🎯 Friction at a Booking team - Berlin Club

What happens when your booking system scales, but your communication doesn’t.

1. The Problem

The club had grown. Three bookers now handled Friday-to-Monday programming. But the system didn’t grow with them.

• Hundreds of artists reached out weekly.

• Most never got a reply.

• Bookers were drowning in inboxes.

• Artists were frustrated, anxious, and sending follow-up after follow-up.

The result? A reputation risk for the club and mental overload for the team.

2. The Internal Friction

• Bookers: Too busy to answer everyone, too burnt out to explain why.

• Artists: Feeling ghosted. Talking shit. Not coming back.

• Founders: Didn’t see a problem—until it became one.

3. Our Intervention

We stepped in to reduce friction without increasing headcount.

• Mapped the flow from artist request → inbox → decision → ghosting.

• Talked with bookers: where they get stuck, what they avoid, what they hate.

• Found the bottleneck: they didn’t want to be rude, so they said nothing.

4. The Solution

We built a lightweight, scalable system:

• Database of artists (last gig, notes, category)

• 4 pre-show response templates

• 4 post-show response templates

• All tone-matched to feel personal without wasting time I.E:
  

  📩 PRE-SHOW EMAIL TEMPLATES

  
  
  
  

  1. Fully Booked

     “Thanks for reaching out. Our calendar is packed for the next few months. We won’t be booking you during this period. Please reach out again after four months.”

  2. Not a Fit

     “We respect your work, but your current sound doesn’t align with our programming. We won’t be booking you at this time.”

  3. Under Consideration

     “Thanks for getting in touch. We like your direction and will consider you for future dates. We’ll reach out when something opens.”

  4. Pending Evaluation

     “We’re reviewing your material and will get back to you soon. Appreciate your patience.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  📤 POST-SHOW EMAIL TEMPLATES

  
  
  
  

  1. Great Performance

     “You delivered a great set. We’ll definitely keep you in mind for future bookings.”

  2. Room for Improvement

     “Thanks for your set. There’s potential, but a few things need work. We won’t be rebooking in the next 3–4 months. Feel free to check in after that.”

  3. Not Rebooked

     “Thanks for your time. We’re moving in a different direction and won’t be rebooking in the near future.”

  4. Future Potential

     “Good energy overall. We’re not rebooking right now, but we see potential for something further down the line. Let’s stay in touch.”

  
  

Now:

• Bookers write almost zero emails manually. (only a few words to make it personal if needed)

• Artists feel seen, even when they’re not selected.

• Line-ups are tighter. Stress is lower. Reputation is intact.

5. What It Cost to Do Nothing

Before the fix:

• 60+ artist follow-ups per week

• Burnout creeping in

• Chaos in every planning cycle

The price of silence? Reputation erosion.

6. Improvements

In progress.

Got a similar mess?

Your team’s too good to drown in inboxes. Let’s fix it before your reputation pays the price.

📩 Let´s talk: mentor@thefrictiondept.com