The Exhibitor (Nov 1939-May 1940)

BETTER MANAGEMENT BM-5 Courtesy und Contact Between Patron and Staff Is a Most Important Goal to Be Accomplished Soys William DeLaiet Treasurer and Director of Uniformed Employees , United Artists Rivoli, Broadway , New York City As Told in An Interview with Lewis S. Mentlik pERHAPS this is somewhat of a far1 fetched analogy, but selling seats at the United Artists’ Rivoli is a problem quite similar to that faced by the salesmen whose job it is to sell clothing retail right in the heart of the wholesale garment district. The retail outlets have plenty of customers for the simple reason that most people like their service with a heavy coating of sugar. On New York’s Great White Way, exhibitors aren’t giving away films wholesale. However, they are giving away firstrun major product plus “name” stage shows for prices as low and lower than those plastered above the cashier’s cage at the Rivoli, where the show consists of one major first-run picture and a couple of short subjects. Consider for a moment the competition faced by the Rivoli (price scale: 35 to 99 cents) — Radio City Music Hall, Roxy, Paramount, Loew’s State, Strand, and the numerous grinds offering duallers at bargain prices. That’s an imposing lineup of opposition to buck and the keyword of the Rivoli in so bucking is “Good Pictures and Good Service.” I IKE “Old Man River,” the Rivoli just ■L' keeps rolling along, sometimes hitting top grosses and at other times just clearing the nut. With all that “wholesome competition” around, it seems that the credit must fall to the management. We decided to find out by firing questions at William De Laiet, the theatre’s treasurer and the man who hires and fires all the men in uniform. What follows are our STRICTLY PERSONAL William DeLaiet is one of those getahead fellows who started from the bottom of the theatre business as an usher at the old Broadway Rialto and is now treasurer as well as the man who hires the help at the United Artists’ Rivoli, one of Manhattan's leading film showcases. About 10 years ago, when ParamountPublix still owned both the Rialto and Rivoli, DeLaiet moved to the 2,100-seat Rivoli as an usher. Progressively, he has moved up to assistant chief usher, chief usher, assistant treasurer, and. now, treasurer. A good-loking gent, always on the job garbed in impeccably neat dinner clothes, DeLaiet is also a family man. He’s married; is the father of one child — a boy; and lives across the Bay in Staten Island. questions and Bill’s answers — verbatim and rehashed. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TRAINING SYSTEM FOR YOUR USHERS? “Training the ushers to a point of perfection. The instructors are provided with an outline listing the various duties, assignments, the fundamentals and necessity of physical drill, and contact with patrons. All ushers are given a training period of one week during which time they study their manuals, and otherwise learn their jobs.” WHAT PAINS ARE TAKEN TO IMPRESS THE PATRON WITH THE EFFORT THE HOUSE IS MAKING TO GIVE HIM THE BEST POSSIBLE SERVICE? “Because we are selling only pictures and not a combination of pictures and vaudeville as does our competition, we have to emphasize courtesy and service at all times. Therefore, we go out of our way to impress the patrons with the faultlessness of our staff.” DO YOU USE ANY SPECIAL DEVICES, IE. CALL DOCTORS, CHECKING, ETC.? At this point, DeLaiet explained how doctors leave their cards and their seat numbers for immediate calls. The “miscellaneous” section of the instructors’ outline lists such items as “Lost and Found,” “Emergency Cases,” “Handling of Morons,” “Broken Heels,” “Smoking Privileges,” etc. ARE THE USHERS INSTRUCTED TO “DRESS THE HOUSE” OR TO ALLOW PATRONS TO SIT WHERE THEY WISH? “The only time ushers do not ask the patrons where they want to sit is occasionally in the balcony. This is not intended to “dress the house,” but rather to keep the flow of people from interfering with those already seated. People wishing to sit in the orchestra are led to any part of the floor they prefer. DOES YOUR SERVICE STAFF HAVE ANY INCENTIVE FOR PROMOTION? It’s about the same in most places. Keeping a job and eventually getting advanced depends on the individual. We used to have staff competition, but now each boy has to depend on himself. The Rivoli has a standing staff of 18 men in uniform and that group is augmented by an additional 14 or 18 men during the first week of a new picture. The set staff is kept on its toes trying to outshine the contingents and the part-timers are wideawake in an attempt to wrest a steady job for themselves. As a matter of fact, I worked up from an usher and practically everyone out of uniform here was once an usher.” WHAT ADVANTAGES IN THE MATTER OF SERVICE DO YOU THINK YOUR HOUSE HAS AGAINST OTHERS? “I guess we just seem to be closer to the boys. Although the staff, while on duty, may appear stiff and formal, there is a mutual respect existing between the men, management, and executives. The chief of each staff gives his men a ‘pep’ talk before they go on detail. We hold a service meeting at least once a week and there’s a fire drill every other Sunday.” DO YOU BELIEVE A THEATRE, HANDICAPPED IN RUN, CAN OVERCOME THIS HANDICAP IF THE SERVICE AND SURROUNDINGS ARE OF THE BEST? “Not facing any clearance problems as they do in neighborhood houses, we however have something similar in the matter of competing against the vaudeville shows I mentioned before. And, as I said before, you’ll get the business if you combine good pictures with outstanding service.” ARE ANY SPECIAL WINTER AND SUMMER SERVICES USED TO IMPRESS THE PATRONS? “Well, in the winter, the ushers and pages are kept busy brushing the snow off the patrons’ coats. When it rains, the doorman meets all cars and cabs with an umbrella. Inside the theatre, air conditioning keeps the temperature always between 72 and 78 degrees — warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The doorman always helps theatregoers out of cars and cabs.” IN THE CASE OF OVERFLOW BUSINESS, ARE ANY SPECIAL MEANS USED TO KEEP STANDEES AMUSED OR PLEASED WHILE WAITING? “Because we don’t have overly long shows, we aren’t faced with that problem as acutely as the vaudeville houses. The staff keeps the overflow well in hand and there is very seldom a wait longer than 20 minutes.” VV7E thanked Bill DeLaiet for answering our barrage of queries, and on the way out, we glanced at the ushers. Suddenly there popped into our mind an idea to start a campaign to publicize something to the effect of “as straight as a Rivoli usher” instead of the “Roxy” tag so often utilized in that simile. THE EXHIBITOR