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Topic: rant on stupid customers

Mike Spaeth
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1129
From: Marietta, GA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 02-28-2005 04:32 PM

Forget handing out condoms ... they're probably too stupid to use those properly as well ... take their children away and give them to good parents that are unable to have children ...

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Pravin Ratnam
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 844
From: Atlanta, GA,USA
Registered: Sep 2002

posted 03-01-2005 12:57 AM

Some black lady came to the Regal in Atlanta while i was doing a preshow audit to protest Coach Carter selling out so fast because it was placed in a smaller auditorium the first weekend. The manager apologized and said that it was going to be moved to the bigger theater the next day. The bitch then says. "you better , because i am going to come tomorrow and if it's not moved, i am going to complain to the NAACP. ". A minute later, I asked the manager why the lady made that statement. When he filled me in, I wanted to call her back and tell her "look woman, i got friends in the NAACP and they won't appreciate you wasting their time on such a trivial matter. And do you even realize Hotel Rwanda is the movie in the big auditiorium and the reason why coach carter was in teh smaller one?"

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James Falloon
Film Handler

Posts: 72
From: Wigram, Christchurch, New Zealand
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 03-01-2005 01:53 AM

yeah, handing out condoms what a good idea, nothing like blown up condoms floating round an audotorium in the light of the projector. [Mad]

you can always tell when it's [sex]

edcation time down at the local high school from the "balloons" bouncing around. [puke]

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Jason M Miller
Master Film Handler

Posts: 284
From: Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA
Registered: Jul 2004

posted 03-09-2005 07:21 PM

*Sorry about the other thread guys, should have put it here*

So I am sitting in my managers station and a girl comes out of Be Cool after being in there for at least 1/2 hour and says she does not like the movie and asked for a refund, I politely tell her that our policy is not to give refunds after 15 min the movie starts and I told her if she wanted to leave and come back for a later show of something else that would be fine (I even offered to refund the difference between the late show and what she paid). She told me that she had a curfew and she could not do it, also told me that another manager did it before for the same reason after she was in there for 1hr30min. I had mentioned to her some the reasons we would offer refunds after 15 min which included if something happened to the film so then she tells me the projector skipped, I just thought WTF you do not know what you are talking about so don't talk. After another few min of trying to make me give in, she started calling me heart-less and did not care about the customers. Then as she was leaving she called me an A$$-hole.

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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 03-09-2005 07:37 PM

Fifteen minutes after the featrue start or after the previews start? If your policy is 15 minutes including previews then this person only watched 15 minutes of the movie before they came out and wanted their money back.

Trust me, I don't like people who demand their money back for not liking a movie any more than the next guy, but if they come out with 15 minutes of the feature start I wouldn't have too huge of a problem refunding them.

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 03-09-2005 09:38 PM

quote: Dustin Mitchell
If your policy is 15 minutes including previews then this person only watched 15 minutes of the movie before they came out and wanted their money back.

True, that is a pretty thin policy to put the "pinch" on your customers. Half hour, then I can see the "no-refund" policy, but really.......!

Besides, what's the cost of the admission to the manager? He still get's his salary and it is his job to "ensure the complete satisfaction to the customer-within limits." and to refund movie tickets isn't an arm-twister by any means. Besides, if you can make the customer satisfied, they'll come back. Now, with them calling the employee names, you know that they'll spread what they experienced around to their friends and then to their friends, and suddenly, why is your attendence total dropping...poor customer PR.

Have to be careful when dealing with the public. They will praise you, or bite back where it hurts real bad.

-Monte

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Jason Black
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1723
From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 03-09-2005 09:56 PM

Common sense and sound business pratice is that you simply do not reward stupidity, as it only compounds itself.

I'll give them 20 minutes into the feature. Outside that, sorry, the presentation was good, so I lived up to my end of the bargain. You win some, you lose some. I, as an exhibitor, can not be held responsible for a patron's taste. I wouldn't go to an Indian restaurant if I didn't know much about the food, and I certainly wouldnt expect my money back, nor a 'gimme' coupon if I didn't like the food, so I hold my patrons to the same. The only thing 'owed' to the person is timely, courteous service and an uninterrupted, flawless (if they still exist) presentation. As long as I've lived up to my end of the bargain....well, you already know how I feel about the rest..

Also, you must factor in the person's overall demeanor. I am MUCH more recpetive to working with someone who is pleasant and genuine as opposed to someone who comes off as an arrogant prick/bitch!

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Martin Brooks
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 900
From: Forest Hills, NY, USA
Registered: May 2002

posted 03-10-2005 11:02 PM

I agree. Unless your official policy is that "if you don't like the movie, we'll refund your money", there's no reason to refund money after 15 - 20 minutes of the movie unless there's something wrong with the presentation. It's not like movies aren't publicized to death before they're released - everyone knows what they're about and there's plenty of reviews.

You don't get your money back at a restaurant after you eat the food (unless you find a bug.)
You don't get your money back after you buy and read a book.
You don't get your money back after opening a CD or DVD (although I must admit I have heard of a few cases where retailers were willing to do this.)
You don't get your money back if you don't like the live performance of your favorite rock group.
Etc.

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Richard Greco
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1180
From: Plant City, FL
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 03-11-2005 01:37 AM

How about this...

One of my concession girls was scammed by a customer tonight.

We had Diary of a Mad Black Woman showing and I was training a new projectionist. I was talking about brain-wraps and what to do if one happens. I had started my final set of the night and was closing down the box office.

I told the new guy on the radio to walk the field and check the booths and inform me of anything unusual. I was just getting to counting the money when he radioed me and I heard horns in the background. I ran out and sure enough, Mad Black Woman had burned.

I told the new guy to go car to car and inform everyone to be patient and the show will resume shortly. I went into the booth and it was just a typical brainwrap (Potts Alpha platters) Nothing serious, no major amage, just a simple fix.

When of course the dumbass people come to the port hole and start yelling at me.....I stay nice and tell them that it will be about 5 mins before the show will resume and to PLEASE be patient. For some reason, they just didn't get it. My poor new guy was trying hard to calm them down and to explain to them that I needed to do my job and would help them as soon as I was done.

I yelled through the porthole that I would address any issues and that me talking to them was just delaying the resumption of the show even longer.

Approx 3 mins later the show was back on screen with about 40 frames chopped off. I made sure that the wrap went away and the rest of the show went fine. I went outside and had only 1 customer come to me wanting a pass. No big deal, I gave it and the went on their way...BUT

Apparently this guy's wife went into the concession stand with a few other people very angry and told my concession girl that I authorized her to give out free sodas to the inconvienced customers..I did not. She assumed I did and gave out 2 bottles of Coke.

Sorry this is so lengthy, but can't people just have patience? I never had an issue like this when I was at the indoor and a burn happened. It really ticks me off Dammit!!

Oh Same Shit Different Day Right?

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R. Andrew Diercks
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 232
From: Marion, Iowa (In the middle of everywhere)
Registered: May 2003

posted 03-11-2005 03:23 AM

Why don't you provide free sodas or refills or something? I usually just do refills, but you did inconvenience them. Potts platters can be a pain, but that's why projectionists watch the booth. I'll give you that the woman was quite bold in claiming your authorization, but she should not have had to ask for anything. The person going car to car should have been handing out passes. If you appease the customer before they have time to get mad, they will return. People understand that problems occur, they just expect to be treated fairly when they do.

We also give a pass to all patrons any time a movie is interrupted and 2 passes if the show cannot go on until the next show.

Some of these rants are valid, but some are just what you would expect if you were the customer.

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Wolff King Morrow
Master Film Handler

Posts: 490
From: Denton, TX, USA
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 03-11-2005 03:29 AM

Another key point is how your employee didn't think to contact you about such authorization. When I was working box or concession, I NEVER allowed the customer to take anything extra from my register or stock that wasn't already cleared directly with my manager to me. Its sound advice I'd give to any employee on register.

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004

posted 03-11-2005 04:42 AM

quote: Richard Greco
but can't people just have patience? I never had an issue like this when I was at the indoor and a burn happened..

Hey..Richard..glad to hear that someone else got the "ass chewing" for being downscreen at a Drive-In!

Try having a full yard, running a hot movie, and you forgot to change the arcs in the lamphouse when you made that changeover until you looked in the viewglass and you only have 3 minutes of carbon on a full reel....You SLAM down the switch, rush open the door, open the back end trying not to touch that hot mirror, shove a rod in (while people are blowing their horns like crazy and are coming up to the port window yelling and screaming at you on "WTF is going on here!!!") then re-arc the lamps, shoot the dumbasses in the face that was looking right into the lens of the machine with that 13.6mm @ 190amps of carbon light when you hit the foot button that popped open the dowser to continue the show which was stopped in a very light scene.

You should check into the Strong "wrap detectors" for your platters. (even though you have Potts, these should still fit being Strong assemblies..) This unit replaces the top roller assembly on the tower with at 3 roller trip configuration which is wired in series with the failsafe, so both units are tied together. If the film experiences any tension, the trip roller assembly with tighten up, opens up the circuit and stop the show without any film damage.

-Monte

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 03-11-2005 05:30 AM

quote: Richard Greco
We had Diary of a Mad Black Woman showing and I was training a new projectionist. I was talking about brain-wraps and what to do if one happens.

Did your print have Kodak or Fuji edgeprint? I've heard a mix of films might have been used.

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Richard Greco
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1180
From: Plant City, FL
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 03-11-2005 08:25 AM

quote: R. Andrew Diercks
The person going car to car should have been handing out passes.

quote: R. Andrew Diercks
Why don't you provide free sodas or refills or something?

I honestly think it wasn't necessary with such a minor problem. I was off screen for about 5 minutes. No need for freebies. People just need to be a bit patient.

quote: R. Andrew Diercks
We also give a pass to all patrons any time a movie is interrupted and 2 passes if the show cannot go on until the next show.

IMHO that is wrong...The only way I would give out a pass, 1 pass is if the show can't go on. IE thrown print...IMO I think that is a bad call on your company's management, Whether it be you or your higher ups. There is no reason to do that for such a small inconvience. That is just asking the customer to "come back and whine and we'll bend over for ya". You have to draw the line somewhere.

quote: Wolff King Morrow
Another key point is how your employee didn't think to contact you about such authorization

I made sure she understood that and won't do it anymore.

quote: John Pytlak
Did your print have Kodak or Fuji edgeprint? I've heard a mix of films might have been used.

Mine was Fuji...Hope that doesn't disappoint ya [Smile]

quote: Monte
Hey..Richard..glad to hear that someone else got the "ass chewing" for being downscreen at a Drive-In!

Great Story..Those people got what they deserved.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 03-11-2005 08:35 AM

The way I see it, your show screwed up. This was not the customer's fault in any way. As such you owe it to the customers to take care of them in some manner. (Maybe this is via free Cokes, or passes or whatever.)

If you wait for a customer to come to you and complain and give in, THEN you can be concerned about "training" them to complain in the future. If you are pro-active and get to the customers before they can complain, it shows you truly care about them and appreciate their business.

What you should have done is make an announcement over the audio system (FM broadcast / speakers) saying that the film experienced a minor difficulty that we will be back on screen within 5 minutes, their patience is appreciated and everyone will be given passes for a free item from the concession stand or whatever. This solves two problems. First it keeps people from banging on your booth window making the repair process slower and second it is awful hard for customers to get angry and leave with a bad taste in their mouth if you take care of them before they CAN get angry. Remember, YOU screwed up, not them.

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