This is topic rant on stupid customers in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Philip Wittlief (Member # 1724) on 10-05-2003, 05:44 PM:
 
Twice today out of only like 20 people I've had customers ask which size the middle popcorn is on our display. There's 3 different sized tubs next to each other each progressively bigger and there are 3 popcorn sizes, small, medium, large. How tough can it be to figure it out. This happens way too much for me to understand. Alright, I feel better now that I've complained. Anybody else have this happen? Or any other just idiotic comments. I know everybody does.

phil
 

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Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 10-05-2003, 06:46 PM:
 
Yah... happens here all the time. I especially like the ones that ask "what's your small"?, or "what's your large"?, when looking at the stacks on the wall... it's pretty much the same insanity.
 

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Posted by Chris Trainor (Member # 9) on 10-05-2003, 09:26 PM:
 
I just give them stupid answers along with stupid questions...

When they ask what's the small. I answer 'the little one'.

--Chris
 

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Posted by Robert D. LaValley (Member # 1867) on 10-05-2003, 10:04 PM:
 
Funny things I've heard customers say

When is the 7:00 showing of blah blah blah.....?

can you re-wind the movie so I can see the part I missed?

The vertical hold is gone.

cust says -- Do you take credit cards?
Reply -- sorry we don't even have cash registers.
cust says -- do you take ATM cards then?

The most interesting wasn't a stupid question.. just odd cause it never happened to me before but

"can I have extra butter in a courtesy cup? "
 

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Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 10-05-2003, 10:57 PM:
 
We used to have that question about butter all the time. I always wondered if they just wanted it for later or actually drank it. A shot of butter-flavored topping: yummy!

AJG
 

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Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 10-05-2003, 11:03 PM:
 
Oh my favorite stupid customer question was on a film that was color with black and white.

Someone came out and asked if we could do something about the color it keeps going in and out?
 

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Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 10-05-2003, 11:18 PM:
 
Philip, blame the fast food restaurants for this one! Several years ago, some fast food restaurants dropped the "small, medium, and large" for the three sizes and switched to "medium, large, and extra large". So, the middle one in the first case was medium, and in the second case would be large. I've heard customers ask that question many times in fast food restaurants, so I'm not surprised that they're asking it in theatres. Unless you have the sizes clearly labeled, don't blame the customers for this one. I admit that I've often identified which drink size I've wanted by pointing to the cup if I wasn't sure which size system a place was using.
 

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Posted by Richard C. Wolfe (Member # 431) on 10-06-2003, 12:32 AM:
 
Maybe you better keep an eye on what auditorium they go into. They might want to butter something other then the popcorn.
 

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Posted by Jarred Olsen (Member # 1833) on 10-06-2003, 12:34 AM:
 
Nothing beats a new Rated-R Policy!

*first day of new policy*

Them: "Two for Cabin Fever?"
Me: "Can I see some ID?"
Them: "I'm 18." *doesn't have ID*
Me: "Sorry, I can't let you in without a form of identification. We have a new policy."
Them: "But yesterday I got in without it!"

Or how about when their parents want their kids to watch a Rated R movie without them? Ooooooh!
First day of the new policy, we get this mom who wants her daughters to go watch Freddy vs. Jason (reason for new policy) We tell her they can't go in without a parent. She gets mad, demands that before they could go in without her. Reminds her of new policy. Wants to talk to the manager. Manager comes down, tells her the same exact thing we did. She leaves, comes back with 2 police officers! Yikes...
 

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 10-06-2003, 01:56 AM:
 
The most moronic customers I ever had appeared when I was looking after the box office during someone's break. They were a group of three teens; two girls and a boy. They wanted to see Mission Impossible 2 but it was sold out, so they asked what else was showing. I suggested Open Your Eyes (the Penelope Cruz thriller of which Vanilla Sky was a remake), to which the girl remarked that she'd heard about it on the Barry Norman show and wouldn't mind giving it a try. 'I'm not going into that pile of shite; it's in fookin' wop language with fookin' writing on the screen, innit?', objected one of her male companions. She corrected him by pointing out that the film was in fact Spanish. 'Alright then', he conceded, 'it's in fookin' dago language - but I still ain't fookin' watching it!'

I guess showing arthouse and mainstream under the same roof doesn't always work...
 

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Posted by Christopher Duvall (Member # 284) on 10-06-2003, 04:45 AM:
 
Jarrod, how can that be a new policy since the ratings have been place since the late sixties?
 

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Posted by Liam Utley (Member # 1931) on 10-06-2003, 04:53 AM:
 
We have a guy that works in our ticket box, and when he gives out the tickets he says to the customer "There are your tickets, you are in seat K6-8". If the customer replies "What are those seats like?" he replies "They're comfortable."

I once kicked a kid out of a cinema for sneaking in, and when i kicked him out he said "Why are you hassling me man? is it because I'm black?" The guy was as white as a ghost. I almost laughed until i realised he was serious.
 

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Posted by Dan Harris (Member # 1759) on 10-06-2003, 06:58 AM:
 

quote:

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Oh my favorite stupid customer question was on a film that was color with black and white.

Someone came out and asked if we could do something about the color it keeps going in and out?

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I had that numerous times with American History X. The most amusing was an elderly guy who complained that the "colour wasn't working" on the opening credits, and came back an hour later to complain that "the colour had gone again"
 

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Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 10-06-2003, 11:55 AM:
 
Not related to our industry, but there was once a little old lady who sat in Washington State Ferry terminal. She sat there for hours until one of the staff personnel noticed her. When the staff person asked if everything was OK, she said, "Are we in Bremerton yet?"

She thought she was on the ferry.

And then another time some lady who was standing on the "pickle fork" of the ferry asked a deck hand, "What is the elevation here?"

Oh, dear......
 

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Posted by Ron Yost (Member # 1850) on 10-06-2003, 02:18 PM:
 
Whatever happened to that little blanket policy sign:

"We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone."

It's probably not legal in these P.C. times.

Ron Yost
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-06-2003, 03:42 PM:
 
Every year our Chamber of Commerce sponsors a free matinee at Christmas time of whatever kids' movie we happen to be playing. I just punch up the tickets like usual, but don't collect any money...then the Chamber pays the whole thing. Of course, this show is always packed to the rafters with people lining up 4 or 5 hours early and we always have to turn a few people away.

We always publish the doors-opening time, with a note saying seats are limited, and to "come early to make sure you get a seat!"

A lady called me up last year complaining that her kids did not get in.

Lady: They had friends saving seats for them.

Me: That's not possible, we have 205 seats and there were 205 people in the theatre.

Lady: Well, I think it's terrible that you don't have enough showings that everyone who wants to see the movie can get in.

Me: Well, the Chamber of Commerce pays for everyone to get in, and the Chamber doesn't have unlimited money for this. Besides, the movie is showing all week so they could come to one of the other shows.

Lady: Well it's not FREE then! This has happened to my kids two years in a row!

Me: Maybe they should get in line earlier?

Lady: I'm going to write to the newspaper about this. I think it's awful the way you do this to kids.

(she hung up on me)

Needless to say, no letter ever appeared in the paper.
 

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Posted by Nicholas Roznovsky (Member # 861) on 10-06-2003, 03:52 PM:
 
That story reminds me of a woman who told me that the fact that we were sold out for an evening showing of Toy Story 2 was "un-Christian" and that I would "get what was coming to me."

Not exactly the most Christian way to express her anger, but I guess whatever works...
 

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Posted by Robert D. LaValley (Member # 1867) on 10-07-2003, 01:49 PM:
 
Oh another one.

Customer calls in and asks " I was wondering how much your seats hold? "

Reply " How many people in our auditorum do you mean? "

Customer " No, How much wieght? "

Reply (slighty stuned) " Umm.. Average person? "

Customer " You don't know an amount? "

Reply " How much are we talking here? "

Customer " about 400 to 500 pounds "

Reply " Um.. Of hand I wouldn't know. I know they hold 150 pounds.. "

Customer " Oh ok then, do you mind if I just bring my own chair then? "
 

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Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 10-07-2003, 02:37 PM:
 
Would you please!
 

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Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 10-07-2003, 04:54 PM:
 
I worked for a theater that a woman who was in excess of 400 pounds managed to squeeze somehow into the seats, then as she adjusted backwards they broke. She sued the theater and the theater settled out of court.

The reason they settled is because there was no sign saying that the seats have any maximum load capacity.

DOES ANY THEATER ANYWHERE HAVE THIS SIGN???

Dave
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-07-2003, 06:47 PM:
 
2 words: retractable armrests

I think the average weight of our audience here has increased since we installed them.
 

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Posted by Robert D. LaValley (Member # 1867) on 10-08-2003, 01:56 AM:
 
A friend from another theatre chain told me this one:

"I'm looking to find my daughter" - told to a manager by a creepy looking guy on a friday night.

"What movie did she go to?" - manager

"I don't know" - guy

"Was she by herself? What was she wearing? Do you know what time she was seeing a movie? " - manager

" Umm.. I know she came to this theatre.. " - guy

Needless to say at this point the guy couldn't give any infomation which made it awfully hard to provide any assistance.. So the manager said to the guy to call the cops to report her missing..

When you have 18 screens with movies on more then one screen what would you do to try to find someone without disrupting the whole place and not having any info ??!?!?1?!??
 

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Posted by David L Parlier (Member # 1944) on 10-09-2003, 04:34 PM:
 
I have seen my share of stupid customers. Here is my top ten list of stupid customer questions or comments.

10) A gentlemn walks into a full lobby asking, "Are you guys open?"
(No..we are here for the hell of it!)

9) I bet it sucks working Christmas Day!
(Gee...thanks buddy)

8) Are you guys getting the movie with you know that one guy.
(Maybe...check back next week)

7) What times do the movies start?
(What did you miss the 30 foot marquee sign in the parking lot listing the movies and their times?)

6) Is the movie inside?
(No...its out back)

5) Do you guys rent videos here?
(Yes...there out back)

4) Goobers! What are goobers?
(You have just recieved the tard of the day award sir)

3) Do you guys sell Coke here?
(The Pepsi signs located everywhere don't give it away!...oh damn...on second though I hope they were refering to the drink)

2) How did I get from Georgia to North Carolina?
(Ok...we are only located 15 minutes from the GA border and this comment came from a girl going to the rich stuck-up boarding school located about 20 mintues away. So, there is always a little friction between them and our local high schoolers. One of my younger employees responded with, "You see...you get out a little think called a map and look at it. The little bold black lines represent state borders. When you cross over them then you are in another state.")

1) This one is actually not a question at all! This woman comes up to the box office window wanting a couple of tickets. She then placed a huge bag of small change on the counter and pushes it towards one of my more interesting employees. Not wanting to count the hundreds of pennys he just stared at her and said, Nothing. He looked like "The Rock" staring somebody down during a wrestling match. This went on for about 2 minutes before the customer picked-up the bag and walked away.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-09-2003, 04:45 PM:
 

quote:

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one of my more interesting employees

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I don't even want to think about what that means.

To have an employee just sit there staring at someone until they pick up their bag of change and walk away is sorta, well, "rude?" As is the conscending comment about the maps.
 

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Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 10-09-2003, 06:26 PM:
 
I just wish I had the guts to rude to more customers, more often. Some of these people just don't seem to think.
 

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Posted by Michael Gonzalez (Member # 593) on 10-09-2003, 09:32 PM:
 
I got one. A couple of kids showed up to see a movie last week and they paid with dime, nickle and penny rolls and I happen to be working box. I accepted the rolls but told them (politely I might add) that we are not a bank and that in the future to PLEASE not bring rolls of change in the future. Well do think that was the end of the story, of course not. Later that night, the kids mother and demanded to know why I YELLED at her kids and how dare I treat my customers that way by not happily accepting their rolls of change. She runs a business and she would never dream of treating customer this way. I somehow manage to stay nice to her but of course I was tempted to ask here where she worked so that I could show up with a bunch of change to test her statement.
 

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Posted by Philip Wittlief (Member # 1724) on 10-09-2003, 09:38 PM:
 
Another thing that annoys me... not really customers being stupid but still annoying. When you ask if they want butter on their popcorn, the majority of people who don't make a big deal about saying 'no' as if i'm gonna go tell all their friends that they're pigs and got butter on their popcorn.
 

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Posted by David L Parlier (Member # 1944) on 10-09-2003, 09:59 PM:
 
Oh, I agree with you that the coin thing was rude and this employee was made aware of his incorrect decision. However looking back the incident was funny.
 

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Posted by Richard C. Wolfe (Member # 431) on 10-09-2003, 11:43 PM:
 
There are many things that I could add to this list of stupid things that patrons do or say, but I'll only list one at this time. I think I've heard this several hundred times during my 33 years here, and it amuses me the most.

There are almost always people out front waiting for the box office to open previous to the time that we advertise as our opening, and I usually open five to ten minutes early as it is. When those people arrive there are only a few clusters of lights lit on the marquee ceiling. They get to see the dark lobby become lit through the glass front doors. Suddenly the huge marquee lights up... hundreds and hundreds of bulbs begin to chase around the attraction panel or flash the theatre name on and off. Then the cashier and I come out the front door and she enters the box office. This being an old single screen we still have the box office out front at the sidewalk line before you get to the entrance doors. I go to the front of the box office and say "excuse me" to the person standing there, and then help the cashier remove the security cover from the ticket opening in the box office window. I then usually turn to that first patron and say something like "OK, we're all ready" and then turn and enter the theatre. I usually stand in the lobby to observe everything going on, and I see that first patron and their spouse, friend or child enter, give there ticket to the doorman, then cross the main lobby to enter the auditorium. As they enter the doorway to the aisle I will often hear one of them say to the other "OH MY GOD, THERE'S NO ONE HERE!"

I wonder... what do those people think we do, sell tickets earlier at the back door or what? They had to know that they were the first to be let in but are surprised that no one is there.

[ 10-11-2003, 04:54 PM: Message edited by: Richard C. Wolfe ]
 

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Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 10-10-2003, 08:05 PM:
 
Richard, that's funny! I'm rolling!
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-10-2003, 09:08 PM:
 
Richard -- that happens here, too.

We also have people walk out of the 7:00 show in the middle of the summer saying (with surprise) "Hey, it's still light out."
 

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Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 10-16-2003, 08:03 AM:
 
i didn't witness the incident itself, only the "after-party", but i'm pretty sure about what happened.

during mystic river, a customer fielded 2 calls on his cell phone, and carried on conversations of a couple minutes' duration in the back of the auditorium, generally pissing off about 70 people, despite being asked not to. after the second time, a ballsy lady demanded he give her his cellphone, which he did. when the credits rolled, he came to get his phone back and bitched the lady out for her intolerance. the lady's companion took offense at this, and in anger threw the phone (three cheers!), which fell apart, but didn't really break.

the cellphone user then brought the companion's behavior to the attention of management, and demanded she call 911 (!), which she rightly refused to do. it was amazing. the companion acknowledged he overreacted and offered to pay for the phone, but nothing would please the guy. we pointed out the incredible rudeness of talking on the phone in the theater. we offered to call the non-emergency police number to have them sort it out, ridiculous as the situation was. but for a good half hour he stood his ground until finally he just went to a corner pay phone and called 911 himself. of course the cops nicely informed him he was an idiot. when the cops finally left he came back and got the manager's information so he could sue her for not calling 911. it was a collossal waste of everybody's time, but rather amusing.

carl
 

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Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 10-16-2003, 11:24 AM:
 
That was a good example of cell phone rage!

Here's another one from yesterday's Boston Herald:

quote:

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Scream flick viewers witnessed some real-life violence Sunday when a Dorchester man stabbed a father whose sneakers were resting on the back of his seat - retribution for ignoring pleas to turn off his cell phone, police said.

"I guess you could call this phone rage," Randolph police Lt. Richard Crowley said. "You have to obey movie house etiquette: Turn off your phone and don't put your feet up."

It all began about 7 p.m. in the Showcase Cinemas on Mazzeo Drive when a Randolph girl put her feet up on the back of a movie theater chair, police said. A group of about five sitting in front asked her to take them down. She did.

They all settled in to watch "House of the Dead" when Jose Pujols' cell phone started to ring, police said.

"The girl's father asked him to put his phone away and he wouldn't and they got into an argument. (The father) put his feet on the back of (Jose's) chair," Crowley said.

"Jose pulled out a knife, turned around and stabbed him in the foot."

The 37-year-old man's sneaker got the brunt of the "large" knife, later recovered in the 27-year-old Dorchester man's truck, police said. The victim said he'd seek medical attention on his own.

Pujols was hauled out of the movie theater lobby and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and marijuana possession.

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quote:

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Carl: Where was that Mystic River incident? Mystic River went wide only yesterday -- your post hints that the incident happened last weekend in San Fran.

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quote:

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Twice today out of only like 20 people I've had customers ask which size the middle popcorn is on our display. There's 3 different sized tubs next to each other each progressively bigger and there are 3 popcorn sizes, small, medium, large. How tough can it be to figure it out. This happens way too much for me to understand. Alright, I feel better now that I've complained. Anybody else have this happen? Or any other just idiotic comments. I know everybody does.

phil

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quote:

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McDonalds " large " fry is the same size as the supersized one.

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• Pre-teen girls hanging around in the foyer. I had no way of knowing where the box office line began! Had a fire broken out a lot of people would have been killed.
• Adults who didn't know how to use the Swift Ticket machine. That made it much harder for me to buy my own ticket. Worse, these people had their little children tagging along.
• A little girl wanted to peep inside a hall playing The Matrix Revolutions. I chased her away by telling her "How old are you? You're not allowed to see that movie!"
• Another little boy blocked the door to the hall showing In the Cut. I had to shoo him away.
• Single mom brought her children with her into In the Cut. Worse, those kids wouldn't shut up even when I reminded them. This family left after 15 minutes -- they thought In the Cut was a slasher flick (which it's not).

Theater staff were of little help -- they weren't expecting such a heavy turnout. The police weren't around in the afternoon (when my show began) but were around at night.
 

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Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 11-09-2003, 12:19 PM:
 
Aside from the family in "In The Cut" those seem to be pretty minor incidents that take place all the time at theatres everywhere. I could make lists like that miles long for nearly every movie I ever see on a busy afternoon/night of business.

It's just a sign that general movie goers think their $8-$10 ticket buys them the right to run around the theatre like it's the Discovery Fun Zone or whatever "Kids crawl through tubes and slide down slides into a pool of plastic balls" joint exists now.

I do agree though that if the theatre had been more prepared, they could've handled crowd control a bit better. But really, does a busy theatre really need to prepare for crowd control? All they have to do is the same thing they did last weekend.
 

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Posted by Roger Katz (Member # 1625) on 11-09-2003, 02:47 PM:
 
I went to see Finding Nemo last week on election Day. Admittedly it is a children's movie, but the vast majority of children in the audience were very well-behaved. However, the theatre owner's six grandchildren who were tagging along with him for the day since schools are closed on Election Day were monsters. They were running in the aisles, behind the screen, and up and down the balcony staircase while shouting and bouncing on seats the entire time, since they had probably seen these movie numerous times as it has been playing there for a few weeks now. I couldn't believe the theatre owner permitted his grand kids to act this way in his theatre during a movie. For the $3 admission I'm willing to put up with the holes in the screen, the broken seats, and the 5-minute between reel delays that inevitably happen, but there was no excuse for this.
 

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Posted by Mark Huff (Member # 480) on 11-09-2003, 04:23 PM:
 
Why would you put up with 5 minute reel changes? Thats a very poorly run theatre. I coudn't watch a movie if I had to wait 5 minutes between reels.
 

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Posted by Roger Katz (Member # 1625) on 11-09-2003, 05:23 PM:
 
It isn't between every single reel, but at least once per movie there is a gap of 5 minutes (or more). During Jackass they had one on backwards and it took nearly half an hour.
 

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Posted by Mark Huff (Member # 480) on 11-09-2003, 05:39 PM:
 
Once per movie is still unacceptable. Is that the only theatre in town? I wouldn't pay a nickle to see a movie that was guaranteed to stop every show.
 

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Posted by Roger Katz (Member # 1625) on 11-09-2003, 06:13 PM:
 
Yes, a single screen subrun, it is the only theatre in a town of about 20,000. However, the city of 105,000 has two first run cinemas a 12-screen multiplex in a mall and a 10-screen multiplex that are 10 minutes away. The 12-screen is ghetto, though. Many people won't go there because of the clientele. It also has stadium seating, which I hate. Also, both are over $8 per ticket for an evening movie. I like the single screener despite it's flaws because of the cheap price and the fact that I like old theatres.
 

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Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 11-10-2003, 05:57 AM:
 
I've been working at a multiplex for a month now so I have a few stories.

Box office:

~All the people who ask for 'a' ticket to a movie.
If I'm working box and you ask for 'a' ticket, you get a full price adult ticket. If you wanted to claim a discount then you should have asked for it. You should have said "one student or one child" if that is what you wanted.

~The people who ask for tickets and don't bother to tell you what film they want to see. (mostly the seniors, plus you sometimes get families watching Finding Nemo)

~People asking if such and such a movie will still be playing in three weeks. They then get angry when you say you don't know the schedule that far in advance.

~People who blatantly haven't looked at the film schedule. Last week had some kids try and buy tickets for American Wedding. (which finished months ago.)

~Group of kids who didn't know who Michael Caine is.

~People who come to box office and ask questions like "Hey I'm looking for my friends. Did you just sell tickets to a group of kids about half an hour ago?" That was on a busy Saturday night. I must have had about 10 groups of kids in the last half an hour. Same goes for the guy who came up to ticket check and ask if a group of guys had gone into Matrix.

Concessions/Retail:

~We have self service drinks and popcorn (as well as counter service). It always amazes me how some people under-fill their containers. I watch with amazement when people leave like 2 inches of space at the top of their drinks cup and then go and happily pay for it. (mind you, I have had someone bring a half full popcorn tub up to the till and then expect to be charged half price.) I was serving nachos for someone a few days ago. They actually stopped me while I was scooping out nachos and said "thats enough please". Whatever, they are paying for it. But I don't understand. Similar thing happened when I was serving a guy a medium drink. He said "that's plenty" when the cup was like two thirds full. I bet the liquid would have just about fit into one of our small cups.

Ticket Check:

~I have no problem directing people to their auditoriums, it's good customer service but I'm still irritated by the fact that some many people need to be told what screen number their film is in. Look at your ticket, look at the big massive number printed in bold!

The Big Ticket Check rant:

~People who come as a group, but insist on individually having you rip the tickets. You get it alot with families. I've seen this happen. - Mother, Dad and like 4 kids arrive at ticket ckeck, mom is holding all 6 tickets. But instead of handing them to me in a bunch so I can quickly check em and rip em, she starts passing them out to the family. Then each kid (after she says "give your ticket to the mister") slowly hands me their ticket. By the end of it, it's taken 3 or 4 times longer to get the family trough than If she had just given me the bunch of tickets together. Please, if your in a group, let one peson have all the tickets.
 

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Posted by Dan Harris (Member # 1759) on 11-10-2003, 06:56 AM:
 

quote:

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Ticket Check:

~I have no problem directing people to their auditoriums, it's good customer service but I'm still irritated by the fact that some many people need to be told what screen number their film is in. Look at your ticket, look at the big massive number printed in bold!

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quote:

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~People who come to box office and ask questions like "Hey I'm looking for my friends. Did you just sell tickets to a group of kids about half an hour ago?" That was on a busy Saturday night.

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I like the "Have you seen a girl with blonde hair come past here". Hmm, its Saturday, there must be 800 people plus around, a lot of which I'll bet are girls with blonde hair. Can't remember them all!

Dan
 

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Posted by Richard C. Wolfe (Member # 431) on 11-10-2003, 10:13 PM:
 
Ah yes Bradford, I couldn't agree with you more about the families coming in with each one handing you their own ticket, but what is worse is when they give each kid their own money out front so they can buy their own ticket. Now the line has been slowed down twice! I often stand out front when it's really busy in order to keep the line moving smoothly. I will often announce: "Please have one person from your party purchase all the tickets for your group or family," as well as saying "Please have your money ready and the total number of tickets needed when approaching the box office." I will still see mommy handing all the kids, even young ones 5 or 6 years old, the money to purchase tickets... and when I ask her to please purchase all of them at one time I will get a retort... "but we just want to teach them how to handle money and verify change"... and I say "That would be fine if you were leaving a store or restaurant with a few people behind you, but please not at a theatre where there are 200 people in line behind you and they only have 7 minutes left to get in to the show on time."

They then give you a cold stare as they continue to hand out the money to the kids.
 

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Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 11-11-2003, 06:48 PM:
 
Today’s highlights include:

~Someone asking for a ticket to Seapigeon.

~Someone ringing up to ask for film times at Odeon Leeds Headrow. Surprising A: because it's not our cinema and B: because it closed down over a year ago. Now I could be proved wrong, but I really doubt that it's re-opened. Especially since there is now a 13 screen Ster Century 100 yards down the road. The lady on the phone rekoned she saw a film there last week. I rekon she forgot to take her pills last week.
 

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Posted by Paul Turner (Member # 832) on 11-12-2003, 02:04 AM:
 
When we were running the movie "Pecker," a very nice older woman came in and asked, "How long is John Waters’s "Pecker" and can we see it tonight?" She had no clue what she had just asked. Fortunately, the half dozen people in the lobby also figured she hadn’t grocked what had just come outta her mouth. I looked at her and said, "The movie is 88 minutes long and it plays again tomorrow at 7:00." She thanked me and left. As soon as she was clear of the door, everyone lost it. I'm sure she sat bolt-upright at 3:00 that morning realizing what she had asked. And no, I have no idea how long John Waters’s . . .
 

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Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 11-12-2003, 06:02 PM:
 
This week we are opening Luther. It was a film made for German television and has that bad video look. All the Lutheran churches in town called us about this film. So we called every Lutheran church and told them it was booked and then we got the church mailing list from the Press Democrat and sent all 120 churches a bunch of flyers. So we will see if that kind of direct marketing has any impact at all. Churches are funny, after I call them they call back and want the showtimes 2-weeks before we are opening it. I have to carefully explain to them that we don't set show times till the Monday before opening. Then after they have told me that we will make lots of money because of all the Lutherans that will be coming to see this film, they ask for a group discount.
 

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Posted by Erika McCarty (Member # 2006) on 11-12-2003, 08:16 PM:
 
My favorite customer complaint...that I needed to fix the "tracking" in one of my theaters. I guess he envisioned massive VCR's? Next thing I know they'll ask how to change the clock...
 

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Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 11-12-2003, 09:12 PM:
 
Ian, we just ended that. I don't how big of a churchgoing community your area has but if its any indication people around here aren't ultra-religous. We did HUGE business with this. I can't remember when we opened it, it was the same week as Secondhand Lions (too lazy to look that up right now). Luther outgrossed Lions that week.

You might want to reconsider staffing for that Wednesday; that day being the traditional day for bible study groups/confirmation classes our 7:00 show always sold out-in our biggest auditorium even.
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 11-12-2003, 10:40 PM:
 
Dustin -

Wisconsin is in the heart of "Lutheran Country" .... Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan have HUGE concentrations of Lutherans. There are probably more Lutheran churches in Wisconsin then there are in California.
 

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Posted by Richard C. Wolfe (Member # 431) on 11-12-2003, 11:36 PM:
 
Who is the contact for booking "Luther"? I had that info a month ago but seem to have lost it.
 

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Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 11-13-2003, 01:45 AM:
 
Mike, yeah, too many damn Swedes and Norwegians around here .

I don't know California demographics, if I had to geuss I'd say there are probably fewer people in Ian's area that go to church on a regular basis than there are here.
 

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Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 11-13-2003, 04:03 AM:
 
we didn't get particularly huge crowds for luther, and they were, according to some employees, a bit rude in general. but boy did they buy concessions.

carl
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 11-13-2003, 08:05 AM:
 
I know the release was handled by RS Releasing, though I'm not sure of any contact info for them.
 

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Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 11-13-2003, 01:05 PM:
 
We'll take concessions. I wouldn't have thought that from a church group.
 

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Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 11-26-2003, 06:54 PM:
 
Todays Lesson.

Pic & Mix goes in Pic & Mix bags.

Do not bring a handful of Pic & Mix over to me at my till. Put it in a bag. That's the whole point.
 

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Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 11-27-2003, 02:56 AM:
 
i know till is cash register but please translate pic & mix into american.

thanks,
carl
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 11-27-2003, 05:27 AM:
 
My guess would be bulk candy
 

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Posted by Stephen Furley (Member # 1277) on 11-27-2003, 06:01 AM:
 
That sounds like you're buying it by the truck-load!
 

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Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 11-30-2003, 12:26 PM:
 
How about trying to put a $20 bill into the Swift Ticket kiosk? That's what one lady did yesterday at the AMC Clifton Commons. She looked embarrassed when she found out the Swift Ticket was credit cards only.
 

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Posted by Travis Hubrig (Member # 1745) on 12-04-2003, 05:53 PM:
 
Customers aren't stupid... they're just customers

I had a phone call earlier today,
customer:"What time is Gothika?"
me: "7:00 and 9:30"
customer:"anything in the afternoon?"
me: "no, I'm sorry."
customer: "7:00," pause "is that in the morning?"
me: "that would be kinda silly!"

She hung up on me.
 

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Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 12-06-2003, 02:47 PM:
 
From the last week or two:

------
Me: And from next week we just have one showing each day at 2 o'clock.
Customer: Is that in the afternoon?

------

This amused me:

5pm showing of Elf

Customer: What time does that finish?
Me: 6:40pm
Customer: Woah! That's a really long film!

(1h 40 minutes is really long?? ) Obviously someone who doesn't go to the cinema much.
 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 12-08-2003, 10:43 AM:
 
December 6, 2003. Approximately 7:35pm.

I get a call over the radio that the cashier needs me up front. This cashier happens to serve as a shift leader, so I knew that it must be a pretty major issue for him to call me. I get up front and a woman (in her late 40's to early 50's) comes in at me with newspaper in hand.. Before I even get a chance to inquire as to how I can help her she berates me about this being the SECOND time that times were wrong when she came to see a movie. She also threw at me the fact that she was "local" and named a few restaurants (like I gave two 's). Being that I had already checked the daily paper, I knew that she was incorrect, so I asked her if she had checked todays paper... "No, I looked at Kicks (weekly entertainment insert w/ times and feature reviews/etc that is in the paper each Friday) yesterday". I began to tell her that times are subject to chzange daily when I was rudely interupted and told "Don't give me that crap that times change daily--that's just BULL" the woman blurts out.

OK... so I see that this lady is beyond working with... so I pick up my copy of todays tear sheet and point out that the times are, in fact, correct and I'm sorry that she somehow has made a mistake... Upon doing so, I realize that the paper she had pushed in my face was from NOVEMBER 21 . I pointed out "Ma'am, I think the probelm is that your paper is from 11/21".

With a puzzled look on her face, she began to stammer and him-haw around.. but never really offered a sincere apology, which is fine becuase it gave me great pleasure to make her look like such a stupid winch in front of her husband, who stood there with a blank look on his face. (I saw immediately who wore the pants in the family )

It's sad that people act this way. It's even worse that they act like this in front of their own GRANDKIDS! I didn't mention that part earlier. Needless to say, I found a show that started close enough to the time they arrived so that they would not miss anything other than a few previews and sent them on their way.

The whole thing had me a little at first, but after she walked away, I got a huge out of how stupid she had made herself look not only in front of me, but he general public, her husband, and her grandkids and their friends.

Some people!
 

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Posted by Kelly Skaggs (Member # 1780) on 12-09-2003, 06:27 PM:
 
I am going back a few years for this one. It is Christmas day, looking over our past few years of business for the day we figured we would do about 1000 people for the matinee. We in reality did 4500 for the matinee, and had the staff for 1000. Only one person complained about us being so understaffed, and he was yelling at an usher about the situation, when I interrupted and asked him if there was something I could help him with he started to wimp out on his tyrant. He finally said to me I think should have called in more staff, I replied "It is the damndest thing I have ever seen, all my staff requested the day off, is there something going on I do not know about?" After that a few of our other patrons overheard us and started to laugh and clap for my reply.
 

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Posted by Brad Allen (Member # 470) on 12-09-2003, 08:08 PM:
 
Guy comes up to the box office, leading his wife and Say's with a straight face. "My wife is blind in one eye, can she get in for half price?"

Heard a couple of thousand times as patron picks up the SALT shaker for the popcorn "Is this cheese?"

Adults asking for Gobstoppers "Give me a box of them goobsters."
 

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Posted by Daniel Wright (Member # 1983) on 12-09-2003, 08:51 PM:
 
What really bugs me is when parents bring small children into R rated movies. When I went to see The Texas Chainsaw Massacre there were school age kids in there. I think even if it means loosing a ticket sale sometimes it would be better to take a stand and tell a customer to find a sitter.
 

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Posted by Scott Balko (Member # 438) on 12-09-2003, 09:51 PM:
 
Had a guy come in and ask if I would throw his bag of "ACT II" in the microwave for him. I should preface by saying that he started his request with, "I hope this doesn't sound stupid, but...". Right on, pal.
 

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Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 12-09-2003, 11:27 PM:
 
...probably a well-worn issue, but...
Any theatre that actually DOES enforce the "no outside food or drink" signs at their doors & boxoffice displays probably gets a bunch of this:

1. If they get past you and get their stuff into the auditorium, they consider themselves "home free", and really cop an attitude when told they need to take their stuff back to their car.

2. The ones who insist on arguing the point, even after being (pleasently, but firmly) told that the problem started, not when they were confronted with their contraband, but rather when they chose to pass the signs and test whether they actually were meant for THEM.

3. These are the best... if you have time to deal with the crap... or are allowed to:
"Well... YOU DON'T SERVE __________________ AT YOUR SNACK BAR", so I had to bring my own.
Last week, I had that line used on me, as a way to explain why the customer felt she was justified in bringing in her own " fresh-brewed tea ". I said, "Yes maam... that's true. We also do not serve cheese burgers and pizzas, and you won't be allowed to bring them in, either".

It's amazing how many people try, though!

Oh, yeah... the guy with the microwave popcorn... good one! Some years ago, we had someone come into our drive-in concession with half a pizza he'd bought at one of the area stores... and wanted us to "heat it up" for him.
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 12-10-2003, 12:35 PM:
 
All the problems of stupid customers comes from them thinking your theater is a "public place" so they can have the utmost disrespect for it. One sign would solve it all:

"This establishment is NOT a Public Place. It is owned by me. Therefore, it is MY place. And I can kick you out of MY place if I want to for whatever reason. Be on your toes."

As for outside food or drinks, I'll add few more. I told this woman she couldn't bring in her bottled water, something we also sell. She flips out, "BUT I am PREGNANT!!" and she got mad when I respoded, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Perhaps everything will work out."

Then you get those people who keep walking. Despite the HEY or the EXCUSE ME or the SIR I NEED YOUR DAMN TICKET BEFORE YOU DART PAST ME WITH YOUR PIZZA... Those people just need to be kicked out. Period. With a trespass warning. If you do decent numbers on the weekend, you don't need one more asshole who doesn't even buy your food.

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Jean-Michel Grin (Member # 1360) on 12-11-2003, 06:44 PM:
 
One day a women came to the ticket box and asked to the cashier:

Women: I want a ticket for the "Lion king"
Cashier: I'm sorry madam, we don't screen this movie from longtime ago,
W: I know what I say, i'm not stupid, sell me a ticket !
C: I'ts impossible madam, we don't play this movie anymore
W: (starting to yell and hurry) I got here with m, a newspaper with all scheduling times, and is indicated that you' tehater showing this film !
C: Could I see your newspaper please ?
The women give the newspaper to the cashier:
C: Madam, Your newspaper is old than more one year ago !
The women turn his face, white like a gost
 

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Posted by Liam Utley (Member # 1931) on 12-11-2003, 10:29 PM:
 
Maybe she was cryogenically frozen for a year.

here's one of my favourites:

Me: This movie is 15+, can i see your ID please?
Kid: sure (shows me ID)
Me: And you?
Kid's brother: Oh, we're twins
Me: OK, so you were born on the same day?
Kid's brother: no
Me: so how are you twins?
Kid's brother: We're half-twins
Me: What are half-twins? this makes no sense to me...
Kid's brother: People say we look the same.
Me: Get away from me.

I got a laugh from the other people in line.
 

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Posted by Mark Hajducki (Member # 1732) on 12-12-2003, 08:26 PM:
 
Customer: Do you have anything for the unemployed?

The staff member passes an application form to the customer
 

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Posted by Matthew Peters (Member # 1495) on 12-12-2003, 11:35 PM:
 
Just last week I was letting people into Kill Bill. A man hands me a ticket for 3 admissions and says my wife and son are on their way, I let him in.

After five minutes the film (the trailers not the feature) starts and the wife and kid show up and enter the cinema. The child is 3 years old.

How stupid and irresponsible can you be to take a 3 year old to an film.

I politely informed them that their son was not able to see the film or even be inside the auditorium. After she argued that this did not apply to her son because she was accompanying and had a bitch about the box-office procedure she got a refund and left.
 

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Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 12-13-2003, 02:24 AM:
 
i assume that policy is posted at the box office, since it differs from the mpaa guidelines, and certainly is not a law. of course, it's a far greater chance that 3 year old will be a nuisance than get anything out of the film, and measures should be taken to ensure your theater isn't used in lieu of a sitter.

carl

edit: ah, i see you are in australia. so you guys have an "r" as well, huh? who determines that? the government?
 

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Posted by Matthew Peters (Member # 1495) on 12-13-2003, 08:46 AM:
 
Our classifications come from The Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification. Every film, video and computer game that is legally available in Australia, whether it is produced locally or comes from overseas, has to be classified by the Classification Board before it can be made available to the public.


Our <R> rating is slightly different to the mpaa’s it is the highest rating that a feature film can be awarded. For these films you must be over the age of 18.

EDIT: Shops or cinemas can be charged if they allow young people under certain ages access to material that is legally restricted.
 

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Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 12-14-2003, 02:27 AM:
 
are there really no exceptions to the mandatory classification? what are the implications for "independent" cinema and art? over here, i can make a no-budget scratch film and play it to the public, if i can find a cinema to play it. if i had to jump through hoops and pay fees, that would be the end of that. what about literature? is that just an outdated name or is there really no semblance of a free press?

how strict are they about certificates in the u.k.?

carl
 

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Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 12-14-2003, 07:57 AM:
 
In the uk?

They are pretty strict. For anything to play in the cinema it must have been classified by the BBFC. Same goes for videos although some types of videos (typically factual titles such as exercise videos etc) are exempt from classification.
 

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 12-15-2003, 04:08 AM:
 

quote:

---

For anything to play in the cinema it must have been classified by the BBFC.

---

That's not technically true. Under the 1909 Cinematograph Act (amended countless times - its present incarnation is the 1985 act, now in force), cinemas have to have a licence to operate issued by the local council. Without one it is illegal to admit paying members of the public onto any premises to see a film show. The council puts a number of terms and conditions in that licence, one of which is (usually) that you observe the certificates issued by the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC), or any decision made by the council itself. Councils can and sometimes do overrule the BBFC on controversial films.

The BBFC is an independent, non-profit organisation which finances itself through the fees paid by producers to have their films and videos classified. As far as films shown in the cinema are concerned, its decisions have no legal force. So, for example, when Crash came out in the mid-'90s, the BBFC passed the film with an 18 certificate, but a few right-wing councils banned it from cinemas in their area. The same thing happened with Romance if I remember correctly, albeit on a smaller scale.

So by defying the BBFC's ruling (e.g. admitting a child to an 18-certificated feature showing at your cinema), you are probably breaking a condition of your licence (and thereby risk losing it), but you are not committing a criminal act in itself.

This is not the case with rental and retail videos, which are covered by the 1984 Video Recordings Act. This gives the BBFC's classifications legal authority - you are committing a criminal offence by supplying an 18-rated video to a 13 year-old, for example.
 

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Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 2038) on 12-16-2003, 02:43 PM:
 
Back to stupid customers:

Our weekend matinee regular crowd of seniors milks every last cent from their $3 ticket. Most read the credits to the end. There have been a couple who, after seeing the rating on the tail, went out and complained that if they knew it was an R they would have never come to see it and demanded their money back. AFTER they saw every last frame of the print.

I always wondered just what purpose a rating on the very end had. A little late, don't you think?

People have demanded money back for movies they didn't like for years here. It doesn't work though, sorry, now scram. Gripe about the $3, gripe about the movie, NOT buy a single concession but smuggle things in and leave a mess on the floor.

"Excuse me, but what theatre is this show in?" (We're a single btw). "Right straight ahead ma'am, through those doors right there."

Sign says: MATINEE all seats $3. "What? No senior discount?" "No, all seats are $3 for the matinee." "But I want a senior discount!" "Are you sure you are a senior ma'am?" "Huh?" "Well, since you get discounts all over town, we always charge seniors more. Are you SURE you want the senior price?"
 

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Posted by Robert E. Allen (Member # 1351) on 12-16-2003, 03:34 PM:
 
C'mon Gary, don't paint us all with the same brush.
 

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Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 12-16-2003, 04:48 PM:
 
Gary, Some people tell me I have magical powers.

So tomorrow morning when you wake up you will be 70 years old and be wearing depends.
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 12-16-2003, 04:59 PM:
 
Hmmmm... from Neptune... is that the Planet?

And yes Bob, you do have magical powers...that's why we call you "Tinkerbell."

>>> Phil
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 12-16-2003, 06:59 PM:
 
Our Senior Citizens are some very nice people, but Gary's right about one thing...they spend nothing at the snack bar. Not even a bottled water.

The thing that irritates me the most is, when they see a movie they like, they'll say "Now, why don't you get more of THAT KIND of movie in?" Like we can just pick the "kinds" of movies off the shelf. I always say, "Well, if they make'em, we'll play'em."
 

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Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 12-18-2003, 09:33 PM:
 
Tonight we had a customer who had an outside drink from Long John Silvers,

I found this in the prieviews and politely informed her of our no food and drink policy.
She then informed me that she needed it because she had diabetes. I then told her" Maam, we have a large selection of drinks at the concession stand with sugar in them."

I was then told to "JUST TAKE IT!" I took the cup, threw it away, and was followed by the customers daughter who chewed me out for following Carmike policy. She said that they had come to the theatre fpr years and never had a problem before. I then said we have 4 signs posted before you enter the auditorium. That's the policy and I follow it.

Needless to say I never heard from them again.
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 12-18-2003, 09:39 PM:
 
Richard -

That is just piss poor customer service. If they are already in the auditorium, forget about it ... maybe ask politely if you catch them at the door.
 

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Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 12-18-2003, 09:43 PM:
 
Mike,

My manager tells me to make rounds of the auditoria every so often and if I find anything, outside food or drink, rowdy customers, cell phone usage, etc. To handle it as politely as possible. I have removed a burger king meal from a customer right in the middle of LOTR. I am just doing what I am told.
 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 12-18-2003, 09:57 PM:
 
Mike,

I see what you're saying, but I can't necessarily agree. Just because you might not see them coming thru the door with something that, quite possibly, could have been concealed, does not mean that you shoudl not take corrective action when you find that policies are being broken.

Allowing someone to get away with a violation "just because they made it to the auditorium" is, in my opinion 'piss poor customer service" to all the customers who SUPPORTED YOUR CONCESSION STAND. I think Richard did the right thing in pointing out to the customer her wrongdoing.
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 12-19-2003, 08:15 AM:
 

quote:

---

Sign says: MATINEE all seats $3. "What? No senior discount?" "No, all seats are $3 for the matinee." "But I want a senior discount!"

---

Haha! I worked at a place that had the same prices for everyone. People would moan that we don't give a child/senior/military/student/humanoid discount. I just explain to them that, "It's not that we DON'T give a discount, we just charge everyone the child price." -- "What?" -- "Yeah. Our child price is $4. So we don't charge anyone any MORE than that." They seem satisfied with the answer.

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 12-19-2003, 08:26 AM:
 

quote:

---

I found this in the prieviews and politely informed her of our no food and drink policy.
She then informed me that she needed it because she had diabetes. I then told her" Maam, we have a large selection of drinks at the concession stand with sugar in them."

---

What did she have in that cup. Saying she needed it for her Diabeties is a lame excuse. For one. Diabetics do not need the sugar from soda pops. Two, those who are on insulin that can cause one to go into a hypoglycemic condition will normally carry Glucose pills or candy bars with them for that quick sugar adjustment that they may need.
 

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Posted by Polona Kuzman (Member # 2091) on 12-21-2003, 02:30 PM:
 
No food, drinks or cell phones allowed in our cinema. It solves the problem of the inside/outside food/drink.

P
 

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Posted by Jeff Joseph (Member # 511) on 12-21-2003, 09:36 PM:
 
Darryl:

.....Diabetics do not need the sugar from soda pops....

========

Are you a doctor? Diabetics most certainly CAN drink sugar from soda pop. Sugar is sugar. If a diabetic feels light headed and they think their blood sugar is low, a Coke can be a life saver. Was this customer telling you the truth? I have no idea. But I would have for sure let her keep the drink. What if she WAS telling you the truth? Why take the chance? Was she violating your theatre's policy? Yes. But really, this is minor. You should have just asked her not to do it again and let her keep it.

Jeff
 

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Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 12-21-2003, 10:03 PM:
 
I think the point was she could have complied with the theatre policy and purchased the needed beverage inside. Now then, if she had a prescription that said only Long John Silvers drinks will do then by all means let her pass. But otherwise it's just an excuse. There are always people who think the rules are for everyone but themselves.
 

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Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 12-21-2003, 10:36 PM:
 
No I am not a doctor I am diabetic. If you drink soda pops on a regular basis it will screw up your blood sugar. The key is to keep it under control. To much suguar will screw it up. You can use glucose tablets to do the same thing to boost your sugar if low same as a candy bar. Those on oral meds don't have as big of risk of low blood sugar as those on insulin.

One 12 oz can of soda pop is about equivilant to 9 teaspoons full of sugar. My sentence in question should have stated excess sugar from soda pops. I am not saying they can't drink it. You just can't have it like a non diabetic would drink it.
 

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Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 12-22-2003, 12:22 AM:
 

quote:

---

No food, drinks or cell phones allowed in our cinema. It solves the problem of the inside/outside food/drink.

---

I'll take it one step further....

Bring your own food.... bring your own drinks.... better be prepared to bring me $4.00 (It's our policy)


Sneak them in and I catch you... OUT YOU GO... (It's our policy)
 

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Posted by Jeff Joseph (Member # 511) on 12-22-2003, 12:40 AM:
 
As a diabetic, you must be aware that sometimes... even if you are careful... stuff happens. Extra stress, exercise, illness, whatever. Stuff happens. And if the only sugar available is a Coke, then you drink a Coke.

And if a customer tells me that she's a diabetic and she needed this drink in her hand to help her at that moment... I would leave her alone.

Maybe she is lying. Could be. Maybe she's telling the truth. But good heavens, why take the chance?? It's simply not that important a thing to take a stand on. Just politely tell her that you hope she feels better and move on.

Does she get away with something? Maybe. So what? On the other hand, maybe she was telling you the truth and you got to be kind to her.

Jeff
 

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Posted by Liam Utley (Member # 1931) on 12-22-2003, 04:11 AM:
 
I wouldn't ask people to get rid of outside food/drink during a movie if it was going to distract other patrons. What would you rather have, a patron in there with a burger king coke, or 20 angry patrons wanting refunds after someone made a big deal about a coke which ruined the movie for everyone around?
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 12-23-2003, 12:33 PM:
 
Latest stupid customer story: a man goes into a video store to rent a copy of "Seabiscuit." Unfortunately, he doesn't remember the title correctly and, instead, asks for "Seaweed." The clerk was very confused and responded with "we don't have that."

(This is apparently true, according to my father, who witnessed it.)
 

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Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 12-23-2003, 07:27 PM:
 
The clerk should have said, "Would you like Seaweed on DVD, VHS, or nitrate?!?"
 

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Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 12-31-2003, 03:13 PM:
 
Yesterday- It was a fairly busy day. The only unusual aspect of the day was that our TV monitors (that show the film times) were out of order. I was amazed by the number of people that came up to me (while I'm working at a station on box office) and asked if we were closed! (bear in mind that our neon lights are switched on, there are lots of other customers in line at box office and there are lots of people around in the foyer and buying concessions right in front of these peoples eyes.)
 

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Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 01-05-2004, 10:05 PM:
 
I give you the following scene. A transcription of actual events when I first began as an usher...

INT. CINEMA - NIGHT
A customer aproaches an usher.
CUSTOMER: I can't seem to find my daughter, she's about 5 feet tall with dark hair and a black jacket. Have you seen her?
USHER: No, ma'am. I'm sorry, I havn't. What movie were you guys watching?
CUSTOMER: Sweet Home Alabama at 7:30. Is there a way you could page her?
USHER: Actually, there isn't. Sorry about that.
CUSTOMER: Why not? This is a big building, you should be able to page someone!
USHER: Well, you see it would severely disrupt the 13 other films that are playing. I'm sorry, but it's just not something that you'd find in a theater.
CUSTOMER: Well that's just silly. Can I talk to your manager please?

USHER SLAPS FOREHEAD WISHING IT WAS CUSTOMER
 

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Posted by R. Andrew Diercks (Member # 1725) on 01-06-2004, 10:24 PM:
 
I'm a little late on this one, but I recently had a gentleman claim the diabetic reason for having a soda. He said he needed the sugar free soda. I explained that we have those options available as well as water. He then claimed that he was allergic to caffeine so the sugar free options I had weren't sufficient. After I took 4 other sodas from his family, I explained that I will look into a caffeine free diet soda, but I am not inclined to believe this was his only reason since the rest of his family also smuggled in soda, some of which we offer. I did also explain that next time he could keep his option as long as his family complied with the policy. After being very pissed at first, he left understanding and happy.
 

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Posted by Linda Welch (Member # 2088) on 02-10-2004, 12:07 AM:
 
I had a brilliantly stupid customer today. Actually, I don't know if she qualified as a customer, since our interaction was only on the phone, but here goes . . .

Me: *standard canned greeting*
Customer: I couldn't understand your recording, he was talking to fast, what times are you playing Barbershop 2?
M: The first show is at 1:00, the next one is at 4:00.
C: How long is it?
M: It's 2 hours, ma'am.
C: So, if I go to the 1:00 show, what time will it be over?
*****WHAT??????? You're kidding me, right?????*****
M: (after pausing, hoping she'll say, just kidding, or silly me, or some other self-mocking remark) The 1:00 show of Barbershop 2, which is 2 hours long, will be over at 3:00.
C: Thanks.
*click*
Um, okay . . . WHY did I answer the phone????
 

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 02-10-2004, 12:16 AM:
 
"How long is it"... referring to the length of the feature.

"When will it be over"... referring to the extra time usually incurred by the barrage of ads and trailers that the public has come to expect.
 

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 02-10-2004, 02:31 AM:
 
A chat with Peter Hall over the weekend touched on an, erm, 'mutual acquaintance' from several years back which put this one into my mind - an incident which took place in the bar of a two-screen arthouse. It tended to attract 'blue rinse' tea drinkers in the afternoon and arty/studenty types in the evening. Late one Saturday there were a group of about five sitting in an alcove sofa, most of whom were getting pretty efficiently drunk and who also appeared to be smoking stuff they shouldn't, too. One of them attempted - with great effort - to walk to a neighbouring table to say hello to someone. In doing so he dropped his pint of beer, with the result that the bartender had to stop what she was doing (abandoning a queue of irate customers) and mop up the mess.

About 10 minutes later this bloke got up again and headed for the bar (presumably for a refill). He was very unsteady on his feet by that time. Just as he reached the bar he knocked over an ornate table lamp, shattering its glass shade into several thousand pieces which scattered far and wide. At this point my colleague, who was on a coffee break, turned round to him and virtually screamed, 'LOOK, WHY DON'T YOU JUST FUCK OFF AND DIE, ALRIGHT?'

The Basil Fawlty approached worked - we never saw him again.
 

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Posted by Sam Johnson II (Member # 2157) on 02-10-2004, 09:16 PM:
 
One day I was working box office, and sold some tickets to a lady about an hour before her show started. She then asked, "Can we go and eat before we watch the movie?"

I almost burst out laughing. I wanted to say, "No. You see, if you read the back of your ticket carefully, you'll clearly see that, once tickets have been purchased, you are contractually bound to stay at the theater and not leave until the credits of your movie have finished. Violating this implied agreement will result in a lawsuit."

But I instead replied, "Of course." If we could only have our own way with customers...well, we'd be out of business, but it'd make for some great times
 

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Posted by Michael Gonzalez (Member # 593) on 02-24-2004, 09:01 PM:
 
A customer calls and asks if "The Passion" is going to be in English or some foreign language. When I told him that the movie is going to be subtitled, he voiced his displeasure and then asked this gem... "When The Passion comes out on DVD will it be in english?"
 

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Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 02-28-2004, 10:36 PM:
 
I got a good one from tonight.

I go into 50 First Dates before the show to check for outside food and other disturbances. There is a little girl in the front row with some fun size candies (Snickers, Reeses, Etc.)

I tell her she can't have the food in there and she asked if fhe could put it under her seat. I told her that she could hold the candy in there if she promised me not to eat it in the film.

I made the rest of my rounds and came back in the theatre and checked with the girl again. She had her friend there and they were eating the candy. Told her about the policy. Got some attitude from the girl's friend. I asked her to come to the box office and put the candy in a bag to hold till the end of the show.

Going back to the film, she went into the Passion to tell her mom. Here mom comes out and starts chewing me out. Nice little interlude of her screaming at me. Told her to see my manager to allievieate the situation. She goes out and starts screaming at the manager that she spent 10.00 on soda and popcorn and wasn't going to spend 5.00 on candy.

Manager sided with me on the situation and the lady finally stopped after missing about 15 mins just to yell about this issue....

People are so stupid sometimes
 

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Posted by Brad Allen (Member # 470) on 02-29-2004, 12:28 PM:
 
This reminded me of the favorite mom's that come through the concession line with kids. And it's always when there's 40 other people waiting in line behind her.

Mom says "Pick out something from the candy case". Kid points to some item. Mom says "No you can't have that, pick something else". Kid thinks for an eternity, then points to something else. Mom says "No, you can't have that either, Pick something else". this continues until the kid has pointed to almost everything in the candy case. AWWWWWWWWWWWW, Tell the kid what he CAN have. Geez.
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 02-29-2004, 01:24 PM:
 
Man, for Mel Gibson's sake, it was a little girl with candy! Was it really worth all of that confrontation just to show that you can enforce a policy? I can see if someone comes in with a bag of chips or sodas, but fun-sized candy?!?

And to allow her to "hold it under her seat" if she "promised not to eat it?" You were asking for it.

And she did buy other concessions...

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Emma Tomiak (Member # 1862) on 02-29-2004, 06:56 PM:
 
We recieved an utterly strange phone call today.

A lady called and asked to speak to a manager. Our GM picked up the phone, and he said "Uh-huh.....yeah...ok.", hung up and started laughing. I asked about it, and he told me that the woman informed him that she was being followed and approached by people who were dressing up as police officers. She said that other people were watching her, too, and some were taking videos of her and following her. She asked that we not videotape her during her movie, and that we not let anyone know she was there.
WTF?
Best part is, she didn't leave a name, description of herself or the show and time she was going to watch.
Weird.
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 03-01-2004, 02:22 AM:
 
I've voiced it before - Richard - that is HORRIBLE customer service. Your per capita did not suffer because she was eating a little candy. They purchased other concessions! Keep acting like the food Gestapo and the customers will go elsewhere.
 

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Posted by Aldo Baez (Member # 790) on 03-01-2004, 03:03 AM:
 
Why is it horrible customer service? Where do you draw the line? Do you let someone in if they have half a water bottle drank already? What if you walked in and she had fast food for her friends along with her candy? What if you don't serve coffee but there is a coffee shop across the street? I don't see how enforcing the rules is horrible customer service.

So I'm assuming that you agree if they got in with outside food past door they should not be confronted. What about if they get passed the door without a ticket do you confront them in the theatre?
 

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Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 03-01-2004, 03:46 AM:
 
i think a reasonable enforcement strategy is that if someone gets it past you at the door, you only crack down if there's a good reason that's not percap-oriented. i.e. it could be hazardous, disturbing to others (more so than what you already sell), or a pain in the butt to clean up. so zero tolerance for glass bottles, sardines, and sunflower seeds, but if someone sneaks in a snickers, you let it slide.

and we would never crack down on a plastic bottle of water, even if we see it. hell, it saves you giving them a courtesy cup.

carl
 

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Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 03-01-2004, 03:30 PM:
 
I draw the line when people carry in steaming pizza and put it down on the counter when paying. I draw the line when people come in licking ice-cream cones. I draw the line at buckets of chicken. But what people carry in their coat pockets is of little concern to me.

I only ask that you don't spit sunflower seeds on to the floor. Do not put your orange peels and banana peels in the cup holder armrests. And don't allow your empty 40oz of malt liqueur roll down the auditorium floor.

Actually I am firmly against glass bottles and alcohol consumption in our theatre. Our assistant manager told one lady that she couldn’t consume Champagne in our theatre. She got all huffy and told him off by yelling, “don’t you know who I am?” He said no, and I don’t care. Turns out she was the building owner’s wife. Soon to be ex-wife, he was mortified.

If I see people walking in with outside food or drink, I politely inform them of the no outside food or drink policy and tell them that this is true in every theatre. In California you may not legally deny someone with bottled water. You must also supply free water upon request. Also some people must consume food for medical reasons like diabetes, I don’t wish to get in to an argument over that either.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-02-2004, 02:21 AM:
 
Here's a good one.

A guy tonight (from a neighboring town where there is no theatre) told me he wants to start showing movies on DVD in the high school auditorium, and he wondered who he could contact at the film companies to arrange to pay "film rental" for this. He stressed that he wants to keep everything legal and would definitely want to pay appropriate money to whoever's deserving.

He even contacted OUR booker (how he got the number or even the name is beyond me) and asked them about this. They told him to contact NATO.

I explained to him that DVDs are licensed for home use only, that there is no mechanism set up for the collection and payment of rentals on DVDs to the film companies, etc. and that you just cannot exhibit DVDs in a theatre-like setting. He also asked me about digital cinema and said he'd heard it was coming in the next couple of years and "everything will be on satellite anyway." I told him a bit about the digital cinema dilemma and by that time, I had to get the movie started so had to break off the conversation.


 

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Posted by Mark Hajducki (Member # 1732) on 03-02-2004, 11:25 AM:
 

quote:

---

I explained to him that DVDs are licensed for home use only, that there is no mechanism set up for the collection and payment of rentals on DVDs to the film companies, etc. and that you just cannot exhibit DVDs in a theatre-like setting.

---

If he forms a film society then he may be able to get licences for DVD screenings. Filmbank has the UK Non-theatrical rights for a number of films (I don't have details of US firms). The other option is to go to the main distributers and try and negotiate the rights.

To be totally legal he would have to find out what venue licences are required as well.
 

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Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 03-02-2004, 02:47 PM:
 
Mike said, "I explained to him that DVDs are licensed for home use only, that there is no mechanism set up for the collection and payment of rentals on DVDs to the film companies, etc. "

That's not correct. That's exactly what the business of non-theatrical film exhibition is about. In the US, Swank Motion Pictures and Criterion Pictures between them coverall the major studios, and are happy to license DVDs for public performance. (They will also book 35mm and VHS tapes as well, again for non-theatricals, not for theaters.)

Telling him to contact NATO is not going to help him out, though presumably they'd know to refer him to Swank/Critereon.

So he definitely doesn't qualify as a "stupid customer." He was exactly right, just didn't know who to talk to.

--jhawk
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-02-2004, 09:52 PM:
 
He wanted to buy or rent DVDs, and then offer showings to the public. In other words, he wanted to create a DVD theatre. I always thought Swank, etc. only dealt with situations like schools, etc. where the general public is not admitted. Maybe I'm wrong about that, if so I stand corrected.
 

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Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 03-03-2004, 09:39 PM:
 
On Tuesday I had the weirdest phone call so far.

Me: Good Afternoon ......How may I help you?

Them: Is that the place where you're having that Riverdance tonight?

Me: Errrm?

--------------
Also earlier in the day I overheard a grandmother and 2 chidren having a conversation about wheather they wanted to see Cheaper By the Dozen or The Aristocats.

Is there some re-release of The Aristocats that I should know about?

Also having problems on Box Office over the last few weeks with the introduction of some Buy One Get One Free vouchers we have going around. It's amazing that some people don't understand the BOGOF principle. Supermarkets have been doing it for years. It's not that complicated.
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 03-03-2004, 11:00 PM:
 
Oh, Swank will probably rent to anybody who is willing to lay down the $$$. For a DVD they charge somewhere about $500.00. (YMMV)
If you can prove to them that you are a non-profit or educational institution you'll get a lower price but, depending on the title, not that much lower.
 

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Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 03-03-2004, 11:55 PM:
 

quote:

---

I explained to him that DVDs are licensed for home use only, that there is no mechanism set up for the collection and payment of rentals on DVDs to the film companies, etc. and that you just cannot exhibit DVDs in a theatre-like setting.

---

Hmmm.....

I personally know a guy in the Baltimore area who is doing just that. He's got one of those Harkness Hall Inflatable screens and some type of digital cinema projector. Last summer he leased the parking area of a local drag strip and played to public audiences every weekend. From what I understand, this season he's rented out the parking lot of the Oriole's minor league stadium and will be doing the same thing again.

He tells me he directly licenses the product with the studios. Granted, he's not playing first-run product, but he's still making a profit.
 

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Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 03-04-2004, 12:50 AM:
 
I also suspect a theater that installed a video projector of just running DVD's not licensed for exhibition, theatrical or non-theatrical.

It would be nice to know who to call to check if a title has been licensed to the theater.

It's absolutely poisoning the well of exhibition when they do that. The area had previously had very good attendance for classic titles, but since that venue started just running DVD's & VHS, their attendance dropped to almost nothing. It would be nice to run them legally & better at another venue, but I've got a feeling they've killed the market.
 

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Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 03-04-2004, 12:37 PM:
 
Monday, the day after the Oscars.

People coming out of Errol Morris' Fog of War asking at the box office, "I thought this was the Ben Kingsley movie."

This happened no less than 4-times.

One guy upon beeing told that House of Sand and Fog was not playing at our theatre said that yes and it was in the paper. The cashier handed over the paper, folded open to the entertainment section and said, This paper?

[ 03-04-2004, 01:53 PM: Message edited by: Ian Price ]
 

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Posted by Brad Allen (Member # 470) on 03-05-2004, 02:21 PM:
 
But that customers paper had been changed by the delivery boy. Just his.

I hear this all the time. But MY paper said such and such.

Gee Ian, haven't you heard of niche marketing.
 

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Posted by Brian Michael Weidemann (Member # 2243) on 03-09-2004, 06:08 AM:
 
At my first theatre (a second-run "dollar" house that bums liked to use as a cheap vacation home), the classic always remained to be the guy that called out to the floor staff from the second story balcony area where the bathrooms and video games were: "Hey, how do I get down?" The only building entrance was from ground level, and pointing for him didn't seem to help him much. Surprisingly, he was sober.
 

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 03-09-2004, 06:21 AM:
 
It's a good thing I no longer run any theatres with balconies. I would have told him to jump.
 

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Posted by Chase Taylor (Member # 778) on 03-13-2004, 04:48 PM:
 
I had a customer come up to me and asked if the theatre was air conditioned and if it had soft seats, so I politely told him that we did. I thought I would never hear that one. It remanded me of pictures I've seen of theatres with big banners outside of the theatre that said "Air Conditioned". This guy was going to "The Passion" and looked like he was in his seventy. We have had alot of new customers with this movie, just hope they come back.
 

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Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 03-15-2004, 06:45 AM:
 
Another good outside food and drink story.....

I was making my walk-through of Twisted. I smelled cooked food as I entered the auditorium. I walked to the end of the aisle and back up again and found the offender. I see she has a sandwich bag of something and what looks like a small bag of cookies on her lap.

This was still in the previews so I approached her (She was with 2 women and a guy). I politely told her of our no outside food and drink policy. The conversation then roughly went like this.

Me: I can either hold that food on your lap behind the box office or throw it away for you.

Her: What outside food? I don't have any.

Me:The food on your lap ma'am
Her: This is just chicken, it isn't anything bad.
Me: We don't allow any type of outside food and drink in our theatres ma'am.
Her: Well you sell it in your Mugs theatre. (Mugs & Movies is a movie grill theatre)
Me: The food sold in there is specifically for that theatre and only that theatre.
Her: Well Here!
She then handed me one piece of her many wrapped in a napkin.
ME: I need it all maam
Her: We never had problems in Brandon with food! (AMC owned Theatre)
Me: I also need the bag of cookies on your lap.
She handed me the cookies.
Her: We're never coming back here again. THAT bag better be there when I come out!
Me: I'll have it at the box office for you.
As I stood up, I noticed that the gentleman had a cup from Checkers (Drive thru fast food place). I said that I'll need that cup too.

I then started my 7:10 movies and on a hunch, looked out of the booth at Twisted. Sure enough, the man is eating a burger and fries. Since we were still in previews at that time, I went down to confiscate that as well.

Me: I'm also going to need those burger and fries sir.
Him: Too late I already ate them
Me: I'd be able to take the trash then. (So it doesn't smell up the place)
Him: OK

Her: Let me ask you something, I brought this here because you don't sell anything that I want.
Me: Ma'am we sell many things at the concessions but chicken and burgers arent available.
Her: I wanted nachos and you didn't have any!
Me: We probably were out of stock at the time
Her: I go to Brandon and I even asked them if I could bring the food in and they said No Problem!
Me: Ma'am, were not Brandon and we have a strict No outside food and drink policy that is enforced. Other theatres have a policy too but it is up to them if they choose to enforce it.

I then walked away.
The lady eventually picked up her cookies, gave me a mean look and left with her party.

Sorry about the lenghty reply but it mad my night last night.

BTW, I am always very courteous and polite to these people.
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 03-15-2004, 08:39 AM:
 
Richard's post brings up an interesting point. What's with these theatres that always seem to be "out of stock" of certain items? I hate it when they're "out" of hot dogs, nachos, etc. There's no excuse for running out of these items. Just a pet peeve of mine ... if you advertise the product ... make sure you're selling it.
 

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Posted by Brent Mahaney (Member # 1090) on 03-15-2004, 03:58 PM:
 
I had a man and woman walk in with cups of coffee. My cashier said, "Sir, you can't take those in."

"Watch me," he says.

So they get a manager. The manager says, "I'm sorry, you can't take that in."

"Yes I can, and you can't stop me. What are you gonna do...call the police? Is it a crime for me to bring coffee into your theater? We're taking our coffee in."

And he did. The manager decided not to pursue it because the man got his bluff in.

How would you guys handle that?
 

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 03-15-2004, 04:00 PM:
 
I'd get them to sign my hot beverage liability waiver.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-15-2004, 05:38 PM:
 
Why did the cashier even sell them tickets? With that kind of crap, I would have turned them away at the door.
 

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Posted by Kyle Watkins (Member # 986) on 03-15-2004, 05:52 PM:
 
Brent,

I would have told him to leave, if he did not i would have called the cops. If no ones ever does anything they just kept on doing it.

Im not saying kick all the people out that try and bring stuff in, its the ones that think they can do waht ever they want. And have the attiudes.

Kyle
 

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Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 03-15-2004, 06:29 PM:
 
While I don't think it's worth it for a theater to be hyper vigilant on non concession food items snuck in, I do think one should crack down on burgers and pizzas or any hot sandwiches of entrees that give off a smell. It is really annoying to sit next to some person opening up some fish sandwich and chomping on it.
 

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Posted by Brian Michael Weidemann (Member # 2243) on 03-15-2004, 08:31 PM:
 
It's been said before: buying a ticket allows you the privilege (not the right) of being on premises, under a set of guidelines. Guidelines are set by policy, set by theatre management, who has the right to refuse service. Customers are on someone else's property, not their own.

It's not a crime to order fast food without wearing shoes, but you can darn well expect that anyone who tries will be refused and booted (so to speak).
 

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 03-15-2004, 08:53 PM:
 
Actually, in many places there are such things as public health laws, but I guess that's not really your point.
 

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Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 03-15-2004, 10:51 PM:
 
In my opinion, Richard's method of handling the "Chicken, Checkers & Cookies" was carried out appropriately. Policy stated, policy enforced.

The guy with the coffee, ... he would'nt have even been allowed to purchase a ticket at my theatre. MY theatre, I make the rules... if you wanna make up the rules... YOU write the payroll checks on Friday from your own account!!!
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 03-18-2004, 10:19 AM:
 

quote:

---

Why did the cashier even sell them tickets? With that kind of crap, I would have turned them away at the door.

---

quote:

---

... he would'nt have even been allowed to purchase a ticket at my theatre. MY theatre, I make the rules...

---

My point exactly. But when I brought up the fact of people with bad attitudes and no tickets who are crap, (in the outside food thread) people jumped on me... Said that they could be POTENTIAL customers and TELL THEIR FRIENDS... Go figure. It's different right after you've dealt with it.

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 2038) on 03-18-2004, 12:46 PM:
 
For the most part our patrons don't abuse it. They smuggle canned soda (and beer sometimes) but they keep it discreet. We don't sell coffee so bringing in a cup isn't a felony.

However, if you have policies they should be enforced, even if you have to call the law.

If the guy didn't have coffee but fired up a cigarette in the auditorium (Sir, you can't do that. Oh yeah? Watch me!) you would enforce that. You have to be consistent.

If the guy is an arrogant SOB I'm sure his friends know it and would secretly applaud you for refusing to let him in.

"We reserve the right to refuse service..." etc.
 

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Posted by Jim Leko (Member # 1287) on 03-19-2004, 05:33 AM:
 
As we have the mall food court about 70 yards from our theater, we let people bring in outside food/drink. Only exception is no alcohol, and no glass containers. If somebody were caught with one of these, a manager would tell them to throw it away or leave. If they refused, we would ask one of our security guys to do the same. Then mall security, then (if the movie isn't over by then) the police (the only ones who can physically remove somebody).
 

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Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 03-20-2004, 03:48 PM:
 
I was working with a manager, and one night he oversold seats for 'Thank God It's Friday.' A customer came up to him and said, "Where are the seats!?" Well, this manager did have a very quick wit, and he responded, "Sir, the're bolted to the floor; you'll have no trouble finding them." But it got the customer pissed off, and he took a swing at the manager.... it took a while to calm things down.
 

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Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 03-20-2004, 09:55 PM:
 
That is absolutely hilarious
 

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Posted by John Hegel (Member # 628) on 03-20-2004, 10:04 PM:
 
I might be talking from a retail point of view. If someone says they are not coming back to you theater because you don't offer a specific product... why not do everything in your power to offer the said product. Especially if your competition is offering it, why not find a way to offer it with more value to your customer?

I am most likely going out on a limb with that statement, but we are in the business of sales.

At face value someone asking about a product you don’t stock may seem like a "stupid customer" but to you that should say "someone is willing to pay money for this item/service, why not take this opportunity and profit from it"

Instead of losing 1 customer and the sales of their friends and family through word of mouth... Why not diversify a product that has already had a need for it expressed?

That’s just my opinion though.
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 03-21-2004, 02:50 AM:
 
True, you could try offering the product for a while and see how it goes, but if the person already said they're never coming back to your theater because you don't serve it, how will they ever know you started serving it?

It also depends on the product, and the area. I've been to theaters that sell over 150 hot dogs on a Friday, while another one was lucky if they sold 10. (They stopped selling the hot dogs, and suddenly everyone and their mother asked about them.) Or it may not be worth it at all, like roasted almonds. Nobody ever seems to buy them except the one or two a day that rave about how good they are. Customer service and satisfaction is only part of the business.

Personally, the way I would love to deal with customers who say they will "never come back to this place again!" would be to take a polaroid or a still from the security cameras and keep track of them. Then if they do come back, call the police and serve them with a trespass warning. Reason: "Customer said they are never coming back, so I assumed they returned to attack me." Or just confront them. "Hey! Good to see you... I thought you'd NEVER come back here!"

=TMP=

=TMP=
 

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Posted by John Hegel (Member # 628) on 03-21-2004, 03:32 AM:
 

quote:

---

but if the person already said they're never coming back to your theater because you don't serve it, how will they ever know you started serving it?

---

That is my point, make an effort to never lose the customer in the first place. If it comes down to the person getting out of control over a Cherry Coke "Big Gulp" from 7-11; why not kindly and discreetly ask them not to do it in the future and assume that they will continue to come to your venue 5.2 times per year.

If that doesn’t work, one might look at the reason people are buying the same product at a different location. Are they receiving the same value vs. dollar spent? How might a theater increase the value to match the price?

again... just my opinion
 

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Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 03-21-2004, 12:48 PM:
 
I'm not coming back to your theatre because you don't serve Atkins friendly food.

I'm not coming back to your theatre because you don't serve soy crackers.

I'm not coming back to your theatre because you don't serve organic butter.

I'm not coming back to your theatre because you don't serve chai.

I'm not coming back to your theatre because you don't serve fried chicken.

I'm not coming back to your theatre because you don't serve french fries.

I'm not coming back to your theatre because you don't serve bloody marys.

I'm not coming back to your theatre because you don't serve gefelta fish.

It's a movie theatre people!
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 03-21-2004, 12:59 PM:
 
Thomas - your customer service skills are appalling. What happened to the old adage, "the customer is always right?" Especially when you are running an older location - your customer service needs to be top-notch. That's what sets you apart from the new indifferent megaplex down the road. The customers return because of the friendly staff!
 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 03-21-2004, 03:34 PM:
 
Mike,

I'll agree with you to an extent. A GOOD manager understands the difference between 'The Customer is Always right' and a customer that has clearly gone to far with their expectations. There is a HUGE difference between a courteous inquiry from a customer and a ranting demand.

As Ian said, it IS a movie theatre not a Wal-Mart. It has been proven time and again in locations that I've managed, when Joe Q Public realizes that he/she can do as they please because "The customer is always right" they'll begin to take over the place.

Like drinking and driving, know when to say when. And I'm sorry, the Customer ISN'T always right. Period.
 

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Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 03-21-2004, 05:36 PM:
 
That is untill WalMart gets in to the film exhibition business.

They still won't have Soy Crackers, Organic Butter, Chai or Bloody Marys. Although you could buy the bloody mary mix and the vodka at WalMart.
 

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Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 03-23-2004, 11:10 AM:
 
I've learned that the customer is not always right, but... the customer is always the customer and therefore deserves to be served with respect and courtesy.

Belligerant customers need to be dealt with appropriately, but most customers who complain are really looking for customer service that they didn't receive. There are many diplomatic solutions to problems, and being diplomatic is a requirement of a manager of any service-oriented business.

Back in 1993, when the Cinemark Movies 10 opened here in Milwaukee, I took to going there because it was the only THX theater in town. A group of us went to see Mrs. Doubtfire there, and the theater we were in was quite cold. My wife complained to an usher, but didn't get a very satisfying response, so she complained to an Assistant Manager.

The Assistant Manager was very rude and demeaning to her, and it spoiled the entire evening for us. I complained to the District Manager for Cinemark and received a reply, some complimentary tickets, and a personal apology from the employee involved.

However, not only would she refuse to attend that theater again, it soured her on the idea of going to theaters in general. In the 11 years since, she has been to a theater perhaps 4 times, electing instead to watch movies at home in our own environment and on our own terms. Now, with a family, its difficult to take the time to get out, and going to a movie does not rank highly on the list of possible options when we do take that time for an evening out together.

Poor service by management can not only hurt that particular theater, but it can also impact the industry as well. While one person will not cripple the industry, the ripple effect of such an experience should not be dismissed either.

If someone made it into a theater with outside food, and that food is not disturbing other patrons in any way, I don't see why a disturbance should be created by the employees of that theater. If it's that important to make a point, wait until the show is over or catch them before the show begins and address the situation.

If they are popping can tops during the film or making noise with their potato chip bags, then as a patron in that theater, I would expect the employees to handle the situation so I can get back to enjoying the film without further disruption.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-23-2004, 01:20 PM:
 
"The customer is always right" is one of the stupidest sayings ever coined. The customer is actually almost always wrong.

A better adage would be "The customer doesn't always know everything about how our industry works, so it's our job to point him in the right direction, making him feel good about us in the process." Of course that isn't as catchy.
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 03-24-2004, 01:10 PM:
 

quote:

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Thomas - your customer service skills are appalling. What happened to the old adage, "the customer is always right?"

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Yep. My customer service skills are appaling because I don't jump to carry every item the customer wants. How dare me? And that's just that -- an OLD adage. What ever happened to 8-track tapes?

quote:

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What's with these theatres that always seem to be "out of stock" of certain items? I hate it when they're "out" of hot dogs, nachos, etc. There's no excuse for running out of these items.

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quote:

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The customers return because of the friendly staff!

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Actually, about 85% of customers don't even acknowledge the staff. They care about price first, selection second, cleanliness third, seating and aesthetics fourth, presentation quality a distant fifth, and the staff only when there's a problem or they need to find the bathroom. That's why theaters cut payroll first and foremost.

But still, I try to smile and stay in a good mood, but as others have said, the customer is always misinformed. And some don't want to learn. Waaaaaah!

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 06-07-2004, 02:30 PM:
 
Bumping this back up

Yesterday...Harry Potter 3
3:30 show

I just started that show when the other theatre of it was letting out. I go to help clean it. I left so the ushers could finish it. I had a family of 6 waiting outside the theatre waiting for the 4:00 show.

I ask if I can help them, the mom tells me that there are no seats in the 3:30 show and they want to see the 4pm show. There is a huge line waiting to get in for the 4pm show BTW. I tell them with large shows, we try to find seats in the show that they buy for. I go in and am able to find 6 seats in VERY close range to each other.

I go to the hallway and tell them this and they start whining that they saw those seats and are going to the 4pm show. Just then, the dad and 3 of the kids walk out of a show of Day After Tomorrow. I end up just giving up and saying "Just Go" and walk away before I say something I regret. We did end up selling out for that 4pm show and had to refund 4 tickets to some customers.

What would you have done in that situation?

When I found these seats, the show was in the previews BTW. Also there were like 20 seats scattered throughout that 3:30 show. These people came at 3:40 BTW after the projector started.

So, to appease 6 people, we had to refund 4 tickets and lost 12.00 + concessions to people.

How should I handle a situation like this.?
 

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Posted by John Carpenter (Member # 1488) on 06-07-2004, 07:19 PM:
 
Richard-

We get this a lot, and the best advice that I can offer you is this: Politely inform those people who do not want to sit in the theatre that they purchased tickets for that you will refund their tickets... then it is up to them to try and secure tickets to a show that they DO want to see. If you put the effort back on them, it is a lot less likely that they will do this much more. Explaining that you can only see the film and/or showtime that is on their tickets really seems to end it for most...
(of course if the show that is in question is sold out and you have a policy against refunding "sold out" shows then this doesnt work quite as well)
 

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Posted by Nicole Halper (Member # 2299) on 06-07-2004, 10:50 PM:
 
Oh- on the Harry Potter note-
I just have to say how much it cracks me up when this happens:
Yesterday I had a family come up for the 5:10 Harry Potter at 5:10, exactly- and they were in utter shock at it being sold out! Haha~ What did they expect? I mean honestly~
I did have them wait for 6:30 though, but when I told them they might want to be back soon to wait in line, I don't think they cared. Oh well, maybe they'll learn some day~
 

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Posted by Mike Pennell (Member # 1692) on 06-08-2004, 02:05 AM:
 
Richard,
Your best bet would be to prevent this before it happens by having an usher or two seat patrons on sell out shows. You can very politely ask guests to move over to seat a family together. nine times out of ten they have no problem with moving. You can also put a "dead" zone in your ticketing system of 10 to 15 seats to ensure seating.
 

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Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 06-08-2004, 04:10 AM:
 
If the 4pm show wasnt sold out when the customers wanted to watch it instead of the 3:30, i think one should let them watch the 4pm show. The thing is - was the 3:30 show really sold out which would mean this family deprived some other people from watching that show? And the other thing is - was 4pm already sold out when they made the choice to switch shows? if the answer is NO to both, there is no reason to rue the fact that eventually 4pm was sold out.

As a customer, when I request this, the manager happily does a swap by canceling these and giving me a new stub.

[ 06-09-2004, 10:18 AM: Message edited by: Pravin Ratnam ]
 

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Posted by Sonja O'Reilly (Member # 1322) on 06-08-2004, 05:33 PM:
 
I've had customers ask an employee to turn off the subtitles on an open-caption film.... then I've had that employee call me over the radio and ask me to turn it off... one of my co-workers suggested I tell them we just figured out how to turn off the director's commentary and we're still working on the subtitles..
 

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Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 06-08-2004, 05:59 PM:
 
One of these days I'm going to go to a movie then complain at the end that I can't get it to go back to the main menu and I'm not leaving til I get to see the "Special Features"!
I always thought about splicing the trailer to the end of the movie that had just played, sort of as "bonus material" as it would have appeared on laserdisc, not sure if that's kosher or not though.
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 06-09-2004, 10:07 AM:
 
It's hard to deal with people hopping screens for sold-out shows. They try everything. If they were meeting people there and the show is sold out, they will buy tickets for the next one and try to sneak into the one their friends are in. That's why it's important to have someone at each door of a big movie on opening weekend.

And once the show starts, they'll buy tickets for something else, and people will STILL be wandering in, thinking they can find seats. And then they will yell at the staff because the theater operations don't revolve around their schedule.

I think that will be the ultimate downfall of theaters. People are so attatched to this trend of "Convenience" and "On-Demand" stuff that they don't want to be told when they can see a movie or where they can sit. Spoild little kids, this country is.

We should just go back to a row of Nickelodeons at the drug store.

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 06-09-2004, 10:12 AM:
 
...and running nitrate from open spools with the projector situated between two aisles and without as much as a fire extinguisher in sight. That would deal with the stupid customers alright!
 

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Posted by Eric Hooper (Member # 1730) on 06-09-2004, 10:54 AM:
 

quote: Ian Price

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I'm not coming back to your theatre because you don't serve Atkins friendly food.

I'm not coming back to your theatre because you don't serve soy crackers.

I'm not coming back to your theatre because you don't serve organic butter.

I'm not coming back to your theatre because you don't serve chai.

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OMG, Yep, that's the North Bay for you.....

Hey, OTOH maybe there's a business opportunity being missed here...
 

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Posted by Rob Butler (Member # 2274) on 06-09-2004, 11:47 AM:
 
I just heard from an usher today that someone was actually complaining that they didn't get to see the entire image the way it's supposed to be seen because of the screen perferations, they were accusing us of being too cheap to buy a "real" screen and instead buying this giant sheet of mesh.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 06-09-2004, 01:26 PM:
 
My wife and I were in Disney World last week and we saw 2 flicks at the Pleasure Island 24 in our spare time. The way that place is laid out just INVITES movie-hopping.

The ticket taker is directly inside the building, nowhere near the auditoriums. There is zero policing of any kind as to who goes where, in fact you can buy your ticket for X movie two hours ahead and go right in, and see another movie before you see your scheduled one.

We were seeing Day After Tomorrow at 4:30. We bought out tickets at the auto-kiosk at about 2:30, and went inside around 3:00 because it was blazing hot outside and we just wanted to get in and siddown. We wandered throughout the whole place, including into various auditoriums, with nobody ever asking to see a ticket stub. Could have stayed to see a few more movies afterwards, I suppose, but we were tired and went back to the hotel.

I know this has nothing to do with "customers," but people will save a buck here or there when they can. Any teenager who can buy one ticket and see three movies will jump at the chance, eh?
 

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Posted by Jason Whyte (Member # 1433) on 06-09-2004, 02:00 PM:
 
Mike,

I'll remember to see a few movies there next time I'm down at Disney.

Jason
 

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Posted by Rob Butler (Member # 2274) on 06-10-2004, 09:00 AM:
 
You went all the way to Disney world for a vacation and while you were there you decided to go to a movie theater to see a movie you could see at your local theater?
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 06-10-2004, 09:51 AM:
 
Mike -- The next time you're in FL and don't visit, I will hunt you down!

That Pleasure Island theater was originally a 10 at one point, or so I heard. When you enter the building on the Planet Hollywood side (yes, for those of you in CA, we still have Planet Hollywoods in FL -- it's the newest craze) you'll be in the old section. The hallways went off to the right and left.

These theaters, 15-19 and 20-24 are the old ones. Most of these aren't stadium and the largest ones are half-stadium, including the DLP house.

Then they built on 14 more auditoriums to the back of the building, with a hallway leading to them on the 15-19 side. So what you have is 1-19 on the right, and 20-24 on the left.

Once you walk down the hallway leading to the new section, it's like you've vanished into the Airport of Multiplexes. Auditoriums all over the place at random intervals, wiiiiiide hallways, and NO STAFF ANYWHERE! If there was ever a problem, and you were in #12 somewhere in the back and off to the side in the corner, you'd have quite a trek to find someone.

See?

Photo taken on a Friday night! No one is ever at that happy little service desk they installed.

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Brandon Willis (Member # 2345) on 06-10-2004, 01:28 PM:
 
I had an angry customer walk out of my Regal theatre one night, almost an entire year after the Regal/UA/Edwards merger, and state that they were never coming to this theatre again - they're going to United Artists theatres from now on. Much to my dismay, of course!
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 06-10-2004, 04:25 PM:
 

quote: Rob Butler

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You went all the way to Disney world for a vacation and while you were there you decided to go to a movie theater to see a movie you could see at your local theater?

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Yes, because we wanted to see a movie without having to "run" a theatre at the same time. Also we wanted to see the film in the almighty DIGITAL CINEMA. And, finally, you can only shovel money into the Disney theme parks for so long without getting tired in the Florida heat.

Thomas - we probably won't be back at WDW until 2006 but will be sure to look you up if you're still there!
 

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Posted by Anslem Rayburn (Member # 1267) on 06-14-2004, 08:02 AM:
 
Customer comes out of "Red Dragon" after it's finished. He informs me that he had already seen that movie with different actors years ago ("Manhunter"), and wants his money back. I let him know that I can not give him a refund for a movie he watched. He proceeds to call me a racist, and states that I won't give him a refund because he is Mexican. I look bewildered, and again tell him that I can not issue a refund since he watched the movie. At this point I tell him to have a nice day, and walk away. Just then, another theater let's out, and as the people are filing out, he starts screaming that this place is racist and yelling that that we hate Mexicans. I turn back around and inform him that if he does not stop his behavior and leave the property, I will call the police and have him arrested and that I will sue him for defamation of character. He shut up and left.

An older gentleman is stopped by the ticket taker at the auditorium door, as he was trying to bypass a line of people entering the theater. He didn't have a ticket, and said that his wife was inside with it. Noone had left a ticket or told the usher that they had a ticket for someone that wasn't there yet, so the usher informed him that he would have to wait until the line went in and we could verify he had a ticket inside. He starts yelling at the usher that it is ridiculous that he had to wait, getting very loud and very verbally abusive. I was behind concessions, and stepped over to the end of the counter to ask him if I could help. The customer, still angry and on the offensive, tells me this punk kid wouldn't let him in even though his wife is inside with his ticket. I told him that his wife would be holding him a seat, and as soon as the line went in we would take him in. I explained that we could not let in anyone without a ticket. He got even madder and asked why we would hold up an old man from entering (he was about 50 or so, and in good shape, mind you). He then asked why he would be lying when he had $500 in his pocket, and pulled it out to flash it in my face. I informed him that I did not care how much money he had, if he didn't have his ticket he was going to have to wait to enter. He realized he wasn't getting anywhere, and by this time the line had finished anyway. The usher took him in and tore the ticket his wife was holding for him, and everything was fine for the rest of the screening.
 

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Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 07-03-2004, 12:12 AM:
 
When will people learn to leave small children at home?

I had 2 Mexican families that I had to kickout because the damn kids wouldn't shut up!!! My manager had to refund 20.00 worth of tickets from customers that complained. After the refunds, my boss told me to kick them out. People, leavethe damn kids at home!!!

Next time I think VIOLENCE might work. Wanna help me Joe?
 

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Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 07-03-2004, 01:16 AM:
 
Damn those Mexican families!!
 

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Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 07-03-2004, 01:15 PM:
 
I'm a quarter mexican and I look it too. One time me and another hispanic coworker went into a theater and asked to see the back rows tickets. The spokesman for the group got in my face and said "Why, is it cause we're mexican? I don't have to show you shit!"
How about that.

It seems like every time we have a big movie of any kind there are kids hanging off the railing, sitting in the aisles, or more commonly running through the theaters. Since our staff doesn't often check theaters, rather, the projectionists usually do I have to tell a lot of people to sit down. It's kind of sad how many parents allow their children to run around in a dark theater where they not only are disturbing other people but are at risk for hurting themselves.

Now let me ask you guys a question...When someone is standing on a chair in the theater and tapping on the portglass while you're threading does it make you feel like a fish in a fishbowl? I got that sensation the other day...
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 07-03-2004, 01:18 PM:
 
Our dollar theater is in a heavily hispanic area, but then again, every area of Florida is Hispanic! One thing I learned about large hispanic families is that they LOVE to do things together. They're a very close-knit group. Anyway, on $0.75 Tuesday, everyone brings their kids, even as late as 10pm, and the kids are tired and bored with the movie, and start running around the theater, yelling, running in and out of the auditorium being chased by mother/father/aunt/uncle/sister/brother (always a different person chasing the same kid.)

By the third or fourth time I see them chase these kids around the lobby, I have a word with the adult:

I explain that I see they're not enjoying the movie and they have to corral the kids all the time. I also say that we've gotten complaints from other patrons (which we did). If they start to get defensive, I explain that I understand it's hard to go to an evening out these days, espeically with kids. And that I understand Bargain Tuesdays let the whole family come out without spending an arm and a leg, but it's no fun if nobody can enjoy it. At this point, you get them agreeing with you.

After a few moments, I whip out the stack of passes, enough for everyone, and ask if they'd like to come back another time when they can actually WATCH the movie. I also explain that the passes are even good on weekends, despite what they paid, and that we're much less crowded then. They become THRILLED, run back in the theater and tell everyone, and out everyone comes.

The audience is happy that the kids are gone, and the customers are happy that they weren't "kicked out", but offered another option which ended up being better than they expected. That same family came back that weekend to see a movie and thanked me!

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 07-03-2004, 05:29 PM:
 
Now that's some good customer service!

 

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Posted by Adam Wilbert (Member # 1184) on 07-04-2004, 12:33 AM:
 
Richard,
Your theatre should have offered the passes to the hispanic family, before other customers had to request them for themselves. A couple of thoughts:

I'm guessing that the people who left with passes (not the families) only got single passes. I never understood theatres who only gave single passes to disgruntled customers who left a movie early. That only gets them back into a show that they've already paid for, and does nothing to compensate them for their inconvienience of having to return, buy concessions again, etc.

I'm also guessing that the hispanic families did not recieve passes, as they were effectively kicked out. That doesn't really entice them to return. It's been my experience that hispanic families tend to spend a bundle at the concession stand, so whats a few passes cost your theatre? Your company doesn't even get most of the box office take. What movie were they seeing anyway? Probably a childrens movie.

Stupid customers indeed.

Thomas, three cheers.


-Adam
 

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Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 07-04-2004, 08:59 AM:
 
You musn't forget that I just did what my boss said to do. She even had the cops that monitor the theatre there to assist.

The first movie was "The NoteBook" and the second movie was "Spiderman 2" and no, the families didn't get passes. The customers got only single passes.
 

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Posted by Nicole Halper (Member # 2299) on 07-16-2004, 10:19 PM:
 
Ok- recent rant on stupid customers from last night:

Me- "You can get the Large drink for just 25 cents more; it's 12oz bigger- and I still fits in the cup holder- It's a good deal!"

Husband- "No thank you, I really only want the medium."

Wife- "So do they pay you commission on each Large you sell?"

Me- sarcastically "NO- They just let us keep our jobs."

Husband- shocked "OH! Well if it means your job- then I'll take the Large!"

Mind you- customers ask that all the time, and then I joke with them and give them my "keep the job" line- and then they laugh. I explained to them I was only joking -(though in a sense it is true)

The sale was also closed with them saying they hope that I don't lose my job~
 

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Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 02-27-2005, 12:15 AM:
 
Today was a double header of stupidity!
It's funny how my "seniority" only means something when they don't want to do it...
Anyhow, I got elected to deal with some complaints about someone being loud in Diary of a Mad Black Woman today.
Apparantly a lady brought her ... what's the proper term ... Mentally disabled? daughter to come see the movie.
Meanwhile the daughter is yelling at the screen.
We'd refunded 3 tickets by the time I could come down and deal with the patron...Well, she didn't want to leave the auditorium to discuss the problem, nor did she want to do anything about it.
"If they have a problem with it then give them their money back and they can come back some other time."
...Let's see...I give you back your 10 bucks or I give back 110 bucks to everyone else...Sure, that's fair.

So after consulting with our supervisor-to-be and calling up the assistant to get more input I asked if there was something she could do or that we could help with that would calm her for the rest of the movie. Of course there was...Popcorn!
...But we need to bring it back there because she's not leaving the auditorium. So we brought her the corn and even gave her a courtesy cup of water, made her change, and gave her a receipt so we couldn't be accused of 'jackin' her'.
The corn worked, thankfully. Which brings me to my rant:
If your family member has this disorder, a.) why would you bring them to the freakin movies and b.) if you know something helps then take care of it first.
And more over, don't hide behind your disabillity or your family members disabillity. I'm a sympathetic person but I hate people who try to make you feel like a jackass when they wont conform to the same rules everyone else has to.
I mean seriously, this woman wants to sit here swearing and being stubborn with me when it's my job to look out for the freakin' theater. We've got like 50 other people in here who came to try and watch a movie, I'm sorry, but maybe next time you should come alone.

And part two!

"...Hey, Dom. Can you check on some loud kids in #1?"
We've got Constantine in there right now...This lady's got 3 kids with her and a baby. The baby is making all sorts of noise.
So I ask her if she can take the baby down to the lobby till she comes down or something.
Of course she doesn't speak english, so her small child has to translate for me!
Sure, no problem...She sends the little girl out with the baby!
She couldn't have been more than 6 years old.
And yes, they stayed for the whole movie.

My favorite is still the 4 year old girl in Monster and the woman who actually brought her 8 year old son to see the same movie.
 

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Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 02-27-2005, 01:38 AM:
 
The incident that most sticks out in my mind was when I had to eject a 20 member church youth group from the re-release of the Exorcist. In addition to being under age, they would not shut up. The next day, the church Deacon who bought them the tickets and dropped them off came back - with his 3 year old child - and threw a fit until he got a refund on the tickets. We gave him the refund, and the police department gave him citations for criminal tresspass and disorderly conduct. We could have just had him arrested, but the little kid didn't deserve to watch his hot head dad get arrested...
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 02-27-2005, 02:40 AM:
 

quote: Jim Ziegler

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We gave him the refund, and the police department gave him citations for criminal tresspass and disorderly conduct.

---

..whew, what a sorry example of a representative of his church.

-Monte
 

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Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 02-27-2005, 05:24 AM:
 
The irony was his fines were 10 times what his refund was... We seriously considered reporting the incident to thier church's national headquarters...
 

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Posted by Jason Miller (Member # 2341) on 02-27-2005, 12:59 PM:
 
I was doing walk-throughs last night at oneof my theatres when I heard a baby crying. after locating the source I went and got a manager to let him know he might have a problem (Movie was a packed man of the house).

the manager went to the auditorium and 6 young girls.. about 15 or so, came out of the auditorium with one of those fake babies that they use to teach young girls responsibility. the girl was apparently just ignoring it until someone got mad.

the manager told her she couldnt take the thing back into the auditorium if it was going to keep making noise. so get this.. the girl takes it out to the parking lot, and leaves it in a car and returns to the movie.

wow... I see a future Jerry Springer guest in that one..
 

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Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 02-27-2005, 02:55 PM:
 
I have seriously considered banning those damn things from my building. I probably would have kicked the kid out for letting that thing go off in there.

Of course, we can't discuss why schools find an urgent and pressing need to teach 14 and 15 year olds how to care for their own babies - that would be political..
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 02-28-2005, 10:49 AM:
 
If you are "properly caring" for an infant, you don't bring them into a theatre.
 

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Posted by Jarryd Beard (Member # 2543) on 02-28-2005, 12:37 PM:
 
We had a woman bring her infant to a midnight show of AVP. She sat in the last row of the auditorium and placed her baby (in carrier) behind her seat, in the aisle. Anybody could have accidentally walked into her child while entering or exiting the dark theatre. Needless to say, she was asked to move her child to a safer place.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-28-2005, 12:41 PM:
 
I once had a woman lay her baby on the theatre floor with its head IN THE AISLE. (Presumably using the carpet as a pillow.) So I went and asked her to please pick the baby up. She said, "why, he's sleeping." I said, "because somebody is going to walk by and kick him in the head!"
 

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Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 02-28-2005, 03:45 PM:
 
I always feel like handing out condoms to dumb parents....
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 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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Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 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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Posted by James Falloon (Member # 1933) on 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.

you can always tell when it's edcation time down at the local high school from the "balloons" bouncing around.
 

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Posted by Jason M Miller (Member # 2597) on 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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Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 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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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 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.

---

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..

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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.

---

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?

---

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.

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quote: Wolff King Morrow

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Another key point is how your employee didn't think to contact you about such authorization

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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

quote: Monte

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

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quote: Richard Greco

---

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.

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quote: Richard

---

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

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That makes no sense whatsoever. That 1 pass that you're giving out only compensates the customer for the movie that they already paid for!, and does nothing to compensate them for the inconvienience of having to come back and sit through the first half of the movie again. 2 passes if the show cannot go on, one pass for anything else, even what you say is "minor". I wouldn't consider 5 minutes (and 40 frames) minor though.

Free refills at the stand should be policy, so that in an emergency situation, the concession people don't have to spend time trying to track you down when, frankly, you've got better things to do at that moment. And two bottled cokes probably set you back less than $2.00 (whatever your cost is anyway. I've heard people claim "that cost the company $6.00!" because they sell the soda for $3.00... )
 

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Posted by David Yauch (Member # 2754) on 03-12-2005, 12:43 AM:
 
My general manager often quotes some stupid training movie he saw once which featured a guy who was asked one day after many years of going to the same diner to pay for the extra pickle he requested. He pointed out that he had been there for years and always gotten a free pickle but they wouldn't give it to him. Because of that he never went back and the diner lost his business. The oft-repeated moral is "give him the pickle!"

We give out a pass any time a major interruption occurs(anything more than a few minutes wait), and two passes if the show cannot go on(or a show was canceled for some reason). That way they can come back to see the show they purchased a ticket for, and we'll pay for another show to apologize for the inconvenience. People come to the movies to enjoy themselves, and they pay damn good money to do it too, just give them the pickle and keep them coming back.

If it's product quality or concession service, why not give them their order for free(after it's complete, of course)? If they got a pizza with one bad slice in it why not just give them a new pizza? If they order a pizza and you take too long to deliver and they want a refund, why not just give them the pizza AND a refund? Yes it costs you money, but just giving them a refund and no pizza means they spent nothing, and got nothing but a VERY bad taste in their mouth and a bad impression of your theatre. Treat them better than they are expecting and you not only make their experience more enjoyable, you give them the impression(which is hopefully accurate) that you run an honest operation and care about their time. Chances are you will make much, much more off of that customer in the future than that dollar or two that pizza cost you.

Just my two cents, and the philosophy the harkins chain has(thankfully) chosen to follow.
 

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Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 03-12-2005, 02:49 AM:
 
You all need to understand that the policy in place at my theater is EXACTLY what I followed. I honestly put myself in my GM's place and felt he would have done the same thing. I was jst following my company policy.

If the show could not go on, passes are necessary. The customers had to spend an extra 5 minutes at the theatre...IMO Big Deal. But that's just me. I do understand that they may have been engulfed in the movie and it interrupted their "flow" but I still don't see what giving things away is going to do to help them. We actually DO lose money on passes if a customer does not leave. We just gave them a carload free...But. Like I said. I'm just following the policy my company has set in place. Let them worry about the business loss. I just do my job.

quote:

---

We give out a pass any time a major interruption occurs(anything more than a few minutes wait),

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quote: Brad Miller

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The way I see it, your show screwed up. This was not the customer's fault in any way.

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quote: Mike Spaeth

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Passes cost the company nothing ... not doing anything and having a pissed off customer costs the company revenue in the future because that patron WILL NOT return. Giving out the passes in this situation helps with TWO different kinds of patrons.

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quote: Dominic Espinosa

---

Here's a good scenario...
There's a Denny's here in Merced. It sucks. I even got food poisoning from it once.
There's a Denny's 20 minutes away that had a great GM, always out on the floor busting his ass along side his workers who were fast, clean, and courteous...Which one do you think I went to until that GM left?

---

Its actually been 'proven' that given the choice of Convience or Good Service; people will choose Good Service. Being the only game in town will only carry you so far, after which point people will trek out 20-30 minutes just to go someplace that doesnt suck.

btw, yes that Dennys is friggin terrible /signed.
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 03-12-2005, 03:57 PM:
 
Ok fine I'll be the one to say it.

Richard, maybe it's time you go back to being a projectionist. Either you don't understand how to properly manage a business and take care of your customers or the owner of that drive-in deserves to go out of business. That's first class shitty customer service any way you slice it.
 

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Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 03-12-2005, 04:14 PM:
 

quote: Dominic Espinosa

---

Of course she interrupted me..."Well my kids were eating it, I just tasted it right now and I'm not going to stand for it."

---

quote: Brad Miller

---

Richard, maybe it's time you go back to being a projectionist. Either you don't understand how to properly manage a business and take care of your customers or the owner of that drive-in deserves to go out of business. That's first class shitty customer service any way you slice it.

---

quote: Richard Greco

---

When of course the dumbass people come to the port hole and start yelling at me.....

---

quote: Thomas Dieter

---

What do people think we are, Elastigirl or something?

---

Yes.
Or superman, or spiderman, or some other super human hero.
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 03-15-2005, 03:23 PM:
 
"Projectaman" or "Projectawoman".
 

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Posted by Robert E. Allen (Member # 1351) on 03-16-2005, 07:15 PM:
 
We lost the lamp on one of our machines last week (for reasons we still don't understand) and the manager/projectionist was out of our football length booth so the screen was dark for about three minutes before someone reported it. A woman came out and asked me if we could rewind it to that spot. I asked her if she'd like to go upstairs and see what it takes to run a film these days. She refused.

Speaking of doors, there would be no light problem at our place if the doors were left open but I think it's kinda "cool" (as they say today) that when we press the start button a series of events takes place which includes killing the digital projectors (the "2wenty"), striking the lamp, starting the projector/sound, opening the douser, changing the masking, dimming the lights and closing the auditorium doors. Now if they could only find a way to auto-focus the things they could all be run from the office.
 

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Posted by Chris Brown (Member # 2800) on 03-17-2005, 12:43 AM:
 
Okay this happened a few months back...it was about 6:30 on a steady weeknight, and I'm downstairs for a little bit before my set starts at 6:45. I happen to be standing by box office and the box girl (who had just started a few weeks ago) tells me there's a customer on the phone and she doesnt quite understand what the customer is asking her. So I take the call, figuring I had some time to kill before I had to go upstairs. Here's the lady's inquiry:

She had in her posession 2 of our Super Saver tickets (a free pass essentially) and wanted to go to a movie with her husband. They are both senior citizens. Now, our senior price is $5.75, and our adult evening price is $8. In her eyes, each Super Saver ticket was worth $8, since that is what one ticket would cost. So what she wanted to do was give us one Super Saver plus $3.50, and have us give her 2 senior tickets. I explained to her that we could not do this because Super Savers have no cash value (I believe it even says this on the back of them). A Super Saver was to be used for one ticket only, and could not be used to pay for a ticket and a half. She did not understand why she couldn't do this, and I tried a million different ways from sideways trying to explain it. It just wasnt working. This goes on for about 15 minutes, when she finally just hangs up on me. Now mind you I wasn't being rude or anything in the least. By that point I was actually just trying to put an end to all of it by offering her passes for the inconvenience and letting that be that. But no. I will admit I was glad to get her off the phone, as I was obviously getting quite frustrated, not to mention being late to start my 6:45 movie! I dont get people though...she has two FREE tickets in her hands! Most people would be perfectly happy with that fact alone. Oh well...good to vent about that one
 

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Posted by Michael Gonzalez (Member # 593) on 03-18-2005, 01:40 AM:
 
Hey Chris that reminds me of a similar situation I had with a customer. A lady (how come it is almost always an older lady?) showed up at the concession stand with one of our coupons for a discounted small drink and small popcorn combo. She couldnt seem to understand why she could not use the coupon for a discount on a large NACHO and small drink. I had to explain to her SEVERAL times that the coupon was only good for a specific combo and that she could not substitute. Well she finally got the coupon combo and after she left, I got a lot of sympathetic looks from other customers waiting in line including a guy who jokingly said that he had a coupon for a free Whopper sandwich from BurgerKing and was wondering if he could use it for a large popcorn?
 

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Posted by Martin Brooks (Member # 1269) on 03-19-2005, 08:53 PM:
 
Some of you are still not looking at this from a customer perspective. It doesn't matter if the failure "wasn't your fault". If the customer didn't get what they paid for, it's your responsibility. So if there's a power failure or a bulb failure, it's perfectly understandable that a customer would ask you to "rewind". It's not the customer's job to understand your technology.

Likewise, it’s not the customer’s job to understand that there’s only one person in the booth and that’s why the entrance door to the theater is still open. It doesn’t matter to the customer whether there’s one person in the booth or ten. All the customer knows is that there’s an annoying light on and it’s supposed to be dark. The customer has no idea whether you’re going to fix it before the feature starts.
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 03-20-2005, 02:26 AM:
 
Chris - who starts a set at 6:45???
 

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Posted by Chris Brown (Member # 2800) on 03-20-2005, 03:08 PM:
 
Mike- usually at my theatre the evening set begins somewhere between 6:30 and 6:45. Don't ask my why, thats just how my GM does the scheduling. Usually though there are only 2 or 3 starts before 7 though, so its not so bad.
 

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Posted by Charles Phillips (Member # 2594) on 06-18-2005, 03:36 AM:
 
Customer: There's something wrong with my movie. The voices aren't matching up with the peoples' mouths.
Manager: That's is because the film is dubbed m'am.
 

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Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 06-18-2005, 01:07 PM:
 

quote: Mike Spaeth

---

Chris - who starts a set at 6:45???

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quote: Wolff King Morrow

---

I had to giggle over that one

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quote: Monte L Fullmer

---

This is when I REALLY want to tell them, " DUMBASS!...in a dialog movie, voice information isn't encoded to the L/F/Surrounds like your POS matrix encoded units at home!" (but, have to restrain myself to lower my standards to their intelligence. Yet let them know that We run films the professional way..)

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Edit: I'm taking this to PM. Safer that way.

[ 06-20-2005, 12:01 AM: Message edited by: Wolff King Morrow ]
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 06-20-2005, 12:26 AM:
 
How about this:

A couple months ago this car comes wheeling around the corner into the parking lot, barely missing some pedestrians crossing the crosswalk in front of the entrance. The driver "ghetto parks" at an angle that makes it impossible to open the drivers side door without smashing into the door of the car in the next space.

The door opens with a smash into the side of the car in the next space. Cussing and swearing can be heard from inside the car. After what seems like an eternity of smashing and swearing a middle aged woman tries to get out of the car but barely has enough room. She kicks the car as she tries to squeeze in between.

The person who owns the car goes over to confront her. She starts cussing and waving her arms in the air and throwing stuff out of her purse!

The woman stumbles over the curb and makes it into the building, buys a ticket and heads for the theater. By this time, word of the events have reached the box office. The ushers and house manager confront her only to get cussed at.

Campus police are called. The woman is ejected by the cops, kicking and screaming all the way to the back of the cruiser!

The reasons for her outbutst wasn't totally clear but it seems that one of the medications she was taking didn't mix very well with the wine she had for dinner. And, of course, somehow she manages to blame it on the college!

Needless to say, she was taken to the campus police station to "cool off" and somebody was called to come pick her up. She actually attempted to drive home but the campus cops told her that, if she so much as started the car, she would be charged with DUI. (Mercyhurst has a chartered police force. About 1/2 of them are actually deputized & there is always at least one deputy on duty at all times.)

Somebody finally did come to pick her up but not before she won the "Silver Bracelet Award" for her violent behavior. I think they only cuffed her long enough to cool off and get the point across that they meant business.

The offshoot of the whole thing was that she had to pay for repairs to the car she damaged and she got a nice letter from the Chief of Police inviting her NOT to trespass on Mercyhurst Property for at least one year.

I know the cop who ejected her fairly well. He's a soft-spoken guy untill the situation demands otherwise. He would have simply "asked" the woman to call home for somebody to give her a lift. The mere fact that he physically ejected a patron means that she got "in his face"!

Y'Know, I can imagine how some old lady can accidentally get into trouble when her hormone pills synergize with alcohol (Or whatever) but I have a hard time believing that, once the problem is recognized, she wouldn't have called for a ride home. Somehow, she tried to make it out that it was all OUR fault! I don't know WHAT her crazy reasoning was there but she tried!

I get the feeling she mixes her medications on purpose.
 

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Posted by Dieter Depypere (Member # 3184) on 06-21-2005, 08:16 AM:
 
Long, long ago some customer went in and was only able to speak English. As you might know, the films are synchronized to German here in Austria. Now this customer wanted us to have the movie played with English subtitles Telling him that it was impossible, he finally went off and never came back.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 06-22-2005, 11:52 PM:
 
I swear I'm not making this up. It happened tonight.

Lady on phone: When will the movie be out?
Me: In about 5 minutes.
Lady: I need to get a message to (two names I don't recognize)
Me: I don't know them, I'm sorry.
Lady: Well don't you have a P.A. system or something?
Me: No, we don't.
Lady: Well I really need to get a hold of them...how about if I describe them to you?
Me: I could try to spot them on the way out, but don't know if I'd be able to, we have about 75 people here tonight.
Lady: Well he's really tall with glasses and she's a blonde.
Me: Do you know what they're wearing maybe?
Lady: I have no clue.
Me: I guess I can try...what's the message?
Lady: Tell him to bring home a quart of milk for his sister.
Me: A quart of milk? Is this an emergency?
Lady: No, but I really need it.
Me: I can't promise anything but I'll try to spot them.
Lady: (to someone else) What? You do? Oh, OK. (to me) My neighbor said she'll loan me a quart, so never mind. (hangs up)
 

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Posted by Brian Michael Weidemann (Member # 2243) on 06-23-2005, 04:50 AM:
 
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please. Will the tall gentleman in glasses, escorting the blonde, please bring home a quart of milk for his sister. She really needs it. Thank you." ... "Ladies and gentlemen, your attention once again: please disregard the previous announcement. Sir, your sister's neighbor will loan her the milk. This is not an emergency. Thank you."

Very amusing. Thanks for the laugh!
 

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Posted by Justin Warren Goodrich (Member # 3139) on 06-25-2005, 12:28 AM:
 
We have this one older lady who calls about once a week to check the movie times, ask who's starring in them, yada-yada-yada... One time she asks what time a film starts, I told her it starts in about 15 minutes. She tells me she cant make it and asks about the times for another theater (not in our chain) I told her I am not sure that she would have to call that particular theater and ask them. She gets mad that I don't know and wont look it up for her. (this was after I spent about 20 minutes telling her what all the movies were about) So I find the theaters movie line and give it to her. She hangs up and calls back about 30 seconds later completely irate because she didn't want to listen to the recording. She then tells me that I must be white because I am lazy and we need to hire more Asians because they want to work. So I hung up on her. She called back even more mad because I hung up on her. And what really makes me mad, is she still calls once a week every week.
 

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Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 06-25-2005, 07:21 PM:
 
At my current job we can see the number customers are calling from, so we can recognize "favorites" right away
 

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Posted by Adam Wilbert (Member # 1184) on 06-25-2005, 07:54 PM:
 
I ran a scandinavian film fest once, we showed about fifteen different movies over the course of three days. Two weeks before, a woman calls to find out what each of them are about. I begin to tell her that all of the synopsis are published on the internet, and that I hadn't had the chance to read them all yet. She responds with, "innanet? I don't know nuttin about no innanet. Whatcha thinkin? Everyone don't got no access to no innanet. I don't got no innanet. I don't know NUTTIN about no innanet." The way she said it was straight out of Jerry Springer, and sadly, that quote worked its way into my regular rotation.
 

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Posted by Ethan Harper (Member # 472) on 06-26-2005, 08:29 AM:
 
Once had a customer who was deeply offended by the fact that we sell popcorn?
 

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Posted by Jon Morgan (Member # 3059) on 06-26-2005, 11:20 AM:
 

quote: Justin Warren Goodrich

---

she tells me she cant make it and asks about the times for another theater (not in our chain) I told her I am not sure that she would have to call that particular theater and ask them.

---

quote: Ethan Harper

---

Once had a customer who was deeply offended by the fact that we sell popcorn?

---

"The popcorn is making obscene gestures at me and cussing me out! Make it stop!!"
 

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Posted by Robert Harrison (Member # 3202) on 07-03-2005, 01:15 PM:
 
I was informed the other night by the candy staff that a man came out and complained that the projectionist (that would be little old me) was cutting off the sides of the "wide-screen" film. He insisted that this film was in "wide-screen." The film was "War of the Worlds," aspect ratio 1:85.

In all fairness, when I assembled the print, I was a bit shocked to see it wasn't scope.
 

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Posted by Paer Hoegberg (Member # 3133) on 07-03-2005, 03:02 PM:
 
Strange!
The same happened to me last week. I was told the screen was to small, cutting of the sides of the picture.
The movie: War of the Worlds......

Maybe he expected scope because the trailer we showed before Star Wars was in Scope.

Pär
 

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Posted by Robert Harrison (Member # 3202) on 07-03-2005, 03:44 PM:
 
On the other hand, years ago we played another Tom Cruise picture, "Far and Away." That one WAS in scope. Yet, in that case, someone said that the top and bottom were cut off because you didn't see the tops of peoples' heads in close-ups.
 

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Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 07-03-2005, 05:18 PM:
 
Aren't all Spielburg films flat?
 

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Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 07-03-2005, 06:11 PM:
 
Most of them are. ('Minority Report' was one of the few recent ones that wasn't)...

-Aaron
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 07-03-2005, 06:22 PM:
 
Yea..Jaws, Close Encounters, 1942, Indy Jones/Raiders, .. were done in Scope...
 

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Posted by Kurt Zupin (Member # 2751) on 07-03-2005, 07:39 PM:
 
Hey Monte bud, its 1941...not 1942, but I'm sure you already knew that.
 

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Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 07-03-2005, 07:39 PM:
 
'War of The Worlds' is causing a fair few problems.

"The curtains haven't opened all the way in screen 6"
"Is it meant to be that thin?"
"The picture is getting cut off in screen 7"
"Technician, check screen 5, the picture is too small"

Yesturday we had a customer get so upset that he walked out half way through, said he was going to watch the film at our competitor and then go home and write a letter to our head office.

------------------------------------------
Other random musings:

We show about 20 minutes of advertising and trailers before our features start and I rekon that's about a standard for most cinemas in the UK. However no customers understand this. All the customers fall in either of the two categories:

1. The customers who think we show no advertising what-so-ever.
They come in at about 8:02 for the 8pm showing and panick because they think the feature has allready started.

2. The customers who highly over-estimate exactly how much advertising we have. Customer comes to box-office at 8:50 trying to buy tickets for an 8pm show. "The adverts will still be on won't they?"
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 07-03-2005, 08:18 PM:
 
Michael, if you had top masking like many modern US cinemas, you wouldn't be getting those complaints.
 

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Posted by Emma Tomiak (Member # 1862) on 07-03-2005, 09:35 PM:
 
We have top and side masking and still got complaints about the "picture being cut off".
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 07-04-2005, 12:02 AM:
 

quote: Kurt Zupin

---

Monte bud, its 1941....

---

quote: Jesse Skeen

---

At my current job we can see the number customers are calling from, so we can recognize "favorites" right away.

---

quote: Mike Spaeth

---

That, there, is some bad customer service.

---

Not necessarily.

If a system cant do something, than a system cant do something.

I mean thats like if we went

"OMGLOL thats bad customer service!!!111"

Everytime you told some guest that you couldnt rewind the movie.

The only part about that little story that was actually bad customer service, is where he invested more timing telling his guest what he can not do, and not enough time telling them what he can do.
 

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Posted by Kyle Caudill (Member # 1252) on 07-10-2005, 04:26 AM:
 
A guy comes out and complains about a bright light in the auditorium that is bothering his movie experinece. An usher and myself walk into the auditorium behind the guy. He opens the door and takes an imeediate right turn and walks head first into the wall. It was hard not to laugh. My first thought was he needed more light. The light was from a light illuminating a handicap ramp.
 

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Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 07-10-2005, 05:46 PM:
 
Actually Mike, there really isn't much that can be done with that system in this instance - as it just won't print the tickets. Probably the best thing to do would be to charge her for one, take that off her card, and then give her a pass for the other.

Robert, if Dwayne Johnson is still with the company, give him a call at your home office. He wrote the system and may be able to get in a software fix for you. He's a great guy and very helpful.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 07-10-2005, 11:55 PM:
 
This is a classic case of making a mountain out of a mole-hill. Customers don't give a shit about "multiple payment methods," nor should they.

For cripesake. Ring up the card at full value. Put the 50 cents cash in the till. Insert a note in the till: "Dear manager, the card total will be 50 cents short today, but the cash total will be 50 cents long to make up for it. Questions -- please ask me -- CW" Any manager who can't deal with that should get out of the business.
 

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Posted by Shane Cooper (Member # 2510) on 07-11-2005, 12:35 AM:
 
Okay, my favorite customer complaint of all time. It helps to know that I am a 350-pound black guy. Ray was in it's opening weekend. The DTS failed at the beginning of the 9 pm show. We worked to correct the problem and actually had it fixed prior to the opening credits. Right before the opening started, a customer came out and started to get really upset. I explained that the problem was actually fixed, tried to compensate him, etc. to make him happy. No go. He was convinced this was a conspiracy against every black person in Fort Wayne. He said that, "the white guy running this place put Ray in a broken theater on purpose." I let him know that I decided where the movie should play for that week, (incidentally in the biggest house we had). After some more shouting and more attempts on my part to explain that he was missing his movie while screaming, the final thing he said to me was, "They have you out here man saying this? They got you working for the man?"

It was hard not to laugh right in his face at that point. I mean, what do you say to that?
 

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Posted by Robert Burtcher (Member # 3227) on 07-11-2005, 01:51 AM:
 

quote: Jim Ziegler

---

Robert, if Dwayne Johnson is still with the company, give him a call at your home office. He wrote the system and may be able to get in a software fix for you. He's a great guy and very helpful.

---

quote: Mike Blakesley

---

For cripesake. Ring up the card at full value. Put the 50 cents cash in the till.

---

quote: Shane Cooper

---

It was hard not to laugh right in his face at that point. I mean, what do you say to that?

---

Fight the Power!
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 07-11-2005, 09:05 AM:
 
Customer service is not a battle ... there is no "standing our ground." Bottom line - it is not the CUSTOMER's fault that you have crappy equipment. YOU eat the cost, be it an entire ticket, whatever ... the CUSTOMER goes away satisfied.
 

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Posted by Marc Hansen (Member # 705) on 07-11-2005, 09:50 AM:
 
Ring it up as a cash sale. Put the mallcard in your pocket. Take 11.50 from your pocket and put it in the till. Use the mall card yourself at some other store. Problem solved. Happy customer.
 

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Posted by Mark Hajducki (Member # 1732) on 07-11-2005, 09:58 AM:
 
The other option would be to get a machine to sell/add credit to the mall cards.
 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 07-12-2005, 09:17 PM:
 
It's no damn wonder peole are staying home and using DVR and NetFlix, etc...

Eat the .50 and call it a day.. Like someone else siad.. any manager who had their head so far up their ass that they couldn't call this doesn't need to be in this business... and any regional/district/division type manager who coudlnt' understand needs to be out as well..

Run the damn card at $11.50, sweat the .50 cents later. Let the customer go on about her business. She coudl really giev two shits about what type of system you have. All she cares about is the fact that, in essence, you can not process her payment.

If you didn't ACCEPT the mall credit cards, it'd be another story.. but your post doesn't make it sound that way...
 

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Posted by Anslem Rayburn (Member # 1267) on 07-18-2005, 10:39 AM:
 
I would say that a manager should have taken the card + 50 cents, issued 2 full price tickets, and sorted the whole mess out later. I understand that you can't run the card at the moment the guest was at the box office, but I'm sure that something could have been figured out later. In addition, someone with the power to do so needs to figure out a permanent solution to avoid pissing off future guests. If you take the cards, you better find a way to process them in cases such as this. I personally would find it outrageous that you couldn't process this transaction if it were me.

I am shocked that your system won't allow you to charge part of the transaction to a card and then pay the rest by another method. What if someone has 2 cards, each with different amounts, and wants to use them together to cover the costs of tickets? I would think things like this come up frequently, and am surprised your company hasn't addressed the issue. How do other stores in the mall handle the situation?

quote:

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I mean thats like if we went

"OMGLOL [Roll Eyes] thats bad customer service!!!111"

Everytime you told some guest that you couldnt rewind the movie.

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I disagree. The request for a rewind is from people running late, and it is nobody's fault but their own. This request was simply asking the business to process a payment method that they accept, but the business has chosen to not accomodate them. This is nobody's fault except for the theater's.
 

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Posted by Stephen LaPadula (Member # 3050) on 07-18-2005, 11:33 AM:
 
This happened a few months back; we even received a comment card about it. Someone complained of us being racists because we weren't showing Coach Carter. The customer said she lives in the neighborhood, has been coming here for years, and is appalled we weren't showing a movie with a black star. She was disappointed she had to go to the much older and run down Lowes a few blocks away. So I'm thinking to myself, if shes been coming here for years, she would know we are in a split market and do not get every new release. And if she had taken a look at our marquee she would have seen titles like Hitch and Beauty Shop. Of course we had to send a pleasant reply.

I also love when I'm standing in our concession stand, in front of the popper no less, and an old lady asks if we sell popcorn. It's happened more than once...
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 07-18-2005, 01:13 PM:
 
There is a bar next door to our theatre and occasionally a drunk walks in and says, is this the bar? Happened last night.
 

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Posted by Jason Miller (Member # 2341) on 07-19-2005, 12:44 AM:
 
HEY! I was lost OK! criminy give a lush a break!
 

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Posted by Brandon Willis (Member # 2345) on 07-19-2005, 03:44 PM:
 
A few nights ago, when starting the seating for the last feature, I made the following announcement:

"Please remember to silence your cell phones and pagers upon entering the theatre. Please remember that any disruptive behavior will result in immediate ejection from the theatre."

A guy walks up to me on the way into the auditorium and complains about the announcement, about how we're stereotyping young people and how we need to trust our customers more.

As the feature ("Dark Water") is letting out, the same guy stops me in the lobby and makes a complaint about teenagers talking through the movie.
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 07-19-2005, 04:02 PM:
 
That's a great announcement. When I had 5 sold-out (interlocked) auditoriums for Diary Of A Mad Black Woman ... I went in and made the following announcement for each one.

"I'd like to take a moment to welcome you to our theatre and thank you for coming. If you would ... please take a moment to ensure that your cell phones are on vibrate. Please keep conversation amongst yourselves to a minimum during the film for the enjoyment of others. If you have any issues that you need addressed, I'll be in the lobby throughout the evening and would be glad to assist you. Other than that, thanks again, and enjoy your show."

I did this announcement all weekend. Got an ovation from about 50% of the audiences. The other ones just looked at me like I was crazy. I, however, had not a single complaint about disruptive behavior in the film all weekend.
 

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Posted by Chase Hanson (Member # 2779) on 07-20-2005, 12:30 AM:
 
I LOVE making announcements in Auditoriums...its the best thing since sliced bread.

Especially when people just totally ignore you and or make smart ass comments during your announcements. I get to just mentally catalogue all the trouble makers in a bright, well lit auditorium. Cuts about half the time I spend hunting for those idiots that also feel compelled to talk during the movie.

Also if I have reason to be particularly "active" about audience disturbences (por ejemplo in movies like Dark Water)...I just count the anouncement as my "benefit of the doubt" warning.

 

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Posted by Brandon Willis (Member # 2345) on 07-27-2005, 01:08 PM:
 
Just last night, I had a customer track me down in the booth. While threading, I heard someone banging on the port window in the auditorium I was at. He had been walking through the auditoriums and finally found me. When I opened the window he informed me that I needed to "turn on the Dolby DTS" in his auditorium, which was at the other end of the hallway. So apparently we now have some sort of conglomeration of 2 different digital sound formats, and you have to turn it on manually.
 

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Posted by Cam Jones (Member # 2684) on 07-30-2005, 03:09 AM:
 
Well considering I don't want to start a new thread for this, I suppose I can list it here. I don't know if he was actually a customer.

I was working concession, it was during a slow time and I heard this really loud scream. I look up only to be horrified with what I saw. I naked guy running super fast (with only his shoes on) being chased down by a slower floor staff member. The streaker went from one end of the building to another and out the doors. At first we were all just shocked but then the shock turned to laugher. Although I am likely scarred for life

Anyone have this happen to them?
 

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Posted by Matt Fields (Member # 3211) on 07-30-2005, 08:44 AM:
 
I was working I a college town in a old downtown type theatre where people can walk right in from the street. This particular university was known as a party school, and it lived up to its reputation. Anyways, this drunk or high guy with no shirt on walks in as I'm coming down stairs from the office . He goes upstairs to where the bathrooms and theatre 3 is located. This happens occasionally, drunk people walk in to use the bathroom. Usually, we stop them. But this guy got past us, and I figured he'd be gone in a minute after he went to the John.

Well, he was gone quickly, but he didn't go to the bathroom. He walked into the middle of theatre 3, dropped his pants, and then walked out the auditorium, down the emergency exit stairs, and out onto the street.

I caught a glance when he went out the emergency stairs, and yelled to the concessionist, "streaker"! We went outside, expecting him to be half way down the road. He wasn't. He was just standing there naked. He look at us and started walking toward us.

I told the concessionist, a female, to get inside. He kept coming toward me and it became pretty obvious that he wanted to go back in the theatre. I yelled for the concessionist to lock the doors and call the cops.

As she was doing this, he kept coming toward me as I barred the door. When he got close enough that I could see his eyes, I could tell he was totally stoned on something. Then he pushed me to try to get in, and then he took a swing at me and hit me in the head. It din't hurt though, he was so high he could barely swing his arms.

So, once the doors were locked, I was let in and the cops came. The streaker just kept pulling on the door standing naked in front of the theatre until the police came. When the cops came and cuffed him, I heard the officer ask him if he knew where he was at. The guy just shook his head.

It was shit like that made me tired of working in the college town.
 

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Posted by Robert R. Mayer (Member # 3313) on 08-12-2005, 01:25 AM:
 
The following conversation took place between myself and a movie customer tonight (8/12/05) between the 7:00's & 9:00's...

I went to do a routine walk-through through the auditorium playing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to make sure it was clean before I let 9:00 customers into that theatre. I walked in one door to the theatre, down the aisle, and back up the other aisle and saw that the theatre was basically spotless (a few pieces of popcorn on the floor). There were three customers still in the auditorium and they were just leaving when I noticed a 12 oz cup in the lady's cupholder. Seeing how that was the only piece of trash that was about to get left in the theatre, I politiely said (to remind her to clean up after herself)

"Hey, Ma'am, would you be able to pick up that cup and take it to the trash on your way out for me?"

She picked the cup up reluctantly and gave it to her husband, who already had a popcorn bag and a cup. I proceeded to walk out the door to the auditorium and heard her make a comment under her breath, something like "Is that a rule or something?"

I stood next to the trash can and said (just to be polite) "You folks have a nice night." She says (with a scoff) "Don't you guys have a cleaning crew around here?"

Slightly taken back, I replied, "Yes -- I'm the cleaning guy this evening. Wasn't that your cup?"

She said, "Well, yes"

"Then I appreciate you taking it out of the theatre for me. Have a nice night."

All the while I'm thinking "You stupid B**** what the heck is your problem. You the only customer in this theatre who couldn't take out their own garbage and you're getting mad at me. You stupid B****."

She then has the nerve to say (keep in mind that I'm being about as polite as I know how) "I've never been asked to take out my cup in a movie theatre before."

I couldn't resist -- I had to fire this out and pretend that I was shocked (in front of another customer who had seen this whole exchange) "Why, don't you normally clean up after yourself?"

She just gave me a glare and walked out of the front doors. Is it too much to ask for people to clean up after themselves when watching a movie? Is it worth getting all p/o'd over it? I wouldn't think it would cause a problem, but I guess you learn something new every day.

STUPID CUSTOMERS! I feel better now...
 

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Posted by Robert Burtcher (Member # 3227) on 08-12-2005, 03:18 AM:
 
Sorry to beat a dead horse here...

quote: Jason Black

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Run the damn card at $11.50, sweat the .50 cents later.

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quote: Anslem Rayburn

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I am shocked that your system won't allow you to charge part of the transaction to a card and then pay the rest by another method. What if someone has 2 cards, each with different amounts, and wants to use them together to cover the costs of tickets?

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quote: Anslem Rayburn

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How do other stores in the mall handle the situation?

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quote: Robert R. Mayer

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I couldn't resist -- I had to fire this out and pretend that I was shocked (in front of another customer who had seen this whole exchange) "Why, don't you normally clean up after yourself?"

She just gave me a glare and walked out of the front doors. Is it too much to ask for people to clean up after themselves when watching a movie? Is it worth getting all p/o'd over it? I wouldn't think it would cause a problem, but I guess you learn something new every day.

STUPID CUSTOMERS! I feel better now...

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quote: Mike Spaeth

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If you worked for me .. you'd be feeling better on your way out the door on a permanent vacation. That's a horrible attitude, especially in front of another customer. What point are you trying to make?

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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Agreed. I cannot believe you (Robert) actually asked a customer to do YOUR job, and then had the nerve to give her static about it besides. Sorry but the stupidity is yours in this case.

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Now with all the theatres that I've worked with, while cleaning the theatre, if I've gone over an area that a customer is sitting in and they leave something, all management, including the owners, said it was okay to ask them to pick up the garbage they left. That's the whole reason they have the "Please dispose of your garbage in the appropriate receptacle adds." Most people that I've found here in FL though pick up their garbage if they see you picking up garbage though. I've yet to have to ask anyone to pick up their garbage here in FL.

I've never looked at it as asking them to do "my" job. It's common courteous to pick up your garbage before you leave. So many others do it, why not you too.

Of course, I've never worked for a corporate cinema company, all have been independent companies. With them being independent, the line I use with customer is, "This is our house, you don't leave garbage laying around at a friends house or your own do you?" If the reply to that is yes, then I reply politely, "We would appreciate it if you disposed of your garbage to help us as others were so gracious to do."
 

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Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 08-12-2005, 01:29 PM:
 
If you were standing right there, you could have just asked her if she was done with it, and thrown it away for her.

Edit: That goes for anyone who expects customers to throw away their own stuff. It would be nice if they did, but dont expect, or worse, ask them to do it. I mean we dont throw away our food at a fancy restaurant, do we? No, they have busboys for that. Now at a fast food restaurant, we throw away our own trash. Thanks alot guys, you've put theaters on the level of fast food.
 

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Posted by Thomas Dieter (Member # 2507) on 08-12-2005, 01:57 PM:
 
Well if you think about it, it's not use that has done it, it's the people that schedual the show times. Lots of times, you only have 20 mins before the next show starts. So in essence we are. Now if every theatre made hour breaks between every show, I would understand it. The job title of usher or doorman or what ever isn't to pick up every ones trash, it's to assure that the customers movie is uninterrupted by talkative people, screaming children, and during the credits, make sure that the place is presentable to the next audience.
 

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Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 08-12-2005, 02:18 PM:
 

quote: Thomas Dieter

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The job title of usher or doorman or what ever isn't to pick up every ones trash

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quote: Thomas Dieter

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The job title of usher or doorman or what ever isn't to pick up every ones trash, it's to assure that the customers movie is uninterrupted by talkative people, screaming children, and during the credits, make sure that the place is presentable to the next audience.

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quote: Thomas Dieter

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The job title of usher or doorman or what ever isn't to pick up every ones trash, it's to assure that the customers movie is uninterrupted by talkative people, screaming children, and during the credits, make sure that the place is presentable to the next audience.

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quote: Jeremy Fuentes

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If you are complaining about showtimes being close together, some advice to you...work harder.

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Jeremy, try being the only usher on duty during an very busy round, and you have to clean 2 trashed 350-seat stadium seating auditoriums showing kids' movies in 15 minutes.

I've done it before, but I barely made it out before the previews started in the second auditorium.
 

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Posted by Christian Volpi (Member # 2370) on 08-12-2005, 03:44 PM:
 

quote: Robert Burtcher

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Jeremy, try being the only usher on duty during an very busy round, and you have to clean 2 trashed 350-seat stadium seating auditoriums showing kids' movies in 15 minutes.

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Quit your bitching. If you can't handle it...QUIT YOUR JOB! Nobody is forcing you to work there and I bet they have a heaping stack of applicants that want your job.
 

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Posted by Robert R. Mayer (Member # 3313) on 08-12-2005, 04:07 PM:
 
I would like to post a couple of follow up comments to my previous post and the replies to it.

First, the destructive criticism is not appreciated. Please try to offer something positive when you criticize, or don't say anything at all.

Second, I do not think my comment to the customer was appropriate in any way, shape or form. However, my patience for customers had been worn to the last thread -- I had had two large buttered popcorns spilled on me, had a large 44 oz drink spilled on my, had to change clothes twice in two hours, and had several other incidents which affected my attitude and judgement. In retrospect, I would never have even asked the customer to pick up her cup, let alone made a provacative comment after she got rude with me, but what's done is done.

Second, I do feel that I was justified in asking her to pick up her cup in the first place. I was walking through the theatre with a garbage can in front of me; it should have been obvious what my job was. She was standing next to the cup and my goal was to gently remind her to pick up after herself, not to offend or to make her feel ashamed (and the way I phrased my request and the tone of my voice was aimed at preventing such an interpretation). I can't help the fact that she got upset, but she was NOT justified in getting in my face and yelling at me and disrespecting me for it.

The theatre has to pay someone to clean out auditoriums between shows because most customers lack the decent common courtesy or respect to pick up their own trash. This cleaning takes time and keeps people from being able to go right into their movie when the show lets out, and they bitch at the user because they can't go in. We do run ads on screen asking patrons to pick up their trash, so there is no excuse for it other than people are just being people.

I feel that my customer skills are very good, and I have also been told this by my superiors. People do make mistakes, and the proper way to deal with every situation is not always the way that is used. By posting, it was not my intent to start this feud, but I do feel that it is time for it to be finished.

Thank you for your understanding.
 

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Posted by Jason Whitlock (Member # 3077) on 08-12-2005, 04:24 PM:
 
if it was the only piece of trash in the theatre and the rest was spotless.. the right thing to do is to politely ask the customer to dispose of their trash next time to help out future cleaning crews, incase the theatre were sold out and full of trash, she would then be incline to throwing away her own garbage in future visits. But you hovering over her cup with nothing in your hands except maybe broom, and asking her to dispose of her cup is much like telling your employees that they missed a spot.
Maybe if you were carrying a bunch of trash and would have a hard time picking up her cup, then maybe asking nicely if she can help you out by disposing of her own garbage is ok customer service.

And good customer service doesn't include arguing with a customer for no reason.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 08-12-2005, 05:34 PM:
 

quote: Robert R. Mayer

---

First, the destructive criticism is not appreciated. Please try to offer something positive when you criticize, or don't say anything at all.

---

quote: Robert R. Mayer

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Second, I do not think my comment to the customer was appropriate in any way, shape or form.

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quote: Robert R. Mayer

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Second, I do feel that I was justified in asking her to pick up her cup in the first place.

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Shouldn't that be "third?"

OK, more constructively: You went wrong when you said, "Wasn't that your cup?" That was smartass. She KNEW that you knew it was her cup. What you should have said was, "Yes, I'm the clean up crew, but we're really short staffed and running a little behind tonight, so I really appreciate you helping us out." That would have built the customer up instead of belitting her.
 

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Posted by Jon Morgan (Member # 3059) on 08-12-2005, 06:00 PM:
 

quote: Robert R. Mayer

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I couldn't resist -- I had to fire this out and pretend that I was shocked (in front of another customer who had seen this whole exchange) "Why, don't you normally clean up after yourself?"

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quote: Robert R. Mayer

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I was walking through the theatre with a garbage can in front of me; it should have been obvious what my job was.

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...which is why she was surprised when you asked her to do it

quote: Robert R. Mayer

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Please try to offer something positive when you criticize, or don't say anything at all.

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Thanks for the tip. The customers of our industry pay a price to be served by us ... is it as much as, say, going to an NBA game or a Broadway show? No, but still, a decent price is paid. If a customer sees an employee (usher, manager, overnight cleaning crew... anybody) walking through a theatre with a garbage can, it is unreasonable for them to think that that employee is there to pick up garbage? Would it be nice of her to help? Of course. Should she be asked to help ... I would say no, but I agree that it depends on the theatre and/or situation (Thomas Dieter's situation sounds like it is understood by customers ... etc), should the employee - regardless of their day's trials - chide the customer for being surprised? Certainly not.

I'm not intending this as "destructive criticism", I'm writing as one who has worked in the industry for a good chunk of my life, and I (like many in these forums) have cleaned my fair share of theatres - a sold out 1200-seater after Twister sticks out in my memory for some reason.
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 08-13-2005, 08:48 PM:
 
Ya know Robert, perhaps you should consider another line of work. Like me, you don't seem to have the patience for the idiots that are the general public.

They are, in general, fucking slobs and rude jerks. That's exactly why I'm NOT in that part of the biz and choose something not dealing with the public for my career! I would NOT be able to be civil to them.

What you said/did is totally out-of-line as a person dealing with YOUR customers. And like others have said, I would have fired your ass too.

OTOH: I would have said much worse to her and have fired myself as well.
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 08-13-2005, 10:09 PM:
 
Doing the job makes it easy to see the customers as lazy slobs who dont care about your theater...on the other hand, if you didnt do the job, you'd EXPECT the theater crew to pick up after you and be polite to you etc etc. If you've grown so jaded as to not be able to see your place as an usher/concession person or whatever, then perhaps its time to look elsewhere for a job. I've had pop spilled on me..stepped in gooey cheese on the floor that somebody left (JUST for me to step in I'm sure )...it sucks, but its the job and it happens. I guess I look at it this way, I'd rather have pop and popcorn spilled on me then perhaps a bedpan or vomit bag. I'm thinking nurses and orderlies have worse stories than us. Its a fun job in a great envirement so suck it up, and do your job, do it well, you'll get a better job. I'm sure fast turnaround is everywhere... or there's probably a burger joint right around the corner in need of assistant frenchfry chefs or soemthing. Just think...it only gets better from here..
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 08-14-2005, 12:23 AM:
 
Come fly as a co-pilot doing Grand Canyon air tours for a season. You'll get to clean the vomit out of aircraft cabins almost every day, and get paid less than any movie theater floor staff. Oh yeah, plenty of dumb passenger comments and questions to deal with too. Of course there are some advantages...
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 08-14-2005, 12:31 AM:
 
Like kicking the passenger door open and offering a "close up view" of the canyon?
 

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Posted by Thomas Dieter (Member # 2507) on 08-14-2005, 01:17 AM:
 

quote: Jeremy Jorgenson

---

Should she be asked to help ... I would say no, but I agree that it depends on the theatre and/or situation (Thomas Dieter's situation sounds like it is understood by customers ... etc)

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I don't know if it's that the customer's understand that they should pick up their garbage, but rather once I (or any person picking up the garbage) has passed the row that they are sitting in, it's rather polite to pick up after themselves. That's when I usually notice that they pick up after themselves, and the only time that I would ask them to pick up their garbage. I think most of the people that go to our theatre see the effort that we go through to make the place clean for them before their show (Brooms and dust pans in hand, sweeping under each chair, getting just about all the popcorn and candy from under them), that they feel compelled to give a little in return, and we are a second run theatre.

Now I have been informed by my manager that we, the theatre I'm currently working for, doesn't ask customers to pick up their garbage. Although if memory serves me correctly, there is a slide advertisement in the ScreenVision Projector that asks to dispose of trash in the cans.
 

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Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 08-17-2005, 05:45 PM:
 
It's a difficult topic to discuss.

For example as an User myself I do understand that it is in my job description to clean up (I'n not going to get upset over a cup), but like most ushers, at the same time I do wish the customers would treat our theatres with a little more respect. I don't mind customers leaving rubbish, but I think there is a difference between a: leaving rubbish and b:totally trashing the joint. I do think a fair few of customers cross over this line.

If we go back the the restaurant analogy. When you have eaten your meal, you leave your plate and cutlerly on the table to be cleared away by the restaurant staff. What you DON'T do it is throw your last scraps of food on the floor and then walk all over it, mashing it into the carpet as you leave. (because that's exactly what customers do at movie theatres).
 

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Posted by Timothy Ervin (Member # 733) on 08-17-2005, 06:49 PM:
 
Today a lady complained that our kids meal did not hold enough quantity of popcorn and Coke for an adult . I felt like telling her "well, thats why they are called "kid's meals !!!", but I just just kept my mouth shut and walked away .
 

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Posted by Thomas Dieter (Member # 2507) on 08-17-2005, 07:19 PM:
 
While at work one day, I started to help the concessionists finish the line they had after everything had been started. The customer asked for a large popcorn and large drink. I proceeded to get the large popcorn (bag), and she asked the person serving her if I was getting the correct popcorn size for here. They stated yes as they filled the drink. She then asked what size the tub of popcorn was. That would be the "Tub" of popcorn.

Now just like all other theatres, we have a display that has all the sizes on it, and the Size and Price are labeled on them. We all know that customers don't look so that subject is closed.

She then proceeded to ask where the cup for the large popcorn was. We don't have a cup for the large popcorn, and the concessionist pointed to the display board. She then decided she didn't want the popcorn, and just took the drink.
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 08-17-2005, 07:19 PM:
 
When I was an usher, and I was in the auditorium when people were leaving, AND I saw a cup or popcorn tub near them, I politely say, "Don't forget your pop (or popcorn)" I thought it sounded more like a friendly reminder in case they forgot to take it home with them...if it was empty, they usually told me that and I would just tell em "Oh ok, then the garbage can is right outside door, have a great night hope you enjoyed the movie" Is that rude? or condiscending? I didnt think so. I never got a complaint about it... BTW, I think people should pick up their own crap and throw it out....its common courtesy.
 

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Posted by Jon Morgan (Member # 3059) on 08-18-2005, 10:46 AM:
 
I would love it if people cleaned up after themselves, but it just isn't going to happen.

Which is easier, 300 people picking up one piece of trash or 1 person picking up 300?
 

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Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 08-18-2005, 11:38 AM:
 
I used to work as a waiter...here is a conversation I had with a customer once...

Me: Hey, don't forget to take your dishes to the kitchen and wash them. Make sure you use hot water.

Customer: Isnt that what they pay you and the dishwasher to do?

Me: Oh, yeah. Well, nevermind. Have a nice day.

Customer leaves...

Me: Bitch.
 

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Posted by David Nightingale (Member # 3250) on 08-18-2005, 01:31 PM:
 
I hate to beat a dead horse with a stick but, on the topic regarding the $10.50 gift card....I understand that you had no way to ring up the tickets WITH the card....you couldn't have just let her go into her movie of choice without ringing anything up? or signed out 2 rainchecks (re-admits, whatever) and then redeemed them right away and ring her up passes? I don't remember a time when a company would penalize someone for good customer service
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 08-18-2005, 09:02 PM:
 
Great post, Jeremy! That analogy pretty much sums it up...
 

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Posted by Robert Burtcher (Member # 3227) on 08-19-2005, 03:40 AM:
 

quote:

---

I hate to beat a dead horse with a stick but, on the topic regarding the $10.50 gift card....I understand that you had no way to ring up the tickets WITH the card....you couldn't have just let her go into her movie of choice without ringing anything up? or signed out 2 rainchecks (re-admits, whatever) and then redeemed them right away and ring her up passes? [Confused] I don't remember a time when a company would penalize someone for good customer service [beer]

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quote: Martin Brooks

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Jeremy, your analogy doesn't hold up for me; Michael's works better.

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quote: Martin Brooks

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If a customer walks up to your snack stand and buys a drink and drinks it on the spot, you would not expect that customer to drop the cup and remaining fluids on the floor in front of the stand.

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quote: Robert R. Mayer

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I noticed a 12 oz cup in the lady's cupholder. Seeing how that was the only piece of trash that was about to get left in the theatre

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from that post it doesn't seem like the rest of that customer's area was left as a dirty mess, just one cup. I think Jeremy's analogy fits that better than Michael's. ... for this incident anyway, I don't deny that theatre patrons can be terribly messy, but my whole point (and unless I'm misreadig it, I think Jeremy's too) is that, I'm not debating whether it is good or bad, right or wrong, it is part of the job.
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 08-24-2005, 12:37 AM:
 
The analogy doesnt work for me either. Pop and popcorn spills happen, accidentaly, all the time. Thats VERY different then leaving your crap behind for someone else to clean up. I would NEVER tell someone to clean up their own spill, THAT is what we are here for...I would however remind people (like the ads on the screen) to pick up after themselves if I happen to see them leave their garbage behind. The mentality that its OK to be a slob and leave crap around the auditorium is just wrong, and it should change. Another issue I have with people is them kicking back and putting their feet up. Its not allowed or tolerated. Being summer time, I see more and more people taking their shoes off and putting their feet up...thats a tastey thought isnt it? Its NOT ok to be a slob and I dont think theres anything wrong with politely reminding people of that. Anybody who allows people to make a mess, deserves to clean it up. Afterall, nothing is going to change unless employees make a point of it. I dont see any topic here about people smoking in their auditoriums and leaving burn marks in the seats...why??? because its not acceptable. Its funny how the NO SMOKING ad runs right after the "REMEMBER TO THROW AWAY YOUR TRASH" but people only respect one of the rules, and not the other.
 

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Posted by Jeremy Jorgenson (Member # 2989) on 08-24-2005, 01:36 AM:
 
that is absurd: one is a law, with a fine, the other is a suggestion. Also, during our policy trailer telling about smoking and trash, it also tells them to buy gift certificates and concession items, it certainly is not a "rule" that they have to buy them. Oh, and it says to enjoy the show, if a customer complain about not liking the movie, should we remind them that we asked them to enjoy it?

I agree with you, many customers are slobs, but I don't think a one line blurb before the film reminding them to pick up after themselves is going to change that. Especially with the onslaught of pre-show adds all telling them to do one thing or another.
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 08-24-2005, 03:15 AM:
 
You try to force gift certificates on people? Ours just suggests where you may find them People are fogetful, and I'm sure that some leave their trash simply because their pop and popcorn were gone by the end of the last trailer (how else can you explain a lost and found bin filled with coats, purses and cell phones). My point is simply this, if you were to stand there and watch a person get up and leave their crap behind, then you should clean it up. What if, along with their popcorn and pop containers, they left their coat there? Would you remind them to pick that up too? Would you then remind them to grab their garbage as well? When people forget their personal items along with their garbage, perhaps we should pick up their coat or cell phone AND their nacho tray, popcorn tub and empty drink cup and through them all in the same box and wait until they comeback for it, then give them the entire box. Passive suggestive. Of course we wouldnt do that, but do you think they'd ever forget the message?

Bottom line is people get offended when asked to throw their own trash away, fine, I simply get offended when they decide to treat my auditoriums like their garbage cans. I have pride in my theater...as customers, they should respect that or next time I walk by their cubicle at work, I'll drop my rolled up McDonalds bag and Big Gulp Dr Pepper in their area.
 

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Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 08-24-2005, 07:03 AM:
 

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

The analogy doesnt work for me either. Pop and popcorn spills happen, accidentaly, all the time. Thats VERY different then leaving your crap behind for someone else to clean up.

---

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

simply get offended when they decide to treat my auditoriums like their garbage cans

---

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

WE are in the business of showing a movie, NOT serving food.

---

quote: Jeremy Jorgenson

---

but I don't think a one line blurb before the film reminding them to pick up after themselves is going to change that.

---

It won't change the worst offenders, but it does set a standard for what the "community" deems acceptable....same as the "turn off your cell phone" reminders. There will always be idiots too self-centered to shut off their phones and there will always be slobs, but I have no problem reminding people of what is acceptable.

Yes, in a restaurant, we do expect the waiters to pick up our dirty dishes, but it is not considered acceptable to purposely dump your drink or food on the floor.
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 08-24-2005, 07:22 PM:
 
I agree. I don't think the restuarant analogy is the best for THAT reason...and the fact that users dont get tipped like waiters.
 

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Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 08-24-2005, 08:45 PM:
 
1) I think its alright to be annoyed with customers in for not picking up their trash. Its not that hard to do, its just plain laziness to leave it sitting there.

2) I see nothing wrong with slides/policy trailes politely reminding customers to pick up their trash.

3) I do think its wrong to get into an argument with a customer on a face to face basis over picking up garbage.
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 08-24-2005, 09:44 PM:
 
No one wants to argue with a cutomer, there always right!?! But I don't think that a polite "Oops, don't forget THAT (pointing to their crap on the floor" could be considered an arguement. Certainly if they decide not to pick it up, it falls to usher, but the fact that you noticed and pointed it, may make them a little more conscience about it next time, and the next time, and the time. Someday, maybe when their with their kids, or a date, they may for-go the embarrassment and just take the trash.

I also don't think its a bad idea for usher to thank patrons for throwing their own trash out. A pat on the back will be remembered for a long time too.
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 08-24-2005, 09:59 PM:
 
At the prices theatres charge for the food...the pick up service is built right in. Is it nice that some people pick up their trash...yes...should you be upset if they don't? Nope. That IS the establishment's responsibility.
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 08-24-2005, 10:23 PM:
 
Maybe a better analogy is the cleanup workers at a mall food court. Some people leave all kinds of crap on the tables, they spill food on the chairs and floor, and they generally make a mess. Should the food court workers, who by the way do not get tips, pester customers to clean up after themselves? They'd probably get fired if they did, and rightfully so. They've been hired to keep the food court clean. Ushers at modern theaters are hired to (among other things) clean up between shows.

I agree that it's appalling what some people do as far as dumping their trash. But it's part of the business.
 

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Posted by Wayne Keyser (Member # 2420) on 08-24-2005, 11:04 PM:
 
The lot of ya - all 23 pages of ya - all seriously need a visit to www.customerssuck.com
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 08-24-2005, 11:11 PM:
 
I don't beleive its "part of the business" I think its just something that theater workers/owners have just accepted. I don't accept it. I will always make it a point to attempt to get people to take out their own trash.

Exactly who cleans up a food court is a mystery to me. I usually end up searching for a clean table because crap is left there. People are pigs...when their not at home. What would they say if I brought a few tacos from taco bell over to someones house, filled with lettuce and tomatos and sour cream, kicked off my shoes, put my feet up on their nice new chair, dropped lettuce and crap all over their floor, then left the wrappers and bags behind. After all that, just before I leave, I'll complain that the TV show I watched sucked and sound was crappy.

If ANYONE will let me pay them $8 to come to their house for 90 minutes and do that, I'd take em up on it. Naturally, if YOU want to make the tacos, I'll buy them from you. Remember you raise the price enough to account for the carpet cleaning. If I complain enough...I'd like a free pass to come over and do it again.
 

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Posted by David Yauch (Member # 2754) on 08-25-2005, 06:03 AM:
 

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

People are pigs...when their not at home. What would they say if I brought a few tacos from taco bell over to someones house, filled with lettuce and tomatos and sour cream, kicked off my shoes, put my feet up on their nice new chair, dropped lettuce and crap all over their floor, then left the wrappers and bags behind.

---

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

Hey, if you condone people leaving crap around your auditoriums, great,

---

quote: me, right above your post

---

We dont condone people leaving trash.

---

On another note, we have decided to get rid of all our employees and have the customers serve themselves and start their own movies. Customer service is a thing of the past in our establishment!!
 

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Posted by Jon Morgan (Member # 3059) on 08-25-2005, 10:21 AM:
 
Yeah, we just have a big pile of candy on the floor and a jar for people to leave their money in.
 

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Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 08-25-2005, 11:11 AM:
 

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

WE are in the business of showing a movie, NOT serving food

---

quote: Steve Guttag

---

They can't legally spray graffiti on the floor either but you better show that the damage they caused was willful.

---

quote: Steve Guttag

---

About the only items you could expect a customer to remove/throw away are those they brought in with them...

---

Why doesnt it surprise me that you allow carry-ins. Where did you learn your business sense? "Come to our theater, bring your own crap and be slobs...we appreciate it! And to show our appreciation, were gonna clean up after you!!"

quote: Steve Guttag

---

Frank, you are so off base it isn't even funny.

---

I know....but you are.

Party at your theater!!
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 08-25-2005, 08:03 PM:
 
Funny...I tend to be around the classier theatres...they are not pig sties because the floor staff keep them clean...you seem to think that the customers work for you and PAY for that priviledge.

Where is YOUR customer service? From your description...you dont have much.

Again, it is not a debate...as you what a customer has to do or even should do...you are wrong...as to what would be nice for them to do, you are right.
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 08-25-2005, 09:47 PM:
 
Steve, I'm not wrong. Policy trailers around the world are asking the same thing we do...please throw away your trash. Why is that so hard for you to accept? If I'm so wrong, why dont policy trailers say "When the show is over, leave your trash on the ground, we'll pick it up." NO, it asks the patrons to throw their own trash away. Our policy trailer also asks people not to put their feet up on the seats. If we see people with their feet up, we go in and ask them to put their feet down. If they refuse to comply, their asked to leave. Why is it ok to enforce THAT rule...but not the "throw your trash away" rule.
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 08-25-2005, 10:13 PM:
 
This debate over trash is straight out of the Twilight Zone!

Running slides and a policy that reminds people to pack out their trash is fine. Nothing wrong with that. Theaters around here do it.

But confronting customers about it seems, well, a little over the top. Almost any venue where the public gathers for purposes of entertainment is going to have the litter problem. That's how it is.

Maybe Disneyland should have its employees confront visitors over their trash. "Sir, you dropped the wrapper from your $4.00 Goofy's Ice Cream Sandwich. Please pick it up and deposit it in a designated waste receptacle." Not gonna happen. Or how about sporting events. PA announcer: "Please pick up your trash, including all peanut shells. If you don't a stadium employee will give you the evil eye."

How is a movie theater any different?

Nobody here has said that littering in a theater is a great thing and everyone should do it. Nor is anyone condoning vandalism from concession items (like deliberately spilling a soda on the carpet). On the contrary. What's being said is that it's probably bad business practice to confront customers over a left-behind popcorn bag and soda cup.
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 08-25-2005, 10:35 PM:
 
....and I disagree. If your there, and see i happen, theres nothing wrong with pointing it out.

If a Disneyland employee was standing right there, and the customer saw him, would that same customer throw the wrapper on the ground? Probably not. Also, I don't see the correlation between food price and built in trash removal. This is new to me. Does a Big Mac's price have built in trash disposal as opposed to something on the $1 menu? Is it ok to leave a Big Mac wrapper on the floor at McDonalds, but not alright to leave a $1 Small Fry wrapper on the floor?
 

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Posted by Wolff King Morrow (Member # 2226) on 08-25-2005, 10:42 PM:
 

quote: Stephen LaPadula

---

The result: customer told employee to meet him outside where he pulled a knife and employee then shot customer 3x.

---

Each made a mistake in this case: The employee for not calling the cops on the customer, and the customer for bringing a knife to a gun fight.

What happened to the good old days when problems could be solved with fists?
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 08-25-2005, 11:43 PM:
 

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

If you guys want to sit there smiling and waving at customers while they leave their crap all over the floor, great. More power to ya. Not us.

---

quote: Mike Spaeth

---

Seriously, you need to take a hard look at your customer no-service you are providing

---

quote: Mike Spaeth

---

You do not EVER ask a customer to do something simmply because it "inconveniences" you in my book

---

quote: Mike Spaeth

---

... where is the leadership??

---

quote: Mike Spaeth

---

You'd be following the other guy right out the door ...

---

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

If YOU worked for ME, you'd be the one out the door.... To stand there and watch someone make a mess and not say anything shows lack of motivation or interest in your job.

---

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

I'm not sure if I'm actually talking to people with usher experience here. Or possibly it sounds like upper managment who has forgotten what its like to clean up after people. In either case, it sounds like I'm hearing "It's ok for my little people to clean up after these slobs, and they better not complain" Perhaps if it was you cleaning out auditoriums instead of sitting in the booth or sitting in the office, your tune might change. I acutally help clean things up, and the messes I see make me sick.

---

I have usher experience, and I'm more than sure everyone is this argument knows what its like to clean up theaters. Dont go around acting like your the only one with problems. We all deal with it, and to me it sounds like you wanna just deal with less and try and pass it off as having balls. Wow, I'm really impressed. To say that maybe we are sitting up in the booth or the office sounds like more whining to me. Here's a tissue, wipe the tears. I help clean theaters too, except the difference is, I know that its my job, and so do my ushers. And I dont just stand there with a stupid look on my face as customers leave, I thank them for coming, I dont ask for volunteers. If its such a problem for you, why dont you try banning customers from your theater for leaving trash behind, lets see how many customers you have left. Probably none, but then again thats probably better for your customers/volunteers.

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

or maybe I have a little more pride in my theater. I've gotten a lot of compliments on the appearance and condition of our theater, and I intend to keep it that way.

---

We've gotten compliments for our appearance and condition of our theater and we've done it all on our own. We win!
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 08-26-2005, 08:58 AM:
 
WTF?! People have been leaving popcorn and soda cups on the floor of theaters since popcorn and soda have been sold in theaters! No big deal!

For cryin' out loud! I, myself, have left my popcorn bag on the floor during a movie... and *I* was the one who was going to have to clean it up! I just figured, "What the hell? I'm going to have to clean up the rest of the theater. Why not pick up mine when I pick up the rest?"

Besides, what's the big whoop about one stinkin' cup?! It wouldn't be the first time somebody forgot a cup in a thater. It wouldn't be the last time. In today's theater environment most people wouldn't notice. The majority of peole who do wouldn't think twice about the occasional lone cup.

Finally, if you MUST be so anal retentive that you NEED to get that cup all you have to do is politely walk up to the customer and say, "I'd be happy to throw that cup away for you, if you want me to, sir." If he says, "Yes.", take the cup and toss it in the bin. If he says, "No.", forget about it.

What's the difficulty with that?

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

If someone has the balls to leave everything behind with me standing right there, then I have the balls to ask them to pick it up.

---

quote: Kurt Zupin

---

A) use Franks method of customer service and run the kids down and made them sweep up the theater.

---

quote: David Nightingale

---

Since when is GOOD customer service a lack of motivation and interest in your job?

---

quote: Jeremy Fuentes

---

and to me it sounds like you wanna just deal with less and try and pass it off as having balls. Wow, I'm really impressed.

---

quote:

---

We've gotten compliments for our appearance and condition of our theater and we've done it all on our own. We win!

---

quote:

---

For cryin' out loud! I, myself, have left my popcorn bag on the floor during a movie... and *I* was the one who was going to have to clean it up!

---

So you really didnt LEAVE it there did you? You picked it up. Thanks.

quote:

---

If somebody had the balls to ask me to pick up the popcorn cup I'd have the balls to tell them, "Fuck off, you lazy bastard and do your damn job!"

---

Charming...and we don't let customers talk to employees like that, nor do we let employees talk to cusotmers like that. You'd be asked to NOT return.

I know you guys enjoy movie theater work, but come on, your hostility is a little unnerving. Is this REALLY how other people act and feel? Or is it easier to say behind a keyboard? Randy, I SINCERELY doubt you'd be that bold as to mouth off to a theater employee in that manner. Unless of course, you like to escalate matters and see how far you can push people.

Everyone needs to understand that I wasn't trying to get personal with anyone here. Hope I didnt offend anyone. Eveyone runs their theater as they see fit. Whether people return or not is up to them. Thats all...
 

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Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 08-26-2005, 11:44 AM:
 

quote:

---

If you enjoy letting people leave their crap in the auditoriums

---

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

Lets start making shit up now...

---

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

Is this REALLY how other people act and feel?

---

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

your hostility is a little unnerving.

---

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

Like I said, if you want to sit around with a stupid grin on your face while people leave crap all over your auditorium thats up to you.

---

quote: Kurt Zupin

---

I could of A) use Franks method of customer service and run the kids down and made them sweep up the theater.

---

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

If someone has the balls to leave everything behind with me standing right there, then I have the balls to ask them to pick it up.

---

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

If there are theaters out there that actually condone leaving crap on the floor, then great for them. Our houses are clean, and our cusomters appreciate it.

---

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

We DON'T expect people to leave garbage on the floor like pigs. Ushers are there to clean up spills. Whether by accident OR on purpose, we do that. We dont hand a mop and bucket to people and tell them to clean their own mess just like if people get sick, WE clean that up too. We attempt to get people into the auditoriums in good time, we also find seats when the auditorium is crowded. We clean up the lobby to make it presentable and attractive to customers. We assist concession people when it gets busy. We are able to jump behind box and sell tickets if its busy. We answer customer questions and direct them to their movies. We remember faces of the people who have to leave for a minute to get something from the car. We open and close the doors so people can come and go freely without a door slamming in their face and allow traffic to flow freely. We dust, we mop, we resupply the concession stand, we are at the managers becken call....now I ask you, do we REALLY need to pick-up peoples popcorn buckets and nacho trays too?

---

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

No one wants to argue with a cutomer, there always right!?! But I don't think that a polite "Oops, don't forget THAT (pointing to their crap on the floor" could be considered an arguement. Certainly if they decide not to pick it up, it falls to usher, but the fact that you noticed and pointed it, may make them a little more conscience about it next time, and the next time, and the time. Someday, maybe when their with their kids, or a date, they may for-go the embarrassment and just take the trash.

---

YES FRANK AS MUCH AS WE DON'T LIKE IT, THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT...want to know why?! Because they spend there hard earned money at the theater thats why.

I quoted you here to kind of give you an idea of why I said what I said, I didn't put words in your mouth just read what you said and came to the assumption that there is good reason that you would of asked the kids to clean up the theater. Because thats not your job, your job is to clean up spills and this wasn't a spill. Because the last time I checked that was part of my job, makeing sure the theater is in tip top shape for the next customer!

It seems to me Frank that out of the 30 or so of us that post on a regular basis. We are all in agreement that a customer should never under any circumstance be asked to pick up something if it is left behind. You seem to be the only one who thinks it not your job, but the customers(or the way it seems you think from what you post) Don't want to put words in your mouth again

Just one more question, Frank whats your job title at the theater you work at, you say your in managment, but from the 2nd to last quote from you, it sounds like your just a lazy usher who dosn't want to bend over to pick up the tub of popcorn or the candy wrapper on the floor. IMHO, i'm just wondering.

Thank you for you time, and just my 2 cents.
 

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Posted by R. Andrew Diercks (Member # 1725) on 08-27-2005, 12:26 PM:
 
I like the idea of having kids sweep up (whoever suggested it). It could double as a job interview too.

On second thought, they probably wouldn't want to work for the popcorn Nazi.

It's not just the fact that they're customers and spend money in your theatre. They spend LOTS of money in your theatre. A family of four cannot go to the movies for much under $50 now. I think we can pick up after the "slobs" "pigs" or whatever else your customers are to you. I call mine "guests" and I clean up after my "guests" at home too.
 

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Posted by Jon Morgan (Member # 3059) on 08-27-2005, 03:41 PM:
 

quote: Mike Heenan

---

They should bring back those hilarious UA tags with Chevy Chase explaining how to act in a movie theater.

---

This is kind of off topic, but I just LOVE the AMC Crouching Tiger-style cell phone warning.
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 08-27-2005, 04:07 PM:
 
Like I said, I'm done here.

Kurt, I also post here on a regualr basis, and I DON'T agree, this is america, so try and grasp that concept. Just because the majority agrees, doesnt always make it the right way to do things. If its right for YOU, then do it. Period. Apology accepted
 

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Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 08-27-2005, 06:00 PM:
 
Jeremy, Mike and Scott (and the rest of you) are totally correct...

Frank, which theatre are you at? It would be fun to build across the street from you and take all your customers away.. You know, I don't play the trash nazi with my customers, and we can seem to keep our building clean anyway...
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 08-27-2005, 09:25 PM:
 
Thanks for your opinion.
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 08-27-2005, 10:24 PM:
 
Here's a couple reasons why reminding customers to pick up their trash seems both unwise and futile...

• You're potentially creating an unnecessary negative "standout moment" that the customer will associate with their visit to your theater. Could even be embarrassing to them too. Everything about a paying customer's experience should be as positive as possible.
• When your theater is busy, you can't possibly be "catching" more than a very small percentage of the litterbugs. So what's the point? You still have that other 95% of the trash to pick up.
• If your theater is *not* busy, then the amount of trash to be picked up can't be all that great. So again, what is the point?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but has even 1 person agreed with you about reminding customers to clean up after themselves?


 

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Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 08-27-2005, 10:37 PM:
 

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

Thanks for your opinion.

---

You are quite welcome!

quote: David Stambaugh

---

You're potentially creating an unnecessary negative "standout moment" that the customer will associate with their visit to your theater. Could even be embarrassing to them too. Everything about a paying customer's experience should be as positive as possible.

---

quote: Jim Ziegler

---

it sounds like you just don't like cleaning auditoriums.

---

LOL, I dont know ANYONE who does, but thats beside the point. It wasnt the point of my discussion at all. And by the way, I'm quite happy where I'm at. If we have upset customers, it doesnt show. We dont get negative comments at all. Our attendence has grown year after year. This year wasnt all that great, but thats because the movies have sucked. My way seems to be working for me. Thats the point I'm trying to make. Its funny that all of you tell me I'm wrong, when it works for me. Peace....
 

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Posted by Allison Parsons (Member # 2728) on 08-28-2005, 02:44 AM:
 
when did the rant on stupid customers become the rant on other people's managerial/working skills? Just curious
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 08-28-2005, 03:18 AM:
 
About 2 pages ago when I was stupid enough to share my thoughts with everyone. I feel so loved...
 

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Posted by James Bjarnason (Member # 3237) on 08-28-2005, 05:15 AM:
 

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

We dont get negative comments at all.

---

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

About 2 pages ago when I was stupid enough to share my thoughts with everyone. I feel so loved...

---

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

Like I said, I'm done here

---

 

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Posted by R. Andrew Diercks (Member # 1725) on 08-29-2005, 11:21 AM:
 
Frank,

This is a Forum. If you don't expect feedback, don't post your comments. As I'm sure you've discovered, like yourself, poeple on Film-Tech love their professions and like to share their opinions. There is a lot of collective experience speaking here. I agree that majority isn't always right, but this is very near unanimous, and that at least borders on, we've learned from our mistakes, so we're right.
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 08-29-2005, 02:20 PM:
 

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

Like I said, I'm done here

---

quote: Frank Dubrois

---

Like I said, I'm done here

---

ahem... thanks for understanding...let's move on.
 

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Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 08-29-2005, 07:53 PM:
 
I like peas
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 08-30-2005, 12:41 AM:
 
I like liver!
 

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Posted by Wolff King Morrow (Member # 2226) on 08-30-2005, 12:43 AM:
 
Green eggs and ham here.
 

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Posted by Cory Isemann (Member # 2517) on 09-10-2005, 02:03 PM:
 
I like it when customers stand up on the top row of seats and rap on the glass until they see someone. I never open up the glass for them, I just give them a "look".
 

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Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 09-10-2005, 02:45 PM:
 
Are they just being jerks are they attempting to complain about a presentation/patron problem?
 

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Posted by Thomas Dieter (Member # 2507) on 09-11-2005, 01:10 AM:
 
I've actually had that happen and all they were doing is trying to complain that the movie hadn't started yet. After looking at my watch, it actually started about 30 seconds early. I'm assuming that they were going by their watch and it must have been set fast or something cause I always start my shows about within right on time give or take 30 seconds according to GMT. Atleast I try to. Hard to do when you have multiple shows starting at the same time on oppsite ends of the building.
 

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Posted by Cory Isemann (Member # 2517) on 09-13-2005, 06:09 PM:
 
Dustin- probably just being jerks.
 

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Posted by Tommie Evans (Member # 2674) on 09-14-2005, 01:18 PM:
 

quote: Cory Isemann

---

I like it when customers stand up on the top row of seats and rap on the glass until they see someone. I never open up the glass for them, I just give them a "look".

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Rapping on the glass is just plain rude! Anyone who does this should be make to clean it (both inside and out ). Besides, rap music is the route to all evil!
 

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Posted by Jason Miller (Member # 2341) on 09-14-2005, 02:06 PM:
 
I was trying to put something back together in time for a show and some %$#@head BANGED on the glass.. not tapped.. BANGED and startled me so much as to drop the bolt I was trying to thread down inside the shutter housing. I opened the window and he asked how long it would be until the movie actually started. I told him even longer since he made me drop a part.
 

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Posted by Jeremy Jorgenson (Member # 2989) on 09-16-2005, 07:24 PM:
 
One theatre I worked at had the port glass panes "affixed" magnetically. Some worked better than others, on some, if a customer knocked on the port glass, it would knock the glass on to the projector. That was annoying. It wasn't just customers, sometimes a change in pressure caused one or two to drop back. Of course, management didn't think it was a problem. I worked there for 2½ years, and I think two panes of glass got broken.
 

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Posted by Patrick Dunn (Member # 3333) on 10-05-2005, 07:35 PM:
 
I had that happen where the pressure pushed the glass out and it busted when it hit the floor. until we got it fixed we had to place cardboard with a slot to look out cut in it. I'm glad our windows are too high up for costumers to mess with or look through.
 

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Posted by Amanda Jones (Member # 3326) on 10-06-2005, 02:31 AM:
 
Tonight I seriously had a customer ask me this. He stopped me as I was going from the concession stand to the box office.

"Where is your regular butter topping" (He was standing in front of the self butter station) I figured maybe the BIB was empty so I open the cabinet to change it and he stops me again

"No there is butter, but the dispenser says Hot Buttery Topping. My wife can't handle a lot of spicy stuff"
 

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Posted by Wolff King Morrow (Member # 2226) on 10-06-2005, 03:25 AM:
 
Should have told him it meant hot as in sexy.
 

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Posted by Amanda Jones (Member # 3326) on 10-07-2005, 08:21 AM:
 
um no wouldn't be doing that.

Also had the other night the usual customer complaining about our prices. He spent 33.75 at the concession stand on him and his wife and complained he could go out to dinner with his wife for that price. BTW he was with his wife and they bought 4 hot dogs, 2 small popcorns, 2 small sodas, a nachos and extra cheese, and some raisinets. Even though we are all about making money at our concession we still try to give people the better deal. I tried to tell him it would be cheaper to get a combo (2 drinks 1 corn) since we offer free refills on all sizes there would be no need for 2 separate corns.
 

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Posted by Patrick Dunn (Member # 3333) on 10-07-2005, 08:29 AM:
 
Yeah, it sounds like they are ordering way more than what they need, I wouldn't be able to eat that many hot dogs, nachos, or popcorn, even if i were sharing it with someone. but i do see people come out for free refills for their large popcorns before the movie starts. which scares me into thinking they may have spilt it.
 

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Posted by Eric Webb (Member # 2772) on 10-07-2005, 11:42 AM:
 
Great Website

quote:

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Wayne Keyser
The lot of ya - all 23 pages of ya - all seriously need a visit to www.customerssuck.com

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quote:

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Every theater in America does it!

One day I was working both Box Office and Guest Services. When I was at box office, this one couple came up and proceeded to order their tickets. I continued to ask "Do you have any active duty military or student IDs" (We have Active Military & Student discounts at our theatre).

The man said "Yes two militaries". I assumed that his wife/girlfriend/friend/sister/fiancée whoever had an active military too. He showed me his active ID and I asked for the woman's ID. She said she didn't have it but she was military. I told her that we have to see both IDs to get both discounts. She said that her ID was in the car, and she could go run and get it. Before she took off, I asked her if it was a dependent ID. She said yes.

I told her it was only for active military. The man then said "well we got both discounts before with her dependent ID" (FYI: that is the universal comeback of almost every customer when we deny them of something...they did it before). I assured him that even if they did so before, maybe the came around matinee time, and thought they got the discount. The reassured me back that they came around the same time that it was now.

I again told him that I couldn't do anything and showed him the sign that said "Active Military (With ID) $6.50". He then said "Well I will just buy one ticket then." I heard his girlfriend mumble something, then he looked at her and whispered "I will just go to another window and buy another ticket with my ID". Well they way the box office is set up, we talk to customers through a headset, and it picks up "EVERYTHING" you say. I don't know why people think we can't hear them.

So after he said that, I just smiled to myself, and sold him his one ticket. Then I looked over to my left to inform all the box office cashiers that the guy that just left my line already got his military discount, and don't give him another one. I watched him go to another window, and get denied! He looked at me, and gave me this, "Oh no you didn't" look.

The couple game inside and came over to guest service. I walked to the guest service desk (which is a few inches away, since it's connected to box office) and stood beside the manager that was there. The couple came in fussing about how they want both military discounts and why the dependent can't get a discount too. It's the same story with everybody else who complains. We don't make the rules, the movie companies sets these rules. They asked for a refund, and his lady friend then said "Well every movie theatre in America accepts both military IDs, and this is the only one that doesn't". I almost burst into laughter when she said this. Has she been to every movie theatre in America? They asked for a complaint form, in which we didn't have one. They complained about that too. So the manager just gave them a business card, with his name on it.

They then made some more unimportant comments, and then left. I guess there were on their "every theatre in America" road trip. The manager and I just looked at Each other and laughed. The thing about it is, most theatres don't even have a military discount rate. I just wish people could hear that comes out of their mouths.

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Posted by Paul Gordon (Member # 3320) on 10-07-2005, 11:48 AM:
 
Speaking on not just stupid customers but insane drunk ones...I have a good one for you. We had a special screening for the enginner frosh at Carlton University a couple weeks ago. The place was packed with 500 drunk frosh wearing only cardboard boxes for clothes. (The films were Office Space and Die Hard 3) Anyway these guys were so trashed that we (well I wasn't projecting that day thank God) had to deal with guys getting up on stage and licking the screen. Then one guy on stage, pulled down his pants pissed into a bottle and drank it!!! to the cheers of the rest. Plus they started throwing water balloons around in the theatre!! I can tell you one thing the Manager was not impressed and I doubt that the Enginners will be comming back to the theatre anytime soon.

Crazy!!
 

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Posted by Amanda Jones (Member # 3326) on 10-07-2005, 12:37 PM:
 
yes customerssuck.com is a great site. I used to post a lot in their forums.

also planetfeedback.com is good for a chuckle because people submit their complaints and then they are riped to shreads by repliers who tell them they don't deserve compensation for their complaints. Sadly though that site has been down for awhile why they upgrade it.
 

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Posted by Ron L. Funderburg (Member # 3325) on 10-07-2005, 12:40 PM:
 
Speaking of a theater full drunks, in 2000 on Saint Patty’s day we had a midnight showing of “Final Destination.” We sold out a 318-seat auditorium all College students (with high school kids sprinkled in) all drunk. They got noisy and abusive and even with Digital sound the noise was so loud it was difficult to hear.

I told my wife to call the police, went up and stopped the film. I went in the Auditorium (not something I recommend with a room full of drunks) and went the front. I received a lot of verbal abuse as I announced the movie would start when the noise stopped. I stood there with arms crossed as they all yelled out at me. One drunk got up and said “I’ll just beat you to a pulp and then go start it myself.”

To which I responded “Your welcome to try. Assuming you can beat me to a pulp and can make it to the booth, what switch will you throw to do that, or is it which button will you push” I then added “just how will do that from jail?” knowing the cops would be there in a minute which they weren’t yet. He shut up and sat down and slowly the all shut up with me just standing there. I slowly walked back up to the lobby looking down the kids as I did, expecting to see cops but no cops yet.

I started the show when I got up to a room full of very quiet kids and started the show back up. It was on the last preview I walked back down to the lobby and still no cops, but then after another minute, they showed up. Asking about the trouble, we related what happened with my wife telling the cops how stupid I was to go in there. The cops agreed and did a walk threw to a very nice group of pretty drunk young people.

 

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Posted by Amanda Jones (Member # 3326) on 10-07-2005, 12:52 PM:
 
For anyone who has ever worked for GCC you all remember midnight shows on the weekend? That is when we got a lot of our drunks because our midnight shows were always the R movies we were playing at the time which meant they were the horror and action ones. Even though they were annoying and loud, they were easy to upsell to because they were all hungry. So it was easy to get them to buy a Monster Tub of corn, some candy, large soda, and nachos with 2 extra chesses.

Now it seems we get all our drunks on Sunday nights 9 o'clock set.
 

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Posted by Patrick Dunn (Member # 3333) on 10-10-2005, 05:35 PM:
 
We play the Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnights on Saturday night, and i know that I'm never going to work it. I like working with just the regular costumers.
 

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Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 10-10-2005, 06:23 PM:
 
Patrick Dunn
"I like working with just the regular costumers."

Great Pun there!

Sometimes those "dress up movies nights" are a HOOT!

KEN
 

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Posted by Rob Ferreira (Member # 3406) on 10-15-2005, 12:24 AM:
 

quote: Patrick Dunn

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We play the Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnights on Saturday night, and i know that I'm never going to work it. I like working with just the regular costumers.

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quote: Thomas Dieter

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he was burping and spitting all throughout his movie with his children.

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quote: Thomas Dieter

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Well, what it all turns out as, the customer was very unhappy that we allow homeless people in our theatre, and he was afraid for the children that attend here, and I will leave you with a quote from him. " Those people do not belong here "

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quote:

---

That man right there, what does he look like?

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quote: Thomas Dieter

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Those People do not belong here.

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quote:

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I hate to see this theatre in the newspaper cause of this.

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With those 3 quotes, we had determined that the customer didn't like the fact that we allowed homeless people in our theatre, cause all homeless people do is stalk children and find ways to sexually abuse them. BTW, both shows that he went to were childrens movies. Madagascar and Sky High.

Over 3 people came to us after the 2nd show was over stating that the complainer was being very rude and had to be prejudice cause he never did anything in the following show.
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 10-16-2005, 09:58 AM:
 
I don't give a rat's ass WHO they are.

If:
1) ...They cough up the correct admission price...
2) ...They don't cause a disturbance. (Or they don't smell bad. Or they don't dress in an offensive manner, etc., etc...)

They are welcome in my theater.

Money is green. That's the only color I care about!
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-16-2005, 01:52 PM:
 
Some people will bitch at the smallest little thing that the rest of the crowd may not even notice. I once had a lady complain to me that the person behind her was LAUGHING too loud at a comedy.
 

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Posted by Amanda Jones (Member # 3326) on 10-16-2005, 03:43 PM:
 

quote: Mike Blakesley

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I once had a lady complain to me that the person behind her was LAUGHING too loud at a comedy.

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I had something almost similiar. A woman came out to complain because the three woman in the front row were making a rustling noise and it was bothering her. I did a theater check and the rustling noise was their bag of popcorn anytime they went to put their hand in it.
 

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Posted by Adam Wilbert (Member # 1184) on 10-16-2005, 07:21 PM:
 
Not a customer complaint at all, but this relates to the homeless posts above. When I worked at the Valley Art in Arizona, I used to pass this guy sitting outside down the block every day. He was always very nice, "hi, good day" etc. Never asked for money. But he was always there. Christmas eve, we were showing the re-release of A Hard Day's Night, and as I passed him, I asked if he wanted to come to a show. I gave him an employee pass, probably a fireable offence, and comped him some popcorn and soda, also a fireable offence. He thorougly enjoyed himself, and I never felt like a better person. Just thought I'd share.
 

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Posted by Andy Muirhead (Member # 712) on 10-16-2005, 08:04 PM:
 
Dead on Adam. I'm glad there are people out there like you.

Maybe there should be a seperate thread entitled 'How I went out of my way to help customers/potential customers' or maybe just 'How I did the right thing regardless'

Could just be a bit more constructive than bitching about customers or more recently staff.
 

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Posted by Rob Ferreira (Member # 3406) on 10-17-2005, 04:50 AM:
 
On the topic of stupid customers again, several times we've had a guy come in and proceed to bitch about anything and everything. His favorite thing, though, is to talk about our sound systems and why we are not playing REAL films.
I work for a 7 screen theatre, 2 of which are DTS, 4 stereo, one mono (!!!). At any rate, when said customer came in over this past summer to see a film (that we were not playing), he proceeded to tell me that it was going to be the biggest movie of the summer, and definately of the week. The film was "The Great Raid." I explained to him that we had no control over our bookings, and that our booker decides what will play and what will make money, and he apparently chose not to pick up this film for one reason or another. He retorted with "What movie do you THINK is going to make money in this town?" I replied with, "Well, IMO, I'm going to say that Four Brothers will be our biggest film this week." (Turns out I was right, as it played for over 2 months and did very well.)
He purchased a ticket instead to Skeleton Key, complaining that he had to pay "full price" (this was a matinee, mind you) to see a film "Not in the good sound." (Skeleton Key was, at least, in stereo). I explained to him then, politely, that whatever film is our biggest money maker, naturally goes into the DTS theatres because they 1)hold more people and 2)want to have the best presentation for them. He thought that idea was "very friggin' stupid" and that if a movie is new, it should AUTOMATICALLY be released into our "best sound" theatres.
He then argued with me for the next ten minutes about what movies are going to make money, which aren't, and who he can complain to about the movies we are/aren't getting and where they are placed, and I wouldn't know anything about the business of it because I was a "child." That pissed me off, because I'm 22 and I've been doing this job for almost 10 years
Thank God he is a tourist and around at random times only.

(*sorry about the long post...had to get that all out there*)
 

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 10-17-2005, 05:39 AM:
 

quote: Andy Muirhead

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Could just be a bit more constructive than bitching about customers or more recently staff.

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quote: Matt Fields

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I think your point is valid about all theatres having the same quality of sound, but would you carry that arguement on to screen size?

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This can be spun many different ways. What about time?? Why is a ticket to a 90 minute movie the same as 3 hour movie. That would seem pretty unfair to me if I was a customer.

Everyone is different and has different preferences. Most people are happy with what you give them, then there are people who will always find something to bitch about.....just part of working in a service industry.

When your *paying* customers complain at least try and pretend like you care.
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 10-17-2005, 08:23 PM:
 
Matt there is a difference here...

When you show a less popular film in a smaller house...you are still showing them the whole film (unless you have say 2:1 screens in the little theatres but proper ratios in the big ones).

If you have digital sound in some...you are providing a discrete 5.1 (or better) audio experience versus a matrix stereo that does NOT get the same attention to detail that the 5.1 audio mix received and will not have stereo surrounds that may or may not affect how the sound is perceived on a particular film. The subwoofer is handled completely differently. If the little theatre is mono, there are absolutely no pretense of playing the film as it was mixed and can't even remotely be compared to the digital version.

As to the length of film corresponding to the price of the film...that is not valid...a film is a complete entity, like a book. The valid comparison would be if you played a 90-minute version of a film in the "big" houses and an 80-minute version in the lesser auditoriums. The lesser rooms are receiving less of the same movie. The same problem applies to the sound.

A customer can value what ever they want to value for whatever reasons...if the big screen is what they want then that is what will make them happy. Rationalizing it with them won't make any difference.

As a business one has to decide what makes the most sense in terms of theatre size (which relates to screen size) and the ability to fill that auditorium versus having more theatres within the complex (or devote the space to other profit centers). I have always advocated AGAINST having the the BIG theatre and then the "dump" houses. The perceived difference between the level 1 and level 2 theatres should be very small...the level 3 theatre for those films with legs can be a bit smaller and most people will not be upset with such a theatre 5 weeks into the run providing it is a quality presentation with a reasonable sized screen and auditorium...it still can't be on the level of a home theatre or it isn't worth it.

Anybody that builds a plex with the one or two BIG theatres and the rest are notably smaller is just begging to get complaints about the film being in the little theatre. The transition from big theatre to small needs to be much more gradual.
 

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Posted by Matt Fields (Member # 3211) on 10-17-2005, 08:45 PM:
 
I understand that it would be very uneconomical for any theatre to be built with all the theatres the same size. I was just playing devils advocate.

My theatre seats 270, then 200, then 150, then 110, so I have the gradual decline you were talking about. The only people who ask whats playing in the big theatre at my place are the 10-12 year olds who are just there so we can babysit for the parents on Friday night.
 

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Posted by Rob Ferreira (Member # 3406) on 10-18-2005, 01:21 AM:
 
Well, I am not saying that I disagree about wanting good sound. If I had to pay, I'd be dissapointed seeing a film in mono over DTS or even stereo. But my point was the customer was waging a complaint with something that is basically out of anyone on the staff's control, including my manager who has to have our schedule (times and auditorium placing) approved by the higher-ups. But to me, it's like paying 8 dollars for a good movie or 8 dollars for a bad movie. It's all a matter of taste. Of course to film handlers DTS is a lot better, because most know the ins and outs. But most general people don't really care for the difference in DTS or stereo sound. If this customer was ONLY going for sound quality and not for what the movie was, then he should have seen Charlie and the Crap Factory (what was in both our DTS houses). If he wanted a good movie, he would have overlooked the slight lessening of sound and just seen a film he wanted. Or not gone at all. What did he want, for me to move the print into a DTS theatre so he could have the kind of presentation he wanted? It's people like him that make me grateful for DVD...
 

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Posted by Martin Brooks (Member # 1269) on 10-21-2005, 09:19 PM:
 

quote: Rob Ferreira

---

Well, I am not saying that I disagree about wanting good sound. If I had to pay, I'd be dissapointed seeing a film in mono over DTS or even stereo. But my point was the customer was waging a complaint with something that is basically out of anyone on the staff's control, including my manager who has to have our schedule (times and auditorium placing) approved by the higher-ups.

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quote: Martin Brooks

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I happen to think it's rather silly for a customer to complain about which films a theatre plays because the customer is able to discern that before he/she sets out for the theater, but the customer is totally correct concerning the quality of presentation in any given auditorium. Every customer is entitled to the best sound and picture quality regardless of which auditorium the film is playing in.

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I don't disagree with you, and it would be nice if all of the auditoriums were nice, huge, stadium seating with DTS or better sound and a world-class presentation. But its not, and the guy knows it, as he has been there quite often while on vacation. So I handled his "complaint" as best I could, IMO. I don't know what he would have me do to appease him. I believe he was probably only complaining because he was looking to get comped so he could come back and see another movie at another time on our dime. His attitude is what sets me back, in that in I would have no idea about what I am talking about or what movies will do business and what won't. I may not be an expert, but I know what films will do well in our area and at what times of year. If he doesn't like it, then he should stay in New York and watch his movies there. It wouldn't affect me in the slightest.
 

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Posted by Michael Shipperbottom (Member # 3442) on 11-01-2005, 04:54 AM:
 
Hi, I'm new here, here are some of my favourite stupid customers:

CUSTOMER:"Large popcorn, please."
ME:"Would you like sweet or salted popcorn"
CUSTOMER:"What's the difference?"
ME:" ....... erm..... one's sweet, one's salted."

CUSTOMER:"What time is the last show of ....."
ME:"8:45"
CUSTOMER:"aren't there any earlier shows?"

We've had people wanting to watch the new Harry Potter film. I explain that it's not released til the 18th nov and they say "Well it say's in the paper...". What the paper actually says is that we are now taking bookings for Harry Potter. The ad also clearly states that it opens on the 18th nov.
 

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Posted by Matt Fields (Member # 3211) on 11-01-2005, 07:12 AM:
 
Don't know if anyone else has heard these, but two of my fave customer quotes are:

"When is the midnight movie?"

"How much is the free movie?"

-Matt
 

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Posted by Thomas Dieter (Member # 2507) on 11-01-2005, 11:45 AM:
 
I swear. Some customer never cease to amaze me. Sweet or Salted Popcorn? You must Really be dumb if you have to ask what's the difference. All though, to play devils advocate, they were more than likely looking for a price difference, thinking it costs more to make the sweet.

The show time quote is also another famous one, and I've yet to come up with a reasoning for it. But in the case of the Harry Potter, it's not a problem with the newspaper as you found, yet it's the problem of the customer not paying attention. I don't know how many people I've seen walk out of the theatre royally pissed cause they can swear up and down that the news paper said this, yet I'm holding the newspaper ad. Then they go to say it was false advertising on our part in their copy. Yeah, like we have the time or the money to be pulling that bull .

I will make an addtion to the rant on the customer that I have a few weeks back about the homeless person. The customer ended up coming back (I was in shock) and had no complaints. But when he went to get his free refil on the tub of popcorn, he wouldn't even lay an eye near the concessionist that he harrassed that day. When she informed the new hire that that's who yelled at her, he decided to go off on the New Hire saying, "Yeah, I Yelled at her, and I'm an ass, so what are you going to do about it!" As far as I know the concessionist wasn't talking that loud, and just wanted to give the other a heads up so just in case it happened, she knew who to expect it from. But I don't think she was prepared for that. JERK. Let me flavor your popcorn for ya .
 

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Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 11-01-2005, 12:42 PM:
 

quote: Michael Shipperbottom

---

We've had people wanting to watch the new Harry Potter film. I explain that it's not released til the 18th nov and they say "Well it say's in the paper...". What the paper actually says is that we are now taking bookings for Harry Potter. The ad also clearly states that it opens on the 18th nov.

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quote: Dustin Mitchell

---

I would have verbally reprimanded or written up the concessionist for talking in front of a customer like that. No matter what he did in the past there is no point in aggravating him again.

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quote: Mike Spaeth

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There is absolutely no reason that the new employee needed to be "warned" about the customer.

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quote: Jason Black

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Late posting on this one, but Thomas, like others said..

Unfortunately, the new staffer got what they deserved, so to speak. The emplyee who made note of this IN FRONT OF THE CUSTOMER should be written up.

NEVER.. and I mean N-E-V-E-R do you allow staff to talk about the bread and butter that pays their salary IN FRONT OF THIER FACE!

Was the guy an ass? Probably. Should she have opened her mouth about it IN FRONT OF HIM? NO.

Now your theatre has two very likely targets should this fella come back.. again.

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quote: Thomas Dieter

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I don't want to sound racist or anything either, but they were also black

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quote: Thomas Dieter

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With all this information, if the situation persisted with the group of girls, would you have stopped the show, brought up the house lights, and asked the group to leave and appologized to the rest of the patrons?

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quote: Andy Muirhead

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Regardless of how the situation would be resolved, if they had not calmed down, your post throws up the most bizarre quote.

quote: Thomas Dieter

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I don't want to sound racist or anything either, but they were also black

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Maybe I mis-read your post, but I am struggling to find any relevance. Perhaps I'm wrong but it seems you contradicted yourself.

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quote: Nick Scott

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At the end of the screening she came out to collect her dog from the front of the cinema but bad news.... haha someone had stolen it and ofcourse i was to blame.....

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Someone stole a dog?? That's just sad.
 

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Posted by Dieter Depypere (Member # 3184) on 11-28-2005, 01:20 PM:
 
I am just wondering who on earth would steal a dog...
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 11-28-2005, 01:38 PM:
 

quote: Dieter Depypere

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I am just wondering who on earth would steal a dog...

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It could be for ransom. Or a child who comes home with a dog, saying "he followed me home".
 

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Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 11-28-2005, 04:21 PM:
 
Taco Bell?
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 11-29-2005, 09:39 AM:
 
"Yo quiero Taco Bell" said the dog.
 

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Posted by Michael Gonzalez (Member # 593) on 12-07-2005, 03:29 PM:
 
Opening weekend of Harry Potter 4. I have two teen girls come up to me and complain that someone had taken their seats when they went up to buy concession. Naturally I assumed that someone had just made a mistake and had unknowingly sat down in the girl's seats. Nope. The girls tell me that the people had actually moved the girls jackets out of the way (they threw them in the asle) and sat down and of course couldn't care less when the girls told them that they were sitting there first. Oh in for the kicker the people in question where two parents in their early thirties and their two kids probably about 5 and 7 years old.

So I went in to confront the parents who even admitted that they knowly took the seats but did so because they could not find four seats together (and acted like that was my fault or something). Now the show was a near sell out but not a complete one so there were quite a few open seats available all through out the auditorium so I offered to find them other seats but they would have to split up to one parent and one child. Well they refused that offer and refused to move stating that they had to wait in a long line (like everyone else) and that seat saving should not be allowed. At this point I should point out that there was a group of about 8 teen girls (15 or 16yrs old), they came in and found their seats together and four of them went to buy concession and four remained to watch the seats.

These "parents" actually had to nerve to say something to the effect of that "since the girls had left, their seats were fair game". So I actually said that so if they (the parents) were to get up to use the restroom or buy food than anyone else can take their seats and that would be ok baised on their logic. About then the father told me that unless I found them 4 seats together, they were not moving. So anyway while I was contemplating whether or not to have mall security remove them (they just happen to be in the lobby at the time), some other customers offered to move together so that they could open up four seats and they finally moved. Very gracious on the other customers part as I dont think I would have wanted these rude people sitting next to me for the next three hours. I was pretty professional about the whole situation but damn if I didnt want to ask just what kind of example did they think they were setting for their children.
 

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Posted by Paul J. Neuhaus (Member # 3205) on 12-17-2005, 09:39 AM:
 
Wow,

Too bad I bet you wanted to punt them out on their asses!!
 

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Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 12-17-2005, 10:33 AM:
 
We have self service butter for the popcorn, as well as self service condiments for ketchup and mustard. The butter is marked on top "HOT BUTTER TOPPING", well, sure enough, she asks me, "Are both of these Butter?". I assume she is asking about the 2 self serve butter stations and answer. "Yes they are both butter". Doesn't she put her popcorn bag under the mustard?

She didn't even notice and walked away!!
 

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Posted by Brian Michael Weidemann (Member # 2243) on 12-17-2005, 05:39 PM:
 
I didn't witness any of it, but the current story circulating the management staff is about the woman who couldn't hold herself.

She had to leave her movie and couldn't get to the restroom in time before she severely soiled herself. Even though she claims that it was totally embarassing for her, she made her complaint to every manager she encountered. She wanted passes and this-and-that, and for the company to pay for the cleaning bill because, after all, it was OUR HOT DOG that made her do it.
 

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Posted by Alexander Smith (Member # 1769) on 12-18-2005, 12:34 PM:
 
Friday 16th December, around 19:45: I'm at the front of house helping check customers tickets while the regular floor staff are cleaning up after a busy show of Chronicles Of Narnia.

As a promotional thing we are giving away a cheap-and-nasty binocular with children's tickets for King Kong. At this time the adverts and trailers are nearly finished with about 5 minutes before the film starts.

A few seconds after handing 2 of these (in boxes) to a family of 2 adults and 2 children, one of the children (a girl, about 9 years old) asks me:

Girl: "Are these for watching the film with?"
Me: "No, they are just for fun."

Ho-hum.
 

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Posted by Shane Cooper (Member # 2510) on 12-22-2005, 01:49 AM:
 
Ever have a moment when you don't know is someone is trying to be funny or just incredibly stupid?

I had a woman come up to me in the lobby of the theater this weekend and ask, "excuse me, but is there a theater around here called the Polaris 18?" Which I greeted with a courteous laugh and smile at what I thought was a bad joke, (since she was standing in the lobby of the Polaris 18). However, she was serious and somewhat offended.
 

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Posted by Chris Boland (Member # 3549) on 01-06-2006, 02:07 AM:
 
Couple I can think of off hand.

Situation: Brainwrap, movie shuts down

Me: (Going into the theatre) "Sorry everyone, all of you will be given passes to come see a free movie another time due to the film shutting down. The projectionist is currently fixing the problem and the show should be up again very shortly"

Random person from audience: "There's a person that runs the movies?? I thought all this stuff was just done by computers!"

................................
Situation: Customer complains the sound is too loud.

Me: (Makes phone call up stairs on mobile Intercom phone) "OK sir, it should be good now, the projectionist turned it down"

Customer: (whole time has been standing at theatre door holding it open) "I can still here it from here, it's way too loud!"

At this time a manager happened to hear this and explained how you will always hear a movie from the lobby..... (well at least in our building it's like this)

.............................

This is my favorite...

Customer: "I'd like a refill on my popcorn please" (Holding a promotional bag from a movie no longer playing)

Me: "I'm sorry sir, we only give refills on popcorn that was sold today"

Customer: "Exuse me? I bought this today! Are you calling me a lier?"

Me: "Last time we sold bags like that was 2 months ago, these are the ones we've had since then"

Customer: Says nothing, turns and walks away.
 

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Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 01-06-2006, 04:17 AM:
 
Last weekend a chronic complainer came in and asked for a receipt for her medium drink and large popcorn.

Tonight one of my staff confused an elderly couple. It was FAAAANtastic!
First the set up: Our senior/child ticket is same as matinee, $5.
Matinee is any show starting before 6pm.
These two come to see the 5pm Walk The Line and ask for 2 seniors.
The cashier for no good reason tries to correct them.
Cashier: Everyone is matinee before 6
Guest: Don't we get a senior price?
Cashier: No. Everything is $5 before 6.(confusion begins)
Guest: But you have a senior price don't you?
Cashier: Yes, it's $5. Is that two for Walk The Line?
Guest: Oh, ok. Yes.

Me: *sigh*
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-06-2006, 12:30 PM:
 
We have a Monday discount night where we lower the adult price. The kids price stays the same. Sometimes people will ask why the kids don't get a discount -- we tell them the kids ALWAYS get a discount. Solves it every time.
 

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Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 01-06-2006, 04:02 PM:
 
That's exactly my point, Mike.
In your case your guest asked the question, you answered it with exactly what they wanted to hear.
But when your senior price is the same as matinee and they ask for two seniors for a matinee show shouldn't you just say ok and not try and educate them?
It just seems so much easier.
 

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Posted by Brad Allen (Member # 470) on 01-06-2006, 09:16 PM:
 
Yes sell them the correct *priced* ticket. Who cares what it's classed as. The ticket seller should be wacked up side the head for causing confusion.
 

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Posted by Anslem Rayburn (Member # 1267) on 01-07-2006, 05:11 AM:
 
On some occassions, we give out a gift bucket. It's a small popcorn bucket that has about $12 worth of candy, plus two tickets good for any show. We get people receiving these gift buckets trying to get a free refill on the bucket. We are amazed, since they got $27 worth of free stuff shoved by hand into that bucket, and always explain that we can't refill it.
 

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Posted by Wolff King Morrow (Member # 2226) on 01-07-2006, 05:23 AM:
 
My current peeve is the customer who thinks he/she knows more than you do about your job and how to run your booth:

Today a grass fire (big problem right now in Texas and Oklahoma) caused a transformer to blow near where I work. The resulting blast knocked power out all over town, but we managed to stay online with a few brown-outs. Unfortunately, the sound processors on all my screens rebooted to non-sync while the movies continued to run. So I'm having to run my ass off and quickly kick the sound back over to Digital on each sound rack. Some of them were too far gone to kick over and had to be reset at the breaker level. Ends up taking about ten minutes to get everything back to working order.

So later on I find out one of the managers had a customer defiantly argue that the sound went out because I misframed a splice and it "confused" the processor. This customer thought the darkening of the screen (caused by the brownout) was CLEAR PROOF I had made a mistake in building the movie and that I should be fired on the spot. No matter how much the manager tried to explain he was wrong about that, the guy kept barking about how he was right because he'd been a projectionist for years and a manager too. Other customers overheard this guy barking at the manager and mentioned they thought he was an idiot and a jerk after the guy left with passes in hand.

Several times customers have wanted my head because of an act of nature like a storm knocking the power out, or no surround working during a dialog scene. Its these same types of idiots that later write up an article talking about projectionists working up to eight screens because platters don't exist.
 

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Posted by Jason Miller (Member # 2341) on 01-07-2006, 04:22 PM:
 
That same guy might have been in little rock recently. I overheard a customer daying that the surrounds weren't on because the projectionist built the movie wrong.

Guess he should have used the "surround" splicer.
 

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Posted by Dieter Depypere (Member # 3184) on 01-08-2006, 12:10 PM:
 
Read something weird in the newspaper today:

In the "Wulfenia Kinozentrum" (6 plex movie theater in Klagenfurt, Austria) there were two little boys (10 and 6 years) and a 8 year old girl watching a movie. During the movie the 10 year old dropped some popcorn on the ground (accidentally!!).
This caused a man between 40 and 50 to hit those children. The police is currently looking for him.

Why on Earth would a man hit some children for losing some popcorn???
 

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Posted by Jeremy Jorgenson (Member # 2989) on 01-08-2006, 02:34 PM:
 
I certainly hope the police find him.
 

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Posted by Matt Whitney (Member # 2909) on 01-26-2006, 08:22 PM:
 
I just love it when people buy tickets to an R-rated film and then come out halfway through and ask for their money back because they didn't like the language. First they ask for their refund and I say "I'm sorry, what was wrong with the film?" They reply "We didn't like the language." My response is always "Well, it is rated R" Of course, you always have to bite the bullet and just hand out the refund to keep your customers happy.
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 01-26-2006, 10:31 PM:
 
I'd have to disagree on that one. We have people coming out wanting passes because they didn't like the movie. too bad. You should have done your homework before paying money to see it. Unless theres a presentation problem (act of god or otherwise), we don't issue passes to people who just dont like the movie.
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 01-26-2006, 10:57 PM:
 
I'm with Matt on this. Just make the customer happy. If it's a habitual thing, then stop it. But for the average person, just give em a pass. It's worth it to keep them coming back. Never say "tough shit." Just offer a pass.
 

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Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 01-26-2006, 11:00 PM:
 
If somebody watches the whole movie I won't give them there money back because they 'didn't like it.' I might give them passes depending on the situation.

However, if someone comes out less than halfway through the movies-especially in the 15 minutes after the previews are done-I'm happy to give them their money back.
 

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Posted by Anslem Rayburn (Member # 1267) on 01-27-2006, 05:58 AM:
 
We offer refunds up to 30 minutes after start time. That's 20 minutes into a movie. After that (so long as it's prior to the end of the film) we will give passes. After the film, it's case-by-case.
 

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Posted by Matt Whitney (Member # 2909) on 01-27-2006, 02:13 PM:
 
We try to get them to take passes as the first option. If they insist on the cash, we usually just go ahead and give the refund. I feel it's better to have a happy customer that will keep coming back than the extra 5-10 dollars.
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 01-27-2006, 02:43 PM:
 
Well, everybody does it their own way. We would never give out a pass because a person watched a movie and decided they didnt like it. With all the 2005 crap that came out, we would have given out a large amount of passes. The only time we'd give out a pass is for a technical, presentation problem, or if the person had an emergency or got sick...other than that, no pass.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-27-2006, 06:30 PM:
 
Well there's a difference between "doesn't like a movie" and "was offended by a movie." If a patron just didn't like the show, they just walk out. I don't think I've ever had someone ask for their money back on that basis. But if someone is offended by the language or whatever, and they complain to that effect, we'll give them a pass.
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 01-28-2006, 12:40 AM:
 
I'd still disagree with that unless they went with kids to a PG or PG-13 movie and heard really bad language. I'd offer a pass in that instance as long as they didnt sit through the whole movie...probably half way would be my cut-off point. If they goto an R movie and was offended at something rhey saw, then thats too bad. The movie ratings are there to warn customers that there may be offensive material in the movie.
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 01-28-2006, 03:28 PM:
 
NEVER, EVER tell a customer "that's too bad."
 

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Posted by Frank Dubrois (Member # 3042) on 01-28-2006, 08:27 PM:
 
Words can be interchanged, but essentially, if someone decides they dont like a movie, and they want their money back THATS TOO BAD ... and yes, it has happened where people come out and ask for their money back or sometimes a pass because "that was a stupid movie". If any of you give out passes to people just because they don't like a movie, let me know where your at, and next time I'm in the area, I'll be sure to come by and watch em all...
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 01-28-2006, 09:22 PM:
 
I think you missed where, in my post I said:

quote: Mike Spaeth

---

If it's a habitual thing, then stop it

---

quote: Paul Van Dusen

---

Carmike doesn't give free cups

---

Really, no friggin courtesy cups from Carmike, now?

Our fountains probably haven't worked in a decade, so we have a filtered water line in the stand. But, with 3/5 auditoriums upstairs & the stand downstairs, there's always some grumbling.
 

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Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 02-15-2006, 02:43 PM:
 
Carmike still gives out courtesy cups. His manager probably just forgot to order them or some other bs .

And as much as I hate the 'I speak for everyone person' did you actually bother to have someone check and make sure it wasn't too loud?

No wonder this company is losing money.
 

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Posted by Anslem Rayburn (Member # 1267) on 02-15-2006, 02:43 PM:
 

quote:

---

Long story short she flips out and goes off on a rant that "IT'S THE LAW, I HAVE TO GIVE HER FREE WATER!"

---

quote:

---

Carmike still gives out courtesy cups. His manager probably just forgot to order them or some other bs [Roll Eyes] .

And as much as I hate the 'I speak for everyone person' did you actually bother to have someone check and make sure it wasn't too loud?

No wonder this company is losing money.

---

quote: Paul Van Dusen

---

Actually, since we're a discount house our DM told us not to use the courtesey cups anymore. I guess he figured that would stimulate concession sales.

---

quote: Paul Van Dusen

---

Actually, since we're a discount house our DM told us not to use the courtesey cups anymore.

---

Every time I think Carmike might've had time to get a few things right, in comes a DM to knock 'em back down again.

quote: Mike Spaeth

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Give them the same clean, friendly environment that they would get at a first run house (albeit without certain amenities, stadium seating, etc.) and they will return and bring all of their friends.

---

Damn straight. My theatre has gone from first-run, into the ground with UA; through a mixed period of rep, indie & second run on nights & weekends with Reading; and now we're open at 11 am, seven days a week with first run titles and we still get a great deal of newcomer patrons.

The students at the U of MN have 16mm student cinemas & DVD rentals in their dorms, yet they still come & pay to see a film in a clean theatre. There's a 15-screen Crown theatre a mile away, but we still get good, faithful crowds every weekend.

Our building owner is willing to fix items that need repair & put money into modest improvements & generous upkeep. We win an audience, not by having the latest ammenities & flair, but by having decent content that starts on time with a short trailer pack & fresh concessions items at reasonable prices.

And courtesy cups, we would certainly fail without these
 

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Posted by Brad Allen (Member # 470) on 02-17-2006, 04:03 PM:
 

quote: Kenneth Tiffany

---

At the theatre I work, we can't accept credit cards at the concession stand, never have. At the box office, anyone who pays with a credit card is offered to purchase 'Concession Cash', vouchers in $10 increments to purchase food.

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quote: Jason Winn

---

This one is my favorite stupid customer ever. We got this complaint during The Aviator: "Can you check the color? What's supposed to be green is blue, and what's supposed to be blue is green." I checked it, and I didn't see anything wrong with it. I don't know what the hell they were talking about. I've never seen a green sky and blue grass before. Whoever said that must've been smoking something.

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quote:

---

Director Martin Scorsese originally wanted to shoot the film in Academy ratio, 1.33:1, the same ratio as films of the period and indeed all films up until about 1954. Unfortunately, he found that modern theaters are generally not properly equipped to show anything but Flat 1.85:1 or Scope 2.35:1 films. He therefore focused instead on making each portion of the film look like it was made using the color film stock available at the time.

---

 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 02-27-2006, 10:56 PM:
 
With regard to the Carmike theatre not taking CC's at the concession stand... not until recently did Carmike even accept CC's at most locations. (Behind the 8 ball, I know)
At any rate, it has less to do with taking a hit on CC transactions than it does with merely speeding the concession lines along.

I can personally attest that, when taking debit cards at the concession stands, our lines were significantly slower due, in part, to lots of folks using a debit card at both the box office, then at the concession stand. Couple that with the fact that they were charged .99 per transaction for the 'convenience' of using their plastic and they had to wait in line a little longer to do so. Carmike never would grasp that the debit terminals NEEDED an independant phone line or a high speed connection for processing.. NOOOOO that would add $40 to the monthly phone bill... and heaven forbid we wouldn't make that back on ANY given Friday night....

I stopped by my old theatre tonight... I'm glad I left. The stories I hear about recently implemented policies amaze me..

It's sad that the theatre bix, in generall, is losing most of, if not all of, the truly talented theatre level managers due to the mundane corporate blanket policies that are taking over. What ever happened to good old common sense? You hired a person, presumably a professional, and yet you simply allow them to open, count the money and close daily? No personal discretion on what may, or may not be best for the given location?

I miss the staff, I miss the patrons... I do NOT miss the Company..
 

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Posted by Jason Winn (Member # 3568) on 02-28-2006, 02:46 AM:
 

quote: Ross Oba

---

This could be from the fact that Scorsese tried to make the film look as if it had been made using the film stock of that era.

---

Thanks, Ross. I didn't know that. I never actually watched the Aviator in its entirety. I just saw bits and pieces from booth. I didn't really know anything about the movie. Screw Scorsese for trying to make everything confusing.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-28-2006, 03:06 AM:
 
We had a lady in tonight with an oxygen tank. It sat there and went "PSS" every 5 seconds of the movie. I felt bad for her and all, but what's a person supposed to do in a case like this? We never got any complaints from anyone but it'd have driven me crazy to sit there. I've never had this happen before, amazingly. Anyone had this experience and how did you handle it?
 

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Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 02-28-2006, 04:23 AM:
 
Very difficult situation that we run into all the time with the developementally disabled. With certain conditions these individuals will make various noises, something that they have no control over. So what are you supposed to do when you have a patron moaning loudly in a movie or making other strange noises, even though its through no fault of their own? There is no easy answer. Just last month we had a developementally disabled patron who was grinding his teeth very loudly. And when I mean loud I mean loud, he was seated in the center of the auditorium and I could hear him from the back. I hated to do it, but I had no choice, I had to ask them to leave. I was polite as I could be about it, offered refunds even on the concessions, but it still sucked.

I believe I read somewhere on these forums recently that a gentleman had a similar situation at a theatre he ran and offered to run a private screening for the individual and his family.
 

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Posted by Phil Blake (Member # 2012) on 03-07-2006, 02:09 AM:
 
Well normally I have the patience of a saint, but this old guy tryed me last night,he rushed out just after I started the show belly aching about the lights still being on, me thinking the automation had "gliched" and light were not dimmed raced upstairs only to find the trailers were still showing. Downstairs i went appraoched the guy who was still complaining to my ticket seller, explained that the lights were up because the feature had not started.

He then told me this was unacceptable , I explained that the lights remained on the lowest setting until the feature started out of customer saftey , late comers could find there way in without falling over.

Again he went on stating that he had run cinemas all his life and the proper way was to exstinguish all lights completely prior to showing anything on the screen.

well .... .... I cant say I have ever sat in a cinema that operated this way , even drive in's. and I have not read any threads on here which had demonstrated this type of operation.

we parted company with me very
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 03-07-2006, 02:16 AM:
 
Disney actually mounted a campaign a few years ago asking operators to turn the lights off during the trailers. Virtually everyone ignored it as far as I know, for the safety reasons you cite.
 

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Posted by Thomas King (Member # 2745) on 03-07-2006, 04:50 AM:
 
Jason said "An usher called us and said, "Can you check the camera on #29?" Of course, me being the smart ass that I am, replied by saying,"We don't have any cameras in booth, but I'll definitely check #29." I hate it when people downstairs talk about booth and they think they know what they're talking about."

I think that's a little unfair. Not everyone's a projectionist, and frankly I'd have been glad that they noticed there was a problem at all. As to lights: I take them down fully during the dolby tag, and have never had any complaints. Next they'll be asking you to play the adverts louder!

In regards to stupid customers, my favourite recently was someone who sat through 'The Aristocrats' and then came up at the end and said that they'd expected 'The Aristocats' and were not only disappointed, but mortally offended and wanted their money (the equivalent of a 2 minute bus ride) back. Evidently they had their fingers in their ears during the "If you think this is a disney film, please leave" announcement.

Someone also complained that our showing of the original 1979 Alien was 'the wrong vesion'. DVDs have a lot to answer for.
 

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Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 03-07-2006, 02:28 PM:
 

quote: Phil Blake

---

well .... .... I cant say I have ever sat in a cinema that operated this way , even drive in's. and I have not read any threads on here which had demonstrated this type of operation.

---

Exactly! We put those trailers in there, in part, for the very reason that not everyone may have arrived, but it's not fair to hold the show for the latecomers. The trailers, while entertaining and informative, serve as a good compromise.

We always left our lights on during the trailers. When I closed an indoor I once had, I moved the auditorium dimmers out here, so I can go 1/2 down during the trailers (showoff!). The lights don't interfere with the sceens and people can still see where they're going.
 

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Posted by Justin Gorka (Member # 3727) on 06-18-2006, 07:49 PM:
 
I know what you mean about staff but when the tell me the films stuck, you rush to the screen and the slide projectors just come on.....Or the customer who asked to see the DVD box so she could see who the music was by......Or the customer who asked for the sound to be turned down cos it was scaring here three year old (Batman begins) or ...... Hell, I'll just write an essay!
 

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Posted by Jason Moore (Member # 3935) on 08-21-2006, 12:23 PM:
 
I was working box office during a busy period this weekend when a lady asked for 4 student tickets to Accepted. I told her I would need to see 4 student IDs.

Lady Customer: Well I don't have their IDs!
Me: Then, I'm sorry. I can only give the student discount with a valid student ID.
Lady Customer: What if I get my daughter's ID.
Me: I could give you one discount then. We can only give 1 discount per ID.
Lady Customer: That's stupid they're all obviously students.
Me: I'm sorry ma'am but that's our policy.
LC: Well, were is THAT written??
Me: Right here (I point to the sign right in front of her).
LC: (starting to yell) Well thats crazy! I'll just have 4 children's tickets then!!
Me: How old are the kids?
LC: They're all 13.
Me: Our children's tickets are for ages 2 through 11. I'll have to charge the adult rate.
LC: This is ridiculous!! What would happen if they were going to buy tickets to an R rated movie!?
Me: We would card them and they would not be able to see the movie.
LC: Because they're not adults!! They're not 18 so they're not adults!! (screaming at me now)
Me: Ma'am I'm sorry but these are company policies.
LC: Well then change them!
Me: I'm just a manager and I don't own the company. I do not have the power to change the policy. I can only enforce it.
LC: Just give me two adult tickets then!! I AM NEVER COMING BACK HERE!! I AM GOING TO CONTACT YOUR CORPORATE OFFICE!!!
Me: Let me give you their phone number.

I sold her the tix, gave her the number, politely thanked her for her purchase and she stormed off. I don't know why she only wanted 2 adult tickets. I think she was going to sneak them in the back door once she was in. I tried to catch her if she did this but since she was buying the tix for someone else I don't think she ever came in and I don't know what the 13 year olds looked like.
What theater gives out student discounts WITHOUT IDs?? What theater has a children's rate for kids under 18? From her attitude, I'm not sure if this woman had ever been to a theater before.
 

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Posted by Michael Gonzalez (Member # 593) on 08-21-2006, 04:17 PM:
 
We dont have student rates at the company I currently work for but at my previous company we were told basically to use our best judgement and if they looked like students, then to go ahead and give them the discount. I basically told my staff to only ask obvious adults (20yr +) to see their Student IDs to avoid scammers.

Now on to my current post...

"There should have been a warning that this was a Gay Movie."

Quoted from a customer (and his wife) who walked out of "Night Listener" an hour after the start time and wanted a refund. I didnt want a scene in my lobby so I gave him a couple of passes in the name of "Customer Service". I am sure that there are going to be those of you who will disagree with that course of action (and I would have been one of them in the past) but I have been burned before by this kind of customer and it isnt worth the hassel. Better just to get them out of here as painless as possible.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 08-21-2006, 05:08 PM:
 
Did you have any walkouts from Talladega Nights for the same reason?
 

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Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 08-21-2006, 10:45 PM:
 
We had someone ask for a refund for Talladega nights because of that kissing scene. (I thought that scene was funny...)
 

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Posted by Michael Gonzalez (Member # 593) on 08-26-2006, 11:51 PM:
 
"What is Snakes on a Plane about?"
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 08-26-2006, 11:58 PM:
 

quote: Mike Blakesley

---

We had a lady in tonight with an oxygen tank. It sat there and went "PSS" every 5 seconds of the movie. I felt bad for her and all, but what's a person supposed to do in a case like this?

---

quote: Michael Gonzalez

---

I have been burned before by this kind of customer and it isnt worth the hassel. Better just to get them out of here as painless as possible.

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quote: Brad Miller

---

I would have bit the bullet and politely asked her to leave along with the offer to refund her money AND run the movie free of charge for her during non-operating hours.

---

I guess that'd be nice, but I didn't know the lady or her companions so I assumed they were from out of town. I had never seen them before and they have not been back. There was nobody sitting within 3 - 4 rows of them so I'm sure no harm was done.

The private-show idea is OK but I'd hate to set a precedent for something like that.
 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 08-27-2006, 09:30 PM:
 
Not to mention that the chains simply won't allow something such as this... A show outside of normal operating hours? For one or two people? LOL... Good one...
 

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Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 08-28-2006, 02:11 AM:
 
Believe it or not Jason, my district manager approved a special show of the last Star Wars movie for a terminally ill man and a few (less than a dozen) of his friends and family. The man was in his final days and didn't want to be around so many people in case something happened.

We never ended up doing the show because the man took a turn for the worse but it had been approved.
 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 08-28-2006, 10:47 PM:
 
Dustin:

Your old DM, who wound up being my Division Manager just prior to my departure, seems to be a pretty stand up kinda guy. Definitely not the type I was used to working with, by ANY stretch of the imagination. He actually offered me the District Mgr's position prior to my departure as well, but the damage was done. I'd had enough and it was time to move on.

I can only hope that the company, in it's infinite wisdom, begins to LISTEN and LEARN from those that have a modecum of common sense, because, as you know, there isn't an over abundance of it in many of the districts... or in Columbus, for that fact..
 

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Posted by Caleb Johnstone-Cowan (Member # 3710) on 08-28-2006, 11:28 PM:
 
We got one guy who went seven storeys down the fire exit expecting a toilet, then got the mall security to let him back in to have a go. When did the green fire exit sign ever mean 'toilet here'?

The other thing that bugged me was the people who went to see 'The Aristocrats' expecting something other than the 'Unspeakable Obscenity' the tagline promised. One person said it was boring because of all the talking.

The students who had the wrong ID card were always annoying as well. Especially the foreign ones who technically are tourists as opposed to students. As for the ones who came in with 'visa-scam' college ID cards, I was always tempted to let them in and call immigration
 

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Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 09-01-2006, 10:26 PM:
 
Yeah, on a similar note the other week, we had a customer go:

down the fire exit in a auditoriun, go through the door to the outside, walk around the building in the carpark to the front entrance of the cinema "to find the quickest way to the toilets".
 

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Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 09-02-2006, 01:37 AM:
 
It boggles my mind how many people forget how they even entered the friggin auditorium and walk half way out the emergency exit DURING THE SHOW!
 

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Posted by Glen Rich (Member # 1150) on 09-09-2006, 11:55 PM:
 
Not long ago we had an elderly lady have a heart attack/stroke during a screening. Her friend rushed down to the foyer and informed the floor staff, who called an Ambulance.
Our cinema is about 2km from Perth's main teaching hospital, so the Ambo's got here in about 2 minutes after the phone call.
The floor staff had let me know what was going on, so as soon as the Ambo's arrived I shut down the film and brought up the house lights.
It took them about 10 minutes to get the old dear organised, on the trolley and out of the Cinema.
In that 10 minutes 2 sets of people came out to the foyer and complained that they were missing the film; to be told that the film was shut off until the sick woman was taken away, and that they would only miss about 8 seconds of the film due to shut down and re-start. One set asked for and were given a refund, (I think the manager just wanted to get rid of them).
After the film finished,(about 15 minutes late), we had another person complain to the manager about interupting the screening,"just because someone wasn't feeling well".
In the 21 years I've been a Projectionist I've had 1 person die and 6 others become seriously ill during screenings and had to stop sessions for medical attention to reach them. This is the first time someone has complained about it, and it wasn't just one person!
 

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Posted by Andrew Peter Chobaniuk (Member # 3886) on 09-12-2006, 06:23 AM:
 
grrr
the other day a woman comes to the box office and complains that pirates has already started when she arrived.
she arrived 10 mins after our advertised showtime
with disney films theres no ads and since the movies been out awhile there isnt that many trailers left on the print

what i couldnt understand was why in the hell would she come out of the theatre and bitch at our staff for 10 minutes and miss even more of the movie

THERES SHOWTIMES FOR A REASON

fyi: Empire Theatres usually have an average of 10 mins ads and trailers before a feature

the other national chain has sometimes around 20 mins
 

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Posted by Patrick Dunn (Member # 3333) on 09-24-2006, 07:19 PM:
 
Well since where I work is a small independent theater, we have tickets that just say Cinema Center, the price, and the numbers 1 2 or 3 so we can keep track of what movies people go to see. Today i was standing next to the girl working box office when this woman comes in to buy tickets for the black dahlia. Than she starts yelling at us because the ticket didn't show the movie name or show time and she was afraid that we weren't going to know what movie or show time she was here for like we are stupid and don't know what we're doing. I kept trying to tell her that we know how to keep track of the movies people see because all of our tickets had numbers that allowed us to know what movie the people are there to see, and she wasn't happy until the girl working box said she's going to be there until all of the movies.
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 09-24-2006, 07:37 PM:
 

quote: Andrew Peter Chobaniuk

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and since the movies been out awhile there isnt that many trailers left on the print

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Why not replace the trailers rather than just pulling them?
 

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Posted by William Barker (Member # 4019) on 10-21-2006, 01:48 AM:
 
Just because I am white, and the person I happen to be removing from a theater is black, that does not make me a racist!!! I hate that!

Some lady I removed from the Grudge 2 said I was targeting her because she was black. It had nothing to do with the screaming infant she had in her lap during the horror movie. That she didnt have a problem with. Grrrrrr
 

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Posted by Edwin Sheldon (Member # 4001) on 10-21-2006, 05:00 PM:
 
We had a lady complain about Movie Tunes today (a sentiment I agree with), but her complaint was mind-bogglingly stupid. She complained that a song on Movie Tunes mentioned underwear, and as such was not appropriate. The song is Weird Al Yankovic's "White & Nerdy". The lyric is as follows:

quote:

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Spend every weekend at the Renaissance Faire
Got my name on my underwear

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The above offended her more than an entire song filled with racial stereotypes. (Just because he's stereotyping caucasians doesn't change the fact that they are indeed stereotypes.)
 

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Posted by Brian Michael Weidemann (Member # 2243) on 10-22-2006, 01:48 AM:
 
MovieTunes played Weird Al? Now I have to think slightly higher of it. I wanted to hate MovieTunes. I can't now. The new Weird Al record is very good.
 

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Posted by Edwin Sheldon (Member # 4001) on 10-22-2006, 06:17 AM:
 
Yep, the only decent song on the whole disc just HAD to be the one we got a complaint about. Suburbanite housewives really annoy me.
 

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Posted by Cody Martin (Member # 2523) on 10-22-2006, 11:53 AM:
 
Hey guys,

Is there anyway someone out there could get me a copy of this movietunes disk? Interesting song to say the least.

Thanks,
Cody
 

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Posted by Donna Siegwart (Member # 3232) on 11-08-2006, 09:47 PM:
 
anyone have any customers yell at them for "starting the movie late" and then the customer comes out and finally realizes they forgot to set their watch back cuz of day lights savings or something like that?

i had a guy curse me off and yell at my manager, then finally realize he was wrong. he apologized to my manager, but not me. and my manager pointed that out to him and he finally said sorry for cursing at me.
 

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Posted by John Caswell (Member # 4024) on 11-09-2006, 08:15 PM:
 
have had that situation, but fortunately not had anyone yell at me. managed to point out what an idiot they are before they start to get angry.
 

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Posted by Alan Dallas (Member # 2537) on 11-11-2006, 04:45 AM:
 
Hey all, been awhile since I posted on this forum. Anyway, the following is not a rant on a Stupid customer. But damn funny none the less.

Night of the Living Dead 3D. We're running it. It's been very "Dead" for us. So anyway I started up the last run of prime evening set and I cruise down to the Box office/Guest services counter just to goof off a bit since I had a break in starts. I'm standing there shooting the breeze(read flirting) with one of the Female box office attendents when this reeeeeally smoking hot chick comes up to the counter looking rather in need of help.
So I say: "Hi, can I help you?" (I'm all grins of course, hot chick, I get all smiles, so sue me). She smiles back and holds up her 3D glasses we give out with each ticket of NotLD-3D and says(I freaking kid you not) "Can I get a replacement set of glasses, mine aren't working."

<-- Me

So as shes holding them up at me I look at them, and I see the print at the top of the glasses. "THIS SIDE TOWARDS FACE." I also notice she has them folded the other way. And without saying a word I put my hands out and take them from her and fold the ear pieces back the other way and turn them around so she can see the text I just read, then I point over the top of the glasses with my index finger at the text.

Her: "OH --- MY --- GOD!!" Her face went so red I thought she was going to faint from embarrasment. The entire time I just held my polite smile and trying my hardest not to bust out laughing. Then she said "Ok I feel really silly right about now." and literally RAN down the hall back to the auditorium.
 

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Posted by Lilian Burch (Member # 4052) on 11-26-2006, 01:01 AM:
 

 

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Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 11-26-2006, 09:41 AM:
 
Alan: was she blond? The few really smart ones don't like it when their blondness comes out. Louis
 

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Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 11-26-2006, 01:59 PM:
 
Alan: Great story.
I had a guy ask me yesterday where the restroom was...He was standing right in front of it next to the sign that says "Mens Room"...
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 11-26-2006, 02:33 PM:
 
We get people all the time who walk into our single screen theatre and ask "which door" to go through for the movie. This often happens while the movie is playing and can clearly be heard from the lobby and the screen can be seen through the hallways, which are on both sides of the concession stand.

We can always tell out-of-towners because instead of just saying "Two adults" they say "Two for Happy Feet" or whatever!
 

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Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 11-27-2006, 12:26 PM:
 

quote: Dominic Espinosa

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had a guy ask me yesterday where the restroom was...He was standing right in front of it next to the sign that says "Mens Room

---

Happens on average at least 1-a-day. Othen more. At the Carmikes, it seemed 1/showtime. A person is smart, but people are stupid.
 

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Posted by Luci Reeve (Member # 3651) on 11-27-2006, 07:07 PM:
 
I sell tickets all the time to people who come to the movie that ended last night so it's nice that they say what movie they are hoping to see. What gets me is the ones who just say "two please" and I have to either guess or ask if they are students, adults or whatever.
 

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Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 11-27-2006, 10:33 PM:
 
Yeah, I've only worked at multiplexes, so add to the guessing which movie they want to see. And since we can, and do, presell, add which show time. "Two please" happens here occasionally too. I wonder what they are thinking.
 

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Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 11-29-2006, 06:10 AM:
 
People buying tickets without bothering to check the performance times.
This happens frequently:

Usually it's a couple who come up to box office

Guy: "Two for Casino Royale please"
He get's change and tickets back, spends a few seconds looking at ticket:
"ooh it's on at 8pm, that's lucky we don't have to wait long"

I assumed as the cashier they'd come to buy tickets because they knew it was about to start. Not that they were just chancing that the movie was starting soon. What if it had allready started? What if it wasn't starting for a long time?
I don't understand why you'd do that?
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 11-29-2006, 01:56 PM:
 
Here's another pet peeve of mine: People (usually guys) who walk up and say "One adult and one child....HAHAHAHA!" when they're actually with another adult. Or they say "Two seniors! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" like it's the funniest thing in the world and they're the first person ever to think of that hilarious joke. I've probably posted this before but it happens at least once a day and is really annoying when we're busy.
 

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Posted by Cameron Glendinning (Member # 3516) on 11-30-2006, 11:40 PM:
 
I must admit that I have seen pretty much all of the above, over and over again!!! but on the punters side why should customers have to think? they want a night of mindless hollywood entertainment and give us money!!! not a university degree.

Cinemas tend to ignore the fact that people have too many signs about today, its overkill and people tune out. If you want someone to actually read the Mens sign, get it made out of neon!

My pet hate was once people coming to the Candy Bar asking for a Coke and Popcorn, My reply was what size ect pointing? this usually well caused a small delay. If there were hundreds in the que well it ads up. So one day when discussing the issue with other staff we came up with this.

If they look small give them a small, medium sized get the medium, large people get the large. personally I found this a great way to upsize an order without asking, majority of time no comment from the customer, just a smile. That was not the response one would get if you gave a large person the small coke ect,

that was also in the era when you could not go for a swim in a large one!!!

I once worked at an IMAX theatre which had its toilets on the 1st floor and a million sign post to everything. no wonder a que use to form at the disabled toilet cubical, the only toilet on the ground floor!

I've also worked at 3 cinemas where there was a gents toilet in the theatres front fire exit.

anyway thats my 2 cents worth, having escaped the floor to the bio box over 17 years ago, dealing with the punters is only a memory.
 

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Posted by Paul Van Dusen (Member # 3640) on 12-01-2006, 12:36 AM:
 
I've always taught my employees to use a trick I learned in my fast food years. If they don't specify a size, look and them and say large. You kind of take the choice out of it because you didn't ask them, and 9 times out of 10 they just shrug and say ok.
 

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Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 12-01-2006, 01:35 AM:
 
Thanks to a mix-up with the news paper an ad stating extra matinees on Friday ran. We didn't actually have them for some reason.
Anyhow, when the Pepsi delivery came about 40 idiots decided to wander in off the street and proceeded to wait in our lobby until the driver found them and informed them the theater was in fact closed...

Gee, ma, I wonder why there aren't any f*cking lights on in here?
Yeah, and there's no popcorn, or hot dogs, or ... smiling people in BRIGHT RED FREAKIN SHIRTS TO HELP US!
 

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Posted by Anslem Rayburn (Member # 1267) on 12-01-2006, 12:13 PM:
 
Holy crap. If you had 40 people willing to come in to your theater while you were closed, you should be open at that time. We have a hard time getting 40 people in while we are open during the day right now, and we still open every day.
 

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Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 12-01-2006, 12:15 PM:
 
Dominic, that has happened before. I walked in on a customet randomly walking around in our closed building. "Are you guys not open? When do you open?" All of the lights, video games, everything was shut down. I asked how they got in, evedently the cleaning crew didn't pull the doors to make sure all of them were latched. All were locked, but one wasn't latched. Everyday, and I do mean everyday, we'll have people come, pulling on our doors, knocking, cupping thei hads around their eyes and trying to look in. They'll do this for quite a few minutes before giving up. Some will beat of the door harder, or should I said agrily. It's gotten to the point, if I pull up, and there's someone hover near our doors, I dip in next door at the pool hall and wait for them to leave. I hat 20 question, expecially when the customer won't understand that we aren't open yet. It's like dude, the lights are off, doors at locked, no one is here except for me, and I'm just getting here, what the heack are you thinking?
 

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Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 12-01-2006, 08:39 PM:
 
You have to wonder if people do the same thing at McDonalds or Walmart in the wee hours of the morning...
 

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Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 12-01-2006, 09:25 PM:
 
When I worked at the mall, people rattled on the doors in the wee hours. Some of these people were senior citizens wanting to get into the mall for the morning mall walkers ritual.
The theatre I work at have RESTROOMS in neon above the hallway to the restrooms. Since the neon is about 6 feet above one's eye level, it's often missed. I instruct my staff to BE NICE when the customers stand in front of this hall and ask "Where are the restrooms?" It's my, and my staff's job, to ignore the signage and politely direct the customer to the restrooms.
 

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Posted by Marc Hansen (Member # 705) on 12-01-2006, 09:43 PM:
 
Yes Jim they do. I own an automotive machine shop and I have people calling or pounding on the door 24/7. My favorite was the man who climbed over a locked gate and pounded on my locked door on Memorial day. He then told me that he had to since I had forgotten to open up!
 

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Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 12-02-2006, 01:31 AM:
 
Um, don't you have sinage expressing something to the tune of "No Trespassing"? You could've called the cops on him. "Some strange man climed over my fence and is pounding on my door"
 

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Posted by Marc Hansen (Member # 705) on 12-02-2006, 11:21 AM:
 
There are signs but as for the cops, they are pointless. They rarely respond, they just take a phone report. Two years ago they stopped responding to burgler alarms, said it took up too much time and they rarely got anyone. They only respond if a PERSON calls them and says that they actully see someone in the building. They told us to hire private security.
 

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Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 12-03-2006, 03:22 AM:
 

quote: Marc Hansen

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They told us to hire private security.

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quote: John Hawkinson

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If the guy honestly thought the establishment should have been open (and that's what it sounds like, rather than an excuse for petty theft), the right thing to do is to educate him and send him on his way.

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quote: Charles Phillips

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The only time I'd draw the line is when they touch you or threaten some one. Either it be you, your employees, or another customer.

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quote: Jim Ziegler

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I draw the line at violence, threats of violence, damage to property, anything else illegal, general unruly behavior, or refusing to comply with a reasonable request of staff (i.e. stop talkig on their cell phone in the movie). Generally, I expect people to act civilized, and if they won't, they can go be uncivilized somewhere else. The rest of our customers appreciate that we don't put up with the same crap that the megas in the area do.

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quote: Martin Brooks

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What do you do?

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Maybe it's just the small town I live in, but I've never had a patron who wouldn't do as they're told, if sometimes begrudgingly. I've never had to call the cops. But, if a big guy as you describe wouldn't shut off his cellphone, I would just say "Fine...I'll call the police and maybe you'll turn it off for them." And then walk away quickly...let's not get stupid about it, as Bill Engvall would say.
 

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Posted by John Joseph Fink (Member # 3619) on 01-01-2007, 09:51 PM:
 
Then there are theaters that use the police for various functions, last time I was at AMC Loews Wayne, they were using police to rip tickets, had there been a projection problem I would have called 911 to get it resolved.

This is a theater that attracts a rough crowd, but building ushers and managers never themselves ask a patron to quite down or stop using a cell phone, the responce you get is "Oh, we'll get the police in there to take of that for you, sir".
 

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Posted by Kara J. McVay (Member # 1285) on 01-02-2007, 08:34 PM:
 
1:45 New Years Eve matinee showing of "Night At The Museum", hit the start button and the ignitor switch in the lamp blows up and catches fire. No one hurt, put fire out without spreading beyond the back of the lamp house. Some customers that got in with passes wanted their money back and others wanted their money back for their concessions that they ate 1/2 of already WTF. They are lucky I was not out front, they would have not liked my answers. Did give the people who had the passes more passes and told the greedy SOB's "NO" on the refund on their food
 

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Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 01-03-2007, 01:41 AM:
 
Gotta love a greedy dingleberry.
My current favorite is the "is the owner in?"...I had a lady ask to talk to the owner once because the temperature was too cold.

It must be the fact that I'm only 22 or that the previous manager seemed to lead people to believe he owned the place but I get a lot of "You're not the manager." ever since I came up here...
 

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Posted by System Notices (Member # 2357) on 03-05-2008, 09:27 AM:
 

It has been 427 days since the last post.

 

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Posted by Sonja O'Reilly (Member # 1322) on 03-05-2008, 09:27 AM:
 
I have to bring this back because of what happened last October.
I live in Southern California. As the rest of the nation has caught on that FOREST FIRES are the things you have to look out for, not earthquakes, in California, we were due for our four-yearly big scary fire. The Sunday night of the fires the Santa Anas were blowing mightily (has anyone ever felt an evil wind? that's what it was). I drove around the area most of the night, watching things burn. I had about an hour sleep when I was called in by my GM. He was evacuating from his area and had to move south with his family. He calmly told me that he would be back up to help out at the building later in the day. I went to work and met up with the Concession Manager and the Box Manager. I also thought to call our A/C company and have them close down the outside vents (which prevented our lobby from getting extra ash). We farted about, watching the news on the little B/W tv, waiting to get the go ahead to open. There was a fire burning on the mountain ten miles south of us and a giant smoke cloud was headed towards us.
About an hour into our wait, customers began to appear. Some people I think had evacuated, some bored, some had kids out of school, and when I told them we weren't sure if we were going to open, some got mad, some confused-asking me why not? I'd point at the mountain that WAS ON FIRE, saying that the fires may prevent us and they'd just say, "Well, that's not here." I wanted to scream that contrary to what they may think, we do not live at the movie theatre and that most people are spread around the county. I live in an area that was an evacuation area (but we really saw no need to evacuate). I was livid. I think some of the people were new to the county and hadn't been through the fires of '03 and just thought they would evacuate for a few hours and go home. I don't think they knew they could be gone for days or even forever if their house burned. I was just frustrated that they didn't care if the air quality was good, let's go to the movies. Our air quality was bad. I could smell smoke in the booth. Another theatre in our area had severe ash and soot problems on their platters. I know there is nothing to do when the whole county shuts down, but I would much rather be at home with my friends than at work worrying about them.
So yeah. We did open. All the movies that those customers wanted to watch didn't play til later on (for which I was called unprofessional from some nasty old man, because I control the start times and our opening time, apparently). We closed down an hour later and let the started movies run through. But we did enjoy some pizza and I got some interesting pictures of the fire and the last day of blue sky for almost a week.
So yeah, that's my rant. Sorry its incoherent.
 

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Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 03-06-2008, 01:16 AM:
 
Sonja,
Not too long ago, I saw security camera footage of some department store that had a fire in the back of it. Despite the fact that flames were visible, and that the store could likely go up quickly, customers still meandered around.
This could be natural selection trying to take hold.
 

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Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 03-06-2008, 08:41 AM:
 
When I managed the Neonopolis 14 in Las Vegas - I got a call on the radio one day that there was a fire in theatre #8. I walked down to that auditorium thinking it was an exaggeration, when I walked up to the door I saw orange flames through the glass. I thought "Holy Crap" - the theatre is on fire!! I had someone call 911 and then I walked in the theatre. The small audience was still watching the movie! I asked them to get up and leave, but they DID NOT until we shut off the projector! 3 seats were fully engulfed in flames and the movie was shut off before these people RELUCTANTLY left the theatre. They then were more concerned with seeing the last part of the movie than anyone's safety.


 

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Posted by Geoff Jones (Member # 3668) on 03-06-2008, 11:32 AM:
 
What was the film?
 

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Posted by Timothy Eiler (Member # 383) on 03-06-2008, 01:32 PM:
 

quote: Geoff Jones

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What was the film?

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Maybe it was Backdraft
 

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Posted by John Winebarger (Member # 4647) on 03-07-2008, 12:50 AM:
 
How about those parents who think a 7 dollar ticket for their 13 year old constitutes an obligation for us to babysit?

Last Friday I was projectionist. We had another projectionist working the floor because she's pregnant and unable to work upstairs. We had her seated at back drop tearing tickets. We always have trouble with the young kids on Fridays in the PG13 movies. Who doesn't? But that night was especially wonderful. I, after going to start Witless Protection on screen 2, noticed that the whole group of pre-teens in the front section was rather rowdy. I called for some security (in the form of off-duty Sheriff's Deputies) on the walkie to settle them down before I start it. With that done, I started it, and one of the deputies stayed and babysat the auditorium. After the 7-set ended I came downstairs to check on things, and stood and talked for a couple minutes with the manager and that other projectionist at back drop.
Well, a group of about 6 of those kids kept popping in and out of the theatre, and after a couple times we told them that they could either go straight back into that movie or leave permanently. Most of the group froze, but one smartmouth kept going and we kicked him out, much to his friends' dismay.
Well, 20 minutes later, the boy's mother (a lawyer no less) shows up and begins screaming at the manager in the middle of the lobby. By that point in this particularly horrible night, that particular manager had had enough. It went something like this...

CUST: "What business do you have kicking my son out of this movie? He's a good boy!"
MGR: "Ma'am, he was running in and out of the auditorium causing a disruption to the other patrons. He was also disrespectful to the staff."
CUST: "Ridiculous! He's a thirteen year old boy and you have no business kicking him out of the building. When I arrived, I found him in front of Food Lion!" (we're located in a shopping center and share a parking lot with Food Lion) "He could have been hit by a car crossing the lot! If anything had happened to him I would have owned this theatre!! When I pay 7 dollars for a ticket, my son becomes your responsibility!"
MGR: "Oh, I beg to differ! I did not tell your son to cross the parking lot and wander about the shopping center."
CUST: "Well they don't have a lot of common sense at that age and it's your responsibility to watch him!"
MGR: "Well if your son lacks common sense, what are you doing leaving him alone at a movie theatre at night without parental supervision?"
Finally the woman runs out of argument, and leaves in an angry huff, professing to never return. That was just the gist of it. It went on for several minutes. Not exactly the most diplomatic of ways to handle it, but this particular group had been a problem before and my manager wasn't having any of it. I think the manager held up pretty well in the face of what she was dealing with. Thankfully we were in a break and the lobby was virtually empty. This time the customer was not right.

On top of that, we had to kick out 2 entire rows from Jumper, and had to get the other deputy to deal with two girls who said "F--- you!" to that other projectionist who was tearing tickets after she asked them to leave for coming in and out. Also, another kicked out group decided to curse out the manager on the way out.

The disrespectful kids are ruining it for everyone! What happened? We're a small town 8-plex for God's sake! The past few weeks have been among the worst I have seen.
 

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Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 03-07-2008, 08:38 AM:
 
We are right across the road from a mall. We have problems with MALL RATS every weekend. They will do their best to disrupt the movies, get past the box office, bring their own food in, or generally trash / vandalize the theatres.

I personally have not had to deal with an outraged parent, recently, but I often dont start the show until our security goes into a theatre where kids are down front messing around, messing with the curtains on the walls, or the worst, messing with the screen itself.
 

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Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 03-07-2008, 11:04 AM:
 
I personally do not care for the 2 Hostel films. Nonetheless, when I have to deal with rowdy teenagers, I start imagining what I might be able to get money-wise if I sold those kids off to be tortured...
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-07-2008, 08:48 PM:
 

quote: Bruce McGee

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or the worst, messing with the screen itself.

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quote: Chris Slycord

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Her: I can't watch this movie anymore... the main character is just so bad.
Me: Box office is out there [points to doors]; they'll give you a refund.

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Why in the world would she be entitled to a refund of her admission simply because she personally didn't like the main character of the movie? How much of a movie can a patron watch and then decide they don't like it and deserve a refund? 10 mins? 90 mins? There is a resonable expectance of due diligence on behalf of the patron to know what they're buying a ticket to before they go ahead and do so. Maybe my perception of customer service is wrong, because I am a firm believer that the customer is NOT always right. In fact 90% of the time they are usually wrong and only throw their fits when called on it. I do my best to take care of my customers, make their evening as pleasant as possible, but I will not get walked on, cussed at, etc., in the name of customer service.
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-10-2008, 10:09 AM:
 
At the time, the policy was that if it was within the first 30 mins we'd give them a refund. If it was outside that time, we'd generally ask for a manager for approval.
 

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Posted by Jeremy Weigel (Member # 4208) on 03-10-2008, 05:33 PM:
 
We'll generally offer to let them switch to a different movie first and if that doesn't work, then offer a comp pass (which works a majority of the time), then a refund as a last option to the customer if they come out within the first 30-45 minutes of the feature if they don't like it. A customer should be able to figure out if they like a movie within that period of time.

Any requests for refund after 45 minutes go unfullfilled. If you can't decide if you like a film within the first half of it (majority of films are at least 90 minutes), then well, you're an idiot. I always tell them that we only guarantee the quality of the presentation not the content, since we have zero control over that part. I have even given contact info to the studio reps for them to express their opinion to; especially if they think the film has inappropriate content for the given rating.

I refer to this as the Wal-martification effect on today's consumers. The "You're entitled to a refund no matter the cause of your disatisfaction".
 

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Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 03-20-2008, 01:15 AM:
 
I do not want to quantify this customer as stupid, just a sign of the world in which we live in today...
I had a customer the other night ask me how to use the pay phone. She needed to use it because the battery in her cel phone died, and she needed to call her ride.
I politely showed her how it operated. She was embarassed as her friends kept laughing at her.
She, and her friends, were in their mid-teens.
She was also from an area that has to dial 10-digit numbers, unlike Lubbock, which one can still dial 7 digits on local calls. She kept punching 806 and then the number.
I suspect all her life she was around nothing but cel phones. I know several booth techs at UA already had them, and I hadn't worked for UA in almost 16 years.
 

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Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 03-20-2008, 12:52 PM:
 

quote: Barry Floyd

---

There is a resonable expectance of due diligence on behalf of the patron to know what they're buying a ticket to before they go ahead and do so. Maybe my perception of customer service is wrong, because I am a firm believer that the customer is NOT always right. In fact 90% of the time they are usually wrong and only throw their fits when called on it. I do my best to take care of my customers, make their evening as pleasant as possible, but I will not get walked on, cussed at, etc., in the name of customer service.

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You have it good because you are the owner manager of your Drive-in. The customer only has one choice. Come back or don't come back. In the big chain scheme of things it is different because we have to try and represent our owners. That usually means that we have to follow the customers always right approach. We may not like it but we have to represent the company on a professional level. We try to get it right to prevent the second option. Complaint letters to the corporate office. It sucks because usually like you say the customer is not always right but we got to keep it on an even keel and get them out as happy as we can as quick as we can.
 

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Posted by Thomas Pitt (Member # 4322) on 03-20-2008, 04:21 PM:
 
I know most cinemas have a refund policy; i.e. what you can and can't refund customers for. At your cinema, are there any exceptions to the policy for certain movies/showings?

I walked out of Cloverfield feeling unwell due to the shaky-cam, and they were not issuing refunds for that film (due to the high number of people who walk out feeling sick). However, they did exchange my ticket for a different movie showing tomorrow.

Unfortunately, I was seriously unwell the very next day and couldn't see the movie on my replacement ticket

I bet some of the cleaning staff at cinemas think I'm a 'stupid' customer since I don't leave the moment the credits start to roll, like everyone else. They want to come in and do their cleaning, but people who sit and watch the credits waste their time
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-20-2008, 08:15 PM:
 
Sometimes I liked having people do that; since I had to wait for them to leave before I could continue anyway I'd just sit down myself.

Though if the usher is in a hurry they can always ask the guest "Could you stand to the side over there so we can clean?" Most people are understanding.
 

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Posted by Martin Brooks (Member # 1269) on 03-20-2008, 10:07 PM:
 

quote: Darryl Spicer

---

That usually means that we have to follow the customers always right approach.

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quote: Chris Slycord

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Though if the usher is in a hurry they can always ask the guest "Could you stand to the side over there so we can clean?" Most people are understanding.

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quote: Anslem Rayburn

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Here, if a single customer wants to watch all the credits, we don't clean until they are done.

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quote: Marc Hansen

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I've always felt that part of the cast/crews pay was getting listed in the credits. What would they or thier union say about those credits not being shown? I always stay to watch them too.

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No one was disputing the fact that cast and crew members are in the credits or talking about not showing the credits.
 

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Posted by Marc Hansen (Member # 705) on 03-21-2008, 10:50 PM:
 
Chris-
I guess I should have been more specific, there are several theaters around here that kill the lamp before the credits end to get people moving out. One indy near me never runs more than the first 30sec to a min.
Marc
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-22-2008, 01:29 AM:
 
Sending an email or an anonymous phone call to the various studios might get some action, if that's what you want to have happen.

I wonder which ones are doing that? I'm actually from Redmond but in Texas for grad school.

edit:
And to Mike/Anslem:

I wasn't meaning that I was condoning literally saying to someone to move "over there" (I should've been more clear that I was meaning they politely ask if they could clean). Either way, the couple managers who had occasionally asked people to clean w/o regard to if there being people still watching or not aren't in the business anymore anyway.

2nd edit:
And related to this; a big pet peeve of mine is having ushers go to an auditorium to clean and immediately turn on the house/cleaning lights without first entering the main part of the room to see if people are actually in there. It takes all of 5 seconds to check.

[ 03-22-2008, 10:46 AM: Message edited by: Chris Slycord ]
 

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Posted by Thomas Pitt (Member # 4322) on 03-24-2008, 02:04 AM:
 
I've never been asked to move by an usher when they come in to clean during the end credits - if they did, that would be downright rude! I have had them come in and start cleaning 'around' me though, during the end credits. Some of them even put the cleaning lights on and start cleaning during the credits without caring if anyone's still watching!

I guess a pet peeve of the ushers is people who don't start walking out the moment the 'Directed By' credit flashes up, because it interferes with their cleaning.

If only movies were like they were in the 1930s-1950s - just a 'The End' card (sometimes followed by a single screen of the main cast members), before the film runs off the end. But no, you have to endure about 5 minutes of credits at the end of a film these days, and every single person who worked on the film set has to be credited!
 

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Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 03-24-2008, 03:42 AM:
 
Back when the studios were the main production companies, the heads of the departments were the ones credited in the olden days.
When the studios stopped having the individual departments, the people who worked on the movie became independent contractors, and thus had to be credited.
That was what I was told, anyway.
I'm sure if I am wrong, someone will correct me...
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-24-2008, 10:09 AM:
 
It also used to be that they used longer opening credits a lot, AFAICT. Like now only a few of the people are mentioned in the opening bits but most of the older movies I've seen had pretty much everyone mentioned in the opening credits. Then the end was simply movie ending.
 

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Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 03-24-2008, 11:28 AM:
 
You are right, Chris. One would see the MPAA emblem on the opening credits, too.
The fellow who trained me in projection, Darwin Barnes, referred to the ending credits as "the repeater cast', as it listed the main actors and the roles.
 

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Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 03-24-2008, 12:28 PM:
 
I don't know if it has ever been mentioned here but when you see a movie where the directors name is at the beginning of the end credits. The director had to get permission from the Directors Guild to put his name first at the end credits. Something to do with the fact that in their rules it states that the directors name is to always come last in the credit sequence. All that probably goes back to when everything came at the beginning of the features.
 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 03-24-2008, 03:02 PM:
 
I thought they could only go first in the end credits if they were not in the opening credits. I believe that's how Quentin made it to be first at the end of Pulp Fiction...even though it had great opening credits, it did not say 'Directed By' until the end.

Explains the lack of opening titles...
 

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Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 03-24-2008, 10:05 PM:
 

quote: John Wilson

---

I thought they could only go first in the end credits if they were not in the opening credits. I believe that's how Quentin made it to be first at the end of Pulp Fiction...even though it had great opening credits, it did not say 'Directed By' until the end.

Explains the lack of opening titles...

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Probably had to have permission to do that. From what I understand it is pretty much just a formality in the organizations processes. Basically we don't care just file the necessary paper work.

Here is a couple of interesting tidbits.

Taken from
Wikapedia

In 1980, George Lucas resigned from the Directors Guild of America after it insisted, against his wishes, that Irvin Kershner, the director of The Empire Strikes Back, be credited at the beginning of the film; it had previously allowed the original Star Wars, which had a similar opening sequence, to go unchallenged. Because Lucas got his way, he has been generally viewed as being responsible for popularising the "title only" style.

Kevin Smith doesn't use the tag "A Kevin Smith Film" in the credits of his movies. His feeling is that a movie is made by everyone involved, and not the product of just the director.[2]
 

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Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 03-30-2008, 10:00 PM:
 
Moving back to the original "Rant on Stupid Customers":

This happened yesterday:

Two elderly ladies came out of "Meet the Browns". They saw me and asked if I was the manager. I said "yes". They then wanted to inform me that I was running a bootleg copy of the movie in Theatre #14. I asked how they came to that conclusion. They said that every twenty minutes or so a big round dot showed in the right hand corner of the screen. The second lady had to add this to the conversation:

(WAIT FOR IT)
(WAIT FOR IT)

"Oh yeah, I also noticed a bunch of red dots every once in a while too - that means it has to be a bootleg copy".

I told them to have a nice afternoon.

MPAA - Here's to you and your bootleg copies of movies!


 

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Posted by Galen Murphy-Fahlgren (Member # 4535) on 03-31-2008, 12:05 PM:
 
Wow, those sound like some highly perceptive customers. I hardly know anyone outside of projection who notices changeover cues, much less CAP Coding! In fact, I doubt even the majority of my projection staff sees CAP Coding.

While it was likely irritating to deal with, I am impressed nonetheless.
 

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Posted by Thomas Pitt (Member # 4322) on 03-31-2008, 04:25 PM:
 
Just a couple of things I've overheard customers say either in the auditorium, or when coming out to complain...

"The color's gone all weird" (it was a visual effect in the movie!)

"He's tuning in the projector" (when calibrating using SMPTE test film - with an audience present!)

"Just to let you know, there's loads of tiny holes in that screen"

And of course, the huge number of people who think something's gone wrong when that sound-only Chris Moyles ad is playing! Perhaps they should put up a sign saying there's a long advert at the beginning that has no picture

At VUE Sheffield, they now have allocated seating. Even though there are big signs on all the auditorium doors saying they have allocated seating, people still come in and sit wherever they like! Also, despite having a big sign above the ticket ATMs saying "If you buy tickets here, your seat will be allocated automatically" they still complain that they can't choose where they want to sit!

I've also mentioned before that I am one of the few people who sits throughout the entire credits to see if there is anything on the end. I sometimes ask the cleaners if there's anything worth waiting for while they're cleaning around me, and often they don't know! I wonder how many other customers ask that?

I also notice CAP code and changeover cues all the time... but then again, I'm very into projection
 

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Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 03-31-2008, 05:03 PM:
 

quote: Galen Murphy-Fahlgren

---

I hardly know anyone outside of projection who notices changeover cues

---

I thought that thanks to Fight Club, everyone knows about the 'cigarette burns'(thanks also, FC for calling cue marks that to make things worse) now...

-Aaron
 

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Posted by Patrick Dunn (Member # 3333) on 03-31-2008, 05:51 PM:
 

quote:

---

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I agree with Anslem on this one. I am a movie credit watcher myself. If somebody came and asked me to "stand over there," I would be irritated. I have paid to watch the whole movie, and that includes the credits if I so desire. We tell our staff not to start cleaning until everyone is out.

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quote: Patrick Dunn

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The only time we ever ask a customer to move is when the film is all done, but they still refuse to leave because they feel like discussing the film when we need to clean to seat for the next showing.

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quote: Thomas Pitt

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allocated

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Because your using such fancy words.....they don't know what allocated means.
 

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Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 03-31-2008, 08:33 PM:
 
Thanks to Fight Club, people also think they still make porn on 35mm, and it's rather easy to get ahold of.
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-31-2008, 11:45 PM:
 

quote: Thomas Pitt

---

I've also mentioned before that I am one of the few people who sits throughout the entire credits to see if there is anything on the end. I sometimes ask the cleaners if there's anything worth waiting for while they're cleaning around me, and often they don't know! I wonder how many other customers ask that?

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quote: James Westbrook

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We were running Raging Bull in early 1981 when a customer came out of the auditorium asking when the color was going to be turned on.

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I have had that happen before and I also had someone come out and say there was a problem with the color on a movie, can't remember the title, that had color credits over black and white scenes.
 

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Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 04-01-2008, 05:11 PM:
 
Thomas, you say, "At VUE Sheffield, they now have allocated seating. Even though there are big signs on all the auditorium doors saying they have allocated seating, people still come in and sit wherever they like! Also, despite having a big sign above the ticket ATMs saying "If you buy tickets here, your seat will be allocated automatically" they still complain that they can't choose where they want to sit!"

So if I put up big signs that say, "WARNING: This theatre has crummy service," I shouldn't expect customers to complain when the crummy service makes itself apparent?

--jhawk
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 04-01-2008, 08:42 PM:
 
I definitely agree with John on this.

Saying that people are stupid for complaining that they can't choose their seats when there's a sign pointing it to them is like saying that someone can't complain at a huge raise in concession prices because the signs tell them what the new, huge price is.

The people are complaining not because there wasn't something pointing this information out to them but because they want the policy changed back.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 04-01-2008, 10:13 PM:
 
Looking at it from a customer's point of view, MOST movie theatres do not have reserved seating so I can see why the people would be mad at being told where to sit.

That said, it is true that many people don't bother to read signs and/or don't think signs apply to them.
 

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Posted by Patrick Dunn (Member # 3333) on 04-01-2008, 10:37 PM:
 

quote: James Westbrook

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We were running Raging Bull in early 1981 when a customer came out of the auditorium asking when the color was going to be turned on.

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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That said, it is true that many people don't bother to read signs and/or don't think signs apply to them.

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Yep. Didn't matter how many signs we put up pointing to the bathrooms.

I even had someone, when my old theater was slow on weekdays and had the box station in the lobby, get mad and say "You should've put up a sign" to which I said "We already did." Though there was that ONE person who actually could read and came into the lobby on a Friday to get his tickets because the box person forgot to take it down from the previous day.
 

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Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 05-14-2008, 08:41 AM:
 
I won't wade through all 42 pages to see if these have been covered, but here are a few of my favorites.

The person who calls on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, or any other holiday and asks "Are you open today?" Actually, we're closed, but I came down here on my day off just so I could answer the phone for you. I know this is a semi legitimate question, but at least cover yourself by asking how late we're open or something like that.

"The sign says 7:00, is that the correct time?" No sir, it actually started at 6:30, but we thought it would be fun to make everyone late.

"I checked the paper and listened to your recording, but I just wanted to make sure the movie is playing at 4:00". Actually, the movie ended last Tuesday. We just didn't bother to take it out of the listing.

Customer shows up 30 minutes late for the opening night of Iron Man, walks up to the window and orders a ticket. When told the movie started half an hour ago says "The web site said it started at 7:30". I'm sorry sir, but I've got 250 people in the auditorium who would disagree with you.

And the customer I absolutely hate is the guy who shows up 5 minutes after show time on the opening Saturday of the newest blockbuster. Then proceeds to drop $30.00 at the snack bar before going to find a seat. And then has the gall to get mad a me because he can't find a good seat.

There are plenty more, but those are the main ones that come to mind.
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 05-14-2008, 11:38 AM:
 
Related to above,

Them: I checked the paper yesterday and it said that this movie plays at 4:30
Me: Yesterday's newspaper shows yesterday's showtimes.
 

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Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 05-14-2008, 12:17 PM:
 
My favorite line that I have actually used with rude customers:

Them: My paper at home says the show starts at 4:30.
Me: I am sorry, but we advertise in the gazette, not your paper.

I have a longstanding policy:

You bring me in the newspaper that has the incorrect showtime and you can get into the showtime of your choice for free.

I have yet to give out any free passes on this policy.


 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 05-14-2008, 01:02 PM:
 
Though speaking of newspapers:

There are times when the paper simply gets it wrong. A long time ago my old theater sent the new showtimes to them and whoever was in charge of that noticed that everything was pretty much the same (even showtimes of individual movies) except we got a new movie. So that person left everything alone and added the new movie (thereby leaving a movie that we no longer had).
 

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Posted by Joe Tommassello (Member # 4632) on 05-14-2008, 01:12 PM:
 
Had lots of complaints about the color needing adjustment on "Payback".
 

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Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 05-15-2008, 03:05 AM:
 
Mistakes happen with newspapers occasionaly. One thing we used to do was to get a new paper on Friday and put the showtimes in a small picture frame in box. When a customer wanted to dispute the accuracy of showtimes we could refer to the actual ad.

I've personally had a lot of problems with third party websites advertising incorrect showtimes. It never ceases to amaze me the variety of sites one can find showtimes on. I sometimes wonder how they get them; before our POS was upgraded and we got a live internet connection (for monitoring of the digital projectors and fandango) there was no way to pull showtimes off our system remotely from outside the company, yet sites like Yahoo had our times listed. I figured they must have some sort of web data-mining system set up to pull the times off Carmike's site (or others). Only problem was if we had a Wednesday openor these third party sites would never have the proper listing-this was a big problem with Yahoo for a while. If you emailed them they would correct it, but I have to say it was extremely annoying.

On another fun showtime/advertising note; there is a theatre 15-20 minutes north of us that is in a different city/booking zone and naturally plays day and date with us. For those of you who don't know I work for Carmike Cinemas and our ad in the paper is prominently topped with the Carmike logo. This other theatre is called Micon Cinemas. The logos look nothing alike, not even the same font. Yet once in a while we will get a customer insisting, to the point of becoming quite agitated, that our ad has a certain movie adverstised as starting at a certain time. A bit of investigation usually reveals they were looking at the wrong ad.

And last but not least-on at least two occasions in the last six months I have had customers come in with regal passes INSISTING that the webiste they checked said our theatre accepted those passes. No matter how many times I explained that was impossible, that there has never been a Regal theatre in this city, or even in western Wisconsin, they continue to insist 'our' website say we take those passes. After a bit of questioning I came to the root of the problem. They had checked the Regal website to see where the passes could be used, but then they clicked on a link to search for showtimes and wound up at Fandango. Perhaps the Regal site is poorly designed (I'm too lazy to look), but honestly, is it really that hard folks.

DISCLAIMER: I may bitch about customers being dumb, but when dealing with their complaint I remain the picture of good customer service, or at least try to.
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 05-15-2008, 03:45 AM:
 
Lots of times those sites simply bought the data from the same source that newspapers used. So if something had been mistaken in the newspaper, it'd populate to a bunch of sites or like you mentioned they wouldn't bother checking anything on the middle of the week.

And for the longest time the zip-code for my old theater would show up about 20 miles away from the actual location of the zip with moviefone. So if you had entered the actual zip, you'd find the theater but if you entered any that were nearby, you'd never find the theater listed. And it only took them like 3 years to fix it and by then it was too late with the place already on fandango.
 

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Posted by Anslem Rayburn (Member # 1267) on 05-15-2008, 06:30 AM:
 

quote: Chris Slycord

---

There are times when the paper simply gets it wrong.

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quote: Anslem Rayburn

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I suggest every theater that is capable of doing their ads in-house do so. You seriously minimize the chances of the ad being wrong.

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That's good advice. I started doing our ad myself a long time ago for that very reason. You also get the advantage that you can make your ad look like YOU want it to look, not like they think it should look.
 

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Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 05-15-2008, 10:21 AM:
 
Why wouldn't you accept your competitors pass? I ALWAYS accepted passes from other theatre chains, and I did this for a few reasons...

1. Good Will, Make sure to inform the customer that it is a different chain but that you appreciate thier business so you will accept the passes.

2. You want the customer to patronize your theatre right? Why would you send them away to another company when they are in your building? Is the potential loss of a customer for life worth an 8.00 movie ticket?

3. They may be getting free admission but chances are you will make that up at the concession stand. I have noticed that people who get in free tend to spend more money at the concession stand. Why do you want to give that revenue away?

I know that rules are rules, but sometimes it seems that people will bute thier hand to spite thier face (or whatever that saying is) and enforce rules just for the sake of enforcing rules. If a customer makes a mistake and shows up at your theatre with a competitors pass you have a golden opportunity there to gain a loyal customer for life. Tell them that it's not your company's pass and you're not supposed to accept it but that you really value thier business and youre really glad thay they chose your theatre to see a film so you will take thier pass and give them a complimentary admission. People remember when you do something like that, the perception you are giving them is that they are IMPORTANT to your company and that you VALUE thier business. They WILL remember that, and they WILL come back. Why turn it into a negative? If you refuse to accept the pass it will cause an argument, bad feelings, a negative experience. The customer will think that you dont appreciate or value thier business and will gladly go spend thier money at your competition. The moral here is that I knwo managers are taught to follow the rules, and enforce policy but you have a brain! Use it! Don't enoforce rules just to enforce rules! When you are given a golden opportunity to gain a loyal customer for life and create a lot of goodwill take it! Your bosses will be happier with a thank you letter for taking the pass than they will be with a complaint letter. I PROMISE you that!
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-15-2008, 05:03 PM:
 
I don't know, Sean, if you look back in this forum you'll find all kinds of long debates over what to do when a customer is short a nickel, or other trivialities. Sometimes people take "rules" to the extreme!
 

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Posted by Ron Funderburg (Member # 4561) on 05-15-2008, 05:11 PM:
 
I would love for folks to bring in passes to other theaters and us take them! I hate for people to have to drive the 40 miles to cash in on those passes when they can stay in town!

I don' know how many kids I have paid for part of the concession when they were short of change for them. But the drink is already in the cup the nachos have the cheese already what is the point of throwing it out? Just let them stick you that time and maybe they will remember next time and pay you back (not often)!
 

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Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 05-15-2008, 05:20 PM:
 
My rule of thumb when it comes to accepting passes from other theatres or when a customer is short a nickel depends largely on their attitude.

We are an independent theatre. When presented with a pass for Regal or some other theatre, my first response is to tell them that we are not affiliated with Regal. If the customer presses me to accept the pass, I will sometimes do so if the movie is accepting passes. It largely depends on whether they are courteous to me or if they are demanding and rude. But I won't accept gift cards or gift certificates from other theatres. We haven't received any money for the certificates, so it would be silly to give them that value - especially with gift cards. In some cases we will accept paper certificates as a pass - rather than a cash value - if it's for a theatre where we could reuse it.

When it comes to the customer being short, it really depends on if they are being cheap or if they are really short. If they are short because they don't want to break the $20 in their wallet, then I'm not usually going to be very forgiving. But if they are emptying every pocket and digging, I will usually cover up to a quarter or two. Usually what I'll do is throw in the change and tell them to bring it next time they come. I'm especially likely to do this for little kids.
 

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Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 05-15-2008, 05:40 PM:
 
You have to draw a line sometimes, where that line should be is a legitimate debate. I've given a nickel/dime/quarter out of my pocket (or just ran the drawer short when I was in the position to make that call) plenty of times. I also once saw a manager give a guy two, yes two passes because he came to Planet of the Apes on opening night and thought the theatre was 'too crowded'. Bit of explanation on that one-the show was only 3/4 full and he was just one guy, meaning he could easily have gotten a seat anywhere. Now granted, I wouldn't object to giving him a pass or even his money back (show hadn't started after all) but why on earth did he need TWO passes?
 

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Posted by Patrick Dunn (Member # 3333) on 05-15-2008, 11:27 PM:
 
If someone came and complained the theater was too full on opening night i wouldn't give him . What would they expect coming to a big movie on opening night?
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 05-15-2008, 11:43 PM:
 
Not even a refund? Now THAT is ridiculous. You're saying that if a guy came out BEFORE THE MOVIE STARTED you still wouldn't give him a refund?!

I concur with Dustin that one and only one pass or refund should've been given out.

Though I imagine a manager has to pick his/her battles. Giving out an extra pass could be worth it to get an unreasonable person on their way.
 

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Posted by Patrick Dunn (Member # 3333) on 05-15-2008, 11:55 PM:
 
Well a pass, but one that isn't good for the first week of the movie so it will be less crowded by the time he is able to use the pass.
 

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Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 05-16-2008, 12:02 AM:
 
For someone who can't find a seat (they like) in a crowded movie, I will generally issue a refund on the ticket or a gift certificate of the same value. Unless we somehow over sold the auditorium, I don't see any reason to issue a pass. Unfortunately, my theatre normally only runs 1 print of any given movie so we don't normally have the option of having them see the show that starts in 20 minutes.

The way I see it, a pass is an apology or make good for when we screw up. If someone shows up late and can't find a seat, I don't see how we have anything to apologize or make good for.

What really gets me about these situations is when they show up late then go to the snack bar first and then want me to refund the $30 they spent on snacks.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-16-2008, 01:07 AM:
 

quote: Justin Hamaker

---

For someone who can't find a seat (they like) in a crowded movie, I will generally issue a refund on the ticket or a gift certificate of the same value. Unless we somehow over sold the auditorium, I don't see any reason to issue a pass.

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Why in the world would you give a refund or gift certificate instead of a pass? You HAVE their money; why not keep it? ... and ensure another visit at a later date at the same time.
 

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Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 05-16-2008, 01:32 AM:
 
Because our passes can't be used until after the first 10 days (14 for Sony and longer for some blockbusters). While I completely agree with keeping the money, I don't feel right about giving passes that can't be used for a few weeks to someone who couldn't find a seat they just paid for on the opening weekend. But that's why I'll give gift certificates when I can. At least they have to come back to our theatre to use them - and with any luck we'll make another round of sales at the snack bar.
 

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Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 05-16-2008, 02:54 AM:
 
To further clarify my above post, the guy wasn't even really angry-its not like he was spitting mad and two passes were given to calm him down, the manager just dished out two passes.

So yeah, its usaully a tough call-how far do you go to please a customer? We're here to serve the customer, but there are people out there who will take advantage of your generosity too.
 

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Posted by Louis Belloisy (Member # 3836) on 05-16-2008, 11:56 AM:
 
Our little theater is about 2 hours north of Manhattan. No offense to anyone from Gotham City.

We get a lot of New Yorkers at our theater on weekends and some of them can be very difficult.

I was doing a theater check and heard a whimpering sound coming from the back of the theater. When I approached a middle age lady, I could hear something coming from the seat next to her.

Me: Madam, whatever you have in that bag is making noise, what is it?
Her: Its my dog, "Precious"
Me: Madam, dogs are not allowed in the theater, Health Department rules.
Her: But Precious goes everywhere with me.
Me: Madam, only seeing dogs are allowed in the theaters.
Her: How do you know she is not a seeing eye dog?
Me: She is in a dark bag, she could not see anything.
Her: Well, I am not leaving, do you know who I am?
Me: To myself, (Oh Boy, Now she is having an identity crisis)
Me: Madam, you have to leave, I will refund your money or give you a pass.
Her: Give me my money back, I will never come back here again.
Me: To myself, thank God for small favors.

Two weeks we had an Indy film that she could not resist, she was back, without Precious.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-16-2008, 02:19 PM:
 
I don't think I ever posted this story before but it's still a good one. Happened a long time ago.

This kid was sitting in the theatre just yaking away during the movie. After two or three warnings, we finally kicked him out. On the way out he yelled, "I'm never coming back here again!!" My brother in law Tom (business partner at the time) said, "OK, that's just fine."

Well a couple of weeks later, this kid started dating one of our concession girls. They came to the movie on one of her "off" nights. Tom said (to the girl) "Well, you can come in, but he said he never wanted to come here again, so we're keeping his word for him." Of course the apologies and begging started at that point, but Tom held firm.

After several ruined attempted movie dates, the kid finally came in by himself one night, all humble, apologized profusely and said he'd learned his lesson, would never talk in a movie again, etc. So we started letting him come in again and had no trouble with him (or any of his buddies) after that.
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 05-16-2008, 09:34 PM:
 
louis,

Related stories:
People complained to a security guard that a small dog was walking around the auditorium. Not being the brightest person I've ever met, he had to ask a manager what to do and she obviously told him to kick her out. The woman claimed the dog sat with her in her purse the whole time. Needless to say, she was kicked out; if the dog were sitting still it wouldn't make sense for multiple people to complain about it walking and it's not allowed in the place anyway.

They also once had a guy who I think was homeless buy a ticket, and tied up his dog outside. The mall's security workers saw the dog, untied it and called animal control. When he came out of his movie he ranted at the manager and asked for his money back (apparently it's the manager's fault that he illegally left a dog unattended). Obviously, he got no refund.

Though the BEST pet story was when this couple brought in a freaking gerbil in one of those plastic balls that let the things run around. Myself, a manager, and another lead were telling her "We can't possibly let you in with a rodent; that's DEFINITELY against health codes." She actually was surprised. She got us to have the ball and gerbil placed inside an open, empty cardboard box inside the office and the thing ran around inside that thing while her and her husband watched the movie. And we obviously threw away the box shortly after.
 

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Posted by Ron Funderburg (Member # 4561) on 05-16-2008, 10:01 PM:
 
Well I had a good one tonight a Gentleman came out and asked us to get the kids to turn off their cell phones. We went in once and got on they shut them off so I watched from the booth and a different group started to text each other I went down and got on them. Back to the booth and watched again and then the last little group of kids started doing the same thing down again and get on them all cells now off and everyone engrossed in the movie. The guy then comes out and complains that we went in and out of the theater to much it was distracting to him. I offered him a pass and he turned me down, probable fishing for a refund. I said well I'm sorry then we will try to do better the next time you are here.

Yup Fridays are always fun!
 

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Posted by Louis Belloisy (Member # 3836) on 05-18-2008, 12:06 PM:
 
Another common problem:

A gentleman came into the theater yesterday 30 minutes late for a showing (he was warned) and when he went into the theater he saw that it was well into the movie. He stormed out and demanded his money back and when we finally got him to calm down, he explained he was from Manhattan and that the movies down there do not start until all the trailers and commercials are run through.

we explained that we only have a few trailers and that our movies start after a trailer time of around 6 minutes.

we have had tons of people come in late for movies for this reason. Our management will not show commercials and I only put on 2 or maybe 3 trailers at most.

Louis
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-18-2008, 12:37 PM:
 
We have never shown commercials and normally don't have more than 10-13 minutes of trailers and we still get people who come in 40 minutes after showtime thinking "the movie's probably just started, right?"
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 05-18-2008, 12:43 PM:
 
And the vast majority of theaters that do have commercials do those before showtime anyway, starting trailers at the advertised showtime.

I remember when I was box specifically telling a woman "You've missed 20 minutes of the movie" when she asked for a ticket and she responded "NO! I've missed 5." So I sold her the ticket and 3 or 4 minutes later she was back and said "You were right" and requested a refund.
 

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Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 05-18-2008, 04:56 PM:
 
My theatre also refuses to run rolling stock ads and we normally do about 10 minutes of trailers. I try very hard to stick to the 10 minutes because that's what our regulars expect - and we have at least one customer who intentionally shows up about 10 minutes late to miss the trailers.

When I do tell people they have missed so many minutes of the movie, the will frequently respond "but you have like 20 minutes of commercials". I usually tell them that we run previews, but we do not run commercials. And I'll add, the show started 20 minutes ago. We run 10 minutes of previews so you have missed 10 minutes of the movie.

I used to go to occasionally go to a Cinemark theatre that would run about 7-8 minutes of rolling stock ads plus about 15 minutes of trailers so by the time the movie actually started you were about 25 minutes into the program. While they started the ads prior to show time, I do think it builds the perception that the movie doesn't start until 20+ minutes after the show time.
 

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Posted by Galen Murphy-Fahlgren (Member # 4535) on 05-18-2008, 05:41 PM:
 
I also have problems with customers who "know" how long our previews run, despite the fact that I am very clear that we run 8 minutes of trailers at the max. I tell customers and the regular floor staff that trailers average 7 minutes from the advertised start time.

Now, as irritating as it is, this isn't really the customers fault. I lay the blame squarely on the exhibitors who actually DO run 20+ minutes of crap prior to the feature. I personally would not sit through such a barrage of trailers and since the customers pay to see movies, which I do not, I see no reason why they should be subjected to it.
 

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Posted by Robert Crabtree (Member # 4795) on 05-31-2008, 04:09 AM:
 
Not a customer rant, but an odd experience to say the least. As a note, I am half deaf and wear aids in both ears.

Earlier this week, a call came from the box office that two men were here to see *specifically* me, which had the managers on duty wondering why the Feds were in to see me.

I make my way from the office down to the lobby, and I see the men in question, and one of them is gesticulating fluidly, and I figure out what I'm walking into.

As I come to face one of the men, he introduces himself all the while signing to me. "That's very considerate of you, but sadly, I don't sign". We make a minute of small talk about the odd circumstances behind that, and he gets to the reason for him and his silent partner's visit. "We're with a religious organization that provides materials to the Deaf/HOH, and while we were in the mall, someone suggested we stop by and visit you."

Someone recommended me for conversion?

Him and Silent Bob leave, to join their comrades in a pick-up truck, which included 3 women in very long dresses. Rogue Texas polygamist long.

When the staff found out why the mysterious men came to talk to me, they laughed at the thought of anyone trying to convert a degenerate like me.
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 06-02-2008, 02:29 AM:
 
I wouldn't classify this guy as stupid but I'm just confused at his reaction.

I went downstairs to get a small thing of soda then went near our "guest services" section to ask a manager a question, but just as I get there he's got a phone call. So I wait. As I'm waiting this man walks up to the guest services and stands there. The girl working that section was already helping several people at the other end of the counter and I could see the guy was waiting for some help for something.

So I walk up and say "Is something wrong, sir?"

Him: No. You shouldn't ask that.
Me: I'm sorry. I was just asking to see if there was anything I could help you with.
Him: I do need help with something but nothing's wrong. You should say "Can I help you with anything?" instead.
Me: Ok. So, how can I help you?

He then explained the problem and a manager came by and fixed it.

I'm just confused by his reaction to my question.
 

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Posted by Jaime Tuzzio (Member # 4760) on 06-02-2008, 04:28 AM:
 

quote: Chris Slycord

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Him: I do need help with something but nothing's wrong. You should say "Can I help you with anything?" instead.

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quote: Poon Limpapun

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The film in question didn't have any Surround Sound feature so there would be
no sound coming out from the surrounds anyway. Well if there was, that is going to be a problem.

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That reminds me about the movie "Contact" The local cinema had to put up notices on the door explaining that the sound fades to silence during the opening sequence and nothing was wrong with the soundtrack
 

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Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 06-03-2008, 02:07 PM:
 
Oh yeah, when I was a manager AT LEAST once a week someone (for some reason it was always men never women) would come up to the Guest Services kiosk demanding thier money back because the surrounds aren't working. No matter how hard you tried to educate these people they would not listen. THEY knew better than you because THEY had a 50 million dollar state of the art home theatre system at thier house and the sound came out of all of the speakers at the same time. Effectively they listened to all thier movies in MONO just coming out of every speaker!
 

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Posted by Michael Dolan (Member # 4808) on 06-03-2008, 02:58 PM:
 
Ok this more of a moronic theater that I was a customer at. So i bought some tickets at _____________. I wont say the name because I know the owner is a member. But anyways I bought tickets to see a second run movien at this theater I went inside got a large popcorn and a candy bar for my daughter. My wife got a nachos and a large drink. Now at that time I had just had surgery so i couldn't get anything instead I just brought a bottle of water with me.

So were sitting down in the theater waiting for the movie to start in like 3 min. One of the ushers acame up to us and said

Usher: Sir did you purchase that water here?
Me: No I brought it in with me.
Usher: I'm sorry but we have a strict no outside food or drink policy.
Me: I understand that I work at a theater too. ITs just a bottle of water I can't drink anything else because of a surgery I had. We bought alot of stuff from the concession stand though.
Usher: Well you are going to have to leave your water outside and buy ours

That was ridiculous so i figured he was just doing his job way to good so I asked to speak with a manager?

Manager: What seems to be the problem
Me: explained the whole situation again
Manager: Sorry but thats our policy!!

So I gave in and bought one of there bottles of water for $1.75

Would you believe that 10min. into the trailers they had a brainwrap and the manager had to give everyone refunds because his projectionist quit on him.

Did I speak up and offer to fix it? HELL NO serves him right
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 06-03-2008, 03:04 PM:
 
Sorry Michael but you were completely in the wrong. Carrying in your own bottle of water because you just had surgery is really a lame excuse.

If they let you carry a water in, they have to let everybody else carry it in too. They were in the right. The only thing they did wrong was just saying "It's our policy." Instead they should have explained that the cinema needs concession sales in order to survive, and if everyone carried their own stuff in from outside, they would be out of business.
 

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Posted by Michael Dolan (Member # 4808) on 06-03-2008, 03:20 PM:
 
Mike,

I agree with the outside food or drinks policy. I know how everything works and I know how the movie companies take alot of tickets sales so you need concessions to pay bills and make a profit. Trust me If i walked in there with a pizza and popcorn and mcdonalds ok thats wrong and by all means throw the person out. But I went and spent money on concessions I had a bottle of water that I carry with me at all times some theaters don't sell water they just have fountains you never know. So to come down the aisle and call me out over a bottle of water I think is insane and shows no customer service to a customer that has purchased from the upcharged concession stand.

I'm sorry but if a theater is going to get that picky about concession then they need to start selling formula for babies, Milk, and everything else so that no one has an excuse to bring anything in.

I have never worked at a theater where they chased domeone down for a bottle of water.

I'm sorry I don't agree with your statement Mike I understand fully but I think there needs to be a limit.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 06-03-2008, 03:33 PM:
 
OK but where do you draw the line? You know how people are -- give an inch, they'll take a mile. You either have to be down-the-line strict or relaxed on everybody. Otherwise you run the risk of getting sued, beat up or worse.

Also, there is a big difference between a baby's formula and a bottle of water. And it doesn't matter how much you spent at the concession stand. That's like going to a gas station and saying, "I bought gas here, so I can bring my McDonald's meal in and sit in your booths and eat it."

Any theatre that doesn't carry bottled water these days is probably an extreme rarity.

Our policy here is to stop carry-ins at the door, but we will not go into the audience during the movie to bust a carry-in that we missed, unless it's causing a problem (smelly/noisy).
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 06-03-2008, 03:41 PM:
 
If you're firm on your rule people know what to expect from you. I'd go so far to say that wishy-washy rules are worthless.

I remember kids talking about going to an R-rated movie when I was box only to have one of them say "Don't bother; they always check ID here."
 

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Posted by Michael Dolan (Member # 4808) on 06-03-2008, 03:56 PM:
 
Well that is a good point and if they had stopped me at the concession stand or the door I would have asked if they sold water if they did I would gladly of obeyed there rules.

I guess it is just the fact that everyone in the theater is watching as this Usher and Manager scold me about a bottle of water that makes it kinda confrontational and upsetting. I see your points and I agree stop them at the door and unless it is important dont go chasing someone into the theater right as the movie is about toi start infront of everyone and scold them.

It makes the customer and the theater look bad
 

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Posted by Patrick Dunn (Member # 3333) on 06-03-2008, 04:15 PM:
 
Although we don't advertise it, we let people bring in food and drinks in (as long as they don't have any glass). But it is funny since people who don't know this will try to sneak stuff in and it is funny to see them with candy hanging out of their clothes. A little kid with microwavable popcorn under his coat. It just makes me mad when they leave all of their trash on the floor and I'm cleaning up stuff that we don't even sell.
 

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Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 06-03-2008, 07:41 PM:
 
The thing that always amazes me are the people who are able to smuggle in whole pizzas or other large and bulky items. Either our ushers are completely dense (which I won't rule out) or there are some very creative customers.

The one that really bothers me are the people who bring sunflower seeds and can't be bothered to spit the shells in a cup or bag. Cleaning up those wet shells is a major pain in the ass. The next most annoying is the people who chew and leave their spit container in the cup holder when they leave. It's better than on the floor, but it's still gross.
 

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Posted by Patrick Dunn (Member # 3333) on 06-03-2008, 07:59 PM:
 
The customers are using their mind tricks.

Customer carrying in pizza
Usher: You can't take a pizza into the theater.
Customer: (waves hand through air) I can take a pizza into the theater.
Usher: You can take a pizza into the theater.
Customer: Move along
Usher: Move along.
 

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Posted by Jeremy Weigel (Member # 4208) on 06-03-2008, 08:36 PM:
 

quote: Justin Hamaker

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The next most annoying is the people who chew and leave their spit container in the cup holder when they leave. It's better than on the floor, but it's still gross.

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For a while we had someone that would come in at least once a week and would spit on the seat cushion next to them. Never did catch this asshole.

As far people sneaking in items like pizzas, they are more than likely bringing them in through the side exits. We had some teenagers a few years ago that ordered pizza from the Little Caesars here in our shopping center and tried to have it delivered to them at one of our side exits (damn cell phones). Fortunately they picked an exit that is right next to the front entry doors and other customers reported it.
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 06-03-2008, 09:11 PM:
 

quote: Mike Blakesley

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OK but where do you draw the line? You know how people are -- give an inch, they'll take a mile. You either have to be down-the-line strict or relaxed on everybody. Otherwise you run the risk of getting sued, beat up or worse.

Also, there is a big difference between a baby's formula and a bottle of water.

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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Although if I was king, I would enact a "no baby bottles OR BABIES in theatres" law.

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Where do you draw the line now with babies? at what age? When my wife and I had our daughter we starting trying to see movies when she was 2 1/2 of coarse if she did get loud or start talking I immediatley took her out so that the comfort of the rest of the audience wasn't disturbed. But I have been able to make it through a couple of movies without a peep out of her.

If you were king Mike then would I have even got a chance to see these movies?

Now don't get me wrong at all if someone is going to bring in a screaming kid and expect to stay the whole time with the kid screaming I'd kick them out. But if there just trying to catch a movie and the kids behaving what is the problem with that?
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 06-03-2008, 09:42 PM:
 
Water is not quite as generic as you would think...then again, that would depend on the person. An arguement could be made that the difference between Tap water and low-end bottled water being pretty much the same. At least the tap water probably has local and state government controls as to its quality and just what is in it. Much of the bottled water industry seems to be about what type of class the water is (spring, purified...etc). If I have purified water because I don't want the contaminates that are in your water (either bottled or tap)...then how can you deny me my purified water? It is a higher grade than what you offer and I need water to survive? Oddly enough, I would think that on a legal basis, you would either have to allow their own water or point to the governmentally certified water coming out of the fountain.

Again...I find the 95% of the water industry to be just silly but there is no denying that water is essential. It is vary rare that I have "enjoyed" water out of a bottle and really only enjoyed a couple of bottled waters and they all came out of a glass bottle. I tend to like "purified" waters best or tap water...oddly enough. I grew up on the chlorinated-flourinated stuff. So much for "my precious bodily fluids" or "purity of essence."

Steve
 

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Posted by Michael Dolan (Member # 4808) on 06-03-2008, 09:46 PM:
 
I guess I should have just started a New topic with this? Seems like it is a very touchy subject
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 06-03-2008, 09:59 PM:
 
Thats okay...I know it doesn't bother me too much...I think you will find that with Mike and other theatre (business) owners...they want to control their business as they see fit. And if they have a policy on something, then that is their policy.

For me, you posed an interesting situation as water is a bit of a legislated thing (or at least I found the mental exercise interesting). Coming in with say, Mountain-Dew, since the theatre was a "Coke" company wouldn't get you very far as the business need not cater to your preferences anymore than McDonalds need not serve a BK Fish sandwich or even allow you to eat your BK Fish in the McDonalds after you bought a Big Mac to go along with your BK Fish. But water...the business has to provide that and there is a very long history of it being free of charge too (in a fountain).

I'm definately not looking to pick a fight with Mike or any other exhibitor/manager on bringing in bottled water...I don't carry the stuff around with me anyway. I'm just pointing out that water may indeed be a special case substance due to its very nature.

Steve
 

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Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 06-03-2008, 10:03 PM:
 
I don't know how others handle this, but we allow bottled water - although we don't post it. Other items are not allowed, but we will make an exception if someone specifically tells us they have specific requirements due to medical conditions.

I agree with the idea that you have to have a firm rule and draw the line or you're having to make exceptions for everyone. I think water is a reasonable exception - and we don't discriminate between bottled or tap water in a cup.

What really annoys me is the people who give you a big old guilt trip when you ask them to finish their milk shake out side. "I just paid $4.00 for this. Can't you make an exception this one time. Besides, you guys don't even sell milk shakes".

But I have found that most of the time when I say "You'll need to finish your drink (or whatever) before you come inside" people are less objectionable. I'm not telling them to throw it away, I'm just telling them to finish before the come in the theatre.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 06-03-2008, 11:07 PM:
 

quote: Michael Dolan

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Where do you draw the line now with babies? at what age? When my wife and I had our daughter we starting trying to see movies when she was 2 1/2 of coarse if she did get loud or start talking I immediatley took her out so that the comfort of the rest of the audience wasn't disturbed. But I have been able to make it through a couple of movies without a peep out of her.

If you were king Mike then would I have even got a chance to see these movies?

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quote: Justin Hamaker

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Along the same lines, I hate those parents who get mad at you because they have to pay for their 3-4 year-old. They are watching the movie, and usually taking up a seat.

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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If you take your 2 year old to a show, and she cries, talks or otherwise misbehaves, you have wrecked the movie experience for everyone within 20 feet of you.

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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People who have kids think the world revolves around their kids.

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quote:

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quote: Mike Blakesley
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People who have kids think the world revolves around their kids.
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No more true statement has ever been written on film-tech. People with kids don't seem to understand that just because THEIR life revolves around THEIR kid it doesn't mean that the world revolves around their kid.

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AMEN!!!
 

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Posted by Adam Holland (Member # 4539) on 06-05-2008, 07:38 PM:
 
That brings up a good point. Why did theatres get rid of the cry room. The theatre I run still has one and it helps for problems such as this. Parents with small children feel comfortable bringing thier kids to the movies because they know they can go in that room and the kids will not distrub others. This is one thing the modern architechs ought to consider when they build new theatres.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 06-06-2008, 09:54 AM:
 
We used to have a cry room with 4 seats in it. (Everything in our theatre is small. If I was building it now, I'd put really nice chairs in there, not just theatre seats.) People would pitch a fit if we asked them to go in there. Almost no one would sit in there voluntarily. I think it was probably because the kid's screams seemed even louder to the parent while sitting in that dinky space.

ANyway, it was too small to remodel to make it decent, so we finally got rid of it because we needed the space for storage.
 

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Posted by Patrick Dunn (Member # 3333) on 06-06-2008, 01:52 PM:
 
We have what used to be a cry room for one of our smaller screens. The glass is covered and the room is now an office.
 

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Posted by Robert Crabtree (Member # 4795) on 06-06-2008, 11:01 PM:
 
I forgot about this "gem" until yesterday.

During the last set on opening Friday of Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, there was this little kid (about 5 y/o) that kept bugging our concessionists for stuff- money to play the video games, free drinks, free popcorn, etc. One guy, in a last ditch attempt to get him to leave, gave him a kid candy. Then, later in the night (12:30ish), about 10 minutes after his last "Can I gets a dank" panhandling, I'm checking out our hallways, making sure that everything is okay, when I see it. In a small nook, by the door to the booth stairwell.

A big green, gelatinous .

And I see a small handprint on our bathroom door.

Following the nasty trail of handprints, I end up in the handicapped stall, which has smeared on the door, and find a pair of little boy's pants.

Lesson learned: Give little concession hustlers the boot before they give us the poop.
 

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Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 06-09-2008, 11:08 AM:
 
Am I understanding this correctly?

There was an unsupervised 5 year old child alone in the lobby of the theater late at night, not once, but twice, with the last time being after midnight?

And no one tried to find his parents and/or called the police?

Are unsupervised pre-schoolers running around late at night common in Florida?
 

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Posted by Robert Crabtree (Member # 4795) on 06-09-2008, 01:08 PM:
 
Whatever movie he was seeing was part of a busy 10 PM set; he just kept leaving his movie throughout the show to get free stuff out of the concessionists. Had a small, solitary kid strolled into our lobby from outside around midnight, police definitely would have been called into our urban theatre.

While I've never let my older nephew out of my sight in public, an appalling number of parents can't be bothered to escort their kids to and from the bathroom, or otherwise keep an eye on them. I guessed he was 5 mainly because he was short and the way that he spoke-he could have been as old as 8 or 9.

As for police, we had on-site security that night as well as many officers around the shopping center on their beats. Until the kid (allegedly, though guilty 'til proven innocent I say) used our floor/doors/walls in lieu of toilet paper, he hadn't done anything other than be obnoxious, and did nothing to suggest his parents were anything more than disgustingly lazy. Thus, their lack of involvement.

Not my story, but it has a similar theme:

On the opening weekend of Titanic, one of our managers was working at a different 20-plex that was packed to the gills when she came across two young kids whose mother had bought tickets and dropped them off. As if this wasn't already bad enough, said children were apparently sick as dogs and throwing up in whatever movie their mom had left them in.

Calling the police was the first thing on her mind. Cause while crappy, hands off parenting rarely gets police attention, incredibly negligent abandonment usually does.
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 06-09-2008, 01:41 PM:
 
So the manager called the police because of the ASSUMPTION that it's impossible for the kids to have not shown major symptoms beforehand and therefore the parent was negligent?

People go to the hospital all the time with major problems that had previously appeared normal... but of course all their friends and family are negligent too.

I feel sorry for the parents getting talked to by a cop for no reason other than a manager of a movie theater being ignorant.
 

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Posted by Robert Crabtree (Member # 4795) on 06-10-2008, 02:10 AM:
 
It was unbelievably horrible judgment all around to abandon two little kids (I think she said both were under 10) at night on the premises of a busy 20 plex in a mall surrounded by highway on what was the opening weekend of the biggest blockbuster that year. That they were sick and puking in the theatre just made a shitty situation worse (and is probably why the aforementioned manager came across the kids amidst all of the mayhem).

Even removing illness from the equation, the possibilities of something catastrophic happening in that situation are too high to ignore. While we look out for the comfort and well-being of our guests, theatres are not a substitute for child care.

At some point in time, Florida adopted MPAA ratings as state law. If that decision was in force at the time, and they were alone in an R movie, I think the sum of the circumstances would have required her to call police, as a guardian of 21yrs or older would have been required to be with them throughout an R showing.

Sorry for the long reply- I'm just a tad long-winded
 

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Posted by Lyle Romer (Member # 1266) on 06-10-2008, 06:15 AM:
 

quote: Robert Crabtree

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At some point in time, Florida adopted MPAA ratings as state law.

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quote: Robert Crabtree

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It was unbelievably horrible judgment all around to abandon two little kids (I think she said both were under 10) at night on the premises of a busy 20 plex in a mall surrounded by highway on what was the opening weekend of the biggest blockbuster that year. That they were sick and puking in the theatre just made a shitty situation worse (and is probably why the aforementioned manager came across the kids amidst all of the mayhem).

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quote: Robert Crabtree

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Chris- If there had been a single adult amongst the thousands of perfect strangers that night who had been entrusted to the care of the kids, someone who could have reported the disappearance of the kids, who could have kept the kids onsite and not wandering out of the mall into highway traffic, who would protect the kids from being victims, like Adam Walsh, to predators, like Jeffrey Dahmer, I'd agree.

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quote: Carl Martin

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that law doesn't refer at all to the mpaa or its ratings.

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quote:

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Q. Is the rating system a law?

A. No, the rating system is strictly voluntary and carries no force of law.

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quote: Sean McKinnon

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That Florida law clearly defines what in indecent and would actually be very easy to prove. Basically the spirit of that law is that it is a crime to sell or procure a ticket to an R rated movie to a minor under 17. It does not specify R Rated movies but by thier defenition a movie that had that content would be rated "R".

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quote: Carey Barber

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Our biggest "Silence is Golden" issue is the KIDS THAT ARE OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER!!! The 14-17 year old range is horrible for us. They cause disturbances in the theater and crowd control issues. Any PG-13 horror flick is a nightmare for our floor staff.

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quote: Dustin Mitchell

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I seem to recall hearing somewhere that the R rating was given the power of law in Tennessee too, could be wrong I suppose.

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quote: Chris Slycord

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What makes one movie R and another PG-13 is many times murky at best.

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quote: Jeremy Weigel

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the state had random audits of the auditoriums to make sure there were no unaccompanied minors in R rated films.

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quote: Robert Crabtree

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a girl very aggressively pursuing a guy, the ensuing statutory rape

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quote: Carl Martin

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the state sends bullies to enforce a very questionable interpretation of the law

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Carl - he didn't say the state sent people in. He said he WAS TOLD by higher-ups that the state sent people in. In other words, they bullshitted him.
 

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Posted by Mike Sellars (Member # 4042) on 06-12-2008, 09:11 PM:
 
I remember the opening Friday of "Orange County", prime show... it sold out an hour before start and 98% of them were teens, so I put an usher on the door and instructed him and the box people to try to gently dissuade adults from buying tickets to that show instead of trying to keep the noise down, as we were vastly outnumbered. Worked great - the adults appreciated being informed that there most definitely WAS going to be a talking issue in that show, and we didn't have to roust a bunch of kids who were just trying to have a good time. We checked the show every so often for temperature, sound level, lighting and onscreen presentation, as well as any inappropriate conduct by the kids and that was that.



Mike
 

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Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 06-13-2008, 01:26 PM:
 
If I'm going to a silly comedy movie, I don't mind loud laughing teenagers, because it actually is more fun to be around a lively, laughing crowd if a movie is a comedy, but if it's a quiet, dialogue-driven movie, I wouldn't want that.

The neatest experience with a teenage audience for me was "Napoleon Dynamite". I was probably the only person in the auditorium over 19. Everyone in there was teen age except me. I enjoyed the movie and so did the teenagers, and they were all extremely well-behaved. All I can figure is that movie lured most of the "good ones" as its audience. When I saw "Fantasia 2000", there were many high school band members there who were well-behaved and great to talk to.

All teenagers aren't bad but if you see a movie on Friday or Saturday night and it's something like "Freddie Got Fingered", expect a rowdy bunch.
 

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Posted by Eric Rice (Member # 4665) on 06-21-2008, 07:58 PM:
 
I recently started as projectionist at a Marcus theatre in MN and just had my first stupid customer experience today. Happened while doing auditorium checks after I'd gotten all the afternoon shows going. I walked in to one of the auditoriums that had two entrances. Everything checked out fine so I headed out to check the next one. When I walked out, there was a guy standing in the corner by the opposite entrance urinating. I pointed him to the bathrooms and went to get a manager. That's the last time that guy will be allowed in our theatre. Unfortunately I had to leave before my manager confronted him.
 

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Posted by Galen Murphy-Fahlgren (Member # 4535) on 06-22-2008, 12:19 AM:
 
In Michigan, public urination can qualify you as a sex offender and require that you register and all that good stuff. Over the top and draconian? Yes, but you better believe if I saw someone taking a piss in an auditorium, we'd ask for a proverbial book throwing.
 

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Posted by Jim Cassedy (Member # 4115) on 06-25-2008, 04:23 PM:
 
So, the other day some guy buys a 'block' of about 20 tickets so that he could bring his young son and all his friends to see "Kung-Fu Panda" on his birthday.
(the kid's birthday- - not the dads! )

Prior to showing up for the movie, they apparantly had a birthday party at a big 'family-friendly' restaurant down the street from the theater.

The restaurant gave each kid a helium balloon.

Since they didn't have reserved seats and arrived just before trailer-time, they wound up sitting way up in the back of the theater so they could all get seats together.

You guessed it- - the helium balloon crowd wound up right under the projection ports.

I didn't realize this at first, but couldn't figure out why I had this dark blob at the bottom of the screen when I started the trailers. I thought I had a big dead moth or beetle stuck in the lens barrel. (It's happened before!)
But then I saw the top of the balloon.

I went out and politely mentioned the problem to the dad, who was absoloutely clueless. So by the time I got back in the booth he had moved several of the kids around in their seats and the kid now sitting under the port window had a balloon on a longer string that blocked even more of the port.

The dad was still clueless.

It took a couple of trips and a lot of audience participation to get him to realize that NONE of the kids with balloons could sit under the projection ports.

I'll admit I spent several minutes looking around the booth for a sharp pin. I was either going to start popping balloons or jab the clueless dad with it. The kids were really too young to know any better and most of them had probably never been in a movie theater before, so I don't really fault them.
 

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Posted by Patrick Dunn (Member # 3333) on 06-26-2008, 03:50 PM:
 
I love stadium seating, but hate the fact that the projector is so close to customers.
 

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Posted by Edwin Schwing (Member # 1270) on 06-27-2008, 12:22 AM:
 
I think this last post (well the one before the reply) should be posted under "Rant on Stupid Doormen"

Who let's Helium balloons in a theatre????

Outside food and drink is one thing, but Helium Balloons???

??????

E
 

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Posted by Ed Alvarado (Member # 2760) on 07-02-2008, 01:47 AM:
 
hmm I've had alot of stupid people come to the theater but the one time I have burned in my head is when I used to work for this crappy company called regal and they used to have these free family film festivals and the point of this thing is from 9am-11am customers come in for free to watch a kid film. now the whole point of this thing is because the company payed little money for the old kid film But its all about banking on the popcorn and drinks.
now for 3 weeks this bus load of kids that look to be from a daycare showed up and they would watch a movie but all of a sudden during the showing of the films one of the daycare employee would walk out into the bus and start pulling out bags of food. now at first I was not informed about this because I was the only manager on duty and I was getting all the films ready to be shown. until one day I went downstairs because an employee informed me about a guy with alot of brown bags. so I walked up to him and asked what he's doing and he said im getting ready to feed the kids. and I just looked at him with a grin and I told him "NOT WITH THAT FOOD BUDDY im going to have to ask you to remove all the food from my counter and take it back to your bus"
and the guy got all huffy puffy and he tried to step up to me and said that the kids are hungry. and I told the guy that it doesnt work that way and that the whole point of the free movie is that family's come in for free but its all about selling our food and not for you to bring your own food. now im being nice because first you didnt call in to let us know your bringing 30 kids and second this is a family film festival not for companies such as your daycare.
the customer got mad and walked into the theater and got a female worker to talk to me and I told her the same thing and all she can say is "I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY YOUR LETTING THESE KIDS STARVE" and she tried being loud and pointing the finger at me as if i'm the bad guy. and all I can do is have a grin and just stare at how stupid they are and how they cant grasp the concept of this situation. and for three weeks and two days out of the week they showed up and did the exact same thing over and over until I banned them from going to our theater. they even went as far as getting the parents of the child to call me and ask why I'm not giving her kid the food they payed for. and I told the parents the exact same thing and they get mad because they say im trying to take there money and its a rip off.
 

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Posted by Robert Crabtree (Member # 4795) on 07-02-2008, 02:09 AM:
 
The CEO of that company once said something to the effect of "It's a seven dollar tub of popcorn so we don't have to charge 20 dollars per ticket." That'd be my response, in a world where directness can supplant customer service.
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 07-02-2008, 02:49 AM:
 
Starving is a bit of a strong word for a movie that is only an hour and a half long.
 

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Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 07-02-2008, 03:55 AM:
 
Most customers get mad when you change the rules out from under them. This is not a surprise.

Look at it from their perspective: they don't know you're doing this for the concession revenue, and they were told the movie was free and they believed it. Then they cemented their understanding by bringing food and were not told it was a problem (until you noticed them a few days later).

Also, I think some daycare folks would not feel comfortable feeding kids popcorn and soda for lunch. Food for thought.

--jhawk
 

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Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 07-02-2008, 05:44 AM:
 
The deal from the kids show reminds me of a situation I had about two weeks ago. This summer school program from one of the local Indian reservations shows up unannounced for the first matinee of Kung Fu Panda on a Tuesday afternoon. I'm staffed to handle about 100 customers over an entire set of shows and they show up with 30-40 kids all at one time. Then they proceed to go to the concession stand and order fun packs with icee for each of the kids. While trying to deal with them, the line of our regular customers is growing continuously longer. In fact, it slowed things down to the point that I had to start Get Smart 10 minutes late because the customers were stuck in the line.

The fact they showed up unannounced and then ordered 25-30 of one of the most time consuming items had me mad enough. But then when I tell him I really would have appreciated a call the day before, he gets indignant and starts acting like I was telling him not to come - in fact he actually said "are we not welcome here". He just couldn't get the fact that I just wasn't staffed to handle that extra load or that it severely impacted the service our other customers received.

To make it even worse, they completely trashed the lobby. At least 2 of the kids dumped their fun pack spilling popcorn and Icee all over the floor. And there was stomped on popcorn spread over the entire lobby. I forgot to ask my staff what the auditorium looked like after they left, but I'm sure it was just as trashed.
 

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Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 07-02-2008, 06:35 AM:
 
Don't blame the customers!

An aggressive marketing person would have INVITED the day care and summer recreation groups to participate in the "free film" programs.

By inviting the groups you can set out the rules for their attendance. Like: Call ahead the day before, come with money if the kids want food, perhaps even a special offer for small portions.

Pitching this as a learning experience, the opportunity to help children know and understand the rules for attending a movie can be a reason for the leaders to bring the children in the first place. Some justification has to be given to the parents for the children to leave the controlled environment of the day care or summer camp. Most field trips require parent consent forms to be signed before the child can attend.

Groups can be a great asset to the theater if you handle it in a positive and pro-active way.

KEN
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 07-02-2008, 11:58 AM: