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Author Topic: Stupid floor staff... Thomas Pitt Master Film Handler Posts: 266 From: Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK Registered: May 2007 posted 09-01-2008 03:52 PM                     We've had the 'stupid customers' topic, how about a topic for stupid floor staff? Have you, or any other floor staff you've witnessed ever been stupid or ignorant of a customer's requests? Or perhaps the ushers have done something during a movie that impacts the moviegoer's experience? Somehow, when I was in a movie (can't remember which one), the floor staff got the finish time completely wrong and came in to clean up... halfway through the movie! Suddenly all the cleaning floodlights came on, and some members of staff entered. Upon seeing that the movie was still showing, they made a hasty exit and turned off the cleaning lights again! Also, as you may know, I always sit through the credits when a movie finishes in case there is an extra scene. One time though, the cleaning staff came in and asked me to leave so they could clean - while the credits were still going! I think they should allow customers who want to see the whole credits to stay, or at least clean 'around' them. The doorman at a cinema once tried to stop me taking in a bottle of soda that I'd clearly just bought at the concession stand; he thought I'd brought it in from outside the cinema! Anyone else have stories like this about floor staff?  |  IP: Logged Joe Elliott Master Film Handler Posts: 497 From: Port Orange, Fl USA Registered: Oct 2006 posted 09-01-2008 10:13 PM                     I once got a call in the booth, that they were sending a girl up to look for some cleaning chemicals. Seams as though she couldn't get the oil smears off of the candy case glass, and one of the employee's told her to just use some 'elbow grease' on it. She then proceeded to find a manager to find out where the elbow grease was kept. They sent her on a grand tour of the theatre. One person would tell her, I saw a can in the marquee room. When she couldn't find it, someone else would suggest another place. I happily sent her down to the electrical room in the front of a theatre (movie wasn't playing yet). That kept us entertained for nearly 45 minutes, until no one could keep a straight face. That was only one of many pranks and goofs we played on her. She usually didn't get any of them. I've got another one, but it's a long one, involving Farris Bueller's Day Off, and taking a auditorium full of people hostage.  |  IP: Logged David Zylstra Master Film Handler Posts: 432 From: Novi, MI, USA Registered: Mar 2007 posted 09-01-2008 10:37 PM                     One location gave a newly trained employee the job of "filling" the drinking fountain because it was getting low - they have a picture of him pouring water into the drinking fountain drain. Another location mentioned "someday we'll show you where the basement is" as a joke in the very first employee meeting, several months later one employee asked a serious question: "actually, where is the basement? no one ever showed me"  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-01-2008 11:49 PM                        The dumbest question I have ever been asked by an employee is: "How many dollar bills does it take to make twenty dollars?" I said, "Uh...twenty?" He slapped his forehead and said "Oh shit...I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?" I said, "Nope!" (In fairness, he was really trying to ask how many bills to put in a bundle.)  |  IP: Logged Adam Martin I'm not even gonna point out the irony. Posts: 3686 From: Dallas, TX Registered: Nov 2000 posted 09-02-2008 12:30 AM                     Let's keep the practical jokes to the thread that already exists for that.  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 09-02-2008 12:41 AM                        I've seen one employee "trailer bowling" in the lobby with old trailers. He was bowling towards the lobby window which separates the lobby from the elements, weather and the such which usually exist outdoors. You can imagine what happened... and it did when one trailer hit a bump or something and jumped into the air. I've seen them send entire audiences to the wrong auditorium only to have to move everyone once I noticed from the booth that I was about to start a movie to an empty auditorium. I've heard of them (not witnessed firsthand) say that all of our movies suck and in a sexually lewd way to other employees in front of customers who have yet to by tickets. Lots of stupid employees out there. I'm sure I have more stories, but I can't remember too much since I generally don't deal with floorstaff.  |  IP: Logged Allison Parsons Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 630 From: East Peoria, IL Registered: Oct 2004 posted 09-02-2008 12:48 AM                        I could write a book on this topic, but I have one major complaint on past/present/future CCA staff: It bugs the out of me when the reach their hands into the popcorn bag to open it. I'm not a germ freak by any stretch of the imagination, but please don't reach your hand in someones bag! I grab on of the side of the top of the bag, swing it down and 'pop' it open. Have the customer put their own nasty hand in there while their eating, but don't use yours before hand. yuck.  |  IP: Logged Edwin Schwing Expert Film Handler Posts: 116 From: Las Vegas NV Registered: May 2002 posted 09-02-2008 01:49 AM                     how about when a cell phone was found and correctly sent to the box office where lost and found is to be sent. A smart employee found the cell phone and correctly gives the said cell phone to the box office cashier. Said cell phone suddenly disappears! Customer comes back the next day and asks "said box office cashier" if a cell phone was found. Said box office cashier says that it was, but an employee won't give it back. "said box office cashier" supposidly goes to said employee and actually gets the phone back. Customer is extremely grateful that the phone was returned. Customer is ecstatic about the fact that she got her phone back. Customer is overwhelmed by the honesty of a certain box office cashier employee. Find out later that the "certain box office employee" was the one who took the phone in the first place and downloaded $30 worth of music and also downloaded some new software. Talk about stupid employees!! E Maybe we should place a trailer on the film before AND after the film.... "DO NOT LEAVE YOUR WALLET IN THE THEATRE!!!! DO NOT LEAVE YOUR CELL PHONE IN THE THEATRE!! DO NOT LEAVE YOUR KIDS IN THE THEATRE!!!! DO NOT LEAVE THE KEYS TO YOUR CAR AND OR HOUSE IN THE THEATR!!!! Scope or Flat, it won't work! Stupid People!!!!  |  IP: Logged Justin Hamaker Film God Posts: 2253 From: Lakeport, CA USA Registered: Jan 2004 posted 09-02-2008 04:01 AM                        Most of my stories involving "stupid" floor staff don't directly relate to the theatre: a senior in high school who didn't know who Anne Frank was, a college student who doesn't know what chronological means, and a hundred others. Work wise, most of the stupidness involves things like not being able to count change, properly post times, or just failing to use their brain. However, I do have one that stands out. For whatever reason, my staff has gotten into the habit of referring to window cleaner AND outside kettle cleaner as "blue stuff" (I think this is something that's been passed along since before I got there). One day a crew leader asked a less than bright young lady to clean the windows in the lobby. She asked what to use. The crew leader responded "blue stuff". Fortunately someone stopped her before she went at the windows with kettle cleaner. I hate to sound like a curmudgeon, but I honestly get the sense schools just aren't teaching kids to think for themselves anymore. I'm not trying to get political, but I think part of this may be the result of No Child Left Behind and teachers teaching for a test.  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 09-02-2008 09:31 AM                     quote: It bugs the [bs] out of me when the reach their hands into the popcorn bag to open it. I'm not a germ freak by any stretch of the imagination, but please don't reach your hand in someones bag! Related: I trained a guy who always was putting his hand in the bag to open it and by the end of the shift he was doing it the right way. But the next time I saw him he had resorted to his old way, but at least this time he had stuck on food-handling gloves. And on stupid staff members. I had a coworker who, when I agreed with her about something and said "I concur" she looked at me and said "I don't know what that means. I don't know big words like you." And probably on 10 different occasions I used the word "touché" followed by her asking me what it meant. I grew tired of explaining it to her.  |  IP: Logged Christopher Crouch Expert Film Handler Posts: 128 From: Holywood, ca, usa Registered: May 2006 posted 09-03-2008 03:54 AM                  quote: Allison Parsons It bugs the out of me when the reach their hands into the popcorn bag to open it. I once had a customer approach me with a complaint that one of the staff members was licking his fingers while serving food. I assumed it was something like licking his fingers to open bags or seperate bills (which would be bad enough). When I walked over to the concession area I witness the staff member licking his fingers, sticking them in to the unserved popcorn, and then licking them once again; all while serving customers. When confronted, the guy tells me "I like the taste of the salt". Once caught a staff member, who was trying to carry too much stock at once, tuck a few pretzels under his chin and armpits. Perhaps, my most jaw dropping moment came when a theatre elevator was out of service, a wheelchair bound customer asked a box office cashier about obtaining access, and the cashier replied "sucks to be you."  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 09-03-2008 10:01 AM                        quote: Allison Parsons It bugs the out of me when the reach their hands into the popcorn bag to open it. We use buckets - that's a good argument for them...it's one less thing I have to worry about, staffwise.  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 09-03-2008 10:02 AM                     Speaking of pretzels, At my old theater we served Kim & Scott's pretzels (damn those things were fantastic) and had plastic displays of the different flavors/varieties. We had figured that no one would ever serve those because they looked so plastic-y and fake. But one day, a staff member went to give one out. Another we had pretzel bites that we'd cook up individually. On a really busy day someone would cook up a handful of them and leave them in a warmer already packaged up although normally there was a couple that always stayed in the warmer as a display. We had figured it was obvious they weren't to be served (since they appeared extremely dried out) and that worked fine for a long time until someone actually sold the display. From that point on, the display ones had labels on their tray stating so.  |  IP: Logged Andy Frodsham Expert Film Handler Posts: 238 From: Stoke on Trent, Staffs, UK Registered: Nov 2006 posted 09-05-2008 01:13 PM                     Cleaners should not be allowed anywhere near the theatre until the last credits fade! Most of our audience members watch the film until the VERY end. They would be outraged if we even faded-up the lights to their lowest setting during the end credits!!  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 09-06-2008 07:28 AM                        UA at Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn not only has their staff come in during the credits to clean, but have no problem chatting with each other even though they are three or four rows from each other so this is not a subdude whisper, but a full-blown converstation even though there were at least half a dozen people who were still sitting through the credits. Incredible. Justin, it's "No Child Left Behind on the Bus to Stupidville."  |  IP: Logged

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