Removing friction with self-service ticket returns

Returning tickets online has, until now, always been challenging. Users need to be identified so we can validate who is allowed to make a return; order details need to be retrieved; then the selected returned items need to trigger the relevant updates in Tessitura. Add into the mix dynamic calculations to incorporate any return fees, and things can get complicated pretty quickly.

But today’s audiences expect to be able to do everything online, including managing bookings so it's time to find ways to meet these expectations or risk being left behind. Shakespeare’s Globe (a world-renowned theatre, education centre, and cultural landmark in the heart of London) partnered with us to explore this challenge. Could we find a way to deliver complex functionality that also feels easy to use and has seamless UX?

The challenge

Ticket returns and exchanges are a key part of the visitor experience at the Globe, providing customers with ultimate flexibility and peace of mind. They're also an important way to retain income in the organisation by allowing the Globe to re-sell seats, rather than risking unofficial secondary market reselling.

However, issuing returns via the Box Office phone lines was consuming up to 60 days of staff time every year. With 80% of the Globe’s audiences being online bookers who therefore expect an end-to-end digital experience through all touchpoints of their engagement, an online returns service was needed that was hands-off for staff and cut down the amount of returns needing to be processed by the Box Office.

The brief

An online returns service was needed that delivered the following…

• A place for users to look up an order, choose permitted items within that order to return, and choose whether to donate some or all of their returned value back to the Globe
• Match functionality with usability, ensuring the user experience doesn’t feel the weight of complex functionality behind the scenes
• Restrict users from being able to place a return on a past event or an attended event; an event taking place in less than 48 hours; or previously returned tickets
• Reduce workload for Box Office teams‍
• Maximise opportunities for additional revenue (return fees & potential re-selling of a seat)

Shakespeare’s Globe had previously trialled the native TNEW return requests functionality - however this involves manual data processing with the return request storing as a constituent CSI until staff then process this request by hand, or run a stored procedure or utility to process it.

The solution

Action Links developed a one-stop shop, single page where a user can not only look up an order, but also choose which specific items within that order that they wish to return. This all sits on a subdomain of the Globe’s website meaning users can be directed here from a variety of places including the TNEW account; Tessitura order confirmation HTML emails; or even pre-visit emails.

As the user selects their items to return, they can opt to have the full return amount returned to them as credit, or choose to donate some or all of that value back to the venue. Whichever they choose, Action Links makes a dynamic calculation and makes it clear to the user how much money will be donated and how much the user will get back as credit (plus any associated fees).

Then comes the real magic... behind the scenes Action Links triggers the return to be processed instantly via a series of API calls to Tessitura. This works by printing the returned tickets (only printed tickets can be returned) and adding them to a Tessitura session cart. We then fetch this cart to identify the value of the returned tickets minus any fees, before adding credit on account to the value of any donation (contributions can't be checked out in the same transaction as ticket returns, so we'll process the donation using the on account credit after checking out the return) and then add a gift certificate to the value of the cart.

The final step is checking out the cart. If the user elected to donate a portion of their ticket return, we reload the order, add the donation to the cart and apply the on account credit we added in the step before, then finally check out the cart again.

Et voila! This all happens in matter of seconds - no waiting overnight for procedures to run and no manual intervention from staff. The user is shown an on-screen confirmation that the return has completed along with their credit voucher number and is also sent an automated email confirmation. The venue now has a record of tickets in the original order being voided, and a record of the credit voucher issued in a new order.

The impact

Although this is a newly launched user journey, the team at Shakespare’s Globe are already feeling the benefits and we’ll be watching keenly to measure the amount of time being saved in Box Office administration; the amount of revenue made from resold seats and donations; and the proportion of returns that are now including donations compared to previous periods.

How this could be adapted

We understand that no two venues are ever the same so if your organisation is thinking of offering online returns, here's a few points of flexible configuration that you may want to consider...

1. What ‘products’ or items do you want to offer as returnable?
   Many orders contain add-ons, drinks & snacks and parking, but there may be specific items that you want to exclude as returnable e.g. donations, or digital events. The Action Links configuration allowed Shakespeare’s Globe to pick and choose what to display as returnable based on Product Type IDs.
2. What policy ‘rules’ do you need to put in place?
   Action Links allows you to configure how many days/hours out from a performance that you’ll allow a user to make a return (this could vary for different types of performance). If you charge a return fee, this works hand in hand with how fees are set up in Tessitura for over the counter/phone returns so Action Links can calculate a total return fee to deduct.
3. Do you want to offer the option to donate the return value?
   Offering the option to donate some, or all of the return value is a great source of additional revenue. Shakespeare’s Globe chose a selection of donation asks as percentage increments of the total return value (10%, 20%, 50% or all of the value). These donation asks could be tailored to specific events, or even to attributes of the constituent user (e.g. ask members for a higher donation).
4. Do you need the user to provide more information?
   Action Links has an extensive suite of form field formats so you can easily slot in additional questions and configure responses to write back to Tessitura (e.g. adding an Attribute or creating a CSI). You may want to include a question to gauge reason for return for example.