This is topic The Credit Card/ Check slowdown in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=000087
Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 10-03-2000, 02:54 PM:
I would like to know what everybody's policies are on credit cards and personal checks.
A lot of the new theaters take 'em. But the one I work for doesn't.
Personally, I see cash as the best solution. It only takes about 15 seconds to complete a box office transaction (on a good night) and about 45 seconds for concessions. With the cards, you've got to wait for authorization, print the receipt, have the customer sign it, and compare the signature.
The checks are no better, they've got to write it out, sign it, get ID, it's a pain!!
A woman called me old-fashioned last night because we only take cash, she probably would have asked if we had gourmet coffee and scones if I hadn't taken the time to explain my view of the issue for her.
What are your policies on payment?------------------
Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 10-03-2000, 02:58 PM:
Same here - cash only. However, Cinemark is upgrading to a credit card thing in big markets, eventually everywhere. It involves a dedicated line, though, so you eliminate the time involved simply to dial in and connect to the merchant card service (which is 3/4 of the auth. time).
Posted by Ky Boyd (Member # 23) on 10-03-2000, 04:40 PM:
At our theatre we take cash for tickets but we will accept a check for a gift certificate purchase or the purchase of our passport (ie. discount) card, which is 5 admissions for $27. We've not had a check bounce. Personally, I don't think asking for ID helps any in making sure checks don't bounce, but some of my staff feel differently about it and ask for ID when they take a check. I don't do credit cards or debit cards because of the cost, transaction time and equipment requirements. Since I'm already paying a % to the film companies why would I want to give a % to a bank. I don't want to slow down the line (when we have one) and I certainly don't need any extra equipment to clutter up the box office. - though I have toyed with the idea of installing an ATM on the premises.
Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 10-03-2000, 05:14 PM:
At my theatre we only use credit cards to retrieve tickets purchased through MoviePhone and MoviePhone.Com it takes not much longer than cash if any if the pads are working right that is...
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-03-2000, 05:26 PM:
We take checks. But we're in a small town so we don't have very long lines (usually) and we don't have much problem with bouncers...I know everyone! We do not take credit cards, tried it for a couple months once, but usage wasn't high enough to make the monthly fees worth it.
Posted by Ethan Harper (Member # 472) on 10-03-2000, 07:38 PM:
At a couple of Cinemarks down here, They are begginning to do the "Print your own tickets at home thing" The ticket has a barcode on it that an usher will be able to scan. Really smart. 
"Oh and if you couldn't tell I was being sarcastic!"--Homer J. Simpson
------------------
--"That's my story and i'm sticking to it!"--
Posted by Greg Pauley (Member # 503) on 10-03-2000, 11:09 PM:
We accept cash only at this point. We are looking into accepting credit cards for purchasing gift certificates which can be used to purchase tickets and concessions. The angle we are looking at is to try and suggestive sell the credit card paying customers concession coupons at the same time and help pay for the cost of doing business with credit. I wouldn't consider accepting personal checks and spending all of my time at the court house trying to collect money. It use to be said that our industry was lucky because on monday morning all of your sales for the weekend were in cash and in the bank unlike other businesses. Today I think you have to look at all the new options to draw every penny you can from your customer base. I have been following this print your ticket at home concept and think it has alot of promise. Once the big boys spend the money to work out the bugs and make sure it's secure, I'd like to give it a try.
Posted by Ethan Harper (Member # 472) on 10-04-2000, 12:24 AM:
Not to knock your thoughts, but all you would have to do is print one and make copies of the other with the same paper that you used to print with, in which you could then dispurse to your friends.
Posted by Greg Pauley (Member # 503) on 10-04-2000, 06:00 AM:
The print at home technology is the same system being used to sell postage stamps on line for the last couple of years. This technology uses barcode (serial numbers). You could make a thousand copies and hand them out to your friends, but only the first ticket scanned will be accepted. I don't worry about photo copies as much as someone learning how to fake the number or crack the site where they originate. I think its a good sign the US postal service hasn't had a problem that I'm aware of over the last couple of years.
Posted by Tom Ferreira (Member # 70) on 10-04-2000, 06:08 AM:
Didn't we cover this topic in this forum just recently?
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 10-04-2000, 06:20 AM:
We took credit cards at a single-screen where I used to work. With only one ticket-seller it was painfully slow and generally a bad idea. I don't recommend it unless you have a lot of cashiers and customers who feel compelled to charge small purchases rather than just paying cash.
I don't know that anyone ever tried to pay for movie tickets by check. It seems a bit silly to me that anyone would want to do this, but I can understand it for gift certificates, etc.
Posted by Glenda Cockrum (Member # 542) on 10-04-2000, 08:24 AM:
I take checks for special events, birthday parties and "blocks" of tickets, or other parties, and gift certificates. I won't even touch credit cards, too much trouble for very little return.
By the way the birthday parties work great here, anyone else using this idea?
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 10-04-2000, 03:02 PM:
I think the best solution is to get an ATM machine in the lobby and let the plastic payers just convert it to cash. Since there is typically a minimum withdrawal of $20, I think people are more apt to spend the leftover cash from the box office at the concession stand too.
Posted by Paul Konen (Member # 41) on 10-05-2000, 09:40 AM:
1. Yes, the Cinemark Print @ Home was covered in this forum, although briefly, in regards to trying to scam the system. Note: The scanner will only let the first holder of the ticket in, after that everyone else is denied. The usher has to place his initials next to each barcode to signify that they have been admitted.2. Cinemark has been doing credit cards in all aspects of the operation. Box, Concession, Studio Eats. Box and Concession generate a receipt but does NOT require a signature.
3. They also have KIOSK's to allow people to purchase tickets in the lobby using credit card and bypass the box lines (I am not trying to market the products)
Paul
Posted by Carl King (Member # 398) on 10-05-2000, 10:13 AM:
At our boxoffice it is cash or debit cards.
Posted by Paul Konen (Member # 41) on 10-06-2000, 08:39 AM:
Carl - Are you referring to "SMART" or Mondex Cards. Debit Cards in the states are the same as credit cards except they are linked to your checking account and the money is immediately withdrawn.Paul.
Posted by Chad Souder (Member # 343) on 10-07-2000, 09:52 AM:
Brad is right, but if you can't get an ATM machine (which a lot of banks are willing to let you have one for a trial period, and then see if it does enough business to keep), you HAVE to take checks. Reason being, people will leave if they don't have enough cash, and maybe not come back. In addition, letting them make it out for over almost guarantees more spent at the concession stand. It doesn't take that long to write a check, especially if you have more than one person selling tickets, its really a non-factor. Subscribing to a collection agency helps against bounced checks. Think of it like a casino. The more options you give people to have access to their money, the more money they are likely to spend.------------------
"Asleep at the switch? I wasn't asleep, I was drunk!" - Homer Simpson
Posted by Tom Kroening (Member # 201) on 10-07-2000, 08:38 PM:
If you have sat link or other fast always on connection to the net credit card checks take seconds.
Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 06-19-2001, 06:15 PM:
In my area it's a mixed bag as far as credit cards.Tickets: AMC, Loews and Regal take debit/credit cards at kiosks and the box office. UA and City Cinemas/Reading have kiosks but only for Moviefone orders. UA also takes debit/credit cards at the box office IIRC. In the AMC kiosks you get the MovieWatcher receipt if you use your MovieWatcher card. 
Concessions: AMC and UA take debit/credit cards. Not recommended, though, if it's a busy night. Once I used a debit card at an AMC concession stand and the transaction took forever to process (system was running slow). Fortunately the stand wasn't busy at the time.
Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 06-20-2001, 01:33 PM:
Money, cash, are the only forms of payment we take.. Hell, if you don't have enough cash for a movie, maybe you should have stayed home.
Posted by Paul Turner (Member # 832) on 06-21-2001, 12:07 AM:
We do cash and cks. Being that our snack bar and box office are at the same counter, we can total both on one ck. Wanting to write a ck for more than the amount sends up red flags. We're a small town and have very little problem with bounced cks -- but we're a college town, so the few bounced cks we've gotten have been from people leaving the area (graduating) with no plans to return. Cards frighten and confuse us, so we just say no.
Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 06-21-2001, 01:31 AM:
ATM mchines would be ok, as long as the demand is there. A bank or financial institution probably would not consider installing them for a limited application. We had the same thing happen with public phones in the theater. They didn't generate enough usage, so the phone company yanked them out.
Posted by Taplie Coile (Member # 864) on 06-25-2001, 01:41 PM:
Just a few thoughts.... We got ATM and Debit card machines about a year ago (problem #1, because for some reason people think"ATM and Debit Cards" means their MasterCard/American Express/Discover card, too, but I digress). We're a 15-screen theater, and they give us 4 machines: 2 for the box office, and 2 for concessions. Box I can deal with, since the 4 ticket printers are right next to each other. We have 8 concession registers, 4 on each side of the lobby (plus 2 in the back where the auditoriums are, but I'm not counting them). 2 machines for 8 registers. Does anyone else see a problem here? And of course, despite the big "ATM and Debit Cards: This Line Only" signs where the machines are, EVERYBODY in EVERY line wants to use them. And then there was the machine company's line: "It only takes 5 seconds to process a transaction." I'm still wondering how I bought that one. It takes 5 seconds just to swipe the card, key in the amount, and ask the patron to enter their PIN number. That takes another 5 seconds. THEN, it might take 5 seconds for the machine to dial up, do whatever it does, approve and print out the receipt. I won't get into the $0.99 fee the company charges the patron on each transaction (they love that) and the fact that, somehow, two of the machines somehow got hooked up to our main phone number instead of the fax line they were supposed to.
Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 07-02-2001, 01:00 AM:
Taplie,You obviously work for Carmike. I'm at the Broadway 16 in Myrtle Beach myself. I hear what you're saying about the ATM/Debit machines. They ARE a PITA from MY experiences, but I have personally seen our theatres do in excess of $4500.00 in ONE day from these machines! Multiply what Carmike gets from each transaction by the total number of times people use the card(s) and you'll see that it is a very viable source of (basically) unearned income for us. Not to mention the covenience issue for our patrons. We are, as some folks forget, there to actually 'serve' our patron base, are we not?
My main gripe with the machines is soley the fact that *said company* GROSSLY OVER-RATED the transaction time associated with ticket purchases. I made it a point to let the DOO know this as he set up the machines in my building. If these are to work as they NEED to, *said company* should be required to pay for the DEDICATED line(s) for the machines that THEY own.
Come to think of it, what do *I* know? I'm only a lowly peon...
Shoot me an email in private if you don't mine.. Jasonwan@sccoast.net
------------------
The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!
Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 07-15-2001, 11:04 PM:
I guess that I might come around to a sat link hookup
for credit or debit transactions, seeing as we've had some incidents with our ATM (see theater robberies...:rolleyes I also like the idea of some surcharge profit. (Hey, I am IN this business, aren't I?!)
I've also seen this new, computerized check cashing system, where it sends the account number straight to the customer's bank & cashes the check instantaneously (?).
Has anybody seen/ used this system?
------------------
I hope that after I die, people will say of me: "That guy sure owed me a lot of money!"
Posted by Timothy Eiler (Member # 383) on 11-23-2001, 08:11 PM:
In God we trust....... all others pay cash
Posted by Kristin Wahlund (Member # 922) on 11-25-2001, 02:38 AM:
We take cash, gift certificates, and credit cards at regal. we need the credit cards for the fandango tickets. how does everyone like the fandango tickets, personally i love them, its so fast.------------------
Kristin Wahlund
Regal Cinemas
Eagan 16, MN
Posted by Steven Pickles (Member # 785) on 11-25-2001, 10:19 AM:
Kristin,I think there are problems with Fandango.. but it does have its good points. First of all we have ticket retrieval problems from Fandango and 555-TELL as well. This isn't major but it looks poorly on the theatre as if I caused the problem. It certainly becomes a problem when a customer believes they have been charged and no tickets are found. Patrons have also complained about the $0.75 service charge--and while I would like to see this dropped, I'm sure that will not happen. As for convenience it is great since patrons can claim the tickets at the ticket kiosks and do not have to interact with employess or wait in line at all.
Posted by Bob Peticolas (Member # 328) on 11-25-2001, 11:48 AM:
We accept cash and checks - no plastic. In the last five years or so that we have been managing the theater, we have recieved maybe one bad check. I think that being a small theater and non-profit film society, people just are not going to go out of their way to stiff us. It's not like writing a hot check to a grocery chain that turns millions of dollars a year and "can afford it".The regional chain theater up in the mall (twelve screen) has an ATM inside the lobby where you can get twenty dollars for a twenty-one dollar withdrawal. We have ATM's in the villiage around us, so people come to us with lots of twenty dollar bills.
If we were to go plastic, it would have to be on a dedicated line (maybe DSL so we could still talk on the phone), swipe the card, print the reciept, enjoy the show. No signing or pin numbers, that would take way too long. AND, no service charges or rental charges to us. Make the card user pay for the convienence