Top 5 Things I Hate About People at the Movies

I've been reading quite a few posts lately about people have bad experiences at the movies, at the grocery store, etc. Well, as I've stated before, I work at the movies on the weekend, and let me tell ya, there are a ton of things that guests, my employees, my boss, and whoever else interacts with me have done to annoy me. In this post, I'm gonna focus on the guest though, just like I'm supposed to when I'm at work! :-)

5. There's something wrong with the movie, can you rewind it?

This one is definitely pretty annoying. I understand that there are sometimes problems in the projection booth, and as difficult as it may be for people to understand, we DO try to get them fixed as quickly as possible. It doesn't make sense for us not to. However, if you could see what the movie actually looks like (It's no VHS or DVD) you would see that its extremely difficult to even consider rewinding (so to speak, since you can't actually rewind). I'm more than happy to give you a pass if its a significant inconvenience and you don't stay for the rest of your movie, but don't stay for the whole move and expect a pass for a 30 second disruption.

4. Sitting in the movie before it's been cleaned, then complaining about the mess.

Ok, this one I can understand to a point. If we've missed a theatre and you end up sitting in a mess, you have a legitimate reason to be angry. On the other hand, if you're trying to get a good seat by beating the crowd, you might end up sitting in a mess. There's a reason we don't start movies right after the credits from the previous show have stopped rolling. Yes, we pay people to clean up after the messes that people leave behind, and I personally really don't mind doing it. BUT, don't complain because you all rushed in there, and we couldn't clean around you since you wouldn't leave.

3. Messy Bathrooms

This can be a pretty touchy subject. Bathrooms, in general, are very difficult to keep clean. Yes I do agree that they could be cleaned more often than the crew would like to admit, but its a never ending "battle". (On a side note, women are definitely messier than men in public bathrooms) I've cleaned many a bathroom in my theatre career, and I've seen it all. Keep in mind that these bathrooms have trash recepetcles and are often overstocked with bathroom products, so nothing should be running out or ending up on the floor. It's those people who don't like to flush toilets (you don't have to use your hand, use your foot if you don't want to touch it) and kids who think playing with toilet paper is fun. Basically it's people who are not picking up after themselves! We do try to keep up, but my usher staff is often no more than 3 people, trying to clean bathrooms that hundreds of people use every hour! So while this is annoying, it's something I think we could work on.

2. People like this.....



1. People who think they deserve everything

I can't tell you the number of times people have come charging up to me, complaining about something, and expecting me to be able to give it to them for free. A few examples of this could be:

• I put too much butter on my popcorn and it leaked through to my pants and burned me. What are you going to do about it?
• How was I supposed to know I need to get my parking validated before I leave the garage? (C'mon.. give me a break!) You should give me parking for free now!
• (After the movie) I didn't like it.. I want my money back! But you just watched the WHOLE THING!!!!!

I can deal with customer complaints with a certain degree of professionalism, and you will rarely see me lose my cool while I'm at work. These things, however, do make me angry at times, especially when they're being screamed in my face. Trust me, I don't want to have to see anybody unhappy. I realize that movies are a premium and you probably paid a good price to see them. But just because you did doesn't mean you can just scream at everyone who works there. Nor does it give you the right to talk on your phone during the movie, let your kids run around like its a playground, or wander around from movie to movie.

Just show us some courtesy... and I'm sure you'll have the most pleasant experience we can possibly deliver.


Feel free to leave your comments, as well as suggestions as to what movie theatres can do better to get people to come back!