Kustomer Service In The Concert Business
With the panel already off to a good start with the free drinks, Lee Zeidman, Sr. VP/GM of Nokia Theatre L.A. Live and the Staples Center, jumped into the discussion by offering his two cents on what good customer service means for his Los Angeles venues. “At the end of the day, if a customer takes away a bad experience with Ticketmaster, parking or concessions, they’re going to go away with a bad taste in their mouth about the venue,” Zeidman said. He explained that Staples Center and Nokia Theatre L.A. Live focus on ways to improve the customer experience such as presale parking and sending out e-cards about events taking place in downtown L.A. and around the venue.
Patrick May of Skyline Music said quality customer service has to be a joint effort throughout the industry. “I think the entire artist team needs to share responsibility communicating with the promoter and engaging with fans,” May said. Live Nation’s Rick Mueller pointed out that fans will often overlook high fees if a product includes a good experience for the customer. “Generally the finger gets pointed at Ticketmaster. Stubhub has higher fees but it’s a really easy buying experience with a good selection of artists and dates,” Mueller said. Several people had something to say about the temperature in the venue during a show and whether or not the A/C should be on. Lewi said that many singers who have issues with the A/C affecting their voice ask the venue to turn it off – and ask that the venue not tell the audience it was the artist who made the request. An audience member said that on one hand, the artist is also the venue’s guest and the venue should offer the artist catering, a good experience backstage and turning the A/C down if they want it. He concluded that it has to be a compromise between the artists’ and patrons’ needs. Zeidman then added, “After audience members pay $185 tickets to see Madonna and it’s 85 degrees in there – they’re not cussing out Madonna, they’re cussing out the Staples Center.” Lewi brought up famed promoter Bill Graham as someone to look to for inspiration. “He wasn’t a saint but he cared about customer service and fans,” Lewi said. “He’d be everywhere in the venue – watching the lines, making sure garbage was taken out, looking at the door, at concessions. “Go to your own shows or pay to go to someone else’s show. Don’t have the VIP experience, have the regular ticket-buyer experience with lines, with parking.” Mueller echoed his idea, saying “Go out and walk your house, talk to customers, ask if they’re having a good time, how they’re doing.” Lewi explained that rather than paying a training company to come teach his staff, he has created written manuals for everything. For example, Lewi said, “I have a manual about how to be my assistant. How many times the phone should ring before you pick it up. What you say when you answer the phone. The tone of your voice.” Zeidman added that the best trainers are “people who work with me and for me.” “I believe in sharing the wealth. We’re more than happy to share our best practices. I think you need to share it because if one of us gets better we all get better in this business,” Zeidman said.
Zeidman said food and beverage is one area that has the biggest room for improvement according to the number of complaints regarding not just the service but pricing as well. One idea that was brought up was customizing the F&B according to audience and/or artist. One example was a concert that had a predominantly Mexican audience where the beer for sale was switched from Budweiser to Tecate. This made the customers happy, which translated into more beer sales – which made the venue happy. “A lot of times if you make your customers happy, you’ll actually make more money,” Lewi said. - Reported by Sarah Marie Pittman, Pollstar |
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