PLATTERS I can't say enough bad about them and the damage they have done to the industry (both personelwise and showmanship wise)

The next thing is the huge tolerence of mediorcity for the show by the big exhibitors. Why they allowed polyester to be forced on them, don't back bill for broken/crappy shipping reels...spending untold dollars on the lobby but squat on the booth, including qualified booth personel.

Steve

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1. Not cleaning up the heads and tails, leaving masking tape and s**t film to tail out through the machine and around the sound head.

2. Those stupid yellow dots some like to plaster over the image to mark where the reel change is.

3. Not keeping the booth clean, or at least tidy.

4. Walking into an un-prepared box (wrong lenses / plates etc.)

5. Making up a print where the previous guy /gal has just slapped any old leader and tail on any old spool. (ah, they'll work it out!)

Floor.

1. Ushers standing around chatting to each other while the bins are overflowing.

2. Patrons who think you owe them a quart of blood because they just paid $5 to see a picture and they didn't like it.

3. Patrons who walk out at the end of a film and demand their money back because YOU (never seen them before in my life) sent them into the wrong auditorium.

Management.

1. Who never appear once they waltz through into the office until it's time to lock up and go home.

2. Upper management (Loose terminology) who abuse the two-way.

3. Programmers who program 4 shows to start at the same time in a four-plex with four separate projection rooms, one completely manual, all on four separate levels. Fortunately, this no longer affects me, but it should be even more fun once they add the two extra (separate boxes) screens.

- Too many people working the booth. Things get lost, misplaced, mistreated, movies made up badly, stuff isn't cleaned, need I go on?
- People who have no business in the booth smoking (!!!), eating, or whatever up there and leaving a huge mess.
- Other theatres stealing my equipment and not bringing it back. Just because you got a print from me on 36" reels doesn't mean I want you to keep the reels.
- Splices that nobody has bothered to remove 8 layers of tape from.
- Tails up prints (how is this even possible???).
- Star Wars: TPM, which we're getting back for Christmas. I could just puke.
- Patrons who are convinced the print is out of focus/too loud/too quiet/whatever when it's fine.
- Going to a movie at another theatre which is out of focus, or has the masking in wrong position, or is too quiet/too loud.
- These get special mention as being the most annoying: holes in the screen, booth lights left on and reflecting off of everything, suck 'em 'n' chuck 'ems (gummi bears stuck to the screen) aka lick 'em 'n' flick 'ems. And last but most annoying of all: OUT OF FRAME PRESENTATION!!!!! How hard is it to frame a movie? I hate the "start it and walk away" method!!!

Johanna, I hope that you went and demanded your money back, hopefully before the second reel of the show, or at least talked to the manager about these problems. If I were to find the conditions mentioned, I would not stick around to see the whole show. I've walked out on a show and demanded my money back, not a pass, and got the money. Told them I would not come back until the problems were fixed. I Have not gone back to a theatre or two. It might also help to get the number to the corporate office and write a letter to them. I've done that too. But If we, the people who rant about bad presentations here on this forum, don't speak up about these things, why would we expect the public at large to be any different?

Alternately, you might want to try this:

Next time you have a problem and the man calls you on the intercom wanting to play 20 questions... cut him off in mid-sentence, tell him to hold on, and hang up. Then, calmly walk downstairs to his office and explain as best you can what the trouble is. When he asks why all the people are standing around in the lobby, tell him you didn't have time to fix it, because he wanted to know what was going on!

I know someone who actually did this, and he got left alone from that point on.

This guy really knew how to get results, consider this stunt... a manager appeared in the booth doorway, holding a trailer, and demanded it be put on immediately. The operator calmly got up from his chair and took the trailer. He then walked over to the automation, hit the STOP button and killed the show, then proceeded to put the trailer on!