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Author Topic: ? on UPSELLING! Chase Hanson Expert Film Handler Posts: 172 From: San Diego, CA Registered: Oct 2004 posted 02-26-2005 09:07 PM                     quote: Remember: employees are always a "liability" in a theatre. They drain the profits out of the income, after film expenses, with the wages that they earn, yet if they are not "producinc" it back with upselling and suggestive selling, your profits will never recoup with this imbalance of the overhead and profit margin tables. Employees are an [u]asset[/u]. Employees are your revenue generators, a movie theater without employees is 60,000 sqr/ft of property tax liablility.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 02-27-2005 05:53 PM                     quote: Chase Hanson Employees are your revenue generators TRUE, very TRUE! ..as long as they are the greatest "salespersons" behind the counter selling as hard as they can if they are trained and aware of company policies of the upselling and suggestive selling. (sorry on the xplosive terminology. I know of a small chain that the employees don't have a clue about these two very important factors and the company wonders on why revenues aren't being made and the profit margin is hard to maintain...) -Monte  |  IP: Logged Chase Hanson Expert Film Handler Posts: 172 From: San Diego, CA Registered: Oct 2004 posted 02-28-2005 03:38 PM                     Nope. An average Concessionist in our theater (and pretty much in our market) generates enough revenue in a 6 hour shift to A)pay their wages for that shift B)Recoupe the wages payed out to train them up to that point in time (which is generally about 6-8 hours) C) still make a small profit. That is 100% ROI  |  IP: Logged Mike Spaeth Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1129 From: Marietta, GA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 02-28-2005 04:35 PM                        Chase ... in a busy complex like you are referring to ... an untrained monkey could sell enough to cover those minimal costs that you mentioned ... the goal is to have an employee who MAXIMIZES PROFITS. If everyone just sold enough to cover his payroll and training costs ... where is the money coming from to operate THE REST OF THE BUILDING? Who pays the construction costs of the building?  |  IP: Logged Chase Hanson Expert Film Handler Posts: 172 From: San Diego, CA Registered: Oct 2004 posted 03-02-2005 04:04 AM                     Untrained monkeys tend to work more than one concession shift in their life. So every subsequent concessions shift after Cost "B" (training) no longer needs to be recouped and becomes Revenue. But hey its not like I add Opportunity Cost to my Cost of Training estimates.  |  IP: Logged Jim Ziegler Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 753 From: West Hollywood, CA Registered: Jul 99 posted 03-02-2005 01:47 PM                     Chase, Your level of training can drastically affect your profitability. Training has a "force multiplier" effect on your crew. 10 to 12 highly trained concessionists can to the job of 20 poorly trained ones. If you are playing you highly trained ones, say $7 and your poorly trained ones $6, thats nearly a 30% drop in payroll costs as well as your customer satisfaction being higher.  |  IP: Logged Chase Hanson Expert Film Handler Posts: 172 From: San Diego, CA Registered: Oct 2004 posted 03-02-2005 03:12 PM                     I keep forgetting im on the intarweb. Jim, I understand that QoSrv is directly related to QoTrn. I wrote a paper on this subject matter based on data that took from one of the theaters that I worked at. By the time I was done, and actually was able to sit back in my chair and take in all the compiled information in one solid chunk. It made my head spin to actually see the theater throwing away an additional 7 transactions an hour for that concessionist AND an additional 2 transactions an hour for each concessionist immediately adjecent to that new concessionist, just to save an hour and halfs worth of training payroll. Its because of this information that I find myself saying "You are paying to train them reguardless of how you arrange the numbers, its the cost thats different." We just got out Guest Satisfaction numbers back for the month, everything under the concessions heading was down a tenth of a point (which is pretty big move given responce totals). Long sleeves keep pointing on the MADIAM binder, all I see are 14 new concessionists that had two hours shaved from their already inadequete training.  |  IP: Logged Jason Black Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1723 From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 03-04-2005 11:36 PM                        I had to terminate employees today due to the lack of upselling/suggestive selling to a checking service... How hard is it to simply ask "Would you like to try a combo today?" Jesus F'ng Christ... is it REALLY worth losing a job over? I can't say it's due to lack of training. I (& my ass'ts, excuse me, staff leaders)continually monitor the employees and correct them as needed. In addition, I generally have a staff leader working alongside them on weekends... Even in casual conversation of taking a patrons order, it is THAT difficult to say, how 'bout some candy with that tonight? Or "what kind of candy would you like with this?" Damnit, I hate letting people go, especially when it's something as simple as this... Now, in addition to being staffed to the bare bones, I have lost two employees who covered weekend shifts. Due to the new hiring procedures we must undertake, it will be the middle to end of next week before I get anyone else on board... Background checks, getting my ad in the paper, interviewing (which, in this area basically consits of holding a mirror to the mouth -just kidding, but staffing is a HUGE problem in this resort area), and getting them trained... It's one big viscous cycle I tell ya...  |  IP: Logged Jim Ziegler Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 753 From: West Hollywood, CA Registered: Jul 99 posted 03-05-2005 12:02 AM                     I can see why you are leaving Jason.. The odd part is that your company probably spends more replacing people than it loses by them not upselling..  |  IP: Logged Kyle Caudill Film Handler Posts: 92 From: Wichita Falls, TX Registered: May 2002 posted 03-05-2005 03:14 AM                     What are your new hiring policies?  |  IP: Logged Jason Black Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1723 From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 03-05-2005 04:08 PM                        Kyle, Background checks which require a disclosure form being faxed to the HO. I generally get a reply in 3 days, if I'm lucky. I faxed one in on Monday and got a reply TODAY. Magnify this by the immediate loss of two employees on an already short staffed theatre and you see where it leaves me... I like the idea of background checks. We shoudl have been doing them YEARS ago. It should be a faster process, but having it centralized to the home office to handle slows down the process, especially when either of the two individuals responsible for keying in the faxed info are out of work or behind schedule... Jim, You're pretty close to being on the money. I continue to emphasize to my staff, if the person working the drive throughat Taco Bell can ask me if I'd like to double my meat for an additional .50, then they can greet a customer with "Hello, woudl you like to try a combo tonight?" It's aggravating on both sides... I hate being upsold. If I tell you what I want, rest assured, it's what I want. Tehn again, I'm more of an educated consumer... Oh well, another day goes by...  |  IP: Logged Mike Spaeth Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1129 From: Marietta, GA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 03-05-2005 04:09 PM                        Are you kidding me? Background checks on floor staff?? I'm all for it for management positions ... but it seems to be a waste of time for simple floor staff that turns over fairly quickly in the grand scheme of things.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-05-2005 05:43 PM                        What, exactly, does a background check consist of? (yes,I know I ended that sentence with a preposition...shoot me) Is it just a criminal records check, or is there more to it than that?  |  IP: Logged Dustin Mitchell Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1865 From: Mondovi, WI, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 03-05-2005 06:21 PM                     Not just background checks, background AND credit checks. And when existing employees turn 18 they must also go through a background and credit check.  |  IP: Logged Jason Black Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1723 From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 03-06-2005 03:57 PM                        Criminal history is required on all applicants age 18 and above. The local level manager is informed if the applicant is eligible for hire from the HR dept. This often takes 4 days, so you really have to read the magic 8 ball when it comes to hiring. How is one to know when a staff member will up and quit without notice? Had it happen this weekend, AFTER having to terminate the aforementioned two employees. School and softball was too much for her, so the job had to go. I respect that, but it doesn't make it any easier on me knowing what hoops I must jump through to hire anyone else. UNLESS I take advantage of the caveat of hiring a 16 or 17 year old. Then, you see, no background check is required. Also, the applicants sign off on a credit history check, but, to my knowledge, they are not performed. I've had a few not sign off on it and they were still eligible for hire. I didn't sign off on it myself, out of principle alone. After 16 years NOW you want to check my credit? Pffff, whatever. Scott/Mike, Yes, these checks are required on ANYONE considered for hire. My method is to simply fax in the disclosures prior to setting up an interview. Why waste my time talking to someone who isn't even eligible for hire? All in all, I understand why this needs to be done, but that doesn't make it any easier around here. This is such an employee driven market that by the time I get an answer the person has likely been hired twice over at other locations. I also am required to complete these background checks on my exchange students, whom, might I add, are all on J-1 Visa's which, as you may know, are under the careful scrutiny of the US Guv'ment. So why do we throw good money after bad? Actually, this is all nothing more than a result of the changes implemented after the bankruptcy proceedings. I'm unclear if this was a condition of emergence or if this is a mandate of the controlling stockholder(s) (Goldman Sachs). I feel like GS has initiated most of the new 'red-tape' style policies that now govern our operations. Most everyone is so tight lipped about it that it's doubtful the truth will ever be known. At any rate, background checks have saved the company from hiring a few individuals that had issues but when you still leave yourself open to 16/17 year olds that you can't check into, what good is it? Especially in such a high turnover, low age job field? Dustin, shoot me an email...  |  IP: Logged

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