London theatre’s Polka and Delfont Mackintosh are leading the way in empowering its diverse customers to navigate their websites effortlessly. By integrating the Recite Me Assistive Toolbar, they’ve significantly reduced customer service enquiries, lightened support team workloads, and improved the overall digital experience for their users.
London’s Diversity and the Need for Inclusive Digital Experiences
London is one of the most diverse cities in the world, with over 300 languages spoken and a population of 1.2 million individuals with disabilities. This diversity makes it essential for businesses, including theatres, to ensure that their services are accessible to all. Recognising the potential barriers faced by such a broad audience, theatres like Delfont Mackintosh and Polka are leading the way in creating inclusive digital experiences for their customers.
Delfont Mackintosh Case Study: Minimising Customer Service Strain
Delfont Mackintosh Theatres is one of the largest London theatre owners, home to iconic productions like Hamilton, Les Misérables, and The Book of Mormon. As part of their commitment to fostering an ‘ethos of inclusivity, ensuring everyone feels respected, valued, and supported’ they implemented the Recite Me Assistive Toolbar.
“After looking at options to improve the accessibility of our website, we found Recite Me to be the best at offering a full service to enable all our patrons to buy tickets and find information effectively.”
Paul Oxley, Sales and Ticketing Director at Delfont Mackintosh
By integrating the Recite Me Assistive Toolbar, Delfont Mackintosh enables every visitor, regardless of their needs, to access the website independently, streamlining the ticket purchasing process and allowing people to explore the theatre’s offerings with ease.
The results speak for themselves. Since launching the toolbar, the theatre has seen a significant drop in customer service enquiries, easing the pressure on its support team.
Paul Oxley shares the measurable results:
“This has resulted in a significant drop in enquiries to our customer service team, as ALL patrons can now easily use our website and all of its functionality.”
This isn’t just a win for customers; it’s a win for the business. Fewer customer service enquiries mean a reduced workload for the team, allowing them to focus on higher-value tasks and improve overall operational efficiency.
Polka Theatres Case Study: Reduce the Reliance on Box Office Support
Polka Theatre, an internationally recognised children’s theatre, aims to ‘improve children’s lives by bringing communities together.’ Welcoming over 125,000 visitors annually, the theatre is committed to breaking down barriers to access, ensuring every child and family can enjoy its creative offerings.
Their website is Central to this mission, which is a vital hub for booking tickets, exploring shows, and accessing essential venue information. Recognising the importance of making this resource available to everyone, Polka Theatre utilises the Recite Me Assistive Toolbar.
“The Recite Me toolbar enables our website viewers to personalise their online journey to their own needs. They can explore the website and all it has to offer instead of having to call the Box Office with specific enquiries.”
Sara Greenwood, Head of Sales and Marketing, Polka Theatre
Since adopting Recite Me in 2021, Polka Theatre has seen measurable results. The toolbar has not only broken down barriers for online visitors but has also significantly reduced the reliance on their small Box Office team.
“Although our Box Office team are always happy to assist with any enquiries, Recite Me allows customers to have more freedom to explore and discover what is of interest to them with greater independence.”
Sara Greenwood, Head of Sales and Marketing, Polka Theatre
This dual benefit—enhanced customer independence and reduced operational strain—has strengthened Polka Theatre’s ability to create an inclusive environment while focusing its resources on delivering world-class creative experiences for children and families.
The Recite Me Assistive Toolbar
The Recite Me cloud-based Assistive Toolbar helps to improve the experience for all users. Simple adjustments like enhanced colour contrast and customisable text size make reading easier for everyone, reducing visual strain and improving comfort. Text-to-speech functionality helps website visitors engage with your online content with ease while on the move.
Ready to Reduce Pressure on Your Customer Service Teams?
The success of Delfont Mackintosh and Polka Theatres shows how assistive technology can make a huge difference for customers helping to build a more inclusive community and as a result, ease stress internally.
Do you want to make your website more inclusive and user-friendly? Reach out to Recite Me today to find out how we can help!
