I guess that after nearly 40 years in and around the booth, I'd base hiring a projectionist on my own experiences. I started as a youngster, bugging a local indie to let me in his booth, which turned into a lifelong family friendship and professional association. There was union training along the way, work as sub and chief projectionist in Olympia, Seattle and surrounds, exposure to techs from RCA, Altec and Dolby, and all the same years of practical experience that many of you have accumulated over the years of your ownerships.
From chatting with a lot of you, my impression is that there are few dummies here. So, in suggesting how to train and evaluate a projectionist, I'd have to admit that I'm the first person a prospective operator would have to satisfy.
So... How do you want your booth run when you're not up there yourself? We all have our hotbuttons. You know how you like your shows to look, the timing on your lights, makeup-breakdown, cleaning, maintenance, monitoring quality, etc. Digest that down to a short course and see how your operators deal with it. I suspect that, aside from maybe getting a picture on the screen in a pinch, your theatre's training wouldn't work for me any more than mine would for you.
My boxoffice and booth are my top two "most important" parts of the theatre. On the few occasions when I had other than family in the booth, the operators usually made a little more than the concession workers. I wouldn't go overboard on this, because while the booth operators control the equipment that forms the basis for your customers' attendance, the concession workers actually have to deal with them on a personal level. As most everyone here is cross-trained in various areas, none really deserves to be paid
substantially more than another, "time on the job" notwithstanding.
Do you consider your positions to be "entry level" jobs? If you're ok with trading off minimum wages for the constant "revolving door", then fine. If not, then maybe I'd look at what comparable wages are in your area, and bump that up a bit.
Where you are seems to make a huge difference in this area. Some areas in the country are paying the federal minimum, and owners there look crosseyed at what we're paying in Washington. We have something like the first or second highest minimums in the country, because some bright politicians are convinced that entry-level fry cooks should be able to buy homes and raise families in Seattle (median home prices, $500k) on those wages.
Sorry... the soap box was a bit closer than I thought!
[This message has been edited by rodeojack (edited September 19, 2007).]
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