Editing, Updating or Deleting a Patron Record

The process of inserting and saving a new patron record is fully demonstrated in the section Entering a New Patron Record.

Updating patron records is an ongoing process as people move, get new phone numbers or email addresses, add family members to their household, or need to be separated into households of their own. In general, we use a rule to keep our records fully updated and accurate:

When we listen to our patrons, we use our EAR:

• We get it Early,
• We get it All,
• We get it Right

• Early. Just as soon as you are aware of an addition, change or deletion of data for a patron record, you should update the record at that time. Then, when you need it, it is there - rather than having to "backfill" data when you want it.
• All. Collect all the information. Even if you think it may not be valuable today, it may be tomorrow. Your Development and Marketing Departments will thank you when they wonder how many Hearing Impaired patrons you have, and you can answer them! Get everyone in the household so that when Mrs. Jones calls in to buy additional tickets for their guests, she can see where Mr. Jones purchased the original tickets.
• Right. Incorrect information does nobody any good. So if you are going to collect the information, make sure it is accurate. Get the proper spelling of a patron's name. Spell their street address correctly. Look for similarly named patrons in the database and determine if this is the same patron, and if so merge the patrons into a corrected file.

Keeping the data clean and accurate keeps your organization ready for mailings, sales and contacts, and keeps you looking professional.

To Edit or Update a Patron Record

1. Locate a patron record.


2. Click on the Household Patrons tab, or the Contact info tab, or the Address tab.


3. Click on the button in the lower left corner.

   This will open the Contact window.

   
   
   

   You may make any necessary changes within the Contact card that you need to update the file, including Adding or removing an address.

To Delete a Patron Record

It is important to remember that Theatre Manager does not allow you to delete patron records except in very specific circumstances. The concept is that even if a patron moves away or passes, you still want to maintain records of the activity they enjoyed while they were with you. A patron may move away and then return. Or you may wish to keep records of what the patron enjoyed while they were alive for donation requests from their estate.

If a patron has done any transactions with you - bought a ticket, made a donation, purchased a gift certificate, pass or a subscription, then they cannot be deleted. Theatre Manager simply will not let them. You may, at your discretion, mark them as "Deceased" on the Marketing tab in their patron record. If a patron is marked as deceased, a warning will pop-up if you attempt to sell tickets to them, reminding you that they are no longer with us. Additionally, deceased persons are not added to Mail Lists - so you don't make the mistake of mailing your brochure to a widow/widower. You can, however, accept a donation from a deceased person, in the event their estate makes a bequest.

In the event that you have a patron in your database that you wish to delete, and they meet the above criteria (never bought a ticket, never made a donation, never had a financial transaction of any kind), you may:

1. Locate the patron you wish to delete.


2. Click the button.


3. Confirm the deletion.



The patron will be deleted.

From here you can: Return to learn about navigating in Theatre Manager. Learn about finding a patron record. Learn about entering a new patron record. Jump to selling a ticket.