Assignment 2, Team A, Savoy 16 Theater

For our second assignment, we chose the Savoy 16 Theater as a form of commercial recreation.   Commercial recreation is different than other forms of recreation because they are privately-owned businesses that provide leisure services and their main motivation is profit.  The specific movie theater we chose to examine is Savoy 16 Theater in Savoy, Illinois and we were able to get in contact with Manager Tad Fritts.

Although Mr. Fritts was not positive, he believes that the theater was established in 1991.  The formal name of the theater is the Goodrich Savoy 16 Theater, which is a part of a chain of movie theaters in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan.  The building was built through the funding of private corporations.  The main purpose of this corporation is to provide entertainment for residents.

For those wanting a career in this industry, the crucial core competencies are having people skills and dealing with customers, according to Tad Fritts.  Very basic skills are needed like teamwork, reliability, and able to adjust easily to diverse situations.  Good communication are important to be successful at this job as well.  Customer service is a major part of the job and an essential way to get the customer coming back to watch movies.

 

There are many different opportunities available as far as job positions in the movie theater.  Some of the jobs mentioned by the manager include ticket vendors, concessions, cleaning, and ushers.  In addition to these main duties, workers must also be able to know the main tasks to running the theater.

A growing trend for movie theaters is 3-D movies.  Theaters have to charge a few more dollars for tickets to these movies because they have to purchase the special screens and glasses to be able to show the movie.  Midnight premieres bring in large amounts of people, which results in large numbers of revenue for Savoy 16 Theater.

 When asked what his definition of leisure was, Tad responded along the lines of how it relates to the employees.  He mentioned that while at work, employees experience leisure through breaks between sets or the occasional down time.  Customers experience leisure at the movie theater by taking time away from work to relax and enjoy something entertaining.  Families mainly experience this leisure by taking their children to an entertaining movie.  The main purpose of Savoy 16 is that it allows the average person to escape their everyday life and enjoy a movie with some popcorn for a couple of hours.

After visiting the Savoy 16 Theater, we gained insight on the movie theater business.  Some pros to a job in this industry would be the entertainment available at a discounted price and the opportunity for promotion.  The hours involved in this job are perfect for those who are not morning people.  Movies are always shown later in the evening or at night and employees are able to interact with customers and other co-workers.  One of the main cons to this job are the low salary and no benefits.  In between showtimes and during the week, profit is minimal and the downtime could become boring.  The movie theater fits into the leisure delivery system because its main purpose is to provide leisure for the public.  Overall, there are many pros and cons to this agency and the jobs available within it.  By speaking with the manager, we were able to gain some first-hand knowledge on the business the provides leisure through commercial recreation.