Royal Oak Music Theatre
“Overall, Tickets@Phone™ has worked great for us. Patrons love it and everything has gone smoothly since day one. It has worked exactly as promised.”
Diana Williams
Box Office Manager
Royal Oak Music Theater
Profile
The historic Royal Oak Music Theatre opened in 1928 as the Kunsky Royal Oak. In its 80-year history, the theater has undergone many changes. Originally constructed as a movie theater, the Royal Oak Music Theatre’s entertainment mix has evolved over the years to cater to its audience’s tastes, moving to music and comedy in the 70’s and later adding off-Broadway musicals and dance productions to the venue's stage.
Located in Royal Oak, Michigan, the venue holds 1,700 patrons in a general admission configuration, 1,000 patrons in theater seating, and 784 patrons in cabaret seating.
The Challenge
The Royal Oak Music Theater attracts a heavy last minute, walk-up clientele. In addition, many patrons who buy their tickets online or through a call center choose to pick up their tickets at will call. Some of these will call patrons forget to bring their picture identification or their confirmation numbers, both of which are required to pick up will call tickets. Many will call patrons are teenagers whose names don’t always match the names on their parents’ credit cards which were used to purchase the tickets. Needless to say, the box office lines on performance nights can get very long, and patrons can become very impatient.
Additionally, when the theater is set up for general admission and there is no fixed seating, fans line up hours before the event in order to be among the first in the theater to claim a spot close to the stage. Some of the more popular artists attract fans who camp out in line for the prized vantage points.
The Solution
In order to alleviate both of these situations, the theater separates fans entering the venue into two groups – walk-up and will call patrons through one door, and those who purchased their tickets online at www.ROMTLIVE.com and chose Tickets.com’s Tickets@Phone™ ticket delivery method through a VIP entrance. The latter entry allows these ticket buyers access into the theater before their will call and walk-up counterparts.
Patrons who choose Tickets@Phone receive tickets on their mobile phones via Multimedia Message Service (MMS). The digital ticket includes standard ticket information and a unique barcode that is scanned from the mobile phone display at the theater’s VIP entrance. This enables quick entry into the venue, and eliminates the patrons’ need to carry paper tickets or wait in a long will call line on the day of the show.
Royal Oak Music Theatre is the first venue outside the sports world to offer ticket delivery to mobile phones. The theater heavily promotes Tickets@Phone on its web site, in the lobby, and through email.
Key Successes
The new technology has been a hit with theater patrons, especially the younger crowd. Offering this unique ticket delivery option in tandem with VIP entrance privileges has helped get people through the door faster, according to Diana Williams, box office manager at Royal Oak Music Theater.
The technology has also helped reduce will call lines at the theater. “Tickets@Phone has been great for getting patrons to move away from using will call. It’s also helped to improve our staff productivity,” said Ms. Williams.
Royal Oak Music Theater appreciates the customer service benefits that Tickets@Phone provides to its patrons. “Our patrons perceive Tickets@Phone as a novelty. It’s something fun and different. It gives them immediete satisfaction because they receive their digital tickets a minute after they order them,” said Ms. Williams.
Additional Benefits
A side benefit that the venue hadn’t expected is a dramatic increase in patrons using Tickets@Home™, another product developed by Tickets.com, where ticket buyers can conveniently print real tickets from their home or office. Since patrons holding these types of tickets also receive VIP entrance privileges, the promotion of Tickets@Phone has created awareness for both the exclusive, streamlined entry and the Tickets@Home feature as well.
“Overall, Tickets@Phone has worked great for us. Patrons love it and everything has gone smoothly since day one. It has worked exactly as promised,” said Ms. Williams.
For more information, please contact our sales department:
Toll Free – (888) 397-3400
International – +1 (608) 437-3568
www.tickets.com
sales@tickets.com
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