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Requests

Handle attendee requests

The ticket request system lets organisations control ticket distribution through an approval workflow. Members and selected customers request tickets. Administrators review and either approve (creating an order automatically) or refuse with a custom reason.

At its simplest, managing requests answers one question: Should this person receive these tickets?

Who uses this: Event administrators with EventRequests permission.

Key capabilities:

  • Review pending ticket requests from members and customers
  • Approve requests to automatically create orders
  • Refuse requests with clear reasons sent to customers
  • Search and filter requests by name, email, or ID
  • Track request history and quota usage

How It Works

At a glance: Customers submit requests, administrators review them, and the system either creates orders (approved) or notifies customers of refusal.

1. Customer Submits Request

Members or customers browse events with requesting enabled and submit ticket requests. They specify quantities and any notes explaining their request. The request enters a pending queue.

2. Administrator Reviews

Event administrators see pending requests in the app with badge counts showing how many need attention. They review request details including who is requesting, how many tickets, and any notes provided.

3. Administrator Responds

For each request, the administrator either approves (creating an order automatically) or refuses with a reason. The customer receives email notification of the decision.

4. Order or Notification

Approved requests become orders awaiting payment. Refused requests show the administrator's reason so customers understand the decision and can submit alternative requests if appropriate.

Think of it this way:

  • Requests are applications that need approval before becoming orders
  • Approval converts a request into a real order with tickets
  • Refusal closes the request with an explanation to the customer

Understanding Ticket Requests

Some events use requests instead of immediate online sales.

Why use requests?

  • Control who receives tickets
  • Manage member allocations
  • Approve sales before processing
  • Refuse unsuitable requests
  • Track member quota usage

Common use cases:

  • School shows where parents request tickets
  • Member-only events requiring approval
  • Subscription programmes with allocations
  • Fundraising events with controlled distribution

Note: Requests must be explicitly enabled per event through the web dashboard.

Accessing Requests

Requirements:

  • EventRequests permission
  • Event has requesting enabled
  • You're not a device account
  • Currently online (requests unavailable offline)

From event screen:

  1. Tap Requests button on event details
  2. Badge shows pending request count
  3. Opens request list for this event

From event feed:

  1. Navigate to feed
  2. Filter to "Pending Request" category
  3. Tap request to view details

Your own requests (as customer/member):

  1. View through "My tickets"
  2. See approval status
  3. Review refusal reasons
  4. No special permission required

Request List Screen

Shows all requests (pending, approved, refused):

  • Most recent first
  • Request date, attendee, ticket count
  • Visual status indicators (yellow/green/red icons)

Empty state: "No Pending Requests" message directs admins to feed for approved/rejected history.

What Each Request Shows

Visual indicator:

  • Yellow icon: Pending (awaiting response)
  • Green icon: Approved (order created)
  • Red icon: Refused (declined)

Primary information:

  • Number of tickets requested
  • Request status

Secondary information:

  • Attendee name
  • Date and time (e.g., "15th Mar, 7:30pm")
  • Colour-coded ticket tags

Search box at top filters by:

  • Request ID
  • Attendee name
  • Email address

Results update as you type. Works across all request statuses.

Individual Request Details

Tap any request to view full information and respond.

What You See

Attendee details:

  • Full name, email address

Ticket summary:

  • "Requested X tickets for £Y.YY"

Event information:

  • Event name, performance date/time (e.g., "Fri 15th Mar 24 at 7:30pm")
  • Organisation name

Request metadata:

  • Date submitted (time zone localised)
  • Request ID

Optional information (when provided):

  • Referral source
  • User notes explaining request
  • Special requirements

Ticket details (expandable):

  • Individual tickets listed
  • Ticket category and price per ticket
  • Seat category (for seated events)
  • Colour-coded category tags

Discounts applied (when applicable):

  • Discount codes used
  • Amount deducted
  • Discount descriptions

Request Status

Pending:

  • Yellow indicator
  • "This request is awaiting approval by an admin"
  • Administrator response options visible

Approved:

  • Green indicator
  • Shows approving administrator name
  • "Order" link to view created order

Refused:

  • Red indicator
  • Refusing administrator name
  • Refusal reason displayed prominently

Responding to Requests

When viewing a pending request as an administrator, respond through the response section.

How to Respond

Choose response:

  • Approve - Create order automatically
  • Refuse - Decline with reason

Approve workflow:

  1. Tap "Approve" checkbox
  2. Icon changes to "Completed" indicator
  3. "Submit approval" button becomes active
  4. Tap to submit

Refuse workflow:

  1. Tap "Refuse" checkbox
  2. Icon changes to "Completed" indicator
  3. Refusal reason input appears
  4. Enter reason (minimum 3 characters)
  5. Tap "Submit refusal"

Switch response: Tap selected option again to deselect and choose different response.

Approving Requests

What happens when you approve:

  1. Order created in system
  2. Tickets assigned to customer
  3. Marked as "awaiting payment" (unless paid)
  4. Confirmation email sent to attendee
  5. Removed from pending list
  6. Member quota updated (if applicable)

After approval:

  • "Order" link appears in request details
  • Tap to view created order
  • Process payment if needed
  • Order follows normal workflow

Refusing Requests

Refusal requires a reason (minimum 3 characters). Reason is sent to customer.

Why require a reason? Customers deserve to understand why their request was declined. Clear explanations reduce support queries and help customers submit better requests in future.

Good refusal reasons:

  • "Unfortunately this performance is now fully booked"
  • "Member allocation for this event has been reached"
  • "This event is restricted to current members only"
  • "Tickets for this date are reserved for different group"

Guidelines:

  • Be clear and specific
  • Remain professional and respectful
  • Explain why request denied
  • Offer alternatives if possible

Avoid:

  • "No"
  • "Cannot approve"
  • Blank or very short responses

After refusal:

  • Request marked as refused
  • Email sent to customer with reason
  • Removed from pending list
  • Customer can see refusal in their request list
  • No order created

Submit Validation

Button states:

  • "Choose a response" (disabled) - No option selected
  • "Submit approval" (enabled) - Approve selected
  • "Submit refusal" (enabled if reason valid) - Refuse selected with valid reason

Validation:

  • Refusal requires minimum 3 characters
  • Approval has no text requirement
  • Must select one response type

Processing:

  • Loading indicator during submission
  • Screen disables during processing
  • Success refreshes request details
  • Error shows user-friendly message

Attendee Cancellations

Attendees can withdraw their own pending ticket requests from the web My Tickets page. When this happens, the request leaves your pending queue immediately and the seats it was holding are released.

What to expect in the app:

  • The request drops out of your pending list without any action from you
  • The request count badge decreases
  • The request is effectively closed — the system will not let you approve or refuse it

Note: At the moment, attendee cancellations are a web-only feature and the mobile app hasn't been updated to display a dedicated "Cancelled by attendee" status. A cancelled request may appear in your app as a refused request without a refusing administrator or reason attached. If you see that, it's an attendee-initiated cancellation rather than a refusal you need to investigate. No further action is required from you. For full visibility of cancelled requests, use the web admin dashboard — see Ticket Requests (web).

Why no push notification? Attendee cancellations are routine tidy-ups that don't require admin attention. The web admin dashboard shows them under Actioned Requests alongside accepted and refused requests.

Common Workflows

Daily Request Review

  1. Open event details
  2. Note pending request count badge
  3. Navigate to requests list
  4. Review each request individually
  5. Approve or refuse based on criteria
  6. Monitor quota and capacity constraints

Member Quota Management

  1. View request with member information
  2. Check member summary
  3. Verify quota availability
  4. Approve if within allocation
  5. Refuse if quota exceeded

Capacity Management

  1. Review event date capacity
  2. Check tickets requested vs available
  3. Approve requests in submission order
  4. Refuse when capacity reached
  5. Communicate alternatives

Handling Phone Queries

  1. Receive phone query about request
  2. Search requests by customer name/email
  3. View request status
  4. Explain approval/refusal decision
  5. Process approval on phone if suitable

My Requests (Customer View)

Customers and members can view their own requests without administrator permissions.

Access: From "My tickets" or event details

What you see:

  • Your requests for selected event
  • Most recent first
  • Status indicators (yellow/green/red)
  • Ticket details and pricing

Request status:

  • Pending - Yellow icon, awaiting approval
  • Approved - Green icon, order created
  • Refused - Red icon, with reason

After Approval

When approved:

  1. Request shows green "Approved" status
  2. Order created automatically
  3. Navigate to order to pay (if needed)
  4. Confirmation email sent
  5. Tickets available in "My tickets"

After Refusal

When refused:

  1. Request shows red "Refused" status
  2. Administrator's reason displayed
  3. No order created
  4. Can submit new request if criteria change
  5. Email notification sent

Cancelling Pending Requests

Attendees can cancel their own pending requests, but this is currently a web-only feature. To cancel a pending request, they sign in on the web, open My Tickets, and use the Cancel request button in the Requests section. The mobile app does not yet support self-cancellation. See Your Ticket Requests (attendee web) for the attendee-facing web walkthrough.

Notifications

Email notifications:

  • Customers receive email when request approved or refused
  • Refusal email includes administrator's reason
  • Approval email includes order details and payment link

In-app indicators:

  • Badge count on Requests button
  • Pending count visible from event screen
  • Visual status in request lists
  • Clear status icons throughout

Note: The app does not send push notifications for requests. Administrators should check the app periodically. Email notifications inform customers of decisions.

Permissions

View request list: EventRequests permission

Approve/refuse requests: EventRequests permission

View your own requests: No special permission (always allowed)

Note: Permissions are checked against the event's organisation. Device accounts cannot access request features.

Offline Mode

Ticket requests require internet connection.

Why require internet? Approving requests creates orders in the database, sends email notifications, updates member quotas, and prevents duplicate approvals. This requires real-time validation to ensure data consistency.

Not available offline:

  • Request list
  • Approve/refuse actions
  • Request details
  • Search functionality

Plan request management when online. The app hides request features automatically when offline.

Example: School Production

Parent (member):

  1. Submits request for 4 tickets
  2. Adds note: "Front row preferred if available"
  3. Sees "Pending" status in app
  4. Receives email when approved
  5. Pays for order online
  6. Tickets appear in "My tickets"

Box office manager (admin):

  1. Checks Requests button badge: 12 pending
  2. Opens request list
  3. Reviews parent's request
  4. Checks available front row seats
  5. Approves request
  6. Order created automatically
  7. Parent notified by email

Another parent (member):

  1. Submits request after seats sold out
  2. Sees "Pending" status
  3. Box office reviews request
  4. Refuses with: "Unfortunately this performance is now fully booked. Please consider Friday's matinee performance which has good availability."
  5. Parent receives email with reason
  6. Can submit new request for Friday

Common Questions

Requests and Approval

Can I approve multiple requests at once? No. Each request must be reviewed and approved individually to ensure proper consideration of each customer's needs and available capacity.

What happens if I approve a request but there are no seats available? The order will be created but may fail if specific seats were requested and are no longer available. Review capacity before approving to avoid this situation.

Can I change my decision after approving or refusing? No. Once submitted, the decision is final. For approved requests, you can manage the resulting order. For refused requests, the customer can submit a new request.

Refusals

What if I need to refuse but want to offer an alternative? Include the alternative in your refusal reason. For example: "This performance is fully booked. Friday's matinee has good availability."

Is there a character limit for refusal reasons? There is a minimum of 3 characters but no maximum. Be as detailed as helpful without being excessive.

Customer Experience

Will customers see my name when I approve or refuse? Yes. The approving or refusing administrator's name is visible in the request details.

Can customers submit another request after refusal? Yes. Customers can submit new requests at any time. If circumstances have changed (different date, fewer tickets), a new request may be approved.

Can customers cancel their own requests? Yes, but only from the web version of Seaty at the moment. Signed-in attendees can withdraw any of their own pending requests from their My Tickets page on the web. Once cancelled, the request leaves your queue automatically. Cancellations from the mobile app are not yet supported.

A request disappeared from my pending list without me actioning it — what happened? The attendee most likely cancelled it from the web. Cancelled requests are visible under Actioned Requests in the web admin dashboard. The mobile app doesn't yet distinguish cancelled requests from refused ones visually.

Need help? Contact support@seaty.co.uk