Does the theatre keep tickets that haven’t been used?

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 8/31/19 at 8:43am

Does the theatre hold on to tickets that have not been picked up even after the performance has passed?

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 8/31/19 at 8:50am

Nope. They have no value and they are unusable as the info on the ticket has expired so they are trashed/recycled.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/31/19 at 9:44am

why would you think that they would/might?

[Wick3]

Posted: 8/31/19 at 9:59am

After the box office closes at 8pm, they normally give the unused tickets to the ticket-taker or security assigned at the front of the door for any latecomers. It's really up to the ticket-taker to keep or throw out the unused tickets though I'd think he/she would throw them out.

 

Updated On: 8/31/19 at 09:59 AM

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/31/19 at 11:21am

Wick3 said: "After the box office closes at 8pm, they normally give the unused tickets to the ticket-taker or security assigned at the front of the door for any latecomers. It's really up to the ticket-taker to keep or throw out the unused tickets though I'd think he/she would throw them out."

Yes and no. Most bix offices are open until 8:30pm (except on Sundays). Just when they close,  the unclaimed tickets are given to the ticket taker for latecomers. Toward the end of the performance,  those tickets are then returned to the box office.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 8/31/19 at 4:04pm

It depends? Even the ones that do don't hang on to them forever. But some box offices do hang on to unused tickets for a bit. I assume it's different company policies. 

[MarkBearSF]

Posted: 8/31/19 at 4:35pm

I would assume printed, unused tickets would be returned to the BO, so they can be noted as such for audit purposes. While they *could* simply do that before handing off to FOH (and when scanned, any used tickets would show as such) - I would assume they'd still want them returned and then marked-off before being destroyed.
That way they can see whether each printed ticket was: sent by mail/messenger, picked up and used, or unused/returned/...destroyed.

Updated On: 8/31/19 at 04:35 PM

[WayTooBroadway]

Posted: 8/31/19 at 8:17pm

Not to be snarky, but the official word should come from your original point of sale. Why don’t you contact them when business hours are in , so there’s no guessing game here from everyone else, and not start a new thread about your MEAN GIRLS tickets?

I hope that’s helpful.

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 8/31/19 at 11:43pm

Mind your own damn business no one asked for you opinion.

[senorvoce2]

Posted: 8/31/19 at 11:53pm

The uncalled for tickets are kept. 

[WayTooBroadway]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 12:51am

Broadway Flash said: "Mind your own damn business no one asked for you opinion. "

 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. Damn business buying tickets and not using them and damn business asking questions every possible hour. Bye!

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 1:01am

senorvoce2 said: "The uncalled for tickets are kept."

Do you know for how long they keep them? Thanks. 

[uncageg]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 1:12am

Broadway Flash said: "senorvoce2 said: "The uncalled for tickets are kept."

Do you know for how long they keep them? Thanks."

 

I think it depends. If a person could not make it to a performance,  I think they are held in case they are needed for verification for past dating. 

 

[sassylash3s]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 7:07am

BrodyFosse123 said: "Nope. They have no value and they are unusable as the info on the ticket has expired so they are trashed/recycled. "

This is not true across the board.  I can't speak for every theatre, but I know for a fact that at least one of the major theatre owners does keep uncalled for tickets and does not destroy them until after the show has closed.  Unused tickets are not entirely worthless as they may be used for past dating.

[senorvoce2]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 7:09am

They are kept indefinitely. If there is a chargeback to be dealt with, or if a customer wishes to be past-dated, having the uncalled for tickets aids in handling these situations. 

[Wick3]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 8:17am

I know each theater/production may do things differently, but for past-dating tickets I just thought the box office would look at the ticket scan report just to make sure that ticket/seat wasn't scanned at that performance.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 8:34am

Wick3 said: "I know each theater/production may do things differently, but for past-dating tickets I just thought the box office would look at the ticket scan report just to make sure that ticket/seat wasn't scanned at that performance."

Precisely.  That is the whole reason everything is barcoded.  Everything these days is barcoded and scanned which is how inventory is quickly monitored.  Quicker and more efficient in getting data in seconds over sending Sheila to the 4th floor and going thru files to locate a ticket being stored in a box.  Now they just enter the performance date on a program and in seconds they can access the info on every ticket including purchaser info and if a ticket wasn’t scanned including info if ticket was scanned several times.  This is 2019 not 1963.  Anything with a barcode including paper tickets can easily be traced in seconds. 

 

[uncageg]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 12:21pm

As Wicked3 said, some do it differently. I don't know how they would do it for a very long running show and someone is trying to past date after a year or so, but in my experience the physical ticket had to be returned and a "comp" seat was issued.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 1:00pm

are we talking about ancient history here? or modern reality? 

relatively few physical tickets exist any more. and even when they do, there is still a digital version of that ticket. The only real case of untraceable physical tickets is a walkup purchase, and in that case if you don't have the ticket, you obviously are not getting past dated. And the pickup is not the relevant factor in a will-call; it's the scanning. 

Sometimes I wonder what people have on their minds. Have I missed any scenario?

[sassylash3s]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 1:16pm

Yes, nowadays there is a digital record of every ticket and it is very easy to determine whether a ticket has been scanned. That does not mean that the box office doesn't keep uncalled for tickets. I'm not saying this isn't an antiquated practice, but it is absolutely still done.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 1:35pm

Tickets are kept until accounted for, for fraud prevention, but they are not archived and available (or useful)  in a post-dating context. The fact is there is not much will-call anymore, not counting comps (for which post-dating is obviously moot). And that's the only physical inventory in a box office today.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 6:02pm

More than 1/2 the time I go to bway, I get physical tix from will call.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 7:52pm

dramamama611 said: "More than 1/2 the time I go to bway, I get physical tix from will call."

That's good to know. I assume you've noticed that most people don't.

[Swiss Miss]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 8:31pm

HogansHero said: "Tickets are kept until accounted for, for fraud prevention, but they are not archived and available (or useful) in a post-dating context. The fact is there is not much will-call anymore, not counting comps (for which post-dating is obviously moot). And that'sthe only physical inventory in a box office today."

You have absolutely no clue what you’re talking about. 

[ArtMan]

Posted: 9/1/19 at 8:48pm

dramamama611 said: "More than 1/2 the time I go to bway, I get physical tix from will call."

I do too.  For my upcoming trip, 4 out of 5 shows, my tickets will be at will call..