Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Make Your Theatre Better

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Posted by Joshua Lott (Member # 240) on 02-13-2002, 11:06 PM:

I wanted to get suggestions and ideas from every one as to what you do or have seen that works(or doesn't) to make your theatre run better.

I am looking at anything that you've done to make your customers happier, to make your theatre more profitable, to increase attendance/per caps, decrease waste, better presentation, ect...

Things that I have done:

Increase per caps- I increased the lighting in my concession stand and drastically improved my per cap. Locate hot dogs and special items where people can see them readily available.

Any suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated even if you think they may not apply to my specific theatre. They could be of value to someone on the forum.

Thanks in advance for any help you may have.

-Josh

Posted by Keith Peticolas (Member # 971) on 02-13-2002, 11:40 PM:

Hey Joshua, one thing I've done down here is pay special attention to the outside of the building. I've had more than a few folks tell us they enjoy coming here because we have a clean theater. Our closest compitetion is a Regal and it is always a mess, inside and outside. (no offense) Every day I'll grab one of the kids and we'll walk around the building picking up junk. 5 minutes of work has really paid off. One other thing that really applies to us, is taking good care and de-icing the sidewalks. We have scored a whole mess of brownie points with the older folks because you can actually get to our front door from the parking lot without falling down.

Posted by Adam Fraser (Member # 1074) on 02-13-2002, 11:45 PM:

Keep your theatre CLEAN, everywhere inside and out ( we completely clean the auditorium between each and every show). Keep bathrooms the same. There are many people who drive 60 Miles+ to come to us because we show a quality presentation in a very clean theatre.

------------------
Adam Fraser
www.pinestheatre.com

Posted by David Favel (Member # 1125) on 02-14-2002, 03:30 AM:

IF YOU CAN, STAND AT THE EXIT OF EACH SESSION & SAY (AD NAUSEAM) DID YOU ENJOY THAT?
GIVES YOU THAT PERSONAL TOUCH.
FROM YOUR PHONE BOOK GRAB ALL THE FAX NUMBERS LISTED & FAX THEM ALL A SCHEDULE OF THE WEEKS MOVIES. I DO THIS EX HOME FROM "BITWARE FAX" AS HOME PHONE CALLS HERE ARE FREE WHILE CALLS EX BUSINESS ARE CHARGED FOR.
AGREED CLEAN IS GOOD

Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 02-14-2002, 04:08 AM:

I may be wrong, but I think sending unsolicited commercial faxes in the US is a violation of some federal regulation.. Anyone know for sure?

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 02-14-2002, 05:12 AM:

(David-PLEASE DO NOT TYPE IN ALL CAPS! IT APPEARS AS IF YOU ARE YELLING AT PEOPLE!)

I'm not sure what the laws are in New Zealand, but in the United States that IS illegal. Why? You are not paying the ENTIRE costs of advertising. Or in other words, you are not paying the costs of materials for those people with faxes to replace their paper and ink (if applicable) every time you send them an unsolicited fax. Do not do this. You will get people very, very mad at you very, very quick! Spamming like this is also on par with the kind of scum who intentionally oversalts their popcorn so people will buy more drinks.

Now for those of you who routinely get this sort of spam in your fax machine and want to see a stop put to it (because let's be honest here, that "call this number to be removed from the list" is ALWAYS a disconnected number, even though that itself is illegal), the best solution I've found is to call up the advertiser and act super excited about their ad. Speak to the manager and tell them you are opening up a new business (make something up that is lame) and are DYING to know who you can contact to get YOUR company promoted with this fabulous service. They will feel honored and all gushy inside and then spill the beans with all of the contact info for that damned fax advertising company.

At this point you now have the evil fax spammer's phone number and you can make it a ritual to call them up EVERY DAMN DAY FOR AS LONG AS YOU WANT to remind them about the various charges you have experienced as a direct result of them faxing you without your request. Make sure to add in not only paper and ink cartridges, but the AC power to run the fax machine, the cost of the telephone line and let's not forget YOUR valuable time to go to the office supply store to purchase and reload new paper into the machine. The lower and more pathetic the amount of money you complain about the more effective it is. This works exceedingly well and you will never get another spam fax from that company again.

Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 02-14-2002, 09:20 AM:

We used to have a real problem here at the office with unsolicited faxes from travel agents and toner supply people.

Our remedy... we would copy a 10-15 page document from the web, convert it to a 72 pt. font size, and fax it back to them directly from our computer. Since the fax program on the computer acts as a printer, the recieving fax machine would usually try to print several hundred pages before running out of paper or toner. At the beginning and end of the message, we'd always add the line.... "Please do not send us any more unsolicited faxes and waste our office products."

Worked every time!

Posted by Mike Williams (Member # 1140) on 02-14-2002, 09:26 AM:

Picking FAX numbers out of a phone book and faxing may be unsolicited, but when a customer GIVES you his fax number it is no longer unsolicited. I remember seeing a theater put out a fish bowl for people to drop their business cards in so they could have the schedule emailed/faxed to them weekly.
Great way to build loyal customers and keep them up to speed on upcoming concession specials and movie promotions.

Posted by Jerry Chase (Member # 660) on 02-14-2002, 10:08 AM:

Barry, one of the revenge tricks that sounded most promising was sending a black fax. This is a fax made up of entirely black pages. It will supposedly burn out the head on a thermal fax, use up the ink in an inksquirt, and waste the toner in a laser.

There are also fax-back places that will fax out manuals and information if you put in a fax number when you call them. By putting in the fax number of your persecutor, you can have them faxed a hundred page manual and not have it traced back to you.

I had a problem with junk faxes coming in in the middle of the night for a while. Rather than wasting my time, I solved the problem by disconnecting the fax line and getting an e-fax number in a different state. Any local business (usually restaurant, computer, or office supplies) would have to make a toll call to get the fax to me, and the businesses in the local area of the fax number don't know I exist. My faxes come as email, so I don't worry about any of the problems with a local fax machine.

Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 02-14-2002, 10:09 AM:

Unsolicited faxing is not only illegal in the United States by Federal Law, it is the actually advertiser, not the faxing company, that is criminally libel, and can be sued for $500 per fax. I came a cross an internet new article last year about a lawyer who makes his living filing class action suits against illegal fax advertisers. Those $500 fines add up quickly when you file suit against one business for hundreds of faxes at the same time.

Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 02-14-2002, 10:20 AM:

Spam is now illegal in the State of Washington and the spammer may be sued for $500 per incident. The problem is the receiver is the one who has to sue. Most of my spam, these days, comes from out of country. On a brighter note....my ISP has just put in place some screening software that will not allow mass emailings to go through. My spam has dropped off quite a bit

------------------
Greg Mueller
Amateur Astronomer, Machinist, Filmnut
http://www.muellersatomics.com/

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 02-14-2002, 10:42 AM:

Getting back to the topic, and speaking as a frequent moviegoer...

The customer's impression begins in the parking lot. Keep it clean. Keep outside windows and doors clean. Wherever your boxoffice is, keep it clean looking. The lobby and concessions need to be clean. Your staff needs to look clean, by that I mean not look like they've been wearing the same greasy outfit for 3 months. Have I used the word clean enough yet? No: Auditoriums need to be cleaned after every show.

Make sure all lighting is working, whether it's neon or incandescent or whatever. The place needs to look as inviting and "warm" as you can possibly make it. Like you said, having those hot dogs turning on a roller-warmer where customers can see them will probably sell more for you. Serve the popcorn right out of the popper if you can instead of those "holding bins" or whatever you call them. Have the cup and bag sizes prominently on display so customers can see what they look like. If you have candy on display, put prices on everything if you can.

[Fax-spammers should be, uh, I want to say shot, but how about just tarred and feathered?]

------------------
- dave
Look at this! His chin strap has been cut!

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 02-14-2002, 10:52 AM:

It all starts with "Film Done Right".

But it doesn't end there.

The moviegoing experience should be ENJOYABLE and SPECIAL in every way.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 585-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 585-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

Posted by Jeff Leyland (Member # 1092) on 02-14-2002, 01:15 PM:

Presentation is key to overall customer satisfaction.

But other things that improve customer satisfaction is a good flow of operations. Good show schedules, maximizing your concession stand, and speed of service are key. Cleanliness is another area all together. You should attempt to keep your theatre as clean as it was at opening throughout the entire day.

Posted by David Favel (Member # 1125) on 02-14-2002, 03:44 PM:

In New Zealand it is not a crime to spam, however we are polite & if anyone asks to be removed, we do so straight away.
We also have a sign at the box office asking if they want to be added to either the fax or e-mail.
On average we send over 500 schedules each week in a town of 15000.
This costs me nothing & is the most effective advertising as some are pinned onto staff noticeboards.

For persistant spammers I have heard that a roll of toilet paper faxed to them is effective.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 02-14-2002, 04:35 PM:

Ian has just created a topic:

"Fax Spam and Boiler Rooms"

in the Film Yak forum. Please post all further "spam" related comments there.

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 02-15-2002, 12:28 PM:

Too many people still don't pay attention to the PRESENTATION. It's good to have the lobby and outside looking perfect, but if anything's wrong with the presentation then it doesn't matter. I've seen managers have their employees diligently clean the exit signs in the lobby(!) while the screens remained filthy!

Posted by Darren Solomon (Member # 1120) on 02-15-2002, 02:30 PM:

I have some good suggestions, coming from a 16 screen theatre with lots of problems, I would like to change some things. If you have lobby music playing in the bathrooms, please not so loud. if you have Lobby TVs with Coming Soon info displayed, please have it current.
If you have exit greeters standing infront of the auditoriums doorways telling each customer, "Thanks for coming to xxxxx, we hope you enjoyed the show". I would no longer do this, as the reaction from most people coming out of the theatre don't care as much for hearing you say this, ignore you, or just want to complain about how bad the movie was or ask for the bathroom. 90% of the time I get customers asking where the bathrooms are anyways. Maybe better signage for Bathrooms would be nice too. Better maintenace and upkeep in the booth in changing out Xenon Bulbs a lot faster will keep the presentation up to a standard. Better Marqee signage for labling auditorium doors with theatre numbers at eye level. So Customers don't go into the wrong theatre door. Most customes are ot infored that thier ticket holds the showtime and number on them. We should have the Door usher/ ticket taker inform them of this. Our theatre gets a lot of messy customers that leave the trash and left over consession food in our auditoriums when a movie is over, so when a show is sold out, we tell them that its a sold out show, please exit from the theatres main exit doors, move to the center seats to allow incoming patrons quick seating, and please put your trash in the proper recepticals when the show is over so we can clean the theatre faster for the next show. Have the managers perform good customer service and not to creat a type of customer base like keepin the bad customers that keep coming back. This is like the managers and corporate creating a monster and this makes a type of clientel to come into your theatre and then the theatre staff will enjoy working less with the theatre company because of this.

Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 02-17-2002, 03:29 AM:

First, Exit greeting IS a good idea. Even if all people do is ask where the bathroom is at least there is someone there to point them in the right direction, and if they complain at least they dont have to search someone out.

Now for my ideas,

Good presentation, FILM DONE RIGHT (enough said)
Cleanliness, A clean building is a must
Lighting, Replace burnt out lights right away.
Uniforms, I would rather see someone in a tie and vest than a crappy looking shirt.
And lastly, Just plain good service, make people WANT to come to your theatre.

------------------
--Sean McKinnon
Manager
Loews Cineplex Entertainment
Liberty Tree Mall 20
Danvers, Mass
www.enjoytheshow.com

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 02-17-2002, 03:50 AM:

Darren,

I've always said that no matter how large and obnoxious the signs that say "restroom" are, customers won't see them. The best solution is just to replace those huge "restroom" signs with 1 foot tall lettering with a sign that has letters only 1 inch tall that say "shitter".

You'll never ever be asked where they are again! Of course, you're bound to field a few complaints.

Posted by Joshua Lott (Member # 240) on 02-18-2002, 01:25 PM:

Just wanted to say thanks for the comments so far. Yes I agree, Film Done Right and Keep it Clean are two of the biggests things to take care of at a theatre.

Josh

Posted by System Notices (Member # 2357) on 02-06-2009, 08:34 PM:

It has been 2545 days since the last post.

Posted by Robert LaValley (Member # 4319) on 02-06-2009, 08:34 PM:

Bumping this topic back up:

Do you find exit greeting effective in retaining return business from customers?

I can understand both points of view, one being that you have a monotone brat rattling off the same line over and over again because "they have to" and the other you have a person there to field questions/complaints if any. I think the key to this is execution because theoretically you can't exit greet every customer that walks out of a building without posting a person at every exit and even then there are some that are just going to fly on by because their visits done and they don't want to deal with you. :-)

The ushers have asked for a schedule with the begining of the credits time listed. We are able with the POS to export to excel a usher schedule and add this info but it's awfully time consuming and labor intensive. Old rule of thumb was to be at the theate about 10-15 minutes prior to credit end time on your schedule. Any of you guys do anything different?

what about movie scheduling? 1pm , 3pm , 5pm, 7pm , and 9pm from previous people I have talked to were the ideal showtimes with actual "sets" where you have every show start in a set amount of time and you have a bit of a lull and then the next set and so on. I've seen a trend with the advent of pre-show advertisement that showtimes now are getting more and more spread out so there is no real set at alot of theatres. Do you find this better? What time frames make your customers happier? the tranditional 7pm to 8:30 set or I've seen sets that start at 6:15 and end at 7:15...

Posted by Chris Iacofano (Member # 5074) on 02-11-2009, 04:58 PM:

I've found that it does help if done in a sincere way. A bored usher handing out stale candy while mumbling the same line 100 times won't do much good. At my theater a good number of the patrons know me or the other manager by name and are inclined to chat and give us suggestions. While it certainly varries from theater to theater, my patrons like feeling invested in the place. They like the feeling that their suggestions are listened to, and it gives the impression to the public that THEY are programming the titles at the theater.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-11-2009, 09:11 PM:

quote: Robert LaValley
Do you find exit greeting effective in retaining return business from customers?

I don't think it makes an iota of difference on return business. If I am in a theatre and it has crappy sound and a fuzzy picture, I'd think twice about going back whether they gave me a cheery good-night or not.

That said, we do exit-greet. As noted above, we know many of the patrons by name and sometimes they like to chat about the film afterwards. The best is when they say "What's coming next?" That tells me they had a good experience and are looking forward to coming back.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 02-11-2009, 10:10 PM:

I think the key to the exit greeting is to have someone who has watched movies, is knowledgeable about upcoming movies, and knows enough about the operations to field and interpret questions/comments/criticisms. When I do the exit greeting, I don't try to say it to every person coming out. Rather I will pick about 1 out of every 10 to say it to; this usually covers everyone at or near the door at a given time.

The important thing if any complaints are fielded is to make sure they are communicated to the manager and dealt with so the customer won't have the same complaint the next time.

As with most of the things we do, the average people won't notice or care about the exit greeter. But it's a nice touch for that one person in 10 or 20 that actually notices or has something to say.

Posted by Poon Limpapun (Member # 4551) on 02-12-2009, 01:58 PM:

We do have exit greetings and as soon as the audience comes out we have our Concierge agents doing a PA on whats coming up next week and how to get the tickets, reservation, online, promotions and bla bla bla....

It does really work!

Posted by Jason Whyte (Member # 1433) on 02-12-2009, 02:14 PM:

If the manager makes him or herself noticeable at the start of the show, then it's good to be noticeable at the end of the show and let the audience approach THAT manager for comments, questions, complaints and so forth. One of our local indies does this and has a tremendous fanbase because of it. If customers want to talk, they'll approach you.

I hate hate HATE these big multiplexes that have someone who stands by the exit or asks while they're cleaning what you think of the film. I have ducked around them, left through the exit doors or even turned on my MP3 player just to ignore them. It's annoying and feels every time like they're forced to ask because management tells them to. I know they don't care what I think and sometimes I just want to leave in peace or talk to someone I DO know about the film first, not some kid assigned to pick up the garbage.

As I've mentioned in other threads, our stadium, 10-plex have theater cleaners that crank on cleaning lights and try to chat you up to get you to leave, by pretending to care what you think about the film then saying "Well, have a good night!" as if that's your cue to get the hell out of the auditorium.

I remember a friend and I went to see "Fast Food Nation" back in 2006 and there was some bubbly, loud young "operations manager" standing at the back force-starting a conversation with everyone who walked by her. The film had a rather dramatic end and some good credits, so our friend and I tried to talk about the film but all we heard at the back was:

"So how'd you like it?"
"So how'd you like it?"
"OH NO! hahaha!"
"So how'd you like it?"
"I don't know if I could watch that! Hahaha!"
"So how'd you like it?"
"So how'd you like it?"
"Thanks for visiting Empire!"
"So how'd you like it?"

Thankfully we went the OTHER direction and avoided her. All any manager or usher has to do is to remain somewhere in vision and if you make eye contact, simply say "Thank you! Have a good day/night."

As for the original post, to make any theater better, ensure that every element of the presentation, from the lobby to the auditorium, is the best it can be.

Posted by Robert E. Allen (Member # 1351) on 02-12-2009, 04:07 PM:

When I was managing a single screener in northern Iowa I or my assistant would stand at the exit passing out mints or chocolate as the customers left. It was something they appreciated and they could talk to us about the film or anything else. We had a good customer base that was growing. Of course we charged only .99 cents admission which caused many customers to wait until the films they wanted to see came to our house.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 02-12-2009, 05:18 PM:

What part of "Northern Iowa" is that? I've got relatives in those parts.

And with exit greeting, Loews liked having samples handed out, usually candies or mints that some company wanted to promote. I remember how a couple boxes of peanut butter rice crispy treats were gone over a week before the promotion was starting.

Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 02-12-2009, 07:38 PM:

As a film-goer, I could not care less if an employee is there after the movie. No offense, but I'm done with you for now. I am moving on to something else.

I'd rather you welcome us to the movie before it starts, and promise us the following:

- You will monitor the auditorium regularly for disruptions and eject anyone who is causing them.

- You will monitor the film occasionally and make sure that it is focused and properly framed.

- You will monitor the sound at the start and make sure the volume is appropriate.

- You are keeping your equipment in good shape. Your speakers aren't clipping. Your bulb is bright. Your screen is free of marks.

If you did all that, you would really stand out against your competition.

Other ways to make your theatre better:

- When I'm sitting there waiting for the film to start (before your wonderful speech), I'd like to be able to have a quiet conversation with my companions and NOT be disrupted or distracted by advertising.

- If you have more than one screen and they aren't all the same, please let me know which films are on which screens. I don't want to visit you only to find that the film I chose (or worse, the showtime) is playing on a tiny screen in analog sound.

- And it would be nice if you would show a classic film from time to time, especially when there isn't much good out.

Cheers,
Jonesy

(Edited to correctly represent my amount of caring) [Smile]

[ 02-12-2009, 11:26 PM: Message edited by: Geoff Jones ]

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 02-12-2009, 09:57 PM:

[Pedantic mode]I find it amusing every time someone says "I could care less" when they mean to say "I couldn't care less." If you could care less, you care.

[Razz]

Posted by Robert E. Allen (Member # 1351) on 02-13-2009, 01:27 AM:

quote: Chris Slycord
What part of "Northern Iowa" is that? I've got relatives in those parts.

And with exit greeting, Loews liked having samples handed out, usually candies or mints that some company wanted to promote. I remember how a couple boxes of peanut butter rice crispy treats were gone over a week before the promotion was starting.

Sumner about 35 miles north of Waterloo.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 02-13-2009, 03:48 AM:

My Grandfather's sister lives out there. Although I think she's been moved into a nursing home now.

I've got relatives in Osage/St Ansgar and really all over Northern Iowa/Southern Minnesota.

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 02-13-2009, 12:56 PM:

With regard to the exit greeting, I'd rather have the ushers holding the door open saying "Good night!" or "Have a good evening!"

Hardly anybody cares but it's icing.

The feedback should go to the manager that's visible on the floor keeping an eye on things.

As far as other ideas, one of my favorites is the movie host. Some might call them a concierge, I call them a host, whatever.
It was one of the good things I first heard about at Wallace but is certainly not limited to them.

The host simply goes in on cue from the projectionist (who mutes the non-sync, thank you) and delivers a quick speech (less than 30 seconds) and the show goes on.

What makes it stand out is even though they're saying "I'm here to help if you have a problem" is when the customer never has a problem...That's what it's all about.

Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 02-17-2009, 02:35 PM:

quote:
The film had a rather dramatic end and some good credits, so our friend and I tried to talk about the film but all we heard at the back was:

"So how'd you like it?"
"So how'd you like it?"
"OH NO! hahaha!"

It just goes to show that even a good idea can be implemented badly.

As with all customer service techniques, this could probably be solved by some analysis and coaching by the management.

Posted by Tony Bandiera Jr (Member # 2365) on 02-22-2009, 04:04 PM:

I'm gonna paste in a part of a post I made in the "Lost that Moviegoing Mojo" thread, as it fits here:

quote: ME
Now, anyone remember SRO? They had a wonderful 5-plex in La Mirada, Calif. (Gateway 5) When SRO had it, talk about film done right!!! Sharp, bright, nicely-sized images, sloped floors, great sound (Dolby SR and DTS) and..hold on to your units.. WATERFALL DRAPES!! IN EVERY HOUSE!! All five auditoria were average sized, about 200-250 seats. (Sorry Jesse, this location disproved your 200 rule) IIRC all five were 70mm capable. Screen floodlights, used tastefully. The Drape was raised and lowered between trailers and feature, and timed perfectly. The only negative I could say about it was the projection port was one of those single-pane, big swing-open windows, so you could hear the projectors.

Front of house, an actual doorman in tux and tie, (elderly gent) with white gloves. Greeted each guest or group as they entered. Whole staff in nice uniforms, despite being teens they were ALL very polite and smiled. Manager was virtually ALWAYS in the lobby, not hiding in his office and he also greeted patrons.

Saw "Amadeus" there in 70mm. Beautiful presentation first time around. Second time (about mid-run) had one minor glitch. a splice at the worst possible moment which drew unintentional laughs. (As Salieri is waxing poetic about hearing Mozart's first piece, there was a drop in sound right after the line "...a single note, hanging there unwavering... ") I let the manager know and was told by my friend that the NEXT DAY the reel had been replaced.

Classy staff, nice decor, a manager who was a visible presence, great presentations aided by curtains and a competent projectionist..all made for a great experience and sold-out shows. [Smile]

Sadly, SRO theatres tried to expand too rapidly and went under.

So do do things right, build a solid customer base (and good financial stability) then make cautious, phased expansion and you could eventually have a very successful chain of cinemas. [Smile]