Leadership / 06.19.24

How Much Customer Service Is Too Much?

Teddy Durgin

During a recent INTIX industry community Wednesday Wisdom call, the question “How much customer service is too much?” briefly came up, was bandied about, and some laughs were had. But it was clear there was a good feature article just waiting to be written on the topic … and with the contributions of a community of ticketing pros, Yours Truly was just the man do it!

The question itself is a good place to start. Indeed, how much customer service is too much? In general, where do some of our INTIX members draw the line? With regards to sports, one of the first to chime in was Margo Malone, Senior Manager, Season Ticket Memberships & Special Projects for the San Francisco Giants. “I am a firm believer in giving my clients options to consider, but sometimes the answer has to be a firm ‘no,’” she says. “There have been situations where a game is already in progress or has already been played and, inevitably, a ticket member wants to know if it’s too late to return their tickets. We’re in the business of generating revenue and have to draw the line there.”

Amy Matlins, Senior Director of Ticketing for the New York Football Giants, echoed several interviewees’ answers in stating that it’s rude customer/fan behavior that crosses the line: “It’s when customers curse at us! I have always told my staff they have my permission to tell someone, ‘It is not necessary to use that language, and if you persist, I will terminate the call.’” The same goes for people yelling at us. I tell people, especially those in person, that ‘We are trying to help you, but I will call security if you can’t have a civil conversation.’”

The same holds true on the arts side. Chris Stasiuk, Box Office Treasurer at the St. James Theatre in Manhattan, says, “As a rule, any time a guest is offensive or condescending or derogatory, I step in and draw the line. There is reasonable, and then there is ridiculous. The comment that the customer is always right is also wrong. The customer has learned over time — and because of us caving so often — that the customer who yells the loudest or complains the most wins. It is our job as the front line to help those who actually deserve to be helped — and many/most do — and sift through those who don’t.”

Abbe Karp, Patron Services and Ticketing Manager for the Austin Symphony Orchestra, laughed when presented with the question. “I draw the line a lot sooner than my staff, so I really should be learning from them!” she says. “I typically don't like helping patrons answer questions that aren't for our performances. We always have people that accidentally call us about shows for other organizations. But my staff do sometimes, and it is nice.”

The obvious follow-up question then becomes: “What is the best way to handle it when a customer, patron or fan has a request for the ticketing office that crosses that line?” Our interviewees were wonderfully varied.

Firm leadership was a frequent reply. David Winn, Box Office Manager for the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), says he and his staff have a “kindness” policy in a frame outside each staffer’s window. “When a patron gets cranky enough, the staff has been instructed to point out the policy,” he says. “At least once a week, I hear a confrontation happening at a window. When it escalates to a certain point, I walk out and literally pull the chair back that the employee is sitting on, and I lay down the law. It may come down to me threatening the patron with expulsion. But mostly it just takes a stern tone and control of the situation to mollify the patron.”

For her part, Stasiuk recalls, “I was able to turn a problem at the window around the other day. A customer claimed he had not gotten a refund on a canceled show and just started shouting. I said, ‘Sir, I will not help you until you acknowledge that I am the person who will actually help you. If you were me, would you help you the way you are speaking?’ I then said, ‘Walk out, walk back in, and let’s start this conversation over again.’ Yes, it’s a bit unorthodox but it worked. I had to contact our ticketing solution for additional support to help him. But ultimately, he got his information, and I think he learned a valuable lesson.”

Others had smaller snippets of advice in this regard. Karp advises, “Keep your voice calm and regulated.” Kishisa Ross, Hollywood Bowl’s Box Office Treasurer, urges those on the front line to either step away from the window for a few moments or place the irate patron on hold if on the phone. “Often, it allows things to cool down for a moment while trying to find a reasonable solution to the problem,” she says.

After that cool-down moment, the Giants’ Malone counsels, “Ask questions to find out what they’re really looking for. I’ve found many times fans may not realize that what they’re asking for has crossed the line because they don’t understand the reason for a policy. Be honest and offer an alternative solution.”

But let’s be honest. Patrons and fans making outrageous requests of ticketing professionals can be one of the fun parts of the job! They certainly make for great cocktail party stories or dinner date anecdotes. Some of our interviewees spoke of past requests that could only be called “doozies!”

For instance, Ross has been asked to not seat a divorced couple anywhere near each other. “Ever!” she adds with a chuckle. Matlins of the NFL’s Giants has dealt with such crazy questions as “I’m running late. Can you delay the start of the game for 30 minutes?” and “Can you tell me if so-and-so is playing? I need to know for my fantasy football team?”

Malone was once asked by a ticket member to have one of the team’s players stop by his tailgate party in the parking lot before a game. She explained that when the players get to the ballpark, they do fielding drills and take batting practice. “That wasn’t enough to dissuade this client. He asked, ‘Why couldn’t he come over between BP and the start of the game? The parking lot is just a short, five-minute walk!’”

Taylor Guy, Manager of Ticket Operations and Accessible Seating for the Atlanta Braves, adds, “Working in sports, you hear hundreds of requests for autographs or meet-and-greets each year. But one of the most memorable requests I received was from a guest who asked if I would be able to stop the game and have the entire crowd sing ‘Happy birthday’ to her daughter!”

Access to talent isn’t specific to the sports world. Opry Entertainment’s Karen Murley says, “It’s amazing how many guests think we have the ability to get them backstage to see an artist! We also receive numerous requests from customers who want to step inside the auditorium just for a ‘quick peek,’ especially if the tour is sold out. Sometimes they can be pretty rude when we explain we are not allowed to do that.”

Stasiuk polled her staff for anecdotes that would provide the best answer(s) to this question. “One of my co-workers, Mackenzie O’Brien, wins this one. A customer of his once asked that a Broadway musical be restarted for him since he had a hard time accessing tickets! As it turns out, he had mistakenly resold his tickets and they were purchased and used by someone else. Now that’s bossy and crazy!”

Of course, “going the extra mile” can be one of the really fun parts of a ticketing professional’s job. In conclusion, our interviewees were asked if they could relate an incident or anecdote where they went above and beyond the call of customer service duty … and it was a wonderful thing.

Karp spoke of the Austin Symphony Orchestra’s partnership with Vet Tix in providing free and/or discounted tickets to veterans and active duty military members. “One of our guests had been to our performances before, and I knew that he had a service dog,” she recalls. “I knew he would need space for the animal, so I gave him a seat with an empty space next to it that is typically used for wheelchairs. We happened to have some box seats open, so I reserved that seat for him, too. I gave both tickets to will call with the instructions to ask him which seat he would prefer. He was very appreciative of the option and stopped by to say, ‘thank you’ during intermission!”

The Hollywood Bowl’s Ross remembered a patron who took Access (an ADA-assisted van rideshare) to her venue for an exclusive event: “When the event ended, the return Access van never arrived. It was 2 p.m., and she tried to get a driver to return. But it must be booked 24 hours in advance. We made sure she was comfortable, contacted Access ourselves, and explained that no driver had come for her. We waited with her for three hours, checking on her, staying on the phone with the van service for her until they came. We were 30 minutes from calling her an Uber when the van arrived. We learned so much about this retired educator who loves the arts, and we were happy to have been there for her!”

Opry’s Murley says her standout moment came earlier this year when a young woman in her 20s came in with her father to ask about the tours and how much they cost: “She was super excited about being here for the first time. The dad was kind of shocked at the tour prices, so he offered to just pay for her to go in without him. You could just tell by his actions that he could not afford for them to both go on the tour. The young girl was visibly disappointed because you could tell she wanted him to go, as well. They both left without buying tickets.”

Murley continues, “After I thought about it for a few minutes, I decided to use two of my comp tickets for the Opry tour. I found them in our gift shop and told them that I wanted them both to experience the tour together and that it was a gift from me. She was beyond ecstatic, and they did agree to go. They later came back after the tour and thanked me again for the experience. It totally made my day, too, knowing that I made two people very happy that day.”

For her part, Malone relates the story of a particularly dedicated Charter Seat Member who would call often to tell her about his one-man campaign to get a former player’s uniform number retired. He would write detailed letters outlining his case to the Giants’ CEO and ask Malone to personally pass them along, which she gladly did. She really didn’t expect anything to come of those efforts.

Malone says, “I was pleasantly surprised when the Giants announced in 2010 that they would honor Monte Irvin, a New York Giant and also Negro Leagues player, by retiring his uniform number! Now I can’t say how big a role my client’s action of sending letters over the course of many years played in this development. But it felt wonderful, nonetheless. On the day of the ceremony, I got permission from my VP to have the ticket member on the field to watch the festivities and get a photo op. With MLB hosting ‘A Tribute to the Negro Leagues’ at historic Rickwood Field this past week, the result of my accommodating a small request is even more meaningful to me today.”

Perhaps the BSO’s Winn had the best story of them all. A few years back, a patron lost her diamond ring. A staffer in Patron Services got as much information from the woman as he could. “The next day he went to the area in the Shed where they were seated,” Winn says. “It took him three hours, but he found the ring ground into the clay! The story made the local newspaper. The “unsung hero” stories … it’s not often you get to tell them. They don’t often get remembered. But they are wonderful things. You should take the satisfaction you get from resolving an issue and keep that in your heart. That is what you need to remember!”

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Tags: Leadership , Customer Service