Would you be willing to share your missed performance policies with me? Our subscription shows run for about 4 weeks. Our standard exchange policy allows the patron to exchange up to the day of the performance for a nominal fee but we do not exchange tickets once the performance has passed. However everyday we are receiving calls from patrons who missed their show for one reason or another asking us to exchange their tickets after the fact. (The reasons range from death in the family to vacation so it isn't really a matter of making an exception for extraordinary circumstances.) It is becoming a significant issue for us so we are at the point to see what the industry standard is for handling these types of exchanges. Do you allow patrons who miss their show to exchange their tickets after the fact? If so, do you have any fees or restrictions? I would appreciate your feedback on this issue.
Thanks in advance,
Elizabeth Carlock
Hello Elizabeth,
We allow exchanges up to 24 hours before curtain, free for subscribers and members, and at a $7 per ticket fee for non-subscribers and members. The Ogunquit Playhouse is a non-profit, so we stress the importance of folks looking at their emailed receipt to be sure they booked the day/time/seating they wanted. If people call after their show because they were on vacation or forgot, we will exchange for subscribers and members based on availability (but expect them to pay any change in ticket price) but firmly remind them that their lack of planning does not constitute an emergency for us. We also remind them that, had they let us know in advance, we would've had the opportunity to sell their unused seats, which is not possible now (so they essentially cost us, a non-profit, money). Obviously we say this gently, but we feel it's important to hold them accountable, while being as accommodating as possible. We have found we get "repeat offenders" who always forget or expect special dispensations, but for those people we utilize the "customer service alert" constituency code and corresponding "customer service note" under the Research tab on their constituency file. If we see several notes here of the same vein, we will have management speak to the constituent and remind them that this is not how we perform exchanges - that is why we have our 24 hour policy...
Having said this - my understanding is that, on Broadway, it is a "use it or lose it" scenario - folks are not reimbursed OR allowed to exchange if they miss their Broadway show. Good luck!
~MoGavz