quote: WCCO TV Web Site

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Woman Gets Profane E-Mail From Theater Co.'s VP
Reporting
Reg Chapman
ST. CROIX FALLS, Wis. (WCCO) ―

St. Croix Falls Cinema in St. Croix Falls, Wis. The theater is owned by Evergreen Entertainment.

When a Minnesota woman complained about her experience at a movie theater in St. Croix Falls, Wis., the response she got stunned her.

An e-mail from the vice president of the company that owns the theater started with an expletive and didn't let up.

Sarah Kohl-Leif and her husband had problems from the start of their night. The theater only accepts cash or checks, no debit or credit cards, and the ATM in the lobby was out of cash.

Her friend Kathy Garrison and her husband lent them the money to get in.

"Five minutes into it, a staff member came in and announced that there were eight people that were not supposed to be in that movie," said Kohl-Leif.

Kohl Leif says for close to 20 minutes, theater staff used flashlights to check ticket stubs.

She was so upset she wrote an e-mail to the company that owns the theater, Evergreen Entertainment.

"Explaining the situation with the ATM not working, not accepting check cards," said Kohl-Leif. "I also mentioned the interruptions in the movie."

She ended the e-mail saying she planned to take her business elsewhere, to a theater in White Bear Lake. Thirty minutes later, she got a response from the company's vice president, Steven Payne.

"Sarah, drive to White Bear Lake and also go *&*% yourself," Kohl-Leif read from the e-mail.

"This e-mail is an absolute joke. We don't care to have a customer like you," she continued.

Eighteen hours later, another response from Payne.

Payne wrote "I sincerely apologize for my inappropriate response to your e-mail yesterday. As vice president I should never have reacted that way, no matter how I felt about your e-mail."

"I think it's not sincere. I think his first response shows more of his personality than his PR response," said Kohl-Leif.

Kohl Leif said she wants Payne fired.

Payne didn't want to talk to WCCO Reporter Reg Chapman Monday. When Chapman went to the theater, the manager asked him to leave.

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quote: Consumerist.com

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My husband and I just went to your theater to see Shutter Island. First off, the year is 2010 and your establishment does not accept cash cards or credit cards. We did not have enough cash on us and neither did your ATM. If you run out of cash by Saturday evening you should have a higher allotment of cash. Since most people expect to use their cash card, the ATM, I'm sure, is utilized frequently. Frankly, get with the time. I know you are charged for transactions on a card machine but frankly your customers would be better served. How many customers do you lose because they don't have cash or check (since 90% of establishments don't accept checks anymore).Thankfully, we had friends who had 1 check on them. We would have had to go to the bank to get cash to see a movie. Should we charge you for time and gas? Secondly, after the first 10 minutes a staff member came in and announced that there were 8 people who should not be in that movie. She proceded to check tickets of paying customers trying to enjoy a movie. She also brought in the ticket clerk to see if she would recognize the 4 remaining people who did not leave after the announcement. This ruined the first 30 minutes of the movie. Frankly, we lost the first part of the plot and new characters. I did not pay 18.00 to have a distracted experience. Are 8 people worth a theater full of refunds? Why not wait until the movie is over and check people leaving? Why not pause the movie? I expect a refund, but only by check card. Oh wait, sorry, we are all out of check cards. Get the point yet? I would rather drive to White Bear Lake, where they obviously know how to run a theater than have this experience again.

Sarah
Taylors Falls

--------------------------------------------------------------
The theater company's vice president sent Sarah a response. It
was not what she had expected.
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Sarah,

Drive to White Bear Lake and also go fuck yourself. If you dont have money for entertainment, get a better job, and don't pay for everything on your credit or check card. You can also shove your time and gas up your fucking ass. Also, find better things to do with your time. This email is an absolute joke. We don't care to have you as a customer. Let me know if you need directions to white bear lake.

Steven
Steven J. Payne - Vice President
Evergreen Entertainment
929 Old Highway 8 NW
Suite 200
New Brighton, MN 55112

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quote: Martin McCaffery

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Though, the woman does sound a wee bit whiny about the not taking credit/debit cards.

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quote: Sean McKinnon

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The guy shouldn't have wrote that but you know what deep down inside I applaud him for it.

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I disagree. First of all, one of the jobs that come with being a theater manager is absorbing lots of rude comments from customers who often don't even know what they're talking about. The manager must develop a thick skin and simply take it. That's why they get paid the big bucks!


Next thing. I agree 100% with that lady's complaints. They're legitimate. If an usher came into a theater and started checking tickets while the show was in progress, I'd be likely to blow my stack right then and there. Screw waiting hours to write any sort of strongly worded letter. I mean what the fuck!?

No money in the ATM machine? Who cares who's responsible for keeping it filled with money? If the theater is so backward that it cannot take credit/debit cards that just makes it extremely important for the theater to monitor the situation with the ATM machine. Further, for the inconvenience the theater is foisting upon its customers that ATM on site should be FEE FREE!

Honestly, what sort of movie theater doesn't take credit/debit cards but is willing to take checks? The topic of identity theft frequently comes up in the news and especially in the technology press. It's not difficult for a thief to steal a person's checking account number, head to Staples™ to buy a "print your own fake checks" kit and then proceed to empty the victim's bank account. I think chances are decent paper checks will disappear in a few years. Many businesses in my town do not take checks but those same businesses are set up to take credit/debit cards.
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 02-23-2010, 10:28 PM:
 
I have a hard time believing that story is real. It's just so far out in left field that it doesn't seem to be believable. I'm not saying it isn't real but nobody who is able to progress to VP of any size company should be capable of sending a message like that.

It doesn't mean the guy shouldn't get pissed off when he has to deal with a shitty customer but, at least, he should do his cussing in private. Right? That's what we always did. We said, "Yes, sir." to the customer's face then went to the employee break room for about five minutes of cussing and swearing. After that, everything would be normal again until the next asshole customer comes along.

The guy must have been liquored up or high on something. I don't know. Something just isn't adding up. Who knows? Maybe somebody hijacked his e-mail. That was my first thought when I read the message.

The whole thing that pisses me off is that people don't realize that service is the ONLY thing movie theaters have left.

Good movies that people want to see? No! Most movies are crap these says.

Quality presentation? No! Most projectors, digital or otherwise aren't properly set up or maintained.

Exclusivity? No! You can buy the DVD of any movie only a couple of months after the theater release. Sometimes it's only a few weeks. Sometimes even less.

Really, the only thing theaters have left to sell is the experience of going to the movies. That experience is all about service. And, by service, I don't mean "kissing the customer's ass." I mean getting things right even before the customer walks in the door.

Efficient box office clerks.
Clean lobbies and common areas.
Fast concession sellers.
Hot popcorn and cold soda. (Not the other way around!)
Courteous ushers who know how to handle the crowds.
Clean auditoriums with comfy seats and good climate control.
Movies that start on time, that look good and sound good.

People can stay at home and watch the same movie on their wide screen TV with Dolby 5.1 surround sound. They can pop popcorn in their microwave ovens. They can buy soda for 1/10 the price of a movie theater.

The selling point should be that people don't have to go rent a movie. They don't have to go to the store and buy popcorn and soda. They don't have to worry about turning on the home video system and making sure it works or taking the DVD back to the video store when it skips.

People should be able to just walk in, sit down, lean back and watch a movie while eating hot popcorn and drinking their soda. When it's all over they should be able to just get up, jump in their cars and drive home. They don't even have to clean up their popcorn and soda containers if they don't want to.

Then, there is this clown who, not only cusses at his customers in an e-mail, he makes going to the movies a "chore" for the customer.

They wait in line too long at the box office. They get hassled when they try to pay for their ticket. (In whatever form of payment.) I'm betting the lobby and concession areas were messy and the popcorn was cold. Then, the ushers come in and roust the customers in the middle of the movie!?

That's bullshit!

No wonder movie theaters are going out of business!

A few years ago, I had to send a "bitch letter" to F.A.O. Schwarz (toy store) in NYC. They fucked up my order pretty badly. I sent the letter to the GM, by name, via registered mail, return receipt, and signature requested.

About a week later, I received a package at the post office. It was an F.A.O. Schwarz Teddy Bear. In the box was a letter that contained three sentences:

"I am sorry for your problem. I apologize for the mistake. Please accept this Teddy Bear as a token of my apology."

Now, THAT'S the way to handle customer service!

What the hell kind of clown would send an e-mail like that back to the customer? He fucked things up, not just for himself, but for the movie theater business in general!

No wonder so many movie theaters are going out of business!
 

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Posted by Manny Montes (Member # 5639) on 02-23-2010, 10:42 PM:
 

quote: Joe Redifer

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I would never treat a customer like that (thankfully I rarely come in to contact with them) though I can be a little bitch if I write a company to complain. Amazingly, all of the responses I have ever received have been truly professional, making me feel like an ass for not acting as professionally when writing the e-mail. I have never written to a theater company or chain, though. Oh wait, I did complain on Regal's site a couple of times but they don't give you enough space to be whiny (not much more text allowed than a text message). They didn't respond at all.

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quote: Randy Stankey

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You can buy the DVD of any movie only a couple of months after the theater release. Sometimes it's only a few weeks. Sometimes even less.

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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Actually it's about 4 1/2 months on the average these days.

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quote: Randy Stankey

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I'm not saying it isn't real but nobody who is able to progress to VP of any size company should be capable of sending a message like that.

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quote: Joe Redifer

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What makes you think he progressed from anywhere? I gather it is likely a very small chain, no more than a few theaters. He is probably one of the owners or their brother/friend.

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quote: Jonathan M. Crist

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Mike - you haven't been paying attention to what is going on.

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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As for the ticket check during the show, that's just unbelievably stupid. If it absolutely had to be done, then stop the film between trailers and feature. But I would only consider doing even that if the problem involved, say, dozens of people. But eight? Big deal, eat the ticket loss and celebrate that those people might buy extra concessions.

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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Honestly, what sort of movie theater doesn't take credit/debit cards but is willing to take checks?

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quote: Martin McCaffery

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Just apologize, fer chrissakes.

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I hear you Martin - I follow that path myself. The technique does tend to momentarily disarm complainers, giving time to recover gracefully and move on to a solution. But, (or "Butt" as Phil would say ) you do realize that in today's US culture, apologizing for anything is simply unacceptable, right?

These days, Apology = Admitting Fault.

No right-thinking corporate type today would ever permit this. Admitting fault almost always means having to pay for something. And no corporate type wants to be responsible for having to pay for something.
 

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Posted by Manny Montes (Member # 5639) on 02-24-2010, 02:18 PM:
 
The best way this could have been resolved would be to either issue an apology (and passes) at the end of the show, apologizing for the interruption during the show. Though the tickets should have never been checked while the presentation was playing. And it would help if the suit learned that the most important part of business is LISTENING, whether it be to complaints, employees, or commendations.

I find that the best way to head off complaints like this is to say as one poster above said "We screwed up, let us fix this" and its best to do it before anyone complains rather than HOPE that no one complains, A study showed that 95% of people with a complaint never complained either because they did not know where to complain, or didn't feel it was worth taking the time. They simply did not return.

It's sad that theaters are out there like this one, gives the rest of us a bad name in a time where all we have left is the experience, since for the most part, people can reproduce a pretty darn good theater system in the comfort of their own home, with their own candy, soda and popcorn.
 

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Posted by Ian Parfrey (Member # 5122) on 02-24-2010, 03:20 PM:
 
As one who is constantly on display to the patrons in many capacities, this usually makes me the target for complaints in the cinema I work at.

My duties include, apart from projectionist, is usher and ticket-taker at the auditorium entrance.

Now, some patrons are very cordial and pleasant in airing their grievances, but then there are the patrons from hell who insist on giving you "what for", regardless that they are holding up the traffic flow into the auditorium.

...but what gets me is that the complaint usually refers to the patron's inability to gain entrance at the advertised time on a previous visit so now THIS patron wants to hold up further traffic so they can grandstand in front of other patrons and make themselves feel all special and privileged all the while upsetting other patrons and preventing their ingress.

My usual response to look at the complainant straight in the eye, ask them to hang for a second, apologise to the patrons who are being held up and then return to the complainant-all the while listening to their complaint and taking tickets from the other patrons.

My point here is that some patrons are just shits who get off from bitching at someone who really have no avenue of retribution.... BUT that is no excuse to let fly in the way the V.P did so in the email reply.

Whether we like or or not, we are in a SERVICE industry, that shit full patrons are an occupational hazard and we just have to deal with them as quickly and as politely as possible.

N.B That complaining patron referred to above is now a regular customer, and EVERY time she arrives, I establish eye contact, say that I hope she enjoys the program and give her a smile to take with her.

She's been back every week since.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 02-24-2010, 05:31 PM:
 

quote: Sean McKinnon

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Eight people could cost them thier master license agreement, and maybe even put them out of business.

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quote: Ian Parfrey

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She's been back every week since.

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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I never said the theatre should rip the studio off for the tickets. They should have eaten the tickets

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quote: Sean McKinnon

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I did not threaten them with loss of my business.

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quote: Jonathan M. Crist

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Pretty soon three months will be the new standard.

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quote: Sean McKinnon

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So you're saying they should have punched up 8 extra tickets without getting any money for them?

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quote: Sean McKinnon

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What if there was a blind or open checker in the house? What if the theatre was under investigation by the studios? Eight people could cost them thier master license agreement, and maybe even put them out of business.

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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8 people would be a non-issue.

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quote: Sean McKinnon

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after years of rude treatment by some customers it made that dark place deep down in the cochells of my heart a little warmer to finally see someone treat a rude person the same way instead of cowering down to them.

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quote: Sean McKinnon

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I have previously taken over theatres that had poor management and a reputation for employees stealing from the box office, I can tell you 8 tickets is not a non issue to a studio.

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quote: Dustin Mitchell

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Even if I could have 'won' the argument (and no one ever won an argument with a customer) it wouldn't change the fact that they were upset.

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The customer isn't always right, you just have to pretend he is.
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 02-27-2010, 09:02 AM:
 
The only legitimate complaint from the customer was about the ticket check. That was inexcusable, and she should have left immediately and asked for a refund. But to sit through the rest of the show and then expect a refund is a bit much.

Still, the response from the VP was inexcusable, and I would be surprised if he is still employed. He shouldn't have even bothered with the followup "polite" response, since that eliminates the possibility that he didn't send the original response himself.

He really should have just send a typical form letter along with two free passes and been done with it. No response would have been better than insulting the woman (much as she deserved it).
 

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Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 02-27-2010, 12:07 PM:
 
I don't know how many times I can say this... Maybe if I put it in bold you guy's will get it... THE LADY HAD VALID COMPLAINTS, THE VP WAS WRONG IN WHAT HE DID

So you guys are saying that every complaint should be taken seriously no matter how off base or way out from left field it is?

When the one person in a theatre of 500 complains it's too loud you should lower the volume ruining the show for everyone else?

For that matter if a special interest group complains about a certain film you would stop showing it even though it has been a sell out?

quote: Chris Slycord

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Honestly, I find this statement to be utterly pathetic.

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quote: Mike Blakesley

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I disagree. If eight tickets was really an issue to the studios, they would mandate that every auditorium have a ticket taker standing outside to make sure nobody switched auditoriums. I would guess that literally dozens of people see "free" movies every day in a lot of large plexes.

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quote: Chris Slycord

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Further, while her complaint was a bit sarcastic, it wasn't anywhere near what I would say is "rude."

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quote: Sean McKinnon

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When the one person in a theatre of 500 complains it's too loud you should lower the volume ruining the show for everyone else?

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quote: Sean McKinnon

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Did you get the Dennis Leary reference in there?

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quote: Sean McKinnon

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I guess you have never heard of these things called "jokes" (Did you get the Dennis Leary reference in there?) and have no sense of humor.

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quote: Sean McKinnon

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You must have read a different letter than I did. I will re-post the lady's letter here with the partts I find rude in bold.

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quote: Sean McKinnon

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I think the lady had valid complaints, I think the VP was totally wrong. I think the lady could have been more polite and that the VP would have been more recepptive to her however he still should have never responded in the way he did.

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quote: Sean McKinnon

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So that makes it okay? Because the studios don't mandate an usher in each theatre and because it happens everywhere makes stealing okay?

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No, stealing is never okay. In Dustin's scenario about the auditorium being sold out, and the staff trying to find the extra seat holders, the ticket check would be a must-do; but the film should have been stopped and the lights turned up and an announcement made that the tickets were going to be checked, and stating the reason for it. But if the show had lots of spare seats, the theatre should have swallowed the eight tickets, chalked it up to bad (or not enough) ushers, and not ruined everyone's evening.
 

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Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 02-27-2010, 11:10 PM:
 
If there were no seats and it was after the film had started, I think the latecomers should be compensated but the film not stopped. It's easy enough to lose 8 seats in a large auditorium just from people being sloppy with coats and soforth, and it's a fact of life.

Apologize to the latecomers, give reticket them for the next show, and maybe compensate them with a free drink [or whatever], but that should be it. No stopping the show once it's begun over people who should have shown up earlier anyhow.

--jhawk
 

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Posted by Elise Brandt (Member # 5552) on 02-28-2010, 12:02 AM:
 
Uih. Read this thread yesterday, I had some customers last night who did not react well to a sold-out auditorium. It seems I am an incompetent bitch who doesn't give a crap about customers although they just drove seventy km just to see a movie in our theater. now "girl" you just "cough up those seats for us, I know you can. Stop being a bitch and do what you're told"... that kind of thing. Not too much the language but the attitude.

The real situation is that we had a much-advertised kids' movie day with very cheap tickets that were sold in advance for a week. That's why they drove here in the first place, to save two euros per ticket! And didn't call in advance and reserve tickets. Or show up on time. I hate those situations where several people are left out, but I can do nothing about it.

So I nod and apologize and offer them tickets to the next show (four of them one after the other and several other movies for kids as well, all at the same price) but no. They leave with a huge scene.

The good part is, another group with the same complaints stayed and listened, got persuaded to take tickets for the next show, went to have dinner at a restaurant (with our coupon discounts, I might add ) came back happy, stayed for the show and thanked me after. Now That was a good one.

Thank goodness it's a normal day today. I do hope some of the last nights' left-outs come back today. Personally, I will gladly pay more money for the ticket if I know it's not going to be that crowded, especially with kids...

Thank you for the opportunity to vent. I have to say I am proud of how I handled the situation, and have to admit losing my temper twice in the last ten years. Good track record, but could be better. I, as everyone else, daydream about what to say to a certain kind of customer but never do.... thank goodness I have a husband who is faced with similar situations constantly and understands my whining at home.

On the original topic (sorry I veered off), obviously the complaint (and the show in question) were very badly handled. But I do agree it warms me a little bit when I see a rude customer treated the same way back. In this case of course it was not just rude, the response, but totally over the top, but you do get my point. And I love Denis Leary...

What I wonder is, do the bigger chains for example have a policy on ticket-checking? What to do, when to do it and what to say to patrons? I know we don't, but we're a small theater anyway and "wing it" most of the time but the attitude is definitely the same as is already shown here, swallow the loss of a few tickets rather than have several patrons tell their friends not to come to us. Negative experiences are told many times over, positive are not. Sad truth.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-28-2010, 02:32 AM:
 
I completely agree with Jhawk. People claim the seats next to them all the time for their coats and what-have-you. It's like they set up camp. I don't know of any theater that actually sells down to zero seats. There should always be a buffer of seats remaining when the computer won't let you sell any more. That is a sell out, even if a few seats here and there are remaining. If 8 people snuck into the auditorium, that is the theater's fault, not the patron who is looking for a seat. Still, I would do what Jhawk said by giving them a refund then AND give them a pass to come back to a show of their choosing at a time of their choosing.
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 02-28-2010, 04:38 AM:
 
Back when I was managing theatres, I used to sell to zero regularly. The key is to have someone in the auditorium monitoring the seating BEFORE the show even starts, so you know when the lights go down, exactly where your spare seats are, and just plug the newcomers into those seats...
 

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Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 02-28-2010, 09:45 AM:
 
I so very rarely have sellouts (6 shows in 25 years, 5 of them for Greek Wedding) that it is almost never a problem. It doesn't mean that people don't come out complaining that "there are no seats." I've had them do that with the house 1/3 full. Their real complaint was there weren't seats together where they wanted to sit.

During the Greek Wedding days, I would sell about 2/3's of the tickets, and then announce that there were only individual seats left, no more together. That would thin out the line and cut down on complaints, but still let us sell out.
 

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Posted by Robert E. Allen (Member # 1351) on 02-28-2010, 12:18 PM:
 

quote: Mike Spaeth

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Back when I was managing theatres, I used to sell to zero regularly. The key is to have someone in the auditorium monitoring the seating BEFORE the show even starts, so you know when the lights go down, exactly where your spare seats are, and just plug the newcomers into those seats...

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We called them "ushers" back in the day Mike. Today it seems "ushers" do just about everything BUT monitor the auditoriums, take tickets, sweep floors, run projectors, sell concessions, clean restrooms, everything BUT monitor auditoriums leaving the customers to fend for themselves..
 

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Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 02-28-2010, 03:45 PM:
 
Selling to 0 is fine depending on how your auditorium is set up. Some auditoriums are pretty poorly designed; we all know the reason for those 'booker's seats' 2 feet from the screen but that doesn't mean anyone actually wants to sit there. The buffer we leave is normally only about 10 seats, and by the time we've 'sold out' all thats left is a few seats in the front row people refuse to sit in and a bunch of single seats all over the place. Most people don't want to split up so even if we 'sold to 0' there'd still be a few seats people would refuse to take.

That being said when we do sell out the managers on duty assist that ushers by assisting seating people. Many times I will shift people 1 seat tot he left or right to get 2 or more seats together. With stadium seating moving 1 seat to the left or right is no big deal (don't have to worry about your view being blocked all of a sudden by a really tall person). I never ask people to change rows or move than 1 seat.

As far as not being sure if seats are being saved with coats or if the coats are just being left there, there's a simple solution, ASK. "Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

Bottum line, whatever scenario happened the theatre did fail by not taking care of the situation before the actual feature started. Sometimes you are caught by surprise by a movie you dind't think would be that busy-Shutter Island isn't one of those movies. The theatre should have adequate usher staff to both check tickets at the door and to seat people.
 

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Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 02-28-2010, 08:38 PM:
 
Oh thank god Ian... Finally somebody gets what I was trying to say...

Joe,

I am sorry you have hearing problems... I am also sorry if you attend theatres that are not properly eq'd. The ISO 2969 was designed to provide a constant in the industry so that a film playing at one theatre would sound the same (or relatively close) at every other theatre. The mixing studios are also supposed to be calibrated the same way. It is not our job as projectionists or technicians to improve upon what the director or sound mixer intended. If a film was mixed poorly it is on the director and sound mixer and must be what they intended to be heard. It is not our job to assume they made a mistake and change the standard. The theatre I work in does a lot of premiers and sometimes I do not like the way a particular film sounds but I know the house is properly set-up and eq'd and I have had Directors rave about how good thier film sounded even when I found it awful. If you complained to me about the harsnesh of the sound I would (knowing our houses are properly set-up and eq'd) provide with the contact info for the distributor and advise you to let them know your feelings on thier sound mix.

Look at it this way... I find most "designer" clothes to look awful but I would not go to a store and complain about how they look and expect them to change the design of the clothing. It's the same thing what sounds harsh to you or looks gaudy to me might sound great to the person who made it or look great to that designer.

Now if a theatre is not properly set-up or eq'd then no one is getting the film presented properly and it is already ruined for everyone.

I am sorry if you don't appreciate my humor I guess I am just not as funny as you are.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 02-28-2010, 10:40 PM:
 

quote: Sean McKinnon

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I am sorry you have hearing problems.

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quote: Sean McKinnon

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Look at it this way... I find most "designer" clothes to look awful but I would not go to a store and complain about how they look and expect them to change the design of the clothing. It's the same thing what sounds harsh to you or looks gaudy to me might sound great to the person who made it or look great to that designer.

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Apples and oranges. Theater volumes can be changed on-the-fly, unlike designs of tshirts.

And whether the person who made the movie thinks it sounds great run at a certain sound level likely won't matter to your guests. Even when most of the people in the room think it's too loud (or too soft), only one or maybe two people say something. Honestly, going blindly by the notion of "run it the way the director wanted it" could ruin it for everyone just as much as changing it just for one guy without having someone check the sound.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-01-2010, 01:36 AM:
 
I am going to adjust all of my Dolby sound processors to 7.0. Then I am going to remove all of the volume knobs. Any alteration up or down is a variation from what the director of any given movie, trailer or ad wanted, ruining it for everyone. I don't even know why they come with volume knobs. What right do I have to adjust the volume and change the director's unique vision?
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 03-01-2010, 10:22 AM:
 
My opinion is theaters which have properly equalized sound systems are a rarity anymore. A customer is lucky if he finds a theater that is even maintaining the sound system much less "tuning" it on any sort of regular basis. Lots of theaters have sound systems with blown speaker drivers, digital sound processors in need of repair and other such issues. Many try to hide the problem by merely turning down the fader. The problem doesn't exist if you can't hear it.

The notion of commercial theaters on average complying with standards like "ISO 2969" is pure fantasy right now.

Additionally, it is very common for movies to be mixed at different levels of loudness. One movie might sound fine with the fader set at "7" while another show will be blasting customers' ears at the same setting. And let's not forget about the movie trailers that are routinely mixed too loud. It's even standard policy to have the optical track on many trailers over-driven to hell.

The whole thing enables a destructive cycle. Theaters have to turn down the fader in response to customer complaints. What do the filmmakers and trailer makers do? They mix things even louder! This stupid process just encourages more people to stay at home and watch the show on DVD or Blu-ray. You have control of the volume knob when you're watching the show from the comfort of your living room.
 

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Posted by Jonathan Smith (Member # 5609) on 03-01-2010, 12:38 PM:
 
Having read the e-mail, it kind of sounds like the person that responded to the complaint was an underling with access to the GMs account or maybe even it was the GM and he was drunk or dead-dog tired.

Upon realizing what he had done the following morning, he apologized.

I don't excuse this behavior, but it is very very very easy to do or say something with e-mail that never would have been said over the phone or with a letter, where you have time to cool down before you respond.

I'vea been to theatres taht only take cash; they are hurthing their own business perceiving there to be a real "savings" not taking credit/debit/check cards. You save 2%, but probably lose at least 5% of your business.

Not to mention, you have to GUARD cash. There is a risk there that you will get robbed. The people who tend to not take cards tend to not have adequate insurance protection either.

As for checking stubs of everyone in the theatre that is totally unacceptable. I have had a situation where I was watching the last movie of the night, and a guy just walked in to the theatre, after we had already closed the ticket stand out.

I walked out, told the manager, then, finally, I had to go in there, and, as quietly as possible, sit down next to him and ask him if I could see his stub.

Instead of kicking him out or calling the cops, like I should have, I gave him and opportunity to buy a ticket. I walked out, got his change, carried it back to him, and let it slide.

There have been several times I have caught people red-handed with their own snacks, or carrying coats into the theatre that are clearly laden with at least 10 lbs. of goodies.

In the interest of the good customers, sometimes you have to take a loss on the bad ones, to maintain a good image.

The commotion from a scene made by catching the crooks, will cost you the customers that ARE worth bending over backwards for.

Everything this lady said I agree with, even if she is uneducated on the theatre business world.

You always want to LAST when handling customer complaints:

L Listen to the customer complaint. Don't take it personally, get angry, or, for God's sakes, use profanity.

A Apologize, not taking responsibility for the mistake if it isn't, indeed the theatres fault. Rather, apologize for the inconvenience the customer has suffered or has perceived they have suffered.

S Satisfy the customer; retain their business, even if they are fishing for free-bes, they will pay for themselves the next time they come back and buy one concession item. A rain check essentially costs the theatre nothing in lost sales or dues to the studio. It is essentially FREE to make up for a customer's dissatisfaction. This is one of the few industries where this is the case anymore.

T Thank them for bringing the matter for your attention (even if they are full of hot air and you are anything but thankful for them bothering you.)

Customer service is like sales, you have to always keep it positive unless the customer is actually causing distress to your OTHER customers. This is the ONLY time that it is acceptable to raise your voice, become forceful and even become angry.

You don't do this to make yourself feel good or to get something that is bothering you off your chest, you do it for the good of the rest of the audience.
 

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Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 03-01-2010, 02:04 PM:
 
I generally agree with you Jonathan and have done what you did in the past with sneakers (made them pay rather than kicking them out).

However, if the St. Croix Falls situation was how I assumed (and we'll probably never know for sure why the ticket check was done) the only thing the theatre did wrong was not doing the check during the previews. With two staff members working a ticket check should take no more than 5 minutes-hardly a large inconvenience. By not doing a ticket check you are allowing people to circumvent your R-rated policy (this will happen no matter what usually, especially when the movie slows down, but still a concern) but more importantly you are denying people who paid for seats the opportunity to watch the film they paid for. I think the customers in the auditorium won't mind giving up 5 minutes so that potentially troublesome teens can be kicked out and people who actually paid for the movie can see it.

Let me share a little anecdote of a very similar situation I experienced once. It was opening night of the movie 'Quarantine' and as with any R-rated horror movie the teen crowd was trying its best to get in. The film sold out and about halfway through the previews there were four people who couldn't find seats. I did have four seats, but just singles and no way to 'squeeze' people to even get two sets of two. After talking with the other manager we felt there was maybe a few too many people in the theatre. We stopped the show, brought up the lights, and did a ticket check. It turned out everyone had a proper ticket (we think the cashiers had just sold past the normal buffer). The show was restarted and no one seemed to mind.

Except the four people who had to get refunds.

In the opinion of one of the gentlemen (early twenties) we hadn't done the ticket check properly. Even though I had walked through every row checking tickets and the other manager had stood in the middle of the auditorium making sure people didn't pass stubs between rows after I checked them this guy insisted that is what had happened and that we should kick people out so they would have seats. Knowing this is not what had happened we certainly weren't going to do a second ticket check. As the guy angrily grabbed his money he yelled at us over the box window "This is fucking BULLSHIT." As he walked out of the theatre and into the mall's food court he turned around and yelled at the top of his lungs so that everyone could hear him: "THIS IS FUCKING BULLSHIT", no joke.

Now, this guy probably falls into that category of people you can't please. I told the story though to illustrate a point; even if you double refund the patrons who can't find seats (money back and refund tickets) it doesn't mean they're going to be happy. Maybe they got a babysitter that night and won't be able to come back to the late show. Maybe they normally don't have time to go out or have a hard time finding a babysitter so coming back next week isn't an option. Point is, their evening is ruined and giving them refund tickets doesn't un-ruin it. So long as the inconvenience is small to the rest of your patrons there is nothing wrong with a ticket check.
 

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Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 03-01-2010, 02:44 PM:
 
Jonathan from Clevland - your L.A.S.T. analogy sounds like something I've heard before, hmmmm....

I wanted to chime in on the original post:

The theatre handled the incident wrong when they disrupted the the other patron's movie experience. I will not disrupt a paying customer's movie to try to catch a couple of people who snuck in. One of my unwritten rules in this business is: If they were smart enough to get past everyone working and they successfully sat down in the auditorium, then that means we weren't doing OUR JOB.Unless there is a safety issue or disruption happening to warrant kicking someone out, I typically do not. ALSO - if someone snuck in my theatre and wasn't asked to leave before the previews are over - then I will not risk disrupting someone's movie going experience. The police will be waiting for them after the movie.

END OF STORY.
 

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Posted by Jonathan Smith (Member # 5609) on 03-01-2010, 03:59 PM:
 
Dennis, I won't take credit for "LAST" myself.

Believe it or not, I was actually taught that in a *class*. Maybe all of the HR guys took the same class that I did when they were writing policy for management.

So please don't construe that as my coming up with it myself; I'm just relaying it because it is very true and very very useful.

You're right, it's too bad that customers don't have a similar acronym to follow
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 03-01-2010, 05:47 PM:
 
I think he means that you sound like you might be from Regal. I generally agree with your post as well except for the "every sentence is its own paragraph" thing.
 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 03-01-2010, 05:55 PM:
 

 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-01-2010, 11:42 PM:
 

quote: Joe Redifer

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I think he means that you sound like you might be from Regal.

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quote: Joe Redifer

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What if the sound literally causes pain in my ears, like when I visit the "large" auditoriums at certain local Regal theaters?

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quote: Jonathan Smith

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S Satisfy the customer; retain their business, even if they are fishing for free-bes, they will pay for themselves the next time they come back and buy one concession item. A rain check essentially costs the theatre nothing in lost sales or dues to the studio. It is essentially FREE to make up for a customer's dissatisfaction. This is one of the few industries where this is the case anymore.

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quote: Sean McKinnon

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In this thread alone my opinions have been called "Utterly Pathetic"

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No they haven't. Only one of your statements was referred to as such and that was because I feel it a sad thing that you feel happy seeing someone get treated poorly. But whatever. I didn't mean this to be personal. Sorry.
 

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Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 03-02-2010, 06:17 PM:
 
It wasn't taken personally I just think you totally misunderstood me, and you don't know me.

The thing is I didn't see anything happen to anyone, I read a newspaper article about someone I have never met who I have no emotional attachment to complain about receiving an unprofessional email she didnt like. To me it's the same as watching a movie like "waiting". If someone I knew or had some connection to got thier food spit in it would make me angry but seeing it happen to a fictional character on a movie screen made me laugh. I have seen how rudely wait staff can be treated. Now this lady is a real person but I don't know her, and will most likely never meet her. In my head I imagine an uptight, stuck-up woman expecting to receive some BS apology and instead being told to F off. In reality it's not funny but the fake scene I imagined in my head made me laugh. It also made me laugh that someone would be so brain dead and unprofessional as to send out such an email. I can imagine the son of the owner as an unqualified bumbling moron who comes into the office drunk and sends out that email only to sober up and scramble to take it back.

I just hope you understand Chris the real event is nothing to laugh at as it's just another example of our industry being hurt but the idea of the situation occuring with "fictional" characters is funny to me. I think that finding the humor in everyday situations is a way to tolerate this world that we live in.
 

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Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 03-02-2010, 06:59 PM:
 
I only misunderstood you because what you wrote doesn't read at all the way you now appear to have meant it. But again, whatever. Water under the bridge, as they say.
 

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Posted by Sean McKinnon (Member # 612) on 03-03-2010, 01:36 PM:
 
You're right. I see now that the way I wrote it seems like a bitter person taking enjoyment in some one else's mistreatment. I apologize for the confusion.
 

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Posted by Manny Montes (Member # 5639) on 03-05-2010, 11:41 AM:
 

quote: Chris Slycord

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Or AMC. The only difference was that at AMC, they said it was "Listen Apologize Solve Thank.

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