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Author
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Topic: keeping staff happy
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Brad Miller
Administrator
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Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99
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posted 01-03-2002 04:52 AM
I have yet to find anything that the employees enjoy quite as much as giving them a "movie night". Just take some passes and trade them with the local pizza shop, turn on the drink machines, set out a stack of cups you spent a couple of bucks on from the grocery store and show them a movie. Don't go out to Sam's and get a "meat tray" (or worse a huge "serve yourself salad" tray). Kids want pizza and that's that. Mind you OLDER classic movies are MUCH better than just showing them something you have in the theater. Many studios are very cool about loaning out an old title free of charge for an employee party. I used to run 70mm Christmas parties back when I was a manager at UA Berkeley. Now THAT's something the kids can't just go out and see, especially some big action film from before their theater time like Terminator 2 or Die Hard. The kids generally left in amazement and suddenly didn't think their LaserDiscs were all that hot anymore. (Sadly enough, that was the ONLY time that theater ever ran 70mm.)
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Joel Pantoja
Film Handler
Posts: 12
From: Sacramento, CA, USA
Registered: Nov 2001
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posted 01-05-2002 03:43 PM
Keeping the staff happy is definitely a task the management/owner needs to work hard to do. Even though there are still always going to be those that are rebels or thieves there will be those others who are happy and comfortable enough to let you know when someone is trying to mess things up.In addition to the movie nights (ususally to screen the new movies) and the delivered pizza on the busy days we also had trade arrangements with the other "competitor" theaters and the miniture golf course in the area. It was a win-win situation for all of us. The main thing that was important was the understanding that while at the other place they had to be on their best behaviour. If not a call was made to the main manager and the employee was banned from coming back. I even heard of one of the other managers firing an employee because of a call back. I think it was the straw that broke the camel's back for that employee but never the less it made a statement. It also helped with communication between the managers. I know that because of these relations we benefitted in other areas also. There were two theater chains (each having two theaters each) and even though most of the time, if we ran out of something, we could usually borrow from the sister theater there came times when we had to go to the "competitor" to get something that we couldn't get elsewhere. Because we were all "friends" it was easier. (Even the miniature golf course sold popcorn and soda and definitely was a good source for one's and five's. We all took advantage of this friendship to keep our own customers happy. ***I'm curious, those that are owners how do feel about this? Our owners new about the enterance priveledges but not about the "borrowing" of supplies. I would think that most would say anything to keep the customer happy but at times we were keeping the competitor's customer happy too.
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