmith is not just a great rock band, but also an important part of every fan’s life. Millions of people get up every morning and go to sleep every night with Aerosmith on the brain. These five men hold the hearts of these people in their hands. So, when a fan is offered a chance to see the band live, it is more like an invitation to revel with the gods. For one brief moment in time, a fan can be at the feet of his heroes. Aerosmith means a lot to their fans, and the fans are willing to go through trial and tribulation for the band.
So what could possibly stand between the fans and the band they follow so closely?
Ironically enough, some fans are claiming it was the band’s fan club, AeroforceOne.
Is it really possible for a fan club to disregard the fans? Depending on the storyteller, the answer may actually be yes. On April 21, 2001, AF1 members became victims to a situation that has left a bitter taste in the mouths and a strong ache in the hearts of fan club members worldwide.
On the days leading up to the release of Just Push Play fans were anxious because a new Aerosmith album would mean an Aerosmith tour. Finally, in April 2001, tour dates were released through VH1.com, Aerosmith.com, and AeroForceOne.com. VH1 had signed on as promoters for the tour, and SFX ticket sales would be the prime ticket sales promoter.
Only a few dates were listed for the first leg of the tour, but enough were listed to ensure fans could travel anywhere in or close to the United States to catch an Aerosmith show.
On April 19th, AF1 sent out information to its members about ticket sales. The e-mail stated that tickets would go on sale exclusively to fan club members on April 21st, 2001 for the 2001 JUST PUSH PLAY Aerosmith tour.
Several members later claim they never received this e-mail. Cindy Ralson, an AF1 member for six years, said she never received that first e-mail. "I never received an e-mail in regard to [ticket] sales at all." She wasn’t the only one. The message was sent to fan club members only two days before the first ticket sales. If a member does not regularly check their e-mail, then there was no way that member would have known about the sales.
Several members who did not receive any e-mail about the sales found out through other sources. Patricia Schenck, along with others, happened to receive information about the sales through Internet mailing lists. "I’ve never received any message from [AF1] about anything," Schenck stated. "If it wasn’t for people posting to the [e-mailing group], I wouldn’t have known about any sales at all."
Surprisingly enough, AF1 failed to contact a great deal of its members about ticket sales that would open on April 21st. It is amazing to think that a fan club would loose track of that many members. If a member did not have access to the internet, they were completely clueless as to when tickets would go on sale. AF1 claims they did in fact contact people by phone and mail as well as through the Internet.
Nevertheless, enough members were aware of the sales to make plans to call-in at 12:00 PM paciffic time, on Saturday, April 21st, 2001.
AF1 members anxiously waited for 12:00 PM with their phones and credit cards, planning on purchasing tickets for the shows they wanted to attend. However, all did not go as smoothly as planned.
AF1 planned on receiving a typical number of calls that night. No more than maybe five or ten thousand people calling in. Instead, they were bombarded with an incredible 39,000 phone calls – all AF1 members who wanted tickets to their respective shows. Neil Donnahue, and AF1 representative, later told me "We were surprised by the volume of phone calls…great fans have a passion for the club."
When AF1 sells tickets, they buy the tickets through the tour promoter. For this particular tour, the promoter was SFX, and AF1 purchased an estimated 200 pairs of tickets for every show on the tour. However, SFX decided which seats would be given to AF1.
What AF1 did not take into account was that fan club membership had grown by 33% since Aerosmith’s recent surge in popularity with the ever-growing fair-weather teen crowd, and old fans who had just received memberships.
When AF1 members placed their phone calls on April 21st, most were unable to get through. It was later revealed that an answering company had been brought in with 48 open phone lines to take these calls. But, that simply was not a large enough operation to keep Aerosmith fans from shutting down the system. Most stayed up all night - hoping to get a chance to get through - but only a lucky few were able to get their orders placed.
Allyson Abernethy of Newton, North Carolina told me later about the events that occurred that night. "[I] never spoke to a live person. Never even got a recording, just a busy signal…for two days." Just like other fans, Allyson spent the night awake worrying if she would even be able to see one show.
No one could have imagined how big a mess the call-in would cause. It seemed as if there was nothing the members could do to arrange tickets. Few members got through that night, but word eventually got out that AF1 would not be selling anymore tickets that night and another e-mail was sent to the members. This is the original e-mail in its entirety:
AeroforceOne Fans:
Wow! We submit! Talk about the greatest and most avid fans in the world...AeroforceOne fans truly RULE! Just for the record, Fans Rule partnered with a full-scale phone answering company with 48 telephone lines and LIVE operators specializing in handling massive call volume ONLY to satisfy the demands of the AeroforceOne fans...yet AeroforceOne fans proved too powerful and literally burned the system out! So, to get everyone up to speed and way less stressed out on what is going on right now, check out the following information:
FansRule's Top 10 Reasons to Be Psyched About Aerosmith Tour Ticketing
AeroforceOne was provided with a set number of tickets for each venue by the tour promoter.
2. There are plenty of seats to go around for current AeroforceOne fans.
3. Again, each and every AeroforceOne fan will have the opportunity to purchase a pair of premiere seats.
4. If extra tickets are available for a show, AeroforceOne fans will have the opportunity to purchase additional tickets
5. This is not a RACE that you can lose if you are an active AeroforceOne fan club member, because:
a. You are guaranteed the right to purchase a pair of premiere seats to a given show/venue.
b. Your seat assignment will be based on seniority, as always. You're going to get great seats whether you're the first order or the last order.
The reason tickets went on sale at 3AM EST on Saturday was for those high energy fans who wanted to buy seats before anyone else in the world. FansRule believes you deserve that honor!
7. The reason a professional phone answering company was hired to take your orders was because they have 48 individual phone lines with LIVE operators. We thought this would be easier, more efficient, and more fair (no busy signals), especially for those individuals who do not have internet access from their homes or during this time of the day. Good intentions, right?
8. The reason the ticket box office closed down was because fans crushed and burned out the phone lines. At that time the only way to get tickets was through the internet. BAD NEWS/GOOD NEWS: Management decided this was UNFAIR to those AeroforceOne fans WITHOUT internet access, so the box office was closed until this could be sorted out appropriately.
9. Tickets will again go on sale tonight at 12PM EST for those fans who need the peace of mind of having ordered their seats before turning in for the weekend.
10. Again, this is not a RACE and you don't need to stay up all night long. Please see #2-5 above.
Finally, so that we can provide the ultimate service to AeroforceOne fans, please contact us via email, toll-free phone number, fax or mail by Monday, May 14th in order to secure your seats. Once all of the AeroforceOne fans have had the opportunity to purchase tickets, FansRule will be making the extra seats available to fans looking to catch a few extra shows (see #4 above).
The management at FansRule wants to emphasize that we do not support sleepless, stressful nights. If this has occurred, we apologize profusely. Again, we were trying to give AeroforceOne fans a jump on the ticketing program by opening up early. Thank you for your patience, support and consideration during this time of transition. We are psyched to be working with the most avid, enthusiastic fans in the world! !!
The Box Office is now Closed !! We will reopen soon for Round two with more tickets for sale! You are all great fans and we want to make you happy!
Check Back at 12pm Eastern Standard Time
Nowhere in this letter did the club give an apology, and the letter even came across as patronizing. AF1 had spent a great deal of its time trying to frantically set up another call-in, and did not take into account fans would be offended by this message – especially with the use of the term "AeroforceOne fans". Angry members claimed they were Aerosmith fans, not AF1 fans and did not appreciate being referred to as such. AF1 did not necessarily mean harm by this, but the letter still came across as patronizing and even unsympathetic. Most club members were alarmed at the content of the letter because of the sudden change in rules.
According to FansRule Inc., Aerosmith fan club members were allowed only ONE pair of tickets for ONE show, as opposed to the former rule of one pair of tickets per show. This sudden rule change made many members skeptical of the club and down-right furious.
The situation had begun to spin out of control, and no one was able to prevent it. AF1 decided they would try again. The club sent out another e-mail to members stating that there would be another call-in on April 22nd. Only a few short hours before the call-in was to begin did members receive the mail about the next call-in, so many were once again shut out from receiving fan club information.
This next call-in also began at midnight, but this time, fans were even less prepared. The call-in went the same route the one before it had. Now members were discouraged, disheartened, and disgusted.
To the outsider, it seems as if FansRule would definitely try to make up for the mistakes the club made. I certainly thought so. However, the club decided to give it yet another go. After the first time, Fans Rule came across as a corporate office attempting to take the hearts of fans everywhere and break them in half, whether they intended to or not. The second time was an attempt made in hopes that the company could redeem itself. But the third time came across as a really bad joke being told by a comedian who wasn’t funny in the first place.
The third call-in took place on Monday, April 23rd. Somehow, the exact same events took place that had occurred with the first two call-ins. Overall, Fans Rule was suddenly loosing its luster. It had not turned out to be the fan club that its members had hoped for it to become.
FansRule Inc. made its first mistake by assuming that there were simply not that many Aerosmith fans. This is understandable, because the clients they work with are celebrities like Michael Bolton, Mariah Carey, and Carly Simon. These people have followings, but they certainly do not have huge followings. Aerosmith is a band based on fans. They built their following by working hard to get to the spotlight, not by being discovered and made over by some greedy Lou Pearlman-type of manager, looking to make a few bucks. Aerosmith fans are as hardcore as they come. But this incident has managed to turn the AF1 fan club members into skeptics – not only towards Fans Rule, but also towards Aerosmith. I received an e-mail from a woman named Ellen, who had simply this to say, "I doubt I will renew my membership with the club. And I doubt that I will be doing much more bragging on how Aerosmith is the one band who really is in touch with their fans and looks after them. I find that hard to do now that people who have been fan club members for years are having to pay hundreds of dollars to brokers for tickets they should have gotten through the fan club. Yeah, I guess I am just a little bitter…oh well the music business IS all about money."
Indeed that is how it seemed to many members. After AF1 was switched from Fan Asylum (the former club operators) to FansRule, the membership prices were hiked up to $25, from the $19 that members were used to paying. The price was not an issue with members – they hoped it would get them the best service. But money came into the question again when a few of the fans who managed to get their tickets through AF1 were not given a price break at all. Neil’s explaination was that "We sale tickets at face value…we did not add extra money on to the price. Our tickets still cost less than tickets from Ticketmaster." Price breaks in fan club seating was something that AF1 members had been accustomed to for years, but Neil also says he isn’t so sure AF1’s former management had cut ticket costs at all. Cindy Ralson of Decatur, Alabama wrote "I have been a [AF1] member for years and have always been able to acquire tickets through AF1 at a reasonable cost. I feel the price of tickets this time around through AF1 is outrageous. Members did not receive a break in cost at all."
Members were disappointed not only in cost, but the location of seating. AF1 had promised premier seating to any and all members based on their level of seniority. This meant everyone would receive the best tickets according to how long they had been a member of the club. Few fans who got through on the phone lines were asked about their seniority, and fewer were given seats that reflected their fan club membership. Christine from Brooklyn, NY was given seats to Jones Beach and Mansfield. Her seats at Jones Beach were Section F, Row OO, seats 3-4, and her seats at Mansfeild were Section 5, Row G, seats 7-8. "I would never have bought those seats, if I’d known the location," Christine told me. Both sets were close to the lawn. Christine was a lucky member who was able to purchase more than one set of tickets. Even so, she felt Fans Rule had spoken a lie when saying members would be given premium fan seating. She is also angered by something that every fan club member is claiming to have fallen victim to. When asked if there were any specific wrong doings she would like to comment on, Christine wrote "Yes…all the scalpers with OUR FAN SEATING on sale…specifically, but not exclusively on e-Bay." It seemed a bit ironic. Fans – real, true Aerosmith fans – had lost their premium seats to the highest bidders. FansRule cannot be blamed specifically for this, but SFX should have reserved those front row seats for AF1’s fan club members, not the average rich guy willing to spend six to seven hundred bucks for a pair of front row seats. Neil stated, "If I could I would give every member a front row seat after what’s happened. But I don’t have a million dollars to buy everyone a new ticket. We just want to do the right thing for our members." Christine, like many others, stated "Aerosmith needs to FIRE fans Rule AFTER getting a competent company to run AeroforceOne…(before FR kills it completely)."
Members have come to the consensus that they want something done to remedy this situation. Members were left for dead when it came to purchasing tickets. Members lost their chance for priority seating because they went through the fan club and not through Ticketmaster or SFX directly. The situation seemed as though members were being punished for joining AeroforceOne.
Many have described this situation as irritating; some have even gone so far as to say it was horrific. But, in all actuality, it was nothing more than bad planning on AF1’s part. AF1 had switched ownership from Fan Asylum to FansRule only a few weeks prior to the ticket sales. AF1 hadn’t really had enough time to settle into their new skin. Then, tour dates were announced and AF1 had to put tickets on sale – ready or not.
So the real question is, "What has AF1 been doing to fix the problem?" To begin with, they have tried to pull fan club members back into good alliance with the club by offering seat upgrades at certain shows. Neil spoke with confidence in saying that, "Customer service is so important to me. We don’t want to get rid of our customers." FansRule also gave members who purchased tickets for the Boston shows through the club a chance to attend a sound check with the band in Boston, where Steven Tyler apologized for all of the trouble that had occured. Ellen wrote in her e-mail to me, "You know, if they did that for all the venues I am still screwed. I purchased my tickets through ticketmaster so I guess in their eyes, I would not count as a disgruntled member. I doubt I would get an invitation or even be contacted about it." This is a good point; AF1 needs to be less concerned about those who were able to get tickets through the club and more concerned about people like Ellen, who were unable to purchase good tickets and reap the benefits of AF1 membership. But once again, as Neil said, "We cannot make everybody happy."
There are also other problems arising. Even though tickets have been sold and fans have been attending shows for well over a month now, AF1 is failing to deliver quality service. AF1 has been sending tickets out late. So late, that some members are receiving their tickets the day of the show. When asked if she had received her tickets on time, Christine told me she had, "But not in enough time to make plans with people who needed to make babysitting arrangements…and not in enough time to see the tickets when we saw the lousy seats we had, especially in Mansfield." All of these members who received tickets did not receive any information about where they would be sitting, and only a few received any ticket order confirmation. Many members didn’t even know if they would be receiving tickets, but had gotten billed for them anyway. "I was told by a lawyer that anytime a credit card purchase is made, and the order is billed to the account, the company has 30 days to produce the goods or the charges are to be reversed and/or the goods produced IMMEDIATELY,"wrote Jennifer from San Jose, CA (AF1 member for nine years) who was one of the many who were billed for tickets and have yet to receive them. "How awful to have to pay premium prices (more than what I could have gotten through ticketmaster) to find out I could have spent seventy dollars on lawn tickets and not be any further back than AF1 tickets. I’m not looking forward to opening that envelope once that UPS or FedEx driver pulls up to my home, whenever that will be. Really, all I want from Fans Rule (besides my tickets) is an explanation as to what is taking so long." Jennifer is afraid that her tickets will not arrive on time, and that they will be less than premier seating. "Tickets are challenging to sort out by show, and then by seniority. There are a couple of shows in August that are still receiving tickets, but in less than ten days (August 19) we should be caught up on all the sales," explained Neil. AF1 was also unaware of where the fans would be seated, which caused more unwanted problems. SFX had given what they considered to be good fan club seating, not necessarily what AF1 had wanted.
Members are also flooding the AF1 offices with phone calls and e-mails on a daily basis, but few claim to have ever gotten a reply. The call to AF1 offices is long distance, and the e-mails are rarely applied to, according to members. However, according to Neil, AF1 does reply to e-mails. "We are dealing with thousands of phone calls and e-mails every day…we try to deal with the e-mails that coincide with the chronological order of the shows, not necessarily by the oreder we received them" Neil said. For instance, if a member e-mails AF1 on August 10th about a show that is happening on August 21st, that e-mail will be answered sooner than a member who e-mailed in June about a show in September. The situation’s circumstances would make the suspicious believe AF1 is trying to avoid fans, or trying to get away with a corporate money scheme. The unfair part of the whole problem is that fans all over the United States are being turned off of their favorite band due to the fan club. But the fan club is claiming to never have intentionally tried to put members off or make them go through such trouble.
AF1 has also been accused of being unfair towards club members, offering certain people seat upgrades, others were allowed to purchase tickets to more than one show, and others are even being shunned in favor of overnight female fans who come to the concerts looking for backstage fun. One particularly appalling e-mail I received was from Carol in Toledo who had a put a new spin on the AF1 situation. She told me a particularly interesting story about what she believes AF1 has been practicing. Below is the e-mail in its original form:
Rhianna
I do have a big comment, and don't know who to direct it to. Was going to try to call Fansrule today, but figured if I even did get to speak to a human, no one would even care.
First, we get less than optimum seats as fan club members. Then, I see something that goes on at every single show I have ever been to - and I have been to hundreds over the past several decades. The sluts with body parts hanging out who gyrate up next to the stage get back stage passes. At the Indianapolis show, 3 lesbian -like girls were all but engaging in the act itself. They were all over each other, ever took off each other's under garments with their teeth. They were in the front row, right in front of Brad. I was in row V, but saw old friend in row 3, left front, and snuck up to say just before the show started. They let me stay there for the whole show - fans taking care of each other. I saw Big Mike's replacement passing out passes to all the 18 year old sluts first hand.
At the Columbus show last night, I ran up from row W to the stage itself when security was busy as the band went to the rear stage. Again, the 18-year-old scantly clad bimbos who bounced around got passes right in front of me. I asked for some- ignored. I acted my age (47), covered my body parts, have followed the band faithfully since 1975, been to hundreds of shows, saw the Nine Lives Tour 21 times, both tickets for 5 JPP shows, and belong to the fan club, and what did I get – shi**y seats - just seats.
AF1 needs to take care of its members first, not random concert attendees.
Carol in Toledo
This story was particularly disturbing to me, because the victimized fan club members were being further mistreated, as if not being able to purchase concert tickets were not enough. We all know Aerosmith has groupies, and that is fine – it is even expected. But to shun fan club members who have already been mistreated for "18 year-old sluts" is really unbelievable behavior. Neil promised AF1 has nothing to do with such things, "I personally have never handed out a backstage pass to anyone, and I don’t carry any with me to the shows."
The bottom line is this – AF1 members are being walked on as if they never mattered in the first place. After this article is finished, I plan on opening up a website with information about AF1 and keeping track of the club for awhile, hoping to keep open ties between angry fan club members and a fan club struggling to support them. Sadly, members of AF1 will have to suffer if these mistakes are not abruptly corrected, and AF1 will suffer if their side of the story is never heard. "Most reporters have branded us the bad guys," Neil said. "And they haven’t necessarily heard our side of the story."
Members have been rudely mistreated – and if you take a good look at the situation you cannot help but see why they feel that way. But in all actuality, this is not about buying tickets or attending concerts. This is about a group of fans that really just want to hear some great music from their favorite band. To keep it simple, AF1 needs to wise up – members are saying they aren’t going to take much more. But members also need to understand they are not being had by a corporate money scheme. Neil feels AF1 has done the best they can and they have made a lot of members feel better. "I can go to sleep and feel good about the efforts I’ve made," Neil told me. He and several other AF1 representatives have made their way to as many shows as they possibly could so far in order to keep in contact with members, and they have done their best to make a bad situation seem a little bit better for fans. Until they are appeased, several members promise not to rest until AF1 has fixed the problems. In the end, it is still an unwanted situation that has everyone from jaded fans to Aerosmith themselves perplexed, and it is a situation that is not easy to resolve. "We are doing what we can. We don’t want to loose our members. Why would we purposely try to get rid of our members? Without them, we can’t survive" Neil said. He is one of the many AF1 representatives having to bare the brunt of members’ attitudes. "I just hope they get their act together for the future" wrote Meg Coburn. And if not? AF1 will feel the aftershocks of the mistake they never intended to make, and members are likely to go searching for a better seat or a better fan club – whichever they find first.
CREDITS AND INFORMATION
Most of my work was research gathered from talking with and writing to Aerosmith fans world wide. In alphabetical order, they are as follows:
Allyson Abernethy – Newton, North Carolina – AF1 member for 3 1/2 years
Carol – Toledo, Ohio
Christine K- Brooklyn, New York – AF1 member for 8 years
Cindy Ralson – Decatur, Alabama – AF1 member for 6 years
Ellen
Jennifer – San Jose, California – AF1 member for 9 years
John Carter – Dallas, Texas
Lilly Shibata-Salley — Ontario, Canada — AF1 member for over 10 years
Patricia Schenck – Ahsland, Ohio – AF1 member for 10 years
Sherrie Porter – Framingham, Massachusetts – AF1 member for 4 years
I would like to give a special thanks to Neil Donnahue from AF1 for answering my questions and the other AF1 reps who are giving their time and cooperation to members who have endured quite a bit over the past few months.
All of these people were kind enough to take time to answer my questions, and provide me with a deeper knowledge of what AF1 has done, and what they are doing now.
My name is Rhianna Anglin, and in June of 2001 I began compiling this information, unaware of how much time and hard work it would be. This project has become incredibly important to me, as I am always interested in civil rights. This article was written without the intention of hurting anyone or causing distress. It is information based on the opinions expressed by the people I have been in contact with and do not necessarily reflect my own. I realize it is not a completely unbiased article, yet I hope that AF1 will realize the mistakes they have made and in the future provide better club services to all of their members.
Feel free to contact me at:
My website adress is:
www.oocities.org/tyler_luvr_02/fixhome.html