For the first part, I don’t claim to know the ins and outs either, but even with their jacked up prices, I cannot imagine a theater owner to rely solely on concessions to pay the guy(s) who run the projectors, the electricity to show the films, the cleaning crew who try (sometimes) to make the floors less sticky, property taxes, replacement equipment for anything that breaks from bathrooms to theater equipment, and manager(s) who attempt to keep it all running. Admittedly, them letting me in (and out) for free would have a very small impact to their bottom line, but if word ‘gets out’ that a complaint to the manager will get you a refund, then it would quickly add up to the point where the theater goes out of business and/or service goes downhill (not that it isn’t already at the bottom).
You are right I was not referring strictly to you regarding the entitlement, but as someone mentioned before, where do you draw the line in your asking? If you ask and the ticket seller says ‘no’, do you drop it or do you then ask for a manager. If the manager also says ‘no’ do you drop it or make a stink? You are right that you don’t get anywhere by not asking, but some people (not implying you) go too far.
It seems to me that this all hinges on the law of averages in retail. Some fraction of customers will be stellar and never cause any “problems;” they will probably not even complain when there is a problem. Some fraction will bitch and gripe about every little thing, and the great majority will exercise judgment. Out of 10 people who watch a movie and realize that it’s pants within the first 20 minutes, how many do you think will a) actually get up and leave the theatre, and b) seek out a manager or person in charge and ask for a refund? I think it’s 2 in 10 at most. And if that’s right, if 20 percent of your customers who watch a movie and decide it’s crap want their money back, it seems small enough to not make a fuss over - especially if those customers are likely to return.
The problem comes if that percentage increases. Then you’ve got to decide if you’re going to handle it case-by-case, or make a blanket policy that maybe screws some people over (I imagine there’s a legit case for someone not liking a movie and getting their money back, though I admit I can’t see it). I do agree that if I was managing a cineplex, I would probably allow people to see another movie that evening. But I would never give the money back. I have your money in hand; what guarantee do I have you’ll give it back in the form of another (and multiple) trip to the movies?
I would also want to do something so it’s a little bit of a hassle and so that I can keep track of who’s watching movies and asking for another movie pass. If you did it more than once I would think you’re more trouble than you’re worth as a customer. I think it’s a ridiculous request, but I see the logic of allowing some flexibility from a customer relations standpoint.
For treis and others who do ask for refunds/passes for another movie: could you explain to me how often you do this, and why you have such difficulty finding a movie that you’ll sit through? I admit that I do a lot of research before I see a movie, so since the mid 90s I’ve not been surprised by the quality of a movie - at least not enough to not know what I’m getting into.
Well, I’m just being devil’s advocate here, but no box office, no ticket-takers and no ticket-checkers would spell a substantial cut in payroll expenses. Not big enough to be worth it, obviously–although I often wonder why the theaters don’t offer discounts for buying tickets online or at machines and therefore using less of their employees’ time. That would encourage more people to buy tickets electronically, thus cutting down on box office staff, thus making ticket sales (even?) more profitable. Right?
The cat’s out of the bag there. How come movie theaters as a whole haven’t gone out of business?
Unless theaters instituted a policy that you could only buy tickets online, selling discounted online tickets as a way to cut back on staffing probably wouldn’t help much, since they would still need to have people available. IIRC, I have been to a theater where you could buy tickets through a machine.
I rarely see movies in theaters, so I only go to see ones that I really want to see. I’ve never seen one in a theater that was so bad that I walked out after 20 minutes. I think you vastly overestimate the difficulty in finding movies that people will sit through. It’s not common for anyone to walk out of a movie after 20 minuts. You’re talking about something that I expect to happen maybe once out of every 150 movies I’d see.
Your first sentence makes you sound a lot like me. I’m pretty sure I know the quality of a film before I see it. (Hustle and Flow=good; Dodgeball=not so much.) So I go to the former having read some reviews, and to the latter for some good old fashioned idiocy.
So you don’t in fact make a habit of walking out of movies on a regular basis. You sounded a bit stroppy in the previous posts, as if you did it all the time. I still think it’s the fault of the filmgoer in this day and age if one ignores reviews and the like about films, and if you walk into (and presumably) out of a stinker, that’s on you. I can see a manager allowing the customer to see another flick out of goodwill, but no money back methinks.
Hey! Dodgeball was actually pretty good! (69% on Rotten Tomatoes, and 77% from users…Hell, Ebert gave it three stars out of four.). It’s not like Freddy Got Fingered (a movie I actually enjoyed, but garnered a whopping 10% from Rotten Tomatoes. At least I have A.O. Scott, the NYTimes critic, in my corner for that movie.)
Oh, it was fine. It wasn’t cinéma-vérité, and if I’d gone in there expecting that, I’d have been an idiot.
Similarly, the FGF moviegoer couldn’t have been expecting an Oscar-worthy performance from Mr. Green. To me, to complain about that film… well, what did one expect?