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Topic: rant on stupid customers

Justin Hamaker
Film God

Posts: 2253
From: Lakeport, CA USA
Registered: Jan 2004

posted 08-22-2016 05:03 PM

Sean, while that could happen, it's very unlikely. In the 5 years my theatre has taken credit cards I don't think we've had more than 1 or 2 charge backs. It's something to be concerned about, but it's not really a thing.

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Frank Cox
Film God

Posts: 2234
From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada
Registered: Apr 2011

posted 08-22-2016 05:42 PM

I had a new experience a couple of days ago. As I've mentioned before, I don't take credit or debit cards here. Cash only.

A woman came to the ticket counter with her daughter and said, "I drove here from (something unintelligible) and didn't bring any cash with me. Can I pay you with an Interac E-Transfer?"

"Uh... I guess so."

She then asked me for my email address and proceeded to send me a payment from her Iphone and showed me that it had gone through on her phone's screen. I collected the money from the email transfer after the show and deposited it into my bank account.

That was... different. It worked, but I don't think I want people making a habit of paying that way either.

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Michael Gonzalez
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 790
From: Grand Island , NE USA
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 08-27-2016 11:47 PM

So I am sure everyone here knows the content in Sausage Party. EVERYTIME a parent with an underage child has come up to the Box Office, we have informed them the many reason why this movie is not age appropriate for their offspring. Several heed our warnings and some others do not, usually with the comment to the effect that their kid see that kind of stuff "all the time".

We have had SEVERAL angrily come back demanding a refund and demanding to know why we didn't stop them from going into that movie. One lady in particular went off on my cashier "How can you "effin" let me take my son into that "effin" movie" followed by a few other F-Bombs with the 8yr old kid standing right there.

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Martin McCaffery
Film God

Posts: 2481
From: Montgomery, AL
Registered: Jun 99

posted 08-28-2016 08:49 AM

I believe the proper response is: "It's R rated, you effin' moron. That's what the effin' ratings are for -- the advise parents on the suitability of an effin' film for their effin' children. Do you not check what an effin' film is about or rated before bringing your effin' kid to it? No? The shut the F up and get out of my theatre."

Or something like that.

I do enjoy how the auto-correct tries to turn "effin'" into "elfin"

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Randy Stankey
Film God

Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99

posted 08-28-2016 06:55 PM

Invariably, those people are the ones who complain only after watching the whole movie.

If they had watched only part of the movie and walked out I'd be a lot more willing to talk with them and, if I believed that their complaints were legitimate, I'd be more willing to offer them some sort of accommodation. Maybe not a refund or a rain check but I'd be willing to work with them to come up with something that satisfied all parties.

But, if they watch the whole movie then simply bitch at me, as far as I am concerned, it's, "Too bad! So sad!" [fu]

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 08-28-2016 08:59 PM

I usually go to imdb.com and print out the whole "parental advisory" list, which goes into excruciating detail about every offensive detail, no matter how mundane. But even that doesn't turn most "modern" parents away.... the kids always say "C'mon Mom, everybody else is going and they all say it's NOT THAT BAD." Then Mom usually caves.

I sometimes suspect that Mom has a date to have sex with Dad (or somebody) while the kid's in the movie, so that makes it more tempting for Mom to give in.

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 09-05-2016 02:06 AM

quote: Mike Blakesley
A guy today asked me if that movie "Jungle Bunnies" was any good.

I'm in the middle of working a classic movie festival, in which episodes from the newly rediscovered and restored 1930s Universal serial Jungle Mystery are being shown at the start of each session.

Overheard in the auditorium, as everyone was headed to a meal break after a feature:

"So, what's playing straight after dinner? Do we need to make it back in time?"

"I think it's another one of those Jungle Bunny pictures."

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Sean McKinnon
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1712
From: Peabody Massachusetts
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 09-05-2016 04:44 PM

Justin, I'm glad this hasn't been an issue for you. Before we installed wireless card swipes in our vehicles (car service) we would have customers call our dispatch office and read the card information to the dispatcher. Unfortunately people who used the same card to stay at local hotels (I tracked these things down trying to prove the cardholder was scamming us) and used the same card at local restaurants (all places where their cards were swiped) we would get charge backs and even with all the evidence (correct address zip, CV2, proof they were "here") they would dispute the charge just because they knew they could. For a small family business a few $50 chargebacks can add up especially when we have paid the driver their commission and tip and would not "take it back" over something they had no control over. It's just terrible what people will do if they know they can get away with it. It's funny how someone "stole" their card to take a car to the airport then returned it to them at the gate [Roll Eyes]

The worst part is the credit card processors and banks knew the customer was lying but because it was a "card not present" transaction they always win. Any small Theatres out there that key in card numbers to a web portal or pos software PLEASE upgrade to a terminal with a card swipe.

Once we installed the swipes chargebacks went to absolutely ZERO in 2 years.

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Jack Ondracek
Film God

Posts: 2348
From: Port Orchard, WA, USA
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 09-05-2016 05:11 PM

Generally speaking, I think Justin has it about right. While there are ways that people can scam a theatre, the amounts just aren't that great.

On occasion, we have to manually enter a card number. It happens when a mag stripe is too mangled for our wedges to read. Can't say I've ever had a chargeback due to that.

On the other hand, I have had challenges to customer charges when they use the same card for ticket and concession purchases. Their statement (or instant smartphone readout) comes back with 2 (or more) charges from the same place and they assume we've somehow run their card several times for the same stuff.

As I noted earlier, having had some nightmares about a customer receiving a cash refund for a card charge, then disputing it, I asked RTS to put a notation on their tickets & receipts when a transaction was on credit. We've use it several times, to ask for their card when refunds are processed here.

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Sean McKinnon
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1712
From: Peabody Massachusetts
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 09-08-2016 04:57 PM

I don't know if it would work for anyone here but I've seen grocery store cashiers use a plastic schooling bag to wrap the card in while they swipe it. They claim it helps readers read worn out mag strips. With the switch to chips I wonder how long it will be until the chips start to wear or fail to make contact with the reader.

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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

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

posted 09-09-2016 03:50 PM

I've seen the bag trick, too. It seems to work.

A trick that's always worked for me on self-swipe readers is to swipe the card in the opposite direction: right to left or bottom up. Don't know why but it works.

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Randy Stankey
Film God

Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-09-2016 05:39 PM

The data is written on mag stripe cards twice, in opposite directions.
The user could scan the card in either direction. Having two tracks makes it so that the data reads correctly no matter which direction the card is scanned.

If one of the data tracks gets corrupted, worn out or dirty, chances are good that the other will still work.

That's why scanning an apparently malfunctioning card in the opposite direction works.

If you find that cards frequently fail to read, you might also try cleaning the heads inside the machne.

If you scan 100 cards every day for a year, that's 36,500 opportunities for dirt to get caked onto the reader heads.

Isn't it ironic that we would clean the magnetic readers on our projectors before every show but we don't clean the readers in our credit card machines even after several years? [Wink]

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Andy Bundy
Film Handler

Posts: 9
From: New Bremen, Ohio, USA
Registered: Jul 2016

posted 09-22-2016 06:06 PM

It's amazing, our ticket prices are able to stay low ($6 general admission) and we still have seniors coming in and asking if we have a senior discount. I mean, I realize you're trying to save as much money as you can, but seriously.

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 09-22-2016 06:22 PM

quote: Sean McKinnon
With the switch to chips I wonder how long it will be until the chips start to wear or fail to make contact with the reader.

I'd give it a couple of years for the cards.

Chip and PIN cards were introduced in Britain in 2006. I had issues with the chip failing to read after around two years with the card I used most often. A problem was that even though most retailers also had the ability to swipe the stripe, many refused to do so because if a retailer reads a chip card magnetically and the transaction is then reported as fraudulent, the retailer has to eat the chargeback: if it's done with the chip, they don't (it's between the bank and the cardholder).

Eventually I had to request a new card, and I noticed that by the end of the decade, the new cards being issued had an expiration date around two years after issue, whereas previously it was three or four. I'm guessing that this is because two years is around the lifetime of the chip.

Here in the US, my current Capital One credit card has a chip and was issued last year, with an expiration date of 2020. I'll be surprised if it actually lasts that long.

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Allan Young
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 125
From: EGHAM, Surrey UK
Registered: Jun 2011

posted 09-23-2016 06:36 AM

quote: Leo Enticknap
I'd give it a couple of years for the cards.

Chip and PIN cards were introduced in Britain in 2006. I had issues with the chip failing to read after around two years with the card I used most often. A problem was that even though most retailers also had the ability to swipe the stripe, many refused to do so because if a retailer reads a chip card magnetically and the transaction is then reported as fraudulent, the retailer has to eat the chargeback: if it's done with the chip, they don't (it's between the bank and the cardholder).

Eventually I had to request a new card, and I noticed that by the end of the decade, the new cards being issued had an expiration date around two years after issue, whereas previously it was three or four. I'm guessing that this is because two years is around the lifetime of the chip.

Here in the US, my current Capital One credit card has a chip and was issued last year, with an expiration date of 2020. I'll be surprised if it actually lasts that long.

Not my experience at all. I've had chip-and-pin cards here in the UK since around 2007 and never had a single failure despite heavy use. On the other hand, in the past I've had to have cards reissued because the magnetic stripe has failed.

Neither have I had reissued cards with anything other than five or six year expiry dates. Maybe your credit rating is buggered, Leo [Smile]

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