Thursday
There are things in life that I look forward to. Some are simple pleasures. Some take a little planning to bring to fruition. Either way, they elicit a favorable response.

Today, or rather ‘tonight,’ I had something that was a little bit of both in mind: Going to see the 12:15 am showing of Spider-Man!

Spider-Man!
Spider-Man!
Does whatever a spider can!

I should have consulted Mr. Murphy, or at least brushed up on his rather popular ‘law,’ which states: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” It seems that the tickets we got, which were ordered from the theatre’s website (screenshot) were NOT for tonight.
::: braincramp :::

According to the manager, “Sony won’t allow us to show the movie before 9 o’clock tomorrow.” Unfortunately, we didn’t get THAT answer until after a few minutes of teeth-pulling. Translation: Words…words….static…zhkkthzhzzzht

Let’s back up a couple of steps and review:

  • My friend, Paul, ordered the tickets online Wednesday night.
  • He went to pick up the tickets…. and NO ONE at the ticket window said anything to him about anything looking out of the ordinary.
  • We showed up approximately an hour early for the screening.
  • We were told that they were NOT showing the movie.
  • They had apparently sold tickets (50 or so) to other people who had seen the same listing on the website.
  • The manager did not seem to understand (or care, I’m not sure which it was) why we weren’t happy about the incident. And, rather than apologize and explain the Sony issue up front, something that you would expect from a rational person in a management position, she was argumentative and confrontational. Unnecessary and unprofessional. I could have accepted the situation FAR better had she been forthcoming with the truth from the beginning of the dialogue. After all of the hullabaloo, she gave us passes to see the movie at our convenience.
  • As of 01:10 on Friday morning, no attempts have been made to correct the error on the website.

I understand the constraints of business contracts. If something cannot be done or undone due to a binding agreement, so be it. That’s fine. Don’t attempt to tell me that I am wrong because of a mistake on your part. While I will see Spider-Man, I have not decided on my overall feelings about returning to that theatre to see it or any other movie. The five of us were not happy; I wonder how the other 50-odd people felt. If we and/or they tell how difficult it was to get the truth out of the manager, I wonder what the negative word-of-mouth opinions could potentially do to their business?

::: gets down from soapbox :::

I feel better now. Not better than James Brown, but I’m at least reasonably calm. Besides, there’s that pesky little “Thou shalt not kill” commandment to remember. Of course, I don’t remember seeing “Thou shalt not maim” nor “Thou shalt not tell others about your bad experience….” so there is still hope!

Peace.