Motion Picture Herald (1954)

method in Management ★ staff supervision institutional advertising exploitation equipment housekeeping & maintenance wmmcmmm and related activities Organizing to Get Efficient Housekeeping The 20 th installment of a series on Motion Picture Theatre Management ONE OF THE most important functions in the operation of a successful theatre is its housekeeping, which particularly draws the attention of the women patrons and can have a strong and lasting effect upon their continued preference of a certain theatre as a place of recreation. Because the conditions pertaining to housekeeping reflect the spirit of the overall operation, they may be taken as an indication of the management. It is the managers’ responsibility to give the housekeeping arrangements his personal attention and to review those policies periodically for possible improvement. The first step towards effective housekeeping is the selection of a qualified cleaning supervisor, or chief janitor, as your choice may dictate. This individual, preferably a mature man whose judgment will not be subject to question by the cleaning staff, must be both a diplomat and a “driver,” for in his work he will have to reconcile the diverse personal conflicts which are bound to crop up 'among people who engage in janitorial work. He “must be able to dictate the work schedules firmly, and see that they are carried out; and he must hold himself apart from the cliques and arguments. Together with the manager, the cleaning supervisor should lay out a comprehensive schedule of cleaning operations, with emphasis on the scheduled activities from day to day. The cleaning staff should be divided into crews (if it is large enough for this), and within each crew ther<* should be individual responsibility assigned for specific duties handled by that crew. In that way, if there is something which is not properly handled, it will be easy to find By CURTIS MEES out exactly who did the work and instruct them in the proper methods. Each crew should have a schedule which will allocate the amount of time to be given to each phase of the day’s cleaning. HOUSEKEEPING PERSONNEL Certain phases of theatre cleaning can best be handled by men, such as the polishing of tile or linoleum floors with a mechanical polishing machine, and consideration must be given to this when setting up the crews and scheduling their duties individually. The lighter work — dusting, wiping and sweeping — can be apportioned among women on a cleaning staff. Naturally the size and patronage of the theatre will largely determine the number of people needed on a cleaning staff ; the accompanying chart, however, might form a basis of judgment as to requirements in most situations, together with a general outline of the duties involved in the average daily schedule. Aside from the daily schedule, there are, of course, some cleaning duties which need not be performed on such a frequent basis. For example, obscure parts of the house (such as closed balconies, or unused dressing rooms) do not need to be cleaned daily ; but they must be given periodic attention — possibly once a month, or even quarterly in the case of dressing rooms not being used. Carpeting should be given an extra thorough cleaning about once a month, going after deep-down dirt and any drink syrups and chewing gun not cleaned up in the daily work (as it really should be). Walls and ceilings should be washed down when indicated, probably every six months or so. (Care must be exercised in this respect to see that walls will stand this treatment. In many cases it will be feasible only to brush down the walls with long bristled, but soft, brushes on extension handles.) Floors may need waxing on a bi-weekly or monthly basis. All of these things must be considered by the manager and his cleaning supervisor to insure that the proper steps are taken to deal with these individual problems as they arise rather than after the condition becomes chronic. An important consideration is whether or not the theatre shall be cleaned at night, after the last show, or early in the morning. It is probably desirable to clean up BETTER THEATRES SECTION 37