As we continue our ongoing series of staff interviews to reveal what goes on behind-the-scenes at Ticketmaster UK we sit down with Jo Wyborn to find out more about her role and what life at Ticketmaster UK is like for a Client Services Manager.
Tell us your story – how did you end up a Client Services Manager at Ticketmaster?
Jo Wyborn: Seven years ago, I started my career at Ticketmaster as a Client Account Manager, working specifically on the Live Nation account. I then moved on to become a Senior Account Manager before moving to my current role as a Client Service Manager. In my seven years I have gone from being part of a team to managing a team and my colleagues, which has been an interesting learning curve.
What’s the difference between a client account manager and a client services manager?
JW: As a Client Account Manager (CAM) you are the direct line of contact for a client you deal with everyday queries and the Client Services Manager manages the CAM! Helping them manage their events and work load.
What did you do previously?
JW: My career in the ticketing industry started in 2000 as an administrator at Hammersmith Apollo, where I eventually became the box office manager and is how I met a lot of Live Nation staff. Before moving on to Mama Group, looking after the likes of Jazz Café, The Forum, then for a short stint Marshall Arts and then on to Ticketmaster and the rest is history!
Can you explain a normal day in the office for you?
JW: There is no such thing as a normal day in our team! A day can vary from a very early start monitoring a big onsale to working till 20:00 in a box office at a festival in the middle of nowhere! On a day-to-day basis, I will be supporting my teams, ensuring all client expectations are meet along with making sure tours and events are correct and planning for future shows. For the festivals in the summer we try to get on site the day before to run tests on the tickets, scanners etc, double checking everything is set up so there is no mad panic in the next morning.
What has been your favourite show, tour or festival to work on?
JW: Easy! Beyoncé, the tour was amazing! It was one of the first big stadium tours that I got to work on from start to finish, always helps if you like the artist!
Biggest challenge to date?
JW: The recent One Love Manchester benefit gig was an amazing event to be a part of and by far the biggest challenge for me and my team to date. The way Ticketmaster united as a team to turnaround this special event so quickly was incredible, and made me extremely proud. A 50,000-capacity stadium event would usually take around four weeks to set up, and we pulled it off in nine days. Possibly the busiest two weeks of my career, I found out and started working on the One Love Manchester gig while I was working at BBC Big Weekend in Hull, the Saturday after I was at the London Stadium with Depeche Mode, I then headed back north to Manchester for the One Love gig and then on to Download Festival for a week. I have never been involved with so many different departments in the company during those two weeks; it was wonderful seeing us come together.
What is the most exciting part of being a Client Services Manager?
JW: I love being on site, especially for the artist I personally like. I get immense satisfaction seeing something through from the beginning when the paperwork comes in to set up a tour to the end when you hear the first beep of a ticket scan in and you can finally relax!
What are you listening to at the moment?
JW: I listen to all types of music from Old Skool to Hip Hop and RnB, listening to Capital Xtra or Kiss FM on the radio in the car.
How does the team work together to get through the summer?
JW: Teamwork! As well was maintaining a sense of humour even in the trickiest of times. Typically, you have someone who has worked on a particular event before who can teach someone new. We try to move the events around so the whole team gets to work on a stadium or arena or festival, not just one person covering all the work. As a team we just all have each other’s backs managing the large workload. Having a shared inbox certainly helps too!
What logistics go into running a box office?
JW: Communication is key! Opening up the line of communication between Field IT and the promoter, so we can be sure to have everything we need on site. Organising the staff, holding site meetings and visits to set out the layout and pre-event staff meetings are also very important.
And finally, what live event are you most excited for in 2017?
JW: Probably Wireless in a couple of weeks. The festival has always been my favourite summer event. I am also looking forward to heading to Latitude and Leeds for the first time doing the on-site ticketing for these events. Latitude will be using Front Gate Ticketing system for the first time, so it will be interesting to see that in practice after learning a whole new system.
Any closing remarks?
JW: I wouldn’t be able to do anything without my great team and good management behind me!
Find out more about our teams on our Local Teams pages.
