6 Things You Need to Know About the People that Work in the Movie Theater

4. We Sincerely Don't Like It When You Leave Trash in the Aisles, When We've Put Out About 50 Trashcans Near the Exit

You think that we don't remember you, but you'd be surprised how easily a woman with six kids who all get large popcorns, large drinks, and candy stick out in a line of elderly women trying to get into Magic Mike. So, when I go into Ice Age 4 and start sweeping up seven large bags of candy, pull out seven large drinks from the cup holders, and sweep up a sea of M&Ms, I know exactly who you are, and when you return, I'll just be a little less smiley. Because not just the theater I worked at, but theaters all across the country that I've visited make the conscious effort to put out trash cans in the rear of the theater. All you literally have to do is repeat what you did when you came into the theater, just in reverse. You're holding your candy and drinks, you walk out the exit, and you drop them in the trashcan. See, what people don't realize is that when you're lazy, it leaves the theater to be swept and cleaned. "Big deal. That's their job, right?" Sometimes. Our theater was fairly understaffed on certain shifts, which meant that someone working concessions had to go clean up the theaters once they let out. And the more mess made, the longer they'd be away from the concessions, which meant the longer the line would be at a single register, making the job harder for that one employee who's trying to sort out popcorn, candy, and tickets to Joe Hoodlum, who decided that he wasn't going to make it through Madea's Witness Protection without every last kernel we had in stock. Not only that, but we have to clear the theater as fast as possible, because there's another showing planning to take place in under 25 minutes in that same theater. So, if I'm in there trying to clean the best I can, and can't because Satan Son Hoodlum has crumpled all the Sweettarts into the ground to make it look like crack, then the audience outside waiting for their movie is going to suffer, because we're not supposed to let them into a dirty theater. I'm pretty much telling you that leaving your bags, drinks, and candy in the aisles or seats makes us start work in the seventh ring of hell.
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Cameron Carpenter is an aspiring screenwriter, current film and journalism student, and self-diagnosed cinephile, which only sounds bad in certain circles. Devoted fan of comics, movies, theater, Jesus Christ, Sidney Lumet, and Peter O'Toole, he sometimes spends too much time on his Scribd and comicbookmovie.com, but doesn't think you're one to judge, devoted reader. You can follow him on Twitter to watch him talk to people you didn't know exist. Oh, and Daredevil is quite the big deal around here (my head).