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The R Word
The cinema is in a medium sized town, we have no student population and the bulk of our customers are families. So we rarely have late shows, especially mid-week.
Anyway, I'm on the box office at 9.45pm waiting to be cahed in. Three potential customers come in and look at the display above my head and say, "Are all your films finished?"
Me: "All the films have started tonight."
SC: "That's RIDICULOUS!"
That was in the week. The next to both happened on Saturday:
Only Those Seats Will Do
The layout of our big screens is such that there is a column of seats with only two seats in the row. These are situated between the entrance way and the stairs upwards. These are in the back half of the cinema and the front row of these pairs of seats has a barrier in front. A couple came in at 2pm and booked these seats for the 5.40 show of Indy. Unfortunately the girl on the box office messed up (or possibly the customers neglected to tell her they wanted a later show and she automatically gave them the next show) and the two seats in question were occupied by two other customers at the correct time.
So the couple come out and tell me that someone is sitting in their seats. I look at their tickets and see they have tickets for the 2.30 show, not the 5.40 one. I tell them this, and the lady is immediately exasperated. I apologise and take her down to the box office to sort her out new seats. We show her the layout of the screen and offer her any of the unoccupied seats. However the only seats she wants are the ones she's booked. No other seat in the cinema will do.
Me and the girl on the box office explain that the two seats are occupied, we are sorry but a mistake has been made and we cannot have those two seats. We offer her the same seats in a later showing, but she doesn't want that. She wants those two seats - so no-one will be beside her or in front of her.
Anyway we finally give her two seats off to one side and reserve the seats in front of her so no-one will be able to buy them. She's moderately happy and goes to watch the film.
Seriously, if other people bother you that much, don't come to the cinema on a Saturday afternoon!
Anyway I had just sorted her problem when:
The sucky customer apologises, (12A certificate)
A 12A certificate means children under 12 may not watch the film unless accompanied by an adult.
Lady comes up with 5 or 6 kids. The kids have tickets for Superhero movie, which is a 12A. The oldest is 14, the youngest 10. As I start to check the tickets I hear the woman say, "I'll see you later." I realise that she isn't accompanying them.
I ask her the age of the youngest boy, she says 10.
I ask her the age of the oldest girl, she says 14.
Me: "I'm afraid he can't come in unless accompanied by an adult."
SC: "She's going with him." Points to oldest girl.
Me: "She's not old enough. It needs to be an adult."
SC: "But the girl selling tickets told me it was okay."
Me, firmly: "No. It needs to be an adult."
SC, getting angry, "But she told me it was okay."
Me: "Would you like me to get a manager?"
SC: "There's no need to be like that! I'll sort it out myself!"
SC heads off to box office. I call a team leader, fortunately it is one who will not back down. TL arrives before the SC comes back and I explain the situartion. When SC comes back TL tells her exactly what I have told her. SC isn't happy that she was given the wrong information and she says about me, "I'm not happy with his attitude!"
SC backs down and says to youngest boy, "You'll just have to come home with me."
Boy makes a terrible face. The kind of face my father would have said, "And you can take that look off your face!" Boy starts crying and runs at mother, pratically head butting her stomach, then buries his face against her sobbing.
At this point oldest girl says, she's not going to watch the film if boy isn't. Mother tells her otherwise. She has a strop and flounces into the ladies toilet, slamming the door.
A family crisis ensues. TL moves them away to one side, so I don't see what happens. A few minutes later the 5 kids come back and I check their tickets. Oldest girl is stomping around. But a couple of minutes after that, the SC comes up with the boy. She has bought a ticket for herself, so she can accompany him.
She is profusely apologetic and says she's sorry for her outburst and she understands I was just doing my job. I apologise that she was given the wrong information. I tell her I hope she enjoys the film and she says, "I'll probably fall asleep. That is what I was going to do at home."
The cinema is in a medium sized town, we have no student population and the bulk of our customers are families. So we rarely have late shows, especially mid-week.
Anyway, I'm on the box office at 9.45pm waiting to be cahed in. Three potential customers come in and look at the display above my head and say, "Are all your films finished?"
Me: "All the films have started tonight."
SC: "That's RIDICULOUS!"
That was in the week. The next to both happened on Saturday:
Only Those Seats Will Do
The layout of our big screens is such that there is a column of seats with only two seats in the row. These are situated between the entrance way and the stairs upwards. These are in the back half of the cinema and the front row of these pairs of seats has a barrier in front. A couple came in at 2pm and booked these seats for the 5.40 show of Indy. Unfortunately the girl on the box office messed up (or possibly the customers neglected to tell her they wanted a later show and she automatically gave them the next show) and the two seats in question were occupied by two other customers at the correct time.
So the couple come out and tell me that someone is sitting in their seats. I look at their tickets and see they have tickets for the 2.30 show, not the 5.40 one. I tell them this, and the lady is immediately exasperated. I apologise and take her down to the box office to sort her out new seats. We show her the layout of the screen and offer her any of the unoccupied seats. However the only seats she wants are the ones she's booked. No other seat in the cinema will do.
Me and the girl on the box office explain that the two seats are occupied, we are sorry but a mistake has been made and we cannot have those two seats. We offer her the same seats in a later showing, but she doesn't want that. She wants those two seats - so no-one will be beside her or in front of her.
Anyway we finally give her two seats off to one side and reserve the seats in front of her so no-one will be able to buy them. She's moderately happy and goes to watch the film.
Seriously, if other people bother you that much, don't come to the cinema on a Saturday afternoon!
Anyway I had just sorted her problem when:
The sucky customer apologises, (12A certificate)
A 12A certificate means children under 12 may not watch the film unless accompanied by an adult.
Lady comes up with 5 or 6 kids. The kids have tickets for Superhero movie, which is a 12A. The oldest is 14, the youngest 10. As I start to check the tickets I hear the woman say, "I'll see you later." I realise that she isn't accompanying them.
I ask her the age of the youngest boy, she says 10.
I ask her the age of the oldest girl, she says 14.
Me: "I'm afraid he can't come in unless accompanied by an adult."
SC: "She's going with him." Points to oldest girl.
Me: "She's not old enough. It needs to be an adult."
SC: "But the girl selling tickets told me it was okay."
Me, firmly: "No. It needs to be an adult."
SC, getting angry, "But she told me it was okay."
Me: "Would you like me to get a manager?"
SC: "There's no need to be like that! I'll sort it out myself!"
SC heads off to box office. I call a team leader, fortunately it is one who will not back down. TL arrives before the SC comes back and I explain the situartion. When SC comes back TL tells her exactly what I have told her. SC isn't happy that she was given the wrong information and she says about me, "I'm not happy with his attitude!"
SC backs down and says to youngest boy, "You'll just have to come home with me."
Boy makes a terrible face. The kind of face my father would have said, "And you can take that look off your face!" Boy starts crying and runs at mother, pratically head butting her stomach, then buries his face against her sobbing.
At this point oldest girl says, she's not going to watch the film if boy isn't. Mother tells her otherwise. She has a strop and flounces into the ladies toilet, slamming the door.
A family crisis ensues. TL moves them away to one side, so I don't see what happens. A few minutes later the 5 kids come back and I check their tickets. Oldest girl is stomping around. But a couple of minutes after that, the SC comes up with the boy. She has bought a ticket for herself, so she can accompany him.
She is profusely apologetic and says she's sorry for her outburst and she understands I was just doing my job. I apologise that she was given the wrong information. I tell her I hope she enjoys the film and she says, "I'll probably fall asleep. That is what I was going to do at home."
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