Hey everyone,
Many of us are in (or will soon be in) the thick of subscription season! While we're planning, my team is wondering how other arts organizations communicate with their subs during the renewal process.
For other arts organizations that do NOT live seat your subs, what verbage or talking points does your box office use to explain the seating process? Have you found any explanations particularly successful with patrons who are extra pushy, asking to discuss seating (as in very specific seats) during the initial renewal or subscription purchase conversation? For some reason, this tends to really get to our patrons, even though it's how we've done things for well over a decade, so it's not that they are used to a different process. Many patrons just can't understand why we can't tell them their specific seat information the moment they purchase. I've been wondering if we give them too much info, ultimately confusing them. Any succinct descriptions or explanations would be very helpful!
Thanks!
Kim
Hi Kim,
We don't do live seating until after our renewal period. During that time, we tell new subscribers and renewing subscribers requesting changes to their seats that seating beings on _______ date. That's all we list in the brochure and other printed materials. When speaking with patrons, I will usually explain to them that renewing subscribers have until _____ date to tell us if they will be using their seats for the next season, and after that date we will have an idea of who will not be renewing and therefore what good seats will be opening up. The line I've found works particularly well on people is "I could seat you now, but I couldn't guarantee that something better wouldn't open up from a subscriber that isn't renewing. I'd hate for you to miss out on better seats by seating you in what we know is open at this time." For people that are very adamant about getting seated immediately, I'll seat them near the rear of a price zone that has plenty of availability and let them know that I will not be actively looking to see if something better becomes available for them after the renewal deadline passes. I've had only a handful of people over the last few seasons actually decide to move forward with the immediate seating plan.
We do make exceptions for the "seating begins after _____" for patrons needing wheelchair accessible seating or for VIPs/donors of a certain level as part of their benefits.
I hope that's helpful for you.
Thanks, that is helpful. We use very similar verbage - I think we just have some persnickety, highly expectant patrons. :) It's great to know that our current talking points are on par with what you're doing.