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Author Topic: Multitasking of employ with projection department Peter John Anthony. C Film Handler Posts: 55 From: India Registered: Jun 2004 posted 03-29-2005 05:35 PM                     Dear all can you please let me know that is it a good idea of multitasking staffs to projection & cafe or ushers (Ushers and Cafe guys to be trained in projection & will run projection system) If yes what is the advantages.... If no what are the disadvantages..... Staffs of ushers & cafes are non-technical guys. Our plex till date have a good fame & name, it is one of the best movie experiance plex.... All the suggestion & advice will be very useful to me for our future. Thanks in advance. Peter  |  IP: Logged Chase Hanson Expert Film Handler Posts: 172 From: San Diego, CA Registered: Oct 2004 posted 03-29-2005 06:03 PM                     Cross training is a hot topic in most place of employeement. In this particular scenario there is ONE primary Advantage and ONE primary Disadvantage. Advantage: Crosstraining employees greatly increases the utility of your employee pool. Disadvantage: Depending on job complexities, a person crosstrained to perform many tasks may not perform any one of them very well. What it will basically boil down to is, Do you have a small number of people who are reliable, autonomous with a strong technical sense that you can make into Projectionists. Or do you have a larger number of hard working, bright individuals who you can make into Booth Operators.  |  IP: Logged Richard May Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1057 From: Floral Park, NY USA Registered: Aug 2004 posted 03-29-2005 06:52 PM                     Here we go again. Mike , are you there.  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 03-29-2005 06:54 PM                        When you are driving an automobile, "multitasking" often causes accidents. Would you want your surgeon to "multitask" while you are on the operating table? One skilled person running and maintaining a dozen or so projectors is pretty efficient utilization of personnel, such that expecting them to "multitask" as ushers or "cafe guys" on the ground floor is a distraction that will affect presentation quality. Being out of the booth usually has them in the wrong place at the wrong time if a projection or sound problem occurs. By all means, your projection staff should be fully occupied with projection work, which should be more than just threading and pushing buttons in a well-run theatre.  |  IP: Logged Mike Spaeth Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1129 From: Marietta, GA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 03-29-2005 07:06 PM                        Richard- I don't use ushers or concessionists! I use managers!!  |  IP: Logged Jason M Miller Master Film Handler Posts: 284 From: Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA Registered: Jul 2004 posted 03-29-2005 09:32 PM                     We have to multi-task employees here, we are a 4 screen and we usually don't have the buisness to staff a projectionist. It works out preatty well, we do have a booth supervisor, which is also a usher but when he works he is mostly in the booth.  |  IP: Logged Chris Brown Expert Film Handler Posts: 105 From: Fairport, NY, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 03-29-2005 09:47 PM                        I've never really been too big on the whole cross training thing to begin with, for exactly the disadvantage Chase pointed out. I'd rather have a staff of people who really know their position rather than a staff who is just "okay" at each position. I do understand the benefits and practical uses but I've never really liked the concept as a whole.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 03-29-2005 10:53 PM                     This will probably make me seem like an insensitive prick but... If a theatre isn't doing sufficient business to cover basic costs then it should just close down. I'm sick and tired of theatres that try to improve their bottom line by making cuts instead of figuring out how to improve sales.  |  IP: Logged Richard May Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1057 From: Floral Park, NY USA Registered: Aug 2004 posted 03-29-2005 11:00 PM                     Manny, unfortunately that's what happens. Theaters keep cutting back staff to save money. By doing so, a lot of times they make it worse. Business all depends on the movies you get most of the time.  |  IP: Logged Matthew Peters Expert Film Handler Posts: 179 From: Glen Waverley, Melbourne, Australia Registered: Nov 2002 posted 03-29-2005 11:34 PM                     Like Jason, I work at a 4 screen house where multitasking is the norm. Just a few nights ago I would have operated all 4 screens, cleaned each cinema and ushered it (real ushering to assigned seats), sold a few tickets and concessions, answered phone calls, broke down part of print… all within a 90 minute period. But John made a good point, it can be a distraction. It’s often a case of thread-up quick, press go, then start ushering. Only problem with that is people think that’s all there is to it. I’ve been told off by a floor manager for checking on the equipment. From their point of view the phone was ringing and there was 2 people waiting to be served at the candy bar. Since everyone had been seated I was expected to be back at the front of house straight away. I wanted to do a thorough check of the film path, (which is a little more complex that the standard set-up) even if the show was running. In a smaller complex (say 1 - 4 screens) multitasking can work pretty well.  |  IP: Logged James Faber Film Handler Posts: 66 From: Des Moines, Iowa , USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 03-30-2005 01:34 AM                        I also work at a 4 screen as booth manager, and I have to do a bit of multitasking. I go down and help clean after every set of shows, but it usually isn't too long, 5 minutes maybe because we have a good staff, and I still close concession. Closing concession usually only takes about 20 minutes(once again, due to our kick-ass staff), so I really don't think it's too much to ask. I don't mind doing the work downstairs as long as they let me go back up as soon as everything is finished. I get a little worried when I have to run errands with film going, though. I'm often the one sent to get anything the theater needs, but I don't do it unless there is someone else booth-competent there.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 03-30-2005 02:19 AM                     ..all of this is called a "service orientated work force"-the new trend in this new modern society. See how much one can get as much out of an employee and pay him as little as possible. With this, one can see a "caste" system being developed and in operation very readilly. One can see multitasking as a form of job security, whereas one can see multitasking, especially in projection, a disaster due to ill-training and ill-operations. Goodbye to quality. It's a "white collar"/suit world out there who's (thinks that their) ahead of the game. -Monte  |  IP: Logged Tracy Bellar Film Handler Posts: 72 From: Sciotoville, Oh. Registered: Mar 2005 posted 03-30-2005 04:54 AM                        unfortunatly some Theater owners force the hand of the managment in this way. They don't see the seperation of jobs. They see every employee as someone to use in any way they see fit. Sometimes someone(Concession worker) could be trained to do the booth and it would be benificial. However, Once they have a little training they think they know enough to take over your job. They don't see the years of experience and can't forsee problems that they may incure and don't know how to deal with. A theater owner that only cares about concession sales would see anyone that knows a little of the booth as qualified enough to do the job like a seasoned projectionist. I hate to have to fix problems that arise because someone didn't know what they were doing and didn't take the time to train to learn what they are doing. Automation and platter systems have ruined the view of what a projectionist really is. If you are not constantly rewinding reels and doing everything manually they think you don't deserve to be paid well and see it as a job anyone can do until something goes wrong then who do they call? To many people don't have enough experience and training an consider themselves to be an operator/Projectionist.  |  IP: Logged Mark Hajducki Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 500 From: Edinburgh, UK Registered: May 2003 posted 03-30-2005 06:40 AM                     The problem with most smaller cinemas is that the peek demands in most sections coincide. (The box office is busiest before a show starts which is when consessions has the most customers, the theatre needs cleaned and the projector threded). After this there is another quiet period untill the next showtime. The larger multiscreens get round this by having enough steady work in all the departments. One system I have heard of (never seen in action though) is combining consessions with the box office (combined software is avaliable) which could reduce your staffing at quiet times. The main problem with staffing to the the lowest limit is having an unplanned busy period (or other crisis).  |  IP: Logged Richard May Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1057 From: Floral Park, NY USA Registered: Aug 2004 posted 03-30-2005 08:10 AM                     I have seen how it works when you combine cocession with the box office. Personally, I don't want to buy my tickets at the candy stand. A lot of people don't want to wait until you finish serving popcorn to someone in order to get your ticket. I work at a quad and everyone's job is separate. There is 1 manager and 1 assistant manager on at all times. 1 person in the box office, 2 behind the candy stand and 2 to 3 ushers on the floor. 1 person in the booth. We are open 12 hours a day, every day of the year. If we started multitasking and cutting staff, we would lose business. Customers would not stand for the decrease in the quality of service.  |  IP: Logged

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