Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Do you let the kiddies use the business phone to call for a ride?

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Posted by Brad Allen (Member # 470) on 03-07-2005, 09:16 PM:

Or do you have pay phone (remember those) and make them use it?
I'm sure this mainly applies to smaller theatres.

What do the googleplex's do if a kid ask's to use the phone to call home for a ride?

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 03-07-2005, 09:28 PM:

None of my old theaters let people use the business line unless it was a dire emergency. (You just can't let anybody behind the counter unless they work for you, nowadays.)

Since my current place is a college, there are plenty of phones for people to use. We don't have to let anybody use the office phones. For customers who are NOT from the college community, we have a campus phone line on the wall in the lobby. It's programmed to dial out for local numbers but you need a 7 digit T.A.C. number to dial anything but local calls. If it was an emergency and a customer had to call Long Distance, I'd dial my TAC number and hand them the receiver to finish the call if I liked the person. If I didn't, I'd tell them, "Sorry.", unless it was a serious emergency.

Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 03-07-2005, 09:42 PM:

At our theater a small 5 plex...we will allow kids to use the phone only if its a local call. We are a smaller town about 10,000 people and its usually the same kids that are asking to use the phone. So its not a big deal...but however we do not allow them at our managers station. We simply pick up the phone and put it on the top so they may use it. Occasionaly we do get the person who needs to dial the bus. Thats always a fun one, cause then there loatering around the lobby for an hour waiting...which ends up with them bothering you with 50 questions about the upcoming films that they see on the tv in the lobby.

Posted by R. Andrew Diercks (Member # 1725) on 03-07-2005, 10:36 PM:

I do for really young kids or when they get kicked out. Most of the brats have cell phones anyway now. Parents are getting a lot better at asking what time the show is out and just waiting for them.

Posted by Richard C. Wolfe (Member # 431) on 03-07-2005, 11:39 PM:

We still have a pay phone in the lobby, although it's not used much anymore. The kids that don't have cell phones use it. If they don't have any money I'll bring out the cordless phone from the office and let them use that. I always wait until they are finished to make sure I get the phone back. I therefore can hear that they are indeed talking to a parent or someone that will be picking them up. Anyone that would be picking them up would be within our local calling area, so I'm not concerned about long distance charges as we have an unlimited calling plan that covers all of the US at one set price anyway. We own the payphone, and it's connected to our business line so there is no extra cost in having that either.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-08-2005, 01:31 AM:

I got tired of having kids lined up at the office after the movie, so we installed a phone in the lobby. We can keep an eye on it from the boxoffice window so no shenanigans happen. If a kid starts talking for more than a minute, I just pick up the office phone and start listening...they usually hang up in about 2 seconds.

Posted by Robert E. Allen (Member # 1351) on 03-08-2005, 10:37 AM:

Only once in the seven months I've been here has anyone asked to use the phone. I've never seen so many cell phones in my life! We have a pay phone just outside the main doors.

Posted by Brad Allen (Member # 470) on 03-08-2005, 11:51 AM:

Well the reason I ask is because having a line at the ticket station after each movie indeed gets old.
We have the running time of each film on the answering machine, and on the web site, so I've been tempted to move the phone out of sight, and start telling them sorry, no phone to use.
But I've not have the guts to do it yet. [Smile]

The "lovely" parents, would probably be up in arms about it.

I've been tempted to put in my own pay phone as well.

I was just curious how everyone else handled it.

I'm guessing the megaplex's don't tolerate this nonsense.

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 03-08-2005, 12:30 PM:

Payphone in the lobby.
If we don't have 50 cents to give them for it and they don't have a cell they can use mine.
Office is off limits. Our manager can vito that any time but that's the policy I use.
As for parents...hah!
We've had more than a few kids sitting around out front for 2 hours after their movie gets out waiting for a ride.

Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 03-08-2005, 03:51 PM:

No ... that's why we have a payphone ...

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 03-08-2005, 05:52 PM:

How does one get a pay phone installed? Does the phone company do it for free (in return for the money collected from it), or is there an installation cost? What about ongoing monthly charges? Does the theatre get some per centage of the money collected?

Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 03-08-2005, 07:59 PM:

You can either buy the phone yourself ... or there are some third-parties that install payphones and pay a commission ... we use Knoxville Payphone ...

Posted by Brad Allen (Member # 470) on 03-08-2005, 08:08 PM:

Best bet is to buy your own pay phone from Hellodirect.com, and keep all the proceeds yourself.

Posted by Nathan Guerriero (Member # 1214) on 03-08-2005, 08:24 PM:

Payphones these days are much like ATM machines. There are a number of vendors who will supply a phone, with deals varying on usage. If one were to expect a high volume of calls, it would be worth it to buy a phone and operate it yourself. My theatre has a low call volume, so our phone vendor operates the phone, pays line charges and fees, and keeps the money. I don't deal with it at all, and it seems like everyone wins.

As for the theatre phone, the idea of letting someone use the phone is completely foreign. But then, we don't allow kids at the theatre, so maybe that's it.

Posted by Ken Layton (Member # 133) on 03-09-2005, 12:26 AM:

I've seen a lot of people buy their own payphone from G-Tel (www.payphone.com).

I've installed payphones here locally since they were legal to own in 1986 here in Washington state.

Posted by Dean Kollet (Member # 1789) on 03-09-2005, 07:28 AM:

We tell them to use the payphone...if they don't have change, and it's local...we let them use the customer service phone. It's not like is costs us anything, and not many people ask anyways as most either have loose change or a cell phone.

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 03-10-2005, 12:56 AM:

Neat picture, Mike.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 03-13-2005, 07:43 PM:

Has anyone ever thought of making a header to play during the pre-show explaining that one MUST use the Pay Phone and that there is a charge and possibly a long wait to use the theatres phone. Just a thought!

Mark

Posted by Ken Layton (Member # 133) on 03-14-2005, 12:28 AM:

Hey Mark, that's a great idea. A snipe to run in the preshow or maybe as part of the policy trailer: "Payphones are available in the lobby" or something to that effect.

Regal Cinemas is building a new 16 plex (Martin Village 16) just two miles from my apartment right now. I could install the payphones for them if they'd ask me since Regal operates their own payphones at many of their theaters here.