Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Issuing radios to staff?

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Posted by Mike Sellars (Member # 4042) on 03-17-2007, 12:20 AM:

We use two-way radios at my theatre to communicate with each other during the course of a day about all the different stuff we need to keep track of - from which theatres are clean and ready for seating to the fact that the concession cashiers could use quarters, etc..... For those of you who issue radios to your staff and managers to use during their shifts, what methods do you use to ensure that they are treated responsibly and returned intact at the end of their shifts?

Posted by Sam King (Member # 4029) on 03-17-2007, 02:49 AM:

We have a white board and if you take one out you have to write down your name, works very well, we have not lost one since we implemented this a few months ago, and we used to loose about one a month! And we use the Motorola CP200 which cost about $300 each

[ 03-18-2007, 04:40 AM: Message edited by: Sam King ]

Posted by Mike Sellars (Member # 4042) on 03-17-2007, 10:15 AM:

We use the CLS1410. So what happens if they lose it, or allow another employee to use it and it gets broken, or they forget to return it and take it home? For me, a missing radio means that I am not as effectively able to run my building as I could when I have full communication. Wouldn't a collateral system be better... you know as well as I do that most of the kids don't care what happens to another persons property!

Posted by Aaron Mehocic (Member # 15) on 03-17-2007, 12:10 PM:

There are many threads about radios on the forums. We don't use them, but our sister cinema a few miles away does. Up there, each radio was originally labeled as to which department it was issued in: usher, concession, box, etc. Its been almost two years and only two radios have been broken. Belt clips are another story, however, and thats how I think I broke one of those two radios when it slipped through a crack in the plastic clip and onto the booth floor. They use Motorola XU2100 and recommend purchasing extended warranties.

On a personal note I do not like radios for many reasons as I have commented in previous threads. Our booth uses telephone communication with the ground floor. In this way, when the phone lights up I know its for me and not some bogus "we need cheese" comment between the concession worker and stand manager. I know Brad Miller has written here about cell phones being used instead of radios. That was a pretty novel idea.

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 03-17-2007, 10:13 PM:

We also label our radios as to the area used (fields, boxoffices, kitchen, and the owners by name). We use the Motorola Radius SP50 (now discontinued), and haven't lost any of them.

We issue earbud/mic sets to the field staff and allow them to keep them during the season. They sign a "checkout" sheet, whereby they agree to return them or have the cost deducted from their last check (about $50).

Posted by Caleb Johnstone-Cowan (Member # 3710) on 03-17-2007, 11:08 PM:

We had a radio log, each radio was numbered and you needed to sign it in and out before and after your shift. Could have been adhered to better, but it was a decent enough system. We never had any problems beyond wear and tear with radios. I'd just make it obvious (if it isnt already) that any property damaged through misadventure or intent has to be paid for.

For anyone considering it, I wouldn't give staff earpieces, they plug equally well into music players. We had a 'security guard' who would watch films or disappear into the mall only to turn up when we called him by name.

In projection we had phones, downstairs used radios. My problem with that was that most of the time concession staff would call up on the basis of a customer complaint. Neither would have a clue what the actual problem was. You'd get 'screen 14 out of focus', turn up and the lens turret hadn't rotated to scope. I find floor staff are easier to deal with directly since you can ask them what the sound/picture is like from their view, and if the show is interrupted you can tell them what to say to the audience.

Posted by John Hegel (Member # 628) on 03-17-2007, 11:16 PM:

At my current job we have about 70 Motorola PR850 in use at any given time and I have found them to be almost indestructible. I was shocked when one radio fell off the roof (25 foot drop) onto concrete and only withstood a bent antenna.

Most of our department have no formal sign-out polices, so I’d like to know how many radios we have went through in the last year.

Posted by Kevin Raisler (Member # 1761) on 03-17-2007, 11:25 PM:

We use Kenwoods UHF very expensive, only management and ticket sales are allowed to use them. We don't have any problems with lack of respect for the radios here.

Posted by Mark Hajducki (Member # 1732) on 03-19-2007, 09:47 AM:

The problem with sign out systems is what happens when staff hand their radio to other staff (which will happen at shift change, break time unless you have enough radios for all on-duty staff members).

I have seen (in a large conference venue) staff members using what seemed like cordless phones for internal communications (the building was too large to just have a few domestic cordless phones plugged into the exchange). Having a mixture of these and conventional phones may work well.

Posted by Chad M Calpito (Member # 3736) on 03-19-2007, 09:57 AM:

We use Motorola Walkies (forgot the Model Number). We have no formal tracking system in place, but, the management does their best in making sure all Walkies don't leave the theatre. Booth personnel keeps one in booth at all times on a charger at the end of the day.

Posted by Caleb Johnstone-Cowan (Member # 3710) on 03-19-2007, 03:17 PM:

Our phones were cordless, two for projection and a couple more for managers/supervisors. They had terrible reception and one of ours kept turning itself off.