MadDog2020 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I get the frustration on the part of the fan, but he was just grasping at straws with his reasons for trying to back out of this season. Good on the Devils for the way they handled this. I mean, imagine getting a call from Lou and being told that he'll announce a long-term signing for a major player later that day? That's insane! From the man with the tightest lips on the planet, he personally calls you and gives you the scoop? That's fvcking awesome! Then you get to hang in the owner's box and bend VBK's ear? This guy pretty much bitched his way into every fan's dream scenarios.. Yeah for real. You can't put a price on either of those two things, so I think for all his bitching, he came out ahead. Again, I can't express how awesome Lou is to personally reach out to a fan like that. He really is one of a kind, in every way, as a GM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepperkorn Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I don't get how someone can read that and think it's an attack on the Devils. Right from the headline, its focus is on how a fan felt disgruntled despite not technically being wronged in any way, and how the team went above and beyond in a very personal way to try to make good. If anything, this is a Devils fluff piece. Written by a Rangers fan to boot. It's her revenge for the Girls Guide! I'm bored today obviously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95Crash Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I just think that this team gained a lot of momentum with ST sales over the past few years and didn't want to let that pass. They finally have realized how important STH's are to the success of the franchise, and are making a lot of strides to keep us happy so we continue to renew year after year. I have to applaude them for that. I give the Devils full credit for taking care of -- or at least trying to care of -- their STHs. We all have read plenty of STH complaints on this board in the past, so it sounds like the Devils finally realized it's not smart to tick off their best customers. It's better to keep them happy. My issue is that the team hasn't done anything to win back the average Joe Fan who maybe can't afford to splurge on STs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck the Duck Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I give the Devils full credit for taking care of -- or at least trying to care of -- their STHs. We all have read plenty of STH complaints on this board in the past, so it sounds like the Devils finally realized it's not smart to tick off their best customers. It's better to keep them happy. My issue is that the team hasn't done anything to win back the average Joe Fan who maybe can't afford to splurge on STs. I hear what you're saying, but they always have ticket deals on things like LivingSocial, Plum benefits, etc. where the non-STH can go to a game at a very good/discounted price. They also did the pre-sales for people on their e-mail list which gave fans access to buy tickets before the general public sale (something that worked wonders in the playoffs vs. Philly and the Rags as has been previously documented on this board). I know that they are trying to fill the building by putting out these deals, but at least they are doing something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilsfan118 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 What an idiotic fan, wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgb6397 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I don't get how someone can read that and think it's an attack on the Devils. Right from the headline, its focus is on how a fan felt disgruntled despite not technically being wronged in any way, and how the team went above and beyond in a very personal way to try to make good. If anything, this is a Devils fluff piece. Written by a Rangers fan to boot. It's pretty round. In the beginning it shows the Devils just as another greedy corporation until Lou makes his grand gesture, reaching out to the fan personally. Sort of seemed like it was the nature of the situation though, the Devils went from one extreme, not conforming to their customers, to the other extreme, letting that customer into the GMs executive box. Seems like this while stink could have been avoided if they just gave the guy what he wanted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils731 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Honestly if it wasn't for bamboozled he wouldn't have gotten close to Lou at all. I disagree, I've reached out to Lou and had him personally respond to me. If you take the time to hand write Lou a letter, he will get in touch with you if you ask for a response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I disagree, I've reached out to Lou and had him personally respond to me. If you take the time to hand write Lou a letter, he will get in touch with you if you ask for a response. Yeah me too. Lou is the real deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coorslight Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 (edited) I disagree, I've reached out to Lou and had him personally respond to me. If you take the time to hand write Lou a letter, he will get in touch with you if you ask for a response. Which also goes to show, if you construct your displeasure in the proper manner, you receive faster and better results then bitching and complaining like a little child. Normal companies/corporations are getting extremely tired of the general societies "If I stomp my feet hard enough, I'll get what I want" attitude that it's usually the opposite now-a-days. Luckily I'm sure Lou doesn't receive many of those so he acted accordingly. This is a prime example of the customer ISN'T always right, no matter how much they whine, but at least something was done to right the situation in the customers mind. Edited January 28, 2013 by Coorslight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxpower Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 This person is a moron, they had to be aware of the labor situation and should have walked before the season. I didn't put any money in for that reason, and cashed out my account. If they were so concerned about this, why did they let the Devils carry a couple of thousand dollars since last April? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarDew Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I read this article in the paper earlier today. I was chuckling until I read that the fan wanted out of this season yet keep his same seats for next season. Um, er, what!?!?!?!?!?!? It was an entertaining read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaneykoIsGod Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I disagree, I've reached out to Lou and had him personally respond to me. If you take the time to hand write Lou a letter, he will get in touch with you if you ask for a response. I wrote him a letter and got one back when I was 12, but I've never heard of someone getting a personal phone call with the scoop of a major signing coming later in the day. Lou's pretty above and beyond when it comes to contact with fans, but what this guy got was out of the stratosphere. Unless others here got calls from Lou and have been holding out on us ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils731 Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I wrote him a letter and got one back when I was 12, but I've never heard of someone getting a personal phone call with the scoop of a major signing coming later in the day. Lou's pretty above and beyond when it comes to contact with fans, but what this guy got was out of the stratosphere. Unless others here got calls from Lou and have been holding out on us ... I received a phone call, letter, and gift from my letter. Lou is very hands on and thoughtful when a person takes the time to hand write a letter. What other GM will read any letter from a fan just because the fan felt it was important? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaneykoIsGod Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I received a phone call, letter, and gift from my letter. Lou is very hands on and thoughtful when a person takes the time to hand write a letter. What other GM will read any letter from a fan just because the fan felt it was important? You got a phone call? OK, that's officially awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeter Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 http://www.njdevsblog.com/2013/01/though-i-was-fan-since-1986-lou.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitico12 Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Would everyone here take off their "I'm up the Devils butt and am a hard-up fan" hat for a second please...I don't disagree with this guy at all. The way I look at it is like this - that "no refund policy" should be excerciseable ONLY if the full season were to take place. As far as I am, and many other fans, are concerned, the league and its teams "broke" their contract with season ticket holders by giving them a partial season. You have heard MANY, MANY, MANY team executives and players say - "This is the business"..."This is entertainment"...yada yada yada...so, if they feel that the business of entertainment can be run that way, well, the "buyer" has every right to complain that his entertainment was NOT respected in good faith... Bottom line - I'm not impressed by Lou's phone call. Maybe you guys are "woooooooo'ed" by the GM of a team calling you, but as far as I'm concerned I didn't get what I paid for, and so, out of good faith and good will, the Devils should have respected this guy's request and HOPED he would come back next year... That's my two cents... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DevsMan84 Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 Would everyone here take off their "I'm up the Devils butt and am a hard-up fan" hat for a second please...I don't disagree with this guy at all. The way I look at it is like this - that "no refund policy" should be excerciseable ONLY if the full season were to take place. As far as I am, and many other fans, are concerned, the league and its teams "broke" their contract with season ticket holders by giving them a partial season. You have heard MANY, MANY, MANY team executives and players say - "This is the business"..."This is entertainment"...yada yada yada...so, if they feel that the business of entertainment can be run that way, well, the "buyer" has every right to complain that his entertainment was NOT respected in good faith... Bottom line - I'm not impressed by Lou's phone call. Maybe you guys are "woooooooo'ed" by the GM of a team calling you, but as far as I'm concerned I didn't get what I paid for, and so, out of good faith and good will, the Devils should have respected this guy's request and HOPED he would come back next year... That's my two cents... You answered your own question. Hockey is ENTERTAINMENT as well as all professional sports. While the season has been cut almost in half this year, I didn't lose a single cent because of it. While the season ticket holders had their money tied up with the team, the team did indeed offer refunds or credit for every month that wasn't played. Not only that but the STH got interest as well as other perks previously not provided, so honestly they came out ahead in the long run. To view season tickets as a contract is pure garbage IMO. They are just access to the arena to see your favorite team for the season at a discounted price and with some perks. Nothing more and nothing less. Until the team starts instituting PSL's (Highly unlikely for hockey and the Devils) or if they have something like cell phone plans where you must enter into a 2-year agreement where you have to have ST for a period of time, then season tickets ARE NOT a contract. The guy in the article was just an entitled weiner who was just pissed off about the lockout, but decided to take it out on the Devils publicly in the paper. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepperkorn Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Bottom line - I'm not impressed by Lou's phone call. Maybe you guys are "woooooooo'ed" by the GM of a team calling you, but as far as I'm concerned I didn't get what I paid for, and so, out of good faith and good will, the Devils should have respected this guy's request and HOPED he would come back next year... That's my two cents... My 2 cents he was asking for special privledges. He was denied his specific request - probably due to a physical box office problem not easily rectified. Once you cancel tx they probably go into a STH sale list. I'd bet there is no mechanism by which to halt his cancelled season going into the sales queue other than NOT SELLING them - which is not and CANNOT be an option for a team like the Devils. The STH box office system is probably NHL mandated and created for teams like the LEafs who have hundereds upon hudreds on their wait list. There was probably NOTHING the Devils could do to retain his exact seats - nothing that coudl be offered STH wide. Thus dude is asking for special privledges. When push comes to shove if that's exactly what he wants it's not worth it catering to him. People have to understand they dont have the right to get exactly what they want. and they have a responsibility to hold up to their end of a bargain. You cannot tell me you all dont know that lockouts and work stoppages loom every 5-10 years. This wasn't somethign any STH was blindsided by. Anyhow -- stupid of me to respond - some will think what they want to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95Crash Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Would everyone here take off their "I'm up the Devils butt and am a hard-up fan" hat for a second please...I don't disagree with this guy at all. The way I look at it is like this - that "no refund policy" should be excerciseable ONLY if the full season were to take place. As far as I am, and many other fans, are concerned, the league and its teams "broke" their contract with season ticket holders by giving them a partial season. You have heard MANY, MANY, MANY team executives and players say - "This is the business"..."This is entertainment"...yada yada yada...so, if they feel that the business of entertainment can be run that way, well, the "buyer" has every right to complain that his entertainment was NOT respected in good faith... Bottom line - I'm not impressed by Lou's phone call. Maybe you guys are "woooooooo'ed" by the GM of a team calling you, but as far as I'm concerned I didn't get what I paid for, and so, out of good faith and good will, the Devils should have respected this guy's request and HOPED he would come back next year... That's my two cents... I'm with you, Mitico12. Not necessarily the "contract" aspect of it, but definitely the part about "good faith." This perennial lockout thing is pure garbage and regardless of how many fans are willing to not only accept it, but also expect it, a lot of other fans remain disgusted by it. I think the Devils should've given the guy his money back if that's what he really wanted. However, I disagree with you on Lou's phone call and game invitation. That was a great move on his part. And judging by how Lou deals with the fans, I would imagine that had the guy still insisted on getting his money back, Lou would've made an exception for him. Sometimes a little public relations goes a long way. It's too bad that there wasn't more of it done by not only our favorite team, but the league as a whole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaneykoIsGod Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 http://www.njdevsblo...e-1986-lou.html Awesome story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Awesome story. Great story. I've told the story before, but I wrote Lou a letter imploring him to not let Stevens get away in the summer of '94 when Stevens was rumored to be heading back to St. Louis. About a week later, I got a letter back from Lou assuring me Scotty would be taken care of. A month later, Scotty was signed to a long term deal. It floored me when I got a letter back, I had no idea that Lou actually personally answered his mail lol. He really is one of a kind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satans Hockey Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 If the guy just wanted his money back he could have done that months ago when they first started canceling games but this guy wanted his money back AND he wanted his seats saved for him for the 13-14 season. No team will save your seats for next season if you aren't paying for this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepperkorn Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 (edited) I'm with you, Mitico12. Not necessarily the "contract" aspect of it, but definitely the part about "good faith." This perennial lockout thing is pure garbage and regardless of how many fans are willing to not only accept it, but also expect it, a lot of other fans remain disgusted by it. I think the Devils should've given the guy his money back if that's what he really wanted. He can get his money back absolutely -- he just can't retain his seats. THAT was the only thing he was asking for. HE can cancel and re-up for luck of the draw seats next season. The organization simply couldn;t guarentee him the same seats. Perenial lockout is not under the teams control. To hold the team responsible for a league action is garbage. Use a little empathy - think about more than one or two single tickets or STHs Seriously -- you're not looking it from a realistic perspective just a perspective of self. Edited January 29, 2013 by Pepperkorn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATLL765 Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 (edited) Would everyone here take off their "I'm up the Devils butt and am a hard-up fan" hat for a second please...I don't disagree with this guy at all. The way I look at it is like this - that "no refund policy" should be excerciseable ONLY if the full season were to take place. As far as I am, and many other fans, are concerned, the league and its teams "broke" their contract with season ticket holders by giving them a partial season. You have heard MANY, MANY, MANY team executives and players say - "This is the business"..."This is entertainment"...yada yada yada...so, if they feel that the business of entertainment can be run that way, well, the "buyer" has every right to complain that his entertainment was NOT respected in good faith... Bottom line - I'm not impressed by Lou's phone call. Maybe you guys are "woooooooo'ed" by the GM of a team calling you, but as far as I'm concerned I didn't get what I paid for, and so, out of good faith and good will, the Devils should have respected this guy's request and HOPED he would come back next year... That's my two cents... You also paid for something with the full knowledge that a season would not occur as scheduled. Why would you have done that, then complain about it? Don't tell me it was for the perks you get for paying up-front because there's still people here waiting for their perks from last season, lol. It's definitely a bad bet to make one of those perks the reason you held up hundreds, depending on where you sit, thousands of dollars. Also, the terms of everyone's contract covered this contingency and if you didn't like it, you shouldn't have signed your name. No one made you do it, but yourself. I mean, everyone here was on Jeff VBK side during the arbitration with Newark. Well, did anyone here say Newark got bamboozled by the Devils? No, because they didn't do it, the NHA and Sharpe James did that just fine themselves, but point stands is, you sign a contract, you should know what is in it and if you don't like it, don't sign it. Edited January 29, 2013 by ATLL765 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin226 Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 You also paid for something with the full knowledge that a season would not occur as scheduled. Why would you have done that, then complain about it? Don't tell me it was for the perks you get for paying up-front because there's still people here waiting for their perks from last season, lol. It's definitely a bad bet to make one of those perks the reason you held up hundreds, depending on where you sit, thousands of dollars. Also, the terms of everyone's contract covered this contingency and if you didn't like it, you shouldn't have signed your name. No one made you do it, but yourself. I mean, everyone here was on Jeff VBK side during the arbitration with Newark. Well, did anyone here say Newark got bamboozled by the Devils? No, because they didn't do it, the NHA and Sharpe James did that just fine themselves, but point stands is, you sign a contract, you should know what is in it and if you don't like it, don't sign it. But I wanna have my cake and eat it toooooo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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