8 Lessons I Learned From Being Movie Theater Employee

8 Lessons I Learned From Being Movie Theater Employee

Because we want you to have a good experience, but so do we.
Katherine Kirby
Katherine Kirby Jul 18, 2016
1786
views

Working at the movie theater is harder work than most people would realize. Depending on the type of job you do, it starts a minimum wage with some room for improvement. We work for five to nine hours each day and we are there (like most jobs) with small times to sit. As a theater employee, there are some rules or lessons its seems some moviegoers overlook whenever they come.

Here are some ways to help make the movie theater a better place:

1. Have respect.

As employees, we try our hardest to keep the utmost respect for our customers. Sometimes we encounter customers who do not show us the same courtesy as we show them. We do realize that you are the main reason we have our jobs, but sometimes it feels like we don not exist. A simple "hello" when we rip your tickets or "thank you" when we hold the door would make us feel like we do our job better.

2. Be patient.

We realize you have places to be and people to see. We also know sometimes we cannot rush what we're doing. Whenever you buy your tickets, half of the job relies on a computer that may or may not work promptly. At concessions, a machine could be malfunctioning, and everyone is using one slushie machine for hundreds of people. Humans will be humans. We all make mistakes every once in a while; they might just be in front of a customer.

3. Please know what you want when you get in line.

We see hundreds, maybe close to a thousand people every day depending on the day of the week and the theater. With this being said, it becomes harder to serve everyone in a suitable manner when we have to wait five minutes to get your correct concessions order or purchase the right tickets. Not only is it easier on us as an employee, but it also helps fellow customers get to where they need to be on time too.

4. If you have an opinion about what we're promoting, please do not throw it in our faces.

As a company, places like AMC and Cinemark send the required setup for the theaters, and we build and set out what they give us. We do not get to choose what we put on display. I repeat, we do not get to choose what we put on display. We would love to hear what you have to say about your day or how your movie was, but please do not tell us what we're promoting is wrong.

5. We cannot change the company policies.

Many times, people will go up to an employee and ask why we can or cannot do something. When we tell them it's company policy, most of them seem to huffy and mad. As a minimum wage (or maybe a little more) paid employee, we are not allowed to traipse around the theater and follow or change rules as we see fit. We follow a set of guidelines just like any other place of business. If you have a problem with how we run it, our managers are always happy to speak to you and see if changes can be made.

6. If you are under 17, please don't try to sneak into the movie theater.

As an employee, we hate having to I.D. everyone just as much as you hate being I.D.'ed. If you are under 17, we will catch you. Where I work, on opening night we can have as many as four checkpoints to look at your I.D. We look when you buy your ticket, when we rip your ticket at the front podium, when you go to side podium to make sure you're on the right side of the theater, and then we have one more person standing in front of the theater for the beginning of the showing. Again, we will catch you if we see you sneak in.

7. We don't make the prices.

When you come to the movie theater, please don't outrightly complain about how much your movie costs to us. As employees, we do not set the prices for how much your movie will cost, if fact, no one in our theater does. Our company gives us the price we have to sell our tickets at and we sell them. It is also the same with concessions. We have no power over how much you spend at the movies.

8. When you leave the theater, take your trash!

I know your mothers raised you better than that. We understand when you accidentally spill your popcorn or drink as you sit down. I'll be the first person to admit I am the clumsiest person in my family when we go to the movies. What we do not get is the people who purposely leave their trash on the floor because the "maid service" comes behind you to pick it up. Especially the people who bring outside food. Please don't leave your Chick-Fil-A bag on the floor after the movie is over because it's one more thing to carry. Ushers need to be cherished because you should see what theaters look like after opening day of a kids movie. I believe it closely resembles this:

The only difference is this is one of the 20 to 30 rows in each theater, and they all look the same.

Even though some days are tough, I do love my job. I've made some friends and have a job to come back to during breaks and vacations. Also, I'm pretty sure free movies and half-off concessions were never negative things.

Cover Image Credit: USA Fire Arm Training
Katherine Kirby
Katherine Kirby Jul 18, 2016
At Abilene Christian University

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​An Open Letter To The People Who Don’t Tip Their Servers

This one's for you.
Hailea Shallock
Hailea Shallock May 11, 2017
1496471
views

Dear Person Who Has No Idea How Much The 0 In The “Tip:" Line Matters,

I want to by asking you a simple question: Why?

Is it because you can't afford it? Is it because you are blind to the fact that the tip you leave is how the waiter/waitress serving you is making their living? Is it because you're just lazy and you “don't feel like it"?

Is it because you think that, while taking care of not only your table but at least three to five others, they took too long bringing you that side of ranch dressing? Or is it just because you're unaware that as a server these people make $2.85 an hour plus TIPS?

The average waiter/waitress is only supposed to be paid $2.13 an hour plus tips according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

That then leaves the waiter/waitress with a paycheck with the numbers **$0.00** and the words “Not a real paycheck." stamped on it. Therefore these men and women completely rely on the tips they make during the week to pay their bills.

So, with that being said, I have a few words for those of you who are ignorant enough to leave without leaving a few dollars in the “tip:" line.

Imagine if you go to work, the night starts off slow, then almost like a bomb went off the entire workplace is chaotic and you can't seem to find a minute to stop and breathe, let alone think about what to do next.

Imagine that you are helping a total of six different groups of people at one time, with each group containing two to 10 people.

Imagine that you are working your ass off to make sure that these customers have the best experience possible. Then you cash them out, you hand them a pen and a receipt, say “Thank you so much! It was a pleasure serving you, have a great day!"

Imagine you walk away to attempt to start one of the 17 other things you need to complete, watch as the group you just thanked leaves, and maybe even wave goodbye.

Imagine you are cleaning up the mess that they have so kindly left behind, you look down at the receipt and realize there's a sad face on the tip line of a $24.83 bill.

Imagine how devastated you feel knowing that you helped these people as much as you could just to have them throw water on the fire you need to complete the night.

Now, realize that whenever you decide not to tip your waitress, this is nine out of 10 times what they go through. I cannot stress enough how important it is for people to realize that this is someone's profession — whether they are a college student, a single mother working their second job of the day, a new dad who needs to pay off the loan he needed to take out to get a safer car for his child, your friend, your mom, your dad, your sister, your brother, you.

If you cannot afford to tip, do not come out to eat. If you cannot afford the three alcoholic drinks you gulped down, plus your food and a tip do not come out to eat.

If you cannot afford the $10 wings that become half-off on Tuesdays plus that water you asked for, do not come out to eat.

If you cannot see that the person in front of you is working their best to accommodate you, while trying to do the same for the other five tables around you, do not come out to eat. If you cannot realize that the man or woman in front of you is a real person, with their own personal lives and problems and that maybe these problems have led them to be the reason they are standing in front of you, then do not come out to eat.

As a server myself, it kills me to see the people around me being deprived of the money that they were supposed to earn. It kills me to see the three dollars you left on a $40 bill. It kills me that you cannot stand to put yourself in our shoes — as if you're better than us. I wonder if you realize that you single-handedly ruined part of our nights.

I wonder if maybe one day you will be in our shoes, and I hope to God no one treats you how you have treated us. But if they do, then maybe you'll realize how we felt when you left no tip after we gave you our time.

Cover Image Credit: Hailea Shallock
Hailea Shallock
Hailea Shallock May 11, 2017
At West Chester University

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Let's Talk More About Lori Laughlin Facing Up To 20 Years In Prison When Brock Turner Got 6 Months

And he was released three months early for 'good behavior'... after sexually assaulting an unconscious girl behind a dumpster.

Ella Lucente
Ella Lucente Apr 23, 2019
4782
views

To start, Lori Laughlin messed up royally, and I don't condone her actions.

If you live under a rock and are unaware of what happened to the "Full House" star, here's the tea:

Lori Laughlin and husband Mossimo Giannulli — and like 50 other celebrity parents — were found guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud, and paid a $1 million bail on conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and honest services fraud. You don't need to know what these mean except that she paid $500,000 to get her two daughters, Bella and Olivia Jade Giannulli.

I know you're wondering why they did it — tbh I am too — however, these parents paid the University of Southern California to give admission to her daughters in through the rowing team on campus, despite neither one of them actually playing the sport ever in their life.

Yeah, Aunt Becky messed up and should face punishment, but why is she facing up 20 years when men like Brock Turner are sentenced only six months for raping an unconscious woman behind a dumpster at Stanford?

I hate to bring up the gender card, but I'm pulling it: Why is Lori Laughlin — a woman who with bad judgement who used money to give an upper-hand to her entitled daughters — face more prison time than a man who willingly raped a woman who wasn't in a right state of mine (or any at all!) behind a dumpster of all places.

The answer? Because the system is a mess.

Yeah, Aunt Becky paid for her daughters to get into a school, giving disadvantages to students actually deserving and wanting to attend a college. Her act was immoral, and ultimately selfish, but it doesn't even compare to what Brock Turner did, and it doesn't even effect others as much his rape survivor.

The most that will happen to the Giannulli girls is an expulsion and a temporary poor reputation, however, Emily Doe (the alias of the survivor) will feel the consequences of the attack forever.

There should have been a switch:

Lori Laughlin and the Target guy should have had to pay other students tuition/student debt while facing prison time, while Brock Turner should have had to face over 20 years with more consequences.

But, that'll never happen because our system sucks and society is rigged. I guess our society would prefer a rapist walking around more so a woman who made a poor choice by paying for her daughters to go to a college.

Ella Lucente
Ella Lucente Apr 23, 2019
At University of Washington

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