disrupted cinema going experiences (1 Viewer)

[Henry Gale]

The most frequent annoying occurrence for me is people checking their text messages.
They don't seem to be able to do this discretely down in their lap; it has to be held up near their face so I can be distracted by the blue glow.

The greatest improvement in recent years has been the cleanup crews willingness to wait for ME to decide when the movie is over.
I will always do my best to read as much of the credits as possible, particularly music and location info.
Often you get rewarded with a little surprise at the end.
In "Stardust" yesterday, it was one last pirate's growl.

 

[ThomasC]

AUGH! Yes, it really, really annoys me when people do this.

TURN.

OFF.

YOUR.

CELL.

PHONE.

 

[Malcolm R]

As others have suggested, I avoid "popular" films on Friday and Sat nights when there are hoardes of inconsiderate teens on the prowl. I'd see an adult drama or foreign film, but definitely not the latest/greatest blockbuster. Early matinees are the best times to attend the cinema.

This has recently become one of my biggest peeves with theater audiences. Everyone loves to complain and roll their eyes at various distractions or presentation problems, but no one wants to actually get their butt out of their seat and walk to the lobby.

A few months ago, I attended "Spider-Man 3" where there was a sound issue. After sitting for a minute and seeing that it wasn't going to fix itself, I went to the lobby and complained. The projectionist fixed the problem, but about 5 minutes later it did the same thing again. No one was apparently going to get up and notify the staff, so I announced in a loud voice, "someone else's turn to complain this time," and then the guy behind me got up and went to the lobby. I swear, if I hadn't made the suggestion, everyone would have just sat there and bitched to the person next to them rather than actually do anything.

I actually sat all the way through a poorly focused showing of Harry Potter 5 last month because I'm sick of always being the only person who cares enough about the presentation to actually get up and do something about it. Not one other person in the semi-crowded theater seemed to care. And it wasn't just MY eyes, as everything in the theater was clear except for the on-screen picture.

 

[Henry Gale]

No! I don't!
When I walk to the lobby it's over.
I'm missing movie at that point and I won't accept anything less than a pass.
Still, I've squandered a fortune on popcorn & soda for no reason and then there's the 2 hour+ round trip and the fact that my blood pressure is up.

But, this is the recommended solution for any problem, get up and tell the staff.


Arrrrgggg!

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

The above problems is why I think that remote device is a good idea, you can report those kinds of problems without ever leaving your seat, and if no one comes in to investigate just keep pressing the button.

 

[David Norman]

Different problem, but this one seems to be unique these days.

Brand new Carmike multiplex at the mall with mostly DLP projectors now. First time I'm there a couple years ago and very excited to see what just replaced the 1970's worthless cinema so I now don't have to drive 40 miles to a real theater: I walk up to the window to pay for the family and they don't accept credit cards, just cash and debit cards. Dumbfounded at this I ended up finding the cash buried somewhere in the wallet, but after thinking about it I just couldn't understand why a 21st century business would avoid CC.


I initially thought maybe it was just a new theater thing, but two years later the same policy still applies. I won't go there just on principal and probably just to be stubborn since I rarely carry more than $20 cash at any moment in time -- pay with plastic, pay the CC in full at the end of the month online, no checks, no fuss, no muss.

Is this "no CC" policy a common thing somewhere in the country and if so what is the reasoning behind it? I don't know of any other significant sized business locally that has that policy and I don't I've seen any place that accepts debit card but not CC even from the same back.

 

[TravisR]

That's weird. I don't have a Carmike in my immediate area but I know that every theater accepts credit cards around me.

I only see people using damn credit cards to pay for things anymore. "That'll be 23 cents." "I'll put it on credit." And of course, they couldn't possibly have the card out either and they get this deer in the headlights expression when they realize that they need to get it out and waste more of my time. Not that I'm bitter or anything.

 

[Lucia Duran]

Oh man, how I miss the small town theater experience. I use to live in a town where there was one theater, the size of a school auditorium. They ran two movies every Saturday night and the whole town went...literally, the whole town!

The concession stand was awesome as they had freshly popped popcorn and REAL fountain sodas and grilled hot dogs. Man oh man those were the days!

people were so considerate then.... not once did a town member get booted for being rude or noisy!

 

[Brian W.]

I think home video has made us all more sensitive to noise in theaters... we're not used to watching movies with a big crowd of people. So sounds that probably would not have bothered us 30 years ago drive us crazy today.

On the other hand, home video has also made many people forget that they can't talk out loud. Though I think it's gotten better lately, since theaters have begun running the "shh" ads before movies.

I had a fun experience going to a drive-in about a year ago, in or near Port Orchard, Washington. Can't even recall the film -- some horror movie that bored me to tears. But their concession stand was great, and they played the old-fashioned drive-in prerecording on the radio, with the song about going to the conession stand, and '50s hit songs, etc. I just wish we had parked closer to the screen.

 

[Malcolm R]

Merchant transaction charges for credit cards are often higher than for debit cards. This is why many businesses try and set minimum amounts for the use of credit cards. If someone charges just a small amount, the fees strip away all profits and the merchants end up actually losing money on the sale.

If merchants could survive without doing so, none of them would accept credit cards. Unfortunately, people are so addicted to plastic these days that it's the rare business that can survive without accepting credit cards and being screwed by the banks that issue them.

A couple theaters near me just started accepting them in the past year. Others still do not (not even debit cards...cash only).

 

[David Norman]

I honestly would sort of understand it if they only accepted cash though being part of the Carmike family it still wouldn't seem real since other local Carmike's accept plastic. I probably still would boycott them just on principle, but at least it would be more consistent. For somebody charging $4 for a 20 oz soda and $3 for a bag of M&M's to complain about CC transaction fees is somewhat funny -- not that I ever buy concession stuff anyway.

 

[Shad R]

First,
The small town movie experience sucks where I'm from. I worked at our movie theater just to help out, and kids RULED Friday and Saturday nights. They were unruly as all hell. You couldn't even hear the movie half the time because of kids talking...
Second, concessions prices are high because theaters have to give 80% or more(Disney, that's you!) of their ticket sales to the studios. Concessions pays for your DTS, your rock back seats, your subwoofers cranked to 11, the air condioning, the emplyees, the projectionists...you get my point. People are always quick to complain about the price of their soft drink, but that's what keeps the theater operational.
Third, I heard someone complain and ask for a refund because he thought "Superbad" was too vulgar for his...CHILD!!!!What part of "rated R" don't you understand! And why do people insist that they bring infants? I mean really, I saw a woman carrying a baby carrier and I KNOW it cried but people must have felt bad complaining about it. GRRRR!
Thanks for letting me vent.

 

[Sam Favate]

In my local theater, the lights come on almost as soon as the credits start, and the cleaning crews come in. Forget trying to hear the end credits music - there are vacuums going. Only during the end of the Simpsons movie did the lights stay off til the end - although the problem there were the people, who seemed conditioned to jump out of their seats as soon as words roll up the screen. It's almost as if Homer himself was saying "Oh no! I didn't come here to read!"

I'm also amazed at the garbage left behind by people. Mountains of discarded popcorn on the floor (and not in buckets), spilled sodas, candy wrappers, horribly disgusting nacho cheese -- all left for someone else to pick up. We always throw away our own cups and popcorn containers. My wife even brings plastic water bottles that we bought in the theater home, so they can be recycled.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

My strategy: go on a midweek afternoon and wait until the 2nd or 3rd week of release, preferably when school's in session, and avoid the multiplexes in the shopping centers most frequented by teens. Haven't had a single problem doing this over the last year. Finally got around to Bourne Ultimatum last Tuesday--the theater was very sparsely populated and everyone was well behaved.

 

[David Norman]

Got to go with Sam on my experiences during the Credits. In every movie I've been to in 5 or 6 different theaters -- lights come up, trash cans roll in, sweepers rolling, seats being flipped up, once the staff actually yelling across the aisles to the others, walking across my vision in the row ahead of me, one of them even tried to get me to move so he could cross in front of me (didn't quite make it).

Polite requests for quiet (I did say please), Glares, stares, and even mild vocal complaints went unnoted. Finally taking my life into my own hands during the most offensive episode I finally 'loudly (no profanity) instructed one group to shut up and get out of the theater until the movie was over -- the two other customers who stayed got a chuckle from that and both actually applauded as the stunned crew left the premises. The manager met me afterwards and we discussed it and I was told the movie was over as soon as the credits rolled and his crew had the right to clean up as they saw fit, I calmly (really and truly) disagreed with his opinion, I discussed the past $$$ my family had spent at his theater/concession stands, offered an alternative change in the policy that would keep me coming to his place, then left and changed my movie Theater of choice.

I have since sent an email to that Manager as well as his Parent Company head office as well as copies of receipts since then showing how much I was spending with their competition (so far several hundred $$$). So far, I have received nothing other than an automated email that thanked me for my support. I think I also sent a handwritten letter to either the Studio/Distributor/Producer with an explanation of the Theater's idea of supporting their movie as well as a copy of those to both the local theater and the Parent Chain.

 

[Dennis]

I have gone to the movies countless times during the week in the early afternoon, mostly the first-second show, because of my work schedule. You would think that the very small crowds would lower the chances of encountering rude moviegoers but unfortunately I have had quite a few problems with inconsiderate theatergoers. The problems are usually the cellphones and the talking.

There was this one incident where what looked like a young female employee of the theater sat with two young male patrons and began to have a conversation with them. Poor thing had to talk over the movie so they could hear her.

I went to see Superbad recently and the movie was assigned to the wrong theater screen. This particular theater not only has the screens numbered but it has a small lighted sign with the movie title on it. We sat through the trailers but nobody (but me apparently) realized that the wrong movie had started, they thought they were watching another trailer because there was no transition to the feature presentation. I immediately went to the staff and was shown to the proper theater. When I went to the theater, the manager was already in the theater watching it!

The sign for that theater was empty if I recall correctly. The projector had problems, the screen got blurry every 10-15 seconds. The manager then told us they were going to move the film to another screen. We were then directed into the 3rd theater, the sign for that screen had the film that was in the original theater shockingly enough. We waited 15-20 more minutes for the movie to start from the same point they stopped the projector in the previous theater. Needless to say, it ruined the experience.

The manager offered free passes to another show. So much time was wasted in the theater, I rushed out to leave for another engagement, that I forgot to ask for the passes. I plan on returning for them.

 

[Henry Gale]

I am shocked.
That is truly amazing.
Why even run the credits?
He's just wasting AC and bulb life!

You're very patient David, [fantasy life]I would have just kicked his ass.[/fantasy life]

 

[Averry]

Sorry guys, but I have to do it.


My friend is an assitant manager at the Carmike......



I see any movie I want usually on a Wednesady night at midnight, before the Friday opening.


I get free concessions, free movies, you name it. And he's an amazing dude besides the perks. (I FEEL like a jerk) But yeah, when we feel like it, we can load up a movie onto any of the digital screens and watch what we feel like. I got to "build" a movie once for one of these special screenings, and I loaded up all the trailers that I wanted to see. It was funny because I put multiple trailers of rediculous movies back to back.

Of course we can't watch whatever during the day, but in that case we do sit WITH an audience, and it's just fine.

Anyways, sorry bros, but I have too much fun.

 

[troy evans]

Hey Man, enjoy any perks in life you can get. Heaven knows you don't get em everyday. I only go to what I call "Event Movies" like "Star Wars" "Indy Jones" and the like. All others I'm perfectly content to watch on my home theater. One of the reasons I built one was to forgo the crap ass theater experience.

 

[Henry Gale]

Averry,
I'm glad to learn you get this perk!
Have you had your week of summer yet?