Church of the Customer Blog

I am writing in regard to the blog titled “Fun is Contagious” by Ben McConnell. It was written on April 7th, 2009. The blog talks about Alamo Drafthouse here in Austin, Texas and highlights some of the “fun” events they have been hosting and creating for eager Austinites. The first one is Renegade Karaoke where they rented a bus to drive around Austin. They filled it with customers who sang karaoke in odd settings. For example, they sang in a Starbucks, a police station, a fitness class, and a busy intersection. The hilarious footage was then compiled into a four minute tape that is played before other movie showings. I suggest you take a look at the video. It is priceless.


The second fun event they reference is the secret world premier tour of the new Star Trek movie. The movie goers thought they were buying tickets to see and catch up on their 1982 Star Trek movie, with a special opportunity to see ten minutes of the new Star Trek. As a surprise, Khan, from the first Star Trek movie, comes out ten minutes into the showing and suggests that they play the new Star Trek movie. To the viewers surprise they got to watch the entire new film before anyone else! I am sure these guests were beyond thrilled.

At the end of the blog Ben writes: Fun is contagious. Fun spreads. Fun inspires loyalty. Fun opens wallets. I couldn’t agree more. I think an important distinction here is that fun inspires loyalty and opens wallets for adults, as well as children. The mass buying power of children is utilized by parents because they want their children to have fun and create experiences that will sculpt their childhood. This is why Miley Cyrus has a million people at her concerts. It is FUN for the children. Well Alamo Drafthouse is finding ways to make adults feel like children again by creating silly and unique experiences. I know that the Justin Timberlake sing along was a huge hit production at the Alamo Drafthouse because it brought our generation back to the “teeny bopper” days. I personally, and I can’t believe I am going to admit this, had an entire wall in my room filled with pictures of JUST Justin. I am talking about a wall that stretched probably ten to twelve feet and was equally high. The Justin Timberlake sing-a-long could not have taken me back to my childhood roots any better.


In my opinion, service companies such as Alamo Drafthouse, are most successful when they throw a little bit of structure out of the window and bring in more spontaneity. It creates good PR, great word of mouth advertising for them, and makes the customer feel good about their experience making them want to come back for more surprises. I have been sitting here trying to think of another company that has the same business model as Alamo Drafthouse, but am having a hard time. Places such as the Magic Time Machine restaurant come to mind because there is constant entertainment with waiters, bubbly and colorful drinks for children, and when someone goes to the bathroom they yell “Potty Patrol, Potty Patrol.” And look at that, I remember that experience as a child. I haven’t been to The Magic Time Machine in probably 15 years and I can still recall the fun that I had. If a company does its best to create an experience that is fun above all else, I can guarantee that their customers will recall their experiences the way I have about The Magic Time Machine.