Currently we have a 15% processing fee that happens on ticket orders. However, we don't want that fee to be processed in the event of an exchange. So for example if a $20 ticket is exchanged for a $30 ticket we only want to charge the patron $10, not $10 plus an additional fee. Likewise, if they downgrade from a $30 ticket to a $20 we don't want to refund a portion of the fee back. We only want the fee processed for the original order, not the exchanged order.
Does anybody have any recommendations?
Thanks!
Hi Cliff,
Have a look at the Fee Rules for that fee. There's a Transaction Type parameter and you may have (all types) selected currently for that. If so, you can change that to exclude Exchange transactions.
Beth, thank you very much for your reply. The transaction types don't have exchange selected but many times we don't do exchanges in the traditional sense where they are done in a new order. Instead, our exchanges are normally done by opening the pre-existing order and exchanging there. Unfortunately, Tessitura doesn't view those as an 'exchange' but rather as a sale (or possibly a return) and applies the fee. It turns out the primary reason for this is to get around price types that had an expiration date for a given show. For example, a show might have had a pre-sale price type that is $10 instead of the normal sale price of $20 but those price types are only good through yesterday. If a patron wants to exchange the ticket today and we do so in a new order, Tessitura won't allow us to exchange it with the now expired price type. However, if we exchange in the previous order Tessitura has 'locked in' the date, so to speak, and will allow us to exchange based on the original price type. Does that make sense?
Oh I see! Hmmmm. I'm not sure if there's a way to it ignore the fee entirely in this situation. If there is, hopefully someone will chime in!
But as a work around, if your fee is setup to allow it, the users could click the Override button in the order fees for that row. I just did a quick test in my TEST system and the newly added fees are broken out separately from the fees already paid by the customer so it shouldn't affect anything in that regard.
I know it's not the perfect solution and relies on your staff remembering to take that extra step... but it should work in a pinch.
Good luck!
Our box office usually does exchanges by opening a new order and then buying the tickets the same way we would for a regular sale. However, for tickets that are being considered a direct exchange, we have simply trained our staff to override the fee on the fees tab for those tickets. Its not ideal because this has to be done manually by the staff. Our management staff has to double check this each time as they are returning the old tickets. For the most part they remember to do it. Also, if the patron is exchanging 2 tickets for 3 together and you want to charge the fee on the extra ticket being purchased, you would have to put the 2 exchanges on one separate line item and the extra ticket on another, so the fee can be overridden for some but not all.
Only other thing I have thought of but our facility does not want to do, is creating a unique MOS just for exchanges and you adjust your rules to exclude this MOS, but then in the same instance from above, if they are purchasing additional tickets and you want to charge fees they would have to be added manually.
We used to have a range of set exchange fees that people could get creative with however we have recently got rid of them all and replaced it with one, editable fee. It's at box office discretion as to whether to apply given the circumstances so they are empowered to make that call.
Cliff-
Since you can’t rule things out by transaction type, would it make sense to have a specific MOS for these types of transactions, and exclude that fee from the MOS in question? Then when you know you have to do one of these, go into the order, change the mode of sale, and the new transaction will not be subject to the fee.
We build all of our fees as editable in order to make those adjustments at the time of exchange.
From: Cliff Bailey [mailto:bounce-cliffbailey2866@tessituranetwork.com] Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2014 12:54 PM To: Susan Crockett Subject: [Tessitura Ticketing Forum] Disregard Fees on Exchanges?
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Hi, Cliff:
We sell exchanges using different price types than the original sale, making it easy to apply a different fee setup. We have a few basic exchange price types that mirror our single ticket and subscription prices, and then a couple of editable exchange price types as well, for those situations that come up (you have to move someone and need to upgrade the ticket without a price upgrade, for instance).
______________________________Lucie SpielerIT Development and Training Manager
Florida Grand Opera
You could change your Transaction Type on the Fee to exclude Exchanges or set up a special MOS for exchanges and have the fee not applied to that MOS.
From: Tessitura Ticketing Forum [mailto:forums-ticketing@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of Cliff Bailey Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2014 12:55 PM To: Nicole Keating Subject: [Tessitura Ticketing Forum] Disregard Fees on Exchanges?
We have a Ticket Exchange MOS and you can set it up to absorb downgrade money. We have an exchange for single tickets but not subscriptions so the Sub pricetype is excluded. There are a lot of benefits to having a separate MOS.
Shelley Osburn
System Services Manager
COCA
From: Tessitura Ticketing Forum [mailto:forums-ticketing@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of Jesse DillmanSent: Friday, October 24, 2014 1:02 PMTo: Shelley OsburnSubject: Re: [Tessitura Ticketing Forum] Disregard Fees on Exchanges?
From: Cliff Bailey <bounce-cliffbailey2866@tessituranetwork.com>Sent: 10/23/2014 12:42:25 PM