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Topic: Utah Theater arrests patrons for saving seats

Dave Williams
Wet nipple scene

Posts: 1836
From: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 12-23-2003 09:09 PM

From the Salt Lake Tribune...

Movie Patrons Cited

quote:
Two movie theater patrons were cited for disorderly conduct after an altercation that began when they tried to save seats for friends, American Fork police said.
The 42-year-old woman and 45-year-old man were trying to save seats last Thursday for friends who had not yet arrived, and began arguing with other customers and theater staff.
When officers arrived, the couple argued with them as well, police said.

This is only a snippet, but the latest information is that they had purchased the tickets for thier friends who would be arriving just before show time. The CINEMARK in question would not allow them to save any seats even though they had purchased the tickets. The theater began allowing other customers to fill those seats, even thought the tickets had already been purchased.

This is when all hell began to break loose. As a theater manager, I would allow them to save any damn seat if they purchased the ticket in advance. To not allow it would be akin to purchasing every seat in the house so you can watch the movie alone, then demanding you surrender the seats to other customers because there is no one in them.

Bill Allred of the X96 morning from hell show, suggested what I have always advocated.. reserved seating for movies. The software exists, and even though you have indecisive patrons, reserved seating for shows that are expected to be sold out can help eliminate chaos that almost always ensues when you have a sold out show and general admission.

Thoughts on this?

Dave

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Mike Olpin
Chop Chop!

Posts: 1852
From: Dallas, TX
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 12-23-2003 09:31 PM

You are welcome to save any seats you like as long as like if YOU hold the tickets for said seat. BUT if I have a sold out auditoriums, patrons who can't find seats, 10 minutes to showtime, and the guy holding 5 seats for his friends cannot produce tickets for the 5 seats, then I "reserve the right to designate where the holder of the ticket may be seated."

In other words, I don't think seat-saving should be permissible if patrons cannot arive on time. When the picture hits the screen, all seats without a butt firmly planted in them should be fair game.

As a matter of fact, as far as I'm concerned, the entrance to the auditorium should close when the feature begins. I HATE [Mad]

it when I'm 5 minutes into the movie, and I can't focus on it because everyone is still doing the seat-shuffle.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

posted 12-23-2003 09:31 PM

Good lord...My thoughs on this would first be...
Why would anyone ever want to go to a Cinemark Theatre in the first place?? They suck!
There is a top notch Independently owned theatre located at Thanksgiving point about 6 miles north on I-15 and another Independently owned location in Pleasant Grove, plus the old twin in downtown American Fork. All three of these other locations are far superior locations to experience a film at. I kknow in fact that any of these three other locations would go so far as to hold a prefered seat or two for you if you asked them to.

Interestingly, and for good reason, the grosses at that new Cinemark are also no where near the grosses of just one of the other locations.
Film done right also includes treating your customers with the respect they deserve!

Reserved seating won't work when films run continously and the new set of customers are on the heels of the ones leaving. It would work fine if show times were spaced out enough though. It might also cause partons who are not used to it to turn around and leave.

Mark @ CLACO

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Paul Cassidy
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 549
From: Auckland, New Zealand
Registered: Aug 2001

posted 12-23-2003 09:46 PM

Here in Auckland there are some theatres that have Reserved seating and numbered seating so you have to sit in the seat assigned , after the movie starts (and the adds start at the advertised start times) seats become available to anyone , so if your not seated at start time then it's everyone to themselves [scream]

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Paul G. Thompson
The Weenie Man

Posts: 4718
From: Mount Vernon WA USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 12-23-2003 11:56 PM

They were cited for disorderly conduct, not saving seats.

Can't side with anyone on this issue whether it be the patrons, management or police....I was not there to witness it.

However, I would lean towards the management and police. Obnoxius customers - I personally will not tolerate them. Never have and never will. Good thing I don't manage a theater. I would throw the obnoxious customers out...in a heartbeat! [Mad]

And I might add, when I closed at night years ago, I HAVE thrown them out.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

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

posted 12-24-2003 12:27 AM

The big crime being committed is the Cinemark theater likely overselling tickets to a show. Any theater worth a damn is going to have a cutoff when sales hit the 85%-90% seat capacity mark.

If the customers had tickets for every empty seat they were holding then they should be able to hold them regardless of people standing in the aisles. Tough shit. Let it be a lesson to the tardy dumbasses to get to the movie on time instead of driving to the theater while the show is in previews. Let it also be a lesson to theater management not to oversell a show. Those left standing should get full refunds on their tickets AND refreshments.

I disagree with a reserved seating policy, unless the reserved seating is had there at the theater when you buy your ticket. I typically show up a good 20 to 30 minutes before showtime. Being early entitles me to a good seat. A theater is going to lose my business quicker than a New York minute if I show up early only to get seats off to the side while all those phoning in orders via credit card show up 10 minutes into the movie to claim those few seats in the "sweet spot" of the auditorium. Screw that.

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Carl Martin
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1424
From: Oakland, CA, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 12-24-2003 04:57 AM

if the tickets are held inside, how will the corresponding customers get in the door?

i don't like reserved seating. i like a system that encourages asses to hit seats early, and discourages latecomers from having to climb over people to get to the midrow seats that they have to sit in.

imagine selling tickets to a busy show where as the seats left dwindle, the time taken to pore over a seating chart, judging distances and sightlines, etc, increases with every customer. much easier to just say, "70% have been sold. are you in or out?"

and if there's no seating chart, the whole thing is just a crapshoot anyways.

when i've attended reserved-seating shows in europe, i've always found that the theater is mostly empty anyways and i've sat wherever the hell i pleased. never been a problem. can't speak from experience for busy shows, though.

carl

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Darryl Spicer
Film God

Posts: 3250
From: Lexington, KY, USA
Registered: Dec 2000

posted 12-24-2003 08:51 AM

quote:
Interestingly, and for good reason, the grosses at that new Cinemark are also no where near the grosses of just one of the other locations.
Film done right also includes treating your customers with the respect they deserve!

I am not against your opinions Mark but don't judge all Cinemarks just on the few you may have been in. There are a lot of well run very good Cinemark locations out there. This location made the mistake of not allowing those seats to be held. They had the tickets so they should be able to save them.
I am assuming you got your gross information from an independent who may have acces from there booker for the information.

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Paul Konen
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 981
From: Frisco, TX. (North of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 12-24-2003 09:29 AM

My theatre will allow saving up to the time that the feature starts. Then they are free game.

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David Stambaugh
Film God

Posts: 4021
From: Eugene, Oregon
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 12-25-2003 12:12 AM

Hmm, Cinemark 17 here seems well-run and usually puts on an acceptable show at the very least, more often very good or excellent. The staff is generally very pleasant. There've been numerous times when I've heard the box office warning late-arriving patrons that the show they want to see is nearly sold out and their seats will likely be near the front.

Perhaps some relevant information is missing from the newpaper's account of the incident.

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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 12-25-2003 01:27 AM

I've got to second Carl's comment-if they had the tickets then how were their friends going to get into the theatre? I suppose one person could have been waiting by the ticket stand and the others in the theatre. If that was the case they should have been allowed to save the seats, at least up until showtime. If they didn't have tickets then I'd side with the management.

And lest we forget it was the POLICE who arrested them, not the management. That might seem like a rather obvious statement but something tells me these people had been acting WAY out of line to manage getting arrested.

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Dave Williams
Wet nipple scene

Posts: 1836
From: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 12-26-2003 05:53 PM

It was the management that insisted that the police do something to the patrons, according to police reports.

I am sure that the persons arriving had thier tickets. However they were part of a group and the tickets were all purchased at the same time. with credit card purchases, a reciept is usually given showing the amount of tickets purchased for that show. It is not known but perhaps maybe she had this as proof?

Regardless, the theater management treated them like crap. Really good customer relations overselling a theater to the point that NO OTHER SEATS were apparently available and other ticket holders had yet to arrive.

As for any seat goes if a but is not firmly planted at show time...

Example why that is bad policy...

Last night I ventured out with guests to see LOTR return of the king at the jordan commons super screen. By the way, the sound was so horrible, the surrounds were popping, it sounded like it was coming out of a tin can, and where the hell was the subwoofer.

Anyway, we arrived fourty five minutes early to get good seats. And we did. Because of my health and weakened state, about ten minutes before show time, it was time for me to do my hourly barfing fest. I could not make it back into the theater until the feature itself had started.

Would you have taken my seats away from me and one of my guests because our butts were not firmly planted? Would it make any difference whether i was in the john because i have no other choice and my guest was making sure I was able to make it their and back, or if I had not arrived yet for whatever reason?

Perhaps I am late because I helped an old lady with her groceries, or was performing open heart surgury, or just perhaps sometimes shit happens and you do the best you can. Would it kill a theater to allow a patron to save a seat for a friend or a loved one without having to spell it out why that person happens to be important to them.

Why is that person not important to the theater? They recieved the money, and even then the theater cares not for them? What does that say about our society when even the fare is paid and still they are raped?

So that those that are not aware, I did not go to the theater sick so don't get any funny ideas about telling me I should have stayed home when I was sick. I sometimes get unexplained bouts of nausia that can lead to puking, it is due to medication. It happens sometimes, and sometimes not. Does that mean I should stay home and not bother taking up someones space?

Theaters should allow patrons to save seats if the person can reasonably prove that tickets were in fact purchased. If the theater got the money, then no butt is needed. The seat was purchased. If I buy three seats, I get three seats, regardless if I have three people or not. If the theater doesn't want my money, then they have a warped sense of commerce.

Dave

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David Stambaugh
Film God

Posts: 4021
From: Eugene, Oregon
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 12-26-2003 08:28 PM

Quoting from Cinemark.com's official e-ticket policy.

quote:
Buying tickets online guarantees your seat [presumably, so does buying tickets at the box office]. The theaters are very careful and do not oversell the auditoriums. The actual sale of tickets stops before all the seats are gone. HOWEVER, we cannot guarantee that all seats will be together. Seating at movie theaters has always been on a first-come, first-serve basis. It is always best to show up to the movie at least 45 minutes to an hour in advance for very popular movies or movies that are labeled as "The #1 Movie In America". This way you can have the best selection of seats. This is especially important on weekends and holidays.

The Cinemarkers here seem to adhere to that "official" policy of not overselling.

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Roger Katz
Film Handler

Posts: 61
From: Thomaston, CT, USA
Registered: Feb 2003

posted 12-26-2003 08:46 PM

45 minutes to an hour in advance??? Why would anyone show up that early? Usually the previous presentation is still showing that far in advance! I typically show up 15 minutes in advance for a movie, and I am usually the first patron in the auditorium.

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