Landing a job in ticketing often requires going through multiple interview rounds. Employers want to ensure candidates have the right customer service skills and aptitude to succeed in a fast-paced, customer-facing role. While specific questions will vary by company and position, some common themes arise in ticketing interviews.
Customer Service Scenarios
Many ticketing interview questions focus on how you would handle different customer service scenarios. For example, an interviewer may ask:
- How would you handle an angry customer upset about a long line to enter a venue?
- What would you do if a customer insisted they should have better seats than what their ticket specifies?
- How would you respond if a customer threatened to leave a bad review over a situation out of your control?
In your responses, interviewers want to see that you remain calm under pressure, empathize with the customer, take responsibility, and find a resolution. Highlight your customer service experience and how you might apply relevant skills if faced with these scenarios.
Situational Judgment
Situational judgment questions present hypothetical scenarios and ask how you would respond. For a ticketing role, these may include:
- A customer shows up with a child but their ticket says no kids allowed. What do you do?
- You notice a customer looking confused and wandering around the venue. What would you do to help?
- A customer calls asking about accessible seating options for an upcoming event. How would you handle it?
With situational questions, interviewers look for critical thinking, ethics, empathy and customer-focused problem solving. Respond with the steps you would take to gather more details, understand all perspectives, and provide the best solution.
Subject Knowledge
Since ticketing encompasses seating charts, pricing, discounts, technology systems and more, expect interviewers to probe your subject knowledge, such as:
- What information must be included on a ticket?
- How does dynamic pricing work and what factors affect ticket prices?
- Explain the difference between Will Call, e-tickets, and traditional print tickets.
- How do holds and ticket allotments work when coordinating group sales?
Study up on industry terminology, ticket sales platforms, and the overall ticketing process. Proving you can speak knowledgeably will instill confidence in your ability to manage all aspects of the job.
Sales Questions
While ticketing involves customer service, sales is also a big part of the job. Expect questions like:
- How would you upsell a customer purchasing just one ticket to buy more?
- A customer is on the fence about premium add-ons. How would you convince them it’s worth the extra cost?
- What steps would you take to get to know a client’s needs during a group sales call?
Highlight your ability to discover customer needs, communicate added value, handle objections, and close sales. Quantify past sales achievements if possible.
Platform Knowledge
While platforms vary, interviewers often test candidates’ experience with common ticketing systems like:
- Ticketmaster
- AXS
- Paciolan
- Tessitura
- Universe
- Vendini
- SeatGeek
- Spectra
Be ready to answer questions about:
- Your level of experience with these or other ticketing platforms
- Key features and functionality you’ve used
- How you stay up-to-date as technology changes
If you have hands-on experience with relevant systems, highlight the specific skills gained and how they will transfer over.
Organizational Skills
Juggling high volumes of customer requests requires superb organizational skills. Interviewers may ask questions like:
- How do you prioritize handling many customer requests efficiently?
- What methods do you use for keeping organized when things get hectic?
- How would you ensure customer requests don’t fall through the cracks?
Examples that showcase your reliability, attention to detail, and productivity under pressure will help stand out.
Problem Solving
Things don’t always go smoothly in a busy box office or ticketing environment. Expect questions that assess your problem-solving skills:
- Tell me about a time you resolved a difficult ticketing situation.
- How would you troubleshoot issues with a customer having problems accessing their e-ticket?
- What steps would you take if our ticketing system unexpectedly went down right before an on-sale date?
Respond with examples of creative problem solving, remaining calm under fire, and putting the customer first.
High Volume Handling
Ticketing for major concerts, shows and sporting events often involves extremely high order volumes. Interviewers may ask:
- How would you prepare for an on-sale expected to sell out in minutes?
- What approach would you take to handle 500+ orders during a pre-sale?
- What steps would ensure customers have a smooth ordering experience during a high-demand on-sale?
Demonstrate you understand the demands of managing peak order volumes and have the processes and organizational skills to handle it.
Teamwork
Ticketing requires coordinating with various internal teams and stakeholders. You may be asked:
- How would you work with box office staff at different venues for an event series?
- What would you do to build trust and rapport with a new sales team you must collaborate with?
- How have you contributed to a positive team culture in previous customer service roles?
Share examples that showcase your communication skills, flexibility, and ability to build relationships.
Multitasking
The ability to smoothly handle multiple tasks is crucial. Interviewers may ask:
- Tell me about a time you successfully managed various competing priorities.
- How would you track different tasks and customer requests while also handling incoming calls?
- What techniques help you stay focused when juggling a chaotic, high-volume workload?
Cite examples that demonstrate your calmness under pressure, focus, and ability to effectively multitask.
Stress Management
Ticketing comes with high-pressure situations. You may be asked questions like:
- How do you maintain composure when faced with an angry, confrontational customer?
- What are your strategies for coping with stress during extremely busy, hectic times?
- How would you regroup when multiple things go wrong during a busy shift?
Show you know healthy stress management techniques and can keep emotions under control in difficult situations.
Availability
Because concerts, sports events, and shows often happen during evenings and weekends, interviewers may ask:
- Are you available to work irregular hours during peak seasons?
- Can you work late nights and weekends with little advance notice?
- How would you handle schedule changes at the last minute?
While work-life balance is important, highlight that you can be flexible and reliable when busier times call for it.
Why Ticketing?
Finally, interviewers often simply ask:
- Why do you want to work in ticketing specifically?
- What interests you about a ticketing role with our company?
- Where do you see yourself in this ticketing career long-term?
Respond with genuine enthusiasm for the industry, aspects of the role you find uniquely engaging and fulfilling, and your professional goals in the field.
Conclusion
While every ticketing interview will vary, keeping these common question themes in mind allows you to prepare relevant examples and stories to share. Prove you have the right mix of customer service skills, sales ability, technical know-how and problem-solving acumen to excel. With the right preparation, you can ace your next ticketing interview.