Ticketing – an industry driven by people

My journey – a reflection by Chris Gnoy-Stasiuk​

​As I sat in the  NYC TriTix Forum and gazed around the room filled with peers, my mind became flooded with memories of my Ghosts of Ticketing past. My experiences, all the people I have met, the venues I have visited, the mistakes that were made and the successes that were celebrated. All at once I felt proud of my journey and curious if it was similar to others in the microcosm that is the ticketing community. 

I joined the tribe during my junior year of high school.  Working concessions at the historic Capitol Theater in Passaic N.J.  Within the year I was in the box office selling concert tickets using Ticketron; I was hooked. I continued working at the Capitol through college, also being the guest list girl for Monarch/Metropolitan in famed venues such as Giants Stadium, MSG, Nassau Coliseum, The Beacon Theater, The Ritz just to name a few. Although it was fun and provided me with beer money I was too naive to think it was shaping my future. 

Image Source: capitoltheatrepassaic.com

Even after it became a full-time job post-graduation, I still had no idea where I was headed.  I was the Assistant to the Assistant Box Office Manager. That's a big deal.  I oversaw clubs and amphitheaters I was going places.... I became accustomed to working nights and weekends.  I became the person who people came to for tickets. I witnessed historic shows. I sold roll tickets, glamour hard tickets, computerized tickets -  saw Ticketmaster rise to stardom. All the while not really paying that much attention to my future. Just doing.  I fostered relationships - agents, managers, artist relations, venue heads, security personnel, managers, stage managers, and MOST IMPORTANTLY other box office employees from every kind of venue. It was the greatest way to spend my teens and twenties. I was So Cool. My Rolodex was coveted. Until I had to start Adulting... Ugh.

So there I was, a rock n roll girl thrust into a corporate world at Radio City Music Hall.  Suddenly 30 people reported to me. I had budgets, schedules and marketing meetings.  Learning was nonnegotiable -  Gross potentials, pricing strategies, inventory management, and the dance of coddling and sucking up to ego maniacs….  As I reflect, I think this is when I realized my biggest asset- the relationships that had developed - the friendships I was lucky to have cultivated. Succeeding isn't knowing all the answers, it's knowing who to ask when you get stuck. Succeeding is all about acquiring and storing information - one day you may find yourself the source of information for a new generation of people. “You” never have to be the smartest person in the room but you must have the best collection of people, resources, and the humility to ask for help.  Check that ego at the door.
 
Fast forward a decade or so. All of a sudden, I'm in my forties and something remarkable happened. I learned that I have a low tolerance for politics, bull and ego maniacs. That's career suicide, yeah I know... 17 years of service gone in minutes.
 
So I'm unemployed with two kids, two cars, a huge mortgage and this wild resume. Now what?  People - that's what.  In those years of hard-ass work: friends are made, favors are remembered; and now, the brotherhood kicks in.  After working on Broadway for a bit, I landed the most eclectic of my past positions - Head of Ticketing and Box Office for a Dinosaur park. Yup, Crazy. WTF was I thinking. I was still collecting knowledge. What did I learn from this job? What questions did I ask? I learned emergency management. I learned how to rely only on myself. I learned how to sell tickets with no power and no internet. I tapped into all my past experiences and built on them.  I'm guessing you're now getting the gist of this article...  EVERY SINGLE EXPERIENCE WE HAVE CAN BE BENEFICIAL AND POTENTIALLY GAME CHANGING.
 
Poof. I became the Head of Ticketing for a sports team, thanks to the recommendation of an old colleague.  I know little about Sports Ticketing. Fake it 'till you make it.  I tapped my people resources and (Praise Jesus) convinced them to convert to Ticketmaster.   I kicked ass at this job. Again, I had to learn a ton of new things - like hiring people who are smarter than me in a variety of fields; who then make me, the department, and the company look great.  Season tickets, mini plans and the fans.  I was working 60-70 hours a week - hopped up on the team spirit adrenaline rush.  "Go Team" is everything. It's addictive- but it pays like crap.  The hardest I ever worked was the Archtics conversion from Audience View.  My People resources were never more important. Organization, patience, and a strong team.  Failure was constant, victories were like Christmas morning.  It took 2-3 months for the data to be properly moved over, then another 2-3 months to get Fortress, TM and CRM to communicate.  A remarkable journey to make something work that most fans, ticket buyers, and hell, even most other entertainment employees take for granted.  This is where our kind shines.  We visited the Jets ticketing team for assistance – “how do YOU make this work”, we asked.... they had their own small issues too.  We felt infinitely better!!! But how did I know to call the Jets for help? It's that intricate relationship matrix I've fostered for decades.  It really works.
 
Fast forward to present day. I'm now in a dream job - running a Broadway Theater Box Office.  I have people working for me that I met in past jobs - past ticketing lives. We work well together. We understand the nuances of this industry.  I tap into those experiences daily, reach out to folks I met along the way... I'm grateful for my journey, humbled by successes, and always driven to correct the failures.   We are part of a very small and intense industry that touches EVERYONE. We are the ones that bring Live Entertainment to the consumer.  Our work will change constantly. We will continue to evolve and lean on each other to thrive and stay relevant. That’s why these organizations are So So important.
 
Community, Experiences, Questions, Curiosity, Tenacity, Flexibility, Humor - and an aged Bourbon. Remember your toolbox.
 
As our craft is rapidly revolutionizing and becoming increasingly automated - we need to rely on one another and see where this takes us.   Hmmm... sounds like a trailer for the next article 😜. In the meantime - share YOUR stories. How did you get where you are? Let us all know. I am certain many of us have fascinating backgrounds, and we have all crossed paths somewhere I the past...