Now, on to my question. I have noticed that recently I have had *select* patrons realize that they could create a new scam at my particular theatre. A group will come in to the lobby, say 4 or 5 kids, 2 of them will buy tickets, come thru the lobby to the doorpersons, get the tickets torn, & go to the auditorium. One fo them will then take the same two tickets stubs(or more at times)out to the rest of the crowd they came up with. They then approach the doorperson, who, most likely than not, will redirect them into the auditorium again.

Now, last night, I had to call the polica to get one group's head right. THey didn't want to hear the fact that I was NOT going to do ANYTHING for them at all, aside from ask them to leave my building. They were either so brazen, or blatantly STUPID, which is more likely the case, as to pass tickets to friends stading right in front of the auditorium door where I had an ast. mgr. placed soley to check tickets for this particular film.

The way my building is set up, I can only place the doorpersons in one place, unless I have them immediatley at the front doors, then I lose most of my inner building crowd control, so to speak. ANy of you guys picked up on this, as I KNOW it isn't a new thing, just new in my theatre, and I have to eradicate it, NOW, before it gets any worse.

Any help either here, or in privy email will be much appreciated.

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You take the stub, and mark it with a stamp, and then stamp the hand of the person with the stub. The ink is safe, and the stamps custom made and rotated by style and ink color to offset anyone trying to pull a fast one. One ticket, one person, one show.

If someone comes in with a stamped ticket and no stamp on the hand, they dont get in, they get charged with shoplifting.

They need both to get back in. Period.

ANd to prevent the problem of fresh ink bieng shared between buddies, the words on the stamp would be reversed, so you know you have a problem.

This is one of the corporate fallacies of having a ticket-taker perform more than one job to save money. If that person is properly checking tickets and stubs they don't have the time needed to perform additional crowd control.

Use standee poles and ropes during busy periods to direct all incoming traffic from the box office and exterior directly to the ticket-taker. Have access to the concession and restrooms ONLY from the auditoriums. You can refuse access from the exterior to restrooms, and often must do this in out-of-control theatres. Once a person leaves the theatre, they are out. Stubs are not accepted by the ticket-taker without a manager examining them in detail and providing a lecture that stubs from outside will no longer be accepted. Within a week, things should start to clear up.

You may need to have what is called a "point" position for interior control. This employee either verifies ticket stubs or watches for crossovers from a security point in the hallway, as well as lining up incoming audiences in holding areas until an auditorium is cleaned.

I agree with most of Jerry's suggestions, except it might be hard to not allow people back in once out. Smokers are always going out/in.

Usually we find only one film is a problem; all the kids want to see that one. So we put an usher at the door to that one theater. Luckly, he can stand in a place where he can check incomming tickets and also watch the front exit doors (I usually try to keep an eye out from the booth- the kids never think of that.)

I think Jason did the right thing by simply throwing them all out. Now they lose their money and don't get in.

I love Jerry's asymmetrical ticket idea.. one of those "Why didn't anyone think of this before..."

When we need to, I do place someone on point at the auditorium door to check ticket stubs, as well as having cashiers agressively check ID's. No ID, no ticket. Sorry about your luck.. Oh, your girlfriend doesn't have her ID? Then enjoy the show on your own, because she's NOT getting in. And get caught trying to cross over, lose your money AND get escorted out of the building.

Kids (and young adults) are becoming more and more brazen these days, and they know (or think) that there is little that we will or can do. My stance is simply this, you are in MY building, you will abide by MY policies, or you will simply be asked to leave, no refund, no return pass, no nothing. BUT, coporate policy dictates that "The Customer is always right", yeah, what about when your customer is a complete dick? Are they right then? Are you going to roll over against my decision, which simply tells the offender, "Feel free to come here and do whatever you damn well please, the house manager can't do anything to stop you, and if he does, don't worry, send us an email or give us a call, we'll send you a nice letter of apology and more free trip passes"..

WTF?

At any rate, back off my soapbox, The hand stamp thing would work, but seems a little more agressive than it is practical, IMO. They do that at night clubs/bars where they try to keep underage kids from drinking, but that's a different type fo crowd altogether, as someone else mentioned about the elderly couple, and if you're going to stamp one person, you better stamp them all, thanks to the bleeding heart liberals in society, least you get sued for discrimination....

I'm going to put police officers on duty again to patrol the lobby, hallway areas in hopes that presence alone will serve as a deterence for such behavior. We'll see how that works out for the time being.

Keep the suggestions rolling, please..

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The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!

Uhh, you could make it a requirement of getting a student priced admission. "You want the discount? Get your hand stamped." Totally legal.

John, good point about smokers. Maybe they get a "pass-out" ticket?

However, due to the holidays, we could not do this, nor did we have the staff to put ushers on each door to check tickets. So, we just went through the "problem" houses about 5 minutes before showtime and checked tickets and ids for every minor. We probaly managed to eject 30 people last night alone for being in a theatre with the wrong ticket, or just having no ticket. The funny part is the kids are used to us checking at doors and checkpoints, so, when they see the theatre is unguarded, they just flock in and *think* they are going to get away with it...

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Thanks for the most applicable suggestion yet. Not that the others were not good as well, it's just this one seems to be the most readily adaptable for my specific location. Thanks for all the other ideas as well you guys...

Greg, did we actually speak with one another while you were in town, either this summer, or the summer of '00? I recall talking to a person, or persons, from WV somewhere, but I forget both the name(s) and location... My mind is shot anymore...

Anyway, thanks again!

Never had the pleasure of speaking with you or any of your managers during the times in your theatre. Now that we have met, I'll be sure to look you up the next time my wife is shopping on the "Broadway". I've been traveling north the last couple of years, but I love Myrtle Beach and have been there 10 to 15 times over the years. I had the same problem in a theatre I ran in Charleston, WV. with teenagers bringing out their stubs and passing off to their friends. It's hard for the ushers to keep track of all the faces during busy times. The re-entry coupons will make it almost impossible for them to sneak in and they will start looking for a new angle. Start watching your exit doors!