Letter: Arts festival should learn from airline industry's lesson
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OPINION: Ticketek and the venues it represents obviously need a lesson in basic customer relations - if not the attention of the Commerce Commission - for the practice of inflating venue ticket prices with separate booking fees.
If one can't buy a ticket without also paying a booking fee, then the booking fee should be included in the ticket price. It's that simple.
Airlines discovered this, to their cost, when they imposed fuel surcharges in addition to their advertised fares.
It should go without saying that the total cost is the only amount that really matters to customers and they are justifiably chagrined when they find that the advertised ticket price doesn't get them through the door.
Venues would be better to include the booking fee in ticket prices and give a discount to those who book online.
Just how difficult is that?
C BRIAN SMITH
Kelburn
- © Fairfax NZ News
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From what Ticketek has said in the past, this has to do with their costs being passed on to the consumer. What surprises me is that they'll say that advertising/promotion is a big part of that cost. How is that separate to the ticket costs? If there is a ticketing surcharge, I could accept a printing charge and something for being face to face with someone who knows the layout of a venue and can offer seating advice. However, booking online and self-printing should result in zero surcharge.