No change! OMGWTF!!

[cinema guy]

The kiosk at the cinema closes after every film has started. That is around 25 minutes after every performance starts. At this point we clean the whole thing and all the tills are cashed up.

So we inevitably get a few customers who come out of their film after this point wanting a drink, or popcorn etc. So we can sell them bottled drinks, bagged popcorn, bagged sweets etc, if they have the exact change.

So on Friday night a guy comes out of his film and wants an ice blast (slushie), so we explain to him that we can do it if he has the right change. He only has a £20 note. B (a supervisor) apologises and says we can't help, all the tills are off and we have no change.

SC: "But why are your tills off?"
B: "We have to close sometime."
SC: "Well if you can't get me my drink, I want my money back for my film."

B says she'll see what she can do. She goes to the office, where the cashing up hasn't been finshed, so she gets change for the guy. Ultimately, the guy waits for 15-20 minutes for his drink.

[Fungus]

He wanted his money back for the film? He should have been told to get bent.

[sixums]

He waited 20 minutes just for a stupid slushie?

Same, I would have told him to eff off. That's why you get your stuff before you sit down to the movie! He missed 1/6 of his movie!

[powerboy]

hat's why you get your stuff before you sit down to the movie

I usually get the stuff after the film has started. The line is not as long, by then.

[Android Kaeli]

If he really wanted to buy something, he should have gotten to the theater early enough to get the ticket, stand in line for concessions, and then get to the movie with time to spare. Even though I don't buy popcorn or drinks from movies any longer, I at least get to the theater a good twenty minutes before the movie actually starts.

[sixums]

I usually get the stuff after the film has started. The line is not as long, by then.

I can see that, but is 20 minutes of a missed movie for a slushie really worth it?

[katie kaboom]

I can see that, but is 20 minutes of a missed movie for a slushie really worth it?

If it's a really bad movie, yes.

[simplyanother]

Shoot, does movie start time count from when the movie actually begins, or from when the previews start?

[cinema guy]

Example:

8.45 listed start time, adverts and trailers
9.10 movie starts. And if this is the last movie of the day, kiosk closes.

9.45 no-change guy wants his slushie.

[Hobbs]

Huh, never heard of that at my theaters. They're pretty much open round-the-clock...

hrm...

[Chromatix]

At the one-screen cinema in my old school's town, there would be an old-fashioned intermission while they changed reels. The kiosk would be open during this, and the attendants would also walk around with their trays of goods.

While that's a good way of ensuring the chance for a toilet break, it also tends to interrupt the flow of the movie, which is why I suspect it has been eliminated in the bigger, more modern cinemas.

[cinema guy]

There are occasionally intermissions in long films these days, but it is a pain in the bum for both projectionists and front of house staff.

Projectionsists have to make up the film with the appropriate break and include pulses to trigger the automation correctly. Front of house have to dig out the trolley that hasn't been used in years; clean it out; fill it full of ice for every performance; load it with bottles, ice cream and bagged sweets; take it into the screen; be chaperoned/helped by a supervisor; sell stuff, working out the totals and change manually and writing down what has been sold; and after the film has restarted take the list of items sold and run them through a till, so stock and sales are correct.

Hobbs: our cinema is in a mid-sized town, with no student population to speak of. The majority of our audience are families. We shut at around midnight on weekends, earlier in the week.

[smileyeagle1021]

Projectionsists have to make up the film with the appropriate break and include pulses to trigger the automation correctly. Front of house have to dig out the trolley that hasn't been used in years; clean it out; fill it full of ice for every performance; load it with bottles, ice cream and bagged sweets; take it into the screen; be chaperoned/helped by a supervisor; sell stuff, working out the totals and change manually and writing down what has been sold; and after the film has restarted take the list of items sold and run them through a till, so stock and sales are correct.

or management could invest in a Christie DTS projector... problem solved

Hey, I'm a fan of Christie projectors, my favorite theatre uses them, digital quality, no deterioration (I can watch a movie over a month after release and there won't be any spots etc like you see on film reals), and most importantly, there will never be an intermission

[cinema guy]

Our first digital projector is coming very soon. Certainly before Bolt 3D hits the UK in February.

The only reason we have had intermissions in recent years was because of the length of the film. We had a bizzare situation with Pirates of the Carribean 3 where only some of the showings had intermissions (but that's a whole other story of movie moronics).

[auntiem]

or management could invest in a Christie DTS projector... problem solved

Hey, I'm a fan of Christie projectors, my favorite theatre uses them, digital quality, no deterioration (I can watch a movie over a month after release and there won't be any spots etc like you see on film reals), and most importantly, there will never be an intermission

You mean the reel change black dot in the upper right hand corner every 20 min? I love those when I'm watching dull movies - they let me know I'm 20 min closer to freedom.
We used to close the concession counter at the same time we pulled in the ticket seller (about 15 min into the second feature) so everyone but the door person could go home as quickly as possible. Suprisingly few people complained though.