Cinemark Theatres
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Cinemark USA
company_type = Private company |
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| Type | {{{company_type}}} |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1984 |
| Headquarters | Plano, Texas |
| Key people | Lee Roy Mitchell, co-founder Paul Broadhead, co-founder |
| Slogan | The Best Seat in Town |
| Website | www.cinemark.com |
Cinemark Theatres is the third-largest movie theater chain in North America. It was founded in 1984 as a small chain of theatres and has expanded to a prominent player in the theatre business. The company is based in Plano, Texas, and its theaters can be found in several countries.
Cinemark Theatres can have up to 24 screens, but Cinemark Theatres no longer builds new 24 screen theaters. Depending on how busy a theater is, it is classified between a level 1 (the lowest) and a level 6 (the highest). Level 6 theaters typically have over 1.25 million customers per year. Cinemark USA recently acquired Century Theatres, adding more than 80 locations with over 1000 screens to its current crop.
[edit] 1999 lawsuit
In 1999, the company was sued by the United States Government for refusal to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. [1] The court ruled that Cinemark was in violation of the act, and ordered the company to remodel old theatres in order to accomodate wheelchair-bound patrons, as well as requiring the company to fully comply with the ADA when building all future theatres. Rather than comply with the court's ruling, Cinemark filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Justice, claiming that the Department of Justice's interpretation of the ADA was "procedurally improper, substantively incorrect, and unenforceable." The lawsuit demanded that Cinemark not be forced to comply with the ADA in the building of future theatres, and that all of their existing theatres be ruled to be in compliance with the ADA. The court ruled that Cinemark's lawsuit was "nothing more than a collateral attack on the judgment of another federal court" and threw the case out of court, stating "Essentially, Cinemark asks the Court to probibit the Department of Justice from interpreting its own regulation, paralyze the Department of Justice's efforts to enforce the ADA, and reverse the judgment of another federal court..." [2]
As of 2007, all Cinemark theatres are presumably in compliance with the ADA.
[edit] Customer and employee relations
Employees are introduced into the company with a thirty-two page book entitled "Employee Guidelines: A Short Booklet to Acquaint you with Cinemark." The book is currently in its sixth edition, which was introduced in December of 2003, and was initially spelled "guidlines", a small oversight on behalf of all whose hands it passed through before making it to the printer[citation needed]. Employees are given the book upon being hired. The book opens with a single-page explanation of the hiree's primary duty, emphasized through italics, bolding, and underlining:
Number One Goal
"TOTAL AND COMPLETE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION"
Remember- You have the "Power" to do whatever it takes to satisfy the customer!
Employees are introduced in the book's opening pages to the concept of "The Power," which Cinemark describes as the concept of employee empowerment put into action. The concept of "The Power" is that employees of Cinemark are expected to assume a position of responsibility to customers and do what is required to provide service of them. (Unreasonable demands and verbal abuse not withstanding.)
Employees are discouraged from expressing personal opinions about movies they've seen. In that case, the only appropriate response is, "Many of our customers who have seen it seem to enjoy it." (Cinemark Employee Guidelines, Page 15)
Employees are discouraged from joining any unions, which the guidelines claim means giving up one's rights as an individual. "If an employee wishes to preserve their individual freedom, they should not sign a union membership card." (Cinemark Employee Guidelines, Page 21) "The...Union or any other union knows nothing about Cinemark..." (Cinemark Employee Guidelines, Page 21) "There is no guarantee that the cards will be used by the union only to get an election as the union organizers may have led an employee to believe...they...can be used to avoid an election regardless of what you say or what an employee really wants."
