RTS's online fee is per transaction, not per ticket, which I like, and you have the choice of whether to pass it on to the customer or not, and you can set it to whatever amount you want. You can also make it "per ticket" for the customer if you desire. Personally I hate "convenience fees" but there IS a cost to offering this service, so there's no reason not to charge for it. The key is not to go nuts with it. I decided to set our internet fee at $1 per transaction. This way we're paying for the service plus a little extra for the internet cost without looking like we're gouging anyone. So far I've not even had a comment about it, let alone a complaint.
This is true, people love to see a business investing in itself. We are a very "nostalgic" theater in that it still looks just like it did originally on the outside and in the lobby; the auditorium is where most of the new stuff resides, both in front and behind the scenes. I think we have a good balance between old and new, and we have a good reputation for constantly investing in the business. We didn't promote our transition to digital cinema to preserve that nostalgia angle, but I've always figured that 90% of people don't know or care how the image gets to the screen anyway.
The nicest thing about all the electronics is, it's relatable -- everybody on the planet has occasional trouble with their electronics. So if there is ever a computer or tech problem, all you have to do is say "You know how it is....electronics" and people give a knowing nod. In the film days, if you said "we lost the lower loop due to a bad splice" it would go right over their head.
Tons of word of mouth about the upgraded we've been making. If you never change anything, people view your business as stale and excitement drops off.
The nicest thing about all the electronics is, it's relatable -- everybody on the planet has occasional trouble with their electronics. So if there is ever a computer or tech problem, all you have to do is say "You know how it is....electronics" and people give a knowing nod. In the film days, if you said "we lost the lower loop due to a bad splice" it would go right over their head.
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