See Something? Say Something!

The other night I went to see “Alice In Wonderland” at a movie complex close to home. I was exited to see yet another of Johnny Depp’s performances, the guy is my favorite actor.  In a sign of the times, I noticed that at this particular movie theater they no longer had a box office window; instead, the concessions stands attendants are now selling the movie tickets as they are dispensing your favorite popcorn and soda combos to you.

I’m all for cost cutting wherever possible. I draw the line at sacrificing the quality of the product or the service offered when cutting costs.

I got the ticket and headed to the designated screen room, excited to see what Mr. Depp was up to this time around.

I was increasingly disappointed, and disgusted, as I entered the room, where isle after filthy isle was filled with leftover garbage; apparently the place had not been cleaned all day. Determined not to be deterred, I found my way to the back of the room, where I sat and did my best to ignore the pigsty I was sitting in watching the movie. I can’t deny the negative impact the place had on my experience, however.

Once it was over, I suppressed my urged to say something about the mess to the attendants at the concessions stand. Instead, I left the place and headed home, disappointment written all over my body language.

The following night I reluctantly decided to go back to the same movie complex close to home. This time to watch another movie I had in mind, “Shutter Island” with Leonardo DiCaprio, another one of my favorite actors along with Brad Pitt.

This time, however, I mentioned the pigsty experience of the night before with the Johnny Depp movie to the attendants at the concessions stand.  I was careful not to place blame, while addressing the problem. The young lady at the stand had a go at an apology, she tried to explain away how the place got to be that filthy.  I reiterated to her that I was not looking to place blame on her or any other of her co-workers, because this was a management issue.  I told her that regardless of the situation, having people sit in a pigsty to watch a movie is unacceptable.

She offered to have me speak with the manager if I wanted to.  She phoned him while I was there and asked him to come out and speak with me.  After a back and forth between them, he reluctantly agreed. The minutes were ticking away and the time for “Shutter Island” was fast approaching as I waited... and waited....and waited in front of the concessions stand with an increasingly fidgeting young lady, nervous at the absence of her manager, even after the couple of follow up calls she made to him. 

At last, a young man entered the scene emerging from the back rooms. I asked his name, which turned out not to be that of the manager, so I asked him for his manager? He told me that the manager was not in.  I told him that I did not appreciate being lied to, and to please go back and tell his manager that I would speak with him when the issue became important to him, which apparently at the time it wasn’t.  I told him I had a movie to see, thanked him for his time, turned and headed to my movie. 

On my way out of “Shutter Island”, which I enjoyed in a clean room, the same young man approached me and asked me to wait; he said the manager wanted to hear what I had to say.

They called the manager. Another young pleasant man appeared, he apologized for not talking with me earlier. He listened to my complaint, and promised to correct the situation. Additionally, he offered to give me free passes. 

I thanked him and turned down his free passes. I told him that my interest is only to have a clean room to enjoy the movie. 

He again reassured me he would get on it.

I have not yet been back to check, nor is it my intent to do so. I take comfort in the notion that this incident will serve as a reminder to them of the importance of delivering on promise.  

My movie going experience is far from life altering, yet, it’s a good example of how we often choose be silent and quiet about unacceptable situations, only perpetuating the damage they bring, when the best approach is obviously to address the situation we seek to improve. So, if you see something, do something, say something, manifest your power, the outcome might pleasantly surprise you. Now, let’s talk about you!