Remember the “Soup Nazi” in Seinfeld. He would say, “No soup for you.” Well, it sounds like the Los Angeles Dodgers just became the “Ticket Nazis.”
From an experience standpoint, I’ve crossed the lines of sports and tech for years. I’ve also handled crisis management for brands large and small. Those who avoid controversy do so by planning in advance. Sports organizations. They usually fly by the seat of their pants, relying on everyone but the right people before it’s too late.
That’s why this story about the Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB) is so important, and what happens when you stop putting the Fan first.
Everything is wrong with this situation, and there’s quite a bit. The Dodgers handled this about as badly as an organization can handle something so simple to fix. Management should never forget that the reason there’s a team is because of the fans. Lose sight of that, and you’ve already lost
Here’s the breakdown:
1. The policy is legal but morally indefensible.
The Dodgers have printed tickets before. They’ve charged for it. They’ve made exceptions. The infrastructure exists. This wasn’t a capability problem. It was a choice. When you choose operational convenience over a 50-year customer, you’ve revealed exactly where your loyalties lie. And it’s not with the fans.
2. The response was tone-deaf at a corporate level.
An account executive whose name I omitted sent a form-style email that read: “I have read your email and understand that we have granted your requests in the past. However, this year and going forward, we won’t be accommodating that request. This decision is final.” That’s not customer service. That’s a cease-and-desist. A $7.8 billion franchise dismissed a man who helped build that brand with a “no exceptions” email from a mid-level rep.
3. They made it worse by being inconsistent.
When Segal showed up at the stadium ticketing booth, they printed him a ticket in person. So the policy isn’t even absolute – it’s just selectively enforced. That’s not a policy. That’s indifference to paperwork.
4. The human cost is real.
Segal missed Opening Day for the first time in 50 years. His son is now going to the games in his place. A man who has been part of this franchise since the Nixon administration sat home on Opening Day because no one at the organization had the judgment, or the authority, to say “print the man his tickets.”
5. The bigger problem they’re ignoring.
The MLB Ballpark app has documented security vulnerabilities, as fans have had tickets stolen directly from the app, with MLB essentially blaming users for the breaches. The digital-only argument falls apart when the digital system itself is compromised. Paper tickets don’t get hacked. And teams that look after their fans don’t get bad press.
The bottom line: This wasn’t a technology story. It was a loyalty story. The Dodgers had a chance to demonstrate that 50 years of season-ticket purchases mean more than just transaction history. They chose the app instead.
That’s a communications failure, a customer relations failure, and frankly, a values failure all wrapped in one very bad week of press.
The fix was always free. Print the damn tickets.
P.S. If you’re a brand that sponsors the Dodgers and has a luxury box. Invite Segal to your suite with a hard ticket and look like heroes to senior citizens all across Southern California. Do it right, and you’ll get more positive PR value out of that than your sponsorship cost.
What’s wrong with the Dodgers handling of this matter