Oh blimey. Is that just because there's no ticket machines at your cineworld? I went to a fairly newish fitted cineworld just before the pandemic and they only had ticket machines. Closest cinema to me is odeon so tend to always go there - that and it's always been nice and modern/clean so nice to visit.
Cineworld preparing to file for bankruptcy
- Thread starter Ayahuasca
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Oh blimey. Is that just because there's no ticket machines at your cineworld? I went to a fairly newish fitted cineworld just before the pandemic and they only had ticket machines. Closest cinema to me is odeon so tend to always go there - that and it's always been nice and modern/clean so nice to visit.
4 ticket machines - however even if you prebooked, you still have to collect tickets at them before walking in. What has just occurred to me is that food/drink and tickets are sold at the same tils, whereas Showcase, it's two entirely seperate areas.
Probably not. But that wasn't my point.
Soldato
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No but it shows that they need staff, and if they can't afford to pay them then they don't have a viable business. That was my point.
Commissario
One of the things that you need human staff for is simple safety in the event of an emergency, assistance for the disabled/elderly, and to basically provide some level of minimal physical security and and assistance when the automation goes wrong.
I suspect no insurer or council H&S person would sign off on a completely unmanned cinema as the risks to the public are far too high, and the risks to the premises and the expensive equipment is high.
At our local Odeon they combine the tick and snacks counters, but those same staff are also there to assist in things like dealing with failures of the automated machines, and as some level of deterrence from trouble makers.
Staff costs for a cinema are going to be relatively low, 4-6 staff is not a massive amount compared to the costs of energy and the rights to show the films, and one of the big failings of Cineworld going back many years was always (in my experience) they simply didn't have the staff on site to do simple things, for example we'd go to watch a new release, loads of people buying snacks but no hot dogs because IIRC only certain staff (more senior) were allowed to deal with them, so for a showing at peak time with hundreds of people no hot dog sales. Odeon on the other hand always had them available, or cooking as they made sure that they had enough staff who were trained for them.
I suspect no insurer or council H&S person would sign off on a completely unmanned cinema as the risks to the public are far too high, and the risks to the premises and the expensive equipment is high.
At our local Odeon they combine the tick and snacks counters, but those same staff are also there to assist in things like dealing with failures of the automated machines, and as some level of deterrence from trouble makers.
Staff costs for a cinema are going to be relatively low, 4-6 staff is not a massive amount compared to the costs of energy and the rights to show the films, and one of the big failings of Cineworld going back many years was always (in my experience) they simply didn't have the staff on site to do simple things, for example we'd go to watch a new release, loads of people buying snacks but no hot dogs because IIRC only certain staff (more senior) were allowed to deal with them, so for a showing at peak time with hundreds of people no hot dog sales. Odeon on the other hand always had them available, or cooking as they made sure that they had enough staff who were trained for them.
Our local Cineworld would be a complete mess without any staff, it's bad enough that groups of teenagers use it to hang out and talk, or even worse, throw things during the film.
The Odeon we go to is better, but mainly because it costs more and there aren't as many seats per screen.
The Odeon we go to is better, but mainly because it costs more and there aren't as many seats per screen.
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Fair enough. You seemed overly against automation which seemed odd. I agree with the below..
I really like our local Cineworld simply because it has so much leg room. I can fully stretch my legs out without getting blocked by the seat in front which makes it a lot more comfortable. It also means it is a lot less disruptive letting people in and out of rows. Basically there is no need for premium seating because the normal seats are at least as good as premium seating in the Odeons I've been to.
Another plus is it is one of the Cinemas that Sky VIP use for their screenings, so I got free tickets to Top Gun Maverick, new Spiderman film etc.
Another plus is it is one of the Cinemas that Sky VIP use for their screenings, so I got free tickets to Top Gun Maverick, new Spiderman film etc.
Soldato
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I imagine without staff, sales would drop off as people would just walk in without paying 
.
.I don't interact with the staff at the odeon. Only bit is where they let you in to the screens.
But over half the time there's no one there and I could easily just walk through.
As I never buy the excuse they use for "food" and pre book tickets there is no need for staff for me. Obviously you need cleaners.
Really. We get 6 cinema tickets a yer from lloyds bank. And that's plenty for the 2 of us. I even went to a film I wasn't bothered about last year just to use the last two!
That's how dire it's been of late.
Also, only really go for Imax. But cost without the free tickets puts me off when can just watch at home later
Havent seen a busy showing (apart from avatar 2)in ages!
Last time I went to cineworld it was cold. Coat needing cold. Was horrible. Never been back since.
But over half the time there's no one there and I could easily just walk through.
As I never buy the excuse they use for "food" and pre book tickets there is no need for staff for me. Obviously you need cleaners.
Really. We get 6 cinema tickets a yer from lloyds bank. And that's plenty for the 2 of us. I even went to a film I wasn't bothered about last year just to use the last two!
That's how dire it's been of late.
Also, only really go for Imax. But cost without the free tickets puts me off when can just watch at home later
Havent seen a busy showing (apart from avatar 2)in ages!
Last time I went to cineworld it was cold. Coat needing cold. Was horrible. Never been back since.
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Cinemas seem to have really ramped the AC recently. I'm usually too hot but have felt it was a bit chilly on my last couple of visits.
With the short time periods between cinema and home release these days I'm much more inclined to wait for a home release.
Don
I think they turned up the AC for covid.
Commissario
Yup
IIRC one of the best/only real ways to slow/reduce the spread of covid in an enclosed space with a lot of people over any length of time is to increase the airflow, with more fresh air (if the room is getting stuffy it's usually a sign the airflow is poor as it's often a sign of a co2 build up).
Unfortunately a lot of ventilation systems don't really do fresh "plain" air as an option, they do it either heated or cooled, not just "pull fresh air straight in".
The sad thing is that for a relatively small outlay in updating ventilation systems a lot of covid and other health issues in workplaces could be mitigated (the classic "sick building" and "tired after a meeting" things are often basically down to lack of ventilation/lack of fresh incoming air in modern relatively airtight buildings/rooms).
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