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What is the best spacing time between features to allow the cleaning crew to go in and pick up after a showing. Do any of you have a routine that works fast and efficient. I'd like to get some ideas.

I don't think anyone could have a routine that they could always adhere to. There are too many variables
1. You the operator want to squeeze in as many shows as possible.
2.The length of the movie
3. The starting times of the movies needs to be considered (ex:you don't want a kid movie to start super late,just so you can clean everything perfectly)
4.Starting times of other movies in your building (make sure they don't all start or end at the same time)
5. These are just some of the things I think of when making the schedule.

One of the other managers in town does a good job with his schedule for the weekend matinees. He always tries to stagger the times so the last matinee shows end with plenty of time for the staff to do a really nice cleaning for the evening shows. He has a nice break of time when no movies are starting and some time before the evening shows start. That way the staff can get in there with brooms and do a nice cleaning.

We at the Rialto like not less than 20 minutes even if it is a slow show. This means you can pop in for a minute to pick up the one popcorn bag. We like at least 40 minutes if it is a hot show. It can take two people at least 10 minutes to clean our largest auditorium after a sold out show.

This week we have Gosford Park which sells out most shows on the weekend. We have 35 minutes in between shows. We line up the few people who come 1/2 hour early like we tell them to. Then we clean the room and usually get it open by 25 minutes to showtime. This allows plenty of them to get popcorn and use the restroom.

Sometimes if we have a short movie, we may have up to an hour between shows. This doesn't net us any advantage, but it makes for a relaxing work day.

We had a miniumum of 30 minutes between shows when we could. there is no routine for cleaning for every auditorium was trashed differently. I think the worst "trashing " i have ever seen was Rugrats I had to clean it with a yard blower just to get it whee we could seat the next show.

We prefer to leave 30 minutes between shows. This permits us to clean the theater perfectly and have it ready when people show up about 15 minutes before shows. However, sometimes this doesn't work. Last years Rugrats in Paris and 102 Dalmatian shows were the worst I have ever seen. People showed up an hour early for them! We couldn't empty, clean and seat in 30 minutes. We had 3-4 people in cleaning and had to pull some out to handle the incoming traffic. The ones that were left had no chance to really clean because people wanted to be seated. We just picked up the big stuff and swept the aisles with a big broom. We put in 45 minutes between shows for the next weeks, but I was really unhappy with our cleaning for that week. We have a reputation of keeping the theater so clean that you can eat off the floor.

We are now putting in 45 minutes between shows when we think we will have a Monster size mess like that. We did a super job with Monsters,Inc and had no trouble keeping the theater clean. As the movie ages we take out the extra 15 minutes and go back to 30 minutes. Adult shows run pretty well with 30 minutes between shows. We have always had a good audience who mostly pick up the big containers and throw them into the trash cans. That is a HUGE help in getting the theater clean fast. We now have 6 trash cans inside the theater. 2 on each side aisle in back and 1 each in the front corners. We bought big Rubbermaid cans on wheels. The cans in back can actually be changed while the movie is running, but we usually don't have to and you have to do that very quietly. We also have lobby trash cans on each side. We still have people dump stuff in the parking lot, but not too much.
But I digress.

Maybe the question is really how to clean the theater in the shortest amount of time so that you can get your desired schedule in place? Some theaters make no attempt to clean between shows and I think that gives us all a black eye. Most theaters do try but we all have things that go wrong. The staff sees no reason to hurry, the audience was worse than usual, etc. I think that audiences that come into a clean theater will help you keep it cleaner by picking up after themselves. They will also try to help you if you make it easy for them by placing trash cans everywhere. Teenagers will not help you at all because they have RIGHTS! And we all know that little kids make the biggest theater trashing messes. But we love them anyway, because at least they (or their parents) spent money at the concession stand and that is the vast majority of what I find on the floor. Besides, the magic of movies can be seen on their faces when they leave.

Well-placed and labeled trash containers as people leave the auditorium help encourage people to clean up after themselves. Do policy trailers reminding the audience to throw out their trash help?

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services
Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Telephone: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

Oh yes Policy Trailers help but the biggest eaters are kids and nothing helps with thwm. Until you've walked in after a sold out show of Shrek or Jimmy Neutron you don't know what it means to clean! We have 2 paid cleaners and 2 volunteers who come in on weekeknds and we do it really fast but still..... 15 minutes is about as fast as it gets.

People are always good about waiting as I say to them......... "We like to change the sheets before we rent the room again!"

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Mike Hurley
www.bigscreenbiz.com

I'll have to remember that line about changing the sheets.
well placed trash containers don't help if they already threw it on the floor during the movie.

Yes, I have hardly ever seen anyone go back to their seat and pickup their trash after walking up the aisle and seeing the trash can. But then, the trash cans were also there when they came in. Hopefully, they remember that the trash cans are there and those slides asking them to pick up their trash help to get the message across.

I also make it a habit to say thank you to anyone who throws trash in the trash cans which I am standing next to at the end of the show. Hopefully that reinforces the positive message. I especially say thank you to the little kids who bring up their trash or who carry those booster seats back to the lobby.

[This message has been edited by BECKWITH1 (edited January 21, 2002).]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned here and maybe its common sense but maybe not. If you have 3 people to clean a theatre one person picks up the big stuff (cups, bags, large candy wrappers, lost purses, jackets, etc.), and checks exit doors, behind screen etc., while the other two come behind sweeping. They can alternate rows or whatever. One tactic we found helpful in our large room was the purchase of an 18" wide push broom. One usher pushes all the stuff in each row to one side of the room. The other sweeps up each collection into a dust pail and empties it into the trash. This is actually faster for us than two ushers each with a regular broom and a dust pail. Also, ushers usually work faster with a manager, so we sometimes put a floor manager and two ushers to clean a room.

I'd just like to remind people that "blowers", though convenient, have the downside of stirring up dust, which gets in inaccessable places (e.g., HVAC ducts, port glass, screen) and clogs the screen perforations. Sweeping with brooms is much preferred.

Does anyone use a central vacuum system?

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services
Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Telephone: 716-477-5325 Cell: 716-781-4036 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

I don't normally use blowers but i had no time nor the man power to clean in the amount of time.