Jennifer Flynn is Client Services Director at The Shubert Organization, a high-ranking job at one of the great theatrical producing organizations in New York City. To get to her level, one would have to do a lot of things right and prove oneself in multiple jobs in the live events world. Flynn has done that … and then some!
Jennifer Flynn
She started her ticketing career as the Box Office Manager of the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre in Mars Hill, North Carolina. “This was a summer stock program which I did during the summers between my junior and senior years in college [at Mars Hill University],” she recalls. “Little did I know that it would spark the trajectory of my career.”
After college, she worked for a concierge company in Orlando before moving to New Jersey to work for Princeton University’s McCarter Theatre. She says, “I started out as an intern in the development department, then moved over to marketing and finally ended up managing the telemarketing campaigns. I finally moved to New York City and spent five years at an off-Broadway theatre company, Playwrights Horizons, managing their subscribers and assistant managing a little off-Broadway ticketing agency they owned called Ticket Central.
From there, she moved on to serve as the Subscription Manager for Jazz at Lincoln Center during the first year in their new space. Before long, a job opening came up at Shubert Ticketing, and she became a Client Services Account Representative. “I have been here ever since [18 years], moving up to Client Services Account Manager; Client Operations Manager; and, finally, my current position as Client Services Director.”
In her current position, her duties and responsibilities are many. Chiefly, she manages a team of client services account managers. She states, “We program every show that is sold via Telecharge, either on our website; through the Call Center; at the Box Office; or through our in-house group agency, Broadway Inbound. We work very closely with the marketing teams, company managers and producers to keep the pricing, offers and scheduling up to date. We also work with the venue box offices to make sure they have all the tools they need to sell and the front-of-house teams for gating.”
Flynn says she particularly enjoys the people aspect of her job: “I love inspiring the team to do their best and being able to show them the ropes as someone who has been in their shoes. It is very satisfying when I see them soar, especially when they have an incredibly smooth, high-profile on-sale!”
She continues, “The challenging part is keeping up with changes in technology and consumers’ buying habits and how that affects our programming and the ways that we sell tickets.”
Flynn’s career is long and varied enough that she can look back on it all and pinpoint mistakes that have actually helped make her who she is today. She recalls making an especially big error while working at the concierge company in Florida. “I don’t remember the details of it now,” she says. “But when I very shyly went to my boss to ask for help, her response stayed with me and is what I tell all my new employees. She said, ‘We are all human, and we are going to make mistakes. If we don’t ever make a mistake, we are either not working hard enough or we are trying to cover it up. Neither has a good outcome.’ So, my advice to anyone is to do your work to the best of your ability, own your mistakes, and ask for help. Then you can figure out with your team the best way to move forward.”
This being our Women in Ticketing series, does Flynn have any specific advice for any young woman reading this article who is just starting out in the ticketing/live event business? “Yes! Don’t be intimidated or let anyone talk you down. The ticket industry is a true community with a whole lot of support.”
And above all, remain positive. Stay optimistic. The ticketing and live events industry has endured a lot this decade, and it’s largely still standing. Looking to the fourth quarter of the year and into 2025, Flynn says, “I am very optimistic. I feel that tourism is really picking up. And working in Times Square, I can feel the overall excitement and energy increase in the crowds as I go to and from work every day. Excitement is in the air!”
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