It’s Valentine’s evening. I’m off with my loved one to of our favourite cultural institutions which, inexplicably, we have hardly visited in the last five years. We are excited. There has been careful planning and much anticipation of what we hope will be a memorable evening.
We arrive in good time. It’s busy, but not that busy considering the auspicious date. There have been some physical ‘improvements’ to the building meaning that the door we came through (close to the bar and auditorium) was miles away from where we need to pick up the tickets. So we split up.
I hunt down the tickets. The beautiful, shiny new box office boasts four important looking management staff (with walkie-talkies) in a huddle while two people issue tickets. Time ticks. I am finally served by an unsmiling, unapologetic member of staff. I rush back to the half full bar to join my wife.
She still hasn’t been served, despite the fact there are more people behind the bar than in front of it. It seems a problem with a pump that needs the involvement of the whole team.
We abandon the bar and head for our seats. We are not sure which door to use. We hand over our tickets expecting helpful advice. They are ripped and returned, unread and without even eye contact from the usher. We enter the packed auditorium but the small seat numbers are difficult to read. We retreat back to the usher and plead for advice. She us waves in a general direction.
Finally we make it to our seats, after annoying what seemed like at least thirty people trying to get to them (yes, we had come through the wrong door).
The art that followed was great and the evening as a whole was a success, despite everything the venue did to make us feel unwelcome. It was a memorable evening: we won’t forget how we were treated and it will take a hell of a draw to bring us back to a venue that has previously meant so much to us.
It’s amazing how quickly you can fall out of love when a cultural organisation forgets that how treating your customers decently is not an optional extra. Busy days like Valentine’s should be the time to create passionate support for your organisation, not lose it.
David Brownlee, Chief Executive, Audiences UK
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PS why didn't you make this week's quiz, 'guess which venue?'. I'm gradually working through, trying to guess...
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