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Author Topic: Assigned Seating Greg Anderson Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 766 From: Ogden Valley, Utah Registered: Nov 1999 posted 06-02-2008 05:03 PM                        At the Megaplex theatres in Utah, there are kiosks (that work a lot like ATMs) in the lobby, so if you're using a gift card or a credit/debit card, you can avoid waiting in line at the box office. Use the touch-screen to get your tickets and presto! You're in. The checkout at the kiosk is a lot like buying one of their tickets online, which is why I'm confused that it costs an extra 75 cents per ticket online but there's no extra charge to do what feels exactly the same in the lobby. So far, I've never seen anyone fighting over seats nor the need for extra in-theatre staff to enforce seat assignments. I don't think that the people of Utah are especially more polite than people elsewhere. I just think the patrons are used to the system and they like it, so they're happy to support it.  |  IP: Logged Poon Limpapun Film Handler Posts: 40 From: Pathumwhan Bangkok Thailand Registered: Nov 2007 posted 06-02-2008 11:17 PM                        Hi Paul Which cinema chain did you go to and what was the location name? I am actually in charge of one of the chains here in Bangkok Thailand and we do assigned seating. The software we are using is Vista and we have both Kiosk machines, Internet Ticketing with Print @ Home, WAP/Mobile Ticketing and much more to come. The local people loves reserved seating and we actually tested free seating sessions sometime last year and we have received lots of negative responses. As labour cost is so cheap here, we are quite happy to do assigned seating rather than having an argument in the theatre which seems to happen almost every day. Hope this helps...  |  IP: Logged Paer Hoegberg Film Handler Posts: 81 From: Borlänge, Sweden Registered: Apr 2005 posted 06-02-2008 11:44 PM                     We (in Sweden) have assigned seatings (since 98). Most customers have booked there tickets online before going to the cinema - at the box office they only says the booking number instead of movie+time+no of tickets. Also - shorter queues when customers can purchase there tickets some days earlier and know the seats. Shorter queues means more concession, and also less staff selling tickets.  |  IP: Logged Paul J. Neuhaus Expert Film Handler Posts: 126 From: Iraq.. Again! Registered: Jun 2005 posted 06-09-2008 06:57 PM                     Hi, sorry it took me so long to reply. I was in the Pataya Beach area. I don't don't know the actual mall location. I just know that we took a Baht Bus from the Ambasador Hotel and passed a Tesco on the way. Hope that helps to narrow it down ... sorry not much info to give.  |  IP: Logged Poon Limpapun Film Handler Posts: 40 From: Pathumwhan Bangkok Thailand Registered: Nov 2007 posted 06-10-2008 11:59 PM                        Hmm.. Is the Cinema in a mall or an outdoor shopping center?  |  IP: Logged Paul J. Neuhaus Expert Film Handler Posts: 126 From: Iraq.. Again! Registered: Jun 2005 posted 06-27-2008 10:12 AM                     In the mall  |  IP: Logged Andy Frodsham Expert Film Handler Posts: 238 From: Stoke on Trent, Staffs, UK Registered: Nov 2006 posted 07-07-2008 03:48 AM                     Yes, we have assigned seating in our theatre (and have done so for 34 years)! We have customers who always use certain seats or have specific preferences (i.e near an aisle, or near the screen or near the back)! This is all done manually, using printed paper seating plans of our auditorium! There again, we can only accommodate 212 people, so we're not exactly a multiscreen megaplex! [ 07-08-2008, 03:24 AM: Message edited by: Andy Frodsham ]  |  IP: Logged Poon Limpapun Film Handler Posts: 40 From: Pathumwhan Bangkok Thailand Registered: Nov 2007 posted 07-08-2008 01:17 PM                        That's our cinema. Hope you've enjoyed it. The reason that we have to have assigned seating is that we have various seat types in one cinema screen. We have sofas at the top followed by extra large seats then the normal chair. We also charge extra for the seats in the middle aisle of the theatre/ the ones that have extra leg rooms.  |  IP: Logged David Kilderry Master Film Handler Posts: 355 From: Melbourne Australia Registered: Sep 1999 posted 07-10-2008 05:36 AM                        Allocated seating is common here in Australia, it died out for a few years but is now back in all major cinemas. There are no extra staff required over and above a usual busy time. Personally I prefer walk-up seating as I always arrive early and like to choose depending on the screen size and relationship to the seating. David  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 07-10-2008 08:52 AM                     I don't like assigned seating in movie theaters. I believe it should work "first come first serve." Assigned seating works against the customers who arrived at the theater early usually with more than enough idle time to buy stuff from the snack counter. When buying tickets for rock concerts I learned early on that it didn't do shit to arrive at the arena box office at "zero dark thirty" before tickets went on sale. Even if you were the first person in line when you got your ticket the fucking floor was already sold out, thanks to scalping companies and businesses that had certain deals with the arena. So it will be nice to arrive at a good movie theater half an hour early only to find all the "sweet spot" seats were sold out online a few days ago. Enjoy sitting over on the left end of the auditorium, Chester! Assigned seating in combination with online ticket sales would allow a customer to get one of the best seats in the house, yet arrive at the theater late -perhaps even after the movie has started. Overall the model encourages more in the way of stragglers arriving late to the movie and causing more audience disruptions. Why rush? The empty seat is there. Who cares about the first act of the show? But if they do actually care about the movie, they arrived at the theater late and won't have time to stop at that snack counter. The movie distributor got its money, the movie theater didn't. I can easily imagine how assigned seating will slow down the movement at the ticket buying line. You'll have groups of people trying to figure out where all of them can sit together. And you'll have the folks who can't figure out the metaphor of the seating diagram. I can also imagine lots of people wandering around in a dark theater while previews are running, squinting at their ticket stub and trying to figure out the location of their assigned seat. Don't drop your snacks while fumbling around! Obviously ushers with flashlights will need to be present to get all those confused customers seated before the show begins. But you know not all are going to be in their seats when the movie begins even after 25 minutes of previews. The only benefit I can see at all to assigned seating is that it may encourage people to buy tickets at off peak times, like during week nights or week days. Outside of that, I think its a silly policy that will result in some customers not returning.  |  IP: Logged Greg Anderson Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 766 From: Ogden Valley, Utah Registered: Nov 1999 posted 07-10-2008 01:49 PM                        Bobby, I had many of the same "reservations" about reserved seating that you have. But now I'm inclined to say, "don't knock it until you've tried it." It's still "first come first serve" but, now, showing up "first" is done weeks in advance using computers. Buy your ticket and reserve your seat and, presto, you can relax for a few days until showtime. Then arrive at the theatre on opening day within a reasonable time and you still get a great seat. I can't tell you how great it is not to wait in line for countless minutes (hours?) just to get a good seat on opening night. Reserved seating hasn't changed my habits at all when it comes to how often I buy popcorn when I go to the movies. Most importantly, reserved seating makes me more likely to go to a theatre rather than wait for the DVD because... A) I have a better expectation of enjoying the show when I know that I'll get a good seat. B) I'm not inclined to wait until the movie has been out for a couple of weeks so that I don't have to fight the crowds. If I did wait for the crowds to go away before seeing a movie I'd be more likely to just bag it and wait just a few weeks longer for the DVD.  |  IP: Logged Mark Hajducki Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 500 From: Edinburgh, UK Registered: May 2003 posted 07-10-2008 02:49 PM                     quote: This is all done manually, using printed paper seating plans of our auditorium! I remember the (charter) airlines using this method at their more remote outstations, with peel off stickers that were stuck to the boarding card. How well does the system work for advance bookings?  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 07-10-2008 07:34 PM                     quote: Greg Anderson It's still "first come first serve" but, now, showing up "first" is done weeks in advance using computers. Buy your ticket and reserve your seat and, presto, you can relax for a few days until showtime. To me it sounds more like a chore rather than a convenience. For one thing, it's a movie. It's not tickets to the opera or some live rock concert. Reserved seating or "reservations" also brings up the analogy between movie theaters and restaurants. Fine quality restaurants might be worth a reservation policy (not to mention a dress code). The Olive Garden isn't in that zone. Putting it bluntly, a lot of commercial movie theaters aren't delivering their theater experience anywhere near as well and consistent as the Olive Garden delivers on its dining experience. But yet that theater expects customers to make reservations? What about spontaneous customers? Folks who just decided to go see a movie that evening. Reserved seating gets in the way of that -well, at least if the customers don't care about getting stuck with bad seats. Sometimes I do the same thing. It's Saturday and I just decide, "hey, I'd like to go see a movie." But I'm picky about where I see movies and where I sit in the theater. Usually that only requires that I get to the multiplex 20-30 minutes before the show starts. The reserved seating thing will kill that whole idea. Oops. Didn't plan ahead. Guess I'll do something completely different that evening. Next thing you know the movie is coming out on Blu-ray.  |  IP: Logged John Hawkinson Film God Posts: 2273 From: Cambridge, MA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 07-11-2008 12:46 AM                     The theatre could hold back some blocks of prime seats and not permit them to be sold until an hour before showtime, and perhaps only at the box office. There are lots of ways to avoid some of the problems. I expect you have to try-it-and-see to really know. --jhawk  |  IP: Logged Andy Frodsham Expert Film Handler Posts: 238 From: Stoke on Trent, Staffs, UK Registered: Nov 2006 posted 07-11-2008 01:01 PM                     Mark, it really comes into its own with advanced booking. We have ticket books printed which contain all our seat numbers. Our 6 weekly programmes, listing all the coming films for that season, also contain a seating plan. People just phone-up and say they want to see a certain film. They then 'reserve' seat(s) for the performance. The reserved tickets need to be collected and paid-for 20 minutes before the performance. Any uncollected tickets are released for sale. If people phone-up and get the answering machine, they can still leave a message and reserve seats. In these circumstances we cannot always guarantee that their first choice of seat is available (we will give them other ones as close as possible). We do not accept automated online bookings. We also only deal with cash! We do not accept debit or credit cards (this keeps our costs down). It is, of course, also possible to buy any of the unreserved seats (or those uncollected reserved tickets) on the night itself!  |  IP: Logged

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