Hamilton Cancellation Line — Page 12

If you have DANGEROUSLY cold weather one would assume that the box office/ theater would be responsible and gracious enough to act accordingly and move THEIR lines to safer environments.  Case in point, the lotteries. They were responsible enough NOT to adopt the "it's your fault if you're dumb enough to still support our theater in dangerous weather" mentality and move to a system that was safer for everyone. Why put all the burden of safety on YOUR customers? Why not do your part, knowing good and well your current show is in HIGH HIGH HIGH demand and people will do anything for tickets as long as YOU keep YOUR box office open and are selling them? Why is the mentality "we have tickets to sell, come buy our tickets, but you're stupid and will pay the price if you do"? From a public relations and business perspective this is just irresponsible.

And, I don't know if there were "fist fights," or what exactly they meant by "unruly" but I don't think the solution is to keep people outside. As I said, RRT is terrible at communications and public relation, constantly making policies and changes with regard to customers on the fly, with no standards or preparation for moments like these.

I think a better idea would be to have a section for cancellation inside and let people know that they will be kicked out of line if they get unruly. Also let them know to be quiet during the show. I think it's the LEAST they could do for  really extreme weather like this weekend's. On other days when the mayor doesn't issue a code blue warning about weather, yet you still have your box office open, selling tickets on a unpredictable rolling basis, thus creating lines for them, then keep the line outside. 

Updated On: 2/14/16 at 01:29 PM

The lottery was moved online because of the weather and the fact that it is legitimately dangerous to have 400+ people standing in the middle of the street. The cancellation line doesn't have that issue, so the safety threat is not the same. And to be perfectly honest, I don't really have any sympathy for people waiting for tickets today. I mean, if you want to, it's your call, but the theatre has a policy in place for cancellation and it's their right to enforce it. Clearly, they found that it was an issue to have the line wait inside, so they moved it. And unless you actually work for the theatre and the box office, you can't really say if the reason is legit or not. As someone who works in a box office (not this one) I completely understand if the issue is unruly customers. In an ideal world, you just ask them to leave, but unruly customers are not going to simply leave because you ask them to. 

I knew it...Probably the same officer I experienced (chubby, bald, dark, but white skin?) As  I mentioned before, I got weird vibes from him the other day. This is a testament to the lack of communication and organization from the theater. 

The box office doesn't open on Sundays until 12 p.m., so this officer just randomly told you to move, without communicating with the theater. I stood in cancellation once and the people in front took names and photos to prove they were first in line. I guess that needs to happen again during severe weather? 

The box office actually opened at 11 today. And yeah we all thought he was bull****ting us but it wasn't worth fighting.

Only one other person came between 6:30 and 8 and because of the sign one of the line sitters put up, he just went straight to McDonald's. No one else showed up til after we were all back at the theatre.

I will also say, because I forgot to mention it earlier, that the line sitters were all giant sweethearts. They lent me blankets and were concerned whether I was alright. One of them was actually the CEO of Same Old Line Dudes. So yeah, I've just seen a lot of negative things about the line sitters and they were actually really awesome.

callmesurely said: "The box office actually opened at 11 today. And yeah we all thought he was bull****ting us but it wasn't worth fighting.

Only one other person came between 6:30 and 8 and because of the sign one of the line sitters put up, he just went straight to McDonald's. No one else showed up til after we were all back at the theatre.

I will also say, because I forgot to mention it earlier, that the line sitters were all giant sweethearts. They lent me blankets and were concerned whether I was alright. One of them was actually the CEO of Same Old Line Dudes. So yeah, I've just seen a lot of negative things about the line sitters and they were actually really awesome.

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Yes, this is all true.  I am the person that the third line sitter was waiting for.  He was extremely professional and sent texts starting at 5 am including an update and pics from the move to McDonald's. I got there around 1:15 to take over and we got called in to get tix right at 2 pm.

One caution:  my line sitter, Same Ole Line Dudes, was third in line. There were two other people first and second who were also supposedly also line sitters from another company or independent.  The first guy got tickets but the second guy was thrown out of line by theater security who claimed he was seen selling tickets.  I'm not picking sides in this fight, just reporting on the scene.   

I got that until like 9:20a, but then I was able to enter. Ooh, a technical glitch! I'll take any advantage I can get!

"the line sitters were all giant sweethearts. They lent me blankets and were concerned whether I was alright. One of them was actually the CEO of Same Old Line Dudes. So yeah, I've just seen a lot of negative things about the line sitters and they were actually really awesome."

The problem I have with the line sitters is that they are almost always guaranteed to be first in line and take up at least 3 tickets because they are willing to get there however early you want them there. It just isn't fair that you can pay someone to snag a spot at a ridiculously early time that you yourself wouldn't even bother getting up for to start sitting for you. Obviously it's a free capitalist country and there's nothing wrong on a legal or even moral level, but that's probably why there is such a negative opinion of the practice, even if they are the nicest people in the world. 

Our service, @linestandingnyc has a 100% success rate with the cancellation line. Contact us on twitter or by calling 3232066921. Our rates are also better than any of our competitors.

I'm considering writing to the Richard Rogers Theatre with feedback and suggestions on how they can improve the cancellation line process and make it fairer, safer an more efficient, and generally show more respect toward their patrons.

Does anyone have any additional suggestions or idea I should add or don't think this is a good idea?

The 2 big suggestions I have are:

Have a physical list/sign up sheet. When the box office opens, an attendant takes names. If they don't have the man power for this, have a numbers dispenser. People sign up as they come. They wait outside or in the lobby until their name is called. If they don't respond, we move to the next person on the list. You must show any form of ID (not just driver's liscense/could be school id) matching the name on the sheet (SNL does something similar). This prevents or at least cuts back on cutting , swapping and other line tricks such as hiring a professional line sitter.

Allow some of all people to wait in the lobby during cold temperatures. This should be obvious, but RRT has recently felt it better to teach rowdy people a lesson than keep the overwhelmingly majority of peaceful patrons warm and safe. 

Only release cancellation tickets at a designated time close to the show and thereafter (e.g. an hour before curtain), instead of on a rolling basis throughout the day. This pushes back the time people come to line up, if they know tickets will be released an hour before show time.

Thanks. But I think that's a bad assumption. It depends, there are plenty of organizations that value feedback and insight from "the other side." Based on my observation it's probably a stretch to think RRT is one of them, but If more people bothered to express their concerns, maybe it wouldn't just be "the way it is done." Maybe the person making these decision isn't aware of how darn awful and inefficient they are.

My only question is who are all these people canceling their tickets to Hamilton? Since tickets are non-refundable, why would they cancel their tickets at no benefit to themselves when they could easily sell them for same or above market price on stubhub, tickets now, etc. Makea no sense to me. Or are these un-used house seats, even though I've been told that house seats are sold out for months. Anyone have any insight here?

Look. I just want to point out something about getting a line sitter.

There might be something you don't know about the situation. I have multiple chronic illnesses, including a muscle disorder. I have suffered badly for my trip to NY two weeks ago, though I wouldn't trade it for the world. But I've missed work days and I've been dragging myself around on a cane, which thankfully is rare for me these days.

I really really wanted tickets to Hamilton when my mother and I were in town, but sitting outside at 5 after getting to bed late after a late show, and sitting in the ground for up to 10 hours, would have definitely left me too ill to navigate the airports home. I got out there myself at 9, soon after I woke up, but I believe being able to hire someone for those few hours was the difference between me making it home without wheelchairs or not, and I likely would have had to see the show on strong meds to deal with the pain, because as I'm sure most people here would decide I would have sat it myself if I had to just to see the show.

I'm sure not everyone who gets a line sitter is in my situation, and I'm sure some of you feel I should have not had tickets if I couldn't be there myself. But I'm glad I saw it, and in my mind the extra money was worth it for my health. Those who can't afford it can sit themselves. 

I just want to say that there might be a backstory to the person hiring that line sitter you would never know.

Matt Rogers said: "My only question is who are all these people canceling their tickets to Hamilton? Since tickets are non-refundable, why would they cancel their tickets at no benefit to themselves when they could easily sell them for same or above market price on stubhub, tickets now, etc. Makea no sense to me. Or are these un-used house seats, even though I've been told that house seats are sold out for months. Anyone have any insight here?

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My understanding is they are VIP tickets or house tickets. They reserve so many for each show to give away to whoever. If they are unused, they are simply sold to the cancellation line. Also, most of the tickets are in Row J from what I have seen. 

Regular tickets that are sold are not refunded typically. They have to be sold outside of the theater or on the numerous websites.