"People who stay for the entire credits" want to see if there's that extra scene at the end of the movie. Blame Ferris Bueller.

I wonder what his upsizing percentage is?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL3RO1_8KgQ

Some theaters do have ice cream. Just saying. I blame pizza places for asking about the bucket size. Some places don't have a small just Medium, Large, and Family size. I guess judging people who ask for clarification just seems more depressing to me than the asking.

are there such things as Clerk Service Announcements (CSA's), as in "try to understand the world you live in" and "you're not as smart as you think you are"?

stfu and get me my popcorn Erin.

People ask for ice cream because a lot of theaters have ice cream bars. People watch the credits for dozens of different reasons all of which are valid because they BOUGHT A TICKET. People leave their food in the seats because thats the way we all grew up and cleaning up is YOUR job.

Grow up. And don't get anymore stupid tattoos.... you know you have them..

haha - you work at a movie theater

People also probably leave trash because they pay a ridiculous amount of money to be there.

Erin, all of those things ARE YOUR FUCKING JOB.

I've already paid the gazillion% mark-up on your heavily subsidized corn-based refreshments so I'm gonna go ahead and feel entitled to get my money's worth by not doing a fucking thing with my trash as you wait impatiently for me to clear out while I wait to see if there's an extra scene after the credits.

hehe, "Diane water" is pretty funny. I, too, would be into my customers saying that (if I worked in a retail enviro that sold water).

Receipts. I'm wondering - does your cash register spit out receipts no matter if they say they want one or not?

Everyone else beat me to it.

Erin represents a lot of clerks and waiters across the city who think that answering a question, or performing one of their duties, is beneath them.

Oh, and given the near-universal practice of fast food joints messing around with what's a "regular" or a "small" or "medium", even to the point of "we don't have small", or having three grades of "large", (Not to mention coffee joints that can't use such simple monikers, or don't even know which container is 12oz. vs. 16oz.) it is completely reasonable for a _paying_ _customer_ to ask "is that the medium?"

I used to work retail. I've encountered some genuinely stupid behavior out there. Pointing at a product you intend to buy and asking about the size/price is not stupid. Sheesh.

Holy cow, this movie clerk post has created an atmosphere of virtually-universal agreement in the comments never-before seen at the Mercury!

With the exception of receipts, (I guess at the fancy places they have cash registers, but at most of the independents they don't,) most of these are his job.

1) Yes, it is nice when people use the trash can, but...
2) People staying for the credits? If they don't want people to do that, then why don't they stop the film?
3) People asking for ice cream? One of his jobs is to pass those sorts of suggestions onto management. If enough people are asking, then maybe they should stock that item. If there isn't demand, then just politely say no.

Has this person been to the typical mega-plex recently? Hot dogs, nachos -- nothing is off limits in terms of concessions anymore.

Reasons for staying to the end of the credits include: seeing if there's an extra scene, wanting to recognize or acknowledge the people who made the movie in a small way, wanting to enjoy the air conditioning a little longer, needing some time to think before being ready to re-join society. Doesn't matter really, because people paid to be there, so they get to stay.

Not picking up after yourself is annoying, but to be expected. It's not any worse than any other typically annoying customer behavior when you work in retail.

Like...totally...wahtevar RFLMAOPBR!

Uh, I suspect Erin is just letting off some steam and is utterly gracious to all her customers and hardly worthy of the abuse she's getting here. She made me laugh.

And anyway, you think it's ok to leave trash all over a theater because someone's being paid to clean it up? Do you toss your litter all over the city streets for the same reason?

(OTOH, I always stay until the end of the credits - what's the problem there?)

Letting off steam is ranting to your family/significant other/friends not writing something up and sending it to a newspaper. If she is going to go through all that effort to be pissy about it then we get to point out how ridiculous it is. (This is hardly abusive from this crowd anyway)

Theater monkeys don't set ticket prices. They also don't get tips, generally speaking. So you can hardly expect them to grin when you dump a half full tub of carbonated syrup onto an already sticky/popcorn covered floor. It's disgusting, seriously.

And the "I paid so I get to" argument is more childish than anything Erin said. I'm assuming we're all adults here, so I'm also assuming we can all tidy up our own shit when we're in public.

Customer Service Announcement:

Be glad you have a job. A lot of people don't. Take pride in your work and do it well - complaining about people does not make you wise or your opinions valid.

#erinfail

I used to be a Regal Cinemas employee, at the now-a-car-lot Keizer Cinemas. Of all the complaints I had, the customers typically weren't one of them. Psychotic boyfriend of the ineffectual manager? Yeah. Being forced to wear a nasty vest/bow-tie combo? Yeah. Inhaling aerated degreaser while trying to clean the popcorn machine? Yeah. But the old guy who never bought concessions and always asked for a 4 oz cup of ice water? Eh. The couple who sat all the way to the end of the credits? What do I care, I can't clean anything until the film ends and the lights come up anyway.

Although the russian family who came in, never bought anything, and then left a tiny mountain of wet, soggy sunflower seed shells all over their row? That sucked. Plus, the Mortal Kombat II machine used to eat quarters every 5th or 6th game. Not that the customers ever complained - we were the only ones playing it regularly. Yunno, during the 2 hours of downtime while the movie was playing.

You are young and instead of finding crappy things to say about the people who make your job possible, you might try observing the inner workings of the movie theater. This is what a smart person would do and then take that knowledge along with them to their next job. Somewhere down the line you just might need to know how marketing and distribution would play a role in something you try to do. But, having been young once, I feel your pain with the boring and mundane. You'll outgrow it, I hope, without having huge holes in your ear lobes to show for it.
By the way, some people watch the credits because they know people in the business. You'd hate working in LA because almost everyone stays for the credits.
Good luck, kid.

Idiots are idiots, customers or not, and they deserve to be called on their nonsense at every opportunity. What - Erin's in a service-type job and is therefore in no place to judge? Actually, it's just the opposite. Just because Erin's job forces her to deal with mouth-breathers doesn't mean she should have to swallow every last fleck of crap thrown at her during the course of a shift.

Her list didn't include "Guy who drags knuckles to my concession stand and lobs turds at my face," so I don't think swallowing crap flecks is what is being described.

People are reacting because the list sounds like wallowing in a false intellectual superiority. I used to do the same shit when I worked at Sam Goody, and it was garbage then. Knowing that the middle bucket isn't a medium is obvious when you spend 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, stacking the buckets. Knowing you don't have ice-cream sandwiches in the fridge behind the counter is a no-brainer when you're rotating the ice-cream sandwiches. But that doesn't make the person who visits that theater once a month (if that) an idiot for NOT knowing.

my favorite question I would get when I was selling tickets was " What time does the 5 o'clock movie start?"
That questions actually came up a lot.

"my favorite question I would get when I was selling tickets was " What time does the 5 o'clock movie start?"

I've run into that kind of obvious cluelessness, but at least some of that form of question could come from the fact that to watch a movie we now have to put up with "the twenty" (or whatever the commercials are called now) before the appointed start time, then many previews. Now, I happen to enjoy seeing previews in a theater (within reason), but for someone who may be expecting friends to arrive, or who may have to go to the bathroom, or may want to make a phone call, knowing when the movie _actually_ starts is an important question.

So even for that question, we can't leap to the conclusion of "idiocy".

Hey look! The comments to this blog posting were mentioned by Shawn Levy on oregonlive:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/madaboutmovies/…

Maybe it's because so many of the comments here are as vitriolic as the kind of comments you usually see on oregonlive.

"But, having been young once, I feel your pain with the boring and mundane. You'll outgrow it, I hope, without having huge holes in your ear lobes to show for it."

That's classic, innerealm. An even worse youthful transgression than huge deformed earlobes are facial tattoos.

I think I understand what creed is getting at up there. Let me try...

Creed is an idiot.

Well, I must say - creed is right.

Just finished being evil at Oregon "we hate racial minorities, women, and illegal aliens" Live: http://blog.oregonlive.com/madaboutmovies/…

Oh christ, look at all these assholes pretending that cleaning up after movie theater patrons ain't a thankless job. Hey cubicle jockeys, go try your hand at this particular combo of retail / food service / janitorial and see how you like it.

@bbbbb: I think the vitriol is at about the level it normally is. The big difference is that we don't blame the gays/mexicans/liberals/whatever, we just blame the idiots. In this case, Erin=Idiot.

@Chunty: I worked part time in two different movie theater for 6 years, thank you very much. If Erin had complained about the people that go into one screen threatres, pass by the marquee, and two big posters, to ask the person at the counter "What is playing?" then we wouldn't be making fun of her, (or is it him?) But complaining when people stay through the credits?!? Next week: Waiters complaining that people get the napkins dirty.

Hey Bowtie,

Just poke a hole in the bottom of my popcorn box and let me and my date be on our way.

@Matthew D, so the vitriol you spew is better than the vitriol that people spew on oregonlive? I guess your assumption of superiority is just superior to their assumptions of superiority.

The songs featured in a movie are usually listed toward the end of the credits. And, not that anyone needs one, but that's a pretty good reason to stay 'til the end.

@bbbbb: Of course my superiority is better than their superiority! If it wasn't, it wouldn't be very good superiority, would it?

Erin, it's because of your inability to encounter each person & experience as new that causes you to lump many customers into one category - i.e. inconsiderate, buffoonish, etc. I guarantee that people who do none of the above still get your sour demeanor during their transaction, & in your life outside of the theater. Also, your writing is pedantic & unfunny. It will not be your way out of the theater.

You know what I hate at movie theaters? Employees who, when you come out of the theater to tell them that the movie is being projected in the wrong aspect ratio, stare at you blankly and say "what do you mean by aspect ratio?" Employees who are snapping their gum and staring into space while standing next to trash cans that are so overflowing with trash that even when you DO bring your empty boxes/cups out of the theater, there's nowhere to put them. Employees who sell you a ticket for the showing that started forty-five minutes ago instead of the showing you specifically asked for, which, you know, hasn't, like, started yet.

And personally, I like watching the credits because I work in the industry and I like to keep up on who's doing what where.

And hey, I worked in a movie theater. It wasn't that bad.

I work at a movie theatre. Someone parked their motorcycle on the sidewalk today. Do they let you do that anywhere else? No. Why would you do that here??? LOL.

A lot of theatres have ice cream now a days. My theatre is about too.

It does get annoying when people stay for the entire credits, because whether you know it or not, we have people waiting outside to sit down for the next show, and OTHER theatres to clean on time too. But if theres an extra scene, I don't mind waiting for them.

The garbage thing is beyond ridiculous. We pick up a LOT of trash, that people could simply take home or put in the garbage can instead of wasting it. There are pops and popcorns spilled everywhere, buckets with handjob holes in them, gum on the floors, baby diapers, and tobacco spit bottles. I wouldn't mind if it were napkins and maybe some popcorn but if you look at a theatre, every row, once your movie gets out, you would be disgusted too!

All the other stuff I really have no clue what this person is talking about lol.

I ask for a receipt because I paid with a card. When you grow up and decide to become responsible with your finances, you'll understand why getting a receipt for purchases is important. It isn't to annoy you or make you have to :::shudder::: WORK ('cause it take so much effort to hand over a tiny piece of paper), it's to keep track of what is being spent. If more people did that, we might have less financial mess and less opportunity for the government to assert control over our spending.

" What time does the 5 o'clock movie start?"

I've occasionally been late to the movies, and while I phrased it, "How long are the trailers", it is a perfectly valid question. Here in New York City, the answer is generaly 15 minutes, sometimes 20, sometimes 10. And I have sometimes not bought a ticket because I was just too late.

Lots of business have down away with small, leaving medium, large and extra large.

Erin's problem, like many in retail, is they stop seeing customers as individuals, and start seeing just one customer over and over and over again, a customer who never learns or remembers what they have been told making the Erins of the world answer the same question over and over and over again to/from the "same" person.

what does it say when someone calls out a minor percentage of movie patrons and instead of agreeing that some people lack all common sense we attack the poster? in any business the prices and products are required to be displayed, sometimes there is a display to go along with that. when you ask someone standing in front of a sign what the sign says you are either mentally challenged and have someone with you to read for you, or you are illiterate and should probably have someone with you to read for you. when you exit your theater look at the usher and dump the rest of your popcorn NEXT to the garbage and say to your face "its your job" that is down right rude and disrespectful. when you watch credits you dont see the line of twenty people trying to push their way into the theater because they showed up 40 minutes early. when you ask stupid questions or make special requests you take up more of our time and anger the people behind you who think the employee is the one who is holding up the line and take it out on them. employees have as much control over pricing as do gas station attendants, and make about as much. we get yelled at everyday because of those prices when it comes down to it NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO WATCH A MOVIE OR EAT AT THE CONCESSION STAND. NO. ONE. that is a choice YOU! make of YOUR! own free will. if YOU do not like the prices DO NOT GO. the choice is yours and YOURS alone. and if you do go DO NOT take it out on people who are just trying to feed themselves.
this a human trend we experience in all aspects of life. freshmen get picked on buy seniors because they are new. nurses get catty at the newbies because they were there longer. minimum wage workers are looked down on because its all they can find, most of posters on this article should be ashamed of themselves, you sirs are the assholes she is complaining about