Handled correctly, getting this "voice of the customer" input is very useful, and your customers will feel you have a real interest in their opinion. Keep it simple (e.g., have them "vote" with their ticket stub and fill out a simple opinion card as to why they like or dislike a particular chair). Post the results of the vote, and deliver on what they prefer.
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 04-30-2004, 04:40 PM:
Actually I was at Mikes theatre last Sunday and they presently have Seating Concept seats which are high back. I have to say I am in total agreeance with Mike and his Wife, and their customers that these highbacks are THE most uncomfortable seats ever made. The backs are like solid concrete. Aside from that Seating Concepts designed the layout for Mike and insisted that high backs would work....but they dont. Only tall adults would be able to see anyting there and kids have to stack booster seats twice over to be able to see. Unfortunately this is also the sort of experience that I've had with Seating Concepts over the last several jobs so I have stopped reccomending them, they just don't come through 100% all of the time.
With the knowledge of Irwin gouing down the drain very quickly and after looking over all seating at Showest the Greystone seats are by far and away the best there is, even miles ahead of those expensive French seats that Imax uses alot of. The build quality is so much better that all you need to do is hold a seating concepts standard in one hand and the twice as heavy Greystone standard in the other hand and you'll see. The backs are also bulettproof, made with a tubular metal frame inside the back! Even Ian could walk row to row across the backs of the seats without even phasing them. With the typical plastic back that Mobilario, Seating Concepts, and many of the new Chineese seats have you simply couldn't do it with out breaking the back clean off of the seat, I've seen it happen, the chineese seats are absolute garbage.
I agree and I reccomended that Mike stick samples in his lobby to have the public sit in them and voice their opinion of which they like the best. They're the ones buying the tickets!!
P.S. Did those that saw the Irwin display at Showest have the feeling that I did... Worst seat display of any show ever!!
Mark
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-30-2004, 06:09 PM:
It is true, our experience with Seating Concepts left something to be desired. They actually had to manufacture the seats twice because they left out the raisable armrests the first time around. (I always wondered what happened to that first set of seats.) And, they also left out the offset in the seats, which their installers either pretended not to notice or tried to hide from us. (Full story upon request.) We tried to sort-of fix it by removing one seat from each row and centering the remaining seats, but that just moved the problem to the sides.
I wouldn't say the backs are concrete-hard, but they're certainly not as soft as I would prefer in a theatre seat. Our biggest problem with them is the no-offset combined with the high backs...these chairs really belong in a stadium house.
Thanks to all for the recommendations so far. We do have the Greystone sample on hand already and it's in the lobby eliciting comments at this moment.
Posted by System Notices (Member # 2357) on 11-21-2005, 05:12 PM:
It has been 569 days since the last post.
Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 11-21-2005, 05:12 PM:
What do seats cost?
I ask because when I used to work for GCC and we desparately needed new seats, it was like pulling teeth. When they finally did it we had to do half of the auditoriums one year and half the next year. It was only a 1700 seat 8-plex.
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 11-21-2005, 06:21 PM:
You can pay anything from about $90 to over $300 depending on how fancy you want. Our Greystones cost about $160 counting freight and our audiences love them.
Recommendation: Don't deal directly with the seat company. Buy from a dealer. You'll pay some "markup" but it's worth it. You'll get the package without having to worry about the details.
Recommendation #2: Don't forget to get freight quotes from every company you are considering. Company A quoted us a freight charge $3500 higher than Company B for the same number of seats shipped about the same distance.
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 11-21-2005, 09:12 PM:
I have to confess we are selling alot of Chineese seats but we have still had tremendous sucess with Greystone's. We just re-seated the England Turcking Company screening room(yes, they have a screening room there!). Now the truckers literally just destroyed the Irwin seats that were in there.... they went in the dumpster(the seats not the truckers)! They love the Greystone Tempur-Pedic seats and they will never destroy the Greystones the way they're built! Even Ian could jump up and down on one of the backs and not even phase it.
Mark
Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 11-22-2005, 05:37 AM:
As a dealer, I appreciate the vote of confidence in buying through a dealer. Each job we do has its plusses and minuses. We learn from these "errors" just as Mike did. The good news is that a dealer has a good deal more experience than an individual owner has. (Remember, we also have benefit of the "aftermath" stories as well. This is where we reseat/redesign a job that was botched by others.) Again, thanks. Louis
Posted by Thomas Jonsson (Member # 1902) on 11-24-2005, 01:55 PM:
Iīve been to both ShoWest and CinemaExpo several times.
I have not yet tried a seat that I would say is comfortable, no
matter what company. I can walk into any furniture store and
easily find a VERY comfortable seat, but with cinema seats
that seems to be impossible.
Thomas
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 11-24-2005, 09:56 PM:
Furniture-store seats and theatre seats are two completely different animals. Furniture store chairs are not meant to be sat-in by 5 different bouncing jumping people in one day, for one thing.
A furniture store guy once told me that typical chairs are built to have a five-year life span. Put one in a movie theatre, it'd be in splinters within a year.
Posted by Thomas Jonsson (Member # 1902) on 11-25-2005, 07:56 AM:
Iīm very well aware of that. But itīs still the same people
who sits at home and at the theater, and they do compare. If
they canīt sit as comfortable at the theater as they can at
home, they might stay at home. Thatīs my point.
Thomas