Comments on: The man who said “no”

By: Dave Knadler

Dave Knadler — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:08:48 +0000

Excellent post. Two rude people in conflict … always a moment guaranteed to make sure you don’t enjoy the movie you paid to see.

The guy who wouldn’t move is a selfish jerk, but the person who expected him to is equally so. In this instance, I’d have to side with the first jerk. People who show up late must take what’s available.

Agree with the earlier comment: in a perfect world, people would make room for others without being asked.

By: Melville’s kind of movie goer « Douglas and Main

Melville’s kind of movie goer « Douglas and Main — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:51:06 +0000

[…] January 23, 2009 · No Comments You are at a theater that is packed. A group shows up late and then asks the man in front of you to move over so they can sit together. What would you do? Todd knows what one man did. […]

By: Carl Cravens

Carl Cravens — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:24:27 +0000

Maybe I'm old (40), but I think people shouldn't even have to be asked to make room... they should do so when they see the need. And I think it's extremely rude to refuse to move to make room for others just because you got there first. You don't know why the group arrived late. They may have had no idea of the crowd, they may have been running late, traffic may have been unexpectedly bad. And they're your neighbor. To say, "Suck it up, I planned ahead and you didn't, so you can just live with it" isn't loving them, is it? Sure, there are a lot of people in our society who feel entitled, and will take every opportunity to impose on others. They annoy the heck out of me. We're becoming a society of selfish gits who only care about what benefits us. We can't learn to be a generous society by worrying about how others don't deserve our generosity. (Brad, the Wichita Symphony isn't using assigned seating for their Blue Jeans Concert this year. That kind of surprised me. But I wouldn't want assigned seating for a movie theater. I'm picky about where I sit, and I have to sit so that I don't turn my head at all, otherwise I experience neck pain and a tension headache.)

By: erin

erin — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:40:58 +0000

A long time ago Hayley and I went to a movie where we were just about the only patrons. Then a man and his wife came in and sat down RIGHT NEXT TO HAYLEY. When they had a whole theater of seats to choose from. So Hayley and I moved down a seat. It seemed kind of rude, but better for her to have an armrest to herself. Then they moved down again! He was really nice in his strangeness and said “Thanks! We didn’t want to ask you to move down again.” I’m not sure why Hayley doesn’t remember this, but oh my it was funny.

By: Todd

Todd — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:16:22 +0000

Amen, Brad! Aside from the alcohol, spacious seats and premium view of a gigantic screen, the assigned seats are my favorite aspect of the balcony seating at the Warren.

And Becky, I’m not torn – I’m ticked! It’s rude. But it’s also rude not to move. I’m just not sure which is the greater transgression.

By: Becky

Becky — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:49:24 +0000

This is an interesting post, Todd. I’m always torn about how to feel when someone shows up late and then rearranges everyone to accommodate them. I always move, but never want to.

Kind of a sad statement for the movie, though, that this pre-movie incident is what stuck with you.

By: Brad

Brad — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:49:13 +0000

Why don’t movie theatres use assigned seating when they issue tickets? Every other type of event venue does unless the event is a standing open area concert or something. Just go with best available seats are sold first system. It wouldn’t be that hard. I went to a movie in Germany a little over 10 years ago, and they used assigned seating. Now I’m not one of these guys that wants us to be like Europe, but they got this one right.