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Topic: Anyone work for Carmike theatres?

Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

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

posted 04-15-2005 01:42 AM

Monte, actually worked for a former Excellence man, Mike Olson, for many years. When I worked for him he was a theatre manager for Carmike but back in Excellence days he was marketing director for all their theatres in Wisconsin.

Larry Hanson now has his own booking company (and, coincidentaly enough, does the booking for Mike Olson's new theatre in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin). Tim Warner is President of Cinemark International. I have met them both, albeit breifly.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 04-15-2005 01:29 PM

Tim Warner got his start in Montana. He was part of a company called Theater Operators Inc., which sold out to Essaness Theatres, which in turn sold out to Excellence.

Warner also had a booking company called Warner Marketing. When he went to work for Cinemark, he sold that company to Verl Clark, who worked for him. Verl renamed the company Clark Film Buying. They how have three bookers on staff. That company books for my theatre today, along with a couple hundred other locations in the northwest.

Just a bit of history for you history buffs. [Smile]

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Timothy Ervin
Film Handler

Posts: 84
From: Oklahoma
Registered: Jan 2001

posted 04-15-2005 06:39 PM

Carmike isn't bad, they are not great either. But is there any theatre company that is truly excellent to work for these days?

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Sam Graham
AKA: "The Evil Sam Graham". Wackiness ensues.

Posts: 1431
From: Waukee, IA
Registered: Dec 2004

posted 04-15-2005 07:37 PM

One second to answer Allison's question about admissions: No better or worse than anybody else. When Century came in, they set their admissions about two bits above Carmike's, and Carmike eventually raised theirs to match.

quote: Jarryd Beard
Sam, you're misreading the web page...If you go to the Southern Hills 12 showtimes, you can see that THX isn't listed at all for this theatre.

Jarryd, the reference was not to Southern Hills 12. It was to Wynnsong 16 in Johnston, IA, and Southridge 12 in Des Moines, IA, which display THX, Dolby Digital, and DTS with every movie listing, not just in the legend. Here's a screen shot of the first few Southridge 12 showtimes. Southridge 12 has one THX certified auditorium.

The showtimes have been posted this way for at least the past year. I actually e-mailed Carmike about it when I first discovered it in 2004, along with another showtimes problem Wynnsong had.

The other problem was fixed almost immediately.

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Jason Black
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1723
From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 04-16-2005 07:47 AM

Richard,

What'd we tell you when you first mentioned a mgt. possibility? LOL...

Live and learn my friend..live and learn... just remember the mistakes you make and LEARN from them.

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 04-17-2005 04:16 AM

quote:
...a..company called Theater Operators Inc., which sold out to Essaness Theatres,

...here's a snippet from a Late Show Ad that I have.

Good ol' T.O.I. - out of Bozeman, MT - home office at the University 4 in Bozeman. This is where I met Tim "Timmy" Warner(now pres. of CineMark..) for the first time, Bob Clunzman, and a host of other TOI brass that came down that summer to help reopen the RIO in town after a remodel. (and it's interesting that Ron Reid, and Mark Reis who used to be with Excellence-now for REG, comes from the roots of T.O.I)

I used to work for TOI from May until October of '84, at the city's Drive In, and the Rio downtown. Then I made my move to Boise to return to Mann Theatres. I used to work for MANN in my hometown, but had a confrontation with my 19yr old manager who thought I was a POS for no reason, and I was there for 8yrs...so I left her high and dry that summer to work for TOI, and leaving her with problems galore. The MANN people understood of my leaving due to that manager, and welcomed me back that October to take over a 4screener in Boise.

These T.O.I/Excellence theatres finally became part of the Carmike Circuit.....and now Carmike have left the city, due to REG's 14 screener there.

-Monte

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Joshua Waaland
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 800
From: Cleveland, Ohio
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 04-17-2005 10:46 PM

I don't know what credentials most of the people commenting on Carmike have, but as a former long time employee I feel qualified to tell you about them.

1. They are cheap, cheap , cheap. Anyone who says differently doesn't know their ass from a hole in the ground! So what you have one nice theater in your market. Good for you! I have yet to see a DECENT Carmike around here. Took them ten years just to change the Cinema World sign! [puke]

2. Forget about getting a tech or parts unless your screen is completely down. Best way to get a tech in is to hit their pocket book. If the screen is down they will send someone. If not, your screwed! Better get an industrial sized box of paper clips and duct tape. You will need them.

3. There is absolutely no one in this market that makes over state minimum and you can forget about any overtime premium. When I worked there they even bitched at me for working 80 hours a week when they didn't pay me over minimum wage for any of it. What the hell does it matter? If I don't work someone else will and it doesn't cost you any more!

4. When I worked there another projectionist actually read that stupid employee manual and found that there was extra pay for changing signs. With one on the building and two by the road it worked out to $18 extra dollars a week. They used to pay $6 per sign. Knowing their chinsy asses they took away that perk too. [Mad]

5. If you are lucky you may see the district manager once a year. Ours had around 50 or so theaters in his region to take care of. I don't think he even ever actually came up to the booth.

6. Did I say they are cheap?

[ 04-18-2005, 10:58 AM: Message edited by: Joshua Waaland ]

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William Hooper
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1879
From: Mobile, AL USA
Registered: Jun 99

posted 04-18-2005 01:54 AM

[qutoe]When I worked there they even bitched at me for working 80 hours a week when they didn't pay me over minimum wage for any of it. What the hell does it matter? If I don't work someone else will and it doesn't cost you a frickin dime![/quote]

I hope they paid you overtime? Or did they compain & not pay overtime?

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Jarryd Beard
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 229
From: Hellertown, PA
Registered: Jul 2004

posted 04-18-2005 10:45 AM

Sorry about that Sam. Apparently, somebody is very confused. As far as I know, the individual district offices update those listings. When showtimes were wrong for the theatre in my area, submitting feedback online fixed the problem. However, an apology for the mishap was sent from the district manager's secretary. She admitted to her mistake. So, if a secretary is taking care of the web updates, I can see how there might be confusion as far as technical aspects go. However, I do feel that the person responsible for posting the showtimes above should be educated properly for future postings.

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Joshua Waaland
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 800
From: Cleveland, Ohio
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 04-18-2005 10:56 AM

They only paid me $4.25 an hour minimum wage for all 80 hours. We were told that the entertainment industry was exempt from paying above minimum wage for overtime. If I ever find out otherwise, Carmike will be into me for a big wad of cash that's for sure. When I first started at Carmike, there was a change of managers. Two of my co-workers there told me that the manager that was leaving had given them a 10 cent increase per hour and the district manager chewed his ass for it. I was there for six years after that and never saw anyone get an increase in pay.

quote: Bobby Henderson
The point is, Carmike is not necessarily the hellhole some people love to paint it as being. They need to spread the HATE a little more fairly around. Otherwise they're just going to sound just a little bit stupid. Get onto AMC, Loews, Cinemark (those weak-ass bass M-fers) and others.

Okay, I'll bite. I think people are only giving credit where credit is due or a lack thereof. I have worked for two different Cinemarks (Tinseltown and the new style) including one a mile away from the Carmike and they both blew Carmike out of the water. We have General Cinemas, AMC, Marquee Cinemas and several other chains around here and only one GC is a crappy theater.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 04-18-2005 04:22 PM

quote:
So what you have one nice theater in your market. Good for you! I have yet to see a DECENT Carmike around here. Took them ten years just to change the Cinema World sign!

The sign thing is nothing new. Plenty of circuits have left old signs in place after a takeover. Here in Lawton, UA left the Litchfield ID up for a decade before having to replace it over storm damage. Then Wallace Theaters left the sign broken for three years when storms blew out all the marquee faces.

Yes, the Carmike theater we have in Lawton is pretty decent. And it may be an exception to what many argue is a general condition. Nevertheless it is a valid exception to point out to those who take some obvious pleasure in saying Carmike sucks.

About district managers, every district manager (and division manager) has a different personality. I've met the one running this district and she makes visits more often than just once a year.

A major factor of what make's Lawton's Carmike a decent theater is the dedication of its manager. He's been there all the years this theater has been open and managed other theaters here and elsewhere. There's plenty of theater managers in just about every circuit who are there to just get a paycheck and care little about whether the customer is getting a good show or not.

quote: Joshua Waaland
I think people are only giving credit where credit is due or a lack thereof.

The only thing I typically see posted regarding Carmike is 100% negative. It's rare if anyone besides myself has anything positive to say about a Carmike they've visited. Again, this is not to say Carmike is without sin. My contention is that ALL theater circuits have their horrible theaters and horrible managment. The situation in regard to presentation quality industry wide has grown worse. Carmike is not alone at all in letting things slip.

Cinemark is doing a nice job with all that post-modern architectural decoration on their newest theaters. But I have not visited a single one in the last few years that had any decent sound at all. The only exception is Cinemark IMAX-3D theaters I visited in Dallas and Colorado Springs. But the regular feature screens at those same locations were very underwhelming.

I would also go so far as to say just about all theater circuits are cheap, cheap, cheap. Maybe Century Theaters is one exception. Some of this is not the fault of the exhibitors, but rather the film distributors who keep pulling dishonest crap to further reduce any profit margins a theater has. Film distribution companies are making so much derivative, forgettable crap these days but still have PITA shareholders to satisfy with nice dividend payments and the like. So they just do something easy and further cannibalize the theater business by front loading major releases with thousands too many film prints and making sure theaters never get a good percentage of the box office. Next thing, they'll be wanting a huge take of the concession stand. Couple that with the whole "D-Cinema" thing and I have very serious worries about the long term viability of the movie theater business.

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Evans A Criswell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1579
From: Huntsville, AL, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 04-18-2005 10:03 PM

I havne't posted about Carmike in a while. In my area, we have two Carmike theatres. One is a newer theatre built in 1998 and overall, it's a good theatre. It's still in good shape and the image and sound quality are usually very good. However, over in Decatur, it's another story. Carmike has a theatre built by Fairlane/Litchfield in 1982 that is very poorly maintained. Carmike's philosophy seems to be "Keep the newer theatres up pretty well but let the old ones stay in bad condition."

Even bad press a few years ago in the Decatur Daily newspaper about the poor presentation quality and the poor condition of the theatre got very little done. The only result I saw from the article is no manager changes have taken place since the article was published (December 6, 2001). Before that time, the Carmike 8 in Decatur had roughly 10 managers over 5 years, while the Carmike 10 in Huntsville had 5.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 04-18-2005 10:29 PM

quote: Evans A Criswell
Carmike's philosophy seems to be "Keep the newer theatres up pretty well but let the old ones stay in bad condition."

I believe that is an industry-wide philosophy. And some of it is with good reason, unfortunately. Just consider all the ADA, OSHA and EPA regulations you have to satisfy with any kind of significant construction improvement. Also, why bother to convert a 20 year old theater with paper thin walls and low ceilings to stadium seating and digital sound on any or all screens? You're better off to tear down and build new ---if you can recover the cost of doing it. Unfortunately that's a tough thing to do in quite a few markets.

Carmike used to have two mediocre to bad theaters (depending on which screen you visited) in Albany, GA. One complex had some screens that had obviously been twinned (cut in half), but the projection port holes had not been moved. Keystoning and focus problems were so bad I got pissed and wrote a scathing editorial in the Albany Herald. More than a decade has passed. In that time, Carmike closed both of those locations and replaced them with a single 16-plex "Wynnsong" theater.

I expect Carmike to have some major competition problems in Wichita Falls, TX once Cinemark's new site opens. Carmike's Sikes Ten theater is technically younger than our theater in Lawton. Yet I don't like visiting it because it is stuck within a small space in the confines of an old shopping mall (the one partially devastated by that famous tornado in 1979). You've got tiny screens in all but two auditoriums and most have that fixed 1.85 masking that crops 'scope movies. Gahh! IMHO, Carmike will have to build a completely new site outside of the mall or completely away from it to stay alive in Wichita Falls. I could be wrong though. Maybe their numbers will stay good by virtue of being inside a mall. I cannot stand the Dickinson 12-plex in Central Mall here in Lawton, but it does generate some pretty decent numbers.

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Jason Black
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1723
From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 04-18-2005 11:05 PM

Joshua,

I don't know you, nor have I ever heard your name, aside from the boards.. but I must say...

You sure to have a lot of bad to say about a company YOU chose to work for and that YOU chose to stay with. No one broke your arms or bound you to the 80 hours. The extra money for sign changing is NOT a policy, nor has it ever been. Changing the marquee is an integral part of the doorperson/cashier/concessionist/operator/assistant's job. You like your job, you stay.. you don't stay in this business becuase you plan to retire from the money you make..anyone with half a brain (even Phil) knows that.... [Roll Eyes]

You're in this job for the love of the show.. for the customers and their families... the kids whom you see grow up and eventually come work for you... the bonds you make with patrons and staff alike... *Real* theatre folks now exactly what I'm talking about and I need not go any further.

I miss it already, but that's another story.

You weren't cheated out of any money. There are federal loopholes in the entertainment industry. The fact that mayeb you didn't know about them does not necessarily make the company (Carmike, or anyone else for that matter) out to be cheap bastards like you'd make them out to be. Labor rates are essentially set by the labor force in a given market. End of story. I paid one of the highest wages in the company, behind Aspen, CO and I still got shitty employees from time to time. I had employees bitch about the pay rate... and you know what my response was? You came to ME looking for a job, I didn't come to YOU. You don't like your hours, the fact that you work holidays, the pay scale or anything else? Go find a job that makes you happy... and I hope it works out to be what you want.. I didn't need, nor want, employees who were 'sour' about the place. It reflects in their job performance, and directly to our employers, the customer.

To make a long story short.. if you don't like your job, find another one...there's always another person who'll take your position, and, quite possibly, one who will actually appreciate the opportunity that they have been given.

Oh, and your point about tech calls... any manager who was worth their weight in salt knows that they could call the tech and get help over the phone.. if the manager/operator knew their way around the booth anyway. I never once had a screen down for something that I, myself, could not fix. If it was beyond my scope, the tech came down, generally the next morning, and sometimes, the very same day. Then again, I had a GREAT tech service and the level of service will vary from company to company.

Your milage may vary... People are alwasy so quick to piss and moan.. but so damn slow to offer any solutions... [Mad]

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Phil Hill
I love my cootie bug

Posts: 7595
From: Hollywood, CA USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 04-18-2005 11:59 PM

So Jason, I didn't take the time to read your long and boring post...but this caught my eye:

quote: Jason Black
People are alwasy so quick to piss and moan.. but so damn slow to offer any solutions...

You are sooo right on target not only in the specific but in genreal as well! [thumbsup]

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