Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: What are you wearing?

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Posted by Rachel Gilardi (Member # 1016) on 03-23-2003, 01:33 AM:

No don't close my thread!!! It isn't a teaser!

Anyway, just wondering who (mostly management) has uniforms and what kind. Also wondering if the projectionists out there are allowed to wear their street clothes or have to wear uniforms.

As a manager I just have to wear presentable clothes, the men have to wear a shirt and tie.

Posted by Brad Haven (Member # 954) on 03-23-2003, 01:45 AM:

The company i work for allows the projectionists to wear casual clothes, as long as they are neat and tidy.
I like to wear dark clothes while at work (black T-shirt), i wear shorts for 6 months of the year and jeans for the other 6 months.
On busy days (customers) i try to wear a T-shirt with the company logo on it, to give the illusion of a greater presence of staff.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 03-23-2003, 04:49 AM:

Don't worry Rachel, I'm not going to close this thread, but I will rant about it.

Any theater that doesn't let projectionists wear "decent/nice" street clothes just sucks. I can understand them not wanting projectionists to wear shorts or T-shirts with heavy metal rock bands or something to that effect, but a nice plain shirt, jeans and sneakers should be just fine...especially since projectionists are frequently on their knees, many booths are too hot to be wearing the corny uniforms some companies put forth, and they are not in the public view anyway. When a projectionist crosses the lobby to get to another booth or use the bathroom, they just look like a regular customer. When they are in uniform, they are stopped by customers and asked questions they frequently do not know how to answer. It's just stupid corporate nonsense.

In regards to the whole "men must wear shirt/tie/suit coat", but "women can wear nice clothes"...that is such sexist bullshit! If the men have to wear a shirt and tie, so can the women. Otherwise the men should be able to dress in a professional manner without the requirement of a tie and coat. Sexist! Sexist! Sexist! [sex]

Posted by Patrick McDonough (Member # 1363) on 03-23-2003, 07:59 AM:

we wear street clothes with a uniform shirt.

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 03-23-2003, 08:38 AM:

Well, now...Let's see...

What am I wearing...? (I'll never tell.)

At work I can wear whatever I want to wear but once the novelty wore off (and everyone had seen my favorite "L.A. Gun Club" tee shirt) I decided to come up with a uniform of my own. Originally, I chose the golf tee of the parent company and a pair of khakis. Nowadays, I've taken to wearing Dolby tees and blue jeans.

One of these days I might change that shirt to a Film Tech tee...right, Brad?

The projectionists wear a company-issued polo shirt and khaki or brown pants. They have to wear sturdy brown leather shoes with rubber soles and they must wear a working wristwatch. A pen and showtime schedule are also required components of the uniform, but they often get overlooked. As always, underwear is optional.

Brad wrote:

quote:
In regards to the whole "men must wear shirt/tie/suit coat", but "women can wear nice clothes"...that is such sexist bullshit! If the men have to wear a shirt and tie, so can the women.

Or maybe we could start wearing nice women's clothing, too? I'm probably too tall for heels but pearls have always enhanced me well.

Posted by Tim Turner (Member # 1109) on 03-23-2003, 09:26 AM:

Where I work we have to be in full uniform all the time. Black long sleeved shirt and pants (not jeans) with a tie, name tag, and a red vest! Well most of the time we can get away without a vest, unless some coroprate person is there.

Even though I get hot in those outfits in the booth, and yes I do find myself frequently on my knees for those bottom platters. I think its better because I frequently go downstairs to do theater checks, help clean theathers, lobby and bathroom. And I'd like to wear a uniform so I don't look like anyone of out of the ordinary with the downstairs staff. I really don't want customers to know that I'm the projectionist :-D

Posted by Rick Stowell (Member # 1624) on 03-23-2003, 09:45 AM:

All of our staff wears the same uniform, including projectionists. Before you condemn me, however, our staff decided on the uniform.

A polo/golf shirt with company logo (5 different colors), shoes that cover the entire foot, and any pants except blue jeans. Personally, I thought blue jeans would be nice, but our staff voted to not allow blue jeans (their options were blue jeans only, or any other pants except blue jeans).

Duh: I've found that compliance with company policies is much better when the staff wrote the policy.

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 03-23-2003, 10:30 AM:

Well, I think Rachel may be wearing pink right now. [Smile]

If you look at my current outdated pick to the left that is what all the employees wear.

I only have to wear a shirt and tie and supposed to wear a coat when downstairs when I am managing.

Posted by John Spooner (Member # 1565) on 03-23-2003, 11:24 AM:

Rachel, very good topic in fact.
The picture of me is my typical Aussie "uniform", the shorts and sandals (cheap K-mart shoes) not visible in this picture.
As for the ticket sellers at our venues, they wear neat casual clothes as there is no actual company uniform.
The manager always is immaculate.
After work, what I wear (more like don`t wear) is a different matter!!!!
My best wishes to all my colleagues at Film-tech.
Regards, John Spooner.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 03-23-2003, 11:32 AM:

This is what we wear at work:

It is quite stylish, isn`t it?

This is what our ladies wear:

And here`s a picture of Manny on his way to work:

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-23-2003, 12:10 PM:

At my theater the dress code is very relaxed, and that is awesome. Projectionists can pretty much wear whatever they want. So can managers/assistants. I've seen them in shirts and ties and I've also seen them in crummy looking t-shirts and unshaven. No one bats an eye. Staff have their choice of company shirts, some with long sleeves and they are available in a few different colors. There are no name tags at my theater. Kick ass. It gives the impression of a very relaxed environment which is one of our goals. I think it works well. Customers always say they enjoy the atmosphere of the theater.

Posted by Jon Miller (Member # 163) on 03-23-2003, 12:53 PM:

Ah, yes, the Madstone "*Crew" t-shirts. Makes all the other chains seem stuffy by comparison! [Smile]

Posted by Rachel Gilardi (Member # 1016) on 03-23-2003, 01:14 PM:

Brad: I don't think men having to wear a shirt and tie is sexist when a woman has to be presentable. It is just different kinds of clothes because men and women do not typically wear the same clothes in absense of a uniform.

What I wear meaning womens "presentable clothes" is either a blouse or sweater and dress pants, a suit (always on the weekends), or a skirt suit. I would honestly much better like to just throw on a shirt and tie--its so much easier.

I am the first female manager my company has ever had--they never told me what to wear and I pretty much made up my own rules for that. I don't think there is any reason that a manager should not look presentable at all times. The customers should be able to tell that you're the manager before you tell them . For guys, a shirt and tie does that--for women, its a little harder and that is why I wear a suit while my counterparts are running around in shirts and ties without jackets.

Posted by Michael West (Member # 428) on 03-23-2003, 01:24 PM:

we are forced to wear a goofy polo shirt black polyester pants (same uniform the macdonalds employees wear) in the summer the booths temperature can exceed 100f/38c. prior to this we had to wear a shirt and tie, pants - but safety was a concern or lawsuits from it.
it is a mystery to me why we need a uniform at all? in the past "the good ol days" we just had to be neat and clean.
seriously, i think there is nothing more absurd than a forty year old dressed like a teen aged fast food employee, needless to say i seldom go downstairs in case a friend might see me...

Posted by Don Bruechert (Member # 1538) on 03-23-2003, 01:57 PM:

Well here's a different twist.... I'm one of those "combo" people. As the projectionist I would think I should be able to wear some decent yet unimportant clothes, as I frequently get dirty, but as the manager I was supposed to wear a white shirt, black pants and tie. Well I immediately started out by refusing to wear the tie, as I gave a gruesome demonstration of what it would be like if I leaned over the projector to check something and was dragged in by the tie... My first victory!.... the white shirt took a bit longer, but after the owner got good and sick of seeing me greeting the public in a grease and dirt encrusted white shirt (that was clean when I came in), he relented on that too. Then we went to work on making it comfortable for the rest of the staff. Now we wear maroon golf shirts embroidered with a logo designed by a fellow manager, and black pants. It would have went better with khaki pants, but the concessionists were concerend about grease, butter stains, etc and I was worried about showing dirt, so we kept the dark pants. We also had the word "manager" added to the shirts of those that wanted it. Catch is that there is a $15 deposit on the shirts that is returnable if the shirt is returnable in good condition when the person leaves - the owner's idea for that was the staff would take better care of the shirts that way. The only think I think I might add in the summer is a sweat band, but that can easily be slipped into a pocket.

Posted by Rachel Gilardi (Member # 1016) on 03-23-2003, 02:04 PM:

A sweat band? [Big Grin]

My old theater also wore maroon polo shirts and black pants...staff and management. Management had a cream trim on the collar staff was just all maroon.

Crimson (Maroon Basically) and Cream are the cities school colors. [puke]

Posted by Andy Muirhead (Member # 712) on 03-23-2003, 07:00 PM:

Good topic, and for me, very topical!

My cinema has just remined the staff of the official dress code as it has been slipping lately. It should be company polo shirt or jumper and black trousers and black shoes - no trainers or running shoes.

Since sometimes I am on my feet and running about for 11 hour shifts, I got sick of the constriction of dress trousers and shoes, so last December I purchased some baggy pants and a pair of Vans - I love Vans, outside work I have several pairs of Vans trainers which feel as comfy and light as slippers although the pair I got for work are not as comfortable and are heavy because I tried to get a more 'dress code friendly' pair!

Anyway due to the tightening of the dress code rules I'll have to buy new shoes for work, so I want to find a pair of shoes that are as comfortable and light as my Vans trainers, but still conforming to the code of black shoes, no trainer blah! It seems like an impossible task, Any ideas?!

Even though I'm senior projectionist, I am in the public eye a lot of the time so I don't disagree with the dress code, I just wish I could find a way of looking smart/conforming with the dress code YET feeling comfortable!

By the way the amount I spend on foot care products is unbelievable, surely I'm not the only one in this industry that suffers from being on their feet all day?!

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 03-23-2003, 08:32 PM:

Sorry Rachel, but I've got to disagree with you. In regards to uniform, men get screwed and women can (note I said "can", not "do") get away with murder. With men you HAVE to wear the tie. With women, you do not, but you can. I've worked with a LOT of women managers and they were always presentable and professional, but when you compare what they wore to the mandatory "you are a male so you must wear this", they got away with a MUCH more comfortable and cool attire. The whole damn thing is sexist. If a company is going to force their employees to wear an exact uniform, gender should NOT affect it. I hope one of these days some guy files a lawsuit with a major chain over this and wins. It IS sexist.

Let me put it another way. How would you feel if you were a female employee and were told that you couldn't be an usher or projectionist "because those are guy jobs"? Would you find that comment sexist, even though that is what the majority of ushers and projectionists are? You know what, that IS sexist! (Not to mention complete bullshit.) However the way I see things like this is cut and dry. This example is just as sexist as permitting females to wear whatever they want so long it is looks presentable while the males have no choice in the matter. Are men incapable of looking presentable in clothing other than a suit? I assume you would like to see all women treated equally just like I do, right? Well with that answer, then they should be treated equally to men...which includes, shirt, tie and suit jacket. You can't have it both ways and be truly treated equally.

Seriously, sooner or later someone WILL initiate a lawsuit over this, I just know it. "Equal rights and treatment" works both ways, not just in the favor of the minority.

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 03-23-2003, 08:38 PM:

i the booth i wear a white lab coat and shirt and tie

Posted by Paul Goulet (Member # 297) on 03-23-2003, 08:47 PM:

"What am i wearing?".....

Blue shirt, Dirty black pants, wig,turtle neck in the winter...
(right laurence?)

Posted by Manuel Francisco Valencia (Member # 710) on 03-23-2003, 08:56 PM:

The men vs women dress code battle is a little screwed up. Men can only wear a suit at my theatre and it does get plain. WOmen however have a lot of opinionated rules when it comes to their dress so they can come in with what they would usually wear on their days off. I do not wear a tie on my day off, so that goes to show you the conformity of it all. Not to mention the long hair is okay for women but not men fued. Earrings, jewelry, etc. We men are getting [sex]

over!

Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 03-23-2003, 11:33 PM:

So, what about tatoos, piercings, spiked hair, studded dog collars used as wrist bands and neckwear, purple, green, orange, etc. colored hair, does it fly with management??

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 03-23-2003, 11:39 PM:

I would have to say definitely no to that one Bill. My stance is equal treatment to everyone, regardless of gender, race and whatnot. It has nothing to do with permitting an unprofessional appearance.

Posted by Don Bruechert (Member # 1538) on 03-24-2003, 12:11 AM:

We have some piercings that seem "tasteful" and we let them go by. Hair has showed up in different colors on occasion too, but never anything really dramatic.

On the subject of Shoes, I have been picky about my work shoes, not just for projection, but for my Engineering hob at the hospital as well. I didn't feel like wearing those uncomfortable dress shoes, so I complained to my doctor my feet hurt and he wrote my a prescription for "supportive walking shoes". Our employee health department at the hospital will not deny anyone anything that might get them a workers comp suit, so they let me be. I have been buying black reebok walking shoes for about 5 years now and I find them quite comfortable. The soles are also non-marking and relatively non-slip. They cost around $65, but we have a department store chain that sells shoes at half-off once a year and I can buy 2 pairs at that price then.

Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 03-24-2003, 12:25 AM:

I wear a shirt and tie, I wear a jacket on the weekends/holidays. Most of the time I lose the tie as soon as I get uncomfortable.

Posted by Nicholas Roznovsky (Member # 861) on 03-24-2003, 12:44 AM:

For managers, it's our company policy that all GMs and AMs (male or female or otherwise [Eek!]

) are supposed to wear light blue oxford shirts, khaki slacks, dress shoes, and a tie. Now, compliance with that policy varies from theater to theater, but my staff has always been in complete uniform. I care more about presenting a professional image than personal expression. My female AMs complained at first about the ties, but it hasn't been a problem for quite some time now.

Booth personnel are allowed to wear pretty much whatever they want as long as its within reason. My bosses aren't liberal enough to allow T-shirts or shorts in the booth, so jeans and a company polo are the usual choice of my proj. guys. Sneakers are perfectly fine in the booth.

It's been my experience that the theaters that are the most anal about projectionist's clothes are the ones that let them hang out downstairs after they've started the films. If a projectionist is upstairs doing what needs to be done beyond threading and starting, it's rarely an issue.

Posted by William Leland III (Member # 1400) on 03-24-2003, 11:15 AM:

I wear jeans and a T-shirt or polo shirt here at the IMAX. Aslong we look presentable it is ok for projectionist. The floor wears blue IMAX shits and white pants.

When I worked for Regal, we had the white shirt,black pants, vest and tie. I liked the get up. I worked both floor and projection.

When I went worked at Carmike, I was the only person other than our 2 managers to wear a tie and nice cloths. Projection only

When I worked for Consolidated I wore the same white shirt, nice tie and pants black or white. I was asked by our District Manger if I was a new manager she never met. [Big Grin]

Projection only.

When I worked for General Cinema, the female managers had to buy black dress or suits from Genral Cinema and men had the blue blazer and tie. Floor and projection.

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 03-25-2003, 12:50 AM:

I've never worked anywhere where the booth person was allowed to wear something other than the stupid uniforms the floor staff wears. Dress pants, white dress shirt, tie, vest... BLAH! You could cook a turkey at the temperatures your body got running around in all that with 18 screens!

quote:
When a projectionist crosses the lobby to get to another booth or use the bathroom, they just look like a regular customer. When they are in uniform, they are stopped by customers and asked questions they frequently do not know how to answer.

I agree with Brad 100% The company is SO CONCERNED with customers not being able to identify you as an employee that the fact doesn't don on them that there is NO REASON for them to need to identify you. "Uh oh! Some strange guy in plain clothes is starting the movie! How unprofessional!!" [Roll Eyes]

At my theater, the projectionist had to do checklists, bathrooms, ice, floors, sink, AND clean the popper -- leaving little if any time to concentrate on booth duties, and it showed. But that's how theaters run things these days, I guess. [thumbsup]

=TMP=

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 03-25-2003, 07:38 AM:

I'm with the majority on this one: floor staff and managers should be "recognizable," which probably implies either uniforms or a dress code. Projectionists (and anyone else in a non-customer-facing position) should dress for comfort and safety (i.e. no ties), although I would agree that they should be expected to look neat and clean and possibly dress up a bit for "special" shows or planned booth tours. Attire that is obviously unprofessional or offensive should obviously not be permitted for anyone. This is how the theatres where I have worked have been run, although theatres that have floor staff and/or managers running the booth part-time will generally have them wear their normal floor staff/manager uniform (which is sub-optimal, but so is having a manager/usher-run booth in the first place).

Posted by Patrick McDonough (Member # 1363) on 03-25-2003, 08:07 AM:

our other projectionist has body pircings all over his face. The airport security would never let him on the plane.

Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 03-25-2003, 09:13 AM:

We (projectionists) are required to wear the standard staff uniform, although on Thursdays we're frequently too hot and busy to get changed into them. I also happen to agree with Brad on this one.

Recently, the AC was down in our booth for about two months. We threatened to start wearing Hawaiian shirts to work if the managers didn't get it fixed. Finally one day I did wear the shirt, and it was quite the scandal among the floor staff. Two days later, the AC was fixed. [Smile]

Posted by John Spooner (Member # 1565) on 03-25-2003, 09:37 AM:

Brad Miller. (without prejudice or opinion).
Brad, must concur with your observations and prediction of future legal action.
This is not the appropriate place to discuss the politics of the matter, but in Australia some years ago such an action was initiated, by a white employee against his aboriginal employer on the basis of discrimination. Being an excellent example of reverse discrimination, it was heard in court and well covered by the press. I understand the white man received good compensation and won the case.
John Spooner. South Australia.

Posted by Kris Brunton (Member # 432) on 03-25-2003, 09:44 AM:

IN the booth we were allowed to dress casually, the only thing was no shorts, but living in Northern Ontario that was hardly a problem [Smile]

Posted by Robert E. Allen (Member # 1351) on 03-25-2003, 02:27 PM:

I believe what the staff wears either shows respect for the customers or a lack of respect. The projectionist should not be required to wear a uniform if there is no public contact (I was a little suprized by the booth being too hot comment. Don't they use room exhaust and air conditioning systems these days?) The manager should wear something other than street clothes (or on top of street clothes) that makes him/her clearly identifiable (in the past it was a tux). The staff in the concession area should wear something that says "sanitary" or at least "clean".

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 03-25-2003, 05:31 PM:

I remember when I was kid we had a very large single screen theater, the MGM, which died in the mid 70s.
The ushers there wore red tails with golden lace and a red cylinder hat. And whites gloves too, I think.

Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 03-25-2003, 06:33 PM:

presentation should be what happens on the screen. nitpicking about staff appearance is just a reflection of our image-obsessed society. think about it. these policies are all about looking professional and hiding stains. what's important is being professional and being clean (at least when it comes to food service). why is it that bigger chains have more strict dress codes? simple. when checkers and executives are in town and make their rounds, they can see at a glance whether their image is up to snuff and don't need to worry about the actualities. if all the decisions are made locally, they are made by people who interact with the staff and see the operations on a daily basis. they don't need to see a tie to tell them what's up.

the independent theaters around here appear to have no dress code whatever. some might have a general "look nice" policy, some might not. but i'm going to go out on a limb and say that no customers care. do you really think customers feel insulted by what staff wear? please. unless someone's wearing a shirt that says "fuck you" or something, this just isn't an issue.

if recognizing staff is an issue, and that can be legitimate, then a pin or t-shirt will suffice. usually it's not that hard to figure out that the person at the door is an employee, although we recently had someone pose as a ticket taker to steal a ticket (despite the fact that we have uniforms).

when you initiate a dress code you legitimate a whole slew of societal prejudices and open up a can of worms (sexism, etc.). what's important is whether your popcorn-server washed his or her hands after wiping his/her ass, not whether he/she is wearing a tie (covered in butter from dipping into the popcorn).

carl

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 03-25-2003, 06:41 PM:

John, this is very much so an appropriate place to discuss legal matters and discrimination.

Posted by John Scott (Member # 520) on 03-25-2003, 10:01 PM:

The policy at the theatre I manage is the following:

Management including Assistants -- required to wear business dress attire (dress pants and shoes, button down dress shirt, tie, and sport coat)

Non-Vending floor staff -- Full Tuxedo (females have the option of wearing tuxedo pants or tuxedo skirt)

Vendors -- Full Tuxedo uniform, but instead of the jacket they must wear an apron (Females have the option of wearing tuxedo pants or tuxedo skirt). All employees in the vending stand must wear a vending hat under health department regulations.

Projectionists -- If the projectionist in question doesn't have any floor responsibilities, their uniform is business casual (no jeans, t-shirts, or shorts). They can wear tennis shoes. If they have floor responsibilities, its business formal dress, although they do not have to wear a tie or sport coat.

Posted by Barry Martin (Member # 1376) on 03-25-2003, 11:48 PM:

As far as people being able to recognize you as an employee and whether people care or not, I always thought it funny that when I went out into the Mall on break or after/before work to get something that people would ask me where this is, or how much that is. Even if I was in a store such as Old Navy which has a dress code completely opposite of mine. I don't think people pay that much attention to how good you look, but to whether you look like a worker or not.

As for booth clothes, we went back and forth from the uniform, which sucked because it was dress pants and shoes with a thick button-down company shirt that just did not breathe at ALL, to jeans and any t-shirt. I usually preferred the t-shirt the company gave us when the theater opened just because I didn't care how many rips or oil stains the booth put on it. I did lose quite a few nice shirts to the booth.

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 03-26-2003, 01:49 PM:

In regards to the "image" thing, I agree with you there Carl. I've been to some scummy, hole-in-the-wall multiplexes with dim, scratched projection, but the whole staff had spiffy, button-up shirts with ties and vests, looking all "1930's Movie Palace" in that dump. Who are they trying to fool?!?!

What's even funnier is that half the time you have goofy, snot-nosed teenages who couldn't tell you how to properly tuck a shirt in if you held a gun to their head dressed in these so-called "professional" uniforms. A casual shirt and pants looks MUCH better than fancy dress clothes worn sloppily. But it's not always the employees' fault. They have to run around butter, soda, bathrooms, clean auditoriums, and carry dripping bags to the dumpster! [Roll Eyes]

The uniform should really fit the job.

=TMP=

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-26-2003, 02:11 PM:

Overalls!!!!

Posted by Timothy Ervin (Member # 733) on 06-30-2003, 03:42 PM:

The theatre company I previously worked for, had a very relaxed dress code. Employees and managers could wear nice decent street clothes including shorts!! The projectionist loved that. Now where I work , employees wear that god awful vest and bow tie thing and managers have to wear a tie except on Mondays when some of us wear jeans.

Posted by Rachel Gilardi (Member # 1016) on 06-30-2003, 06:57 PM:

Well, now that I changed theaters and work with Don I wear the same thing that he said in a previous post: a maroon polo shirt with the theater name embroidered on it and black pants. Very similar to the first theater I worked at, the shirts are even the same color. The manager/projectionists and staff all look basically the same.

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 07-01-2003, 09:19 PM:

In the booth, just casual street cloths that are neat and clean.

In public eye, neat and clean casual dress, sometimes with a pull-over promotion shirt, a company shirt, a white shirt, and black pants. No neckties, even by the manager.

We don't believe in neckties. They are dangerous if you are confronted with a disgruntled person. If you want to or if you are required to wear a necktie, use the clip-on style so in event someone grabs you by the necktie to faciliitate a "punch in the nose" you can escape before being pulled over the concession counter and getting punched.

Up here at NAS Whidbey, the military personnel dealing with the public wear the clip-on style, so I have been told....for that reason.

Posted by Eric Hooper (Member # 1730) on 07-01-2003, 11:30 PM:

At the General Cinema locations here in SF, before they closed, employees wore the classic maroon uniform and the managers wore a nice and sharp black suit and tie. I was always *very* impressed by this. It felt like I was being hosted to a very nice evening out. I've gone to independant theatres since then were the staff is just wearing sloppy baggy jeans and t-shirt and felt as though I was in a very low class establishment.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 07-02-2003, 06:58 AM:

I'm with Rachel on the ties issue. After all, if the women are required to wear ties, should men be required to wear skirts? Apart from Marlene Dietrich in Morocco I don't think I've ever seen the former. And as for the latter... well, unless you happen to be in Scotland you can expect some very strange looks indeed.

All cinema staff on duty should, IMHO, wear some sort of uniform, so that they are readily identifiable to customers (especially in an emergency). In the last projectionist job I had I wasn't required to. One evening I had to fight my way through a corridor full of queueing customers to get at a projection box, many of whom assumed I was another customer pushing in through the queue. After that I started wearing the company polo shirts provided to front-of-house staff and customers would always clear a path to let me through when I had to move quickly through public areas of the building.

Posted by Kevin Baglow (Member # 721) on 07-02-2003, 07:46 AM:

Yep, it's not so much what you wear as how you wear it. It's really obvious how much effort you put into personal grooming. The more you put into it, the more you get back. We go for polo shirt (many colours)& black trouses - No sports shoes - only black leather- cinema is a semi-formal ocasion after all. The pin on name tag makes it look official.

Posted by Rachel Gilardi (Member # 1016) on 07-02-2003, 12:40 PM:

THANK YOU LEO!

The thought of Brad in a skirt is odd yet intriguing... [Smile]

Where I work now, everyone wears the same thing. I don't see anything wrong with it, in fact I like it. But womens and mens dress clothing doesn't typically mean the same thing.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 07-03-2003, 01:47 AM:

quote:
The thought of Brad in a skirt is odd yet intriguing...

I can easily picture Brad in a skirt. I do not know why, though.

quote:
Where I work now, everyone wears the same thing.

Do you ALL wear cowboy hats?

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 07-03-2003, 01:53 AM:

If I could swap the skirt for a kilt, then you may have something. [Wink]

Still, the tie is a damned noose that puts me in such a bad mood you don't want to be within 10 miles of me when I have one on. If corporate wants men to wear ties and yet the women do not have to, that is discrimination as far as I am concerned. Ties are evil.

Posted by John Westlund (Member # 913) on 07-03-2003, 01:59 AM:

We have shirts that have the theatre logo on them that we sometimes wear to work. Most of the time however, we all have to wear black pants, white shirts, and ties (I don't wear a tie when in the booth). The men and women wear the ties.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 07-03-2003, 08:03 AM:

quote:
If corporate wants men to wear ties and yet the women do not have to, that is discrimination as far as I am concerned.

If it's any consolation, an employment tribunal in Britain agreed with you: link to story. I don't think this is a very good comparison though, because in this case men were required to conform to a dress code whereas women could wear whatever they liked, which is clearly discriminatory.

I'm not so sure it would be discrimination for an employer to place restrictions on both men and women, even if they were different ones. For example, a man might resent having to wear a tie, but by the same token a woman in the same workplace might also resent having to wear a skirt. As Rachel points out, informal dress (e.g. Jeans and a t-shirt) is often the same for men and women, but formal dress certainly isn't: it involves wearing garments which are gender-specific. IMHO a workplace should either have no dress code at all, or a dress code/uniform which applies equally to men and women, even if what you're actually being asked to wear is different.

Posted by Paul Salley (Member # 740) on 07-03-2003, 11:24 AM:

Our booth dress code is simple. Company polo shirt w/ jeans or pants and comfortable shoes. The booth staff must remove the company polo when traveling downstairs, this is so we are not stopped by customers while trying to return to the booth to thread or check startup of a feature. Everyone brings an extra Tshirt to take breaks.

Posted by Gerard S. Cohen (Member # 994) on 07-03-2003, 08:45 PM:

During the years I worked carbon arc/changeovers on 42nd Street, I wore U.S.Army green fatigues. The booths were not air conditioned, opening the portholes sucked in cool air but also tobacco and marijuana smoke, and the carbon grit, lubricants, 40 years of dust plus the godawful stink made combat attire appropriate. In summer, some projectionists wore just undershorts.

Working platters, I wore T-shirts and jeans, with sneakers or roller skates, the last in a 14-plex with 160-yard-long booth with vinyl-tiled floors. The cracks between tiles gave a gentle massage that kept my leg muscles from getting sore, but an assistant manager worried about accidents. ( Actually, tilting forward onto the skates' bumper blocks gave a non-slip stance
useful for attending the machines.)

I would NEVER wear a tie near machinery. It's probably against OSHA regulations, and if anyone wearing one had an injury as a result, there would be hell to pay from OSHA and Workman's Comp. and the management would be liable. The manager
at my last steady job had each projectionist read and sign every page of every OSHA regulation in his presence, even those that referred to concession hardware, which was outside the scope of union projectionists employment.

Anyone requiring a projectionist to wear a tie should be hanged by one, IMHO.

Posted by Michael Gonzalez (Member # 593) on 07-03-2003, 08:53 PM:

Is there some company somewhere that in there dress code they REQUIRE women to wear skirts? Other than Star Trek TOS I have never found that to be the case anywhere. Usually the women have the OPTION to wear a skirt if they so choose (with the company sometime dictating the desired length and fabric) men on the other hand, do not have a choice, they have to wear long pants, a dress shirt and a tie no matter how hot it may be.

Posted by Lindsay Morris (Member # 1430) on 07-03-2003, 10:35 PM:

The dress code we have setup for Kookaburra (in consultation with the staff) is quite simple.. black & white.
The girls wear black skirts or jeans with white tops of their own choosing in style and the blokes wear black trousers and white shirts. The ONLY one to wear a tie of any sort is the doorman who wears a very neat bow tie. As the owner/manager/projectionist I wear as seen in the photo.. black trousers and white shirt and NEVER a tie. The booth does get VERY hot during our season and 40c is not uncommon on hot nights. However a large fan and being able to simply walk outside while the show is on and sit on the grass alongside the booth does not make those sorts of temps unbearable. Things will be a little better as far as temp goes once the carbon arcs come out and the Century with a xenon goes in but there will not be any recourse to an AC unit as it is just not needed.
It is esential that I am indentified as part of the staff as once the show is well under way the front of house staff leave and from then on in it is only ME there so I must be indentifiable to any patron with a problem. Also as patrons depart it is the projectionist role to handout the program sheets to patrons and once all have gone close the place down.
At least once a week we will have patrons scuttling back for stuff they have left behind so again the staff must be indentifiable and have found by experience that the black and white attire is ideal.
Could not in my wildest dreams imagine wearing a tie around the old Simplex standards as if that big flywheel ever got hold of a tie or some other floppy apparell you would have a big spinning flywheel right in your face in milliseconds and probably loose a few teeth into the bargain. And the motor switch is a bit hard to reach being on the other side of the machine.
I have a small scar on my stomach inflicted by a Siemens SI teleprinter which I was servicing at a NW airport installation some years ago. I had the covers off resetting the "range" of the machine and just let a loose shirt get too close to a gear that drove the tape transmitter on the front of the machine. In seconds that gear had my shirt and a fair chunk of my tummy wrapped up in it with me frantically trying to reach the switch at the back to shut the brute off. I literally had a 30kg machine attached to my middle bits for quite some time. I had to unscrew the the tape unit mounting and wind the gears backwards to get it off me. All not before the airport staff had managed to grab a camera and photograph the "Incident" for their Safety Magazine.

More modern projectors tend to have most spinning bits well enclosed but a tie into a spinning platter on makeup or breakdown is also a possibility so NO Ties for me anywhere in the bio box. Just neat clean and indentifiable to patrons as our setup is a little different to many others.
Lindsay

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 07-04-2003, 01:04 PM:

I'm wearing a pair of shorts with a short sleave button down shirt. On my feet I have a pair of New Balance running shoes. Having had a couple of jobs where a tie was required, I felt that if I owned a movie theatre, I would be somewhat relaxed about the dress code.

Here it is:

We provide t-shirts with logos so we encourage you to wear them. If you would like to wear someting better, be our guest. Please don't wear anything that you would be crushed to get butter stains on. No sleevless shirts, no t-shirts with logos or images other than ours, no underarms, no open toed shoes. Shorts, jeans and sneakers are ok.

Posted by Michael Gonzalez (Member # 593) on 07-04-2003, 01:56 PM:

At the company I work for the managers have to wear dress pants (women having the option of wearing a dress skirt), dress shirt (with a tie for men), and a jacket either one of your own or the company supplied navy blazer with company logo, oh and of course a name tag. I can say that I have ruined many a shirt and pants working on the projectors or having to climb behind a screen to fix a speaker.

The general staff have to wear black pants they can be jeans but they have to be all black (no white threads) and they cannot be too baggy. They have to wear a white dress shirt and black shoes (they can be sneakers but once again they have to be solid black). The uniform is topped of with a company supplied maroon vest and a clip-on black tie.

I like the multiple color polo shirt idea. You give them one color of their choice (with company logo) when they start working and they have to option of buying other colors from the company at cost. That would work out pretty good because the employees wont feel that they are wearing the same old uniform every time they work. Though we do let them wear their pieces of flair (movie buttons from the film companies).

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 07-04-2003, 02:18 PM:

Does your company require 18 pieces of flair?

Posted by Michael Gonzalez (Member # 593) on 07-04-2003, 03:37 PM:

Nope. Anywhere from Zero (not counting the required name tag) to the girl who wears so many you cannot tell what color her vest is. The only restriction is that they cannot wear buttons for movies that have come and gone.

Posted by William T. Parr (Member # 677) on 07-04-2003, 10:54 PM:

Company Dress for the projectionist here at the Highland was relaxed until Galaxy took us over. Now we have to were black dress type pants, which I disagree with since I do most the daily maintenance on the projectors here and end up ruining good dress pants for nothing. As to shirts, the company supplies us with a black short sleeved pullover polo style shirt with the Galaxy Logo and the words Galaxy Theatres over where the left pocket would be if the shirt had one. I like the shirt I hate being mandated to were dress style pants though.

Posted by R. Andrew Diercks (Member # 1725) on 07-05-2003, 12:28 AM:

Our company requires that we dress prestenatable at all times but dressier on weekends. Shirt and tie for men and skirts etc. for women. As a manager, I find it harder to judge what is reasonable for women and not be sexist. Men are easy, no tie, go change. I feel their pain. Girls can get away with a lot more casual dress in my opinion. I am thankful we don't wear sequin vests or bowties. We have very classy decor so we need to dress nice to fit the theatre.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 07-05-2003, 02:20 AM:

If men are required to wear ties, then women should be required to wear skirts. No option for pants will be accepted.

How about theaters that make you purchase your uniform? Madstone provides the staff with one shirt upon hire. If you want another one or if the original gets damaged then you must purchase it. Recently Madstone forced all of their staff to buy another shirt, saying that the originals they handed out were "fading" or whatnot. This was not an option and was automatically deducted out of each employee's check.

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 07-05-2003, 02:26 AM:

I always thought it to be weird/gross that some companies will issue one uniform and then have you work seven days a week. I know people don't do their wash every single day... after wearing the same thing for 14 hours a day, for who knows how long, it's no wonder customers stay at home!

As for me, I generally wear whatever I want, no matter where I am working. If I'm in the booth, I wear whatever is comfortable for that particular booths environment (anywhere from extremely cold to extremely hot). If I'm managing the theatre, I'll usually try not to wear a white shirt covered in oil and grease. [Smile]

Posted by Nicholas Roznovsky (Member # 861) on 07-05-2003, 10:08 AM:

quote:
No option for pants will be accepted.

Words to live by. [Smile]

Posted by Rachel Gilardi (Member # 1016) on 07-05-2003, 10:55 AM:

quote:
If men are required to wear ties, then women should be required to wear skirts. No option for pants will be accepted.

I'm sure some of you guys would love it if your female projectionist HAD to wear a skirt! [evil]

Posted by Michael Gonzalez (Member # 593) on 07-05-2003, 07:11 PM:

Not some of the female projectionist I've seen. In some cases, the more clothing the better. [Razz]

Posted by Travis Hubrig (Member # 1745) on 07-05-2003, 08:57 PM:

I don't like wearing any clothes in the booth...

[Wink]

I work for a company that requires men to wear tie and shirt with a sports coat or suit coat. The women must wear "dress clothes"

I have seen to many different interpretations. If they can wear a sweater, than I want to.

I do think that a dress code is essential. It is a policy and if the dress code is enforced properly it is much easier to enforce all other policies. If you let the dress code slip, than your other policies will also. Being in uniform also reminds employees that they are working and helps give them a professional attitude.

Posted by R. Andrew Diercks (Member # 1725) on 07-07-2003, 09:37 AM:

We don't have uniforms because of the grubs that don't wash them and wouldn't take care of them, even if they work well at the concession stand.

quote:
If you let the dress code slip, than your other policies will also.

I completely agree with this. Most of our managers that get walked on starts with dress code. I guess I try to lead by example, I always follow it 100%. I still think females have it easier! I do wish my projectionists didn't have to dress up. That is company policy however, and I will follow it until changed.

Posted by Rachel Gilardi (Member # 1016) on 07-07-2003, 10:18 AM:

quote:
We don't have uniforms because of the grubs that don't wash them and wouldn't take care of them, even if they work well at the concession stand.

Then who's to say that they actually wash thier street clothes? The stuff on those may be 10 times worse then anything they could just pick up at the theater. Cleaning your own work uniform should be part of the dress code...coming to work in proper clean attire should be the rule.

quote:
I do wish my projectionists didn't have to dress up. That is company policy however, and I will follow it until changed.

So your concessionists don't have a uniform but your projectionists do? [Confused]

I'm so confused...

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 07-07-2003, 03:17 PM:

If a company issues a uniform, the company should be responsible for properly cleaning it. Specifically addressing the Madstone issue, if Madstone was responsible for cleaning the shirts, then they couldn't claim that they faded because employees were washing them improperly or whatnot when they try to justify the mandatory purchase of new shirts.

There should have been a clause for "normal wear and tear" in regards to the uniform. If the shirt snags on a door hinge or sharp edge and rips while you're working, is it your fault? Every place I've worked at only charged you for the uniform if you lost it or were careless and caused it to get ruined. Accidents or wear and tear, (buttons coming off, etc) you were given a new one. Just part of business expenses. You wouldn't charge a customer for carpet cleaning if they spilled a soda...

=TMP=

Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 07-07-2003, 09:04 PM:

I typically wear a hawaiian shirt and shorts because it's AZ and it's usually hot. But we in the booth have no dress code, but obviously we don't wear rags and dirty clothes. The downstairs wait staff has a uniform though, but fortunately we don't up in the booth.

Posted by R. Andrew Diercks (Member # 1725) on 07-07-2003, 09:55 PM:

quote:
So your concessionists don't have a uniform but your projectionists do? I'm so confused...

None of us have a uniform...we just have a dress code. Dress nice, nicer on weekends. Projectionists are also required to dress professionally. It is more detailed but not necessary to type it out.

quote:
Then who's to say that they actually wash thier street clothes?

Nothing says for sure they will, but it is much more likely that they take care of clothing they pay for and use outside of work as well. I would be all for a company polo as a uniform but I am positive we wouldn't pay for them. Uniforms and cleaning is a huge expense to a company and most have rentals with a cleaning service that does come out of your check at some point. Not in the theatre industry necessarily, but others that require uniforms do this. I suppose it depends on the state, but in Iowa you can require uniforms and not pay for them, but the deduction from pay is pre-tax. Our minimum wage concessionists may have a beef with this and I can't say I would blame them.

Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 07-08-2003, 04:17 AM:

quote:
If you let the dress code slip, than your other policies will also.

i disagree with this. policies that are rationally motivated will be followed (yes... assuming the staff isn't a bunch of jackasses). transparently arbitrary policies will lead to disrespect for the rules in general, and the management that makes them. fascistic enforcement of arbitrary rules will lead to turnover.

carl

Posted by R. Andrew Diercks (Member # 1725) on 07-10-2003, 09:06 AM:

quote:
fascistic enforcement of arbitrary rules will lead to turnover.

How is company policy arbitrary?!
ar·bi·trar·y =Determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or principle.

Posted by Travis Hubrig (Member # 1745) on 07-10-2003, 03:40 PM:

Carl,

Are you calling me Fascist???

quote:
fascistic enforcement of arbitrary rules will lead to turnover.

If rules and policies are enforced and enforced consistently then it will not be a problem.
If you enforce rules "ARBITRARILY" (good word) then you will have problems.
It is not hard to wear a uniform to work, and most employees understand and agree.

Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 07-10-2003, 05:11 PM:

quote:
Are you calling me Fascist???

it sounds like the company you work for has fascist tendencies. don't take that too offensively; most do.

i would say the rule requiring ties and sportcoats (for men) is arbitrary. it doesn't serve to uniquely identify the staff as many civilians are liable to be wearing something similar (probably arbitrarily mandated at their jobs). in the summer it must be pretty uncomfortable, based on my limited experience of midwestern summers.

if you can get away with being naked in the booth, my hat is off to you.

carl

Posted by Darren Briggs (Member # 1071) on 07-15-2003, 05:07 PM:

Well today as it is one of the hottest days here in the U.K for years, i was wearing sandles, shorts and a dolby t shirt.
And tomorrow i may or may not wear a thong! [Wink]

good weather for [beer]

Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 07-15-2003, 06:42 PM:

It sucked at Cinema West as I'm sure it does at MANY theatres without adequate HVAC in the offices or the booth. I used to ROAST in the Summer and freeze in the Winter. Some days I would wear the employee polo-shirt if I just didn't wanna get dressed up. But I made sure on weekends I was wearing something close to professional attire.

I never had a problem wearing a required uniform. Whether I was a manager or a projectionist. Even when I worked for UA and had to wear the hideous purple and teal uniforms... it saved ME from having to ruin my clothes and it made it so I didn't have to figure out what I wanted to wear that day.

As a manager I always had trouble getting my projectionists to wear a uniform. They always asked why they had to wear a uniform when they were just in the booth all day. Which I totally agree with. However, we had our projectionists going down into the auditoriums to check on presentation after the set started, and it was THEN I didn't want customers seeing some guy in jeans and a t-shirt just walking into every auditorium and then walking out... it just gives the wrong idea.

Luckily though I'm not a manager anymore... I'm sure there's a generation of Cinema West projectionists that are glad they never worked for me. [Smile]

Posted by Jonathan Ralston (Member # 1775) on 07-29-2003, 01:25 AM:

My theater requires managers to wear company suits (navy blue coats and pants, white shirt, and any tie). Women wear basically the same, but any white dressy shirt. All managers are projectionists and whenever they're working in the booth, they must wear navy blue pants, and a navy blue polo shirt with the National Amusements logo on the sleeve. I'm just booth help and can wear basically whatever I want.

Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 07-29-2003, 02:19 AM:

I've always felt that telling guys that they cannot have long hair but that is it ok for women is totally sexist. It amazes me that we live in a world where we are taught/bombarded with the idea that you should judge someone by what's "on the inside," but these practices are still common among the majority or schools and businesses, at least in this area.

Personally, if I was the boss I would not have any uniform policy that would affect how someone chooses to look outside of work.

Posted by Rachel Gilardi (Member # 1016) on 07-30-2003, 10:17 PM:

Was someone talking about men having long hair? Eh, I don't want to scan backwards...

I don't think there is anything wrong with men having long hair but just like the female staff I think that it should be held back with a band. When you are in a food environment that is necessary...even if you are working box or booth you may go behind the stand.

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 07-31-2003, 01:19 PM:

Things that I think are ok these days (and have been since the 1980s)

Unnatural hair color
Nose Rings
Discreet Tattoos
Long Hair on men
Shaved heads on women
Multiple Ear Piercing
Discreet Piercing
A bent for vintage clothing
Fishnet Stockings
And of course, my outfit!

But with all things, one can go too far. What we don't like to see (for safety and hygiene) are people’s armpits and toes.

Posted by John Spooner (Member # 1565) on 07-31-2003, 02:52 PM:

It would certainly seem that with my traditional Aussie tank top (the yellow garment) and my trade mark bandana I would not win a prize for the best dressed.
Then again we sell tickets to see what is on the screen, not to the booth.

Posted by Jannette McQueen (Member # 1885) on 09-12-2003, 12:57 AM:

quote:
Darren Briggs wrote:

i was wearing sandles, shorts and a dolby t shirt.

I saw that reply a while back, and immediately went out to find the dolby website shop and I just ordered a couple the other day [Embarrassed]

Aaaaanyway ...

The projectionists where I work can wear whatever the hell they want .... uh .... within reason I guess, though I don't think anyone has tested that [Wink]

But one of our guys wears the heavy metal t-shirts, so I really don't think it matters at all what we wear. I tend to wear a pair of pants with nice big pockets and a t-shirt and a button-up sweater over top, just in case the air conditioning doesn't suit me (and due to the fact that as I was growing up, my dad always forbade me to touch the thermostat I don't like to adjust it even when I'm not at home and I can do whatever I want).

Our managers just have to wear something nice. Most of the guys wear a tie, but I'm not sure whether or not that's an actual *requirement*. They might just think that that looks professional, so that's what they'll do. And our female manager has never worn a skirt to the best of my memory (and while my memory isn't the best, I can't see her wearing one, so I'm sure she hasn't), nor does she wear a tie. But she's always dressed very nicely [Smile]

All the floor staff wear black pants and a white shirt. And in addition to that, the ushers have a nice little black bow-tie (or if they're very unlucky they get stuck with a red one [evil]

And the girls wear a red "tie" which is just a piece of cloth, and is just flipped once (as in, they don't make an actual windsor knot or anything). Anyone in concession wears a black apron over that. And the Box office people can do whatever they want really. Usually the girls try to change it somehow. I myself, wear a black sweater over my white shirt and red tie. One woman wears one of the tacky "popcorn vests". The guys don't seem to care all that much and just stick to the white shirt and black bowtie. To me, the stupid red tie and just a plain white shirt looks weird. And since the tie is just a piece of cloth, it usually has some stray threads and junk at the end, and it just looks *unfinished* somehow. I like my sweater :E

la la la, I ramble on too much [Wink]

EDIT: Ah! I must tell one story. One of the guys who works in the projection hall once a week one time came to work, just after his other job at the hotel, where he has to wear a neck tie, and he's going about, threading the projectors, and I couldn't believe he was doing all this with his tie on. Tried to tell him he was flirting with death, but he just joked that it would put him out of his misery sooner O_o

Posted by Ky Boyd (Member # 23) on 09-12-2003, 02:35 AM:

Jumping into the fray very late....

Brad, I'm totally with you on the tie thing and the differences between men's professional dress and women's professional dress. Men should be allowed the same creativity and variety in their professional dress as women. Professional does not equal a tie! And while I'm on that point, I'll also rant about women who feel the need to wear big freakin bows. Why do they feel the need to go out looking like they've been gift wrapped??? I don't get it!

Regarding ties in the projection booth: When I worked for Landmark, where we were required to wear ties for floor staff and management, if you operated equipment in the booth, you wore a safety tie. For those who don't know, a safety tie attaches at the back of the neck with velcro, so that if its caught in machinery it will rip off or can be ripped off thus preventing injury. Personally, I don't think projectionist should wear ties ever! Interestingly at Landmark in SF, projectionists wore whatever they wanted if it was a projection only shift, which for the union guys was always the case.

Regarding the dress code at Ian's and my theatre: To Ian's first post I would add the following caveat on Rialto T-shirt or better: Appearance should be clean and neat. Clothes should have no rips, tears, stains, or holes. No exposed armpits and no exposed navels. (Work is not a Shania Twain concert). No open toed shoes for men or women for safety reasons. One of our managers wears the exact same thing everyday - black polo shirt and cargo shorts. So when we ordered the last batch of logo'd stuff, we got him 6 black logo'd poloshirts.

I can't believe how chincy Madstone is when they hire someone. I mean one t-shirt. That's ridiculous. We give our employees 3 and more if they need them. We also issue new t-shirts to our employees when they start turning up in ones that look like they need to be replaced.

As for the person who had to do projection AND clean the popper - that's harsh!

As for what do I wear - whatever I damn well please, I own the joint. I do realize that leading by example works, so I always try to be clean and neat even though most of the time I'm wearing t-shirts and jeans. Sometimes I wear a theatre t-shirt, sometimes not. It's nice to be somewhat anonymous. It allows me to move through the building quicker. And I definitely don't wear anything that I don't want butter on. Butter (and oil) happen. It's an occupational hazard.

Posted by Steve Anderson (Member # 364) on 09-15-2003, 09:35 AM:

The owners just gave us new tee-shirts to wear.
They are yellow, blue, and neon green tie-dyed shirts which have this big spiral design.
I look like a BLIMP on acid!

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 07-09-2004, 01:45 PM:

Picking up from the duplicate thread here.

I couldn't disagree more and even though I have ranted about this in earlier pages on this thread, I shall do so again. Booth staff if they are doing their job right should never be seen. The movie should just somehow miraculously start on time with perfect focus and ideal sound level, then run without technical interruption of any kind. Frequently the company issued uniforms are uncomfortable or hot, and we all know how theater owners like to cheap-out with the AC in many booths. Some uniforms actually force wearing ties or suspenders, which is ridiculous as they could get caught in the machinery and pull you into it! During auditorium checks, they should blend in like a regular patron. If they look official, then people will stop them to ask questions and such, and more often than not, the projectionist is not going to be as much "in the know" about current floor operations as a regular downstairs staff member.

Let the projectionists do their job and the downstairs staff do their job. Booth uniforms are stupid.

Posted by Ron Yost (Member # 1850) on 07-09-2004, 03:51 PM:

Wearing long-sleeves when operating (or even around) exposed, moving machinery is also dangerous. Short-sleeves, no ties, should be mandatory in booths, in my humble opinion.

Ron Yost ... yours in safety. [thumbsup]

Posted by Wolff King Morrow (Member # 2226) on 07-09-2004, 04:02 PM:

From Brad:

quote: Brad Miller
If they look official, then people will stop them to ask questions and such, and more often than not, the projectionist is not going to be as much "in the know" about current floor operations as a regular downstairs staff member.

Ironically, the very reason such dress codes are enforced is because they want you to look like an employee when you go downstairs. You can even get write-ups or eventually fired if you are caught out of uniform downstairs.

I tend to agree with your points though.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 07-09-2004, 05:31 PM:

On balance I think that uniforms (or at least, wearing something which identifies you as a member of cinema staff, e.g. a badge) for projectionists is a good idea, especially if they regularly have to pass through public areas of the cinema as part of their duties. In the last cinema job I had I had to pass through a busy public corridor to get between two projection boxes. Wearing the company polo shirt was optional, and to start with I chose not to wear it. But after a few instances of having to barge my way through queues in order to get to the projection box, I started doing so. Thereafter customers would see the logo on my shirt, realised that I worked here and instinctively cleared a path to let me through. I can't ever remember a customer asking me a question I didn't know the answer to: they were almost all to do with the start or end times of films (which, as you're showing the damn things, you're going to know anyway), or where the loo was.

Also, during the frequent fire evacuations we had (that alarm system is another story...). customers being able to see that you were a member of staff made them more willing to follow your instructions if it became necessary to give them.

Posted by Robert L. Fischer (Member # 2424) on 07-10-2004, 03:09 AM:

For floor workers, a white dress shirt, black slacks or black khakis (just not jeans), a dark red vest, and a black bowtie. For concession workers, substitute the vest and bowtie with an apron and visor. For management, it just has to be something with a professional look; i.e. dress shirts and slacks with ties for men, and pretty much anything goes for women because it's so hard to differentiate one from a regular customer because of the wide variety of women's dress clothes. I personally prefer tight-fitting Gap/Banana Republic/Express dress shirts with silk ties, Dockers Stain-Resistant Relaxed Fit Chinos (yes, I have a favorite type of pants [Big Grin]

) and fairly casual, but presentable shoes.

Posted by Brandon Willis (Member # 2345) on 07-10-2004, 03:42 PM:

Anyone who works at Regal, if your theater still has some of the old vests lying around under one of the screens or something, they work real good to keep your tie from getting in the way when you are working the booth. Just put your nametag or a promo button or something like that over top of the Pepsi logo.

Posted by James B. Openshaw (Member # 1310) on 07-10-2004, 06:50 PM:

Back when I worked at AMC Seven Hills 10, projectionists (who were also floor supervisors) wore uniforms similar to the old AMC vest and pants with the exception that supervisors wore dark red vests with a choice of tie. Then, our uniforms were "upgraded" to the "airline pilot" outfits so now not one customer could tell the difference between floor staff and supervisors.

When I moved to South Carolina, the theater I worked at a few years ago (Palmetto Grande by Consolidated/Stone Group) allowed projectionists to wear whatever they wanted. Naturally, some of my co-workers abused the "whatever you want" priviledge and as a result, management decided to make projectionists wear the old already worn uniforms which consisted of a thick button-up black shirt and off-white pants. I left just before that rule was applied (for other reasons than that). I then later learned that they threw that rule out after I, along with some other co-workers, quit.

Now at IMAX, since our booth isn't publicly displayed, we can wear whatever we want, provided that it's non-offensive. Our floor staff have to wear IMAX-logoed T-shirts (or button-up) with pants (management allows us to wear shorts during the summertime.)

Posted by Cody Martin (Member # 2523) on 07-12-2004, 05:06 PM:

The theatre I worked at, a Kerasotes, had everyone wear black dress pants, black tie, white shirt(short or long sleeved) and a dorky red hat. The hat was the worst. Think of the Mario Bros hat..and that was it..hehe

Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 07-12-2004, 06:11 PM:

When I work as a manager/projectionist/usher on the weekend, I wear the regular uniform. Theater polo shirt, and khaki pants. During the week, when I only work upstairs, I wear whatever I wore to my day job. I dont wear the uniform for 2 reasons, I dont have time to get home between jobs, and no one sees me anyway.

Posted by Andy Aggieri (Member # 2398) on 07-14-2004, 05:11 AM:

At my theater all projectionists hold the official title of assistant manager, and must wear black slacks, dress shirt and tie. When on the floor we must have a jacket on. [puke]