Art House Cinema Pet Peeve: Waiting On Seniors

From Lea Blue:

I work in the local "art house cinema" in a section of town where mostly seniors live. Let me tell you... these have to be the worst people to serve.

They can't remember what the hell they're seeing, and refer to the movies by who is in it. This is hard for most of us employees, seeing as most films are indie or foreign and have people we've never heard of, even if we have seen the movie. I don't wait through credits, I shouldn't have to. You should know what the frick you're about to see.

Another aproach they take at box office is asking what every single movie is about, and then asking whether I've seen it or not. This is very inconvenient during rushes, when these knobs decide to use this tactic. It's Friday night and you're busy... so I should ask about EVERY film!

Another pet peeve of mine is when they get tickets. Even if they are obviously old as dirt, I'm not allowed to assume they are senior. But will they say "two seniors to Argo"? No. They just say two to Argo. And when I say, "okay, two matinee is sixteen dollars," do they stop me? No. It isn't until after I print tickets that they ask if I charged them senior. No. I said TWO MATINEE because I charged you for two matinee. Which leads to "well, you should have known" and my head explodes because it is supposed to be a fricken compliment, and you old ladies are supposed to adore me for it, not yell at me about the seventy-five cents you are entitled to save because you're my grandma's age.

Lastly, late customers. I "love" these guys. They show up twenty minutes late, and ask how far in the movie is, and how crowded it is. I don't know how far in it is. Even if I have seen that particular movie, I don't time how long previews are, and how long it takes for any important details to pop up. And if it's crowded, how do I know if only the front row has seats? I don't pop in every two minutes to see how full it is. I'm helping customers get to the other movies they were on time for. If you want to have a good seat and see the movie in it's entirity, show up early like everyone else.

And yes, movie times change every Friday, if not sooner. Check online, call, or read the newspaper to make sure your movie is still playing at a convenient time for you.

--Lea Blue

Comments

[v]

First an anti-Asian post and now an age-ist one. I am fast losing the interest in reading this blog and certainly not buying a book that might have this kind of content.

Asshats should be ridiculed for being asshats, not for belong to a "bad" race or age group.

[Raven]

@v
You sound like one of those whiny people on Tumblr who has absolutely no idea what the real world is like.

[Wow]

Exactly my thoughts Raven.

[Daisy]

I sympathize with the senior's discount thing! At my hotel, "seniors" are anyone 55+. Well, most people in their fifties don't actually look like old people, and there is no way in heck I am going to ask anyone if they're a senior unless they have transparent hair and more wrinkles than a box of raisins. I feel bad charging full price to someone who is entitled to a discount, but seriously, you have to ask for it. I am way more scared of calling someone old than over-charging them.

At most, if someone says, "Is that really the best price you have?" I will hesitantly squeak out, "Um... yes... unless... you're over 55?"

[cheltenham_dude]

As someone who regulary goes to the cinema, you have my sympathy - I really, really, really hate, hate, HATE people who walk in late to a movie, useally because they don't want to watch adverts or trailers - seriously people if you don't like adverts or trailers (as someone who doesn't watch much television, I look on it as part of the experiance) wait untill its on DVD and then watch at home!

With old people, I only find them annoying if a) they're late and dawdle about in the isle, muttering loudly and b) talking loudly because they picked a film that they really aren't interested in.

[Mollywobbles]

I LOVE to watch the previews! I always try to get to a theater early so that I can catch them. I have NO sympathy for someone who comes to a movie late.

About old people: I was recently training a new girl at work, and I literally told her, "Old people can either be really, really nice or really, really, REALLY mean. There is no middle ground. ...Either of those, or they're deaf." It's not an age-ist sentiment, it's just calling it like it is.

[Skittles]

Whats up with the trolling BS lately? There were a few commenting on the hostess thing and now v who obviously needs attention.

[Kai]

I don't know, I'm disappointed you don't know the answers to the questions they're asking, nor can you assume that someone is a senior based on their appearance. This kind of stuff strikes me as less than stellar customer service. The post in its entirety stinks. :[

[Chicajojobe]

I disagree about this not being good customer service. The jobs at a movie theater include: selling tickets, taking tickets, selling snacks, stocking snacks, cleaning, occasionally taking stats on how many people are seeing what movie when and if the projector is working okay, and addressing customer complaints such as "The douchebag in my theater won't STFU!"

It's not their job to be an expert on every movie playing. It's not outrageous to simply ask that customers have picked which movie they'd like to see before they get to the window, and know the name of the movie they want to buy tickets for!

It'd be like the following exchange happening in a grocery store:
Custy: "I want to make a certain dish I heard about, but I don't know what ingredients I need. Can you tell me so I can buy them?"
Slave: "Well I'm not an expert on cooking but I can try my best. What's the name of the dish?"
Custy: "I don't know, but it has chicken in it."

[Nocturnesthesia]

I've mentioned this a few times before, but I know my grandmother can be frustrating and kind of mean to deal with so I always leave a huge tip to people who are polite to her and go along with it (it's fairly obvious she's not being rude on purpose and has no fuckin' idea what's going on.) Still though, old people are like kids in some ways: They are more likely to be shitty customers and can't always help it, but it doesn't mean I have to enjoy putting up with them.