Publix Opinion (Jan 10, 1930)

ee PUBLIX OPINION, WEEK OF JANUARY 10TH, 1930 7 SELLING SHOWS IN ANSWERING TELEPHONE “IT am afraid that one department of our Publix service has been considerably neglected in our division,’’ Arthur L. Mayer writes to his managers, “I refer to tele-' phone service. With the proper thought and attention this can be one of our most effective methods of selling pictures and developing a loyal clientele. “In most of our operations either the cashier or secretary in the office answers incoming telephone calls. In all cases she should be given strict instructions in regard to tha proper modulation of the voice, the necessity for unfailing courtesy and the use of correct English, also the proper form of reply for the usual inquiry. “When answering telephone calls, the following salutation should be used :— “Good afternoon (or evening). This is the Publix—tTheatre.”’ The person answering the ’phone should have accurate knowledge of the name of the current attractions, the stars, the type of picture, the schedule and if there are any outstanding short subjects on the bill. “On several occasions I have listened to our employees answering telephone inquiries and have been impressed by the lack of sales quality in} their replies. I do not want anything stereotyped but I am sure if the girls were taught to say ‘I am sure you will enjoy the picture’ or ‘it is an unusually fine show,’ many a doubtful patron would be persuaded to attend.” FLORIDA OPENINGS The Community, Miami Beach; the Florida, St. Petersburg and the Paramount and Beaux Arts theatres, Palm Beach were recently opened. _ depend upon theirs. our tasks enjoyable. We l Ti (Cc SUA **“SP-EE-EE-EE-EEECH!?”” Suppose, Mister Mockelhop—or you, Mister Fingeldonk—were present in a gigantic hall, big enough to house all of the 25,000 showmen who scintillate under the banner of the 1200 Publix Theatres! In a hall Big enough, even, to still have room for all the thousands of Paramounteers! Suppose Mister Katz singled you out—and called upon you to say something BIG to the assemblage—to tell how YOU put over that Big Putover! Would you blush, and twist the buttons off of your coat, and pull your ear, and say “Aw-w-w-w-w, I D’wanna!!’ And then rush furiously for cover? No, you wouldn’t!!! You wouldn’t be that dumb— or selfish!! You’d want your successful experience to spread its benefits around to all of your associates!! Of course!! You'd swiftly slip in to your Best Big Moment Manner, and step confidently forward with a mouthful of rushing, two syllable words and personal pronouns! You'd electrify that old audience of pals with oratorical pyrotechnics, foot-stompings, table-thumpings, and so forths, like “Variety” electrifies a smalltime hoofer by panning the primadonna! Then, when those frantic cheers and deafening volleys of grateful applause filled your ears as your con. cluding gestures found you with a wilted collar and a broken garter—you’d stand revealed before the world as a Great Guy, and a Smart Egg! As a Boy who, knows where to go and get some Bacon! Now, of course, the chances are slim, Mister Mockelhop, that there’ll ever be a Publix-Paramount convention as big as all that—and the chances are even more slim that you’d be called upon to publicly unbutton your skull even if there were such a gathering. But !! And you can put that BUT in large boldface studhorse capital letters———-YOU DO HAVE THAT CHANCE EVERY WEEK!! All you have to do is to write it all out and send it to the editor of PUBLIX OPINION. If it’s terrible, we’ll throw it in the wastebasket— and patiently keep you from being hissed! If it’s helpful and great—you'll be in focus of the thoughts and eager, glistening eyes of every showman in all of these 1200 PUBLIX THEATRES,—and in all of Paramount—from Manny Cohen’s mountain-peak in Dickbyrdland, to the chiJblains in the socks of the most humble patrons of Esquimo nickelodeons nearest the North pole. Remove the “bushel” from your light! Let its helpfulness shine brightly forth in PUBLIX OPINION to your circuit-wide fame and glory!!! Speak up!! It’s YOUR turn to take the spotlight, every week in PUBLIX OPINION!! Step right up, Mister Mockelhop, and take your bow! MORAL: While the foregoing was written in a spirit of good clean fun, you might boil it down to its essentials and chew on it as food for thought. UALS. ATT HAUL ‘s-PEE-cu ‘SPEECH! SPEECH!’ wwe ir MULL ALLL ri UU HOME OFFICE DEPARTMENTS Here is the seventh of a series of stories about Publix Home Office Department personalities who depend upon your effort, just as you To know and understand each other’s personalities and problems will lighten the burdens of everyone, and make For this reason, PUBLIX OPINION is devoting an important part of its space to these brief biographical sketches. DR. EMANUEL STERN Medical Director One of the most interesting and j helpful departments in Publix is the one over which Dr. Emanuel! Stern has charge. He is medical Director of Paramount Famous Lasky, Publix Theatres Corporation, and all subsidiary activities. Dr. Stern is the man you have to think about, or thank, when illness, personal misfortune, accidents, or disease epidemics cross your horizon to cause you worry. All matters pertaining to company interest in the personal welfare of unfortunate employees are passed upon, finally, by Dr. Stern, after they have been advanced to him thru theatre managers. Also, all matters having to do with cases of personal injury to patrons o1 employees, compensation insurance, and community epidemics of diseases which threaten the welfare of Publix-Paramount interests. If you haven’t had cause to contact with Dr. Stern and his department, he tells you that you are fortunate indeed. Despite this, you doubtless have a glow of satisfaction from the knowledge that he is there to help you, if you do need him. : With a completely equipped emergency hospital in charge of a surgeon and trained nurse in our Hollywood studios, and a similarly equipped hospital headquarters in New York, Dr. Stern and his staff are constantly occupying their time with the problems that come up from the 1200 Publix theatres, the scores of Paramount exchanges, and the various activities of the studios and newsreel departments. Born and raised and educated in New York City, he found himself as member of the House Staff of physicians at the famous Bellevue Hospital of New York in 1915. -At the outbreak of the war, he resigned his post of Resident Surgeon of the hospital, and donned a uniform as First Lieutenant in the army medical corps. He remained in service until June of 1919, when he established himself in private practice. Many of his patients were executives of Paramount, and as a result, he was induced to take care of the requirements of the Long Island studio. From this, in 1920, he developed the department he now heads, to such size as to require his attention exclusively to the needs of the company. That over 32,000 cases received treatment last year is an indication of the magnitude of the department—and this figure does not include a great many cases of illness of patrons, and many other activities. Being a strict conformist to all ethical regulations of the medical and surgical profession, Dr. Stern refuses to permit PUBLIX OPINION to discuss him as a personality. Nevertheless, this publication feels that you’ll better understand the benefits you can get thru Dr. Stern’s department, by telling you that he is acknowledged internationally as an outstanding diagnostician, as well as one of America’s most up-to-the-minute practitioners of surgery and medicine. His opinions are frequently sought by men of medicine, and his contacts include the most noted specialists in the world, for every branch of healing. Those who live in the vicinity of New York have the opportunity, when necessary, to personally ob FILMS CHECK CRIME, SAYS PASTOR © Motion pictures were described as a “powerful deterrent of crime” by Dr. Clinton Wunder of Rochester, formerly pastor of the Baptist Temple there and author of seyeral books giving the minister’s outlook on modern life, in an address in Washington) before the National League of Pen Women. “Any minister or individual seeking to drive a wedge between the film and the church is assuming a fearful responsibility”, he said. “That de; plorable fanaticism which tries to create discord between these two institutions must be discouraged. It constitutes a real danger. “Many of the world’s most noted Scientists and criminologists have carefully analyzed the relationship. between movies and crime and everyone has found that the invariable message of the motion picture where crime is depicted is: Plant this story with your newspaper the first chance you get! Editorial writers will love it! “Never Is Hero’’ “*You can’t get away with it!’ “On the screen the criminal never is a hero; he never succeeds in ‘getting away with it’. A study of 628 features made in America last year shows that 33.7 per cent contained no villain and no crime; in 17.5 the villain was killed; in 33.8 per cent the villain was captured and left fast in the confines of a prison; in 10.4 per cent the villain reformed and tried to recompense society; in 4.9 per cent | physical punishment was administered to the villain by the hero. ' “Taking crook pictures separately, we find that in the 38 produced the crook or villain was killed in fourteen instances, was apprehended by the police in nineteen instances, was reformed through the love of a good woman in five instances. In each case of reformation the picture showed that restitution for the offense had been made. “Deterred by Screen’’ “Then take the news reels of today. The reason that crime is not found in them is because, in the newsreel, real life is depicted and punishment is neither swift nor sure, and because when punishment does occur it is not possible to depict it with the crime. The contrary is true in the story on the screen—punishment is swift, sure, and drastic. “Sd it is from every angle. Instead of being incited to crime by the movies, the boy of today and the man of tomorrow are deterred from it by the screen.” —— sss ——eeeeeeeeelelee tain help from him, while those Publix-Paramount employees in more remote territories benefit from ‘instructions as issued to executives and passed down the line by them. In either circumstance, he is always ready to give expert medical advice, and assure any patient of proper care in time of need. Every Publix theatre is built to provide for the utmost protection of public health, thru its systems of ventilation, cooling, and heating as approved by Dr. Stern. In addition, in most theatres there is an emergency-hospital room, where doctors and trained nurses may have every necessary facility at hand to care for local requirements. Although Dr. Stern does not appoint a ‘“‘house physician”’ for each theatre, he has arranged it so that theatre managers provide for this. However, in every case, local surgical and medical service is established under his approval.