1. 20 screentrade | Late Summer 2014 | www.screentrademagazine.com
Marketplace NOC SERVICES
ith the sophistication
of dCinema systems
increasing exponentially
today, it can be easy to
forget that, at its heart,
the Exhibition industry
isn’t merely a network of
computerised lights and
sounds; that the quality
of what we do isn’t to be measured just in terms of
resolution or frame-rates; and that what ultimately
differentiates an evening out to a movie theatre, from,
say, a quiet night in at home, fundamentally isn’t technological.
This holds true not only for exhibitors, but also for all serving
the industry from behind-the-scenes.
At D-CinemaNOC, we endeavor always to remain focused
on customer service, namely: the human connection. All the
technological advances we now have are only as valuable as the
relationships they enable us to form with those we serve i.e.
insofar as they help simplify technical tasks so we may more fully
invest our energies into understanding our customers’ true needs.
To begin with, we understand the frustration of facing an
unexpected emergency only to discover that you are ‘on your
own’. Too many solutions –
particularly the automated types
– are in fact designed with the
service provider in mind, while
overlooking the fact that the
customer is actually a technician
with a projection problem, or
perhaps a theatre owner with a
screen down, and sometimes the
most effective way to serve them
best is still simply to pick up the
phone.Anytechnologythatwon’t
enable such a simple approach is
actually an impediment to good
customer service.
In fact, we feel agents should
be encouraged periodically to
check-in with sites, even if there
have been no recent issues. We also find that, sometimes,
unless there is a technical problem to solve, there can be some
hesitancy by exhibitors to contact a NOC technician; however,
dCinema
While the existence of cinema NOC
services maybe reflects the cutting-edge
of technological development, sometimes
– or perhaps increasingly – this can
undermine the essential ‘people elements’
that help maintain industry relationships.
D-CinemaNOC’s Daniel Benitez explains
why this is so important.
W by promoting more open communication channels and
personal engagement on both sides, we’ll ensure the technology
won’t get in the way of service.
EDUCATION, EMPOWERMENT & EFFICIENCY
Actually, we believe in the value of an educated and empowered
client and so, rather than fearing that by providing the customer
with a glut of training, the need for our service will be reduced,
we actually believe it deepens the trust which ultimately benefits
the two-way relationship. Indeed, by sharing knowledge between
technicians and theatre operatives, it greatly reduces the incidence
of serious issues and wasted energy when problems do inevitably
occur and, most importantly, the extent of exhibitor downtime.
To this end, D-Cinema NOC invests a great deal in
proactively providing training and resources to whomever we
service. We give hands-on, onsite, training to local technicians
at the hardware installation stage; host frequent, remote,
web-training sessions and arrange for training from vendors
whenever possible – all so that, again, when challenges
arise, both our team and local technicians can benefit from
an improved rapport and a more solid, mutual, technical
understanding from which to develop solutions.
The human experience – and not the technical tools
employed – should be the focus of good cinema-monitoring.
As the president of D-CinemaNOC, I would best summarise
it this way: The great fallacy to which our industry must avoid
falling victim is in believing that the remarkable technological
changes we have been experiencing in Cinema are an end in
themselves... because they are not. The theaters that will thrive
will be those who well-remember the origins of the magic of
the cinema experience, and it’s no different for those of us
who have the privilege to serve the exhibitor.S
human touch
&
the