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Topic: Ridiculous customer/show scheduling

Tom Kroening
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 214
From: Janesville, WI USA
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 10-01-2000 11:39 AM

Here's my two cents worth. If a move shows at 9:15, and two people come in at 9:30 wanting to see it you don't have to show it. If someone has a 12:45 flight and it leaves, its not coming back for anyone thats late. Now I personally will start the movie if someone shows up late, but thats me. Our last show starts at 10:20 or 10:30 so im there late anyway, and this way ill have an extra few minutes to do some maintanence. I usually start everything on the weekends, and on weekday mornings i *might* track customers by using the computer, but if i'm doing something else in between starts its much quicker to start everything.

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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 10-01-2000 01:35 PM

Its just my opinion that it is our job to do whatever it takes to make the customer happy. Many people do not like previews, so they intentionaly come late. I really don't see the problem with starting every show. If no one shows up, just turn off your lamp.

Airports? Trains? Buses? We're not a transportation company, we're movie theatres.

Don't get me wrong guys, bitch all you want on the forums, I hate it when customers do stuff like this too. But in front of the customer, you should be apologetic and accomodate every need you possibly can.

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Sean McKinnon
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1712
From: Peabody Massachusetts
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 10-01-2000 02:04 PM

Starting everything is a good policy and just extinguishing the lamp is good (thats what I do) but... what about that thursday night you built up all your films and tore down all that you could theres only one teardown left. The 10:20 showing of the nine reel "art" film that no one has come for all week you could

A. Not run it tear it down and leave bye 11:00

b.run it and leave bye 2:00am

?????? I know what I would do...

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Mike Spaeth
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1129
From: Marietta, GA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 10-01-2000 02:45 PM

"I know what I would do"

I would run the film! Especially in the days of declining box office - every customer makes a difference! Why risk losing a customer so that you can tear down a show early. You should've been planning on tearing it down late anyways. I wholeheartedly agree with everything Dustin is saying in this thread. It is one thing if a customer is demanding something beyond your control, but if you can do something about it (especially something as simple as starting a show because they happen to be late), by all means do it. They are paying for a service, so by all means provide that service!

I once heard a saying that applies very well. "Very few people will tell their friends about good service, but everyone will tell all of their acquaintances (not just friends) when they receive bad service."

We tell our employees "You have the power to do whatever it takes to please a customer." (and we mean it) - so management should be doing the same thing - leading by example.

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Russ Kress
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 202
From: Charleston, WV, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 10-01-2000 10:12 PM

Tom,

My Ballantyne PRO-35 could hardly be compared to an airliner! (LOL)

It's turn-around time is faster and to date there has not been a single FAA service directive issued on this model!

Okay, you advertise that your showing of "The Attack of the Obnoxious Theatre Employee" is scheduled to start at 9:35.

Well, 9:35 rolls around and no one is there yet. This is your moment of greatness!

You can either A, start the film and insure that you will get to leave when the schedule said you would, or you can B, leave it idle and PRAY that no one shows up late.

If you chose to start it, you just say "That selection has already started. Is that okay?"

If you make the direct decision to NOT start it, you alone are responsible for going home late.

Since the standard projector never actually lifts off of the runway, there is no need to refuse admissions simply because they arrive late.

They could always stay home and press "play" at any time they chose to. They chose instead to come to your theatre.

Next time, they might just stay home.

I would,

Russ

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Tom Kroening
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 214
From: Janesville, WI USA
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 10-02-2000 02:00 AM

Thats exactly why I always start the movie. At the same time I understand people's reasoning for not starting them. When It all boils down to it read your corporate policy. If it states that you must start all movies then start a movie late when someone comes. If its up to you then its up to you! But like i said, I usually start all the movies. Working at an 18 plex, threading a couple more movies is all the same to me( just more practice on my presentation!)

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 10-02-2000 03:41 PM

When we get turkeys that aren't doing very well (and hence the liklihood of no-show performances) I run commercials and trailers on a 2,000ft spool, then the feature from a platter. That way if no one is there after the trailers have finished, we cancel the show. If someone does appear late, then we work out if we still have time to show the feature before the next screening in that auditorium is supposed to start, and if so, we'll show it. If not, then we've saved a bit of print wear and a couple of lamp hours.

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Steve Scott
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1300
From: Minneapolis, MN
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 10-03-2000 02:39 PM

My theater is run by a small, local corporate office, but GM makes the schedule every week. He likes to run the shows continuous thru matinee showings, except at night, when he makes a break from 8 til 9. This is a good time for me to send employees on break, clean the lobby, or change mylars. We alternate shows too, but some are just common sense moves.
For example: when we shoed Pokemon 2000, we put Gladiator on that screen for the night shows, casue you don't find a lot of kids or adults going to a 9:30 show of Pokemon!
More recently, we kept Disney's The Kid (oh the horror of printing that entire title on tickets which the ushers can't understand!) and alternated it with Coyote Ugly at night. We had only a few people complain about that one.:rolleyes:

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Chad Souder
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 962
From: Waterloo, IA, USA
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 10-03-2000 10:21 PM

If you guys are wanting to take the gamble of not starting a show, and then just going to buckle and start it late anyway, all you need to do is put something in writing somewhere that says you won't start movies more than 15 minutes late if there are no other ticket purchases. We personally start them late for whoever, but if you don't want to, just put it in writing, and then they can't complain.

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"Asleep at the switch? I wasn't asleep, I was drunk!" - Homer Simpson

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Jesse Skeen
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1517
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 10-04-2000 02:08 AM

I know a few ways to stop films after they've started and either re-start them right away or at least have them ready to start for the next day in shorter time than it would take to run the movie to an empty theater. This is why I always start shows on time, but if someone were to come 10 minutes late to a show that ended early anyways I could easily re-start it from the beginning; conversely if I'm running the very last showing of "The Patriot" that ends at 1 AM and has to be broken down as soon as it's over, I can save about 3 hours if it turns out all the trailers are over but nobody's bought tickets. I certainly don't 'hate' people for coming to a movie, but I feel like the show's gone to waste if one person shows up for that last show and ends up leaving during the end credits; that says to me they didn't appreciate the movie. That's just my opinion though, I might be wrong.

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Greg Pauley
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 173
From: Huntington, WV, USA
Registered: Jun 2000

posted 10-04-2000 06:35 AM

As Russell mentioned above we require our managers to start all movies for each show regardless if a ticket is purchased. We do allow the manager to make a decision on Thursday night not to start a film if nobody shows up at showtime, but if a customer shows up they must start the film late. I think you have to remember that we work for the customer in the end. Their is a very small segment of the population that attend movies and that segment returns to our theatres over and over again. You might think that it's just one or two customers, but those customers might reflect 10 to 20 visits a year. We as an industry under fire from other forms of entertainment can't afford to lose any of our customer base. If a customer drives 20 miles to come to your theatre and you refuse them a ticket because of being late, you will lose that customer the next time to your competitor or Blockbuster. If we lose enough, we will be forced to get a real job.

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Michael Gonzalez
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 790
From: Grand Island , NE USA
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 10-04-2000 04:44 PM

I usually take the gamble and not start the movie until I have a paying customer. There are a number of reason for this and the biggest being is that I run a nine plex. We are currently running 13 seperate prints (that is a lot of splits) because of how slow things have been lately, it has typically been myself and one other staff person running the theater on a weekday night. It just makes more since to me to start movies as customers show up rather than starting nine movies when we only have customers for four of them. However I am prepared to suffer the conquences if a customer show up 20 minutes late for "What Lies Beneath" even though we had it for 11 going on 12 weeks.

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Dennis Atkinson
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 129
From: Birch Run Michigan
Registered: Feb 2000

posted 10-04-2000 05:58 PM

There is a brass plaque near the entrance of the place I work.
It says
"All of our customers bring us happiness.
Some by coming - others by going."

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 10-05-2000 11:50 AM

Jesse,

How exactly are you pulling the center ring, running the previews and then stopping the movie, only to turn right around and break the film down WITHOUT damaging the film? I'd like to hear this.

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Sean M. Grimes
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 247
From: Lunenburg, MA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 10-05-2000 05:47 PM

Brad,

Very simple to break down the movie without a center ring all one really has to do is creep the bulid table so slowly that you might as well just speed wind through the movie and break it down as you normally would. hahaha

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