This past weekend, I went to a show at the Theatre Building in Chicago. It was a very funny comedy show at the modest price of $10. I tested fate and didn’t get tickets ahead of time. I got lucky and was able to get 2 at the door. The two $10 tickets cost me $22. When I asked why that was, they told me there was a $1 handling fee.

I e-mailed Jeff DeLong at the Theater Building to find out why I was charged a handling fee when buying directly from the box office. Jeff is the marketing director. Here’s his response….

Justin – There is $1.00 “facility fee” on every ticket purchase (Standard practice in most not for profit theatres) This includes tickets sales at the box office window. There is an additional $2.00 per order “convenience fee” when ordering over the phone. Both of theses fees go to TBC to help offset the operating costs of the venue and keep rental rates low for our client theatres. Had you ordered on-line through Ticketmaster you would have charged upwards of $4.00 per ticket.

Well said. Thanks to Jeff for the information. He got back to me and explained the situation. But I’m still in search of that $10 ticket. So I turn to our resident theater analyst,  blogger and WBEZ events coordinator Don Hall in a new segment we call “Ask Don Hall.” Don, is this standard practice? Can I get a $10 ticket anywhere?

Don Hall: OK.

This is not standard practice. Standard practice is to advertise a $10.00 ticket and then – CHARGE TEN DOLLARS. Standard practice for land-grab schemes or generic Viagra sales include a fake “handling fee” and to simply have a lower “handling and convenience charge” than Ticket Master is like being slapped in the mouth instead a full-fisted punch in the chops.

It is “standard practice” for fast food companies to charge you $1.49 for a soda that costs them $0.02 so citing the “Standard Practice” banner doesn’t really cut it.

The “facility fee” is a tacked on charge that the venue uses because audiences accept it from Ticket Master and Hot Tix, why not get a little of that gravy to cover the cost of the part-time Box Office kid? He was honest in that it goes to the venue but the double speak is almost Orwellian – “We charge you more so we can keep it cheaper for you.”

So here’s how it works:

Venue charges itinerant theater company money to rent the space. Theater company HAS to use the Venue Box Office and want to charge $10 per ticket. Theater company can either eat that $1.00 charge or pass it on to the patron because the venue is sticking that buck to someone. Theater company decides to charge $10.00 on paper and let the Venue take the heat for charging a fee.

Not a big deal when you’re charging $90.00 to see Legally Blonde, but it becomes a bigger deal when you’re going to see a reasonably priced Off Loop show.

It’s like a required gratuity in restaurants. It ain’t a tip if you have to pay it – it’s a “handling and convenience charge.”