A Bermudian owned and operated start-up has gone from being a one event ticketing company to running some of the biggest events on the Island.Premier Tickets, which was launched in April 2009 by holding company Fireminds as a solution to provide tickets for the Bermuda Hogges and the Liberty and Neptune Theatres has expanded to offer a whole suite of services including front of house, at the gate and the box office operations, as well as event management.And under the management of Clare Panchaud, customer care manager at Premier Tickets, the company now covers everything from children's events and music concerts to theatre shows, movies and film festivals.The ticketing engine which was designed as a 1.0 version by software developers has been built up to the next level to meet the need for new features that have been and continue to be added over time.Because the engine has been developed in house, the company claims to have a better understanding of ticketing issues to service its customers who range from the paying public to event organisers and answer any of their questions, in addition to special requests. Event organisers have the choice of getting the complete service or renting equipment from Premier Tickets such as iPads for scanning bar codes and computers for orders.“You name, we have quite literally seen and done it all,” said Ms Panchaud. “We are not just an online ticketing company we do everything from ticketing to event management and even handle the accounting for the customer as well if they want.”Ms Panchaud, who joined Premier Tickets almost a year ago, having previously worked as a gym manager, runs the company almost single-handedly with back-up from accountant Delroy Taylor who deals with the cash management and credit card reconciliation side and brings in staff to help manage events depending on their size with about five at bigger occasions.The company prides itself on its high standard of customer care and going the extra mile, as Ms Panchaud has done in numerous instances, including helping to talk a customer through making an online booking over the phone and personally delivering her ticket by hand to her door.It also conducts regular customer satisfaction surveys and runs a 24/7 customer service hotline which is outsourced to the US.Another aspect of the service is helping to take the stress out of event management for the organisers who often have enough on their plate running the actual show and ensure that everything runs smoothly. The organisers can also track ticket sales and progress through the company's reporting system.“Basically I do everything from talking to the organisers about the event they are doing, how we are going to ticket it and whether it is assigned seating or general admission,” said Ms Panchaud.“As far as the ticketing and event management side we are there to help alleviate a big part of the stress for the event organisers.“Where the paying public are concerned we take their bookings on the phone and online, answer any of their questions or queries, and above all make sure that they are happy because at the end of the day all of these events are fun and we want everyone to enjoy them.”Thrown in at the deep end, Ms Panchaud's first event was the Magic of Rick Thomas show at the Fairmont Southampton in February, where her team of four processed 10,000 tickets with 800 people a night coming in the door and everyone in their seats within 42 minutes.“We are flexible so we can either do everything for the customer or rent out the equipment and they can manage it themselves,” she said.The company's system is PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliant meaning that payments are secure, while its also protects its customers money collected from ticket sales for each event in separate bank accounts.It has also branched out into mobile payment solutions with iPads being used at the Mr Vegas Concert presented by Chewstick Foundation and plans to expand its range of services on that front in the future.“For me the job satisfaction is definitely being able to help people,” said Ms Panchaud, who also runs the staff and volunteer training.“A lot of customers are not always computer literate maybe if they are older of don't have that background or knowledge, so I am just there to help them through the process.“I was on the phone for 20 minutes talking to a lady who wanted to book tickets for the Rick Thomas show and was in the entertainment industry. She told me about how she got such fulfillment from making people happy and it is the same thing for me we are here to help people.“It is great to feel as if we are part of the production and a key member of the team in making these events happen we event to get to go back stage and meet the entertainers, and make a point of buying our own tickets to watch the show.”Premier Tickets works in partnership with website Nothing to do in Bermuda and advertises with Emoo and runs Google ads, as well as having its own Facebook and Twitter pages, thus also in return giving its sponsors maximum exposure.Leveraging its technology has enabled the company to offer some new state-of-the-art features such as virtual views from each seat within the theatre, most of which are based on customer demand, as tailor its service to individual event organisers' requirements a case in point which was the Bermuda International Film Festival's customised portal. Meanwhile Sean Collier and his team at Cosmic Design have been instrumental in designing the graphics for the website, which is due to be updated over the next two months.Most recently the company launched Premier Golf a centralised tee time booking system in partnership with the Department of Tourism. The company has plans to expand into other areas as its capacity grows such as class bookings, memberships and charity donations.For more information contact 278-1500, e-mail info[AT]premiertickets.bm, or visit the websites at www.premiertickets.bm and www.premiergolf.bm