Motion Picture News (Oct-Dec 1930)

October 4, 1930 Motion Picture N e zv s 75 Lack of Showmanship Ideas Harming Class B Houses; Service Below Par Oklahoma City Exhibitor Points Out False Ideas of Theatre Operations In Second Run Theatres; Urges Personnel Betterment By Paul Ketchum Assistant Manager, Rialto Theatre, Oklahoma City FALSE ideas of theatre operation are what cause considerable gnashing of teetli in many managers' offices and more particularly in the Class B houses than any other. The simple case of the Class A manager having to have the right ideas or being eliminated is enough to force him to find them, but such is not the case with the B houses. It is no secret that hundreds of B houses throughout the country are operating without any thoughts at all other than that the doors open at a certain time and the box-office is where tickets are sold. These houses get by and that is about all. But on the other hand there are many hundreds of B houses that have found that just getting by isn't good business and plenty more profits can be made by managers if they will utilize their desks for something more than a place to rest their feet. For instance, there's the matter of service— and by service we mean complete service. The common conception of the manager and, for that matter, of the public as well, that B houses are institutions where service is something noticeably absent is another secret that is anything but true. Service to some managers is something only dispensed by the A houses and they are ardent believers in that. What is more they teach their customers to believe in that principle. Cashier Choice Important A so-so dressed cashier, somewhat between a restaurant waitress and a housemaid, generally presides over the ticket booths of such houses. Good looking, neat, well-dressed young ladies are just as easy to get as the opposites and they don't cost a cent more than the others. Why not get them ? Which, to you, is more satisfactory when you're buying something in a store — a shabbily dressed sales person who dispenses your merchandise as a duty or the one who smiles, talks with a laugh in her voice, dresses neatly and looks as though life held something for her ; one who gets a genuine pleasure out of waiting on you ? Isn't the girl in the box-office as much of a sales lady as the girl in the department store? Doesn't the impression she makes on your customers count equally as much for you as it does for the dry goods institution? The goodwill she builds counts plenty. Trial of both types for a period of a month or two is the surest way to find the truth in that. After the box-office what? Cleanliness — that's mighty important, no matter what type of house you're running. Cleanliness doesn't mean polished brass door knobs, but a house that is just as clean in the darkest corner as that shining brass door ' knob. It means an atmosphere of cleanliness and plenty of it; clean walls, and painted walls ; bright, clean curtains, shining floors, and cleanliness among employes as well. Your patrons want that. They come to the theatre to relax from the cares of their tasks and to be entertained; to forget their own personalities in a world of make-believe that they can thrust themselves into by passing your portals. If this world of make-believe is set off in an atmosphere of uncleanliness in any form whatsoever it detracts from their enjoyment — that means they're not going to be the kind of customers they should be. It means they'll come to your theatre but once to every five times they might come otherwise. The Usher a Key Man I've had the opportunity of hearing many theatre patrons' woes and also of visiting hundreds of houses. One thing has been always prevalent — the complaint against the occasional broken chair arm or worn out upholstery. Naturally this won't be found in the first run houses but it will be found, and to a great extent, in the second runs. But what of the other factors of service? What about the usher, that all important unit of any house? A lot depends on him. By a cross word or an indifferent attitude in seating a customer that young man can create ill-will that will cost the house hundreds of dollars to regain. He is a mighty important unit, but few second run houses realize that. For instance, having him dressed in uniform, a clean, neat, attractive, West Point type of uniform that cannot help but make him feel proud of his position and create an impression on the patron that cannot be forgotten. Does he walk straight, with shoulders square and head up, or does he slide down the aisle on his heels, come to a stop in front of a chair and slouch there until the patron arrives. left to find his or her seat ? He should be every bit as courteous as if he were working in a million dollar first run house. He waits for the customer to arrive, with a dimmed flashlight he shows the way to the seat, he asks pardon if an individual passes and he thanks not only the customer but the persons who were inconvenienced in the move before he leaves. He doesn't leave either the new arrival or the seated patron in an ill frame of mind. By a few good words, the right tone of voice and the proper action he can make these people glad to be put to the inconvenience of permitting the customer to pass. Inconvenience should be reduced to its minimum even if it cannot be eliminated. These are just a few things. There are many others. It is a mattter of common opinion that second run house customers don't care about service.. It's true in some respects, but not with the patrons who mean steady profits. The man or woman who comes again and again to your theatre is the one whom you must give this courteous service to. If you don't he or she will go somewhere else. Consider for a moment a bit of logic. Why do people go to first run houses? Simply because they see pictures that are up-tothe-minute, because they are made as comfortable as it is possible to make them and because they are given the acme of courtesy. There are hundreds of individuals to whom timeliness in a picture doesn't mean a thing, but entertainment means everything. If a second run house can give its patrons all of those other things the first run house offers, many hundred additional customers will be brought inside their doors. The idea that a Class B or second run house need not be a service purveyor in every sense of the word is the false idea that is robbing many theatre managers of profits they can easily obtain. But the idea that a Class B or second run house need be that in film only is what is getting those extra profits into the boxoffice. Service— lots of it — makes success and the adaptation of all the other practical ideas of the first run houses to the second run house is as important. For instance, we were doubtful about billboards, but we tried them with successful results, as with other types of first run advertising. The idea that all of this on the part of the B manager is nothing more than imitation of Class A houses is a thin one indeed. Fewer desk men and more active men make the B houses a success. After all the entire success of any house is up to its personnel from the porter to the big boss.