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Author Topic: What would sell "the experience" of a theatre? Dennis Benjamin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1445 From: Denton, MD Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-08-2006 02:26 PM                        I just became the GM of a small town 4 plex. Having been in the business for almost 17 years, it is quite a change from the 10 to 20 screens I have managed in the past. I have decided, since most of the movies coming out now suck wind, to make a visit to this theatre all about "The Experience" of going to the movies and not about a particular movie that we are showing. This is something that we all are dealing with, considering the big chains have systematically killed the enjoyment of going to the movies (in general - I'm not being specific). I have decided to make up a game plan to make this theatre a place where people decide to go to every weekend, not just when a movie they have been waiting for comes out. I am looking to kill the myth of the "average american attends 4.5 movies a year" thing that I have seen when writing business plans in the past. So, I am hoping to enlist the help of those 'showmen' and 'show-women' that post on this board. This is a serious post. I am sure I will get the comic posts from the people who always like to keep the board interesting. However we are all 'in the business', and right now - it ain't the best business to be in. What can I do at this four screen theatre to make people want to come here - instead of driving 45 minutes to the Google 16 plex that just opened up last year in the regional mall? Thanks in advance. I will be taking notes.............  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 04-08-2006 03:02 PM                     First off...you're in a small town, which doesn't really cater to big businesses and at that time when the 4plex was opened, yes, it was nice at the time, but times have changed now..for good Secondly, how old is that 4 screener? Probably a good 20 yrs old with conventional sloped flooring (ancient and obsolute in this day and age settings...), small dimensional flat screen to auditorium size and with an atmosphere that is tired in itself. Does the place in itself look tired - worn, or bland carpeting, bland layout, concession stand that looks like it's ready to be town down and remodeled..seats that people squirm and twitch into while viewing the movie. Does the place SMELL like a popcorn, or even candy factory..including the auditoriums? Bathrooms - disastorious, or tidy? Thirdly, what are your prices like.. are you about the same as the googooplex? You're in trouble for sure then...GET those prices down at least 2 bucks below that googleplex..and offer special matinee prices of sorts. Fourth: Offer combo/refill deals. And make sure that the concession prices are lower than that googleplex. Is the popper clean and bright, or does it look like you wouldn't even eat popcorn that comes out of that machine since it's been cooking black tar -with harden oil, grease, glass so grease covered you can make sunglasses out of that darkened glass, let alone the entire unit. Is the marquee all lit up with bright signage and letters not all tape up, or even using different colors of letters due to a shortage of a few letters? These are always a good start to look into, but you DO have a huge enemy in front of you and that is: "People love things that are NEW." - that you'll never win over from. All you can do is do your best within the means that you have. good luck on your 'venture' - Monte  |  IP: Logged Dennis Benjamin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1445 From: Denton, MD Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-08-2006 04:30 PM                        The theatre is a few years old, however the owner has kept up on the maintenance and remodeling. All auditoriums have Dolby sound systems (CP-65s or better), this past Tuesday, the large auditorium was updated with a CP-650 (SRD) and QSC Amplifiers. In the near future, #2 (the big one) will be retrofitted with Stadium-style seating and a curved screen. We also are putting in a new Concession Stand. All auditoriums are getting new seats, with better leg-room. The bathrooms are re-modeled too. Also, our ticket prices and concession prices are significantly lower than the 'google-plex'. We do have a combo deal too. All of the above items are what I would call "common-sense" items. The ideas I am looking for are the innovative ones. Ideas that will make the difference between this theatre - and any theatre across the U.S. An example would be: offering real butter on the popcorn, or odd or unusual concession items. Also, service is important. Good Customer Service is what makes the difference between a Ritz-Carlton and a Holiday Inn - right? It's still four walls and room - it's what you do with that makes the difference. What makes it an "experience" to go to the movies?  |  IP: Logged Aaron Mehocic Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 804 From: New Castle, PA, USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-08-2006 04:53 PM                     Staff members that know their job and do it well. Seriously, we've noticed gimmicks never keep people coming back in the long run. A well-trained, courteous staff does. Last month I went to our local Pizza Hut for a take-out. Thats the last time I'll go there after over 20 years. Their new staff is rude, incompetent, and unclean. Not one to complain, I'll just take my business elsewhere irregardless of the deals they were running at the time. Years ago we got a new manager right out of college with the same idea of creating an experience as you wish to do. In fact, (and I know you been around awhile) his situation was quite similar to you. He tried real butter - nobody cared. He bought into the early healthy living craze and the Taste of Nature just got stale in the case. When he left for greener pastures he told me it was the staff that made it all possible and nothing else. Of course there were no other theatres within miles and miles back then either. Good Luck. [ 04-08-2006, 05:56 PM: Message edited by: Aaron Mehocic ]  |  IP: Logged Geoff Jones Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 579 From: Broomfield, CO, USA Registered: Feb 2006 posted 04-08-2006 06:27 PM                        I'm not in the biz, so this is only worth $0.02, but these are the things I wish theatres would do: -Make sure your image is bright, focused, & steady with no stray light on the screen. Obvious, but anyone doing this is a step ahead of most. -Make sure your sound is "good and loud" but not overbearing. Make sure your surrounds are working. Again, obvious. -Install curtains. Protect your screens from thrown candy and vandalism. Keep them closed until the lights dim. Make a spectacle of opening them. -Don't show commercials or slides. Advertise the fact that you don't show commercials or slides. -Play movie soundtracks before the show, espcially ones that are relevant somehow. (Same composer, director, actor, etc) -Make a pre-show announcement welcoming everyone, and instructing them to turn off their cell phones. -Walk through every show a few times and throw out anyone talking disruptively (cell phone or otherwise). -If one screen in noticably bigger than the others, advertise which movie is on it in your ads, recordings, marquee. If you've got the same movie on that screen and another, spell out which showtimes are the good ones. -Build bigger screens. Don't have center aisles. Have quality sound with high highs, deep lows, spacious separation and no outside noise. If you really think (& I agree) that "most of the movies coming out now suck wind," -Show classic movies on your best screen from time to time. -By "classic," I don't mean Citizen Kane or Wizard of Oz, I mean the sorts of movies people are paying thousands of dollars to build fancy home theatres to see. Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Indiana Jones. -Show them at good times, not just 10am or midnight. -Get the word out that you are showing them as far ahead of time as possible. Put up cheap reprint posters in your lobby. Make some ads about how much better movies are in a theatre. -Show them at clever or relevant times. Show Titanic the week of 4/15. Groundhog Day on 2/2. Jaws on the 4th of July. Die Hard over Xmas break. Any great horror film at Halloween. XMen 1&2 & Superman 1 right before the new sequels come out.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-08-2006 07:01 PM                        The "classic films" idea is nice, except for 2 things: - 99.99999% of people won't come to a theatre to see them. Too bad, but it's true. In a big city, enough folks might turn out to make it pay, but he's in a small town, so it's a recipe for disaster. - If you can get a crowd to show up, it's a crapshoot whether you can get a decent print. (This is one area where Digital Cinema might actually be great.)  |  IP: Logged Dennis Benjamin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1445 From: Denton, MD Registered: Feb 2002 posted 04-08-2006 07:05 PM                        Yes, these are the things that I was interested in. Especially from a 'customer' point of view. As far as the employee situation is concerned: Wow - the teenagers now-a-days have no concept of what actual work is. I think the staff hiring and training will be the biggest issue. It's hard to make them understand what my goal is. Maybe I can find a few that actually care (maybe pay them a little more to actually care). Thanks for the wonderful input.  |  IP: Logged Geoff Jones Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 579 From: Broomfield, CO, USA Registered: Feb 2006 posted 04-08-2006 08:17 PM                        Mike, you may well be right. And like I said, I'm not in the biz, so feel free to tune me out. But for the sake of argument (what the hell, it's the internet ), here's my argument: Just because it hasn't worked in the past doesn't mean it can't work now. Moviegoers are way more educated about movie quality than they used to be, thanks to the rise of the internet and DVD. How hard was it to find a letterboxed video 10 years ago? And I'm not sure that "Classics on the Big Screen" has ever been "done right." When I moved to the bay area 12 years ago, I went around and saw lots of revival screenings. I saw Jaws at the Red Vic in SF on a screen barely bigger than my home theatre (LCD projector), and at the Paramount in Oakland where the sound was so bad, the only way I could understand the dialog was the fact I had memorized the movie. I saw Apocalypse Now in 70MM (and lots of other movies) at the Castro, which I found to be terribly echo-ey. I saw The Terminator at a theatre in Mountain View (at Midnite) with green Exit light on the screen throughout the movie. I've seen it posted here that 99% of moviegoers don't care about presentation quality. I think that's only a half truth. I think the moviegoers who do care about quality are staying home more often because that's the only way they can get quality. So yeah, it's true that 99% of the people who are still buying tickets don't care about quality, but not 99% of people who love movies. And now for some real idealism: If enough theatres demand and pay for quality prints of older movies, the supply could go up. Geoff PS: No offense intended to anyone at the theatres I mentioned... but those were my experiences.  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 04-08-2006 10:03 PM                        Herb Keleher at Southwest Airlines says in order to succeed you have only "not to do what your competitor does." As for hiring; pay $2/hr extra to start with explicit rules and immediate firing...no warnings, etc. You may hire 300-400 people but the 6 you get will be worth it. (UPS) Louis  |  IP: Logged Aaron Mehocic Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 804 From: New Castle, PA, USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-08-2006 11:18 PM                     quote: Dennis Benjamin Wow - the teenagers now-a-days have no concept of what actual work is. Yes, but nobody said you have to hire teenagers. Some of the suburban Pittsburgh theatres employ recently retired people who are still active, but want 100% of their social security. Their work ethic is exceptional. Or what about moms returning to the workforce once their kids are in high school. They are great help for afternoon shows. Given the size of your theatre it sounds like you can limit your staff to only a few teenagers for use only on Friday or Saturday nights. What exactly are the demographics here? Perhaps, some of the ideas suggested will work if you are close to the Washington-Baltimore corridor.  |  IP: Logged Matt Kerekes Film Handler Posts: 73 From: Rio Rancho, NM Registered: Oct 2004 posted 04-09-2006 05:40 AM                     Dennis, I have always been big on special events at the theatres, like video game tournaments, cross-promoting and trade-outs, classic movie series, etc. A lot of which I have never been able to get off the ground. I too am having somewhat of a similar issue. You know where I am and know who I'm competing with, so I'm sure you understand. My general thinking right now is to try to give my customers something they can't get at the google-plex down the street. Whether it be something small like door prizes and raffles, or something personal like welcome speeches and handing out mints after the show. Once in a while if I cancel a show to do something fun for customers or something special for the community, I could potentially make more doing so than showing the movie and getting 5 people to attend. One thing recently was I took a portable popcorn popper (we have one that's 110 volts) to a girl scout father/daughter dance and gave out free courtesy bags of popcorn. Everybody there was so greatful and it got us some exposure to a crowd we do not normally get at the theatre. I do have many more ideas, most that you have probably heard before. Hope it helps. - Matt.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-09-2006 06:38 AM                        Give people something that they can't get elsewhere. This is why I keep trying to convince theatre owners to show shorts with every feature--it makes the theatre experience "special" and differentiates your theatre from AMC/Loews/Regal/etc. Shorts are generally not expensive, but most theatres don't run them, which would make your theatre seem different and special. Make sure that your concessions are top quality. For example, your popcorn should be the best popcorn that anyone has ever tasted, not just generic popcorn. Serve it in buckets rather than bags. Keep prices at a reasonable level. Install cupholders on the seats (yes, it's silly, but people like to go to theatres with cupholders for some reason). Keep up on maintenance issues. The theatre should be spotless and projection and sound quality should be top notch. I like the idea mentioned in another thread about having someone personally introduce the films, assuming that you can get someone who enjoys doing it and doesn't sound like a mechanical drone when doing the introductions. It's probably not worthwhile for Tuesday matinee shows, but it would be great for Friday and Saturday evenings. If you cater to kids, try to get into the "birthday party" market (for one price, people get X number of child admissions and child popcorns, plus two adult admissions, plus a cake or something). If you cater to adults, consider selling beer/wine/etc. (not sure on the legal issues here). If you have really good quality video projection, consider showing the Super Bowl, etc. (I'm not sure how one would go about licensing this, but it is possible to do it legally). Also, look into hosting "sports highlight video" night for a local school, or maybe "student film night" (most of which will probably be on video, unfortunately). Agreed about not showing advertisements and saying something about this in your newspaper ads.  |  IP: Logged Jonathan M. Crist Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 531 From: Hershey, PA, USA Registered: Apr 2000 posted 04-09-2006 11:29 PM                     I operated a single screen historic theatre for over 19 years. I was forced to close last fall due to declining business. I had: Discount admissions, reasonable concession prices with good food, friendly staff (we gave a talk before each show), working curtains,a full balcony, policed the auditorum during the show (walk softly and carry a big flashlight),ran cartoons and short subjects, had good projection and sound (film done right),no pre-show advertising, ran occasional revivals and special midnight shows ........ AND YOU KNOW WHAT..... it didn't mean A DAMN THING when the big boys got done overscreening my area to the point there was a multiplex every couple of miles! People will only travel so far to see a movie and regardless of the presentation or the price or whatever else it is that they complain about ..... when it comes to choosing a theatre they will still usually pick the theatre closest to them. Good luck Dennis if you are in a competive area! [ 04-10-2006, 01:18 AM: Message edited by: Jonathan M. Crist ]  |  IP: Logged Frank Dubrois Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 896 From: Cleveland, OH Registered: Mar 2005 posted 04-10-2006 01:07 AM                    I'd just re-emphasize a few of the suggestions here. Hire older people...an older lady behind concessions or the box does wonders for customer relations as opposed to a teenager who appears "bothered" by customers. Also, screen ads..DONT DO IT. Its a money maker, yes, but its the single most annoying thing that theatre have moved to. One of our ads actually advertised the ad company saying "advertise to a captive audience". That pissed me off. People pay good money to goto a movie and enjoy themselves. Our ads were turned up so loud that you couldnt even talk before the movie..it sucked. Play some nice music. Curtains are a good idea, I worked a 4 plex that had curtains...the cinema Im at now has big white screens with no curtains. The curtains (mataching the wall color) adds a nice comfortable touch to the envirement. Other than that...keep the popcorn fresh and the movies looking and sounding good and you should do quite well. Not everyone likes the big noisey crowds of a googleplex. A smaller, friendly theatre is quite an attractive option, but you will have to really put an effort into getting the word out that things have changed! Get a good customer base and they will spread the word for you. The first 3-6 months or so will be the "make it or break it" time. Good Luck! Post pictures before and after!!  |  IP: Logged Jeff Eisentraut Film Handler Posts: 17 From: Hillsboro, Illinois USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 04-10-2006 01:43 AM                     Dennis: It is possible to survive in a small market. I am in a town of 4500 with a twin theatre...balcony conversion. It takes an all out assault on service and marketing. Here are a few ideas: *Read "Cinematreasures" available at cinematreasures.com There are many stories about the original showman from "the day" *Build a customer base one person at a time. Greet customers by name whenever possible. Greet them at the door. *Wear formal attire. Sounds corny but it really makes a difference in a customers perception and even how you feel about yourself (confidence) *Never show commercials *Make a pre-show announcement for cell phones, next attraction, interesting tidbits of movie trivia. and...Thank them for attending your theatre because you know they have a choice...BE GENUINE. *Offer a real value. Build a volume-based, family friendly, business model. *Immediately start gathering e-mail addresses for weekly updates. *Fire up an easy to navigate web site. Here's mine: www.bestmoviedeal.com *Make friends with the local paper and get as much free publicity as you possibly can. *Make your theatre a "Class act" where people feel special. Avoid lobby signs that start with "no" * Keep your theatre sparkling clean (duh) * Train your staff continually. Go to the High School and ask a counsellor to help you find a few outstanding students with good character and work ethic. No tatoos or piercings or blue hair. Try new ideas. For example, we tore out a section of seats and put in leather sofas. It was wildly succesful. People now arrive 45 minutes early to secure a good seat. Have fun!  |  IP: Logged

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