The Challenge for Performing Arts Venues
Box office teams at theatres, opera houses, and concert halls face a familiar challenge: balancing excellent customer service with operational efficiency. When routine ticketing management tasks consume significant staff time, it becomes difficult to focus on revenue-generating activities and personalised customer support.
Ticketing professionals know the pattern well. Customers need to change seats for weekend performances. Groups want to forward tickets to friends arriving separately. Patrons require mobile downloads for easy venue access.
These are legitimate customer needs, but they represent routine administrative tasks that don't require specialist expertise. When box office staff spend considerable time on such requests, it limits their availability for activities that truly benefit from human intervention.
The solution lies in providing customers with intuitive tools to manage their own tickets, freeing staff to concentrate on complex bookings, membership services, and personalised customer support.
How Self-Service Features Work
Tixly's ticketing platform provides comprehensive self-service functionality directly from the ticket confirmation page. Customers can manage their bookings without contacting the box office, whilst venues maintain full control over policies and restrictions.
Ticket Management and Access
Customers can forward tickets to other attendees via email, eliminating coordination requirements and physical exchanges. They can also download tickets for home printing or add them directly to mobile wallets for convenient venue access. Detailed seating maps help customers understand their exact seat locations, and for venues that support it, 360° seat views provide realistic perspectives of the viewing experience.
Changes and Modifications
When plans change, customers can modify their bookings independently. The box office software displays available alternatives, shows any price differences clearly, and processes changes immediately. Venues control change policies, including the number of complimentary modifications allowed and any applicable fees.
Refunds and Cancellations
When events are cancelled, the event ticketing software can offer multiple options: automatic refunds to original payment methods, bank transfers if cards are no longer valid, or the opportunity to convert ticket values to venue donations. This flexibility accommodates different customer preferences whilst streamlining the refund process.
Additional Purchases
Self-service functionality extends to revenue-generating features. From the same confirmation interface, customers can purchase add-ons such as interval drinks, merchandise, programme upgrades, or dining packages. These additional purchases often occur when customers are most engaged with their upcoming visit, creating revenue opportunities that might not arise through traditional box office interactions.
Benefits for Venues and Operations
Self-service features transform how box office teams allocate their time and expertise. Rather than processing routine changes and forwards, staff can focus on relationship building with subscribers, handling complex group bookings, and providing personalised service for special requirements. This evolution enhances job satisfaction for ticketing professionals whilst improving service quality for customers who need genuine expertise and personal attention.
Venues implementing self-service features retain complete control over policies and restrictions. You determine which events allow changes, set limits on complimentary modifications, establish fee structures, and define cut-off dates for self-service actions. The ticketing system enforces your policies automatically whilst providing customers with clear information about what they can do and any associated costs.
Modern audiences expect digital convenience alongside traditional service excellence. Self-service features meet this expectation by providing immediate solutions without requiring customers to wait for office hours or phone availability. Customers appreciate being able to manage their bookings on their own schedule, whether forwarding tickets to friends, changing seats closer to the performance date, or downloading mobile versions for easy access.
Implementation and Customer Support
Self-service capabilities integrate seamlessly with existing box office operations. Staff can still assist customers who prefer personal service, whilst routine requests are handled automatically. This hybrid approach ensures no customer is left without appropriate support.
Self-service features can be configured to accommodate different customer segments. Season subscribers might receive different change allowances compared to single-ticket buyers, and various membership tiers can have tailored policies that reflect their relationship with your venue.
Venues can track self-service feature usage to understand customer behaviour patterns and identify areas where additional support might be beneficial. This data helps refine policies and improve the overall customer experience whilst maintaining operational efficiency.
Getting Started with Self-Service
All self-service options are available directly from ticket confirmation emails and customer account pages. The interface is designed to be intuitive for customers of all technical abilities, whilst box office staff remain available to help customers who prefer personal service or encounter difficulties.
The performing arts ticketing software handles all transactions automatically according to venue policies, processing refunds back to original payment methods or offering alternative arrangements such as bank transfers or donation conversions. For group bookings, customers can forward individual tickets to attendees and make permitted changes according to your venue's specific policies.
Interested in learning more about how Tixly's self-service features can streamline your venue's operations? Get in touch to discuss how these capabilities could benefit your venue and specific requirements.
