Many people find themselves going to theatre shows on a whim and discount booths can be the perfect outlet for such people to decide where to got, what to see and to make price comparisons. However London’s only official ticket booths are the tkts outlets in Leicester Square and Brent Cross. There are many official agency booths that sell legitimate tickets however there are also a number of unofficial booths.
Our General Advice on Booth Buying
- In order to purchase with confidence from a booth make sure you can Spot The Warning Signs
- Be aware of the current face value and availability of tickets for the show you are wanting to see.
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions and ask for terminology to be explained to you. For example if you do not know exactly where the ‘Balcony’ is, then ask.
- Always get a receipt
General advice aside, with hundreds of ‘discount’ booths across London, it is hard to decipher which are legitimate and which are not.Therefore our theatre detective has gone undercover and secretly rated their experience at an assortment of legitimate and illegitimate ticket outlets in order to find out who offers the best and worst services in the West End.
Our Detective’s Mission
In order to provide continuity in our research, our detective picked one seating area at one West End show with which to compare each booths service. For their first mission, our detective chose an Upper Circle Seat at The Wizard of Oz. At the time of our research (May 2012) The Wizard of Oz was towards the end of its run, showing at the London Palladium. For an Upper Circle seat offcial Palladium box office prices were between £9-25.
In order to gain a comprehensive view on each London booth, our detective marked each outlet out of 5 against the following criteria:
| PRICE | What price is the booth offering for a ticket and what do they quote as the face value? |
| SEAT | What seats are being offered for what amount of money? Are the booths specific about our seat locations? Do they have a seating plan? |
| PAYMENT AND COLLECTION METHODS | In what way are people asked to hand over their money and will they given a ticket there and then or are they expected to collect it from the theatre? |
| SERVICE | How does the seller deal with the customers needs? What was their attitude towards helping them to find a theatre ticket? |
| STAR | Is the outlet a member of STAR? If so do they adhere to STAR regulations such as providing upfront and clear information to each potential buyer. |
The Booths:
| Booth | Rating | STAR registered? |
| tkts |  |
YES |
| Stargreen Box Office |  |
YES |
| Leicester Square Box Office | |
YES |
| Crest of London |  |
NO |
Visit each booths summary page for more information on their ‘discounts’ and service.