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Author Topic: Nightly or Weekly inventory? Mike Spaeth Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1129 From: Marietta, GA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 12-15-2004 10:08 PM                        A nightly inventory with cash? That's basically just counting the drawers, isn't it?  |  IP: Logged Dan Costello Film Handler Posts: 3 From: Green Bay, WI USA Registered: Jan 2004 posted 12-16-2004 10:12 AM                    what would be the point of counting cups and bags?  |  IP: Logged Jeremy Fuentes Mmmm, Dr. Pepper! Posts: 1168 From: Corpus Christi, TX United States Registered: Jan 2004 posted 12-16-2004 10:16 AM                     I do it for fun!  |  IP: Logged Andy Aggieri Film Handler Posts: 34 From: Las Vegas, NV Registered: Apr 2004 posted 12-16-2004 10:34 AM                     quote: Dan Costello what would be the point of counting cups and bags? Don't you want to know if your cashiers are ringing up cups and bags correctly, are people walking out with your product? A bag or cup may not cost much, but what about all the sales you lost when they walked out.  |  IP: Logged Jason Black Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1723 From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 12-16-2004 11:25 AM                        Dan, For theatres who keep any type of formal inventory, counting the cups and bags (or tubs where applicable) is the only TRUE method of knowing how your inventory stands on a daily basis. Not counting salable items and only reconciling cash is a recipe that only breeds theft in it's purest form. You could very well be thousands of $$$$ short without even knowing it if a stock count isn't done on a regualr basis. At a smaller theatre I can see maybe that a once/week count would suffice, however, at larger theatres nothing short of a nightly count is acceptable, IMO.  |  IP: Logged Jason M Miller Master Film Handler Posts: 284 From: Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA Registered: Jul 2004 posted 12-16-2004 01:06 PM                     We do the sellables twice a week and non-selleables once a week, if it is bad then we goto nightlies  |  IP: Logged Dave Williams Wet nipple scene Posts: 1836 From: Salt Lake City, UT, USA Registered: Jan 2000 posted 12-16-2004 02:47 PM                        WHen I ran a theater I had done it this way... Full Morning inventory, to verify no theft overnight. Day shift inventory, done by each person that comes on shift to verify thier own personal inventory. Evening shift inventory, done by both day and evening shift personnel to ensure personal inventories. Full Closing Inventory. It is quick and effective, if you limit the stock on hand to staff, and properly organize your back stock and limit access to that. I never spent more than one hour per day TOTAL on inventory, and my staff never spent more than 20 minutes per day total each person on inventory. As a result, I never had more than 0.02 PERCENT inventory loss. Just knowing that you were going to be held accountable BY YOUR JOB if your stuff came up missing, kept the employees not just honest, but ON THE BALL as well. Each concessionist was responsible for thier candy, bag and cup allottment. During rush times when we had soda jerks and popcorn baggers, they were responsible for thier allotment, not the concessionist, however the concessionist was responsible to provide a bag and or cup voucher to the bagger/jerk to account for the allotments. The cashier was required to account for thier bag/cup voucher allottments, as if they were bags and or cups. I ran the counter like a bank runs thiers. Full accountability. It sounds like a lot of trouble, but it really isnt. The system when in place correctly runs very smoothly. I also had very low turnover. WIth all the checks and balances in place, there was no problems with any trust issues. As a result, we all trusted each other, no in fighting, no need for terminations for theft, no mass exodus, etc. In four years I had a total turnover of six people. ciao baby dave  |  IP: Logged Adam Heath Film Handler Posts: 20 From: Rock Island, IL Registered: Dec 2004 posted 12-23-2004 03:06 PM                     We count out each station per shift...complete building inventory nightly. With RTS it is real easy to set up the inventory for each register. Our overage/shortage for 2003 was ($36.00). This year won't even be close to that but it will still be under 2 percent. I've never had anything even close to these numbers at any of the other theaters I have worked.  |  IP: Logged Matthew Peters Expert Film Handler Posts: 179 From: Glen Waverley, Melbourne, Australia Registered: Nov 2002 posted 12-24-2004 08:17 AM                     At the theatre I’m working for we do a counter stocktake twice daily… includes popcorn buckets and drink cups as well. Although it’s more for working out sales than anything else… still in the dark ages, no point of sale or even a cash-drawer, the notes just float along the rear counter in a sea of money. So you just count what stock is left out at the end of the shift and work out what you should have sold, add it up (by hand) and check if it matches the cash taken. But we do have a pseudo “building inventory” spread over a week or two, basically 3 items are counted per day and these items are rotated so at the end of a week or two all items would have been checked.  |  IP: Logged Brent Mahaney Film Handler Posts: 43 From: Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA Registered: Dec 2001 posted 12-26-2004 12:01 PM                    I have done both weekly and nightly inventories, and I don't understand why anybody would want to do it on a weekly basis. You're just asking for it. If a concessions person is having trouble paying the rent and decides to phantom sell for a few extra dollars, you are going to be able to catch them more easily if you track your inventory daily. At the very least, you can narrow it down to a couple of shifts.  |  IP: Logged Jim Ziegler Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 753 From: West Hollywood, CA Registered: Jul 99 posted 12-29-2004 03:32 PM                     Sometimes inventory control can get out of hand.. Some examples: When I worked for Century, we did nightlies that cost more in payroll (with CA labor laws, everyone was on overtime) that the shortages they prevented. At a 20 screen I was working at in KC, our concession department head set up a very elaborate station inventory that was taking her hours a night to wade through, and she was still having massive shortages (hit 10% of sales one week) - clearly those hours were wasted. Obviously, she was busted down. My ushers and I took it over, threw out her inventory system, and all but one of her employees, and shortages were back down below 0.5%. No matter how much work you put into your inventory, a creative employee can still rip you off. Sometimes nightlies are necessary, but, they are not a cure all. I have found that the easiest way to combat shortages is not thorough complex inventory systems, but by more careful selection of employees.  |  IP: Logged David Yauch Expert Film Handler Posts: 206 From: Mesa, AZ, USA Registered: Oct 2004 posted 12-29-2004 08:52 PM                     We count everything nightly, and cups for each register after every shift. Bags are counted per "team" of 3-5 registers each shift. The person working backbar is responsible for making sure they aren't losing bags, and the team leader is responsible for making sure the concessionists are giving out the right bags. Candy is inventoried by pairing 2 registers together for each candy case. The candy is stocked to certain levels at the end of the night, and is verified(along with cups and bags) by the staff at the beginning of their shift. Their movie pass privelages are revoked if there register is off by more than a quarter of 1 percent, and the team leader loses their passes if the team accuracy is off by more than a quarter of 1 percent as well. It may sound confusing, but it isn't. A HORRIBLE weekly inventory would be around .10 over/short. Not much trust floating around when you have almost 200 staff.  |  IP: Logged

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