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An afternoon at the movies

by Ryan Shell on November 1, 2009

It’s humiliating to admit this to you, but I went to go see “Michael Jackson’s: This is It” Sunday afternoon and got kicked out of the theatre.

Why?

Let me just take you through the scenario. My phone was on vibrate and I received a call so I took the phone out of my right coat pocket and held it down close to my hip and cleared out the call (second nature to do this). A minute or so later my phone started to vibrate again indicating I received a voicemail. Like the first time I pulled out the phone and held it down by my hip and cleared the voicemail so it would stop vibrating.

Shortly after the second instance a guy walked up the steps to where I was sitting and said, “Sir, please step outside for a moment.” I was a bit confused, but I obliged. As we got towards the exit door he informed me of the theatres no cell phone in theatre’s policy and told me that I would have to leave.

I was shocked to say the least!

I told the manager that I had no clue of the policy and was in no way trying to be a nuisance. He said it didn’t matter and that I had to leave. As I continued to question the policy he informed me that they have signs posted and that they are clearly visible. As it turns out they do have signs posted in three places:

  • Front door
  • Banner near the “ticket taker” stand
  • Plaque on the right side of the theatre entrance

I don’t know about you, but I really can’t think of the last time I read a sign in a theater. They put stuff everywhere and it’s typically sensory overload. Take note of the fact I didn’t highlight a mention of the policy on the movie screen prior to the movie. Given how extreme the theatre enforces this policy it should be illustrated with a big flashing stop sign with the words, “Use your cell phone during this movie and you will be kicked out – no exceptions!” on the big screen prior to the movie starting.

Simply putting up signs in hopes that customers will notice them is not satisfactory in my opinion.

If the manager informed me of the policy and I repeated “the offense” later in the movie I would be able to better understand being kicked out. That wasn’t the case though.

Before leaving I questioned the manager and he said that if they even see a light from a phone that you will be asked to leave. His instructions were to get up and walk outside to check your phone – no matter what it is for. Imagine how annoying it would be if the theatre was packed and people constantly got up to go outside to check their phones. Wonder what they do to people that talk during movies or make noise with candy wrappers… yikes!

I fully believe in policies and their enforcement, but how you make customers aware of those polices is extremely important.

Notes:

There were less than 25 people in attendance and there were only five people sitting higher than I was.

For anyone living in Greensboro, NC the theatre in question is The Grand 18 by Four Seasons Town Center. Avoid it unless you would like to subject yourself to this type of customer service.

There was less than 20 minutes left in the movie.

I asked if I could exit and re-enter so that I could watch the end of the movie. The answer was no.

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About the Author

Marketing & PR pro. Social media user, cyclist, inline speed skater, volunteer, blogger, public speaker. Founded Fashables. Work at Ketchum. And I’m goofy.

  • http://www.dianerish.com Diane Rish

    What a ridiculous policy! I will definitely avoid it. Netflix is sounding better all the time, even if you have to wait to see the movie.

  • http://www.greensboro101.com Roch101

    Yeah! A theater that is serious about keeping jerks from interfering with my enjoyment of the movie. I haven’t been there yet, but I will definitely patronize them the first chance I get.

  • Ryan Shell

    The exact comment I’d expect from you Roch.

  • John

    On one side, I DO understand the need to enforce this type of policy. I have seem people carrying on full conversations on their phones during the movies. Even more distracting, is the darn flashing lights on the blue tooth earbuds. I have two cell phones that I have with me almost all the time. When I go into the theater, the first thing I do is just shut off the darn things; and not just silence/put on vibrate. This way there is no way I will be accused of bothering anyone.

    The other point is that with the current cell phones; I am sure that there are people trying to make “bootlegs” of the movies, using their phones (how sad). Because of this type of theft: many theaters are fighting back with these policies. My suggestion is to do as I mentioned above; or better yet, just to leave the phone at home or in your car.

    Although I DO believe you were handled poorly, and that they could have done things better: I can understand why they have the policy. I hope that they at least gave you your money back.

  • Ryan Shell

    John,

    You make good points. Having a full blown conversation while in the theatre is obnoxious as is the bluetooth light. I understand why the policy is in place, but I think they went a bit overboard.

    From a public relations/customer service standpoint, had the manager informed me of the policy I would have sat back down, left my phone in my coat pocket and you’d have never heard a peep about the incident.

    I’ve defended this theatre when friends would talk about it being a shady place due to the recent shooting, but I will NEVER go to bat for them again. They not only lost a customer, but an advocate.

    And John, I can’t imagine that it is overly comforting for parents to go to the movies and turn off their phones knowing that an emergency could come up with their kids.

    Ryan

  • Curious Bystander

    “Simply putting up signs in hopes that customers will notice them is not satisfactory in my opinion.”

    So its the theater’s fault that you can’t read a sign. Do you bitch about handicap spaces also because Simply putting up signs in hopes that drivers will notice them is not satisfactory in your opinion?

    the nerve of that theater to put up signs and actually expect people to read them….

  • Ryan Shell

    Simply,

    Thanks for the comment. My thought is that if you are going to have a rule that is so severe that notifications should be coming out of the woodwork. At a minimum the notification should be on the screen prior to the movie starting.

    Your handicap sign really doesn’t make sense to me. Thos spots are clearly labeled by having a handicap sign painted on the ground (most of the time) as well as the sign in front of the spot. It’s clearly visible and I believe most of the signs also say “$250 penalty” or something like that.

    Theatres typically have signs posted everywhere, and maybe I’m strange, but I typically don’t read them because they tend to be promotions and things that don’t interest me.

    Ryan

  • John

    I agree totally, Ryan. And besides: when you take your driver’s licence test; you need to know the “handi-capped” symbol, and what it is for; don’t you. I think that there was a song from the 60′s or such saying

    “Sign, sign, everywhere a sign. Blocking the scenery; breaking my mind. Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?”

    So appropriate for this case, don’t you think? ;)

    Again, I am on your side with this. The management definately went over-board with their action. Probably some “pimple faced” wanna-be someone (but aint) kid…who was just “flexing” his managerial muscles. Your doing the right thing. Post it…tell about it…boycot it in every way you can. In some areas, you might even be able to get the media involved…and perhaps get your money back as well. At least it is worth a try.:D

  • Pingback: “Afternoon at the Movies” Continued – Even more Obnoxious | Ryan Shell.com

  • http://chosenfast.com/ cm

    Ryan, when I saw “The Soloist” — a pretty intense film — the guys in the row ahead of me checked their phones and/or texted constantly throughout the movie. They didn’t make any noise, but that didn’t matter. In a dark theater, the bright light of a mobile phone screen is a distraction. And frustrating and annoying.

    I suspect that the theater management at Four Seasons has heard similar complaints — over and over again. So they put up warning signs, which you’ve acknowledged were visible when you walk in the front door, when you hand an attendant your ticket, and at the entrance to the theater. And yet, some theater patrons — including you — ignore the signs and the rules.

    I don’t understand why you’re publicly disrespecting this movie theater because you were held accountable for not following the rules. But I agree with Roch: Your post makes me MORE likely to patronize their theater. They did the right thing. You didn’t. Choices have consequences. I’m disappointed in your reaction, and in this post. I wouldn’t have expected it from you.

  • Ryan Shell

    CM,

    Hold up. I said I saw the signs AFTER they were pointed out. Prior to going in to the theatre I had no clue that they were up or that such a strict policy was in existence. I wasn’t ignoring the signs as you said in your comment.

    Again, there were a total of five people behind me and I was being very discrete and my phone was out prob a total of 20 seconds the entire 1.5 hrs I was in the theatre.

    Ryan

    Ryan

  • http://chosenfast.com/ cm

    Ryan, if you went back and saw the signs after, then that means that they were visible before. And you said, “I don’t know about you, but I really can’t think of the last time I read a sign in a theater.” Which sounds to me like you wouldn’t have read the signs anyway.

    And it doesn’t matter if there were two people or two thousand people in the theater. A rule is a rule. You don’t get to run red lights late at night just because there are less cars on the road.

    Stop trying to justify and call the dude at the theater and apologize. Honestly, I think you’ll feel better about it if you do. And I know you have it in you. :)

  • http://chosenfast.com/ cm

    P.S. God makes me apologize to people all the time. Which means, obviously, that I do dumb stuff, too. ;)

  • Pingback: Cell phone carriers should offer text message away messages | Ryan Shell.com

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