Just the ticket for Chester
By Peter Rosenfeld
Chester opens a new, unique, state-of-the-art ticket box office
As the internet enters its 4th decade it seems an eternity away from Ken Oslon’s (founder & chairman of Digital Equipment Corporation), blooper comment in 1977 predicting: “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” The fact is the internet’s witnessed rapid online sales growth and is predicted “…we are only scratching the surface.” (we won’t tell you what Ken Oslon predicts!).
However, one clear lesson is the internet in isolation is simply not enough for all customers. Dumping proven, trusted more conventional sales support and the good, old-fashioned face-to-face human assistant is frustrating consumers. It’s for that reason that in a bold move, chesterboxoffice.com has teamed up with the shortly to be re-opened Chester Visitor Centre to launch a unique ticket box office where consumers can buy attraction and event tickets at face value using latest technologies mixed with the conventional, face-to-face customer service.
The box office is located in the shop area of the Chester Visitor Centre on Vicars Lane (opposite the amphitheatre) and will open on Saturday, April 16th in time for Easter.
Interestingly and uniquely, any ticketed attraction, venue, event or activity can sell their tickets through Chester Box Office by simply setting up a free online portfolio through webticketmanager.com . Once their tickets are listed, they are immediately for sale with a simple commission payable for any tickets sold. The comprehensive reporting and management interface included is free to use and all online, thus requiring no software installation. It even allows direct online ticket selling via their own website using their Internet Merchant Number (IMN) account (if they have one) or the built-in PCI-compliant online payment transaction engine (delivered through HSBC).
Benefiting both consumer and supplier all sounds a little too good to be true doesn’t it? Well, it gets even better! WebTicketManager aims to introduce all sorts of additional sales channels including its own phone APP, feeding data in other mobile APP’s and web technologies, touch-screen self-service ticketing booths throughout the City and partnering multiple high-profile box offices (most recently Mersey Rail).
In a time of recession and public-sector cut-backs there could be consumer good times ahead where local face-to-face customer service brings back at least some pleasure in spending cash! Now do with that prediction as you wish Mr Ken Oslon!
