"You want a ticket? Give me your phone number": Here's why Subotica theater asks for visitors' data

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"At the National Theater in Subotica you have to give your name, last name and phone number while purchasing a ticket. Otherwise you will not enter. The new normal?"

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The director of the National Theater, Milos Nikolic, soon reacted to this post by former Radio Subotica reporter Ljiljana Elek. He wrote that this is not true and that the data is requested only when a ticket is booked, in order to later check whether the visitor had perhaps changed their mind and the theater can offer the ticket to someone waiting to buy it. The journalist stressed that she did not book the ticket, but bought it.

But in the whole mess, one thing was overlooked by everyone. Is it possible that theaters in Serbia are once again so popular that there is always someone waiting to buy a ticket? If that is the reason, then maybe we can to some degree ignore this incursion into the visitors' personal data.

We called the theater to check for themselves. Tatjana Kis Cegar, a marketing producer and the National Theater's PR, told Telegraf.rs that this venue has its permanent audience and, she claims, "the practice of exchanging contacts with the audience" has been in place for 17 years.

"When tickets are booked through the site, the audience member leaves their name and email to confirm it. Those who book tickets at the ticket office leave their phone number and name. In case they do not pick up their ticket at least a day before the show, we call them to check if they are still booking the ticket, so that we can invite someone from the waiting list and fill the seats, because extra tickets are sought for some shows. That is our principle for chamber performances," says Kis Cegar.

Coronavirus changed everything. The number of seats is now limited, so this practice has become stricter.

"Due to the epidemiological measures, the number of seats is limited, and it often happens that shows get canceled. In order to inform the audience, it is quite logical to have their phone number, since those who booked tickets at the box office are mostly not on social networks. Those who book tickets online receive email notifications," she said.

She also stressed that they have a lot of people coming to the theater from other cities. Those audience members do not follow the local media, so they must be contacted if a show is suddenly canceled, the PR said.

If you condition us with taking our data - there is no respect

"It's very important that when you cancel a show for some reason, you inform those people not to get on the road. Isn't that an act of good will and something that is completely normal towards the visitor? We can also give an example of when an actor in a play gets sick, at that moment we think about what else we could perform. Then we replace one play with another and, of course, we invite the audience to check whether this change suits them and whether they stick to spending that evening in the theater," explained Kis Cegar and added:

"After all, when you make an appointment with the dentist, they also ask you for your name, last name and phone number, in order to inform you in case of any changes. Isn't that so?

"It's the same in the theater. This has been a practice for years and no one is under obligation to leave their data, instead it is an act of good will. We already know our audience well and never before has this approach of ours looked strange to anyone, nor has it been a problem. We really see no reason for that to become a problem now, because our relationship with each individual visitor is based on mutual respect and trust," she concluded.

However, one should also understand the journalist who rightly asked the question. Because if the condition to buy a ticket is to leave our data, then this cannot be called a relationship based on mutual trust and respect.

In the whole story, the only cause for satisfaction is if there is so much interest in the theater again that there are those who are waiting to buy tickets. That's worth leaving your number for, but again, it must not be a condition to buy a ticket. And at least in the field of art, freedom of choice should be preserved.

(Telegraf.rs)