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Author Topic: Rant on feet on seats Louis Belloisy Expert Film Handler Posts: 120 From: morris, ct usa Registered: Jun 2006 posted 08-24-2008 03:08 PM                        We have three theaters with fairly new seats. One of my pet peeves is patrons with their feet on the seat tops in front of them. 90 percent of patrons that do this are young girls, although I have found a few instances of older women with their feet up. Older women must have a problem getting their feet that high. Most time, the young girls have bare feet and its really disgusting. When warned they take offense. I have had several turn me in to management for being rude. I do say please, although it kills me to do so. In one of our theaters, some group had pushed so hard on the seats in front of them that they distorted 4 seats and bent them forward. Most of our young staff see nothing wrong with this and are hesitant to tell the patron to remove their feet. Most times the staff know the young patron. And while I am ranting. Doing a theater check a few months back, i caught a young guy trying to set fire to the bottom of a seat, and the sad part of it was that he was trying to set fire to the seat he was sitting on. We have to be so careful in dealing with these kids, because they will come back and do damage. So far, they have set fire to the building and broken several thousand dollar windows and put graffiti on the all external walls. how do you guys handle this? Louis  |  IP: Logged Jeremy Weigel Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1062 From: Edmond, OK, USA Registered: Mar 2007 posted 08-24-2008 03:14 PM                     quote: Louis Belloisy Most of our young staff see nothing wrong with this and are hesitant to tell the patron to remove their feet. Most times the staff know the young patron. Our ushers get the task of cleaning the seat backs and as such most don't take kindly to people putting their feet up.  |  IP: Logged Galen Murphy-Fahlgren Master Film Handler Posts: 405 From: Canton, MI, USA Registered: Oct 2007 posted 08-24-2008 06:40 PM                     I can top that (not the arson part though). The other day, I looked down through the porthole during the preshow and saw one of the idiot floor staffers with his feet on the seat in front of him! I have previously taken issue with this buffoon, so to prevent bloodshed, I had the manager go yell at him in the half full auditorium in front of several of his friends (one of whom is also employed at the theater). As the principle repairer of anything and everything in my theater, including seats, I take a dim view on such behavior. If I had the authority to do so, I would've written this kid up.  |  IP: Logged Bill Enos Film God Posts: 2081 From: Richmond, Virginia, USA Registered: Apr 2000 posted 08-24-2008 07:08 PM                     Same problems here, too bad we can't just shoot the bastards, probably wouldn't have to shoot more than 3 or 4 and they would stop.  |  IP: Logged Galen Murphy-Fahlgren Master Film Handler Posts: 405 From: Canton, MI, USA Registered: Oct 2007 posted 08-24-2008 08:17 PM                     Bill, I like your solution. Simple yet effective. Think it would work as well for cell phones?  |  IP: Logged Marc Hansen Film Handler Posts: 93 From: Seattle, WA, USA Registered: Dec 2000 posted 08-24-2008 08:45 PM                     Don't forget to leave the dead body hanging in front of the theater as a warning to others.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-24-2008 08:54 PM                        Feet-on-seats is a problem that simply will not go away. When we put in new seats a few years ago, we took out two rows and spread the seats apart more -- partly to increase legroom, but also to make it less comfortable to put feet up. The legroom is now great, but the kids just slouch down far enough to put their feet up.  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 08-24-2008 09:03 PM                     Since all the seats in one row are connected together, it might be fun to insulate all the seats from the ground then connect all the alternating rows to the electric supply. Connect all the odd numbered rows to the hot lead and all the even rows to the neutral. When the next idiot puts his feet up and his body makes the connection between hot and ground, he'll be in for one hell of a surprise!  |  IP: Logged Allison Parsons Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 630 From: East Peoria, IL Registered: Oct 2004 posted 08-24-2008 11:56 PM                        Louis, Are you having more trouble with dirty seat backs or broken chairs? I am 100% guilty of putting my feet up on seats. Not the high-back newer chairs, but the older shorter back ones. I slouch and usually place my knees up on the front seat. I hate to admit it but that is my comfy movie watching position that I have not broke out of in 12 years. Now, I have also been on the other side of the spectrum and have scrubbed seat backs in two 290 seat auditoriums in one day. Never have been so sorer(sp) the next day than after that project. A round of applause to all who have black seatsbacks in their theaters. Maybe you could go in, shine a bright flashlight on their feet until they take them down. Don't say a single word, just shine a light so everyone can see their nasty feet. I would hope they get the hint. We've had ushers sit behind the offending patron for awhile just to spook them after their warning. Of course when the usher leaves, they usually go back to what their doing.  |  IP: Logged James Westbrook Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1133 From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa Registered: Mar 2006 posted 08-25-2008 02:24 AM                     This is where the lecherous male employee comes in handy: "Those are some cute feet you have there..."  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 08-25-2008 04:17 AM                     A six-plex in our area did a complete location overhaul including installing new RGS seats. Not bad seats mind you, but with a horrible design flaw: The seat back framework is made out of thin angle iron with the attachment arms coming out at a right angle at the base of the seat back and it bolts to the seat pan with a large rubber filled insert that allows a rocking motion for the seats. Kids now find that if they put their feet on the seat back in front of them and PUSH as all they can, that thin angle iron really buckles to where the seat back that they are sitting in is almost bent to a full recline afterwards. Sadly, less than a year the remodel, a good 30 backs have already been bent, along with a dozen rubber inserts have been destroyed. Oh, and 12 seatcovers have already been cut with two cushions that were attacked by "foam gophers" - gophers that love to rip out the foam rubber from within the cushions.. The digital hall marquees have a definite msg added with the show title on keeping the feet off the seats .... but you think that ever works? -Monte  |  IP: Logged John Wilson Film God Posts: 5438 From: Sydney, Australia. Registered: Dec 1999 posted 08-25-2008 05:18 AM                     Long ago in the days of screening manual glass slides, if there was a person with their feet on the seats, I would leave the 'Please Keep Your Feet Off The Seats' house slide on until they woke up it was pointed at them and they did. Of course, glass slides get hot and can break after about 20 to 25 seconds...so I had 2 'PKYFOTS' slides and would just go between them until they did. If they were too stupid still to realise it was pointed at them, the other patrons would twig to it and tell them to look at the screen. Once they did, it was on with the show. Ah....memories.  |  IP: Logged Rick Raskin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1100 From: Manassas Virginia Registered: Jan 2003 posted 08-25-2008 06:32 AM                     A squirt gun through the projection port works wonders.  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 08-25-2008 07:42 AM                        quote: Bill Enos Same problems here, too bad we can't just shoot the bastards, probably wouldn't have to shoot more than 3 or 4 and they would stop. Oh the cruelty! Bill....how could you?! I am totally against such inhumane tactics. Where is your empathy, Bill? Your humanity? I say, simply sledge-hammer their toes....one at a time. The screams alone will be just as effective as public hangings. We had refurbished our seats a few years back and we were actually talking about putting a railing across the backs of each row -- the idea being, if you can't fight them, join them. Such a bar would protect the seat and give the futhermuckers someplace other than the seat back to rest their peds -- and much like Randy's idea, there was talk of wiring them up to those cattle fence chargers. It proved to be to costly. Now we just have ushers do the flashlight thing. There are always two ushers equipped with high intensity narrow beam police flashlights in the house. When one sees feet going up, he aims his light at the other usher to get his attention and then at the perp's feet. The other usher positions himself so he too can aim his flashlight, but he aims at the perp's face -- directly in the eyes. They both jiggle the light until the idiot puts his feet down. As for distructive retaliation like breaking things, graffiti, etc., we are lucky in that we have never had that to deal with (knock on wood). I think the idea of using a method of not talking or engaging with the individual goes a long way to stopping any escalation, especially since young people, males in particular feel they need to save-face when called out verbally. When they are embarrassed and humiliated in front of their friends they need to "display" (basically showing everyone that they don't have pea-size testicals) no matter if they are right or wrong. Just shining a light on them avoids much of this. The only instance that I am aware of where someone didn't put their feet down and asked "why are you shining that in my face, man?" All the usher said was, "You need to take your feet off the seat." And he did. If he had refused, the ushers are instructed not to engage any further but walkie-talkie for our security for assistance. In such a case there is no discusion either; they are just escorted out of the theatre. I think we do have the advantage that there are security patrols around our theatre and the building itself is not on a public street but in a closed campus. Still, baring the pesky legal entanglements of Bill's most excellent suggestion, I vote for my second choice....sledge-hammering toes.  |  IP: Logged Louis Belloisy Expert Film Handler Posts: 120 From: morris, ct usa Registered: Jun 2006 posted 08-25-2008 07:49 AM                        Hello Allison, we are experiencing more broken seats than dirty ones. Its unfortunate that all of our managers are adolescents and they do not see the problem. Its hard for a manager to manage a person his or her age, and is their friend. We never had this problem until a few years ago when all the garbage films started to show up oriented to the teens. That was the start of lots of problems. Louis Louis  |  IP: Logged

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