When I have worked with museums with cafes or gift shops in the past, they
always let people in, telling them if they want to see the museum as well
they need to pay admission. And most of the museums I have been to let you
as well. The question is, what is better- to instill good will but maybe
lose a few admissions or have make people in some way pay for the pleasure
of spending their money, which could well make them grumpy or not fond of
your institution. If the admission is so important to your operations that
risking losing a few a week is an issue, increase cafe prices so that the
average diner will pay the admission fee in the food.


Pamela Feltus
Curator
National Museum of American Jewish Military History
1811 R Street NW, Washington DC 20009
202-265-6280 x201

www.nmajmh.org




> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jay Heuman [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2001 2:33 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Admission for cafe access?
>
>
> Hi Melinda!
>
> We discussed the idea of a "cafe only" membership.
>
> As our Director of Marketing & Public Relations pointed out,
> if you could get a cafe only membership for, let's say $10
> or $15 per year (including a 10% discount on food
> purchases) -- with access to all galleries -- why would you
> buy an individual membership which is $35 per year?
>
> We have some real die-hard cafe patrons who have purchased
> memberships . . . and I think our leverage is to say (1) you
> have to pay $6 each visit to the cafe OR (2)  buy an
> individual membership ($35) -- which includes a 10%
> discount.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Jay Heuman, Visitor & Volunteer Services Coordinator
> Joslyn Art Museum, 2200 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE, 68102
> 342-3300 (telephone)     342-2376 (fax)
> http://www.joslyn.org
>
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Museum discussion list
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
> > Behalf Of Melinda Gilpin, Site Manager
> > Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2001 1:22 pm
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: Admission for cafe access?
> >
> >
> > Just an idea, but what about a "cafe only" membership?
> Maybe regular
> > patrons can choose to pay an annual fee that entitles them
> to
> > admission to
> > the cafe only, and it  might increase the number of visits
> > from these type
> > of individuals.  If there are no plans to waive admission
> for
> > the cafe only,
> > this may be a nice way of attracting more business and
> > maintaining some
> > income from these patrons.
> >
> > Personally, I doubt I'd pay admission to eat lunch
> somewhere
> > on a regular
> > basis, but I might consider this type of membership if the
> > cafe is a place I
> > enjoy spending time.  I'd also heavily push full museum
> > membership to this
> > crowd - give them some type of "teaser" benefits (like one
> > newsletter per
> > year instead of four, whatever) that shows them they are
> > receiving only part
> > of what they could w/ full membership.
> >  Good Luck!
>
> =========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
> http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain
> detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a
> one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The
> body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
>
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line
> e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of
> the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).