Famous News (Summer 1990)

Fun promotion by offering travel vouchers as prizes for upselling soft drinks. Staff members were provided with booklets which outlined, in detail, each aspect of the program. Prizes available totalled $2,505 and were handed out, along with Bronze, Silver and Gold performance awards, on August 20 at a wrap party in Calgary’s Calaway Park. Doug Smith would be happy to share details of this successful program with interested managers in other districts. Promotions Profile: Brad Halliwell No Rambo’s Please ... is the name of a month-long incentive contest run by manager Brad Halliwell at Edmonton’s Gateway Cinemas. The contest, which sets one staff member against another in friendly competition, awards those who sell the most 44 oz soft drinks. Below is his explanation of how it works. No Rambo’s Please Management issues to every concession attendant his own stack of 44 oz soft drink cups at the beginning of each shift. This allows for easy monitoring of how many are sold. When a staff member is dismissed on break, management will verify how many cups he has sold. It doesn’t matter how many shifts are worked; the highest average sales wins the month-end Grand Prize. To illustrate: Name M.T WT F (Av. Sales) Madonna 16 8 21 15 % Warren 8 11 19 6 7 10.2 % To figure out the average, follow this simple formula. Madonna sold a total of 45 cups. Now take the number of cups she sold (45) and divide it by the number of shifts she worked (3). The total average for Madonna, for this week, is 15 per cent. The record for the most cups sold in one shift is held by Cheryl Patrick: 28 cups. So, she’ll be out to defend her title. Will she win? Only time will tell. The record for the most cups sold during the month-long contest is 244, held by former employee Terri Smith. Terri also holds the highest average sales, at 16.8 per cent. A list of prizes is posted in the staff room. How do you win? Sharpen your upselling skills and SELL, SELL, SELL! (Editor’s note: for more details, contact Brad Halliwell at the Gateway in Edmonton, E-mail number 560. If YOU have a promotion to share with the rest of the circuit, please submit it to the Public Relations Department.) A Day in the Life... In our Spring 1990 issue we mentioned British Columbia’s local newsletter, Feature Presentation. Reprinted below is their version of a typical day in the life of a theatre manager. (Kind thanks to FP’s editors and to writer Graham Beattie, manager of the Richport Cinemas in Richmond, B.C.) 1:00 am Gets to bed. Because of all the coffee, can’t get to sleep. 2:00 am Gets out of bed. (All that coffee, you know how it is.) 2:30 am Finally, he is asleep. 3:00 am Chubb Security calls. It seems the fire alarm is ringing. Manager is tired; tells Chubb to let it burn. 3:05 am Wide awake, manager looks for Careers section of newspaper, falling asleep after circling telephone soliciting ads. 5:30 am Toronto calls to find out why computer files show him as being deceased. (In Toronto, the country is on Eastern Time.) 8:30 am Vancouver office calls to say that building isn’t totally demolished. Firemen save a bow tie. (On other end, DM wonders if aa is checking Careers section yet. 10:00 am Office phones again. It seems they received complaints that the 9:30 show of Dick Tracy had Italian voices and Hungarian subtitles. None of us noticed. 1:00 pm Confections in Calgary call to say that they got the theatre candy order wrong. It seems no cups, containers or candy was sent. However, 800 cases of nacho chips will arrive by 4:00 pm today. 2:00 pm Hot water runs out in shower. ; 2:20 pm Cold water runs out in shower. 2:30 pmRemembers hydro bill that has been on the fridge for two months. 3:00 pm On way to work. 4:00 pm Manager has nachos delivered to Smithrite container. 4:30 pm Tries to get on computer. Finds that his line is busy. Really mad, uses some other theatre’s line to send out nasty letter about using other lines without asking. (Leaves the computer on for the rest of the night, on SOMEONE ELSE’S LINE.) 5:55 pm Entire staff calls in sick. Manager begins to ask lineup already forming outside if someone wants to "Be A Star". 7:00 pm The world’s largest spit-ball is hurling towards the screen. 7:05 pm Emergency vouchers are being handed out. Medics tend to the entire front row, and the person who shot the spit-ball is being pried out of the rear wall. 9:20 pm Manager is paging Jineup,which is outside in the rain. The guests are not impressed. 9:40 pm It is only now that the first staff member notices the manager is not around. 9:45 pm Doorman finds manager tied to lightpole with gaffers tape.