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Topic: Reserved seating - good or bad?

Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 03-07-2011 02:39 PM

Picking up the conversation from this thread.

quote: Mike Blakesley
Not to mention more of a time-consuming pain when buying tickets. The map they show you doesn't indicate where the babies and kids are sitting, so you have no option to sit somewhere else if you want to.

You also forgot what happens when for whatever reason the auditoriums are moved around. Then management selects your seat.

quote: Bobby Henderson
That's the other HUGE disadvantage to reserved seating. It's pot luck on who sits next to you. If you end up stuck sitting next to some obsessive cell phone using douche bag you can't simply pick another seat. Some disruptions, like crying babies, are bad enough it doesn't matter where you are in the auditorium. But, damn, if that baby is right next to you the movie watching experience is all but ruined.

Yup, happens to me EVERY TIME I FLY. I took an SPL meter with me on a plane last year and read just under 100db as it was for ambient noise, yet the screaming baby in the next seat was much louder and ear piercing.

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Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover

Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 03-07-2011 02:43 PM

quote: Mike Blakesley The map they show you doesn't indicate where the babies and kids are sitting, so you have no option to sit somewhere else if you want to.

I doubt there is going to be a bunch of babies sitting behind me in True Grit or Tron Legacy. I mean if I am watching Mars Needs Moms its probably a different story.

I would also give more credit to the people who watch movies with the upgrade price as sometimes but not always they take the moviegoing experience a little more seriously.

In my area we have a VIP reserved seating theatre. The whole cinema is reserved only for those 19+ of age, for any movie that is playing in those cinemas. Could be a PG or R rated film, it still restricts access. If you are under 19, then you can go down the hall and watch it in the regular cinema

quote:
The only way I'm going to like a reserved seating system in movie theaters at all is if the theater had an interactive web-based map of theater seats showing which ones were available and which ones were already sold.

Cineplex AVX has a nice map. So does Empire Extra.

quote:
The only logical purpose I see in reserved seating is the theater stroking the huge egos of certain douches who need to feel exclusive and special and have their seat saved for them rather than showing up to the theater at the proper time.

Well, I am extremely picky of where I sit. It must be in the first 10 rows of the non stadium part of a cinema, usually first 3-4 rows of a small sized screen. IMAX is about 8 row up. I will not sit up in the stadium part, end of story.

AMC in their large theatres has far superior layout over Cineplex as the centre walkway does not cut across the theatre, AMC in town goes underdeath and around leaving rows from screen to the back.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 03-07-2011 03:03 PM

quote: Tom Petrov
I doubt there is going to be a bunch of babies sitting behind me in True Grit or Tron Legacy.

PG-13 and R ratings have nothing to do with it. I have encountered the crying baby problem during plenty of showings of R-rated movies.

The funny thing about this is I probably have a slightly better chance of watching an evening show of a new Pixar animated movie and seeing it undisturbed than I would certain new R-rated action movies. That's because of the motives of the parents in seeing either of those movies.

Animated movies often do their best business during matinée day time shows on the weekends. The parents are taking their kids there because the kids want to see the movie. Many parents try to get this movie-watching chore out of the way during the afternoon so it doesn't wreck their evening plans.

Certain less responsible, less thoughtful parents will drag along the infant or restless, bitchy 2 year olds to night time shows of R-rated action movies. This time the parents want to see the movie and the kid is just hauled along as extra baggage. The parents were either too cheap to get a babysitter or just plain unable to get a babysitter (usually they're trying to get the babysitter on short notice). "Who gives a shit!? Screw staying at home! We'll take the baby to the theater! If anyone has a problem with it I'll kick their ass."

quote: Tom Petrov
Well, I am extremely picky of where I sit. It must be in the first 10 rows of the non stadium part of a cinema, usually first 3-4 rows of a small sized screen. IMAX is about 8 row up. I will not sit up in the stadium part, end of story.

First come first serve seating gives you a far better chance of getting the seat you want. You just need to arrive early enough to claim that seat. There's no guarantee with reserve seating. Under the reserved model you're more likely to get a shitty seat.

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Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover

Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 03-07-2011 03:08 PM

quote: Bobby Henderson
Certain less responsible, less thoughtful parents will drag along the infant or restless, bitchy 2 year olds to night time shows of R-rated action movies.

Well in a VIP reserved seating theatre. Nobody under 19 is allowed. So that works for me.

quote: Bobby Henderson
PG-13 and R ratings have nothing to do with it.

Well in Ontario it used to be R means you can't get in if you under 18. At that time at least you knew the R rated movie were 18 over.

quote: Bobby Henderson
First come first serve seating gives you a far better chance of getting the seat you want.

When I bought my online ticket for True Grit which was the Monday before the release day. I got the exact ticket I wanted.

Also, I could of just shown the text message on my phone to get in if I wanted

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 03-07-2011 03:15 PM

Well Tom, unfortunately we don't all live in a perfect world like you do.

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Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007

posted 03-07-2011 03:43 PM

quote: Tom Petrov
Well in a VIP reserved seating theatre. Nobody under 19 is allowed. So that works for me.

The discussion is about reserved seating and not reserved seating in theaters that only allow adults.

quote: Tom Petrov
Well in Ontario it used to be R means you can't get in if you under 18. At that time at least you knew the R rated movie were 18 over.

MPAA rating of R is equivalent to your "18A"

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Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover

Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 03-07-2011 03:49 PM

Mike-its not about being in a perfect world. Reserved seating does have its pros and it does have its cons.

One of the biggest cons is for the owners of the theatre. If a customer views the seating map and notices that their seats that they like are taken with a theatre that is half full, then the the patron might just leave. On the flip side, being told the theatre is half full without the customer knowing what seats are taken has an advantage.

To dismiss it because of kids or who sit next to you is something I don't agree with. If I get to the theatre early and I get a seat in the middle of the theatre and someone sits next to me, then I have to move.

Noise in the theatre such as cell phone use or babies crying is an issue that is not related to reserve seating. Having a ZERO tolerance policy would work.

I think reserve seating and 19+ admission is a great feature that should be offered for those who want it. I for one would use it for an opening night film that is in high demand.

VIP at Cineplex

quote: Chris Slycord
MPAA rating of R is equivalent to your "18A"

Chris, in the past it was different in Ontario. That is why I said used to be. There were plenty of R rated movies: Berverly Hills Cop, Lethal Weapon, Revenge, Rising Sun all ring a bell. At that time anyone under 18 was not allowed period. That all changed after Jason X.

And we still do have restricted which is one step of 18A which was never around until 2002

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 03-07-2011 04:39 PM

quote: Tom Petrov
To dismiss it because of kids or who sit next to you is something I don't agree with. If I get to the theatre early and I get a seat in the middle of the theatre and someone sits next to me, then I have to move.

That sentence doesn't make any sense. Are you saying we should like reserved seating regardless of being confined to a seat that happens to be next to a seat reserved by a disruptive jackass or parent toting a screaming infant around in a car seat? Or are you agreeing with the point the customer should be able to find another seat if he chooses? With reserved seating you're stuck. You can't simply get up and grab another seat. It might be reserved by someone else!

God forbid I'm ever stuck in a reserved seat next to someone who decides to crap in his pants or vomit all over himself. Or just be really gassy.

quote: Tom Petrov
Noise in the theatre such as cell phone use or babies crying is an issue that is not related to reserve seating. Having a ZERO tolerance policy would work.

Very few theaters have such policies. Warren Theaters is the only one I know of in this region that specifically bans cellphone use during the movie under threat of being ejected from the property without a refund. I don't think they have the same kind of rule against crying babies however. The only thing most theaters ban these days is cigarette smoking.

quote: Tom Petrov
I think reserve seating and 19+ admission is a great feature that should be offered for those who want it. I for one would use it for an opening night film that is in high demand.

That sort of thing might be passable at premium-priced theaters in big cities like ArcLight in metro Los Angeles. It would severely piss off lots of customers at mainstream movie theaters in most cities and towns and put those theaters at risk of losing the angry customers for a long time, if not permanently. Quite a few Americans don't go to movie theaters anymore; some even like to brag about how long it has been since they set foot into a movie theater.

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Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover

Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 03-07-2011 04:42 PM

quote: Bobby Henderson
God forbid I'm ever stuck in a reserved seat next to someone who decides to crap in his pants or vomit all over himself. Or just be really gassy

I have seen over 200 movies in that two years. Never once did I sit have a gassy or a vomit ridden patron next to me, actually I don't think I have in my entire life. There were two instances where someone was too loud, I shut them both up by telling them to their face to keep quite.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 03-07-2011 05:12 PM

Tom: Bobby was being sarcastic.

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Mark Lensenmayer
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1605
From: Upper Arlington, OH
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 03-07-2011 05:41 PM

I've only dealt with reserved seating at a National Amusements Imax theatre in Cincinnati. They gave no choice of seats...the computer determined the "best available" seat. I found that their idea of best available and mine were VERY different.

Only one local theatre offers reserved seating for a $4 premium.

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Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover

Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 03-07-2011 05:49 PM

Mark-having the computer determine your seat is useless. I prefer reserved seating only for opening night high demand showtimes.

They have been using reserve seating in some parts of Europe for decades and when I meet someone from overseas, they are surprised that we have just recently been offering reserve seating in our new megaplexes.

I think the ideal cinema would have at least one or two reserve seating theatres, a VIP cinema, some 35mm film and some digital screens. I think choice is better than no choice.

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Manny Knowles
"What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???"

Posts: 4247
From: Bloomington, IN, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 03-07-2011 06:01 PM

quote: Bobby Henderson
God forbid I'm ever stuck in a reserved seat next to someone who decides to crap in his pants or vomit all over himself. Or just be really gassy.

This happened to me twice at the Arclight in Hollywood -- stuck next to smelly people. [puke]

For this privilege, I paid $14 plus $2 for the "validated" parking.

...and that's just ONE reason I don't like the Arclight. [puke]

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Emma Tomiak
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 238
From: Carrollton, TX, USA
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 03-07-2011 07:29 PM

One of the theatres I work for has reserved seating. A customer can ONLY purchase a reserved seat if they also buy a $12 food and drink voucher (basically you've paid for food whether you want it or not). It doesn't make sense for someone who just intends to watch the movie and buy a Coke to get a reserved seat here. You can choose your seats based on a map of each auditorium, and every other row has reserved seats available.

Like Brad said, this system encourages people to show up late and come in during trailers or even into the feature. I've seen it time and time again. I start a movie and scan the seats, and most seats are filled except the reserved ones with menus and place-holder stickers sitting there. I've sat and watched the audience through the trailers and into the feature, and people slowly trickle in and fill in their reserved seats well into the feature. I imagine it must be very annoying to the other customers.

Now I realize that people do this in regular style seating theatres too. The difference here is that since it is a dinner and a movie joint, you've now got servers and runners taking orders and bringing in food quite a ways into the movie. They do their best not to get in the way, but they are still a distraction.

It's also sad to see people show up early, be the first ones into the theatre and not be able to sit in the best seats because they're already marked as reserved. It's funny though, I've seen people unstick the "reserved" markers and move the menus/stickers over and take the reserved seats. [Razz]

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Chase Pickett
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 142
From: Irving, Texas, USA
Registered: Nov 2010

posted 03-07-2011 07:52 PM

I honestly don't get it. The rule has always been if you want a good seat you need to come a little bit early, and it's not like you would have to get to the theater really early. Usually 15 minutes before the start time works just fine for you to get the seat you want.

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