I have worked in the ticket office for many years now. I started out as a work-study my freshman year of college, continued on all four years of school, worked as a temp when I graduated and eventually became full-time, first as a cashier and then as assistant manager. I feel in my time, I’ve learned quite a bit about the behind the scenes of the ticketing world and now I’m taking this opportunity to share my knowledge with you, the reader.
Phantom of the Opera is going on sale tomorrow and we have several popular shows next week-Lyle Lovett, Mannheim Steamroller, and Jackson Browne. With popular and high demand shows, many tickets are purchased and then resold through ticket scalpers and brokers at a higher price than face value. This is a hot button topic across the country and venues and artists are very divided on the topic. I always recommend that consumers purchase tickets directly from the venue or a reputable source such as the organization’s website or phone room. Not only do we provide better customer service, we sell tickets at face value, and are often much more acquainted with the hall. In addition, if there is any sort of problem with your tickets or experience, we’re better able to help and normally have accounts set up with your information. When you purchase tickets from a third party, there’s no way to verify your seat locations or your transaction even taking place. The catch-22 we face is that there’s not a way to limit sales to scalpers. We’re unable to refuse service and online and phone sales are very hard to control. Patrons really should make sure that they know who they’re purchasing their tickets are and that the price they’re paying is the face value of the tickets. And if you’re ever in doubt, always call the venue or organization, we can usually point you in the right direction!
