Booking Fees On Cash Payments

The only place I ever had a booking free paying in cash was at TKTS it's was £1. All the tickets I buy are in cash and usually from the venue but haven't been charged booking at venues (or at least the ones I have been to)

The Theatre Royal Bath are another theatre that charge for cash bookings

I noticed the o2 had signs saying they had booking fees for using the ticket office. Surely if the booking fee is charged on every ticket, no matter how its booked or paid for, it should just be added to the ticket cost?

The whole box office issue is a mess - but I don't think there is any political will to tackle it.

There is clearly an issue with major theatre groups exploiting their market positions - particularly when they are part of a group that also produces shows.

Visiting companies/producers could - nay should - stand up for their audiences and say enough is enough. Stop charging both us as visiting companies and our audiences for doing the basic work of running a theatre. They are the people with the negotiating strength to force some change.

There has to be transparency surrounding the whole issue of fees. There are still too many hidden things going on.

Perhaps we could persuade politicians to investigate the box office issue - but that would take years to bring about change.

We could, of course, start a grassroots campaign. A petition, letters to the press, letters to the media - keep up the pressure.

It is not acceptable for theatres to charge anything other than basic postage costs (where appropriate) for running a box office operation. They already charge back credit/debit card commissions to producers/visiting companies, they also charge producers/visiting companies for the cost of printing tickets. So why do they think it is right to charge audience members again for the same things?? The whole thing stinks - and we need to shout it loud from the rooftops. Make non-theatregeeks aware of how they are being ripped out time after time, get the creative professionals involved. Perhaps we can bring about change ourselves.

I doubt it - but it is nice to dream.

Surely it costs more to handle a cash transaction that a card one. Apart from the card issuers fee (which I gather is the thing that’s going to be stopped from this month onwards) the rest of a card booking is completely automated, and if you go for an e-ticket there are no physical costs either. Buying a ticket with cash means paying the person selling it to you, then someone to cash up, the securicor man to collect the cash and take it to the bank in his very expensive van,the bank clerk to process the cash etc etc. If there has to be a fee it makes more sense to charge it on cash than card bookings.

Yes it's fairly common for bars to be cash only and I've yet to see an ice cream or programme seller take cards

The two theatres I have had most direct dealings with recharge card commission to the visiting company so it is really only their in-house shows where they have to swallow that cost.