We Have a Serious Problem Here.

This one's for you Karen. I love it when people come up to me and this is the first thing they say. I realize that going to the movies, a pleasant experience is expected. Trust me, people who work at the movies know this. So when something goes wrong, you as a guest definitely has a right to complain. We will do our best to make sure your problem is solved.

So let's set the scene. It's roughly 8pm. We've switched back to fall hours, so it's getting close to closing time. I'm at the customer service counter when an older woman approaches me and says "We have a serious problem here." Now, I took this literally and thought something was really wrong.

What did she say though?

"You're playing Underdog where you're supposed to be playing Hairspray."

"OH CRAP" I thought. But wait, let me check her ticket! Sure enough, what had happened was she went into the wrong theatre. It was my first suspicion since we change posters on Thursday to prepare for our Friday openings. (We use posters at the auditorium entrance, as well as a mylar on top of the auditorium to indicate which movie is currently playing.) We did change them a bit early since we were not busy, making sure to tell every guest twice where they REALLY needed to go. Once when they bought their ticket, and again when their tickets were torn. Of course it's not always obvious to check your ticket, so.....

I could tell she was pretty upset about this though, so I offered her a refund. I was even going to say that she could go in and watch the remainder of Hairspray or whatever movie she wanted. But I got cut off first. "This is infuriating" she fumed at me. I understand its frustrating, but I'm trying to help her out here. Turns out she went to the theatre she was told to go to, saw a different poster, and went to go find the right poster, and thus, the right theatre to go into. She didn't check her ticket or ask anyone. OK, I can still understand where she would be mad though.

At this point, there's nothing I can do. I had already given her her money back for the inconvenience, and gave her a tip to look at her ticket or ask if she was unsure, and we would be glad to direct her in the right direction. Of course, this is not good enough. She wants to escalate it. She wants to talk to my boss. I try to convince her that it's not his fault, and that we do this every Thursday, but she has none of that. She continues to yell at me instead. It's really frustrating when you try to be nice and you get screamed at. I just had to take it. My staff is staring over at me, watching me take this. Not the most pleasant experience. They've often asked me how I can continue to take the verbal abuse some people like to dish. The answer is, its not easy.

Now, her husband or boyfriend or whatever, was extremely nice. I find that often one half of the group will be nice to you. Usually because they're embarrassed. Another group who had the same thing happen and had come out with this lady actually admitted it was their fault and that they had been told where to go, but assumed that we were wrong. They got their money back as well and went on their merry way. Like I said, we try, but sometimes no matter what you do, you're gonna end up with the jerk who decides they need to scream at you. Yes I understand you're angry, but if you scream at me, it's not going to help.

Can't we all just get along?