• CUEFOH03C - Provide seating and ticketing advice

CUEFOH03C
Provide seating and ticketing advice

This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to advise customers on seating facilities and to provide general information on ticket categories, prices and availability. No licensing, legislative, regulatory or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of endorsement.

Application

Box office personnel apply the skills and knowledge outlined in this unit. People in this role draw on detailed product knowledge of performances/events and venues. Typically they would be employed at theatre, cinema and event venues which could have one or more auditoria.

This unit has strong linkages to the following units, and combined training and/or assessment is recommended:

WRRS1B Sell products and services

CUEFOH07B Process financial transactions

CUEFOH08B Process incoming customer orders.


Elements and Performance Criteria

ELEMENT

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

1. Develop and update knowledge of venues facilities, seating and performances

1.1. Identify and access information sources for current and accurate information on venue/s, facilities, seating and performances/sessions/events

1.2. Read and accurately interpret information on all aspects of venue seating and ticketing, including consideration of issues affecting customers with special needs

1.3. Record and store information for future use, in accordance with organisational systems

2. Provide seating and ticketing information

2.1. Provide accurate information on costs of all ticket categories, including any concessional rates

2.2. Provide accurate information on performance/session/event commencement and conclusion times, as requested

2.3. Provide information on facilities and services provided for customers with special needs, as required

2.4. Advise customers on nature of seating, including location and viewing details

2.5. Consider special requests or customers with special needs when selecting seats

2.6. Make appropriate recommendations for alternative or future performances/sessions/events as appropriate

2.7. Provide accurate advice on refund and exchange policy and procedures and clearly reinforce these issues

2.8. Handle all enquiries and sales in an efficient and polite manner according to the speed requirements of the sales situation

2.9. Seek advice or assistance from colleagues as required

3. Issue tickets

3.1. Check that all equipment and materials are available and operational before commencing ticket issue

3.2. Issue tickets and receipts, if required, in accordance with organisational procedures and ticketing system

3.3. Check tickets before providing them to customer and reconfirm details to the customer

Required Skills

Required skills

literacy skills sufficient to accurately interpret seating and ticketing information

numeracy skills sufficient to calculate numbers of seats, advise on pricing information

Required knowledge

information systems used by venues in relation to seating and ticketing

product knowledge of venue facilities, seating layout and prices as appropriate to the organisation

product knowledge of venue performances/sessions/events times as appropriate to the organisation

broad understanding of the different types and styles of performances/sessions/events as appropriate to the organisation or industry sector

special facilities and services available to people with special needs

procedures and systems for determining availability of tickets

ticket issuing systems, as appropriate to the organisation

payment, refund and exchange policy and procedures

Evidence Required

The Evidence Guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

The following evidence is critical to the judgement of competence in this unit:

ability to access appropriate information on venue facilities, and all operational aspects of the performance/session/event - times, prices, ticketing categories

provision of accurate seating and ticketing advice and issuance of tickets within industry-realistic timeframes

ability to provide information and advice which matches customer needs and requests.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

The assessment context must provide for:

practical demonstration of skills in providing information for multiple ticketing products to meet varying customer needs

processing requests within typical workplace time constraints, eg serving a physical or telephone queue of customers waiting to access seating and ticketing information

interaction with and involvement of a customer group to whom information and advice can be provided.

Method of assessment

Assessment may incorporate a range of methods to assess practical skills and the application of essential underpinning knowledge, and might include:

direct observation of the candidate providing information and advice and issuing tickets

case studies to assess ability to match product to customer needs/requests

review of documentation, information manuals or notes kept by the candidate

written or oral questions and tests to assess knowledge of information sources and actual knowledge of venues, ticketing products and prices

review of portfolios of evidence and third party workplace reports of on-the-job performance by the candidate.

Assessment methods should closely reflect workplace demands and the needs of particular groups (e.g. people with disabilities, and people who may have literacy or numeracy difficulties such as speakers of languages other than English, remote communities and those with interrupted schooling).

Guidance information for assessment

Assessment of this unit requires access to:

typical industry information storage systems for venue, ticketing and performance/session/event information

tickets/passes.


Range Statement

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Sources for current and accurate information on venue/s, facilities, seating and performances/sessions/events may include:

formal familiarisation visits

hirer information sheets

information manuals

personal site observation/exploration

venue information sheets/manuals

Aspects of venue seating and ticketing include:

categories of seating and features

changing configurations

general seating layout

scheduled dates and times for performances

viewing issues, e.g. full view, restricted view

Customers with special needs may require:

hearing assistance

immobility access

special car parking

special seating

translation assistance

wheelchair access

Customers with special needs may include:

aged people

first-time patrons

groups

infants

parents with young children

pregnant women

school groups

those with a disability

those with special or cultural needs

unaccompanied children

VIPs

Storage of information may include:

card reference systems

computerised database of information

file notes of particular venues/performances/events/sessions

information manual

Tickets may be issued:

manually

via a ticketing software system

Seating and ticket advice may be provided by:

a ticketing agency

the venue itself

Selection of seats may take into account:

best presentation of the venue - 'dressing the house'

best viewing position for the particular type of performance/event/session

special needs of the customer

Required equipment and materials may include:

computer hardware

computer software

point of sale transaction documents and equipment

Advising on and issuing tickets may take place:

over the counter/face-to-face

via fax or modem

via mail

via telephone

via the Internet or other electronic technology

Ticketing software systems may include:

Bocs

Globe

Select

Softix

Ticketmaster


Sectors

Unit sector


Competency Field

Media and entertainment production - front of house


Employability Skills

This unit contains employability skills.


Licensing Information

Not applicable.