Movie Morsel: Get your complaints heard!

Being in the service/entertainment industry, I thought I’d take a post and see if I could help people get their thoughts heard when it comes to making a complaint. There are many many many reasons why you, as a guest or a patron, would want to make a complaint. It could be bad service, messy environment, or an issue with another guest. However, when you make your complaint, it’s important to take a few things into consideration. If you take a second to think about these things, I think you’ll find your resolution to be much more favorable, and are much more likely to leave happy Read more

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Jerk! at the Movies #2

I really didn’t think I’d be updating this feature again so quickly, but I really need to right now. Sometimes people can be the biggest jerks without even trying. I mean, these people weren’t mean, they didn’t do anything really personally to me, but they still really really made me mad. Ok maybe not extremely mad, but I was definitely ticked. Read more

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Jerk! at the Movies #1

Hey all, this is a new feature that I’d like to introduce here at Intermission at Work. It’s called Jerk! at the Movies, and it’s basically going to be a little compilation (I’m thinking weekly) of any bad guests or experiences I might have at the movies! It’ll be a nice little way to vent out some of the frustration sometimes!

Before I continue, I’d like to mention that you can still vote for the Best Theme Song and win a movie soundtrack

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Any Movie Moguls out there?

Anyone ever play Movie Moguls over at IMDB? I just saw it on the homepage and realized that I had a lot of fun playing the last time I played, and it’s all about movies so it’s really relevant here! Please leave a comment if you’re interested in playing, and I’ll set it up. Maybe I can scrounge up a good prize for the winner! It better be good, cuz I’m gonna win…. Read more

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Top 5 Reasons I don’t want you at My Theatre!

Blargh! I know that being in the movie industry (well, movie theatre industry) means that you should be doing everything you can to get people to the movies. Well, I have to admit that there are certain people I don’t want at the movies. I’m not talking about just the ones that are disruptive during movies (though that’s really annoying as well), I’m talking about plain ol’ don’t come to the movies! Here are my top 5. Read more

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Sold Out.

Man. I really thought that this would never affect me again. For those of you who don’t know, I do work at a movie theatre, and I honestly thought that a sold out show was a thing of the past for me. I’ve always been able to get into movies even if they were close to selling out, as I always waited to see how many seats were left and moved people around. But for the second time this week, I got rejected by a movie. What I don’t understand about it is that the movie sold out the last time I was there, and they moved it to a smaller auditorium. Makes no sense at all. Read more

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You Ever Watch a Movie Because

You knew it would impress the person that you’re with? I’m guilty of that sometimes. In fact, my first “date” movie was Save the Last Dance. That’s something that I definitely wouldn’t have seen on my own, but you know what… just about every girl I’ve dated has seen that movie and loved it. They also seem to like the fact that I’ve seen the movie. I also might own it. But I’m not going to admit to that.

I’m sure that some of you know that once you start a relationship, it’s now a couples decision as to what movie you see (if you go to the movies). I’ll admit that sometimes I’m not a huge fan of the movies I see, but sometimes I do end up watching movies that I never would’ve watched on my own, and actually enjoy them. I know that I’ll probably get some crap for this, but chick flicks aren’t bad all the time.

Some movies that I enjoyed that I wouldn’t have seen otherwise:

• This Christmas
• Save the Last Dance
• Step Up
• Madea’s Family Reunion
• Diary of a Mad Black Woman

I think that the next movie I’m going to tentatively see is going to be 27 Dresses. My girlfriend really wants to see it. Here’s the trailer:

What do you think? I told her that I wouldn’t see it until she wore a dress. lol. I’ve never seen her in a dress so I think it’s a fair trade!

Anyway, have you discovered any gems because you ended up watching a movie that you never thought you would, but did because you wanted to go out with or impress someone else?

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Daddy’s Little Girl

Before I get started on this post, I’m still looking for comments! Only a couple so far I can tell from the site trackers that there are plenty of people visiting.. just trying to get you guys more involved as readers! It helps provide the inspiration to write more. It can be a drag if it seems like you’re writing just for yourself. Regardless, I hope that you are enjoying your time here!

Onto the content you’re all looking for… B*tchy customers! This one was a doozy, and it happened last Thursday. I meant to write about it sooner but the holidays crept up on me much quicker than I anticipated. Setting the stage… I was upstairs grabbing the posters that we needed for the coming weekend, so that they could be put up. (For some reason, people at my theatre can’t seem to find their movie without a poster of that movie in front of the entrance. Too hard to read the ticket? They actually get mad if you don’t have it.. go figure!) Anyway, I get a call down to guest services, letting me know that a guest had a pass that was invalid for I am Legend but she wanted to use it anyway. So I make my way downstairs, as I figure it’ll be a quick fix. Just explain the policy and the restrictions on the pass, she’ll buy a ticket or see a different movie. Simple.

When I get downstairs, there is no one at the Guest Services counter. I walk around, asking the staff if they saw anyone. Everyone says that they saw her walk in that direction at least. Then one of my employees who was in to see a movie let me know that she actually went into the movie. Great. The other manager and I proceed into the theatre to go look for the girl. I wasn’t expecting to find her, as the movie had already started, and it was pretty dark in there.

Scanning the crowd as I walk through the aisle, something catches my eye. Two girls who attempted to pull their hoodies over their heads and cover their faces. A bit suspicious, especially since it happened right after I walked by, lol. So I go up to them and ask to see their tickets (The girl who snuck in would not have one). One of them proceeds to pull out her ticket.. and the other proceeds to blow up on me. Ok.. looks like I’ve found her. I ask her to step out of the theatre so I can speak to her in the hall. She instead screams that I am embarrassing her and her friend. Ignoring that, I insist that they step outside, as I don’t want to cause more of a disturbance in the theatre than has already been created.

Once we’re outside, she proceeds to scream at me some more, about how its ridiculous that we wouldn’t take her pass, how she was told that it was just the first weekend that the movie was out. Trying to be reasonable, I told her that she could check the pass, and it would say that it’s not valid on “special engagements”, which are typically the first two weekends, not the first weekend. After explaining to her what a special engagement was, she said that its not her fault and she was going back in. I told her that there is no way she is going back in without a ticket. Of course, she has no money. But her friend does! Not good enough though, because she insists that she needs to go home to get money. Fine.. I’m ok with that.

But she wants me to pay for her cab. Whoa. I say there is no way that I am paying for a cab for her to go home and get money. She can leave instead, and I won’t escalate the issue. Instead, she wants to get the corporate number. I go to get that for her, and she asks for my name, the GM’s name, and the phone number for the theatre. Fine… done and done. She then says she needs my last name…which I tell her she does not need. She then says “Well, I don’t want to get racial about it when I explain it, but I guess I have to.” WHOA!!!! WTF?!?!? Ok…

After all this, she and her friend proceed to pull out all coins to pay for their ticket. She has the sweetest smile on her face and says “Can I pay here?” (Guest Services). I point to the Box Office and say “Nope. Over there.” On her way over there, she says “I hope you two have fun losing your jobs over this.” The other manager states her fear at being fired over this. Daddy’s little girl proceeds to say “My dad is a lawyer.” Struck fear into me actually, having her dad take on a team of corporate lawyers… I say “See you next week, when I’m still here.” She pays for her ticket, and I don’t hear from her again.

Still haven’t heard from him yet, and I know I won’t. It’s stupid issues like this that make me really angry. Parents, learn to control your kids… this is what happens when they think they’re all deserving. I hope her dad laughed at her when she explained this, I easily could’ve kicked her out instead of listening to her.

Please… keep em coming. One thing about the holidays is that people are actually very nice… so no complaints about the past weekend!

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Don’t Ruin the Holidays!

This is an open letter to those of you who are out there to ruin people’s holidays. You know who you are. Specifically, this is addressed to those of you who go around smashing open people’s windows in order to steal their stuff. It’s happened again at my theatre, and I see the grief that it brings to people and I hate it. It’s the holidays, people! It’s time to be happy and make merry. Scumbags like this don’t even deserve to have a holiday.

A family outing to the movies turns into a depressing moment tonight. Again I had to call the police and watch a guest walk away disappointed that someone would do this to them. It makes me even more mad that there was nothing I could do about it. I wish we had more security, even cameras in the parking lots to help take care of this issue, but alas we don’t. This is the only means I have to express myself to a large audience at this time, so I’d like to say it here.

I despise people who make a living by ruining other people’s property and lives. You are scum.

When people go to the movies, they expect to be entertained, not have their stuff stolen. I understand that these people think they are making a living, but that is no excuse. I urge everyone not to leave things visible in your cars wherever you have to go. These thieves have struck over 50 times in the past three months. That’s despicable. I really hope that they get caught and are put away for a long time. Maybe missing a few holidays will make them think again about what they’ve done to these people.

I try not to get angry about stuff like this, but when I could be the next victim, it just hits home a bit more. Do you guys have any suggestions on how to keep your cars and possessions safe? Do you feel comfortable parking your car in large public areas? Let me know!

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People Don’t Like to Be Told They’re Wrong

Now this wasn’t something that I dealt with personally but I thought I’d share it anyway. Some background to the story first! A woman comes into the movie, and had purchased tickets online. At the Guest Services counter, a fellow manager was attempting to retrieve here tickets for her. All you need to do (usually) is simply swipe their credit card. If that is in fact the card that was used, the tickets will print out. Occasionally, we do need to enter in numbers manually, but the tickets will still print out.

Unfortunately, after trying all of these methods, we could not retrieve her tickets. She did not have the confirmation page that prints out when you purchase tickets online (I believe), so we weren’t really sure what to do. She purchased additional tickets, and went to go watch her movie. I’m sure that the other manager told her that if she got charged for the tickets then she could return and we would be glad to issue a refund. Traditionally, if we can’t retrieve tickets, it’s because the site didn’t properly capture the data and did not charge the card. So things should be fine, correct?

Duh. Of course not. There would be no story without it! Anyway, her husband returns later on and is quite upset. It turns out that he was the one who had purchased the tickets, and he saw the confirmation page and everything. He hands us her card again, and we attempt to retrieve them again. No Dice. He’s pretty upset, so the manager there calls for backup. Two of us head there, and we ask if that’s the card that was used to purchase the tickets.

It turns out that it was not. The guest had used his own card on a linked account to purchase the tickets. However, his wife’s card did not have the same credit card # on it! Linked bank cards do NOT have the same number… so it wasn’t our fault we couldn’t retrieve them. The card number was different, so the system did not recognize it! We did end up refunding the tickets onto the card, w/o the service charge (we don’t charge that, the website does). However, the guest was still pretty insistent that the card #s were the same, and said that he would be sure to check it when he got home, not accepting our reasoning for the issue.

I don’t understand how hard it is to accept something that you are wrong about if it solves the issue. I know that I am the same way sometimes, but I still can’t figure it out! What explanations do you guys have? I’m no psych major or something like that… so I’d love to hear your responses!

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