Leadership / 08.09.23
15 Areas of Focus for a Well-Run Ticket Office
Christine Payne
The ticket office is the heartbeat of every live events and entertainment organization. Everything comes through these incredible places, from ticket sales to challenges and solutions.
But what does it mean to have a well-run ticket office? This is something we wanted to explore. So, because INTIX is all about elevating each other, we asked recent award recipients to share their thoughts.
“Take a moment to look at what you do now and try to imagine where you want your box office to be in the future,” Duncan Moss, Senior Associate Director of Ticket Operations for Ravinia Festival, the 2023 Outstanding Ticket Office, recommends. “I’m sure it’s already a great ticket office and you’re doing awesome work, but even the best of the best knows the bar can always be set a little higher. Find that bar and think about how you get there.”
We couldn’t agree more, Duncan!
Here are 15 areas to focus on so your ticket office is the very best it can be.
1. Ensure the basics are in place. The fundamentals of your operation are crucial and should make your job easier, not harder. You are only as good as your weakest link.
“The well-run ticket office is presenting to the patron a clean, clutter-free, transparent and pleasant transaction experience,” David Winn, Associate Director of Tanglewood Ticketing/Tessitura Liaison for the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and the 2022 Spirit Award recipient, shares. “Ease of process for the patron is paramount. Your internal processes have to be in order. That makes it easy for the staff to provide an excellent experience for the patron. Will call should be easily accessible and orderly.”
Top-notch customer service and a friendly atmosphere are also vital basics. “We always tell our staff, ‘As crazy as it sounds, someone can hear you smiling on the phone,’ and it’s true!” Moss says. “A well-run ticket office needs to embrace an atmosphere of respect, understanding and, of course, fun. These are core traits of great customer service, and if you live it in your job, you can emulate it to guests.”
2. Communication is key — internally and externally, Lauren Dugan, Director of Ticketing for Moody Center and the INTIX 2023 Outstanding Ticketing Professional, shares. “Ensure you have developed a process for communicating effectively to your teammates in and out of the ticket office. Be both proactive and reactive. We prepare for almost anything and will react accordingly to the situation. If we didn’t prepare for it, we work collectively on the proper response. Have simple processes in place and engrained so it becomes an instant ‘reflex’ for the team with how to operate daily,” she says.
“There are lots of nuances to know each day, and to make sure the ticket office is running at its best, you have to make sure the communication is there,” Moss emphasizes. “Our staff checks in daily to help spread the information about what’s happening and what can be expected. We also have staff meetings throughout the year to help stay on the same page and to keep an open line of discussion going. Keeping communication constant and constructive helps ensure a well-run ticket office.”
"When there are things coming down from the top, we try to be as transparent as we can with our team about what's going on and how those things might affect patrons so that they're able to do their job well and communicate those things with customers who are calling in,” Emily Dominguez, Ticketing Sales & Services Manager for Blumenthal Performing Arts, the 2022 Outstanding Ticket Office recipient, shares.
“There's no excuse for poor communication or poor training in the box office,” Jon Secunda, Director of Ticketing for the University of Nebraska, Omaha, and the 2023 INTIX Spirit Award recipient, shares.
“I think internally [in the ticket office], it starts with your staff, training and constant retraining. For example, in a couple of weeks here, we are going to have our annual … staff season orientation and pizza party.
We will have all our sellers in, go over the organization and office policies, talk about the upcoming season, and then get into some ticket system retraining for most of our folks. Then this has to be carried out throughout the entire season in the form of constant updates … On the flip side of that, it is the external communication [with other departments] that is the bigger challenge … Success in this area is a two-way street, but that internal and external communication, if you can do that with a reasonable degree of proficiency, that's where I think your success lies.”
3. Hire for fit and train for skills. “Make sure you hire for the culture you’ve established for your ticket office and venue," recommends Dugan. “Everywhere I’ve worked, other departments mention how I am part of the ‘ticketing unicorns.’ Find your fellow unicorns out there to work with you. You can teach the software, but it is harder to teach the work ethic and drive needed to make it in this crazy industry we all decided to be a part of and enjoy it!”
4. Ensure staff are well trained and connected. As Secunda has mentioned, like others across the industry, his college athletics ticketing team is constantly being taught. “The training and retraining session for staff and new staff during that downtime just before the season kicks off is critical. Also, a mid-year review [is important].”
Secunda continues, “If there are repetitive mistakes being made, obviously you have to do some retraining. If it continues, maybe a little bit deeper talk before you get to the point of letting somebody go. I really think it's constant training, retraining and communicating … The ticket office is the first contact a customer will have with the organization nine times out of 10. That phone call, that customer at the window. If we screw that up at that point, their entire journey is going to be screwed up through the event. That's why customer service training is absolutely critical. When we have our retraining, that's the focus.”
“Resources need to be at hand, be they brochures, web links, anything that is going to give the staff the most knowledge,” Winn emphasizes. “Staffing is key. Without reliable, well-trained, level-headed staff, no matter how great your processes are, your operation will fail.”
“One of the most important things is having a team that is very well-connected to one another and supportive of all working toward the same goal,” Dominguez says. “When everyone's in harmony, even when crazy things happen, and they do in this industry, everyone is quick to jump in and get done what needs to get done.”
Blumenthal ticket office staff left to right: Sam Pomerantz, D’Arcy Astridge and Brooks Henderson.
5. Give staff opportunities to do everything and progress. For many years, the ticket office was an island. It was, says Winn, managed by a few people who often had no connection to the rest of the organization’s staff. That has since changed, and opportunities abound for those in the ticket office. “At the BSO, our ticket staff does everything,” Winn shares. “They have shifts at the window. They have shifts on the phone. They manage and process subscriptions. We are lucky to have an inquisitive staff. They scan our website to make sure information is being presented properly.”
“We are identifying the talent, trying to utilize it to the best of our ability and providing opportunities for their future,” Secunda says. “When somebody is here, let's say a year, two years, we'll evaluate them and [decide] can we take them, whether they're a student or not, to a lead seller position. When that happens, we have that person train the new staff. By doing that, they get … a little bit more managing experience. This is how I have traditionally groomed folks where I saw management potential. Maybe [they are] considering making the ticket office or events their career. I've always taken that stepping-stone approach. Identify the talent, identify the interest and then bring them along. When we have our in-office training, our lead sellers will generally train the newbies.”
6. Put yourself in the customer’s shoes — and train staff to do the same. “Put yourselves in customers' shoes, starting from the announcement of an event through leaving the parking garage after the event,” Dugan recommends. “What type of experience would you want to have? Then, see how you as a ticket office can make that happen.”
“Customer service equals the customer experience,” Moss says. “We teach our staff to explain things to customers like you would explain it to a friend. When a customer asks a question like, ‘When does the parking lot open?’ the answer is never ‘4 p.m.’ The answer is more information. For example, ‘The parking lot will open at 4 p.m., but it fills up fast, so I suggest getting there as early as possible to ensure you get a spot. Where are you coming from so I can best direct you to the parking lot entrance?’ Our staff constantly puts themselves in the shoes of the customer to elevate the guest experience. You never truly know if this is a customer’s first time visiting or their hundredth time visiting, but you should always answer as if it’s the first. The why of what we do is so focused on an extraordinary experience that we use this as the basis of all our customer service.”
Duncan Moss and Dan Sawyers, Associate Director of Ticket Operations, accepting the 2023 Outstanding Ticket Office award in Seattle.
7. Build a trusted customer service environment. “Without service for customers — you will lose those customers. Without customers, you have no ticket office,” Dugan says. “It is imperative to create an environment for customers to know they can come to [you], to help answer questions and solve problems. This is also important for your [inside customers, including] artists, clients, promoters, teams, etc. You want to ensure you have repeat business, and that is established in part with great service.”
“[Customer service is] always what is driving our decisions, and our approach to ticketing is the customer service,” Dominguez says. “We also want to make sure that we are building the brand and making sure that people know they can trust us and that they want to come back to us even if they go to a show that maybe wasn't for them … My mindset has always been that their experience with us starts well before they come into the doors for the show. From start to finish, we want to make sure that we're providing the best experience for the customer and that they know they are in good hands whenever they call in to buy a ticket or make an exchange or if they have just random questions.”
Dominguez says, “[It is important] to be adaptable and offer solutions even when what the patron might be asking is not feasible. Being able to come up with alternate options that we can provide to help resolve the situation or make things more positive for them in the end, always leaving that conversation on a positive note, is important [too]. We try to make sure that our team is equipped with those things that they can offer or even ask about and advocate for the patron so that we're able to provide some sort of resolution, even if it's not exactly what they have asked for.”
8. Remember you can’t make everyone happy. “It’s just not in the cards,” Dugan says. “Just make sure you can walk away knowing that you did all that you could. For every unhappy customer, there are so many more happy ones.”
9. Reinforce that everyone on the ticket office team is vitally important. “No matter what your position is in the ticket office, you play a crucial role,” Moss says. “Some of us interact less and less directly with the customer as we continue our careers, but we still understand all the important pieces of that customer experience.”
“Be ‘all in’ with your teammates in the ticket office,” Dugan recommends. “Be on the same wavelength and trust one another. When it comes down to it, it’s all about working with others who have the same drive and passion you do.”
“With all members of our team, we try to focus on the bigger picture … That what we do really is important, and we have the opportunity every day to put a smile on someone's face or help them get that last-minute ticket to a show,” Dominguez shares. “Maybe they are bringing their child to their first theatre experience, or it's a band that they have followed their whole life but have never got to see. We never know the situation with a patron, but focusing on the bigger picture and how we come across in the service we provide [is important].”
10. Use common sense. “It isn’t very common anymore,” Winn says.
11. Always keep learning. “One of the best contributions you can make to the well-run ticket office is to maintain your knowledge. Knowledge of ticketing systems, knowledge of the marketplace, knowledge of marketing and how that all fits,” Winn recommends. “The ticketing process is changing at lightning speed. Ten years ago, we were using PDFs to print tickets at home. Now your ticket is a QR code that you can share, take back [and] put rules on to control resale. Whoa, what happened to ticket stubs? Keep current. Keep your staff current. Maintain your knowledge.”
“It’s important to remember you are a customer in many places you go every day and to think constructively about that customer experience,” Moss suggests. “Observing and learning lessons from the outside and bringing them inside is one of the best ways to keep growing. Bring your knowledge and experience to every customer-related decision you make because informed decisions are the best decisions.”
“Things are always going to happen that are unexpected, for better or worse,” Dominguez says. “[I recommend] not breezing past those opportunities but learning from them and learning from mistakes. Take the time, the actual time, the mental and emotional time, to really debrief and figure out what we could have done better or what we did that was great in this moment that we can lean into even more, maybe in other areas of what we do. Continue to think about those things and reflect on all of those moments, whether they're big or small moments of unexpected, crazy, contained chaos.”
12. Continue to empower and teach team members, says Dominguez. “Our entry-level customer service reps are seeing this can be more than just a 9-to-5 job where you come in and clock in … Most people in ticketing have kind of stumbled into it not realizing this is actually a career. It is multi-faceted, which most people probably don't realize when they sign up to sell tickets. I think opening up the curtain a little bit on what all this can lead to [is vital] … People might find what they are currently doing to be a bit mundane but knowing that what they're doing can be working towards something else can be a big motivator.”
13. Try new things and think outside the box. “In any industry, it can be easy to get stagnant or get comfortable with the process of how you run things. [Don’t be] afraid to try something new or different,” Dominguez emphasizes. “Even if that doesn't work out, you at least tried something, and you can always switch things up. Do not be afraid to implement new things, whether that's technology or just new innovative procedures and policies.”
“Don't be afraid to try new things. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. This is how innovation is made. This is how progress is made. This is how advances in customer service are made,” Secunda says. “One of the refreshing things about our new marketing team is they have challenged us with some out-of-the-box ideas. Yes, there have been a couple of missteps, but we learned from them. We identify the problem and make it better. Don't be afraid of challenges or new ideas, whether they be technical, whether they be promotional, whether they be incentivizing ideas for your staff.”
14. Learn from others and ask for help. Ticketing is an industry where others want to see you succeed. They are there to cheer you on and offer support, so don’t forget to reach out for the answer to a question or if you need a helping hand.
“We work in an industry where everyone is your friend and is willing to answer questions,” Moss says. “Most importantly, INTIX is your resource for reaching those colleagues and talking shop. We’re the only ones who know what we do and how we do it, so don’t hesitate to connect. I even suggest utilizing the INTIX Mentor Program to help reach others and teach what you know or learn more about what you’re seeking. Your ticketing family needs you!”
“It is important to join organizations [and] committees,” Secunda says. Those committees can be internal [to your organization] ... Get involved. Get involved with INTIX. Communicate with your colleagues. Again, this is how ideas [are formed] and maybe you've had a misstep recently. There's such a wealth of knowledge in the ticketing industry, and everybody's willing to share it. So yes, I would say connect. Connect with your professional colleagues. Connect internally with your other departments because there's always a committee to join. There's always some way to get involved and get new ideas.”
“Go to conferences,” Winn recommends. “Wow, the stuff you learn.”
15. Have fun! Ultimately, we are in the business of fun. “Just go out there and enjoy yourself,” Moss says. “We all work in an industry that specializes in awesome experiences and we should always remember that the things we do can create a memory for a customer that will last a lifetime.”
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Tags: Leadership , Ticketing Office