Two tickets or one?

When a promotion offers tickets to "subscribers", does that imply that each subscriber can get one ticket or two?

This all began when I signed up for tickets to a guided tour of art from the Centre Pompidou. I did not realize it was a contest until I got the message that said I would be contacted if I won. Wednesday Oct. 11, I got the following email:

Dear Joseph Bosco ,


Invitation to view masterpieces from the Centre Pompidou, Paris at first-hand

We are happy to let you know that you are eligible to join the exclusive guided tour of "Artists and Their Models - Masterpieces from the Centre Pompidou, Paris" at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Tsimshatsui.

The exclusive guided tour of this historic art collection will be held on on October 17, 2006 (Tuesday) from 6:30pm to 7:30pm*.

We will meet you at the reception desk at 6:15pm. Please print out and present this e-mail notification to our colleague there. For enquiries, please contact our Customer Service Hotline at (852) 2680 88xx or e-mail to circulationsub@scmp.com.

Enjoy the tour, with our compliments!



Yours sincerely,

Circulation Department,
South China Morning Post Publishers Limited.


* Each e-mail notification is valid for one entry only. Late-comers will not be entertained.
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I forwarded this to my wife, who, being a lawyer, noted that it seemed only I was being invited. Since we had planned to go together, I wrote to circulationsub to find out.

Thank you for the notification. I wish to double-check that this is for two people, as I had signed up for. I wish to attend with my wife. Thanks.

JB
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Here is the reply:

Subject: RE: Confirmation of invitation to "Artists and Their Models"
Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 11:02:10 +0800
To: "Joseph Bosco"

Dear Mr. Bosco,

Thank you for supporting South China Morning Post.

We are terribly sorry that each subscriber eligible to one opening only as the tour is limited to 30 persons per session.

Please kindly input your details in the web link below and submit your information to us. E-mail notifications will be sent to successful applicants individually by October 10, 2006.

http://subscription.scmp.com/promotions then click “ Promotions “ on the left hand side. Or,
http://promotions.scmp.com/circulation/pompidou/pompidou_regform.asp



Best Regards,

Ms. Florence Chan [I've changed the name]
Customer Relationship Executive
South China Morning Post Publishers Limited

Tel : (852)2680-88XX
Fax: (852)2680-86XX

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This was confusing enough that I called back. She was not there, but I left a message stating that I could not re-enter the information on the web because I already had done so and had a ticket. Here is her emailed reply (I'll spare you the obnoxious self congratulatory footer on each of the following emails).

From: "Circulation Sub"
To: "Joseph Bosco"

Dear Mr. Bosco,

Thank you again for your call on 13 Oct 2006. Regarding to our return e-mail we apologize that only the subscriber (1 person)can go take this invitation for our Hong Kong Art Museum this time, Thank you so much!


Best Regards,

Ms. Florence Chan
Customer Relationship Executive
South China Morning Post Publishers Limited

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Here is my reply, which I cc'd to the head of PR:

To: "Circulation Sub"
From: "Joseph Bosco"
cc: [head of PR]
Subject: RE: Confirmation of invitation to "Artists and Their Models"
Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 17:32

Sorry, but to be blunt, this is a very stupid policy. I have a subscription for my home, so I would think it would allow at least two people to participate. You spend all this effort and money to get good publicity, but in not allowing me to bring my wife, you leave me with a bad impression and a bitter taste. You can of course limit an offer as you wish, but it was not clear in the initial offer. I will not attend alone, so you can offer my ticket to someone else. Thanks.

Joseph Bosco
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This generated this reply:

Subject: RE: Confirmation of invitation to "Artists and Their Models"
Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 17:41:38 +0800
From: "Circulation Sub"
To: "Joseph Bosco"

Dear Mr. Bosco,

Thank you so much for your e-mail dated 13 Oct 2006. We apologize for the inconvenient caused. For this art museum visit we are just inviting our subscriber only.

Thank you so much!


Best Regards,

Ms. Florence Chan
Customer Relationship Executive
South China Morning Post Publishers Limited

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At this point, I came to suspect there was something cultural going on. "Florence Chan" could obviously not understand where I was coming from. I was obviously being rude and unreasonable in her view. So I started asking students and colleagues.

It turns out that there seems to be a cultural difference in the concept of "subscriber." I've checked with several Hong Kong and Chinese students and colleagues, and I'm surprised to learn that they think the term subscriber (訂閲者) suggests one person, while my Western friends assume that a subscriber can be a household who would be entitled to two tickets. The Chinese term seems to be more individualized. Students may also accept that one ticket is normal because they are not married, so would not think to go with a partner. But even two students who are married could understand the logic of giving only one ticket. It seems more based on the idea of conjugal relationships. It is actually much less common in Hong Kong for married couples to do things together. Same sex friendship groups are of course also common in the US, but there is enough difference that my Hong Kong friends do not assume a promotion like this will provide two tickets, while American friends, like me, assume a promotion will provide two tickets. Surely my newspaper cannot expect me and my wife to each get separate copies of the newspaper. My students agreed, and yet, they somehow felt only one ticket was to be expected.

As it happens, I got an email from the SCMP "Director of Marketing and Communications" apologizing for the arrangements.

Subject: Our apologies
Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2006 17:49:18 +0800
From: "Jane Smith"
To: josephbosco@xxxx.edu.hk
cc: "Sally Lo"

Dear Dr. Bosco,
I’m writing in response to your email of October 16 outlining our somewhat unfriendly arrangements for guided tours of the Pompidou Exhibition. Thank you for drawing this to my attention - and I hope you will accept our belated invitation for your wife to join you on the guided tour tomorrow. Simply print and present our previous email to the HK Museum of Art reception desk at 6.15pm and the two of you will be admitted.

We apologize for the frustration and inconvenience we have caused. In future we will be clearer about entitlements for these subscriber events – and I hope we’ll have the opportunity to regain your confidence.
Yours sincerely,

Jane Smith [I've changed the name]
Director
Marketing and Communications
South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd
Tel: (852) 2250 xxxx
Fax: (852) 2565 xxxx

At first I thought that they agreed that they should give a pair of tickets to all winners, but the email can be read to mean that next time, they will make it clearer that only one ticket is being offered. It may be they are more upset at having upset me, but still plan to give only one ticket. Maybe for Hong Kong that is the correct strategy.