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Custom Questions

Manage custom question answers

Overview

Custom question answers let you view and update attendee responses to event-specific questions directly from your mobile device. At its simplest, custom question answers answer one question: What did this attendee tell us about their requirements?

Who uses this: Event administrators with the Edit permission for the event.

Key capabilities:

  • View all customer responses to order-level and ticket-level questions
  • View responses to admin-only questions that customers never see at checkout
  • Edit answers on behalf of customers during events
  • Review dietary requirements, accessibility needs, and special requests
  • Update missing or incorrect information on-site
  • Access answers without needing the web dashboard

Note: Every edit you make is recorded in the order's log with your name, timestamp, and the old and new values — so your team can always track who corrected what. Email, phone, and number answers are validated when you save, so the app will reject obviously bad data (for example, "banana" in an email field).

How It Works

At a glance: Open an order, find the questions section, and view or edit answers as needed.

1. Open the order

Navigate to the order through event management, order search, or ticket scanning.

2. Find the questions section

Scroll to "Questions & answers" in the order details. This section only appears when custom questions are configured for the event.

3. View the answers

Order-level answers appear first, followed by ticket-level answers grouped by ticket. Each answer shows the question and the customer's response.

4. Edit if needed

Tap any answer to open the edit screen. Make changes and save. Only administrators with Edit permission can modify answers.

Think of it this way:

  • Order-level questions collect booking information (emergency contact, accessibility needs)
  • Ticket-level questions collect per-attendee information (names, meal choices, ages)
  • Missing answers can be filled in by staff at the door or box office

Question Types

Order-Level Questions

Asked once per order during checkout. Examples include dietary requirements, wheelchair access, emergency contacts, and marketing questions.

These appear under "Order Answers" in the answer list.

Ticket-Level Questions

Asked for each qualifying ticket during checkout. Examples include attendee names, age confirmations, t-shirt sizes, and meal choices.

These appear under "Ticket Answers", grouped by ticket with category and seat information.

Admin-Only Questions

Questions the event organiser has marked as admin-only are hidden from customers at checkout but visible and editable here. Use them to record internal information like comp reasons or internal references without exposing the fields to attendees.

Viewing Answers

Answer list layout:

  • "Order Answers" header (when order-level questions exist)
  • Individual answers with question and response
  • "Ticket Answers" header (when ticket-level questions exist)
  • Ticket sections with seat identifier and category tags

Missing answers show as blank entries that can be filled in by administrators.

Editing Answers

Who Can Edit

Administrators with the Edit permission for the event can edit any answer.

Customers cannot edit answers from the mobile app. They must use the web portal.

Device sign-in users have read-only access.

How to Edit

  1. Tap on an answer
  2. The edit screen shows the current response
  3. For text questions: type or edit the response
  4. For dropdown or radio questions: select from the available options
  5. Tap "Save"

Note: The save button is disabled when the answer is unchanged, when a required dropdown or radio has no selection, or when a text answer fails its format check (for example, an invalid email address).

Dropdown and radio questions require a selection. Text questions allow empty responses, but non-empty text must match the format set by the organiser — Plain, Email, Phone, or Number.

Format Validation

If the organiser has set a text question's format to Email, Phone, or Number, the app and the server both check the answer when you save:

  • Email — must be a valid email address
  • Phone — digits, spaces, +, -, (, ), with at least seven digits total
  • Number — a whole number or decimal

Invalid answers are rejected with an error explaining what's wrong. Fix the field and try again, or clear it entirely if it isn't required.

Common Use Cases

Dietary Requirements: Box office and kitchen staff review before the event. Update answers when customers provide new information.

Accessibility Needs: Door staff and venue managers review before arrival. Helps prepare appropriate assistance.

Age Verification: Required for licensed venues. Door staff verify age at entry using per-ticket confirmation.

Emergency Contacts: Quick access for staff during emergencies. Update at the door when customers provide details.

Special Requests: Staff review before the event to prepare for unusual requirements or technical needs.

Unanswered Questions

Questions may appear unanswered when:

  • The question was added after the order was placed
  • The customer skipped an optional question
  • Question criteria changed after purchase

Administrators can tap blank questions to add answers on the customer's behalf. This is common after phone orders.

Why criteria changes matter: If question criteria change (for example, originally for Category A, now applies to Category B), answers must be manually added for newly qualifying tickets.

Answer Organisation

Answers display in this order:

  1. Order-level answers (by question order)
  2. Missing order-level questions
  3. Ticket answers (by ticket, then question order)
  4. Missing ticket-level questions

Tickets appear in Group + Name order. Numerical seats sort numerically, alphabetical seats sort alphabetically.

Category tags show ticket category colour, name, and seat category (for allocated seating). Section headers separate order answers from ticket answers.

Mobile vs Web Dashboard

Changes made on mobile appear instantly on the web dashboard. Web updates are visible on mobile after refreshing.

Web-only features:

  • Configure questions
  • Set question criteria
  • Bulk export answers
  • Question templates

Mobile advantages:

  • Quick on-site edits during events
  • No laptop needed
  • Ideal for door staff

Common Questions

Editing

Why can I not edit answers? Check that you have the Edit permission for the event and are signed in as an administrator. Device sign-in and customer accounts have read-only access.

Why is the save button disabled? The answer has not changed, a required dropdown or radio has no selection, or a text answer fails its format check (for example an email field with an invalid address). Also check your internet connection.

Is there a record of who edited an answer? Yes. Every change is recorded in the order's log with your name, the time, the question, and the old and new values. You can see the full history in the order's Log section on the web dashboard.

Display Issues

Why do some questions not appear? Questions may be ticket-level only with no qualifying tickets, or have criteria not met by this order. Pull down to refresh.

Why does the same answer appear multiple times? This is normal for ticket-level questions. They appear once per qualifying ticket. Edit each one separately.

Capabilities

Can I add answers for questions the customer never saw? Yes. Tap blank questions to add answers on the customer's behalf. This is common after phone orders or when questions are added after purchase.

Do changes sync between mobile and web? Yes. Changes made on mobile appear instantly on the web dashboard. Web updates are visible on mobile after refreshing.

Need help? Contact support@seaty.co.uk