Scanning mobile devices with N-Scan

Tom,

First off, thank you for starting a conversation about this topic in the forums.  It is one that we have on a regular basis here at The Public, but it is time we as a community start discussing in order to ensure that future improvements to Tessitura and NScan are aligned with new technology as well as the needs of our guests.

Our organizational response to guests using PAH on their mobile devices is determined by two primary factors; venue and the particulars of each case. Additionally PAH has only been an option as of January this year. 

Joe's Pub welcomes and encourages it.

Our five traditional theaters we tolerate/discourage it.

We do not offer PAH options at The Delacorte in Central Park.  

The box office staff have not had issues with it thus far and we discuss it enough organizationally that I would know if there were specific concerns. The effect on house staff varies per the venue as discussed above and will be discussed below based off your additional bullet points. The customer response varies based on their age demographic, but only after we have exhausted all attempts of assisting them at the door do they become frustrated that our delivery methods aren't more advanced. 

• Technological challenges

1. Guests are unaware of how to brighten their screen.
2. The guest's screen on their mobile device is cracked to the point where the ticket is illegible. 
3. Guests are unaware of how to re-size a PDF on their phone.
4. Other than the aforementioned factors NScan has been successful.  (Time is necessary for staff to get used to it and to learn how to assist guests who present tickets on their phone.)

• Lines at Entry Doors

1. Re-sizing and moving through multiple tickets on a mobile device is quite time consuming.
2. Finding a solution for seating incomplete parties is a challenge and often slows the lines down.
3. Those are the two biggest challenges to be honest, but if you have a technologically savvy guest with only a pair of tickets on their phone it takes no longer than scanning PAH or ticket stock designs.

• Lines at the Box Office

1. Rarely affected. 

• Intermissions for Seated Houses/Guests without the Mobile Device

1. These have yet to be a challenge because we have such small houses. Even with our guest restrooms located in the lobby only.
2. During intermission we encourage all guests to carry their ticket with them for re-entry and this verbiage is repeated to them before they leave the theater by ushers and ticket takers alike. 
3. If we encounter a guest who has forgotten their ticket once they get to the exit door we ask them to return directly to that ticket taker for facial recognition or we use passwords. Each of the ticket takers is encouraged to use a password that night for reentry.  Most guests find it comical and appreciate the quick friendly response rather then returning to their seat for the ticket.
4. In larger houses, at past jobs, we would station our ticket takers at either our main exit doors or the scanning entry point with a hand stamp to be used on guests who forgot their ticket at their seat. We never had a guest complaint about the need for a stamp rather then walk all the way back to their seat.
5. In situations where we are scanning an incomplete party at The Pub, they will ask the guest already present to message the other members of the party to alert them that they will have to message the person already present to receive them personally.
6. For our traditional houses we either ask the guest to wait until they are a complete party to enter the theater or require them to have their tickets printed at the box office and leave the remaining tickets with the House Manager of the show they are attending with the guest name on the ticket. 
7. For large parties that scattered throughout a space we will often seat all of the guests, but then our House Manager or Theater Manager will have all the tickets printed and brought to the guest to ensure there are no issues during intermission. This was especially important during Hamilton and Grounded for us this season.  

• Forged Tickets

1. We are currently using every security function possible within Tessitura for all of our ticket designs in addition our ticket stock and PAH designs are pretty specific and not easy to forge. 
2. Actually during Hamilton we didn't encounter a single forged ticket in a PAH format. All of the forgeries were attempts at creating some kind of ticket stock design. Most true scalpers are becoming aware that people are suspect of a ticket printed on a home printer, unless they are coming from a secondary market website like Stubhub.

• Percentages

1. Joe's Pub skews higher because we have a younger demographic represented at their shows. 
2. For our traditional houses I would say 1-5 guests use their mobile devices per performance.

The key, is to have a real mobile option. PAH delivery should not be our final frontier. Until then set your organizational boundaries of what you can and cannot accommodate and remain friendly towards the guests when they become upset about a lack of technological advancement. We are restricted to what Tessitura can offer and what organizationally we can afford as non for profits. We are blessed with a fantastic web and development team and I am very excited about the options we are exploring to combat many of the concerns you have above. 

Until then I look forward to a day where we can scan a membership card for entries into a performance and catch up with those entities that are already using ticketless entry options in commercial venues. 

I am always happy to discuss specific points further and feel free to email me directly Tom. I will happily find time to reply and/or set up a phone call.  

Best,

Rich Denney

Tom,

First off, thank you for starting a conversation about this topic in the forums.  It is one that we have on a regular basis here at The Public, but it is time we as a community start discussing in order to ensure that future improvements to Tessitura and NScan are aligned with new technology as well as the needs of our guests.

Our organizational response to guests using PAH on their mobile devices is determined by two primary factors; venue and the particulars of each case. Additionally PAH has only been an option as of January this year. 

Joe's Pub welcomes and encourages it.

Our five traditional theaters we tolerate/discourage it.

We do not offer PAH options at The Delacorte in Central Park.  

The box office staff have not had issues with it thus far and we discuss it enough organizationally that I would know if there were specific concerns. The effect on house staff varies per the venue as discussed above and will be discussed below based off your additional bullet points. The customer response varies based on their age demographic, but only after we have exhausted all attempts of assisting them at the door do they become frustrated that our delivery methods aren't more advanced. 

• Technological challenges

1. Guests are unaware of how to brighten their screen.
2. The guest's screen on their mobile device is cracked to the point where the ticket is illegible. 
3. Guests are unaware of how to re-size a PDF on their phone.
4. Other than the aforementioned factors NScan has been successful.  (Time is necessary for staff to get used to it and to learn how to assist guests who present tickets on their phone.)

• Lines at Entry Doors

1. Re-sizing and moving through multiple tickets on a mobile device is quite time consuming.
2. Finding a solution for seating incomplete parties is a challenge and often slows the lines down.
3. Those are the two biggest challenges to be honest, but if you have a technologically savvy guest with only a pair of tickets on their phone it takes no longer than scanning PAH or ticket stock designs.

• Lines at the Box Office

1. Rarely affected. 

• Intermissions for Seated Houses/Guests without the Mobile Device

1. These have yet to be a challenge because we have such small houses. Even with our guest restrooms located in the lobby only.
2. During intermission we encourage all guests to carry their ticket with them for re-entry and this verbiage is repeated to them before they leave the theater by ushers and ticket takers alike. 
3. If we encounter a guest who has forgotten their ticket once they get to the exit door we ask them to return directly to that ticket taker for facial recognition or we use passwords. Each of the ticket takers is encouraged to use a password that night for reentry.  Most guests find it comical and appreciate the quick friendly response rather then returning to their seat for the ticket.
4. In larger houses, at past jobs, we would station our ticket takers at either our main exit doors or the scanning entry point with a hand stamp to be used on guests who forgot their ticket at their seat. We never had a guest complaint about the need for a stamp rather then walk all the way back to their seat.
5. In situations where we are scanning an incomplete party at The Pub, they will ask the guest already present to message the other members of the party to alert them that they will have to message the person already present to receive them personally.
6. For our traditional houses we either ask the guest to wait until they are a complete party to enter the theater or require them to have their tickets printed at the box office and leave the remaining tickets with the House Manager of the show they are attending with the guest name on the ticket. 
7. For large parties that scattered throughout a space we will often seat all of the guests, but then our House Manager or Theater Manager will have all the tickets printed and brought to the guest to ensure there are no issues during intermission. This was especially important during Hamilton and Grounded for us this season.  

• Forged Tickets

1. We are currently using every security function possible within Tessitura for all of our ticket designs in addition our ticket stock and PAH designs are pretty specific and not easy to forge. 
2. Actually during Hamilton we didn't encounter a single forged ticket in a PAH format. All of the forgeries were attempts at creating some kind of ticket stock design. Most true scalpers are becoming aware that people are suspect of a ticket printed on a home printer, unless they are coming from a secondary market website like Stubhub.

• Percentages

1. Joe's Pub skews higher because we have a younger demographic represented at their shows. 
2. For our traditional houses I would say 1-5 guests use their mobile devices per performance.

The key, is to have a real mobile option. PAH delivery should not be our final frontier. Until then set your organizational boundaries of what you can and cannot accommodate and remain friendly towards the guests when they become upset about a lack of technological advancement. We are restricted to what Tessitura can offer and what organizationally we can afford as non for profits. We are blessed with a fantastic web and development team and I am very excited about the options we are exploring to combat many of the concerns you have above. 

Until then I look forward to a day where we can scan a membership card for entries into a performance and catch up with those entities that are already using ticketless entry options in commercial venues. 

I am always happy to discuss specific points further and feel free to email me directly Tom. I will happily find time to reply and/or set up a phone call.  

Best,

Rich Denney