No loitering in the lobby sign?

[Frank Cox]

I had 18 people at tonight's show, every one of them a teenager. When the show was over they all came out to the lobby and everyone was standing around there yacking. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but one of the conditions for running a theatre in Saskatchewan right now is no crowds are allowed in the lobby.

For tonight's bunch I gave 'em my standard "Hey everybody!" yell, told them that no crowds are allowed in the lobby, and everyone left. (And then stood on the sidewalk out front yacking but I don't care about that as long as it's not in my lobby.)

Now I'm thinking that I should put a big sign in the middle of the lobby. My first thought was, "No loitering in the lobby", but that doesn't really capture it since it doesn't matter if someone is standing around waiting for his girlfriend to arrive. It's just those groups of people who get together and yack.

Can any of you think of a good wording for a sign to (maybe) help avoid this sort of thing happening again?

[Randy Stankey]

"You don't have to go home but you can't stay here!"

Pursuant to Health Department order #123
Chapter 13. Section 42. Part 3. Subpart (i)
Blah...blah...blah...

Add picture of John Belushi and Dan Akroyd dressed as the Blues Brothers.

[Marcel Birgelen]

Most places here have put up temporary signs with stuff like: Maximum people allowed: 5, please wait outside if capacity has been reached.

But if you put up a sign for anything people should and should not do, stuff starts to look like in the Grand Budapest Hotel real soon.

[Martin McCaffery]

Never assume people can read. Never assume they understand that the words on a sign apply to them.

[Frank Cox]

Everyone can read the sign that says Free Beer.

No Parking, not so much....

[Frank Cox]

20201207_193003.jpg

[Marcel Birgelen]

Very subtle

What about taping some yellow or red squares on the ground with about 6ft in between them?

[Carsten Kurz]

We sprayed green footprints onto our forecourt. People loved them. But it doesn't solve Frank's problem in the lobby.

[Mike Blakesley]

I personally hate all the new do-this-don't-do-that signage that we're now being subjected to.

We have a "please wear a mask" sign on the door. Once you get inside the building, beyond the fact that all of us are wearing masks and we have a plexiglass shield on the concession counter, it looks the same as always. When selling tickets, if our small lobby gets more than about 5 people in it, we just stop selling until it clears out enough for more people to go in, but we tell people what's going on.

In Frank's case I would just tell people, "Sorry folks, we're not allowed to have gatherings in the lobby during the pandemic so you'll have to move outside." If he was running a megaplex it might be harder but when dealing with one crowd in an evening, "control" is pretty easy.

My goal is to make moviegoing as "normal" as possible. We don't run any virus-related screen content, either. But we're happy to explain our cleaning procedures and what-not to anyone who asks. So far, nobody has asked.

[Jim Cassedy]

"Count your blessings" - - here in CA they've solved the gathering problem by just shutting everything down. And, actually, I don't even think we're allowed to gather outside now either. They keep changing the rules so much and it varies from county-to-county so I can't keep track any more. I had a friend over to my apartment for lunch, which was technically 'against the rules' since I'm only supposed to congregate with people from my own household. It was ludicrous, as we literally sat on opposite sides of the living room, eating off of separate tables, with only one of us at a time going into the kitchen if we needed to get another fork or some ice, etc. Gimmieabreak!

[Frank Cox]

Not so easy, Mike, because I don't want to be the bad guy if I can avoid it.

Putting that sign in the lobby (hopefully) make people not congregate like they did the other day without me having to tell everyone not to do that. If I have to tell people to stop what they're doing, then I'm the guy who threw them out. If there's a big sign, maybe they'll read the sign and I won't have to take any action at all.

Just like when the no smoking indoors regulation came in. (Which, as a lifelong non-smoker, I think is great, by the way.) I put up a sign, most people didn't bring their cigarette in the door after that and 90% of the problem was solved right there.

To the best of my knowledge, I'm the only theatre left open within about hundred miles in any direction. I don't want the health inspector to close me down over people doing stuff they shouldn't be doing. I might not be making any money at the moment, there's certainly not many people coming to see the movies, but I'm still doing what I like to do and that's not nothing.

I just had one of the few customers that I had last night tell me on his way out how much he appreciates the opportunity to see a movie at a theatre. He said it takes him an hour-and-a-half to drive here and it's worth every bit of the effort.

[Marcel Birgelen]

I can understand where you're coming from, but I also agree with Mike. Maybe in Saskatchewan people like clear cut instructions instead of getting pampered, but I try to get myself into the position of the customer. If I paid for that ticket, I want to feel like a guest and not like a menace.

Most people know how to behave and if they're violating some rules, I think 90% of those do so, while they're not inherently aware of the fact they're breaking them. For those other 10%, I guess even the clearest sign won't do the trick...

Let me try to come up with some kind example... I'd say that I personally wouldn't mind any sign like this:

Due to circumstances, the maximum capacity of the lobby has been reduced to 5 people.

While a sign like this would trigger something rebellious inside me:

No loitering here!

Yeah, I'm polarizing a bit, your sign is obviously more "friendly" than this, but I try to make a point here.

I guess it has something to do with the respect you show towards your customers. The first one is more like: You know, we don't like it either, so please bear with us, while the latter feels more like: It is what it is, live with it. Bye!

Again, I'm exaggerating, because I'm trying to make a point.

[Mike Blakesley]

Well at least Frank's sign is big enough that nobody will miss it. People generally don't read signs either, that's another reason I don't like them.

We started doing reserved seats a couple of months ago. I put a small 10" monitor outside the ticket window so people could tell me where they want to sit. Every single person thinks it's a touchscreen. (Why would anybody install a public-facing touchscreen these days?!) So eventually I put a sign right next to it that says "THIS IS NOT A TOUCHSCREEN - Please tell us your seat choice" and people STILL don't see that. So I put a sticker across the top of the screen that says the same thing, so now we have the sign AND the sticker and I would bet that 90% of people are still out there poking at the screen. Some people are so preoccupied that even after I say, "That's not a touchscreen, just tell me what seat numbers you want" they're still poking away at it. Sometimes it takes two or three tries to get through to them.

[Frank Cox]

The customers are getting a kick out of that sign. "Wow, Frank, now that's a massive sign", said with a big laugh.

So people are finding it amusing and getting the message, so it looks like it's going to work.

[Marcel Birgelen]

I guess you've found "the other solution" to the problem: You made a sign so large, that it takes up so much space, so it's impossible for people to gather around anymore.

We started doing reserved seats a couple of months ago. I put a small 10" monitor outside the ticket window so people could tell me where they want to sit. Every single person thinks it's a touchscreen. (Why would anybody install a public-facing touchscreen these days?!) So eventually I put a sign right next to it that says "THIS IS NOT A TOUCHSCREEN - Please tell us your seat choice" and people STILL don't see that. So I put a sticker across the top of the screen that says the same thing, so now we have the sign AND the sticker and I would bet that 90% of people are still out there poking at the screen. Some people are so preoccupied that even after I say, "That's not a touchscreen, just tell me what seat numbers you want" they're still poking away at it. Sometimes it takes two or three tries to get through to them.

You see, the solution is to actually install a touch screen. But now, every time someone touches it, you display a honking message: THIS IS NOT A TOUCH SCREEN.

Talking about touch screens... I recently had to use one in a grocery store to pick-up my order I made on-line. That screen actually gave me instructions to spray and wipe it afterwards. So, maybe you should add that to the message too, after someone touched it.