How much are tickets really???

improvstitute · Post by **improvstitute** » August 21st, 2007, 3:36 pm

OK - so there seems to be some confusion about ticket prices to AIC shows. I was under the impression that tickets were $7-$10 - pay what you wish. However, a little while back, some friends of mine came to a show and were told that the price was $10. They asked about the $7 price but were told that tickets are now $10. That made me look like a douche (CONTEXT WARS: ...me...like a douche). I looked on the AIC site and the price was listed as $7-$10. It is still listed that way.

So, what are the actual ticket prices? I have people coming to the show this Friday and they want to know how much the tickets are. I don't want to tell them $7-$10 if it is $10.

kbadr · Post by **kbadr** » August 21st, 2007, 3:43 pm

I thought we decided to make tickets $10, but $7 is the student price.

Roy Janik · Post by **Roy Janik** » August 21st, 2007, 3:45 pm

Damn. If your friends mentioned the $7 price, then they should have gotten to pay that, no problem.

The price is $10, with an understanding that any and every opportunity to make the price $7 is okay. This enables troupes running ads, putting up flyers, advertising online to say "$7 dollars with this flyer" or "3 dollars off $10 admission" without having to check with anyone.

Some possible reasons why someone might pay 7 dollars:

1) They bring/mention a flyer detailing the discount
2) They ask about a student/senior citizen discount
3) They say "Hey, I thought it was 7 dollars".

If this isn't being made clear to the people running box, then it should be. Maybe something needs to be added to the log sheet the box office person has.

improvstitute · Post by **improvstitute** » August 21st, 2007, 3:54 pm

Cool! Thanks for clearing that up. I am not sure that everyone in the AIC knows that - or mayby they do and I was just in the dark. Either way, adding it to the log sheet is a good idea.

kbadr · Post by **kbadr** » August 21st, 2007, 3:55 pm

I think we were basically trying to avoid the "it's $7-$10, pay what you want" confusing conversation that happened time and time again.

So, tickets are $10, unless they have something that says otherwise. We just abandoned the whole sliding scale thing.

improvstitute · Post by **improvstitute** » August 21st, 2007, 4:00 pm

kbadr wrote:I think we were basically trying to avoid the "it's $7-$10, pay what you want" confusing conversation that happened time and time again.

So, tickets are $10, unless they have something that says otherwise. We just abandoned the whole sliding scale thing.

We should correct that on austinimprov.com. We should also consider putting up a coupon there for $3 off regular ticket price that people can print and bring in. That would be a good way of tracking where people are hearing about our shows while encouraging attendance.

kbadr · Post by **kbadr** » August 21st, 2007, 4:01 pm

improvstitute wrote:We should correct that on austinimprov.com. We should also consider putting up a coupon there for $3 off regular ticket price that people can print and bring in. That would be a good way of tracking where people are hearing about our shows while encouraging attendance.

Good points.
If we put $10; $7 student price, we basically let audiences decide if they want to lie to us and tell us their students...which we don't care about anyway. I like it.

kaci_beeler · Post by **kaci_beeler** » August 21st, 2007, 4:12 pm

Roy Janik wrote:
1) They bring/mention a flyer detailing the discount
2) They ask about a student/senior citizen discount
3) They say "Hey, I thought it was 7 dollars".

My dad did this and was told he was wrong, that the price has always been $10 and there is never a discount.
I was under the same impression as Roy.

Who has been working the box office lately and encountered this? Can we let everyone know who works the box office about this rule, because apparently stating it at meetings and in the forums is not enough.

kbadr · Post by **kbadr** » August 21st, 2007, 4:15 pm

I still think having an open policy of letting them say "hey, I thought it was $7" is kind of weird. Particularly if there's a long line.

"How much are tickets?"
"$10"
"I thought it was $7."
"Ok, it's $7!"
*next person walks up*
"How much are tickets?"
"$10!"

Seems odd to me. I like the idea of putting a coupon online. Want $3 off? Print it out and bring it to the theatre, or be a student. Seems reasonable.

Wesley · Post by **Wesley** » August 21st, 2007, 4:45 pm

The AIC needs to set prices for AIC shows and the Hideout (venue) for Heroes (venue) shows. But it helps if they agree on a policy at that venue.

The last decision was decided exactly what Roy posted. The new price is $10, but if anyone gives just about any reason to pay $7 (student, military, elderly, remembers the good old days of $7 tickets, etc), they get that price.

But I also agree with Kareem that giving any old reason to get $7 often seems random and non-professional, especially to people behind the person in line. And, if you can just get $3 off by asking, you decrease the value of promotional coupons, etc. I think business is strong enough to just charge $10 and then produce a bunch of $3 off coupons. But again, it is by and large the venue's call.

Jeff · Post by **Jeff** » August 21st, 2007, 4:50 pm

I've been doing box a lot lately, and I've been following the policy that Roy mentioned above. If they say $7, it's $7.

improvstitute · Post by **improvstitute** » August 21st, 2007, 4:51 pm

agreed.

so...here is the coupon Junk is using for now...

I like having the ability to offer a discount. Makes people feel special and again, you can track where it came from. So if you are working the box on Friday, look for one or two of these to come floating thru.

Post by **bradisntclever** » August 21st, 2007, 8:26 pm

I think we should make it clear that the ticket price is normally $10, but certain explicit discounts exist. The board on the back wall of the Hideout could say: "Tickets: $10 Senior Citizens/Military/Students/(whatever else can be thought up): $7". If someone tries to play off as a student, just ask for a student ID. That's standard practice at the few movie theatres that offer student discounts.

It just seems really shady to some people when you charge the person right in front of them $7 and then ask for $10.

HerrHerr · Post by **HerrHerr** » August 22nd, 2007, 9:22 am

Wow. The Hideout is charging the same price for Threefer and Maestro?

Post by **bradisntclever** » August 22nd, 2007, 12:18 pm

HerrHerr wrote:Wow. The Hideout is charging the same price for Threefer and Maestro?

That's been standard practice since at least March. The Threefer does well, but not nearly as well as most Double Barrels or Maestro (obviously).

Here's another fun question: what about the Cagematch? Is each round of the tournament only $5 this time? Last go round, some friends of mine paid $7 once and $10 once. This last Thursday, they only had to pay $5.