Bookings

Bookings taken at site entrance

The process for taking bookings at the site entrance is mostly not one GOD is involved with, but it’s outlined here for context:

1. The gate team take a payment from someone arriving on site, and note down the player’s details as best they can.

2. The gate team send a runner from the gate to the Matt Cave on a semi-regular basis to drop off cash and paperwork. (Occasionally we get asked to send a runner ourselves, depending on who can spare the crew more easily.)

3. Graeme, in the Matt Cave, processes the paperwork and books players in.

4. The GOD heads of department do intermittent print runs of new character packs, which will get made up and put in the matrix per Player Packs- GOD.

If someone appears and tells you they’ve paid on the gate, this means their pack may be in the matrix ready for them to collect, but that relies on them having got through this entire process.

What you need to do with someone who turns up at GOD who has paid at the gate depends on a variety of details:

• Check they’ve actually paid. They should have a receipt they can show you. Sometimes players will say something like “I’m here for a gate booking”, meaning they’ve already paid and they want to pick up their pack, and sometimes they’ll say something more-or-less identical but meaning that they want to make a booking now, in which case

see Front desk bookings.

• Check they have an account. Sometimes the first contact someone has with PD will be when they turn up at the gate, and we need them to have an account before we can help them. If they don’t have an account, send them to create one on the player PCs or using their own device connected to the PD Wi-Fi. Once they’ve done that, fill out a query form, add it to the HoD Player Waiting inbox, and send them to the heads of department to sort out.
• Check when they paid, and check with the heads of department how up-to-date we are with gate bookings. If we’re sufficiently up-to-date, they can just be treated like any other player coming to pick up their pack. If not, depending on the backlog, we might be able to sort their pack straight away, or we might need to tell them to come back later.

Front desk bookings

The Simple case

This should cover the majority of cases where someone wants to buy a ticket in GOD, that is: they’re an adult who needs either a crew or gate ticket for the current event, they already have an account, they’re buying the ticket for themselves, and they’re paying the balance due immediately. For more complex cases, refer to The complex case.

To create a booking, once you’re logged in to the website and you’ve clicked “Crew” from the home page:

1. Click “GOD” in the top bar, then click “Gate Booking”

2. Ask the player if they know their PID.

• If they do, put their PID in the PID box, then press Tab or Enter or click somewhere else on the page. Confirm the player’s name on your screen matches what they tell your their name is.
• If they don’t know their PID, click the “Search” button, and get some information from the player to be able to find their details; surname is normally best. Find and select the relevant player.

3. Check with the player which character they want to play, and select the character name from the “Character” drop-down menu.

4. Select the appropriate ticket type from the “Ticket” drop-down. This will normally be “Gate Booking” unless they’re crew, in which case select “Crew”.

5. If it’s a gate booking rather than a crew booking, ask the player if they’re entitled to a concession.

• If they’re not entitled to a concession, select “No” from the “Concession” drop-down.
• If they’re entitled to a concession and show you evidence of that, select “Yes” from the “Concession” drop-down.
• If they claim they’re entitled to a concession but aren’t able to show evidence, leave the Concession checkboxes blank. Tell them that you’ll need to charge full price, but that if they email in after the event, PD will refund the concession discount.

6. Check how the player wants to pay:

• For cash, take the cash off them, check it’s the right amount, hand the cash off to a head of department or whoever has the cash box at the time, and select “Cash” in the Method dropdown.
• For card payments, follow the instructions at (TODOOperating the card reader), and once the payment has been processed, select “Sumup” in the Method dropdown.
• If the player isn’t able or willing to pay for some reason, escalate to a head of department.

7. Click “Create Booking”

8. Check with the heads of department whether we’re creating packs on demand or if there’s a queue, and either have the player wait while you prepare their pack per 9.2 Making up, or come back later and collect their pack from the Matrix.

The Complex case

Bookings following this process should be relatively rare, but it allows us to sell any type of ticket (e.g. children’s tickets), to purchase multiple tickets at once, and to process tickets that one person is buying on someone else’s behalf (e.g. parents buying for their children, or traders paying for tickets for their crew).

To create bookings, once you’re logged in to the website and you’ve clicked “Crew” from the home page: 1. Click “Players” in the top bar.

2. Ask the player if they know their PID. If you have one person buying tickets for someone else, it’s the PID of the buyer we care about at this point, and since it’s their account we’re charging, their should either be present or the person you’re talking to should be an authorised proxy for them.

• If they do, put their PID in the PID box, then press Tab or Enter or click somewhere else on the page. Confirm the player’s name on your screen matches what they tell your their name is.
• If they don’t know their PID, click the “Search” button, and get some information from the player to be able to find their details; surname is normally best. Find and select the relevant player.

3. Click the “Bookings” tab, then click “Create Booking”

4. The “Purchase Details” section should already be filled out correctly, with the PID and name of the player buying the tickets, today’s date, and no introducer.

5. Change the Event drop-down if necessary (this should very rarely be necessary; we only take bookings for the current event at the event)

6. In the Ticket drop-down, select the appropriate ticket type. This will normally be “Gate Booking”, but may be “Crew” or one of the children’s tickets. Don’t select “Early Booking” or “Late Booking” without first checking with a head of department; don’t select “Crew” unless the person is actually crew.

7. In the Recipient box, select the person who is receiving the ticket. This will normally be the same person as is buying the ticket, but might be different if, for example, this is a ticket being bought by a parent for a child, or a ticket being bought by a trader for one of their staff.

8. Check with the player which character they want to be playing, and select it in the Character drop-down.

9. Never select the Complimentary checkbox unless either (a) you’ve been told to by a head of department, or (b) this is a booking for a child and all their responsible adults are crew.

10. If it’s a gate booking, ask the player if they’re entitled to a concession.

• If they’re not entitled to a concession, leave the Concession checkboxes blank.
• If they’re entitled to a concession and show you evidence, select both “Concession” and “Concession Seen”.

(TODO Confirming concessions for more information about acceptable evidence.)

• If they claim they’re entitled to a concession but aren’t able to show evidence, leave the Concession checkboxes blank. Tell them that you’ll need to charge full price, but that if they email in after the event, PD will refund the concession discount. Examples of acceptable evidence are given in (TODO Confirming concessions.)

Note: in GOD, you should never select one of the Concession checkboxes but not the other.

11. Check that the amount in the “Amount” box is as expected. Don’t change this without first checking with a head of department.

12. Click “Add Ticket”.

13. If the buyer wants to buy multiple tickets at the same time, go back to step 5.

14. Click “Create Booking”.

15. You should now be returned to the player bookings page; note the balance at the top of the table, then click “Take Payment”.

16. Enter the appropriate amount in the “Amount” box.

17. Ask the player how they want to pay:

• For cash: take the cash off them, check the right amount, and select “Cash” in the Method dropdown. Hand the cash to a head of department (or whoever is in charge of the real-world cash box).
• For card payments: follow the instructions at (TODO Operating the card reader. Once the payment has been processed, select “Sumup” in the Method dropdown.
• If the player isn’t able or willing to pay for some reason, escalate to a head of department.

18. Don’t change any of the other values without first checking with a head of department: PID should already be correct, we never use any of the other payment methods, and the date and VAT rate will be automatically correct.

19. Click “Save”.