At the Movies

In all the years I've been working, I had always vowed that I would never work in food service. It wasn't so much that I thought I was above that type of job, I mean I cleaned out the below-groundlevel trenches at a faucet chroming plant for a couple weeks one summer, but I think it was always that I didn't want to deal with food or the customers.

Well, at the ripe old age of 36, I have found my way into a job that is now allowing me this pleasure. Granted, I don't have to fry burgers or anything like that, but working at a movie theatre has afforded me the opportunity to serve up food to hungry patrons on their way into the hottest new movies. It's rather easy actually. Scoop up some popcorn here, fill a cup with Coca Cola there, maybe even sell a big pickle (yes, people actually do buy and eat the pickles).

But the thing I am hating about this new adventure is the customers. It's like what Randal said in "Clerks," the job would be a lot better if it weren't for the customers.

I can count on at least once during every shift behind the concession counter a customer making some kind of rude or hateful comment about the prices of the concessions. Yes, they are over-priced, but that is how the theatre makes its money. But what these customers don't understand is that I am not coming in and setting the prices myself. I don't get a cut of it, and frankly, they don't have to buy any of the items we offer. One night, very seriously, a man told me after buying sodas and candy for about 5 kids, that we were robbing him. I just smiled and told him to enjoy his movie. It's what you have to do to get by -- smile and let it roll off your back.

That, plus the fact that we are supposed to try to upsell (convince the customer to buy a bigger size if available), reminded me of a scene from the movie "Ghost World." In the following clip, go to the point with 6:44 left and watch as Enid goes through what I go through.



The movie theatre concession business is very much like that.