Theater operational questions

The problem with chaser lights is that most citys hate them and dont want them…………They operate from a main brain ………..what state are you in that will help with the other questions …..

The type of marquee/building lights you describe are called “chaser lights”. They are ordinary light bulbs arranged & wired to appear they are ‘chasing’ each other. Many times they are mounted in a sheet metal channel around the copyboard of a marquee (then they’re called “border chasers”). Chaser lights are all controlled from a device called a chaser controller. For most sign applications (and for reliability) these are electromechanical units consisting of a motor, cams, and a stack of switches activated by the opening/closing action of the cams. There are electronic versions of these, but they are not that good for outdoor use because of temperature extremes, moisture, and corrosion. In many jurisdictions the laws state the controler must be mounted within the sign itself or attached to the sign. However, before you decide to put chasers on a sign or building you better check ALL your local and state building & sign codes. Many jurisdictions have banned the use of chaser lights. Nothing wrong with chasers in my opinion, it’s just that some jurisdictions get a wild hair up their butt and pass laws banning them.

To get better and more answers to your questions, I suggest you join the forums at www.bigscreenbiz.com and check out the FAQ’s there too as many questions have already been answered.

In a typical theatre you have a 30 minute window to sell concession items and you need to do this as efficiently as possible. Think about this as a customer would…You buy a ticket on a crowded night and go by the concession stand and see it is about 4 or 5 deep. You know that you will wait about 5to10 minutes to get your treats. You must make a decision, do I sacrifice good seat selection for concessions? You decide to get seats and then come back out. You find prime seats…right in the middle. You sit down and get settled and before you know it people have taken the empty seats to your left and right and you decide that you don’t want to stick your butt in their face getting in and out so you decide to not get concessions this time around. Who loses? Everybody. The patron can’t snack during the movie and the theatre loses a portion of the most profitable area of their business.
You need to study the work station patterns of your employees. Do employees cross paths getting popcorn? Is the popcorn machine more than three steps away? If your employees fill soda’s , are they multitasking by asking the customer for the next part of their order? Are your soda machines portion controlled so the employee can continue the order and not watch the drink fill up? I am a strong advocate of self-serve drinks. Yes, you do put your yield in jeapordy by allowing patrons to fill their own drinks, but I believe you are far better off sacrificing yield in favor of the increased volume and the potential savings on payroll. A well positioned drink station, along with adequate supervision, can be a very positive thing for a theatre. Over the past ten years Convenience stores and Fast food restaurants have trained people how to do their own drinks and I actually believe they prefer it that way. A well positioned and obvious security camera will help stop the unauthorized free refill. Yes, some will steal but I think you need to look at the overall big picture and not base your business decisions on a few who would steal from you.
Candy can be a problem. If you offer too large a selection, it can slow the decision time. Try only to offer the basics and make them big so it is worthwhile.

I am a former theatre manager and I would say there are several factors that cause slow concession lines. Proper staffing is important. If you expect to be busy make sure you have scheduled accordingly. People not being able to make up their mind is a factor, but there is little you can do about that. A huge factor is having you stand prepped. Pre-bag your popcorn and keep the bags in a warmer. Make sure whatever size popcorn you sell the most of has the most premade bags. Also, make sure the items you sell are in a close proximity to your registers. Your cashier should not have move very far to get popcorn, candy, soda, etc. Finally on the issue of soda don’t turn it around and let customers fill the cups themselves. It will cause congestion, be very messy, and lead to waste and higher costs. If you have the soda towers with censors I suggest that you have your cashier fill the soda while they are retrieving the rest of the customers order. That way after they have gotten the popcorn and candy all they have to do is put a lid on the soda. If you have any other questions I would be happy to share my knowledge of the business.

Thanks for the suggestions. Looks like the webmaster mushed my 3 posts in to one big post.

Would the idea of a concession cart be a feasible venture for a 350 seat theatre for certain shows, or are concession carts best left to the airline industry?

I also manage theaters and I cannot stand pre-bagged popcorn. It may make for an easier and faster transaction, but customers like seeing that popcorn comes from a popper – not that it has the potential to sit in a bag all day. I can’t even believe that some theaters do not pop their corn in the lobby – there is nothing like that smell and the sound of if popping to make people buy!

But it all depends on your priorities. To me, it comes down to staffing. If you want your lines to move, you need more people selling. It is that simple. You may not want to have that many staff on, but you also need to utilize effective scheduling – use your managers and ushers to help at busy times. Do you just want to sell people whatever stuff is cheapest/easiest, or do you want them to have a great experience and come back again?

When it comes down to it, your staffing is crucial. Along with a game plan to utilize effective movements allowing for accuracy and speed. And still it all depends on the customer. A way to face this is with different combo specials. It narrows the decision making process and your employees will not have to remember as much. As for self-serve soda, you would lose so much money and patrons would buy smaller sizes. To sum it up, offer them a bargain, quality, and various preset combinations and that should speed up the lines. Also it is always wise to have your popper going when shows are seating. It is a very good use of stimulants and increases their desire to purchase from the stand.