Theater Checks/Standee Installments: Worth it??

I've been getting emails about trailer checks and standee installments at local movie theaters for awhile. A typical trailer check seems to be $7 per unit, and a standee/display installment was $10 for an "easy" display(45 minute set up)- $50 for a very difficult(240 minutes ?!?!?!?!?!). Who has done these, and do they really take that long?? 4+ HOURS for $50?? These never seem worth the money to me, but wondering who does them and what kind of a bonus I should ask for if they are close to the deadline. Thanks peeps!!

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I just did a standee install for Nine Lives. Base was as you say $7.00 per unit but when you open the assignment the fee was $15.00 for completion of $7.00 if you don't put it together. I had other things to do in town that day so I had my wife drop me off for an hour while she and our daughter went out and took care of some of the business that we had. $15.00 may not seem like a lot but when you consider that it is easy work and has extra benefits like getting to know the theater staff and "earning employee privileges" it pays of in the end.

Good GOD No!

They are never worth it. You need a big bonus. I did a 155 piece that took over 8 hours and I promised myself I would never do another one of those again. I kept my promise.

I made $10 bucks an hour. I would have rather just stayed home...

Some people actually like those standee jobs..... but not me.

I have done a few. The only one worth it was the one that was already done when I arrived. Quick picture and thank you very much.

Shopping Western NY, Northeast and Central PA, and parts of Ohio and West Virginia. Have car will travel anywhere if the monies right.

I'm scared of the standee installations, but I enjoy the trailer checks. I'm usually able to get a bonus on them, though. Not sure if they'd be worth it to me at the regular price.

We are all here on earth to help others....What on earth the others are here for I don't know.

--W. H. Auden

I have done the standee installs, but find that on average they take me a half hour or so more than the estimate. I always wait for at least a $15 bonus on top of their regular rate. Their regular rate is ridiculously low and would put me in single digits for hourly pay, not counting my travel time to and from. Oh, and I hope you enjoy paper cuts...

I did one awhile back that was just HUGE and I was alone. The thing was sprawled all over the floor with directions, screws and a mess of cardboard. I figured it out eventually, but was sweating it out to say the least. I received a call last night to do one and the scheduler was honest and told me it was large. Although the bonused fee was tempting, I declined remembering the last experience. The small, easy ones are the best and the ones that are already completed are even better.

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The more I learn about people...the more I like my dog..

Mark Twain

They are usually not that hard, but can be time consuming depending on the design. It usually works best to bring someone with you to deal with the unwieldy ones. You can usually see the plans ahead of time and judge for yourself how hard it will be.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/22/2016 12:32PM by christinereed.

I've done covert checks as well as installs. I prefer the installs. I always look at the install instructions before accepting. I cannot do any that require another person, and have learned that some of the designs ain't as easy as they appear on paper. I only accept the ones I can do for exercise, basically, and only locations near me. $10 for an easy one that I've gotten down to about 20 minutes, plus 5 more reporting, and along my errand route. That's $24/hour. I like to wait till they're bonused, making them $36/hour.

I've only done one for MF's other portal. Soooo not worth it! They said that it was "easy" and that only 1 person needed. I arrive at the theater and the standee was 10' tall (I'm 5'2"

. There's no way only 1 person could assemble this thing. Luckily the manager was great and she helped me assemble it. Even with her help it took 2 hours.

There is one out right now for the movie based on a kid's book...It says 270 minutes and requires 2 people yet pays only $50. That's practically 5 hours each for two people, and averages out to about $5/hour per person...really?!?! I have never seen their bonuses go high enough for me to accept this one. Sometimes I think they are just hoping for a sucker to come along...

@xenshopper wrote:

Sometimes I think they are just hoping for a sucker to come along...

One usually does.

I have also wondered about the theater checks. So you are not allowed to stay to watch the movie correct? I did this back in college for the Disney College Team and it was really fun. I would go in write down all the trailers that were playing and note audience reactions. I only had to do it for one show and can actually stay and watch the movie. It seems like the trailer checks u have to go to multiple showings to make it worth while. Now, I might as well do movie shops and get free popcorn too!

I just back from doing that same install, I think. I did it alone and it took about 10 hours. It looks like they're really needing people to help out with this one- I would ask for a much larger bonus if they asked me to do another one...

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2016 03:44AM by LaurenR.

@xenshopper wrote:

There is one out right now for the movie based on a kid's book...It says 270 minutes and requires 2 people yet pays only $50. That's practically 5 hours each for two people, and averages out to about $5/hour per person...really?!?! I have never seen their bonuses go high enough for me to accept this one. Sometimes I think they are just hoping for a sucker to come along...

Extreme Rip Off. RUN!

@LaurenR wrote:

I just back from doing that same install, I think. I did it alone and it took about 10 hours. It looks like they're really needing people to help out with this one- I would ask for a much larger bonus if they asked me to do another one...

Seriously? 10 hours! Well, the instructions do say to have a helper. When they called me repeatedly to do this one, I told them I did not have anyone to help me, and they said it was required.

@LaurenR wrote:

I just back from doing that same install, I think. I did it alone and it took about 10 hours. It looks like they're really needing people to help out with this one- I would ask for a much larger bonus if they asked me to do another one...

How much did they pay you? For 10 hours it should be at least $100, I would think, to make it worthwhile.

Did anybody else do the 13 foot tall transformers raptor thingy standee like 2 years ago? Holy crap that one sucked.

$50, I asked for a bonus they'd mentioned in the voicemail and it was $5. So $55 total. I would ask for at least $100 next time now that I understand how much work it is.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2016 06:56PM by LaurenR.

@aayaey wrote:

I have also wondered about the theater checks. So you are not allowed to stay to watch the movie correct? I did this back in college for the Disney College Team and it was really fun. I would go in write down all the trailers that were playing and note audience reactions. I only had to do it for one show and can actually stay and watch the movie. It seems like the trailer checks u have to go to multiple showings to make it worth while. Now, I might as well do movie shops and get free popcorn too!

It depends on the theater. I did this and was not allowed to stay for the movies. I did this at a couple of different theaters within the same chain and raced between the screens, got the trailer titles, did a patron count and reactions, then the manager came in and escorted me out. No free movies at this particular chain!

I think maybe they need help with that install enough to bend the rules. They said it should take a two person crew 4.5 hours, so I wasn't too far off track. It was worth it, though- it's a really cool display when it's finished.

For the trailer checks that I do, you do not stay for the movie. For the first show checks they want you to call as soon as the trailers are done and give them the list of trailers, which version in some cases (they give you a description so you can tell which one is played), and audience reaction. The nice thing about that is that when you walk out of the theater you are totally done, no report to fill out.

I also find it interesting to see the different trailer versions that come out over time, and how they change them up in response to the audience reaction data they're getting from us.

We are all here on earth to help others....What on earth the others are here for I don't know.

--W. H. Auden

Right now I'm getting emails and phone calls about that one, saying "MAKE US AN OFFER" lol! Even at $100, I'm not sure I want to give up what would probably be my entire day, and since I have been known to cry while trying to assemble ikea furniture, I'm not sure what this would do to me!!

@LaurenR wrote:

I think maybe they need help with that install enough to bend the rules. They said it should take a two person crew 4.5 hours, so I wasn't too far off track. It was worth it, though- it's a really cool display when it's finished.

Before I went back into the 8-5 world, i could basically do their standees that recommended two people in the same amount of time on my own. Now, I just don't have the energy to do these bigger ones myself. Bless theaters with skinny halls that can't fit big standees.

About this time last summer, I had one week were I did 38 standees. I think five were actually already done, but they were Alvin/Chipmunks, Insidious Ch3, Maze Runner and Vacation. Maybe that's the reason they put limits on standees now. Oops!

I did help out a theater employee Nine Lives and it was tricky because of the fragility of the design as well as Peculiar Children because I agreed to. She's cute and had asked to come along on another Nine Lives with me, so this has its perks.

Sad thing is that the easier installs fall victim to penny pinching. Ninja Turtles was rated "Easy" and it took me six hours after work. Evidently, the others listed for that were corrected. So, I'm careful now and don't do anywhere near as any due to work, anyway.

@aayaey wrote:

I have also wondered about the theater checks. So you are not allowed to stay to watch the movie correct? I did this back in college for the Disney College Team and it was really fun. I would go in write down all the trailers that were playing and note audience reactions. I only had to do it for one show and can actually stay and watch the movie. It seems like the trailer checks u have to go to multiple showings to make it worth while. Now, I might as well do movie shops and get free popcorn too!

A different company from the install folks does those now.

As for the installs...depends. The small ones are pretty easy most of the time and pay fairly well for the time. For the big ones...well, depends on what else you think you can do with your time. The last couple of big ones were really gigantic and kinda awful, but money's money. They usually offer some bonuses once things get close to deadline. Anything "Moderate" or bellow is usually ok. The most recent Ice Age one was a bit of an exception to that rule, but that's unusual.

Ninja Turtles may have been one of the worst, period. Well, outside of the Disney ones. I don't know who does those, but they look like torture devices to put up.

I would do the trailers only if they are First Shows or I have managed to organize my time and schedule some shops around the area in between shows. However, standee? Never again! It's a promise I made to my son who actually did most of the work and almost missed his flight. So, when they ask me how much they could offer so I would accept a standee, I say firmly, "Nothing. Just not interested."

I kind of like doing the standees. I don't do many, and I only go to the theater closest to me. My husband and I like doing home improvement projects, and this is kind of similar. He helps me do the standees (or rather I help him). I am more the type to try to figure out how to assemble things without reading directions. That attitude does not work with the standees. He is 6'2" and I am 5'1". Our sizes is an advantage because some of the smaller lower stuff is easier for me to reach and my hands are smaller to fit in the spaces. His arm span is obvious how it helps. It usually takes us about the same amount of time as they predict, but with two. Financially. it is kind of a raw deal as it is $5 per hour per person. But for entertainment and bonding purposes it works for us.

I thought about doing trailer checks, but if I can't stay to watch the show AND I have to keep going back to do different showings--it just seems like it would never be worth it.

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