Arclight Cinemas

The management there psychically assaulted my friend trying to leave
the Sherman Oaks Arclight. So be glad management spoke and treated you
with respect. Then they filed criminal charges against them, in an
attempt to prevent themselves for being sued. The people running that
theater are horrible people.

I agree. Arclight (a small Los Angeles based chain) prides themselves
on having the best moviegoing experience around. They charge high
prices but have a better picture quality, sound and most importantly
monitor the theaters for people texting, etc.

Sadly, the Sherman Oaks Arclight from my own experience is pretty much
the bastard child of the other Arclight theaters.

I agree, the policy is stupid. If people were being obnoxious and you
were here for 4 minutes and wished to leave, the manager should be
empowered to give you a refund. It's not like you sat through half the
movie, it was 4 minutes.

What is with the sarcasm at the end of your complaint?

The movie had not even started. While it is true that people do talk,
text, & eat during the previews, it is much better to wait & see if
this continues once the movie begins. Yes, it can be annoying to sit
through a movie while people are talking & texting, but you did not
wait to see if that even happened. You just left the theater before
the movie even started. So you have no idea if that even happened.
What would have done if it did not happen?

The last time I went to the movies, the other patrons talked & sent
texts during the previews. But once the movie began, the room was
quiet. I enjoyed the movie. I was afraid that people would talk & text
during the movie, but that did not happen.

I agree with the theatre. Why?

Because the few times I go to movies, there will be people
talking/texting/goofing during the commercials and previews and I will
sit there, silently pre-fuming, assuming that this behavior will
continue once the movie starts.

And that never happens. People stop talking. They put their phones
away. They settle down.

You didn't even wait for the movie to start.

seems more like a case of buyers remorse.

You purchased the ticket at(literally) the last second, seemed to find
everything possible that could be wrong with the facility and the
other patrons (and honestly, in 4 minutes, did you even give it a
chance?) and then demanded your money back. Yeah, I'm not seeing how
that's a logical conclusion.

As to the "extreme" example you gave, well, OK, but that didn't happen
to you! So why should your situation warrant an exception to the
policy?

You also say that you have been to this theater "dozens" of times.
So, what is the big deal if you have to use the pass for a future
show?

I'm sure you'll call me a "lemming" too, but I just can't see how you
came to this conclusion.

Maybe I missed it, but you could have asked a staff member to check
the theater. Almost every movie I go to, at some point there's a
theater employee in there, checking things out. If the distractions
were as bad as you indicate, they would have been able to address the
offending individuals, and then you could enjoy the movie (since it
hadn't even started yet). If the behaviors continue, then ask for a
refund, after having done everything possible to resolve the problem.

By not asking to have the issues addressed and declining a pass for a
movie at a future time, it just sounds like buyers remorse.

Sorry I agree with the others. You paid to see a movie, you opted not
to "assuming" you wouldn't enjoy it and they gave you a free movie
pass.

Seems very appropriate to me. How do you know the kids wouldn't have
settled down as soon as the movie started?

If you had waited and they didn't settle down you actually would have
had a more valid argument. Or at least had someone watch them and
potentially gotten them kicked out. My theater doesn't tolerate noisy
people at all, once I complain they send someone in to watch them,
they get warned once then removed.

They didn't take your money, you gave it to them. Then gave you free
tickets to come back at a time of your choosing.

" I told Mr. Lopez "I realize that but you just told me your hands
were tied by a policy, I give you an extreme example of customer
dissatisfaction and suddenly your hands are not tied by a policy. So
you have the discretion to make things right with a customer""

And that would seem to be the policy. That under normal
circumstances, no refunds. Under extreme circumstances (which yours
were not), the manager can give a refund.

I have to agree with Steve Oh, you have been there before so what is
the problem with a pass for a later date? As you said, this was just
the previews. Since you seem fond of "what if", what if the movie
started and everyone quieted down and got engrossed in the movie?

You have been to this theater dozens of times and I assume enjoyed it,
why are you so quick to threaten to bad mouth them over this (in my
opinion) minor incident?

I usually try to give a business a second chance.

your choice for it, just like your original deal. And as you have been
there dozens of times, the odds are pretty high that you'll go again.

Most theaters have a similar policy.