What does Service Sleuth mean by “Theater Checks”?

Their movie theater jobs call for a lot of things. The only one that I don’t get is seeing how many theater checks are done. Also, can you actually pay attention to the movie with all the other things you have to watch?

"All we want are the facts." Sgt. Joe Friday

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More About Trailer Checks and Movie Theater Mystery Shopping

Theater checks means how many times an employee walks in during the movie to check on the theatre and/or its patrons. Usually they just walk up and down the aisle. It's done almost for every movie and I personally, have never found it to be a distraction. If anything it's helpful if there are rowdy/loud/obnoxious patrons!

AND yes, you can enjoy the movie doing that kind of shop.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/15/2013 04:08PM by CAscotch.

I love these. Do them every chance I get. Easy peasy. You go make a few observations. You count how many people inside and how many times the attendant comes in. Watch the movie and relax.

So is $7-10 okay for these? That seems low when you could be doing 6-8 screens and some managers won't let you stay and watch the movie.

Theater checks are a hassle. In my area you will only be watching the trailers, marking down what they were, then the manager/other employee will escort you to the next screen.I never watched a movie.When I went to enter the 5 pages of info per screen on line, one of the screens was not showing one of the listed trailers. So that check was rejected. If one was rejected-all got rejected. I did 6 theaters and did not get paid for any. When I tried to call, I was just blown off like I really never wentthere. Waste of time. Pictures of the different interiors, the managers signatures on the paperwork meant nothing. Never again. they were supposed to be $8 per screen.

Every since I was little to now, I also see an employee walking in during the movie, holding a flashlight walking down, then up the aisle! Maybe every area is different?

Hi cindy55!

The OP is talking about a different kind of movie shop, than the one you describe below. I have been offered the type you list many times and you are right, too much of a hassle for me!

cindy55 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Theater checks are a hassle. In my area you will
> only be watching the trailers, marking down what
> they were, then the manager/other employee will
> escort you to the next screen.I never watched a
> movie.When I went to enter the 5 pages of info per
> screen on line, one of the screens was not showing
> one of the listed trailers. So that check was
> rejected. If one was rejected-all got rejected. I
> did 6 theaters and did not get paid for any. When
> I tried to call, I was just blown off like I
> really never wentthere. Waste of time. Pictures of
> the different interiors, the managers signatures
> on the paperwork meant nothing. Never again. they
> were supposed to be $8 per screen.

Aah! I see,
That’s where I was confused. I have seen the kind of “Theater Checks” being referenced by ginava3 and cindy55. That’s why I questioned that particular requirement on the Service Sleuth job. I can’t recall which MSC has you view a bunch of trailers. Care to refresh my memory so I can avoid them?

It would be out of the question for me to view several screens and not get to see an entire movie. Especially, since I am required to purchase a ticket and stay until the end of the show. I’m relieved by the responses from Pippama77 and SecretAgentMom. You knew the one that I was talking about.

The fee is $5.00. What I like is that they reimburse for the ticket when I evaluate the cashier and some food and drink for grading the concession stand service. That’s a pretty good deal for me. I also love movies, so I’ll want to pay attention to the show as well.

Now I know it’s just confusing terminology between two different MSCs. I’ll bet the one from Service Sleuth is the term used in the cinema industry and the other is one from the MSP industry. I hate it when there is such a difference yet the term is the same. Live and learn, I guess.

Thanks again everybody. Maybe I’ll try one of these soon. It could be fun.

"All we want are the facts." Sgt. Joe Friday

Goldilox, these Service Sleuth mystery shops (and these are really mystery shops and not theater checks) are fun to do and the reports are relatively easy. Good value since you can enjoy the movie, and SS reimburses your for two movie tickets and popcorn and drinks. You have to make some observations (number of times an employee checks the auditorium, number of previews shown, see if you can spot a manager and check the restroom). The thing that no one has mentioned is you also need to get an accurate count of patrons. I would suggest not to do one of these on a Friday or Saturday night on a movie's opening weekend. I was recently out of town on business, and a coworker and I usually went to a night show at this chain on a Wednesday or Thursday night, and there were never more than 20 people there. When I do these, it's usually the first show of the day just so that I can get an accurate count.

eclark3, You made good points there. I like going to the movies early in the day anyway.

Thanks for the pointers.

"All we want are the facts." Sgt. Joe Friday

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What does Service Sleuth mean by “Theater Checks”?

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