Grand Rapids Griffins Tyler Bertuzzi, Martin Frk, Tomas Nosek, Todd Nelson and Jared Coreau talk after the Griffins clinch the 2017 Calder Cup championship Tuesday, June 13, 2017 at Van Andel Arena. Video by Helene St. James, DFP.
An online ticket marketplace brushed off the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, creating a social media firestorm from passionate Yoopers, and later apologized for its response.
TickPick - a New York-based events tickets website that was founded in 2011 - advertises itself as an alternative to other secondary market sites such as StubHub with "no hidden fees" and a place where "smart fans buy and sell tickets."
But one user noticed something odd about TickPick's map of the United States where you can select events near you: There's no Upper Peninsula.
Read more U.P.:
And when one Facebook user, Kyla Mae Vasseau, brought it up to TickPick in a Facebook message, she got this response: "Kyla - we got the important part of Michigan, isn't that good enough?"
Oh no.
If there is one rule when it comes to talking about the state of Michigan in any kind of conversation, it's this: Do not diss the Yoopers.
Naturally, the pitchforks came out, with many messages posted on TickPick's Facebook wall, such as this from Marie Peasley: "Hey, TickPick, looks like you opened a can of worms! We're not angry in the U.P., we're just a bunch of prideful Yoopers. If you haven't been here, come visit Marquette. I'd be happy to show you around. You'll see that there's more than just forests."
Another, Tony Beacco, said: "As a result of insulting the U.P. of Michigan, I will not use TickPick as a place of business. Ignorant and disrespectful."
Initially, TickPick's Facebook page doubled down on its stance on the Upper Peninsula, responding to one user with: "We're sure the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a lovely place to live, and I assure you we didn't intentionally leave it off the map. But seriously, it's just a bunch of forests...."
Yikes.
TickPick co-CEO and co-founder Brett Goldberg later issued an apology, saying the remarks were made by one representative who "thought they were being funny; they were not."
Goldberg said the company has an action plan for how to handle this situation, which includes addressing the map on its website and creating "guidelines and rules so that nothing like this ever happens here again at TickPick."
Yoopers are not happy after @TickPick leaves the Upper Peninsula off its map and calls it "just a bunch of forests." on.freep.com/2rQVKVH pic.twitter.com/FjOLLOuEwV
@BrianManzullo @TickPick Hi Brian - My name is Brett, I am the Co-CEO & Co-Founder of TickPick. I wish I found out about this when it first happen. See my response: pic.twitter.com/KjYmglsxPO
For those who are unfamiliar with the Upper Peninsula, we have a few links for you to check out. While there may not be a lot of people up there compared to other American destinations, there's plenty of splendor.
Contact Brian Manzullo: bmanzullo@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrianManzullo.
No comments:
Post a Comment