1. I intentionally pick a shop date Monday through Thursday that is going to be less crowded than a weekend
night.
2. I also pick a movie that has been out for a few weeks, not opening weekend.
3. If it is possible, depending on the guidelines, I also pick a matinee or early evening, nothing past 7pm.
4. The first twenty minutes are the trailers with the theater lights dimmed halfway, so it should still be
fairly easy to count patrons walking in and out. There might still be a couple of stragglers coming in
after twenty minutes, but from my experience, most people make it to their seats before the movie starts and
the house lights turned off completely. I tally on one side for walking in and the other side for walking out. I
don't make the tally neat and pretty because that would involve looking down and trying to see my writing. I
keep my eyes on the door, never looking at the paper I'm writing on. I don't talk to my guest or watch the
trailers.
These will all make patron counting much easier. When I have followed these parameters, I've had several shops where there were less than 20 people in the theater.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/28/2015 04:08AM by a-scho.