Asking for a refund after walking out on a movie

Cafe Society
61

[QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer]
I once had an odd argument with a server over this very issue. In college, a female friend and I used to frequent the same New Orleans-style restaurant at least once or twice a month. One evening I ordered alligator steak simply to see what it like, and found that I hated it, so I set it aside. Our waitress noticed this and offered to comp me something else; I didn’t think that was fair, as I had willingly taken the risk in ordering the dish. After a while my friend told me to stop being a moron, so I took the substitute dish and left a very large tip–I think about 50 percent.

As to the question in the OP, no, I don’t demand movie refunds. I have been known to walk out in disgust and go into another theatre, though.
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but that’s alright, because it makes good business sense to keep your average customers and your wait staff happy.

to demand for a refund however, is a lack of decorum. Miss Mennars says the proper thing to do is to blast the show for the piece of crap that it is on your heavy traffic blog and encourage all your friends and readers to boycott the show, its director, cast, mother-in-law and all future progeny; as an alternative.

62

How often are movie screens out of focus? My dad worked in video and when I was a kid and we went to movies he would send me out to tell them to focus it like half the time. These days I don’t go to theaters often enough to be sure. I mean, I’m sure the film has less resolution than my eye, so I don’t know how sharp it should be. It does look bad sometimes.

63

[QUOTE=Eyebrows 0f Doom]
I have only ever walked out of one film, I don’t even remember the name of it, some independent one-word title film about math or time travel or something like that, and in that case it was a free screening anyhow so I wasn’t even out any money. I don’t go to just any movie, I’ll only see something if I really think I will like it.
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Was it Pi?

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At one movie, the film simply stopped mid-way through, the lights went up, and a kid came to the front to announce there was a tornado warning, and a funnel cloud had been sighted about a mile away.

Someone shouted out, “What are we supposed to do? Is there a shelter?”

The kid replied, “No shelter. We just wanted to let you know. Enjoy the film.” The lights darkened and the film restarted.

I don’t think a single person got up and left. They probably figured what I did – it was safer inside than out.

65

[QUOTE=Fionn]
Was it Pi?
[/QUOTE]

No, I did see that one, but later on video. I thought it may have been Primer, but I seem to remember it being 2002-2003. Ah well, no matter.

66

[QUOTE=Eyebrows 0f Doom]
… the reels being out of sync (yes, one time I saw a film and noticed that reel 3 was played before reel 2 [I had seen the film previously])…
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When I was a kid (summer of 8th grade), I went and saw A Midsummer Night’s Dream. There were probably 20 people total in the theatre, and I can only imagine none of them had read the play, because I was with some other geeky friends of mine, and while I hadn’t read it, they had, and I left feeling like it was out of order, and they knew it was, and finally it dawned on us, the reels were out of sync! We told the manager, and he said “he wasn’t going to take down the film in the middle of the day -do you know how much time that takes?- when nobody else had said anything”. He did take down my friend’s name and number, to verify with them when he did check it that it was in order (he was very cocky about the fact that it was obviously in the right order). He called the next day and offered free tickets. The dang kids were the only ones who caught it.

67

[QUOTE=Musicat]
I would certainly insist on a refund if I wanted to see The Aristocrats and was treated to The Aristocats instead.

Or vice-versa.
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I know you’re joking, but I almost had something like that happen to me at the local art theater. I checked the Roanoke Times for the movie listings and noticed that the theater was showing “My Best Fiend”. Being familiar with Herzog’s work and never having seen this, it piqued my interest, and while I did think it was a bit odd that they’d be showing a seven-year-old documentary, this particular theater does do that sort of thing on occasion. So, my friend and I headed over to catch the show.

Had the theater not had posters outside, I would have been most surprised to be treated to a showing of this. In that case, I could see myself asking for a refund.

68

Ebert once claimed in one of his books or columns that a large number of screens are purposely underlit to save on the light bulb costs- not sure where he got his data though.

69

[QUOTE=Martini Enfield]
Almost, but not quite, IMHO. The movie theatre itself makes no guarantee of the movie’s quality, unlike retailers who warrant that the goods they sell are of merchantable quality.

If you buy a cyan coloured widget to go in your kitchen, and then you get home and discover that said widget clashes horribly with the curtains and the dishwasher and therefore looks terrible, that’s really your problem, not Target’s or the Manufacturers- provided the product is otherwise functioning as specified, of course.

Besides, what you think may be a steaming pile of horse manure may be another person’s idea of Teh Bestest Film Evar!!1!Eleventy!, which further complicates the whole refund thing.

The movie theatre kept up their end of the deal- they screened a movie, which you chose to go and see. Having said all that, if they show a totally different film, or the projector breaks down, or other stuff like that, then yes, you should be entitled to a refund- But not simply because you thought the acting in the film was wooden and the dialogue unengaging. YRMV, of course.
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I expect that a business selling a product will stand behind their product and do what is reasonable to make their customer happy. If I go to see a movie, I expect to see one that isn’t bad enough to cause me to walk out 20 minutes after it started. That’s a reasonable desire, and I expect the theater to meet it.

And yes, if I buy something that turns out to be not what I needed, then I expect to be able to return it. That’s the level of service I expect. If a store or theater isn’t willing to meet that, then I won’t patronize them, and patronize the stores that are willing.

I really don’t care. That’s the theater’s problem, not mine.

70

[QUOTE=treis]
I expect that a business selling a product will stand behind their product and do what is reasonable to make their customer happy. If I go to see a movie, I expect to see one that isn’t bad enough to cause me to walk out 20 minutes after it started. That’s a reasonable desire, and I expect the theater to meet it.
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While it’s nice if a theatre intends to uphold this level of courtesy, it’s well beyond what is reasonable. As a consumer, you have access to a variety of means to ensure that you’re going to see a film you’re interested in seeing - reviews, the reputation of the actors, director, studio, etc. There are objective measures in which we can all agree - is the film synced up with the audio, is there an offensive odor in the theatre, etc. But how do we ascertain “bad?” For every film you consider “bad,” there are certainly people out there who disagree.

A manager interested in cultivating the goodwill of customers and community might want to allow a patron a “credit” to watch another film. It’s frankly ridiculous to expect your money back.

With movie watching, caveat emptor.

71

[QUOTE=treis]
If I go to see a movie, I expect to see one that isn’t bad enough to cause me to walk out 20 minutes after it started. That’s a reasonable desire, and I expect the theater to meet it.
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And I don’t think that’s a reasonable desire. Do you normally get your money back if you walk out of a concert 15 minutes in because the band happen to suck that night?

72

Happened to me twice, once for The Last Starfighter (No problem with the movie; I got hit with sudden food-borne illness and asked for a rain check, which the theater gladly gave me) and Batman Returns (The theater had a flat screen, the print/camera was for a curved screen, the outer edges of the film were out of focus. This was opening night, first showing; I argued with the manager, who assured me that that’s how it was supposed to look, and I foolishly believed him).

73

[QUOTE=treis]
I expect that a business selling a product will stand behind their product and do what is reasonable to make their customer happy. If I go to see a movie, I expect to see one that isn’t bad enough to cause me to walk out 20 minutes after it started. That’s a reasonable desire, and I expect the theater to meet it.
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And the theatre isn’t selling you a film product- they’re providing a venue for the screening of someone else’s product. They provide no warranty or claims of quality of said product, they’re just providing a means for you to view the film.

This attitude is one of the reasons I’m trying to get out of customer service and into something that doesn’t involve dealing with members of the public. If you’ve bought something that works perfectly but you’ve decided you don’t need, how is that the store’s problem? There was a contract between you and the store for the provision of a working Widget. The store provided you with a working Widget, and you paid them for it. If you take it home, use it for the weekend, decide you don’t want it, and then take it back, then you’re basically foisting your second-hand crap on other people, as the store will have to mark the product down to sell it, taking a loss on the sale of the product through no fault of their own. And someone else is getting a unit which isn’t new (even if it’s at a reduced price), all because you changed your mind on an otherwise functional unit.

I fully support any store that refuses change of mind refunds or exchanges as a result of this- we’ve got an entire storeroom full of nigh-unsaleable stock resulting from people bringing stuff back they didn’t really need anymore (“My wife got one as well, and we don’t need two, so…”) that’s missing remotes, cables, instruction manuals, etc. We’re not technically obliged to accept returns missing bits and pieces, but experience has shown that if we tell the customers “No”, they complain to Head Office who make us give them whatever they want anyway, so now we just say “Fine, sign here” and refund their money. (Head Office’s unwillingness to back the staff up is one of the many reasons a lot of people are resigning lately, incidentally).

If the store has sold a faulty or defective product, then yes, you should get a refund. The Widget you’ve bought clashes with the decor? Your problem, not ours.

Then again, I do subscribe to the Bernard Black school of retail, so YRMV…

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[QUOTE=Martini Enfield]

Then again, I do subscribe to the Bernard Black school of retail, so YRMV…

[/QUOTE]

:smiley:

75

[QUOTE=treis]
I expect that a business selling a product will stand behind their product and do what is reasonable to make their customer happy. If I go to see a movie, I expect to see one that isn’t bad enough to cause me to walk out 20 minutes after it started. That’s a reasonable desire, and I expect the theater to meet it.
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If you purchase a DVD from Best Buy or Amazon and then decide that you didn’t like the plot, do you get to return it? Do you really think that would work?

76

[QUOTE=treis]
I expect that a business selling a product will stand behind their product and do what is reasonable to make their customer happy. If I go to see a movie, I expect to see one that isn’t bad enough to cause me to walk out 20 minutes after it started. That’s a reasonable desire, and I expect the theater to meet it.

And yes, if I buy something that turns out to be not what I needed, then I expect to be able to return it. That’s the level of service I expect. If a store or theater isn’t willing to meet that, then I won’t patronize them, and patronize the stores that are willing.

I really don’t care. That’s the theater’s problem, not mine.
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It is your problem because the theatre has your money and you don’t.
The ‘film’ is not the theatres product. They actually exercise very little choice in what they will run. If a major studio makes a movie, it’s going to get played in the big chain multi-plex. The ‘presentation’ of said movie is the theatre’s product.

Now that said, most theatres will give a refund, with discretion, to keep the customer happy. But then they may only give you a pass for another movie.

77

[QUOTE=treis]
I expect that a business selling a product will stand behind their product and do what is reasonable to make their customer happy. If I go to see a movie, I expect to see one that isn’t bad enough to cause me to walk out 20 minutes after it started. That’s a reasonable desire, and I expect the theater to meet it.
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Yes, but as shown quite clearly in the ‘Movies I walked out of’ thread, some people think many good/great movies are “bad” enough to walk out of. It’s not the theater’s fault if you didn’t research the movie in advance or simply have no taste. (I’m not pointing specifically at you based on that thread, because I didn’t look at names when I skimmed the posts in horror, so I don’t know if you took part in that thread and if so, what you might have walked out on).

I can’t even imagine having the gall to ask for a refund because I didn’t care for a movie. That’s pure insanity! Technical problems, yes. Something wrong with the theater/projection/print? Yes. My own foolishness for not researching the movie in advance or just a taste issue? Get outta here!

78

[QUOTE=treis]
I expect that a business selling a product will stand behind their product and do what is reasonable to make their customer happy. If I go to see a movie, I expect to see one that isn’t bad enough to cause me to walk out 20 minutes after it started. That’s a reasonable desire, and I expect the theater to meet it.
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The “product” that the theater is selling are seats and the ability to run its projector/sound equipment properly (and concessions, but that’s not what this thread is about), not “movies” nor a guarantee that you’ll enjoy their content. Therefore, to demand a refund because you don’t like the movie is to completely misunderstand the theaters role in the production of films which is: none, zilch, nada.

Would you demand a refund from Apple for the cost of the iPod because you didn’t like your latest DL? Do you argue with your cable company about your bill because you don’t like what’s being shown on A&E?

If not, why not? It’s applying the same principle of action to other distributors of content, distributors that have no means of controlling the quality of that very same content - you know, just like a movie theater.

79

[QUOTE=Martini Enfield]
If you buy a cyan coloured widget to go in your kitchen, and then you get home and discover that said widget clashes horribly with the curtains and the dishwasher and therefore looks terrible, that’s really your problem, not Target’s or the Manufacturers- provided the product is otherwise functioning as specified, of course.
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If I buy a cyan-colored widget and return it because it’s the wrong color, provided that it in sellable condition then every retailer I’ve ever dealt with has allowed me to exchange it for a widget of another color or, if they don’t have an appropriately colored widget, to exchange for credit or a refund.

Not that I’m agreeing that a movie theatre should offer refunds to people who don’t like the movie (nor am I disagreeing) but your analogy is flawed.

80

To say that the movie theater isn’t putting out the movie as their product is ridiculous. It’s like saying that Target isn’t selling the item, they are just providing a place to shop. The bottom line is that there is a certain level of quality expected in a movie. If it’s not there I expect a refund, and judging by this thread most theaters will give it.