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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Author
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Topic: 3D Glasses Rental
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Barry Floyd
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1079
From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA
Registered: Mar 2000
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posted 06-02-2010 11:52 AM
Do you already upcharge for 3D? If so, why aren't the glasses included in that upcharged price? If you're going to sell me a ticket to a "3D movie", and charge me extra for it because it's in 3D, I would expect as a paying customer that the glasses that are required to be able to see the 3D effects are included in that up charged price. To charge me extra because it's in 3D, then forcing me to pay more for special glasses to see the 3d effects is kind of like "double dipping" if you ask me... and yes, any surcharged amount would be subject to studio film rental.
If you're worried about carrying the full risk of losing the glasses, going thru the trouble of cleaning the glasses, and having to pay employees to clean the glasses... you're not charging enough for the 3D surcharge to start with. The money for the cleaning equipment, or for paying the employees to clean them is just a cost of doing business in the 3D world. In my opinion, if you're going to be in the 3D business, make sure you charge enough to cover your related costs.
For the customers who already have their own glasses... they pay the same as everyone else, you assume less risk and liability for them, and make a little extra on the top.
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Alex Shultz
Film Handler
Posts: 54
From: Marysville, KS, US
Registered: Nov 2008
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posted 06-02-2010 02:23 PM
Barry,
I see how that would be frustrating to have a 3D upcharge on your ticket and then be expected to rent glasses, too. I don't do any kind of upcharge for a 3D ticket. If you don't want glasses, for whatever reason, you don't have to pay any more for a 3D movie that you do for a 2D movie.
I have a group of seven people (grandma, mom, a teen, and four little kids) in for a matinee right now and they decided that only the teenager needed glasses. The mom has just come through the lobby on another potty training trip with the little one so I can understand why she didn't want glasses for herself.
I figured the cost of the glasses rental so that I could afford to replace stolen and damaged glasses as well as have extra help here to clean them and to collect them back after the shows.
The projection equipment is paid for by the on-screen advertising. Luckily, Disney has not asked for part of that, too.
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Alex Shultz
Film Handler
Posts: 54
From: Marysville, KS, US
Registered: Nov 2008
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posted 06-02-2010 09:32 PM
Mike,
It always amazes me what amount people are willing to pay for things. I grew up in a very frugal family and that is probably why it surprises me.
I can see why it makes sense for the studios to get part of the 3D charge if they are paying for the glasses.
The Dolby glasses lenses are a hard plastic with a mirror-like finish on both sides. The right lens has a very slight green tinge and the left lens a pink tinge but that is difficult to see unless you get the light to shine through them just right. The lenses are about an inch high and almost 2 inches wide. The frames of the glasses are good, thick, black plastic. The earpieces do not fold. The earpieces also are very tall near the lenses to help block side light. Any light that gets in behind the lens causes a bit of reflection of the eye and the surrounding skin on the inside of the lens. I think it is annoying so I'm looking for a way to makes sure we don't have any lighting that would cause problems with that during the show.
The lenses have that mirror-like surface and that makes fingerprints really stand out when you look at them. It's pretty easy to see if they are clean or not. I get some of the glasses back that I wonder how anyone got them that dirty (buttery) and how come they didn't come out to ask me to clean them. We tell everyone, when we give out the glasses, that if they get smudges on the lenses to please bring them out so we can clean them. We let them know that we have a special cloth that won't scratch the lenses and that we are happy to make sure they have clean lenses so they can enjoy the movie. I get some that come out for me to clean the lenses and I usually just give them a different pair so they can get back in the show right away.
I've had one pair of the Dolby glasses get many scratches on it. I think someone tried to clean the glasses with a shirt or napkin; the scratches are all very tiny and parallel on both sides of the lens.
It is definitely a tedious task to clean the glasses. I don't yet have a washer for them but I'm looking to see if there is one that would work for me.
When we clean the glasses we wipe the frames with an alcohol wipe, clean the lenses with a damp (water) microfiber cloth to loosen/remove oil/grime, and then wipe the lenses with a dry microfiber cloth. During the drying wipe we look for scratches or other damage to the glasses.
We've had five go bad so far, always on the left lens for some reason - one of the employees suggested little (right-handed) kids are swinging them around and banging the lenses. Four of the bad one had a scratch or ding right in the middle of the lens on the front. We use those pairs now for the really little kids that the parents want to try glasses for; we don't charge the rental on the damaged ones. We've had two pair walk out with some drunk people who buzzed on out before we realized they were leaving - but they had to come back later for the kids they left behind. They didn't even remember they had glasses but the lobby camera showed the glasses in their hands as they walked out so no problem getting paid for those.
We've been rotating through about 120 pair regularly and have rented glasses out about 1600 times so each pair has been rented an average of 13 times.
I'm starting to see some little signs of wear on the some of the lenses; things like tiny little pits that you can only see if you get the light just right on them. Really close inspection shows that they are no longer brand new glasses. The pits are pretty evenly spread over the lenses on the glasses that have them and I'm kind of baffled about what could be causing it.
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