How Komedia Bath increased their efficiencies through mobile scanning and e-ticketing and enhanced their customer experience with the Ticketsolve scanning app.
Introducing Komedia
Housed in a stunning Grade II listed building, Komedia is Bath’s first community owned venue dedicated solely to live entertainment. With over 400 events a year, Komedia’s unparalleled programme offers a wide range of comedy, music, and cabaret ensuring that the venue is valued as the premier destination for touring entertainment in the area. Komedia Bath is a five time winner of the Chortle Award for Best Venue in the West and Wales.
The Problem High Demand and Limited Time for Entry
With tickets to popular performances in high-demand at Komedia Bath, their team regularly experienced the frantic hustle and bustle of nearly 800 audience members arriving into their main auditorium for Doors Open.
When Komedia first went live with Ticketsolve, it was the responsibility of the duty manager to print out the list of names for each booking. Front of House would then use this list to cross-check each audience member as they arrive at the venue to collect their tickets.
It wasn’t long until this proved a huge restraint for their team to manoeuvre 800 audience members into the auditorium and get them seated within a 30 minute timeframe.
The Strategy Making the Move to Scanning
Ensuring that all relevant staff (not just the duty manager) could access Ticketsolve for each performance, was the first step on Komedia’s scanning journey. Then Komedia purchased second-hand scanners to use for access and entrance to the auditorium for their busier weekend performances.
The team at Komedia first began ticket scanning with pocket scanners. After successfully trialing this process, their team quickly became more comfortable and confident with ticket scanning and access control to the main auditorium.
With these positive results and attitudes around scanning, Komedia then looked into the Ticketsolve Check-in App from the Ticketsolve Support and Communications teams. Using Ticketsolve’s supporting articles and documents on the support hub Zendesk, their team decided they would trial the new app and compare both approaches.
In making their decision, Komedia gathered feedback from the box office, who overwhelmingly supported using their own phones to scan audience members into performances. The team agreed that the benefits of phone scanning outweighed pocket scanning. For example, through phone scanning, the team at Komedia Brighton could see external ticket allocations through the app which proved to be very helpful during busier periods.
The Results
Over 99% of audience members are presenting their phones for access at Komedia Bath.
With nearly 62% of total ticket bookings for Komedia Bath driven by mobile devices, it’s no surprise that more and more attendees are presenting their tickets on their mobile phones. It is clear that audiences like the fact that they no longer have to print their tickets prior to arrival at the venue. Audience members simply click the link to download their e- tickets from their confirmation email.
Before using the Ticketsolve Check-In app and mobile scanning, the team at Komedia would have to scroll and zoom on the pocket scanner to see the names of each audience member. This proved too cumbersome, especially when the team needed to get nearly 800 members through the doors as quickly as possible to avoid delays and any disgruntled customers.
“Through Ticketsolve, our team can report that 61.4% of all audience members who purchased a ticket for Komedia Bath purchased with their mobile phones. E-ticketing is extremely popular for us!” – Ellie Rogers, Marketing and Communications Manager