Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: "Doing the Right Thing=Bad" or "Dustin's Day Managing a Multiplex"

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Topic: "Doing the Right Thing=Bad" or "Dustin's Day Managing a Multiplex"

Tom Ferreira
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 203
From: Conway, NH, USA
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-30-2000 08:21 AM

Believe me, I know the feeling. Last weekend, I was so sick, I left the floor to whoever was down there, and laid down in the booth, getting up only to thread up and start movies(No other projectionist available). This week, our answering machine decided to quit working(do all electronics have an internal sensor that know to break down when you're busy???), so every other person through the door is bitching that they can't get through on the phone. Plus quite a few of the floor staff are new and haven't had to deal with major crowds yet. At least the booth is running OK(knock on lots of wood)

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Travis Cape
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 122
From: St. Louis, MO, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 06-30-2000 10:33 AM

I sympathize with all of the problems. I am not sure whether it is easier to deal with multiple screens or an aging single screen. Last night upon returning from vacation, I found the concession stand grossly overstocked, eight marquee bulbs out, and the owner closed the safe wrong and I couldn't get it open. It was time to open and I was trying to remember how to get the safe open. I eventually took the concession money and opened anyway. After all of that, I approached the booth with caution. Who knows what could have been broken in a week? Everything eventually went very well and the damage was fixed. I find it odd that I have higher standards than the owner.

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 06-30-2000 11:11 AM

Old single-screen houses are interesting. From a booth point of view, they're usually more work than a medium-large (under 15 or so screens) multiplex, since they're usually manually run with changeovers. From the management side, they look like less work on the surface, but they often end up requiring more, since they are usually operated with only a couple of floor employees, so the manager ends up doing more work (cleaning, changing lightbulbs, etc.) than he would be doing in a multiplex. Additionally, the maintenance requirements are usually higher in an older single, since it's common to have a lot of equipment (concession, booth, air-conditioning, boxoffice, etc.) that has been in place for fifty years and is getting toward the end of its useful life...at least, that's been my experience.

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