A FEW TIPS & POINTERS THAT HAVE COME IN HANDY

By John Haak

Bam! Your event was on track to break records in ticket sales this year and then, Whaa? What do we do . . . Cancel? Postpone? Hopefully, you have never had to do this type of thing before, but after assisting over 4,000 outdoor events over the past 17 years, I have, unfortunately, had to cancel/ postpone more than a few events so I thought I’d share a few tips and pointers that have come in handy each time.

#1. Your Patrons are ALREADY EXPECTING a Refund

People usually see the world in a way that benefits their interests most so they believe that you will offer them an instant refund because it’s the best plan for them. They literally expect it. Obviously, that is not best for you or them in the long run, but after being cooped up in their own homes, teaching their own offspring, eating their own cooking and listening to the news 14 hours a day, their only focus is making it to bed time.

#2. Inform . . . Quickly

No time for the whole story (try to get the elongated version on your website), but give some simple facts (no more than 4). Let them see your passion and remind them why they bought their ticket is the same reason that you have made this your mission to provide.

#3. Be Transparent

You don’t need to invite 1,000 ticket holders to your next finance meeting, but feel free to let them know how many meetings and how many years of experience are working on the best solution to create the rebooted event. If you have already arrived at the new solution, then share it, but do not wait to communicate if you have not.

#4. Offer Options

Once you have submitted your case on how you are working on offering options for the very thing they purchased, a ticket, offer your patrons options. Bad news sucks, getting to choose how I acclimate to bad news sucks less.

a. Ask them to consider it a donation to the cause for your event to continue (note if you are a tax-deductible donation).

b. Offer 100% or even 110% toward your next event. Trust me it is worth the extra 10% and this is incredibly easy for your ticketing provider to manage for online renewals/upgrades.

c. Offer a refund. Beat them to the credit card company. If you initiate the refund, your credit card costs are less. If the patron initiates the refund, there are substantial fees added on. If a refund is requested, do it as fast as possible and do it in the exact same mode as it was received. Never send a check or give cash for a credit card purchase. When you refund via a credit card, the credit card company sees it and counts it as a closed issue. If you refund by check in the mail and the fan “forgets” the check is in the mail and issues a chargeback through the credit card company, the money will be pulled from your account (with additional chargeback fees on top) all while your check was in the mail. You can almost guarantee that the check, when received in the mail, will also get cashed and you will be out twice as much or more. Your ticket provider has an automated way to issue instant credit card refunds that will close the issue with the credit card companies and protect you from those chargeback fees.

If I were an event producer (I am not) I would word my COVID-19 email something like this:

Dear Fred Fan (use real name)

As a valued (patron/fan) of our event, we wanted to take a special minute to inform you of some options that have been set up for the current situation with the “ABC EVENT”.

As you have heard, due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, the local health authorities have banned any events comprised of more than 10 attendees. Our event certainly exceeds that number. We are working hard to reschedule the event for the soonest date possible, while still offering the quality of show that you are used to attending.

We know this schedule change was not in your plans and honestly, it was not in ours either. Asking thousands of our friends to change their plans is painful fo all involved. We have been able to succeed in presenting a fantastic (festival, airshow. concert, race, etc.) for the past XX years and we are not going to let the Coronavirus break that record! To do this, we need your help.

In order for us to have the ability to plan the rescheduled event, we would like for you to consider donating your ticket price to our organization’s foundation. Once we get everything rescheduled, we will send you a very special ‘Thank You’ Invitation with an offer representing more than your actual ticketed amount to participate in the rescheduled event. We certainly hope that you see the value in this offer.

If you would prefer a refund for your ticket, please reply to this email with “Refund” in the subject line and we will process a refund for the purchase associated with your email address above within 24 hours of your request.

Thank you again for your continued support. We look forward to seeing you at our rescheduled event!

Stay Healthy! Sincerely,

Actual person’s name (not generic “Show Management Team”)

While not a complete list of tips and pointers, I hope at least one point has helped you as you navigate these unchartered waters of event cancellation/ postponements. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly if you need clarification on any of this or have questions on what else you can do.

About the Author:

John Haak is a Co-Owner of Eventsprout which is a customized ticketing and admissions system provider. John earned his CFEE in 2018 and has assisted over 4000 events with their admissions systems. Over the past 18 years John has assisted some of the largest paid events in North America including The Indy 500, AirVenture, Barrett-Jackson, Canadian National Exhibition, National Cherry Festival and NASCAR). John serves on the board of the International Council of Air Shows, is president of the Southwest Council of Air Shows and has been a speaker on ticketing and security issues at several national conventions.

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