Before Center Stage made box office software, we ran our own central box office. Some things have changed over the years, but a lot of what it takes to manage a box office remain consistent. We thought we'd check in with some of our customers about how they achieve success and the challenges - as well as some of the crazy, but funny, stuff they face. 

Read below to learn what Mark Smith of Irish Classical Theatre  in Buffalo, NY, Denis Nigos of International City Theatre in Long Beach, CA and Bert Simonis of Sierra Repertory Theatre in Columbia, CA shared with us.

Keys to a Successful Box Office 

Service and knowledge

Smith says there are three keys to managing a successful box office: Organization; good customer service with flexibility; and knowledge of your ticketing system. "You introduce your specific needs and utilize the ticketing system to make that happen. Every box office is different yet every box office has the same goal...to sell tickets as easily as possible."

Communication

"Every live theatre has a box office person, and usually a house manager and a stage manager," says Simonis. "The three of you are responsible for putting on a performance. If you have a busload of guests that are running late - let the stage manager know right away. They can decide to hold a show or not. If you have a wheelchair guest, communicate with the house manager. Communication goes a long way to making sure the performance in the front of the house goes off smoothly."

Accounting, marketing and online sales

For Nigos, being able to use the accounting system in reporting and tracking sales and to import the Wintix database to a mailing database is crucial. Another key is "the ability to be able to sell online while conducting box office operations at the same time," he says.   

Challenges

The Customers

They are your bread and butter but can also be a bitter pill. "The customers aren't always right but you have to treat them like they are," says Smith.   

They also want to have a good idea of what will be in their line of sight. It's difficult "to show the customer the view from their seating to showcase the theatre's sense of space," says Nigos.   

"Remember that 99% of patrons only deal with the box office staff, house manager or ushers," Simonis adds. "Regardless of how good the show is, if someone walks out muttering 'Great show but if that jerk in the box office doesn't treat me better...' Then your whole organization has failed."

Information and reporting

Everybody wants the box office to be the seer of all knowledge. For example, Smith says someone will ask, " 'I need to know how many people over 65 attended Thursday performances and drove to the show.' Finding a way to figure out that kind of information is challenging."    

"It's a challenge to convince management to use the tools for accessing information available on their own rather than have a staff member pull the reports," Nigos adds. "And the ability to consolidate receipts with online sales can sometimes be problematic."   

Technology is Your Friend

"Learn your system," advises Simonis. "Wintix has reports to help you manage sales, that day's performance, your staff - do you know which reports can help you run your operation smoothly?"

Smith agrees the tools in the program help him manage his box office effectively and efficiently: "Wintix/Webtix has proven to be the most streamlined and easy to use system I've worked with. Every year the system gets better and better."

"The ability to be able to do accounting on a daily, monthly, and annual basis helps a lot," Nigos says. "We also like the feature of being able to do reports on any performance.Offering discounts online is a breeze!"  

Keep Laughing

Farce. Satire. Slapstick. Sometimes life in the box office can feel more like what's happening on stage. Smith recalls subscribers who exchange their date, then come on the date they exchanged out of and wonder why people are sitting in their seats. "It makes us crazy. But Wintix can prove the exchange with the Audit Report."

"We have six elderly couples who sit in the first row of the orchestra and every year they complain about the temperature at the theatre," says Nigos. "We told them their seats are over the air vents so, yes, it tends to get cold. Every year, for the past seven years they renew. Every time they came we adjusted the room temperature but they were not satisfied. We recommended they move one row back and they said NO! Once they recommended we move the vents to a different location, which would mean a great expense to the facility. We even suggested they bring their own jacket or sweater just in case it gets too cold for them but they keep forgetting to bring anything to keep them warm. Once, one of them got sick with pneumonia, which according to them, was caused by the air conditioning system! We bend over backwards to accommodate our patrons but to inconvenience the rest of the theatre-going public would just break our backs! I guess it's a love/hate thing. Yet they come every year."    

"Keep a sense of humor," adds Simonis. "Remember the patrons are there to be entertained. Theatre is a happy occasion and those of us in the box office are lucky that we're part of helping people forget about their "normal" lives for a couple of hours. Even if you have surly guests, or you yourself have a bad day - you're working in show business! You need to put on a happy face and treat your customers like they deserve to be treated."