my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Ground Level   » Refund Policy For Lost Sound? (Page 1)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Author Topic: Refund Policy For Lost Sound? Stephen Frazza Expert Film Handler Posts: 161 From: Nutley, NJ, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 07-15-2004 10:42 PM                        Recently we had a power outage for less than a minute but it caused the sound in all my theaters to got knocked to non-sync so the theaters had picture but no sound.We have 9 screens but 6 booths scattered across the theater.So I got the sound back up in 1 to 4 minutes depending on the screen. So some people wanted refunds for missing 4 minutes of Fahrenheit but then some people walked out of Spiderman who missed maybe a minute and heard the others and also wanted refunds.We ended up giving everyone passes. But my question is what is your policy on lost sound, refunds/passes and how long does it have to be out to warrant either one.  |  IP: Logged Ken Lackner Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1907 From: Atlanta, GA, USA Registered: Sep 2001 posted 07-15-2004 10:45 PM                     There's really no policy on how long the sound/picture/whatever has to be out. If a customer requests a raincheck as compensation for any presentation interuption, I will give them one.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-15-2004 11:37 PM                        Ditto. When we were installing our DTS, we were without surrounds for 2 days. We put a sign at the boxoffice offering refunds if anyone wasn't satisfied. Nobody asked for a refund, but we did have a few people who saw the sign and decided to come back when the sound system was up and running.  |  IP: Logged Kyle Watkins Expert Film Handler Posts: 185 From: Stuart, FL, USA Registered: Sep 2001 posted 07-16-2004 12:14 AM                     You got a back up on your proj why they did not shut off with the power.  |  IP: Logged Mike Olpin Chop Chop! Posts: 1852 From: Dallas, TX Registered: Jan 2002 posted 07-16-2004 12:35 AM                     If the sound drops out for any length of time, even just a few seconds, the customer is entitled to a refund or pass. quote: Kyle Watkins You got a back up on your proj why they did not shut off with the power. Um.. I think I get what you're asking. I've had this happen before with an outage that lasted under a second. The outage was so short that the projectors kept running, however, some of the E-Lights blinked on real qick, and one of our houses dumped out to non sync. So my quess is that their projectors do not have back up as you suggest. The power outage was so short that the projectors just sailed through them.  |  IP: Logged Stephen Frazza Expert Film Handler Posts: 161 From: Nutley, NJ, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 07-16-2004 12:43 AM                        What do you mean backup? The power loss caused the cinema processor to switch to non-sync and it stayed there till i put it back into optical or digital. The outage was short no more than a second or two But the projector just keep going and didn't fault and the lamps shut off but reignited.  |  IP: Logged Mike Olpin Chop Chop! Posts: 1852 From: Dallas, TX Registered: Jan 2002 posted 07-16-2004 12:48 AM                     Right. Thats exactly what i said. That you DONT have a power backup for your projector as Mr. Watkins asks about (I think) in the post abouve mine. Same exact thing happened to me. Your outage must have been longer than mine, because we only lost sound in one theatre. The rest of our CP-500s stayed in digital, and our DTS all droped to analog. We had far more passes over the brief "blink" of the e-lights.  |  IP: Logged Adam Martin I'm not even gonna point out the irony. Posts: 3686 From: Dallas, TX Registered: Nov 2000 posted 07-16-2004 01:39 AM                     Every sound rack should have a UPS to help protect against power problems.  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 07-16-2004 02:54 AM                       Boy, the climate sure has changed from when I started working in theatres!  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 07-16-2004 06:05 AM                     I have started putting UPS battery backups on: *Sound processor *Automation *Platters Now I just need to find a dimmer that I like which I can power the control circuit off of the UPS and the load on a seperate circuit and I'll be set. Power goes out? No biggie. The shows will automatically resume exactly where they were when the power is restored.  |  IP: Logged R. Andrew Diercks Expert Film Handler Posts: 232 From: Marion, Iowa (In the middle of everywhere) Registered: May 2003 posted 07-16-2004 12:00 PM                     I realize there is nothing you can do to prevent power outages, but the customers did not get the best presentation. I would give out passes before anyone asked me. You can make a lot more money being nice to people than to try to pass the buck to the power company.  |  IP: Logged Christian Volpi Master Film Handler Posts: 349 From: Arlington, NE Registered: Apr 2004 posted 07-16-2004 02:30 PM                        If the presentation wasn't 100% then it should be common sense to give out passes. Customers come into the theater expected the best quality. If you did not give them the quality that they expected then they are entitled to a pass. Heck, there just going to come back and buy more concessions anyways and that's what gaurantees that I get a check each week.  |  IP: Logged John Pytlak Film God Posts: 9987 From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922 Registered: Jan 2000 posted 07-16-2004 02:49 PM                        As a customer, I would expect to be offered passes if the sound or picture outage was more than a few seconds, such that I missed significant picture continuity. Whether I would demand passes would depend on what I missed. If the outage occured during a scene critical to understanding/enjoying the movie, I would want to see the movie again. If it occured during the trailers or closing credits, I might let it go. The investment in having a UPS for the critical components Brad mentioned would be worth it, especially for theatres that often suffer "burps" in their electrical service. The UPS also conditions the power, eliminating troublesome transients that can throw digital electronics into a "tizzy".  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 07-16-2004 03:33 PM                        UPS on the platter strikes me as a very good idea indeed, not least because if some issue caused the platter to fail while the projector kept on running (e.g. a breaker tripping when it shouldn't do), you could end up with a pretty nasty wrap. quote: Mike Blakesley When we were installing our DTS, we were without surrounds for 2 days. We put a sign at the boxoffice offering refunds if anyone wasn't satisfied. Personally I'd say that was asking for trouble, because you're bound to get some jokers who are going to watch the film and then try it on for a refund by claiming that the absence of surrounds affected their experience. In the absence of a sign, then if anyone really does notice that the surrounds are down then I wouldn't hesitate to explain the situation and then offer a refund or pass; but I'd be reluctant to advertise the fact and thereby actually invite people to request one.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-16-2004 03:37 PM                        What is the preferred model of UPS for a sound rack? I assume that it would only be powering the processor and any digital units, correct?  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.