So yesterday we decided to brave the holiday crowds at the theatre to see “Night At the Museum.” The movie is fantastic and thoroughly enjoyable, and I’d go again in a heartbeat, but the service and volume of people were atrocious. Long lines were evidence that kids are out of school and apparently a lot of parents are on vacation breaks as well. The 2:30 matinee that we attended, already had two full waiting lines 45 minutes before showtime and that was just for one of the 25 movies playing at that theatre. Yes, it was like ants on an anthill. But what blew my mind was the lack of staff and accommodations for the crowds. There were only two ticket windows open for a line that wrapped around the side of the building (thankfully, we bought our tickets earlier) and there was only a few staff at the concessions counter as well.

A note to all those attending movies when crowds are high: DON’T save an entire row or two of seats with only two people present. This is just plain rude and annoying to everyone. I understand wanting to sit together, and I even give credit for being one of those that come a full hour or more early to wait in line for a seat, but regardless the majority of the group should always be present for their seats. Only a few people should be going in “shifts” to concessions and restrooms. As one who sat in front of just such a “group” I got the pleasant experience of listening to the wrath of countless people who assumed that there must be a couple of seats available for all those vacant spots only to learn that a couple people were saving them all. It makes people cranky and it’s not fun to listen to the cursing and heated responses for a half hour, especially with your two children at your side. Further, if you must save 8 or more seats with only a couple people - split it out over a couple of rows. It’s less noticeable, easier to manage and courteous.

Secondly, a note to the owners and managers of theatres: Accommodate high traffic with appropriate staff. Not just appropriate numbers….appropriate staff. My husband waited in a line at the concessions for one bag of popcorn, one bag of candy and two drinks for 30 minutes. I’m not exaggerating - a half hour. The show was beginning by the time he returned. When he told me about it later I was frustrated for him - the cashier took 2-3 full minutes to walk the entire stretch of the counter 6 times to make kid’s packs ONE AT A TIME. At least fast food places have figured out that the way to accommodate people is to have an assembly line and that they all work to feed the orders back to the cashier and customer. And come on, it’s not like any of these guys have to cook anything - it’s prepackaged candy, soda fountains and popcorn. Further, the additional concession stands were closed. It was like the whole theatre was running off the normal “day” staff even though it’s a holiday week with nighttime crowds.

Wouldn’t it be nice to go to a theatre where there was courteous and competant staff, clean restrooms and no fighting over seats? A movie theatre where you could pay for your seat ahead of time and know exactly where it would be? Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to wait more than a few minutes to buy a bag of popcorn and drink? Wouldn’t it be nice if you knew they cared enough to keep tabs on any discourteous or disrupting behaviors during the show? I think it would be heavenly and I’d be willing to pay extra to enjoy these courtesies. If I had the resources I’d love to start a theatre just to show the way things should be done. It’s not rocket science, it’s common sense.

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