I did my first theater "standee" installation this afternoon after avoiding them for several years now. Now, I'm weighing the pros and cons and trying to decide if I want to do one again.

Pros

-I really enjoyed the challenge of putting it together.
-The comments from theater guests, especially the kids, amused me.

Cons

-The scheduler told me it was very easy and would only take 5-10 minutes. It took 25. Granted, the paperwork did say 10-20 minutes but still. It also said I needed to be able to climb a ladder and lift over my head, which is doable but the scheduler didn't mention it. Some of the paperwork also contridicted itself as well. It also talked about package tracking, which I never saw.

-The pay was okay but would not have been worth it had the other "standee" I was supposed to do not already been installed. Again, this goes back to it taking longer than 5-10 minutes and "easy" wasn't exactly super easy either. I had to take off my jacket because I got hot and I'm not exactly the strongest person in the world and do have some back issues. Needless to say, while I wasn't in an extraordinary amount of pain, it did hurt a little. If the installs get harder, I honestly don't know if I'm strong enough to do them. How much harder do they get?

-The theater guests - I had called the theater earlier in the day to see when the best time would be. The manager told me they weren't busy so anytime was fine. When I got there, they weren't super busy but it wasn't exactly dead either. I was working in a hallway and was fortunate enough to be right next to the party room so there was a space off to the side in front of the party room door where I could work. However, the entire standee wouldn't fit in it and it stuck out into the hallway. One lady walked right across it and never even noticed. Then I got quite a few questions from people who thought I worked for the theater. One lady decided to tell me someone spilled a drink in the middle of the bathroom. Another asked where the correct auditorium was, and an older man asked me how to get to Walmart. I felt rude telling them I couldn't help them (well, except for the man, I did tell him how to get to Walmart). Next time if I'm working in the hallway I think I'll ask if I can work in the party room.

Oh, and did I mention I'm scared to death of running into one of my co-workers or acquaintances and having to explain.

-The "business casual" dress - In my office, business casual is nice clothes that aren't suits/blazers, not khakis and a polo. I don't own a single polo shirt without a logo on it or a khaki pair of pants and have very few plain button up shirts. Most of my "business casual" wardrobe is a little bit nicer than that. I don't own a pair of "nice" sneakers. My gym shoes would not have been nice enough and my Converse All-Stars are silver with a design on them and looked ridiculous with my black pants. I know, I'm probably the only person who has this problem.

-I've been debating on whether or not I want to do some trailer checks tomorrow. The problem is, I do the same theater unrevealed for another msc every few months. I don't know if I want the employees to become to familiar with me and possibly figure out I'm their shopper. Then again, do they know that theater installs and trailer checks are done by mystery shoppers? I enjoyed the install more but the unrevealed shops are heavily bonused and right now it would make much more sense to keep doing them, even though their narratives are much harder.

After all those complaints, I still really did enjoy the install. Thoughts?

Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/2012 03:02AM by MarionS.

What's a "standee"?

It's basically a cardboard poster that stands up, at least that's what mine was, if that makes sense. I'm guessing they come much more elaborate though. For example, I saw one at the theater for The Hobbit that included a tree and was much more 3D. It looked really complicated.

I found a photo of The Hobbit standee: [www.theonering.net]

I thought that's what you meant but I couldn't figure what you were having to do with the ladder and all. Aren't they life-sized? Aaah.... just looked at the hobbit one.... it's not just a person standee.... That would be tough to erect by yourself.

If I see a shop for these, now I'll know what it is. And I'll run the other direction; I have back issues too.

MarionS Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
\
> Cons
>
>
>
>
> -The theater guests - I had called the theater
> earlier in the day to see when the best time would
> be. The manager told me they weren't busy so
> anytime was fine. When I got there, they weren't
> super busy but it wasn't exactly dead either. I
> was working in a hallway and was fortunate enough
> to be right next to the party room so there was a
> space off to the side in front of the party room
> door where I could work. However, the entire
> standee wouldn't fit in it and it stuck out into
> the hallway. One lady walked right across it and
> never even noticed. Then I got quite a few
> questions from people who thought I worked for the
> theater. One lady decided to tell me someone
> spilled a drink in the middle of the bathroom.
> Another asked where the correct auditorium was,
> and an older man asked me how to get to Walmart.
> I felt rude telling them I couldn't help them
> (well, except for the man, I did tell him how to
> get to Walmart). Next time if I'm working in the
> hallway I think I'll ask if I can work in the
> party room.
>
----
This part made me laugh. I got married at a tourist attraction with an old west theme in an old west town. If I wanted to do it after hours, they were going to charge me some crazy amount of money. Otherwise I could do it during hours and get some extra guests. Of course I went for free. So after the ceremony is over some lady comes up to me and tells me that the piano ate her kids quarter. Apparently a lot of the guests thought it was part of the show, and we were all employees.

I would stick with the unrevealed assignments, especially if MS is not your main source of income. Why risk your cover in the movie theater, there is no way the staff would think you are just a regular guest when you come in next time for a "shop". And having to explain to your co workers.

I cannot understand why the theater staff's are not responsible for standee installation...

MarionS Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> *clothing*

You're not the only one with this problem. I don't own much in the way of "in between" clothing either. I already had some polos, but normally would wear them with jeans. If I'm dressing up, I'm generally wearing something classier than khakis. I own dress shoes, sneakers, and boots, but nothing in between. I finally did break down and pick up a couple of pairs of khakis to wear while shopping in "business casual" attire, but still need to get a pair of black, respectable sneakers at some point.

> -I've been debating on whether or not I want to do
> some trailer checks tomorrow.

As a rule, I won't do anything revealed at a theater that I ever want to shop unrevealed. Since theater checks and standees are highly visible undertakings that often require interactions with multiple associates, there is a good chance that those associates will recognize me when I come back in the future. If I am recognized, it could potentially affect the quality of service received, whether or not they think I am a mystery shopper. I am not willing to jeopardize the shop results (or my income) by taking that risk.

(Edited for grammar.)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/2012 06:14PM by Omgee.

I have done two standees. Both were the same one, and they were big. I'd guess they stood about 7' tall and were about 12' long. We were told they should take about four hours for two people. Ten hours later after scratching our heads at the instructions, we finished the first one. We told them we would only do the second one if they upped the pay, which they did. The second one probably took us about five hours to put together.

The assembly instructions were black and white and very small so there was a lot of trial and error. As for business casual, I agree that is not practical. We were working on the floor, on our knees half the time. Our clothes would have been wrecked if we'd been in business casual. This was a job for decent jeans/cargo pants and polo shirt/t-shirt so I thought the dress code was reasonable but misnamed. We had patrons stop by and watch for a moment here and there but no awkward questions.

The management was very cooperative and we were able to work in relative peace. The final rate we were paid was good for one person but not much for two people. There was a sense of pride when we finally had the standee standing and were taking the required photos. We would probably do another if the price was right.

Bena Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have done two standees. Both were the same one,
> and they were big. I'd guess they stood about 7'
> tall and were about 12' long. We were told they
> should take about four hours for two people. Ten
> hours later after scratching our heads at the
> instructions, we finished the first one. We told
> them we would only do the second one if they upped
> the pay, which they did. The second one probably
> took us about five hours to put together.
>
> The assembly instructions were black and white and
> very small so there was a lot of trial and error.
> As for business casual, I agree that is not
> practical. We were working on the floor, on our
> knees half the time. Our clothes would have been
> wrecked if we'd been in business casual. This was
> a job for decent jeans/cargo pants and polo
> shirt/t-shirt so I thought the dress code was
> reasonable but misnamed. We had patrons stop by
> and watch for a moment here and there but no
> awkward questions.
>
> The management was very cooperative and we were
> able to work in relative peace. The final rate we
> were paid was good for one person but not much for
> two people. There was a sense of pride when we
> finally had the standee standing and were taking
> the required photos. We would probably do another
> if the price was right.


Was it the OZ or The Hobbit? The OZ took me almost 8 hours and my associate 8 hours.....They told us 2 hours..yea right! lol..MAJOR work on these standees....

Also, the other poster said she was installing standees and doing undercover at the same movie theatre? (Correct me if I am wrong)

That is exactly why I won't do the "movie shops" they would totally recognize me and with one company, such as the Force, you can't have worked there in a merchandising or employee capacity... and accept mystery movie assignments...

MarionS,
I had the identical experience and concerns. The only difference was that the uninstalled standee was complicated and took me 3 hours to set up, and I am a person who was always good with puzzles/legos/erectors. etc. I was very lucky that the second one was done. I have decided that it does not worth the trouble and my time.

I don't do anything that has to be put together, requires a ladder or tools.

Ach, thank goodness I brought my teenage son with me on my first and only "easy" standee. I could not figure it out for the world. It took us a long time, and not really worth the pay (because we couldn't figure it out).

There was a sense of pride as we stood back and looked at our finished product. And then.....hey! - look!....why is that thing sticking out? Backwards. We had done half of it backwards. Oh, the agony.

Not for me, I suppose. Never again. Hahahaha

I can never go into the theaters anymore and see those marquees and some of them looking intricately designed and wonder if the person put it together is a pro at it or had the same kinds of frustrations we had.

Thanks everyone!

Just to clarify I don't think I do the unrevealed shop enough right now to be discovered. However, I do think if I continue to do the standee and trailer checks then yeah, it would become a problem. I'll probably just stick to the unrevealed shops even though I hate doing the narratives.