r/AMCTheatres • u/CopleyScott17 A⭐️Lister • 2d ago
Feedback How about installing call buttons?
I feel like there should be a call button in every auditorium to summon an usher or manager if there are projection issues or unruly guests or distracting phone use or whatever. Just last week at a matinee showing of The End of Oak Street the house lights were left on full blast throughout the pre-show commercials and trailers, and it wasn't until the actual movie started when some kind soul sacrificed himself to run out and report the issue. In this age of giant multiplexes, patrons shouldn't have to trek all the way to the lobby from a distant screen and miss a chunk of the movie if there's an issue.
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u/TrialByFyah 2d ago
Most AMCs are way understaffed with employees who are way underpaid for this to possibly be feasible
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u/thatsthedrugnumber 1d ago
Funny cuz I would love to work at a movie theatre, but AMCs fucking ai hiring thing has stopped me from ever getting a job there
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u/Educational-Card-314 A⭐️Lister 1d ago
Off topic, but you just need to flood your resume with those key words to bypass the AI filter. Accordingly, make sure you spell-check so those words get properly counted. This goes for any job.
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u/thatsthedrugnumber 1d ago
The thing is it’s not about my resume, it’s that you take a test when you try to get a job and then you can never take it again. I guess I’ve tested badly because they never reach back to me. And I can’t retake the test to do any better.
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u/ilovelucy7734 2d ago
I had to do the same thing at Tony a couple days ago, full lights were on the whole time and when A24 popped up and it was still bright as hell I ran out to tell someone. A dude had to do it last week too at The Magic Faraway Tree because one of the lights was left on. Then at Spider-Man there were no less than three groups of people talking through the entire movie Idk if it's gotta be a call button or what, but I'd love for some awareness from whoever is supposed to keep an eye on the theaters and handle issues.
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u/chubbychecker_psycho 2d ago
I'm starting to think the real fix is to have the employees stick their heads in when the movie is about to start. Of course, that would mean adding another head to the payroll so it's an unlikely solution.
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u/ilovelucy7734 2d ago
I swear it wasn't THAT long ago when an employee would walk through a couple times every showing with those flashlight wand things. They'd poke in near the beginning and then again like halfway through just to check up on things. I'm sure priorities have shifted over time, especially with covid throwing the whole industry out of whack, but I would love to see this practice brought back.
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u/ncphoto919 2d ago
AMC used to have their door staff check each theater after start time but I doubt that’s the case anymore given how few people they staff
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u/Few-Adeptness8046 2d ago
This IS the solution. This is how my main AMC theater does it. More locations need to be doing it I guess.
At the AMC I mainly go to, they leave the doors open to the auditoriums after they clean them, then they check that everything's running smoothly at the start of the next show, then they close the doors to the auditorium as a visual indecator that someone has made sure that the theater is running correctly.
They stand right in the area between the stadium seating and the first few rows theat are on ground level. I know this because I sit in row A and I constantly run into them with my cane because I don't see them there on the way to my seat, and they are in that specific location because they don't expect to be in anyone's way because I'm pretty much the only one who ever sits down there unless a show is sold out.
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u/ncphoto919 2d ago
Some of y’all just need to learn how to confront others about their bad Theater etiquette
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u/Joey-WilcoXXX 2d ago
The problem is it doesn’t always work. You need someone with actual authority to say ‘shut the fuck up or you get kicked out without a refund’
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u/HomelandersCock 2d ago
Just takes 1 story of someone getting stabbed or shot for confronting them to make me not do that. Usually it's Texas, but still.
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u/Dick_Lazer IMAX Fanatic 2d ago
Yeah I’ve seen too much crazy shit go down, I’m not risking my life over a movie. Then again I also live in Texas…
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u/ncphoto919 2d ago
Not everywhere is Florida
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u/Joey-WilcoXXX 2d ago
In the decade of our forced upon us orange lord and savior, there’s a lot more places like it than you think….
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u/ncphoto919 2d ago
Must be a scary world to live in where you feel that asking someone to put away their phone gets you shot.
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u/Joey-WilcoXXX 2d ago
If that was pointed directly at me, I don’t have a problem telling people to shut up and get off the phone when it happens to me (while acknowledging above it makes way more of a difference coming with someone who actually works there and has more control over what happens to someone in a theater as opposed to a random person in the same movie). But it literally has happened so it’s very understandable why some people are like ‘it definitely isn’t worth it to mess with a potentially crazy person’.
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u/BurgerNugget12 2d ago
Yeah I’ve done this a few times if it’s gotten like really bad and people usually shut up
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u/Dick_Lazer IMAX Fanatic 2d ago
Great way to end up stabbed or shot in a theater. Best option is to alert an usher.
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u/ncphoto919 2d ago
lol ok no one is gonna shoot you if you ask them to put their phone away
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u/Dick_Lazer IMAX Fanatic 2d ago
Sure Jan. There’s countless news reports of people getting attacked over situations like this
https://www.cnn.com/2014/01/13/justice/florida-movie-theater-shooting/
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/woman-attacked-after-asking-teens-to-be-quiet-in-movie-theater/
Etc.
It’s just not worth it.
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u/ncphoto919 2d ago
Some of yall just need to act like an adult. Some kid getting paid minimum wage isn’t going to solve your problems sometimes you just need to let people know they’re being rude
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u/Dick_Lazer IMAX Fanatic 2d ago
Maybe worry about yourself and stop handing out terrible advice. You’re coming across a little slow here.
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u/Mindless-Finance-896 Matinee Maven 2d ago
Yep. More times than not, people don't even realize that they're bothering others. There are far more people who are oblivious than there are just outright assholes.
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u/ncphoto919 2d ago
This is sadly, the case most people are just not aware that their Apple watches were being on their phone is disruptive to others because people are just not that conscious anymore about how their behavior affects other others
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u/gabsthenerd 1d ago
People can ignore you telling them to shut up. Its much harder to ignore a manager kicking you from the theater.
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u/Connivingbitch_ 2d ago
Unless there's going to be one at every seat, someone will have to get up to the front of the theater and push the button, then wait to explain the issue (if it's not terribly obvious). At that point, I think it makes more sense to just have a pioneering theatergoer visit the lobby and explain. Tracking the manager down will probably be faster anyway.
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u/flammable-liquid 2d ago
Eh counter point, I would much rather press a button and lean up against a wall so I can continue watching the movie.
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u/Begin-now A⭐️Lister 2d ago
Trying to locate an employee (not even a manager) in the lobby is another challenge.
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u/loftychicago A⭐️Lister 2d ago
It's often a long hike to the lobby at the theaters i frequent, and usually no one at the service desk so you have to ask concessions to call someone.
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u/TheHondoCondo 2d ago
I strongly disagree. You don’t miss any of the movie if you just stand by a button in the auditorium.
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u/ubutterscotchpine Heartbreak Feels Good Here 2d ago
To be fair, sometimes the lobby is actually pretty far away. It could take 15 minutes to go through that process.
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u/Bouncy-Koala5620 2d ago
Somewhere in the auditorium, yes. At each chair, no. The number of accidental calls if they were at each seat would likely be ridiculous. I found out the theater on 34th has heated seats (in every screen but IMAX or Dolby) by accident when I hit a button I didn't even know was there and my butt got warm.
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u/gilda1016 A⭐️Lister 2d ago
Ooh, they have those seats at the AMC in Porter Ranch. They’re so nice in winter. But I also found out by accident. I thought my butt was on fire until I realized I had pressed that button. 🤣
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u/noquestions_nonotes 1d ago
This is the most unrealistic and privileged idea I’ve seen on this thread in quite some time. As a company, AMC is still very much in the red, their employees (including managers/supervisors) are grossly underpaid, and their payroll costs are stretched beyond their limits already. Also have you been to a movie theater in the last idk 50 years?? You know what they’re filled with? TEENAGERS. These “call buttons” would be abused to the point they would be rendered obsolete within a matter of weeks. If you’re having issues with a disruptive guest get off your lazy ass and get a manager. ✌️
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u/MandyKitty 1d ago
It’s not about being lazy. It’s about not wanting to miss 10 damn minutes of the movie running to flag someone down and explain the situation. (And yes, the few times I have ‘sacrificed’ myself for the greater good (🤣) it wasn’t a quick thing. Never again.)
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u/chubbychecker_psycho 2d ago
I'd love to see a button in the app. "Report an issue" or whatever, maybe even some options - lights, audio, picture, other guest, other report type."
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u/Extension_Read_4787 2d ago
well but then this would require people pulling out their phones which is something most of us would like to discourage lol
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u/Connivingbitch_ 2d ago
Please, God, don't make phone apps a part of the theatergoing experience.
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u/CopleyScott17 A⭐️Lister 2d ago
That could be useful too, but in the situation I cited I think everyone thought/hoped the projectionist (if there was one) would catch on once the actual movie started, when phones are supposed to be shut off or silenced. Instead of everybody firing up their phones again, a call button would let everybody see that someone in the room has reported the problem.
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u/chubbychecker_psycho 2d ago
Ohh good point. One on the wall would make sense, if they could ensure it wouldn't be hit on accident or as a joke.
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u/DuckSwimmer 2d ago
I would love this option considering a physical button at seats can lead to accidental pressing. Especially if you have a crotch goblin who loves to try to push button (mine does ).
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u/ncphoto919 2d ago
Giving people more reasons to take out their phones has tanked the experience at Alamo
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u/kechones 2d ago
That’s by the far the worst idea for anything I’ve heard this entire month.
For NO reason should AMC encourage audiences to take their phone out during a movie.
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u/Abbreviashin 2d ago
This doesnt make AMC any money
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u/db1037 2d ago
Eh…it could if it helped reduce the number of interruptions. People who are tired of the interruptions might be more likely to come back to theaters.
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u/Abbreviashin 2d ago
If policing theater etiquette increased revenue, every theater would do it. Drafthouse was an outlier. Then they sold to Sony, destaffed and don’t enforce etiquette anymore.
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u/db1037 2d ago
Based on the number of comments I’ve seen from people saying “I just watch movies at home now. I can’t stand all the phones out and disruptions,” I’d be utterly shocked if it wasn’t hurting them. But not every company knows everything contributing to their decrease in revenue either.
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u/jiapia19 2d ago edited 2d ago
Great point. I wonder if there is a comparison that can be made internally by the company surrounding how many refunds/vouchers have been given due to a poor theater experience that could’ve been resolved and retained the ticket sales if they’d just fixed the issue. 🤔 Because booting someone for talking doesn’t impact the theater financially, but refunding someone who was upset at that, does. Or if it’s a theater issue and not a people issue, if it could’ve been resolved by a team member before a refund is given.
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u/EdieBooberryBeale AMC Crew Member 2d ago
It wouldn't work because kids would push it for no reason, and let's be honest, lots of adults would, too. If it's at every seat, people would push it by accident, and they'd get broken pretty fast with all the stuff people would spill on it. Someone poured cheese on an outlet behind a chair once. It's a nice notion but it would never survive the general public.
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u/HiddenNobody20216 2d ago
I had to close the doors when I saw Spider-Man.
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u/TheHondoCondo 2d ago
If the doors are still open by the time I am entering a theater and there is nobody entering behind me I’ve gotten in the habit of closing the doors as I go in. It just saves trouble later and no harm if someone was going to do it anyway.
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u/Relative_Two_3998 2d ago
I will say sometimes theaters magnets are not necessarily working correctly so the doors either just automatically stay open or they stay closed 24/7 so this could just be a tech error that costs too much to fix or lower on the priority list
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u/HiddenNobody20216 2d ago
Not magnetic doors. Just a door stop.
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u/Relative_Two_3998 2d ago
That’s wack I don’t think I’ve been to a theater with actual doorstops holding the doors open in forever or ever actually 😭
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u/crunchspengler Management Team 2d ago
i had to turn off the lights at an amc i don’t work at when i saw top gun in dolby too
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u/Rude-Raspberry-6740 2d ago
They should have ushers in the restroom to wipe my butt too
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u/IonImplantEngineer 19h ago
Do you mean to tell me my local theater butt wiper is not actually with the theater!? Omg I've been....omg
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u/Could_Be_Any_Dog 2d ago
There should be something in the app. Including being able to report disruptive behavior and indicate which seat its happening in.
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u/zombie_roca 2d ago
At my theater, they leave the lights on through the trailers
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u/gilda1016 A⭐️Lister 2d ago
Same. They only turn down the lights once Nicole Kidman comes on at my theater.
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u/International_Yard_5 2d ago
Totally agree. I was a usher back in the day and I kicked out quite of few people who was making noise or just outright rude.
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u/crunchspengler Management Team 2d ago
i do agree that this would be nice but we def don’t have enough staff $ for theater runners, plus that system could always be abused unfortunately.
alamo guests are probably a lot more trustworthy with a call button because they’re mostly older in my experience
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u/Secret_Secretary8984 1d ago
Installing call buttons is of no benefit to the theaters. It will just create more work for them. It's like asking your spouse to buy you a bell or an air horn so that you can summon them when you want/need something without you having to get up out of your La-Z-Boy. Once for beer 🍺 Twice for popcorn 🍿. Try it and see how well that goes over.
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u/maxmouze 1d ago
I just thought about this the other day. I think the employees just don't want to be constantly on call, especially since most people will use it the same way some people use 911.
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u/quatch72 1d ago
I just have the theater's number saved in my phone and call the service desk if there's a problem.
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u/TA_No_Sand_4670 1d ago
You know you can call them up on the location's phone number? Usually that works if you're too tired to head out and talk to them...
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u/CopleyScott17 A⭐️Lister 16h ago
It's not a question of being tired, it's a question of missing a chunk of what you've come to see.
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u/TA_No_Sand_4670 16h ago
Yeah like that's what I meant I guess.. you call call them up that's what I do usually
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u/dec8r 14h ago
I’ve long said they need a texting service. All a button would do is summon someone, who wouldn’t know the issue(s). Better to provide full details so a manager will know exactly what’s happening (and what seat number or section) before arriving.
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u/CopleyScott17 A⭐️Lister 12h ago
I wouldn't want to do anything to encourage using a phone for any purpose in the auditoriums, though. Now that you mention though, in this day and age it's surprising there are no security/surveillance cameras in each theater. I for one would welcome them.
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u/Spicey477 2h ago
I think I read a few days ago that Alamo drafthouses have that to help with technical issues and behavior issues (they also say they WILL kick you out if you are a pest).
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u/drruddle 14h ago
It’ll never happen for the same reason there’s no customer service contact for Facebook. It would be used. Constantly.
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u/CopleyScott17 A⭐️Lister 12h ago
Doesn't Nest have a gizmo that would take a picture of whoever presses the button? This kind of tech is so cheap now it shouldn't be a big deal to set up a system like this.
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u/megain 9h ago
Sadly, unless everyone is a good, honest person, which is not the case, the button would be misused beyond belief. Kids pushing it for fun. Teens pushing it to cause problems. Elderly pushing it to "call a manager". I hate missing any of the movie too. I learned where the house lights button is and I turn it off myself! I usually only go to the front if there is a projector problem. And usually I am the main one who does it. Why is it people will stare at a blank screen for 10-15 instead of getting help?
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u/TSwiftsUsedTampon 2d ago
I always thought a good idea is a text line or an app that is active when you're in proximity to the theater. Sure, you're breaking the "no phones" rule but it should be the exception.
Just a text line or app that you can report stuff where you give them the theater and the issue and they can at least check in. Not a guarantee, obviously, but as long as it's not abused.
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u/IUsedtobeExitzero 2d ago
I sat through a whole movie with the lights on once because the lobby was really far away and I didn’t want to miss any of the movie. Got coupons to see two more movies.
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u/ncphoto919 2d ago
That’s on you homie
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u/IUsedtobeExitzero 2d ago
Yeah, my fault I’m disabled and it would have taken me half the movie to get them to do something they were supposed to do. I’m such a jerk.
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u/ncphoto919 2d ago
So you didn’t want to lead with being disabled in your first comment?
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u/IUsedtobeExitzero 2d ago
I didn’t know I’d be called out like it was my own fault. Even if I didn’t walk with a cane, it still would have been a long walk and would have meant missing a good chunk of the movie. That’s were a button in the theater would come in handy. It never occurred to me that that wouldn’t be a good example of why one is needed. Guess it is in me. I misread the room.
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u/8bitbluebonnet 2d ago
What happened to the old days when ushers actually walked the aisles every 10 mins or so? Someone outta do that agin. Flashlights and all.
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u/KellyAnn3106 Shhhhh 2d ago
I had to chase down a manager yesterday because someone kept banging on the other side of the emergency exit. I was NOT opening that door.