Behind the scenes – How the ticket gets into your hands
Behind the scenes – How the ticket gets into your hands
“A concert ticket costs 80 €. The concert cost nothing. “
Anonym
Dear opera lover,
It’s so easy – book online or call, order a ticket, go to the opera.
But what actually has to happen for it to be so easy for you to reward yourself with an unforgettable treat? I spent a few months working in Immling’s ticketing department myself and can tell you that it’s not quite as easy as it looks. Behind the scenes, it takes a finely tuned machine to ensure that something like this runs as smoothly as possible, and the responsibility for those who work in ticketing is huge. So let me tell you a little about it …
After a well-deserved vacation, planning starts immediately at the end of September. Ticketing communicates the customers’ wishes, as the people from the ticket office are your direct contact for feedback and suggestions. The extended arm of the audience also passes on all wishes when designing the flyers. Please make the seating plan clearly distinguishable by color so that the individual categories are easy to find – this can sometimes incur the displeasure of the graphic designer…. But you always come first with us!
Photo Christine Unterseer – Ticketing & Customer Service © Mariella Weiss
As far as the flyer is concerned, the same applies to the website – sometimes a mistake creeps in, no matter how many people have looked over it – and then the phone rings in ticketing. This position requires a lot of PC skills anyway, because every single event has to be set up in the system, with a venue, specific price lists for each event, the corresponding technical blocks for wheelchair spaces, fire department, theater doctor and paramedics. For a musical, the technology needs a few seats in the auditorium…. etc. etc.
Speaking of seats: As you know, being a sponsor is definitely worth it, because not only will you be informed earlier about the current program, but you can also book your preferred seat earlier. Ticketing will keep you on a special list so that you are always informed in good time and, of course, our sponsors, who play a key role in our festival, will also receive special support from Ticketing.
And then it finally starts: notebook at the ready, game plan on the table, get on the phone. We look forward to every customer, some questions are easy to answer, others require quick thinking, noting down all the details, checking the PC to see what the desired date looks like, advising customers, providing information about the performance, explaining the shuttle bus journey, dealing with exceptional cases if someone wants to cancel their tickets against the guidelines (unfortunately not possible), has to rebook or has other questions.
The reservation must then be made in your name so that we can find you again in the system if you have forgotten or misplaced the tickets. Once you have transferred the ticket price, the tickets will be printed out and sent to you. And if you still want to go to the Sternenzelt afterwards, then the buffet ticket or food voucher you booked is also included…
Photo – Gerti Fegl – Ticketing & Customer Service © Mariella Weiss
At the events themselves, someone from ticketing is always on the hill long before the first bus arrives, checking whether all the chairs (which may have been taken out the evening before) have been correctly numbered and reinstalled, whether the wheelchair spaces have been removed, whether the gallery may be closed because technical staff have to sit there for this event, etc. The seats in the Sternenzelt have already been allocated the day before (who sits where so that things can start quickly after the performance), who does the box office, who helps with admission, who does the inside work and who does the outside work and helps in all emergencies, has umbrellas ready if it rains during the interval or on the way to the Sternenzelt, checks that there are still enough programs for the interval …
And when the show is over, someone from ticketing goes through the auditorium, collects all the found objects (and there’s always something that gets forgotten…), helps us usher in the star tent and looks after our VIPs.
During the festival, free days in ticketing are in short supply, but everyone is enthusiastic and happy when the direct feedback from the audience after the performance is (almost) always very positive.
Dear opera lovers, this is just a tiny glimpse of what has to happen so that you can enjoy a wonderfully carefree evening at the opera – I haven’t even mentioned lighting, technology, make-up, wardrobe etc. etc…
Photo – Andrea Schiller, Ticketing & Customer Service © Mariella Weiss
It is our pleasure and honor to give you a wonderful evening, and if something does go wrong, be forgiving, like all people we make mistakes.
Join us in looking forward to a successful Dernièren and, as always, a grand Finale Grande! The choir, soloists and orchestra will come together for the last time this season. We celebrate a successful season with you. Those in the know already know – what the Radetzky March is to the Vienna Philharmonic on January 1st, the “Libiamo ne’ lieti calici” from La Traviata is to the Immlingers, sending us all home exhilarated or to the roaring “After Party” in the tent.
With this in mind – enjoy the last weekend of the season on the hill!
Sincerely as always
Yours, Christiane Berker
Photo – Alexandra Ayoub, Ticketing & Customer Care © Mariella Weiss
