my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Ground Level   » DRIVE-INS: Car-Counters (Page 2)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Author Topic: DRIVE-INS: Car-Counters Scott McGuire Film Handler Posts: 94 From: Elmira, NY/United States Registered: Oct 2007 posted 02-25-2008 01:08 AM                     I understand that a car counter would help you match the number of transactions going through the box to the number of cars being rung up as going through. That still doesn’t tell you how many people are in the car. So I don’t see how a car counter would help. I guess I do not understand your logic behind the need for a car counter to keep a cashier honest. If they want to skim the box they just say a car has 2 people instead of 5 and charge for 5, as you said most people throw the receipt out any way, then they can put the cash for 3 people in their pocket. If you think they are skimming just cut their hours down enough that they will quit or find another job with more hours, then you don’t have to fire them. There is aways someone looking for a job and they can be replaced. Just came up with a great idea, put in a fake car counter.  |  IP: Logged Sean McKinnon Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1712 From: Peabody Massachusetts Registered: Sep 2000 posted 02-25-2008 10:05 AM                        quote: Scott McGuire If you think they are skimming just cut their hours down enough that they will quit or find another job with more hours, then you don’t have to fire them. I have worked with people who used the above method to get rid of people. I think that it is cowardly and dishonest. If you think that someone is stealing from you it is your job as a manager to investigate and terminate the employee, simply cutting ones hours does not ensure that they will quit and also opens them up to be able to file for unemployment. In my opinion if a manager is unable or unwilling to investigate theft/dishonesty, document it, and deal with it in an apropriate manner then they should find another job. I just dont see the need for taking the easy way out.  |  IP: Logged Scott McGuire Film Handler Posts: 94 From: Elmira, NY/United States Registered: Oct 2007 posted 02-25-2008 11:51 AM                     I have only had this happen once and it was a family member doing it,i guess that is why we took the easy way out. I'm pretty sure that if someone quits their job they are not eligble for unemployment.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 02-26-2008 09:53 AM                        Barry's method of multiplying people by the number of cars in the field will bring you closer than you might think. Past that, the ticket issue is mainly a matter of training. Rather than roll off a whole speech to every customer, we put the important stuff on the ticket, then tell them that's where everything they need to know is. The first thing the ticket says, after the number of paid admits, is "KEEP THIS TICKET." Well, it says a few more things, like the ticket must be presented to any theatre staff, parking and sound information, etc. It gives people a reason to keep it. You might find out that, given a choice between finding their ticket and being required to leave, most people will miraculously come up with it. Of those left, most will fess up to having more in the car then they paid for (then they leave). Not so many will really go to the effort to actually toss the ticket. At least that's the way it's worked out here.  |  IP: Logged Sean McKinnon Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1712 From: Peabody Massachusetts Registered: Sep 2000 posted 02-26-2008 10:02 AM                        In most states if an employee can prove that thier work hours were drastically cut then that makes them elligible, if not for that then employers could keep workers on the books and just schedule them for no hours and say that they are still employed instead of laying them off, so in order to protect against that if an employee can prove a drastic cut in hours then they can get unemployment.  |  IP: Logged Mark Hajducki Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 500 From: Edinburgh, UK Registered: May 2003 posted 02-26-2008 06:35 PM                     A local toll bridge had issues with staff theft, they solved these by adding a large display, visible to the driver, which stated the amount paid. They also added a display onto the roof of each pay booth (visible to the management) details of the last transaction.  |  IP: Logged Scott D. Neff Theatre Dork Posts: 919 From: San Francisco, CA Registered: Oct 1999 posted 02-26-2008 09:38 PM                        Mark - that's what made me ask all this in the first place. EPRAD's copyright for one of their car counter systems had that exact thing and for some reason now that you mention it it's not an idea that I've thought of with our recent discussion of computer upgrades at our drive-ins. My concern would be vandalism of the monitors when left un-attended for 3/4 of the day. Jack - you bring up some great points. Giving people a reason to keep their ticket is great logic. I suppose as a chain we're still climbing back up the hill of getting managers out of the office and into the field to enforce screen-jumping and sneak-ins. And Sean - I couldn't agree more. Cutting people's hours is never the way to go. All it does is piss them off to the point where if in fact they were stealing, now they're just doing it more and telling everybody else how to do it so that by the time you would have caught them, 3 more people are stealing and now the original culprit just blends in.  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.