THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 2, 1994 TAG: 9409010049
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CRAIG A. SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
IT DOESN'T SEEM so hard. Scoop up the popcorn. Pump on the butter. Top off the drink. Make change. Next.
Now, do it six hours straight on a rainy day during a big opening weekend, say, when ``The Lion King'' has folks lined up a dozen deep at all eight registers. When all Dad wants is four seats together, Sno-Caps and a Coke, Jujy Fruits and a Cherry Coke, Goobers and a Diet Coke and nacho cheese on his popcorn. And not just any old way. He wants it like this: Fill the bag halfway, ladle on the cheese, fill it the rest of the way, ladle on some more.
One thing. Remember to smile when you say, ``Thank you. Enjoy the movie.'' Because, praise or 'plaints, it's you on the firing line. And you are AMC.
No one around here or around the country does it better than Cathy Bynum.
In July, at the first AMC National Concession Olympics, a daylong test of speed, accuracy and customer satisfaction, Bynum and her teammates flew home with the championship trophy. It wasn't field hockey, basketball or softball, which she played at Salem High in Virginia Beach, but she was in Kansas City, Mo., for the same reason.
``I love competition.''
The road to K.C. started at the Lynnhaven 8, where Bynum, 19, has worked since 1992. Manager Ralph Davis chose five employees for the team that competed against other AMCs at the Patrick Henry 7 in Newport News. Bynum, Edwin Perez, Michelle Dumas, Cindy Fernando and April Lelacheur aced that, went to the next round in Washington, D.C., aced that, and then headed to the Northeast region finals in Voorhees, N.J.
At the regionals, an all-star team was picked for the Sweet 16 - the finals in Kansas City. Four-member teams from AMC's four divisions were scored on how accurately they filled the orders and how fast. The cash drawer had to add up at the end, and they had to remember little things, like suggesting larger sizes and, for big orders, giving the customer a carry tray.
All with a smile.
``Clearly, we have a vested interest in executing transactions rapidly,'' said Phil Pennington, AMC's vice president of operations services. ``But the thing this whole competition does for our staff is promote good customer service.
``The positive thing about this competition is instead of wandering around the mall or hanging out with the guys or girls or doing whatever, an important focus in their lives becomes their work environment. Teaching these kids that it's the customers who provide their paycheck is going to have a ripple effect in everything they do from here on out.''
Bynum, who is studying small business management at TCC-Virginia Beach, puts it more succinctly.
``People come here for a good time. It's up to us to see that they have it.''
She had a pretty good time in Kansas City, too.
AMC rolled out the red carpet for the finalists. They caught a Royals game, went to a theme park and had dinner with the honchos who run the 237-theater chain, the country's third-largest. Bynum came home with stereo and video game systems, gold medals, a World Cup jacket and an AMC gym bag full of T-shirts and other stuff.
Not a bad haul, but Bynum didn't exactly go in unprepared. Employees at the Lynnhaven 8 and all AMC theaters complete a three-day, 15-hour training course before they butter up their first bag of popcorn or tear a ticket. Davis has a cabinet crammed with videos covering everything from accident prevention to soft drink training. The course is outlined in a 127-page handbook.
``You could just put them out there, but that actually costs you money,'' Davis said. ``It's easier for us to take them and train them and show them what we want, let them understand what's going on. Once they have a better understanding of it, it makes it easier for them and easier for us.''
Bynum, who wants to open a hair salon after college, is filing it all under ``experience'': The parents who behave like their kids - ``cutting in line, complaining about the prices'' - and the customers who, instead of big bags of crunchy kernels, want the salty popcorn crumbs from the bottom of the grill.
``Men are usually the easiest,'' she said. ``They just order and don't care about the prices. They get the kids whatever they want. Mothers are usually tentative about the sweets.''
And those big ``Lion King'' openings, when everyone in line is jockeying for position? They probably run the smoothest.
``We knew we would be slammed,'' Bynum said. ``We just do what we're trained to do. Provide fast, friendly service.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
MORT FRYMAN/Staff
Cathy Bynum of Virginia Beach was among the winners at the AMC
National Concession Olympics in Kansas City, Mo.
by CNB