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Author Topic: Belligerent people Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-23-2011 08:12 PM                        I think I've told this story somewhere on here before, but it deserves another airing here. We had a kid one time who got nasty and we tossed him out...his parting words were, "I AM NEVER COMING BACK HERE AGAIN!" My partner (at the time) Tom said, "Perfect, that's the way it'll be." Then a few weeks later the kid started dating one of our concession staff and wanted to come to the movie with her. Tom said, "Well, she can get in but you can't -- remember, you said you never wanted to come back here again." After two or three "ruined" dates, the kid came in to the office and apologized, so we let him come back and he turned into a pretty good customer after that.  |  IP: Logged David E. Nedrow Master Film Handler Posts: 368 From: Columbus, OH, USA Registered: Oct 2008 posted 02-23-2011 11:52 PM                        quote: Mike S 've got a different take on the outside food/drink thing ... Making a customer dispose of outside food / drink does NOT result in them suddenly buying something from the stand, I could care less about THEM buying something, than I am about allowing them to keep it and have it get around that we're a lawless frontier in Movieland. And, allowing them to keep it penalizes the people who do buy concessions, as I have to price my stuff to include lost revenue for the people we don't catch, but who leave an entire meal on the floor for us to clean up.  |  IP: Logged Joseph Pandolfi Expert Film Handler Posts: 213 From: Milford, CT. Registered: Nov 1999 posted 02-27-2011 05:06 PM                     We deal with outside food too at our place. Either we politely ask to dispose it or we will put it in the fridge for them and return it when they finish the movie. Sometimes you can't avoid them when they get away with it. About a month ago I seen two people enter the auditorium with a huge shopping bag. They sat down reached inside the bag and pulled out a mound of COTTON CANDY !! and started stuffing their faces. I'll dred when they sneak a barrel of KFC chicken and drop the bones on the floor for a person to trip and fall on.  |  IP: Logged Jeremy Weigel Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1062 From: Edmond, OK, USA Registered: Mar 2007 posted 02-27-2011 08:01 PM                     quote: Joseph Pandolfi I'll dred when they sneak a barrel of KFC chicken and drop the bones on the floor for a person to trip and fall on. A few years back we had someone that kept sneaking in the small 2-3 piece KFC meals packed in the small box. They always left the bones on the floor next to the box. Never did catch them.  |  IP: Logged Damian Thornton Film Handler Posts: 8 From: Moscow, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2010 posted 03-16-2011 05:54 PM                     Not exactly a "belligerent" customer, but that word always makes me think of folks who've had a bit too much to drink. About 11:30 on a night with a midnight showing (late 2008, Twilight maybe?) a drunk driver came barreling through the parking lot toward the theater, apparently not coherent enough to find the brake pedal. He jumped the curb and slammed into the cement wall about 20 feet from the box office entrance. His little car was totaled, and the first thing he said to the manager who got outside first was "hey man, help me push my car." Fortunately we had already seated for the showing. If it had been much sooner we might've still had a line wrapping around the building.  |  IP: Logged Michael Brown Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1522 From: Bradford, England Registered: May 2001 posted 03-23-2011 07:48 PM                     I've had a couple of "challenging" customers over the weekend. The first was with a guy over his popcorn portion. We use cardboard cartons for our popcorn and it is filled to the top when served to the customer. The said customer spend 5 minutes patting the side of the box and picking the box up and hitting it down on the counter until his box was three-thirds full, then demanded it was topped up. In the ensuing debate between him and me he ends up telling me I’m shit at doing my job because I won’t top up his popcorn. Tonight a lady orders a tonne of stuff, several drinks, a popcorn, 2 ice-creams and then has a problem (obviously) trying to carry it all on her own. Now if I’m stood behind the counter with plenty of other staff serving and no lines building up I’ll happily help someone take their stuff up the their screen, that’s great customer service can’t argue with that, but if there is only me and one other person working and there is a fair line of customers lining up then I can’t go anywhere. That is what this woman failed to realise. Looking at me and saying “What am I supposed to do?” is not going to help you. What annoyed me was the fact that she didn’t take responsibility for her own purchases. The fact that she had bought too much stuff to carry was MY problem not hers.  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 청주시, 경북도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 03-23-2011 11:16 PM                     I don't see why you debated him over a couple scoops of popcorn. And with the lady, perhaps saying "I'll help you carry these as soon as I am through with this line" would work, although if she's as dense as you imply then obviously it wouldn't.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 03-24-2011 12:41 AM                     Agreed that extra popcorn would've cost a penny and made the customer happy. The odd thing is I remember I used to teach my staff to tap down the buckets a bit while filling them. FWIW, I would have told the customer that I couldn't leave my station due to the line, but that if she wanted to leave a few items beside the register for a minute while she took half of her items and got her seat that would be fine. (It probably still wouldn't have helped, but hey. That is also assuming there wasn't an usher available to help, but in my situation if I was in the concession stand serving customers it meant we were short staffed for the turnout anyway.)  |  IP: Logged Michael Brown Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1522 From: Bradford, England Registered: May 2001 posted 03-24-2011 06:13 AM                     They are very strict on portion sizes, that extra scoop could have cost the company a penny but me my job. In the end we did find someone to help her carry he food to the screen, but as I say it just the fact that she thought she we were responsible that I found annoying.  |  IP: Logged Caleb Johnstone-Cowan Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 593 From: London, UK Registered: Mar 2006 posted 03-25-2011 09:11 PM                     With popcorn guy there's no way after such a display anyone behind the counter or working in the building is going to want to help him out. Our boxes are pretty sturdy and big so to squeeze 25% worth of air out would have made him look more than a little odd doing that on the stand. A simple shake of the box and 'can I have a bit extra please' would have got him his desired extra scoop.  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 청주시, 경북도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 03-25-2011 10:46 PM                     Sounds more like Michael was saying his bosses made it clear if he added more corn, they'd fire him.  |  IP: Logged Ron Funderburg Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 814 From: Chickasha, Oklahoma, USA Registered: Nov 2007 posted 03-25-2011 10:52 PM                        I had a call tonight from a distraught woman who was upset that her daughter was being accosted in the parking lot by a “Black Person” (insert proper bigot word) in our parking lot. The accosting was the girl was flirting with the guy and he was flirting back. The daughter didn’t report it that way I was in the parking lot when said accosting was going on. But the woman wanted something done about it. I explained that I was there didn’t see or hear any accosting. The back and forth went on for about 5 to 8 minutes me explaining that that everyone has a right to be here or there and we aren’t the police for her person likes and dislikes. She continued to hurl insults at me and an entire race. At last she accused me of being “Black Person” lover to which I replied that all people were worthy of love as God made all people and her anger should be directed at God then and not me. She yelled out some platitudes about my parentage as she slammed the phone down. Well you just got to realize some folks are ignorant!  |  IP: Logged Michael Brown Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1522 From: Bradford, England Registered: May 2001 posted 03-26-2011 08:55 AM                     quote: Chris Slycord Sounds more like Michael was saying his bosses made it clear if he added more corn, they'd fire him. Or at least get my ass kicked pretty hard. It's been laid out in several training sessions and memo's that we are not to give any extra scoops, and bare in mind while this is going on the other two staff members behind the retail counter were a supervisor and the duty manager. (so I'm on my best behaviour re portion sizing etc).  |  IP: Logged

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