This is topic Old People in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 03-31-2000, 10:32 PM:
What is it with really cranky old people. Two of em came in and sat through "the hurricane", then came out complaining that we didnt turn the lights on fast enough. Like that would matter, old people cant move fast enough to hurt themselves in the dark anyway. That and they didnt buy anything from us, but did sneak in quite a bit of outside food.
My philosophy is simple. If you dont buy popcorn, I cant afford to turn the lights on. No corn, no light. Pretty simple math.
I am actually more surprised that they didnt complain about the fact that there wasnt one single hurricane in the movie, that it was actually about some guy in jail.
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"If it's not worth doing, I have allready been there and done it"
Posted by Andrew D'Vrey (Member # 285) on 03-31-2000, 11:23 PM:
LOL!!! One of our managers came out of that movie very dissapointed because she thought it was about the weather. I'll have to send her on over.Personally, I don't think it's just old people who complain. They just make more of a scene about it.
The only complaint that rings a bell for hurricane is a middle aged lady who wanted to buy a ticket. The ticket seller accidentally printed out the wrong ticket (Damn Radiant!) and the woman flipped..."The NAACP says white people do that on purpose. I ain't given my dollars to no white man film. You better void this ticket out and a hundred others and ring me up the right one so my man Denzel Washington can get the respect he deserves."
That *MUST* be why he didn't get the oscar. Shame on us.
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"And the monkey flips the switch."
- Major Don West, "Lost In Space"
Andrew D'Vrey
IATSE Local 219
Posted by Tom Ferreira (Member # 70) on 04-02-2000, 08:52 AM:
I guess that means that Next Friday should still be the number one movie in the country, if all those tickets sold to it didn't get credited to that damned Erin Brockovich.
Posted by Jim Bedford (Member # 4) on 04-02-2000, 10:07 AM:
Wow!! April Fools. "Cranky old people" and a race story.Are we sure this level of discussion is where Film-Tech should be? Gee, what about gum on seats, underwear under the back row and sneaking pets into theatres?
Perhaps "If it's not worth doing, I have allready been there and done it," and "And the monkey flips the switch" are closer to the truth. BTW, it's "already," not "allready."
Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 04-02-2000, 12:07 PM:
>>get the respect he deserves." <<Well, COURTESY (often confused with RESPECT) certainly is a two-way street. This concept gets thrown around a lot these days, usually as a large chip on someone's shoulder. The fact that respect is EARNED, has been lost sight of.
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Better Projection Pays!
Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 04-02-2000, 01:05 PM:
Jim Bedford wrote
>>Are we sure this level of discussion is where Film-Tech should be? Gee, what about gum on seats, underwear under the back row and sneaking pets into theatres?>>
Maybe we should have a film-tech ettiqute post as to the nature of subjects and maybe even to the level of rants
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-02-2000, 03:31 PM:
If the masses demand it, I can open up another separate forum specifically for "rants". Then again, perhaps I should just call it "stupid customers".Granted it isn't specifically related to the projection room and film, but very few operators are in positions where they don't have to deal with the customer's nonsense at least occasionally. Myself being a theater manager for several years can definitely attest to the annoyance of the general public. Thus, the reason I've never much felt it to be a problem.
If there are significant replies here wanting it separated (or is that "segregated" 
) then I will do so.
Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 04-02-2000, 04:10 PM:
As for my horrible error of spelling on "allready"... I will change it ... to "alllready"...Besides, i never had much use for the english language... all anyone understands in the universal language of $$$$$$$$... you have green and it doesn't matter how bad you spell...
....or if you stutttttter or cannot read very fast or look stupid in school because YOUR BRAIN DOESNT WORK LIKE THE REST OF THE WORLD!!! ok this is a personal rant, I am dyslexic and have been my entire life, and i stutter from time to time although it was rather pronounced as a child. So i dont worry to much about my spelling or minor grammatical errors, unless I am applying for a mortgage or SBA loan. If you can forgive my spelling and grammatical errors I will try not to rant like a raving lunatic....
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"If it's not worth doing, I have allready been there and done it"
Posted by Andrew D'Vrey (Member # 285) on 04-03-2000, 01:14 AM:
I don't think I've done anything much but rant my entire life. But if it pleases, I could try to tone down.------------------
"And the monkey flips the switch."
- Major Don West, "Lost In Space"
Andrew D'Vrey
IATSE Local 219
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-03-2000, 02:41 AM:
Sometimes it just helps to get the day's events off of your chest. It also commonly makes others feel better about their situation when they realize there's always some other fellow who's trying as hard as he can, but has it worse off.I see no real problem with it. This is a free country and I have no intentions of forcing "rules" or prohibiting "free speech" here unless it is really causing problems.
Posted by Tom Ferreira (Member # 70) on 04-05-2000, 01:31 PM:
I personally enjoy ranting. I could write a letter to the op/ed page of the paper, but the general public could care less. Now, the fellow denizens of Film-Tech-been there, done that.
I'm a manager/projectionist, that creature that some of you hate with a passion, but hey, it's my job, and I do the best I can. Besides, I schedule a projectionist whenever one is available, so that I can watch the floor. But when the damned CRC SuperPlatters or the Smart sound systems break down, I'm usually the one who has to deal with it. I also have to deal with concession problems, and this R-Rated crap.
A rant forum? I'm there.
Posted by Dwayne Caldwell (Member # 417) on 04-05-2000, 08:59 PM:
With all the ranting and raving inherent in the work place, or customer service in general, you might as well open up an entirely new web site. ------------------
The man with the magic hands.
Posted by Ky Boyd (Member # 23) on 04-06-2000, 05:53 PM:
Well here's a story related to the stated subject of this thread. The day after Hilary Swank won the Oscar for Boys Don't Cry business picked up considerably. In fact we had quite a few seniors show up for the Monday matinee. To their credit many of them knew what the film was about and stayed with it. I am, however, frequently amused at the number of people who come to see this movie and have absolutely no idea what its about. The seniors who left about 45 min into the film that Monday couldn't believe that "nice young woman won an award for such an awful movie." No I did not give them passes, but I did encourage them to come back and see The Straight Story - it seemed much more their speed, so to speak. But Boys Don't Cry has been an interesting title for us. Some people have asked if its based on a song of the same title by the Cure...I have no idea. Anyway, the older folks do come to the movies and some do buy popcorn - more of them need to. But even more of them need to find out what a film is about before they show up and pronouce it awful.
Posted by Jim Bedford (Member # 4) on 04-06-2000, 09:55 PM:
Thanks Ky, for turning a potential rant into a solid observation and clear suggestion. It is not always clear to those in the booth or managing theatres that the way this business works is that people, wonderful and assholes they may be, give us money to provide them entertainment for a couple of hours. Sometimes these people are rude and sometimes foolish and sometimes cruel, but the money they pay keep managers and projectionists getting regular paychecks, as meager as they might be. Most customers want to be told what to do (look how easily you can line them up at the ticket window or the concession stand) and to spend a few seconds with them and give them good info is often all they need to make them happy.As for the others, I guess that's why guns are still legal.........
Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 04-07-2000, 03:38 PM:
Conversation that actually took place at the box office this afternoon:Box office employee: "Welcome to Tinseltown, how may I help you?"
Customer: "One, please."
E: "What movie, sir?"
C: "Umm... That one with all the actors in it..."
E: "Excuse me, sir, ALL movies have actors."
C: "OH! Just give me the ticket!"
E: "Yes, sir. Which movie?"
C: "Umm... 'Return to Me!'"
E: "That'll be $4.50, please."
C: (Slaps $$ on counter, takes ticket and storms off.)
E: (Waits till customer is out of sight and falls on floor laughing.)
...And, no, the guy wasn't retarded or drunk or anything. He just looked like your average middle-aged man.
...Things that make you go, "HMMM!"
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-07-2000, 06:51 PM:
Many customers simply do not realize that each movie is made by a different studio and they must buy a specific ticket so the proper people get their money.I'll bet while the cashier was laughing the customer was saying something like "smart ass little $#!^..."
Posted by Tom Ferreira (Member # 70) on 04-08-2000, 08:49 AM:
And when they cross over auditoriums, and you explain to them that it's illegal, and why, they still don't understand.
The point is, why do people think they can do whatever they want in our theatres, when clear we have rules and policies the same as any other business?
The transaction is simple:customer purchases a ticket, maybe some popcorn, views the film, and leaves.
No one under 17 admitted to an R-Rated film unless accompanied by a parent-they don't like that, but it our policy.
No outside food or beverages-they sneak them in in defiance of our policy.
No switching auditoriums-not only is that our policy, but the policy of every movie theatre in the country.
We are the Rodney Dangerfield of the service industry.
Posted by Erika Hellgren (Member # 22) on 04-08-2000, 01:14 PM:
You all may hate me for this, but I encourage people to sneak their own food into my theatre, and I will do so until our employees figure out how to keep the place clean enough to not attract mice and other disease spreading critters (which will never happen 
). NO ONE should have to eat food from a place so unsanitary, I don't care if it hurts the company's profits.