As someone who has worked at a movie theater for over 3 years, here are a few things everyone should know before they come to the movies:
Double check that you've looked at the correct theater website or newspaper times.
This is a big one. Make sure that you've looked at your theater's official website for showtimes, pricing, deals, and other information. There are third party websites, like Fandango or Movie Tickets, that list showtimes for many theaters, but they are not always correct. It will save you and the employee in box office time and effort if you look at the official theater website. Nothing is worse than being blamed for wrong showtimes, when you haven't even looked at the correct website.
Know the name and time of your show.
We've all been stuck behind someone who doesn't know what they want to see. It wastes time when you haven't decided on a movie, and it holds up the line. If you don't know what you want to see, step off to the side and let the customers who do know what they want go ahead of you. Do not ask us what each movie is about, especially if we're in the middle of a rush. And please, know the time of the movie you want. If it's a popular movie, chances are that we have shows at least every half hour. If you don't specify your time, we will give you the showtime closest to the time of your purchase.
Do not complain about prices.
Yes, we know movie prices have gone up. Yes, we know it's expensive to bring your whole family to see a movie. But, no employee wants to hear you rant about how bad our ticket or concession prices are. The movie studios take over 75 percent of our ticket sales, and concession is the only place we make money. We are well aware of our prices, and we hear complaints every day. Spare us the trouble, and keep these thoughts to yourself.
We know when you sneak into an R-rated movie.
If you're going to try to sneak into an R-rated movie, at least try to be stealthy about it. All too often, it's the same group of kids who try to sneak into R-rated movies, and trust me we know who you are. We keep an eye out for you when you enter our theater and are ready to kick you out of a theater you're not supposed to be in. Also, if you're at the box office trying to buy for an R-rated movie with no ID and then decide to see something else, we send staff to that R-rated theater to make sure you don't go in there. Even if you think we don't know, we do know.
We will put a lot of ice in your drink if you're rude to us in concession.
We're trying to get your food and drinks as fast as we can. When we ask you about your order, we're just trying to make sure we get it 100 percent right. Sometimes we don't hear what you say. All the machines make a ton of noise, and it's a constant battle to hear what you say. Sometimes we miss an item. Sometimes we fill your cup with the wrong drink. We're human, and we make mistakes. We do not like to be treated like we're incompetent, so, if you undermine us, do not be surprised if you get a lot of ice in your drink.
Have your money ready.
This one should be obvious. After you tell us your movie choice or concession order, do not pull out your wallet, count your money, count your coins, and put the money on the counter. It holds up the line. Make sure you have your money in your hand when you come up to the counter and hand us that money when you're done ordering.
Don't be disruptive during the movie.
Why did you spend your money on tickets and concession if you're just going to run around the theater, have sexual relations, or talk the whole time? Don't ruin the movie for the others around you. If you need to talk, go into the lobby or don't see the movie at all. It's more of a hassle for customers to leave their movie, complain to us about you, and make us quiet you down or ask you to leave. This isn't your living room, so please be quiet during the movie. Some theaters have a policy that if you are kicked out for being disruptive, you will not receive a refund.
If something is wrong with the movie, tell us.
We have staff that check the theaters every 15-20 minutes to make sure everything is running smoothly. But, that doesn't mean that we catch every problem. If the projection isn't right, if it's hot or cold, or if there are customers interrupting the movie, please tell us. If we don't catch it ourselves, you have to let us know or else the problem won't be resolved.
Pick up your trash.
I get that it's the staff's job to clean up any messes left behind in the theater, but this isn't your house. We don't mean that you need to pick up every piece of popcorn that you dropped. Help us out a bit by taking your popcorn bags, soda or Icee cups, and other large items with you and throwing them in the trash cans inside the theaters. Like I said, it is our job to clean up any trash inside the theater, but it's not very nice to just leave everything you bought where you sat. (As a side note, don't make a huge mess on purpose. It's rude, and we will remember you.)
If your kids can't behave, don't bring them.
This one should really be self explanatory. If you're not sure that your kids can behave during the movie, do not bring them. And if you do decide to take them to a movie, please remove them from the theater if they start to scream or cry. Be courteous of the other customers in the theater. As an employee, we do not want to have to tell you to take your kid outside or leave the theater. We want everyone to enjoy their movie without any issues.
