Famous News (May-Jun 1981)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

Conversation with Veteran Famous Manager His Philosophy for Theatre Operation; A proven success! FAMOUS NEWS Editor Michelina Trigiani, recently spent a day at Mississauga, Ontario’s Square One Cinemas where she had the opportunity to see a busy operation in action and discuss the manager’s role with Jack Boddam. Coming into my head office job as Editor, where my only contact with our managers is on paper, and where my knowledge of a theatre operation is restricted to an evening out with my husband, I felt I should observe, first-hand, what a manager’s job involves. Jack Boddam set out to show me. Jack has been managing Square One since it opened seven years ago. Starting out as an usher in the 40’s in his home town of Brampton, Ont., Jack has worked in some 25 Ontario houses. ‘‘T operate the theatre like it was my own.’’ As I write this story, I recall two areas of theatre management which dominated my coversation with Jack. The first is what I term Jack’s ‘‘philosophy’’ of how a manager should approach his job. ‘*I operate every theatre like it was my own,”’ he says. ‘‘I want the company that I work for to receive more than they’re paying, I’m being paid to manage, so I manage. I don’t have any hours. If I’m busy or if I’m needed, I’m here.’’ A big factor in shaping Jack’s ‘‘philosophy’’ has been Famous Players itself. ‘‘I feel the company pays me good money for good Manager Jack Boddam Photos by Mickey Trigiani nn nn eee Ett EEE EEyEEEEESSSSESSSS ESSE management. Famous has always been very fair, or I wouldn’t have stayed.’ Jack believes that the most important aspect of a manager’s job is his consideration for the customer. ‘‘I operate my theatre in the way that works best for everyone and that usually means that the customer comes first and that our own convenience comes second.”’ Jack’s operation certainly reflects his customer’s needs. An example of this is how he schedules his shows. ‘““You’ve got to consider the customer in this. Give him time to eat dinner and find a babysitter. Stagger shows so he has time to buy refreshments. This also alleviates pressure on the candy counter. Don’t let the last show out too late. You’re inconveniencing the customer.’’ Jack’s theatre is located in a busy suburban mall. Lining up customers for Square One’s four theatres takes ‘organization and split-second tim ing. ‘‘I consider the customer first in this instance also, but he doesn’t always realize it. I’ve been called an idiot for the way I line people up but most customers realize later that it is the best way. The folks that complain are the older ones who only go to movies now and then and don’t understand the routine nowadays. To soften the idea of a line-up, we never use the word. All my staff ask May/June, 1981 17