||| January 25, 2010 by Claire Sutton

Workshop: Best practices for your front of house

A pleasant front of house experience will bring your audience back again and again and help identify your brand. It can also help grow your audience by reaching out to new constituencies you may had overlooked, such as customers with disabilities. Learning best practices for your front of house, and making ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) improvements may jump start that ideal Box Office experience.

It's the simple customer service gestures that makes everyone's experience important

Inspired by this idea and OPEN DOORS' workshops "Inclusive Arts and Culture Project",  I knew that The Department of Cultural Affairs had to further this cause by making all theaters accessible and user friendly.  I am not talking about the physical requirements that we all know we should be offering. That's the easy part.  It's the simple customer service gestures that makes everyone's experience important.  Take for instance that annoying clip board that been kicking around you desk for years.  Pull it out and bring it to your box office.  This can be a valuable tool for anyone needing a flexible writing space.  There are so many simple tips like this one which cost us nothing but create long lasting patronage to our theaters.

I hope that anyone interested in exploring these issues will join us for our THEATER AT WORK FORUM on February 1st at 6pm.  The event is free so please come be part of this important conversation.  Click here for more informaton and I look forward to seeing you there.

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Claire Geall Sutton is the Director of Theater for the Department of Cultural Affairs

Tags: Diversifying Audiences, Return on Investment