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How Do You Speed Up Those Long Lines? The required security checks means that the lines to get into our building are delayed. We have received numerous complaints from customers who always come one-half hour before show time. I am looking for ideas. What should we do? Open our doors earlier? Educate patrons to come earlier? Show “pat down in effect” on tickets? We typically open one hour before show time. It is tough for us to get 12,000 people in with a full search in that time. Ed Metzlaff On all shows requesting a pat down we do doors 90 minutes prior to show time. The main problem is most guests have the movie theater attitude of showing up 20 minutes before doors and hoping to park and get to their seats on time. Public education and help from the local media can also help. Mark Burrage Since security has come to the forefront of crowd management we have, whenever possible, encouraged shows to open doors earlier. But at the same time we still experience a “crush” during the time immediately before show time. This is particularly true during basketball season when crowd sizes tend to fluctuate so most people get used to getting into the game promptly. Then when a popular team comes in we get back to the crush. In order to reduce the impact of the turnstile backup we developed side event opportunities to give folks a reason to show up sooner. At some larger concerts and family shows we will host local bands to perform outside two of our busier entries. These free shows provide exposure for the local talent as well as provide an opportunity for patrons to come early (maybe even buy some early concession sales). We also work with athletics and student groups towards developing event receptions and similar side event opportunities in order to bring folks to the event early. Michael LaPan, CFE Educating the public to come early is always ongoing. Emphasizing the time doors open in all press releases and advertising helps. We usually open doors one hour before show; however, we open doors one and one-half hours before the show when pat downs and higher security is needed. Sandie Aaron In today’s climate it is necessary to incorporate all of your mentioned procedures. We now open doors one and one-half hours before the start of most events. This effort has to have the cooperation of the producers of any particular show and made part of all advertising. You are correct in saying that the public needs to be educated on their approach to attending an event. We do this by encouraging them to arrive early and take advantage of parking closer to the building and easily using the food and beverage service lines. This can be accomplished through your web page and any “early” ticketing service (in-house or Ticketmaster). The key to this is patience. Long lines, much like airports, are now part of everyday life and are frustrating but necessary. I have also heard that some venues will offer early access to the first 1,000- 2,000 people who purchase tickets provided they arrive between X and Y (one-half hour before the general public). The incentive is to then offer reduced parking and food prices. It is something to certainly look at. Steve Fox The Coors Events Center has often had the same problem of patrons entering the venue after an event has started due to both security checks and unanticipated delays with traffic. It is not unusual for patrons to habitually arrive during the first few minutes of a basketball game. They time their arrival based upon previous experiences, such as non-conference games that draw 5,000 people. But typically, they don’t adjust their departure time when coming to see a conference game that will attract 10,000 patrons. Thus, they get caught up in unplanned delays and miss much of the first half of the game. Opening the venue more than one hour before the event doesn’t help ease this last minute crunch. People are creatures of habit. Those that want to arrive “fashionably late” will continue to show up when they believe the event will start. Often times, we have posted a tip-off of 7 o’clock on the ticket, but we actually plan on starting the game at 7:10, usually due to television or radio requests. This built-in delay will generally help with the late arrivals. In addition to delayed starts, we also encourage fans to arrive early and to not bring backpacks and other bulky items with them to the events. Season ticket holders are sent a letter at the beginning of the season that remind them of potential delays due to traffic conditions and heightened security checks. They are informed of items not allowed into the venue, so they may plan ahead and not be inconvenienced at the doors. The bottom line is the earlier they arrive and the less we have to check, the faster the process of getting patrons into the venue and the more of the event they will enjoy. Steve Wells |
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© 2004 International Association of Assembly Managers 635 Fritz Dr. Coppell, TX 75019 USA Phone: 972/906-7441 Fax: 972/906-7418 |
