Royally pissed-off customer!

[Mike Blakesley]

This has been an odd couple of weeks. Last week an old(er) guy came to the movie, refused to pick out a reserved seat, so my wife picked it for him, then declared "I'm going to sit right here" in the wrong seat. I said "This seat is reserved for someone else, you'll need to move to your seat which is over there" and it went back and forth for a minute or so, at the end of which he threw his ticket at me and told me I could "stick that ticket in your ass." So I told him he had to sit in the wheelchair row (which is the back row) or he could leave. He finally moved there and that was it.

That was nothing compared to tonight. (I was not there at first, I was at a church meeting, so I got this story from my wife.) Some lady showed up with 3 kids who were out of control crazy. Running up and down the aisles before the show. When the movie started, they settled down in their seats but none of them (including the mom) would SHUT UP. She was one of those narrator moms. "Oh look, there's the pig!" "Oh look, he fell off the boat!" and so on. She was talking more than the kids. So my wife went down and sat behind them for a few minutes to verify that they were the ones yakking. Once verified, she said "You might want to keep the talking down a little, your voices really carry." I know my wife asked nicely, because she never asks anything in a non-nice way.

So this lady completely came unglued at her. "This is a KIDS MOVIE, these are KIDS, don't you tell my kids to be quiet, etc." drawing more attention to herself than anything. This is all taking place in the seats with the movie going on. Finally my wife said "We will talk after the movie" and left her be. Then a couple minutes later the lady came up to our office and started yelling at her again, and calling her a racist. (The lady was Native American.) "You're only singling me out because I'm native, right?" and that kind of thing. "I'm going to tell everyone in town not to come here anymore" and etc etc. She also stated she was going to ask other people after the show if they'd been disruptive or not.

I'm surprised my wife didn't tell her to take her kids and get out, but she got her to go sit back down. I arrived about 10 minutes before the show ended. Sure enough, at the end of the movie she came out in the lobby asking people if they had been disruptive. Another lady in the crowd (a friend of ours) stepped up and said "Yes, you WERE being noisy all through the show!" so then she started yelling at her and calling HER a racist.

Eventually we all just sort of backed her out the door with "Sorry you had a bad time, thanks for coming" and stuff like that. The lady friend of ours stayed back for a couple of minutes while we thanked her for stepping up to our defense.

We figured it was all over. But then friend called my wife up about ten minutes later saying this lady had followed her in her car. So they drove all over town "looking at Christmas lights" until the lady gave up and left. So our friend called the cops, who came down to the theater and got all the details from us. After that, my wife went home without incident. I stayed behind to do the week's bookwork since it's Thursday.

The angry customer then went home and gave us a "one-star" review on Google but didn't write any words.

I recognized the person's name from her review... turned out she had booked a private show about 6 months ago and in my notes for that show, I had written "Unruly kids, left a huge mess." So I called the cops back and gave them that information.

So, I think we got out of it fairly well, considering everything. Some people are just nuts these days. What's weird was, we went through last weekend with several huge crowds and not one single problem. Tonight we had 24 people and it was this big shit-show. Well, that's show biz.

[Frank Cox]

I had a woman similar to that but not quite as nuts a while back. I asked her to either be quiet or turn off her cell phone (I can't remember which) and she came out five minutes later and said, "I didn't appreciate you talking to me like that." I said, "I just asked you to follow the rules." Then just like she was pulling out a magic wand, she sort of smiled and said "Your a racist!".

I threw her and her kid out and haven't seen them since. But just the way she said "Racist" it seemed like she used really thought it was abracadabra and she would then be allowed to do whatever she wanted to.

That's the first time I've dealt with someone like that and it was definitely an unpleasant experience.

[Mike Blakesley]

My favorite one was some years ago. It was some lady with a phone, she had her feet up on the seat in front of her and her phone propped up on her knees, so the whole crowd could see it. This was before it was common for people to dim their phones.

I went down and told her she had to shut her phone off. She did. Then a few minutes later she came out to the lobby, accused me of "screaming" at her (I did have to raise my voice somewhat as the movie was loud at that moment) and she said she was going to call my boss and get me fired. I said, "Tell you what, I'll give you his number!" Then she said "I want you to promise you won't yell at me like that again." I said, "If you keep your phone shut off, I won't talk to you at all." I haven't seen her again. Probably home binging Netflix.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Mike,

You may want to add a Behavior Policy in your General Policy section on your web site, a ten second on screen clip. IE: Unruly and Loud Customers will be asked once to quiet down. If the unruliness continues then you will be asked to leave the premises. Also hang up a small sign in the lobby. this would display the message in two places, and should alleviate you of any "unruly people" lawsuits... it gives them fair warning. The theater in Hardin, which I think is closed now, also had issues with natives from time to time. Hardin is literally right next to the Crow reservation.

[Mike Blakesley]

She actually took down the "one star" Google review today. I don't know if she read the other reviews (almost all are five-star) or talked to her friends or what, but it's also possible she is cuing up something else. Guess we'll see, but we have a lot of customers and a few friends from the reservation, almost all repeat customers, and they are treated like family when they come in, just like anyone else is. They drive anywhere from 40 to 80 miles to get here, so we don't take their patronage lightly. So if she tries to raise up some kind of protest against us, she probably won't get far.

[James Wyrembelski]

I know it shouldn't be a customer's job, but I do wish more public shaming would happen. Would stop a lot of disruptive behavior if not only the business said something but the entire room as well. (It's also nice to know customers have your back). Gets the point across firmly that NO one is enjoying your behavior and it isn't appropriate.

There have been a few times here where I've had disruptive kids or phone users during a particularly busy night. Since I couldn't get to the row in question I just shined the flashlight from the rear of the auditorium on the offending party. Usually the spotlight and embarrassment gives a pretty quick hint to knock it off and it works.

[Randy Stankey]

In any debate, resorting to ad hominem attacks is a sign that a person has no other planks to stand on. In such a case, you can ignore the other person's unreasonable claim and forge ahead. Don't acknowledge what they said. Just keep your cool and proceed.

"Excuse me. I asked you to either sit down and be quiet or else you are welcome to leave."

The other person might become even more irate but that's okay. There are other people watching. Let the person make an ass of them self. Public humiliation can be a strong de-motivator if played right. The secret is to stand firm, be reasonable and don't argue or even raise your voice. Let them scream and make as much noise as they want. Do not react. That's what they want you to do. They are trying to bait you into a fight. If you take the bait, you will be the one who looks like an idiot. If you keep your cool, it is they who become the idiot. When the other person realizes that they are making a fool of themselves in public, they will, most likely, quiet down or leave. In either case, you have gotten what you want.

Look at it this way: When somebody plays the race card, it's because they have lost the argument. You win!

[Leo Enticknap]

Amen to the last sentence above.

Thankfully, when I worked in movie theaters themselves (as distinct from visiting them as a service tech), it was only very rarely that I had to interact with customers directly, and then only if there was a specific complaint about the picture or sound. But I did get caught up in a few altercations in the past, including when soccer fans (who supported a rival team to the one depicted in the movie) got horrendously drunk, started a pitched battle, and trashed the bar during the run of Fever Pitch, and I ended up having to escort other staff through the booth and down the back staircase while several minibus loads of police in riot gear dealt with the yobs. I also remember a private rental screening of The Dam Busters to celebrate the 75th birthday of someone who took part in the raid, which attracted a protest of 10-20 people outside the entrance, who believed that it was racist (presumably triggered by the infamous black labrador in the movie) and promoted colonialism. I feel a bit queasy about that film, too (especially that it fails to mention the thousands of innocent civilian casualties the raid inflicted, including forced slave laborers who drowned in the flooded German factories), but no way would I have tried to ruin the birthday celebration of someone who was fighting for his life and liberty, and in good faith, when he took part in the operation.

[Armand Daiguillon]

Listen .... a very large percentage of customers are horrible. They just are. lol - its nice to have a place to bitch about them and get it all out though isn't it ?
One of my favorite things to say is "AMC is up the road .... feel free to go there". I do not care about losing an annoying customer as a customer, in the long run its better for you.

[Mike Blakesley]

Well it's been over a week since the original incident and so far, no backlash on social media or bad review on Google. And, we had a couple of private shows over the last weekend with some Native families and they all had a great time and said they wanted to do it again. There definitely are some horrible customers, but the vast majority are decent. I suppose that's helped by the small-town thing -- if you behave like a jerk, soon everyone will know about it!

[Randy Stankey]

I had an incident, once, where a guy wanted me to give him a free show because, one day before, he walked into the theater when nobody was looking and watched a movie without buying a ticket. He thought that was license for him to come and go as he pleased.

I didn't make an issue about him getting a free show, already, but I had to stand firm on giving him another. The guy just wouldn't let it go!

Finally, after several minutes of explaining and hassling, I had to just say, "I'm sorry but no." When he wouldn't take no for an answer I had to just turn my back and walk away. I went up to the booth/office, checked the projector then just sat for ten minutes before coming back to the lobby. I expected him to be waiting for me but, luckily, he left.

Sometimes, people are jerks and, in such cases, when people are being rude, it is not considered rude to say, "I'm sorry" and turn your back.

I wish it didn't happen like that but there are times when you have to draw the line and stand on it.

[Mike Blakesley]

One strange thing that happened to me was, I went to church one Sunday and my sister was there, and she introduced me to this new friend of hers. The friend said "I came to the movie one night, but there was nobody taking tickets so I just went in and sat down." I said "did you ever get a ticket?" and she said, "No I just watched the movie and left." I was kind of flabbergasted...I didn't want to demand payment from her then and there since it was long after the fact, but I didn't want to let her get away with it either. I just kept expecting her to offer to pay, but she didn't. So I let it drop.

I'm not sure why the ticket window was unoccupied but it does happen sometimes. It was probably a slow night with my wife not being there, and some random thing happens that I have to go fix, so I put up the "please wait here, back in a minute" sign. I can't believe the person didn't wait, or else stop by after the movie and offer to pay, but you know......people. I don't think she's been back since then either.

[Randy Stankey]

Isn’t it funny how people can admit, in public, that they stole something, all the while standing in a church?

Isn’t there a Commandment about that?

[Bobby Henderson]

I think much of the general public has let their sense of social manners go into atrophy. Well, that goes for people old enough to have been taught social skills. They've let their shit slip. The youngest ones apparently haven't been taught manners in the first place. They're being raised by electronic devices rather than actual functioning parents. Public outbursts in a movie theater lobby can't be too surprising. At least the jerk isn't trying to shoot up the place.

I believe a lot of this comes from the increasing levels of social isolation spreading across our society. People go to work/school, then go home and then do the bulk of their "socializing" virtually online. Doing that is no substitute for talking to people in person.

This stuff didn't start with social media. Behavioral norms online went bad soon after the Internet was first established. Usenet newsgroups were filled with people saying things to other participants they wouldn't dare say to someone's face in person without expecting a punch in the face. Social media only allowed things like trolling, cyber-bullying and other forms of rudeness to be spread more efficiently.

Bad habits of behavior online are spreading into the real world. I think too many people aren't practiced enough in using that brain-mouth filter and are more prone to acting on verbal impulses (or even physical impulses).

We also have this newer syndrome where some people, particularly kids and young adults, just do not want to be around other people in person at all. If everyone else is a festering asshole can you blame them? But embracing isolation leads to all sorts of bad outcomes. Isolation is bad for mental and physical health. A person can't practice and develop their "soft skills" unless they're willing to be around other people. Many kinds of jobs require good soft skills, especially anything in sales or business management.

I think the situation is bad enough that it would not surprise me at all if K-12 schools had to start teaching kids social skills.

Public humiliation can be a strong de-motivator if played right.

That only works if the person in question is a normal human being rather than a someone with deviant narcissist tendencies or a full-on sociopath. In either case it's difficult for such people to feel shame or embarrassment. A sense of empathy is required in order for someone to experience those feelings. Their only reaction to public humiliation may either be nothing or rage.

[Frank Cox]

it would not surprise me at all if K-12 schools had to start teaching kids social skills

That used to be done at finishing schools, though they more or less went away in the 1960's.

Maybe we need to bring them back.