Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Here Come the Classics - Survey 2009 38
Contents
Page
Introduction 2
Methodology 2
Summary 2
Detailed Findings 2
Satisfaction with “Here Come the Classics” 2 Combining a visit to The Hawth with other activities 3
The classical season at The Hawth 4
Using The Hawth 5
Finding out about concerts/shows 6
Other shows and events 7
Visiting other theatres/concert halls 7
Profile of Respondent 8
Issues arising from the Research 9
Appendices – Verbatim Comments
Appendix 1: How satisfied were you with the concert? 11
Appendix 2: Which of the following aspects are most 13
important to you?
Appendix 3: What classical works composers or 15
artists have you particularly enjoyed seeing in the last
few years at The Hawth?
Appendix 4: What classical works, composers or 18
artists would you particularly like to see at
The Hawth?
Appendix 5: What do you think of the season of classical 22
concerts within the series?
Appendix 6: How would you rate the reason of classical 24
Concerts?
Appendix 7: Satisfaction with pre-show meals, 25
pre-concert talks, programmes
Appendix 8: What, if anything, about your concert 27
experience at The Hawth, would you change?
Appendix 9: Apart from classical concerts, what other 30
Shows/events have you attended or would like to see
At The Hawth?
Appendix 10: What theatres/concert halls have you 34
attended within the last 12 months?
Appendix 11: How do other theatres/concert halls 36
Compare to The Hawth?
Appendix 12: How satisfied are you with the other 38
Classical concerts you have attended at The Hawth?
Introduction
In order to plan for future seasons of classical music, it was important to measure customer satisfaction with classical concerts. In particular, customers were invited to state their preferences for works and composers, along with their satisfaction with the Hawth’s service, the venue itself and the ancillary facilities offered. “Here Come The Classics” was selected as the concert to target for customer feedback. This concert was held on 10th May 2009.
Methodology
In conjunction with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hawth, a postal questionnaire was designed. This was mailed out by The Hawth and returned to Support Services where it was analysed and this report prepared. Patrons were sent a questionnaire during the week following the concert.
375 questionnaires were sent out with 182 being returned, representing a pleasing 48.5% response rate.
Summary
v Overall, satisfaction ratings are very high, both with the current programme and with the service offered at The Hawth and its ancillary facilities.
v Patrons want more of the same.
v Respondents came up with lists of their preferred works, and composers
v There are a few comments about ticket prices – particularly for retired people – which is limiting the number of concerts they attend
v Many compliments for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and for The Hawth
Detailed Findings
Satisfaction with “Here Come the Classics”
99% of respondents were satisfied with the concert; with only two being neither satisfied/dissatisfied; a very pleasing outcome.
There was praise for the orchestra, the soloists, the programme and the entire evening! Please see Appendix 1 for a full list of verbatim comments. One person commented that the concert should have ended with Bruch rather than with the popular pieces; but this was only one respondent out of 182 patrons.
Respondents were asked to select from a list what they rated as most important when attending concerts in the classical season. They were asked to select their top three priorities.
The pieces being performed came top of the list. Over 60% gave this as their first priority; with a further 24% as their second priority and 8% as their third priority. The orchestra/ensemble was the second most important priority; 15% gave this as their first priority, 35% as their second priority; and 23% as their third priority.
The composer was the third most important priority. A list of those composers, works and artists that respondents have particularly enjoyed seeing at The Hawth over the past few years are listed in Appendix 3. Compared to those composers, works and artists that respondents would like to see, there are several parallels; see Appendix 4, together with some specific requests. Given the high satisfaction levels and compliments about the concert, it is not surprising to also find that some respondents specifically say that they are happy with the existing selection of composers, works and artists and do not have any further requests.
Combining a visit to The Hawth with other activities
Two thirds of respondents had not combined their concert visit with any other activity. The remaining third had mainly combined a meal with their concert. Of these, it is pleasing to note that the majority had dined at The Hawth, either in the Spotlight Restaurant or in the ArtsCafé.
Over two thirds of respondents had attended with one other person.
The classical season at The Hawth
60% of respondents had not subscribed to the whole season. Almost one in four had subscribed to the whole season with at least one studio recital. 15% had subscribed to the whole season but with no studio recitals. Of those who had not subscribed to the whole season, just under half had attended one or two other concerts in the series, with just under 15% having attended three or more.
Over eight out of ten of respondents thought the season of classical concerts offered good value for money. Only 2 respondents felt it did not offer value for money. A few thought ticket prices were too high, although some added the caveat that it was understandable given the size of the orchestra and they compared well to most other venues. The comment was made that larger concert halls can offer a wider range of ticket prices because of the larger size of their venue, whereas The Hawth does not have this flexibility:
“I can see with only 850 seats to pay for an orchestra of 60, you can do little else. RPO Concerts at Fairfield Croydon have several prices as they have a bigger hall. You should enlarge the Hawth to 1500 seats”
There were a few comments about concessions for the over 60’s, especially relevant given that 56% of respondents were over the age of 65. Some also made the comment that lower ticket prices might encourage more younger people to attend. A list of verbatim comments is given in Appendix 5.
Although most thought the number of concerts in the series was about right, 11% disagreed, believing there should be more. They gave a range of different suggestions – see Appendix 5. Some were asking for more classical music generally; others for more popular symphonies and concerts and some specifics.
Ratings given on the selection of pieces, composers and artists within the season very much mirror the high satisfaction ratings given for the “Here Come The Classics” concert:
“Every concert has been superb, but the last one in May was outstanding”
There were some particular comments on individuals:
“Particularly enjoyed hearing Emma Johnson”
“The afternoon with Emma Johnson was excellent”
“Not so pleased with Rachel Smith and Paul Gregory. They did not seem comfortable and lacked rapport with the audience”
There are also comments made to indicate that the conductor building a rapport with the audience is important:
“the conductor at the previous concert did not speak. We like to hear the conductor explain the significance of the music”
Views were mixed regarding popular pieces v less well known pieces:
“I would like more whole works, but my partner prefers hits”
“It would be good to have a few less well known pieces included in the repertoire”
A list of comments is given in Appendix 6. Appendices 3 and 4 list those works, composers and artists that respondents had enjoyed seeing or would particularly like to see. The lists are varied.
Using The Hawth
There are pleasingly high levels of satisfaction with pre-show meals and pre-concert talks.
There were only a few adverse comments:
v Ice cream – considered overpriced at £1.50; frozen too hard
v One patron thought the main restaurant no longer existed
v Another asked for a different menu for each pre-concert meal
v A comment about never knowing how busy the restaurant was going to be
v Having more tables in the Spotlight
v A request for a better wine selection, (which we have also picked up in other research)
v The coffee (which has also been commented on in other research)
v Needing to have both bars open for busy events
v Banning people from bringing sweets into the auditorium!
Comments are listed in Appendices 7 and 8 and despite these few negatives, overall, satisfaction with the bars and catering service remains high, as we have seen in other feedback on the service.
Views on programmes are slightly more indifferent with almost one in five respondents not having a particular view one way or another. Where comments were made, these related mainly to the high price of programmes:
“Rarely buy programmes – expensive and full of adverts rather than information”
“…….too expensive for something that goes in the bin”
A suggestion was made for programmes to be a single sheet – see Appendix 8.
A full list of comments on pre-show meals, pre-concert talks and programmes is given in Appendix 7.
Other comments
There were a few comments about leaving the car park – see Appendix 8. It would seem that some patrons find the exit process rather chaotic.
There were also a few comments about the seats being uncomfortable, with Row D being mentioned. Another commented that row T felt too far away and someone else requested a high railing on the front of the balcony.
Finding out about concerts/shows
By far the most likely way that respondents hear about concerts/shows at The Hawth is via the Hawth quarterly brochure which is sent to them. This mirrors other customer survey findings. The next most popular method of hearing about concerts/shows is via the Classical Season brochure, which is also sent. Both methods rely on respondents receiving information through the post.
Other shows and events
When invited to comment on the other shows/events respondents like to see, a range of answers were given – listed in Appendix 9. There is a lot of preference from the respondents in this survey for music (as might be anticipated), including classical, opera, and musicals; but films and drama and also important to this audience.
Visiting other theatres/concert halls
Almost 60% of respondents visit other theatres/concert halls. A large range of venues were given; most commonly the Royal Albert Hall – mentioned by 15%; and the Fairfield Halls Croydon – mentioned by 11%. Venues in Brighton – either Dome, Theatre Royal, Pavilion or Centre – were also mentioned. A full list is given in Appendix 10 and is a varied collection.
Responses indicate that other venues are rated about the same as The Hawth. A full list of comments is given in Appendix 11. It is interesting to note that one respondent commented that although the Royal Albert Hall is an amazing venue, the food at The Hawth is superior! The overall impression from the comments made, is that even though The Hawth is not a concert hall and hence does not offer the same scale as say The Royal Albert Hall, it nevertheless does very well as a venue for this type of concert.
41% could not answer the question on other venues as they had not attended elsewhere. However, over half of those who had attended other venues rated them as about the same at The Hawth with fairly equal numbers rating them as better or worse.
Where respondents had indicated that The Hawth was worse than other locations, they most frequently mentioned the Royal Albert Hall as being better, acknowledging that such a location is specifically designed to accommodate orchestras, and so it created the right atmosphere, with a sense of occasion, although more expensive than The Hawth. Similarly, when mentioning the Barbican, Festival Hall, Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne and Cadogan Hall as better locations than the Hawth, they gave similar reasons. The Brighton Dome was preferred by a couple of respondents – one mentioning it had better acoustics and a wider programme than The Hawth.
Profile of Respondent
v Only 2% of the respondents were under the age of 44.
v 98% were aged over 44 years.
v 42% were aged 45-64 and 56% were over the age of 65.
v Approximately two thirds were female.
v 12% considered themselves to have a disability.
Working status very much mirrors the age profile, with 64% retired and under one third in employment.
An explanation was given on the questionnaire for asking a question on household income since it was deemed to be quite sensitive and certain re-assurances were given to respondents as to why it was being sought – namely its usefulness when seeking sponsorship.