Ticket Sales

[heavenstar 0]

our background:

370+ residents-- all independent

Very few English Speaking-- mostly Russian and Chinese -- who do not get along

Problem: Trip sign ups

 

We get a county bus once a month to go on trips (we have no other transportation). We sign up a week ahead of the trip-- volunteer residents sign them up. Only residents are allowed to go and each resident must come down and buy their own ticket-- neighbors cannot buy for each other.

Residents will come down 3 hours early to wait in line. They make a rogue list and one person will sit with that list. Anyone else who comes down adds their name to this list and then leaves. They come back when it is time to sell the tickets. Other residents think they are wrong to start their own list and then cut in front of them to buy tickets. So, by the time ticket sales start, we are already sold out and have a waitlist. Fights have ensued because of this.

 

What I have done (and it HAS NOT worked)

I have put chairs in a line and sat with them (so that no one cuts) 3 hours before sales start. If someone leaves, then they lose their spot. Of course I was mean and hated for this because they are " little old sick people who need to take their meds, eat and go to the bathroom."

 

I have started giving out numbers two hours before sales. They can leave and do whatever as long as they are back in time for the sale (they are skipped if not present). Of course this doesn't work because it messes up their whole day, we are already sold out by 2:05 pm, if they have a number, why can't we just sign them up right then? ( and then, they start coming down an hour before we give out numbers, so this is not helping!)

 

Residents are still complaining and I have begged them to come up with a better way-- I am open to try it! The only thing that anyone has said is to just have the sale at 3:30 and sign them up-- which doesn't solve any problem-- they will still come down, cut in line, have to leave the line because needing to go to the bathroom, etc.

 

We are not AL or a nursing home, so we can't alternate people on the trips. And our waitlists are only about 6-7 people long-- so only about 40 people want to go. These 40 people are driving me crazy though!

Hopefully someone will come up with a better way to skin this cat!

Thanks!

[aRBeRec 0]

Can you give them a choice.... like "would you like to go on may trip or june?" this way the people who show get their preference but everyone gets on a trip? and you only have to go through the hassle every other month?