Customers come to the Starlight Cinema to enjoy a great movie in great surroundings and a relaxing night out. To make sure that happens, it takes plenty of hard work behind the screens.
Owner Peter Smith didn’t start out in the movies. Instead, his first job was as a 13 year-old serving customers in New Zealand’s famous McKenzies chain store. It was here that he learned training on-job is the best way to learn.
“They were amazing trainers,” says Peter. “They gave you the opportunity to learn and get ahead, and they knew that having well trained staff attracted customers and was good for the business.”
On leaving school, Peter joined the retailer full-time. By the time he was 26 years-old, he had become a store manager in Stratford and eventually managed the Taupō store.
In Taupō, he was able to finally pursue his earliest ambition with a part-time gig as a movie projectionist at the local cinema – Peter had already gained the skills at Stratford’s cinema where he worked for free for two years because he believes training on site is very important in every job.
He subsequently bought the Taupō business, turning it into one of the country’s most successful independent cinemas, with six screens catering to all kinds of audiences, from art house, action and thriller enthusiasts to the latest mainstream releases.
Today, Peter is generous with his expert knowledge and keen to give staff the kind of opportunities that benefited him. To do that, he has chosen from ServiceIQ’s range of blockbuster training programmes.
“My two seniors needed something more inspirational in their careers,” says Peter. “The training was an opportunity for them to gain more skills and expertise and it was also very much for the benefit of the business.”
Both staff are successfully completing a ServiceIQ training programme that is designed to transform supervisors into managers with wide ranging skills that include the ability to plan, delegate and lead. It also gives them another national qualification.
Peter says he can easily see the difference: “They have changed heaps. They used to come to me for help, but now thanks to training, they are happy to lead and give our staff direction. It’s been really good for them.”
It’s also a huge help to Peter. Once upon a time, he’d work at the cinema from first light to midnight. But today, with multiple screens playing to audiences simultaneously, he needs managers he can trust to make sure the whole show goes off without a hitch – from excellent front of house service, clean cinemas and sparkling bathrooms to problem solving.
“It’s vitally important when people walk in the door that everything is in order and looks and feels perfect,” says Peter. “It matters enormously to our customers who notice the effort we go to. Just recently, we had two visitors from Salt Lake City who wanted to congratulate us on our attractive cinema and our spotless bathrooms.”
Training has enabled Peter to retain great staff and offer customers a top quality experience that keeps them queuing for more.
For more information, please contact ServiceIQ on 0800 863 693 or email intel@ServiceIQ.org.nz