People who demand "their" money back...

[Fancyclaps]

Nothing pisses me off more than when someone says they saw a movie so crappy in the theater that they demanded "their" money back from the manager and got it (I put their in quotation marks because it is no longer your money when you pay for a ticket).

You decided to see the movie, own up to your careless decision. I don't care how bad a movie is, it's basically stealing to get your money back after viewing it and it's a cheap, cheap move. You should have read reviews/watched trailers/read up on it before seeing the movie. It's not the mangagers fault, it's not the movie theaters fault, it's YOUR fault for seeing the movie and not liking it, so own up pussy.

*NOTE* this rant only has to do with people demanding their money back if the movie sucked, not if the audience was loud, obnoxious, rowdy, etc...

[Bahs]

i know what you mean,
to avoid this, just read some reviews before going to see a movie:)

[Tagia_Romero]

Yep. Do a little light reading for the movie you wish to see. Check out the general consensus. Ask opinions from people who have seen it. These people who demand their money back don't just frequent the cinema, they come to video stores too, saying they want their money back for renting a crap movie, and I have to explain to them every time it really doesn't work like that.

[The Postmaster General]

I would never ask for my money back, but here's the thing --- does everyone trust reviewers 100% of the time? Do advertisements let you know how shitty a movie is? And do we, or do we not, disapprove of putting money into the hands of studios who make shitty movies?

My issue arises when people ask for money back because the movie has subtitles, or is too violent for their kids - stuff they really should have known. If I go buy something at the store, and it's a piece of crap, I have a right to a refund. No store is going to turn you away because a flashlight doesn't work as well as it should. I've had to return food items because something was wrong with them. If you go to a restaurant and the meal sucks, you'll get a refund or replacement. I don't totally understand why movies should be different; however, I don't think theaters actually give you your money back, but instead give you passes to another show. I don't see what's so wrong with that.

Still though, fancy... nothing pisses you off more? I mean, have these theater rants extended to the point where it isn't just what people are doing before and during the movie that we are getting bent about what they do after the movie? Come on, man.

[Fancyclaps]

"My issue arises when people ask for money back because the movie has subtitles, or is too violent for their kids - stuff they really should have known. If I go buy something at the store, and it's a piece of crap, I have a right to a refund. No store is going to turn you away because a flashlight doesn't work as well as it should. I've had to return food items because something was wrong with them. If you go to a restaurant and the meal sucks, you'll get a refund or replacement. I don't totally understand why movies should be different; however, I don't think theaters actually give you your money back, but instead give you passes to another show. I don't see what's so wrong with that. "

Well movies, flashlights, and meals are all different things and I think they should all be held to different standards. That's like saying every movie you see and you don't like it means you can ask for a refund which is ridiculous. You're a big boy and you made your own decision. If RT had the movie at 95% and you still disliked, well maybe the problem is you, not the movie.

The restaraunt analogy is kinda off though. If you order your burger rare but you get it well done, then yeah you should have a refund. But if you order a burger rare and you get that burger rare but you just dislike it, you better not get a refund. The world shouldn't cater to you, don't eat at that restaurant next time, and don't see movies from that director any more.

I'd say your analogy of returning items with problems is equal to going to a movie with an obnoxious crowd and then demanding a refund, which I'm fine with.

"Still though, fancy... nothing pisses you off more? I mean, have these theater rants extended to the point where it isn't just what people are doing before and during the movie that we are getting bent about what they do after the movie? Come on, man."

Meh, hyperbole. I could of said "There are roughly 27-30 things that piss me off more" but that would have just been silly.

[CyclicNightmare]

If it's only a few minutes into the movie, I don't see why not. If it was a sold out show, that really sucks for those who didn't get in.

[Badbird]

Well, after nearly 15 years working in a movie theater, I must say that this happens to me very rarely, but it has happened.

I never give a refund if someone watched the entire movie, no matter what.

However, if it's within the first ten-fifteen minutes and they didn't know it was subtitled, or some shit, I'll give a refund. That's pretty standard policy.

In all my years, I can only think of a couple times where someone has been a true a-hole about wanting a refund because the movie sucked.

[The Postmaster General]

Well movies, flashlights, and meals are all different things...

Yet you are still offered reconciliation for complaining about all of them, and fall under the category of goods and services.

...and I think they should all be held to different standards.

Sure. That's why when you complain about a movie, you usually get passes to another movie, when you return a flashlight you get your money back, and when you get a bad meal, you better not finish it or chances are you'll get nothing.

That's like saying every movie you see and you don't like it means you can ask for a refund which is ridiculous.

Yet movie theaters still offer refunds for people who complain about movies. Movie theaters, much like me, don't really care how many movies people have complained about, although movie theaters actually have a reason to. I would really like to know how often this happens, and how you are aware of this happening, because I am totally unaware of a real-life example of someone being refunded for thinking a movie sucks - I've only ever seen people getting refunds for major theater issues (miniriot in one case, and projection problem in another...)

You're a big boy and you made your own decision.

Right, and someone can go to Amazon to research a flashlight, or go to Google and get restaurant reviews. They can still buy those goods or services and be entitled to a refund. The establishment makes those decisions, not busy-bodies who are peeved because they don't complain. That's the way it should be, since they are the ones with something to lose, not us.

If RT had the movie at 95% and you still disliked, well maybe the problem is you, not the movie.

Do people still assume that the average theater goer frequents Rotten Tomatoes? They recently talked about this on the Joblo podcast. If people ever go to the Internet for movie information, it's usually IMDb, where The Dark Knight was at one point the best movie ever made.

Either way, sure, and if a flashlight has a 4/5 star rating on Amazon and you still disliked it, maybe the problem is the flashlight, and not you. That doesn't mean that people aren't entitled to a refund.

And just to ask - Do you really like every movie that has a "fresh" rating on RT?

The restaraunt analogy is kinda off though. If you order your burger rare but you get it well done, then yeah you should have a refund. But if you order a burger rare and you get that burger rare but you just dislike it, you better not get a refund. The world shouldn't cater to you, don't eat at that restaurant next time, and don't see movies from that director any more.

Are you really still nitpicking my analogies? I'll gladly give you a refund if my analogies are so problematic.

I'd say your analogy of returning items with problems is equal to going to a movie with an obnoxious crowd and then demanding a refund, which I'm fine with.

No, that would be similar to not being able to buy something because there was a riot at the store.

It's easier to rip apart an analogy than to address the reasoning why the analogy was made. I even gave you the benefit of explaining my reasoning behind the analogies, but I don't see where you've addressed that.

"Still though, fancy... nothing pisses you off more? I mean, have these theater rants extended to the point where it isn't just what people are doing before and during the movie that we are getting bent about what they do after the movie? Come on, man."

Meh, hyperbole. I could of said "There are roughly 27-30 things that piss me off more" but that would have just been silly.

Well, yeah, even if you said 27-30 things, or even if you had said 2700-3000 things, hell, if you'd said 270,000,000,000-300,000,000,000 things, it wouldn't have mattered because you are still complaining about what people do after they see a movie. Hyperbole and sarcasm are hardly alien concepts to me.

I really don't understand here. Do you hang out at the customer service counter after seeing movies? Do you visit message boards where people have derided a movie you like by saying they got a refund on the "piece of shit."? I mean, why is this such a problem? That's why I made a point that complaining has extended from what people do before and during movies (the latter of which I can understand) to now we are worried about what people do after movies.

We tell people to stop putting hands in the studios who make pieces of shit, and we are also expected to complain when people ask for money back because they saw a piece of shit?

Seriously, how exactly is this annoying? As Badbird points out, it hardly ever happens, and when it does, it's pretty standard policy on how its dealt with.

[bigred760]

Well, the question is what are you paying for? Are you paying to be entertained for 2 hours or so? Or are you paying so that you hope you'll be entertained for 2 hours or so? Or are you just paying to kill 2 hours?

[echo_bravo]

Totally agree with the rant.

I do remember there was a rant on here back when Sin City came out I think. I am pretty sure the poster doesnt post here anymore but he was so disgusted with Sin City, that he and his girlfriend/wife wanted their money back because of the extreme violence.
A number of schmoes and I told him that there were plenty of warnings about the film which stated that it was a hard R film and not like Spiderman.

And I would NEVER ask for my money back ever. Just a dick thing to do IMO.

[echo_bravo]

I don't totally understand why movies should be different; however, I don't think theaters actually give you your money back, but instead give you passes to another show. I don't see what's so wrong with that.
.

I totally see what you are saying and would actually love that idea, but I can see assholes completely taking advantage of the situation. It would turn into a huge clusterfuck.

[Abbie Normal]

I think it will be ok to ask for your money back when they theaters get a machine that can wipe out your memory of the movie. In exchange for erasing the movie memory the theater will with replace the space with advertising.

[Heisenberg]

I agree with the rant, people who do this are fucking cunts.

[RustyRazor]

That truly takes balls.
I got my money back regarding that fiasco with "Up" (it's in this rant section) BUT I didn't see any of the film.
How do you view a film and because you didn't like it, you feel you shouldn't pay for it?
So it'd be okay if that refund person, who was in the hospital recently was contacted by the doctor that operated on them and because he didn't like the way the guy signed the check, he's going to reverse the surgery and leave it at that?

[A.J. Hakari]

I've rarely asked for my money back; there are only three moments I can think of, all of which involved me feeling very ill at the time and asking before the movie had ended. But as for requesting a refund because the movie's so shitty, I've never done it.

[The Postmaster General]

What I think happens is that people go on message boards and say they got their money back as a way of trolling and getting people bent out of shape over movies they like. Even Badbird, who I believe works at a notable chain (could be wrong) has pointed out that the policy is no refunds if the movie is over. As I keep pointing out, I've never seen theaters give money back - they give passes to other movies.

Does everyone really think this is something actually happens, much less on a regular basis? And even still, I mean, this is like ranting because someone wore jeans that were too tight, or had a stupid T-shirt - I mean, fuck these people. I understand that sometimes these rants are more about getting support than complaining about things that are actually common, so maybe I should have clarified, "Yes fancypants, they are douchebags." but I thought me pointing out that I would never ask for money back because a movie sucked was enough to say that I agree with fancypants; my point was that I don't understand what the big deal is.

I'd really like fancypants to explain what prompted this rant. because it's riddling.

[g1ng3rsnap9ed]

Great Thread topic. I hadn't even known that people actually do this, but it's absolutely ridiculous. The theater itself didn't make the film that ended up sucking, and it was the movie-goers own fault that they decided to see Land of the Lost instead of The Hangover, so they should get over it! :p

[John Galt]

I've never asked for my money back for seeing a movie because the choice to see the movie was MINE.

However, I would like to go before George Lucas and ask for the two hours of my life BACK from having seen The Phantom Menace.

[Fancyclaps]

Who's this fancypants guy/girl?

Nevermind. The "riddling" reason I brought up this rant was because...it BOTHERS ME! No, I've never actually witnessed anyone getting a refund, but I have read about it in reviews and on message boards. Are those people lying? Maybe, but maybe not. Either way I'm sure it goes down, it has to based on probability. I don't care if it's happened once, twice, or a million times, it still pisses me off and that person is a spoiled prick for doing it.

I also should include this rant to hating people that just ask for their money back and get denied (oh if they get free passes to another movie, same shit as getting your cash back).

[someguy]

I've never asked for my money back for seeing a movie because the choice to see the movie was MINE.

i'm glad you and everyone else is pro-choice here

[The Postmaster General]

Who's this fancypants guy/girl?

Nevermind. The "riddling" reason I brought up this rant was because...it BOTHERS ME! No, I've never actually witnessed anyone getting a refund, but I have read about it in reviews and on message boards. Are those people lying? Maybe, but maybe not. Either way I'm sure it goes down, it has to based on probability. I don't care if it's happened once, twice, or a million times, it still pisses me off and that person is a spoiled prick for doing it.

I also should include this rant to hating people that just ask for their money back and get denied (oh if they get free passes to another movie, same shit as getting your cash back).


LMAO! Sorry, fancyclaps - I've even corrected myself in other threads when writing your name. There's a song I listen to a lot and also a certain Mr. Show sketch that gets "fancy pants" stuck in my head.

I do really believe those people who say they do this are full of shit. This is probably why they do it, because they know either that it bothers people, or they are too lazy to come up with an actual way to say they hated the movie. I've seen it on IMDb quite a bit and it's usually short posts along the lines of, "This movie blows. I got my money back!"

If people really do this, it is ridiculous; however, I'm also not the type of person who would return something just because I didn't like it, or would try to get money back from a meal. The exceptions being, like I bought a CD player that broke after 3 weeks, or there's been times where I've gotten a meal and it was undercooked, or was just flat-out inedible -- those were the same types of examples you used against my analogies. (Usually with the meal, a waitress will prompt returning the meal, or getting something else because they notice you haven't eaten it...)

There comes a certain point when consuming something, be it a movie a meal, or in using products when you should own up -- a point of no return.

I really do hope Badbird's theater policy is across the board, because like echo mentions, it's something really ripe for abuse.

A personal anecdote: There's a restaurant chain called Cracker Barrel that I'm sure everyone is familiar with (good or bad) and for years I had always gotten their country fried steak. When I moved from Florida to Minnesota, I went to one and ordered my usual, and it was nearly impossible to chew. I'm not kidding, it was like chewing on the sole of a shoe.

The manager came out, and he seemed perplexed, even with me showing him how hard it ripped apart, and noting I've eaten probably a hundred of them. They did knock the order off my ticket. I went back some time later, and tried again - same thing. This time, I didn't ask for shit, I just stopped going there (figuring Minnesotans just didn't know how to make cracker food). It's just owning up and, like you want people to do, taking responsibility for you choices.

[sbunn10]

Country Fried Steak is meant to be eaten in the south :)

I agree with basically everything you've said Bubba, but I don't think someone should be able to get their money back bc of a film's bad quality. I also don't think they should get free passes to another show. If you pay for a ticket to a movie, you are willingly taking a chance. Everyone has different opinions, and everyone will feel differently about movies... that's just the way it is. If the movie theater gave away free passes to everyone who hated a movie, they'd get about half as much business as they do.

[NathanRomano]

(After Having Sex)

"You weren't so good. Can I have my sperm back, please?"

[The Postmaster General]

(After Having Sex)

"You weren't so good. Can I have my sperm back, please?"


Hey, I knew this patch-eye wearing whore in Orlando that could do that for an extra five bucks.

[Badbird]

Well, I can't speak for other theater companies, as mine is a small, independent group, but I had a friend a few years ago who worked for AMC and I'm pretty sure they wouldn't just give a refund for anything.

If it was something stupid like a crying baby that no one bothered to complain about (which would be almost all the time - know one wants to be the one to have to leave the theater and complain about anything), they might give a coupon for a free popcorn or something. But for not liking the movie? Never.

[Heisenberg]

I've rarely asked for my money back; there are only three moments I can think of, all of which involved me feeling very ill at the time and asking before the movie had ended. But as for requesting a refund because the movie's so shitty, I've never done it.

How is this any better? You still chose to see the film, So why do you think you deserve a refund cause you felt ill? Not the theatres fault, and you have took up a seat that could have been sold to someone else.

[The Postmaster General]

http://www.joblo.com/forums/pictures/6866/image_c1d2199c.jpg

[The Postmaster General]

Slightly less serious though, if he'd had taken a seat, this means the theater was sold out, which also hypothesizes that he took a seat from one theoretical guy going to the movie by himself. Not to mention that I'm sure 99% of movie goers, if not 100% would rather not have a sick guy in the theater with them. Then we are also presuming that AJ woke up saying, "argh! I feel like shit! Maybe I should go see a movie!"

This reminds me of a new policy at my work where we have to plan calling in 48 hours in advance for trainings, as if people are like, "Argh! I think I'll get sick the day after tomorrow! I better call and cancel!"

Again though, the theaters make the policies and know what they are doing. The amount of movies AJ sees per year, I don't really see the huge detriment to him taking money back from Peter to give it back to Peter.

[overwatch]

Only time I've done something similar is when I saw Pirates 2 (not the porno) and we were sitting in the front seat next to a bunch of drunk guys. We asked if we could swap our tickets to the showing that was starting 20 minutes later. We only watched about 10 minutes of the movie.

But people asking for a refund because they didn't like a movie? No, they don't deserve a refund, that's stupid that anyone would even think of it.

[A.J. Hakari]

How is this any better? You still chose to see the film, So why do you think you deserve a refund cause you felt ill? Not the theatres fault, and you have took up a seat that could have been sold to someone else.

1) For these three occasions, loads of seats were available. They were far from sold out, so there was more than enough space.

2) I see where you're coming from. But let me explain myself this way. I'm paying admission for the opportunity to see a movie. If it's a piece of crap, hey, that's the price I pay; I'm not going to demand a refund because of it. But if forces beyond my control (i.e. feeling extremely ill) prevent me from seeing a movie at the time, I see it reasonable to ask for a refund to be given another pass. Keep in mind, I didn't just take the money and run; I came back to see the movies at a later date. The theater was incredibly gracious in letting me do so, as they didn't have to do it. But they did, and it was only on those rare occasions, out of the hundreds of movies I've seen in the theater over the past few years.

[Reigh Kaufman]

I would never - unless there were mitigating circumstances, as mentioned in previous posts - ask for my money back, even if I walk out early. I understand the counter-argument, however, though I disagree if the motivation behind it is simply that the film was "shit", which is subjective, abstract and wholly inappropriate if you have sat until the end credits before making your judgement.

I think the dictionary has the final word on this debate, though:

zyzzyva (n) - any of various tropical American weevils, often destructive to plants

Hmm. An interesting persepective.

[The Postmaster General]

I see where you're coming from. But let me explain myself this way. I'm paying admission for the opportunity to see a movie. If it's a piece of crap, hey, that's the price I pay; I'm not going to demand a refund because of it. But if forces beyond my control (i.e. feeling extremely ill) prevent me from seeing a movie at the time, I see it reasonable to ask for a refund to be given another pass. Keep in mind, I didn't just take the money and run; I came back to see the movies at a later date. The theater was incredibly gracious in letting me do so, as they didn't have to do it. But they did, and it was only on those rare occasions, out of the hundreds of movies I've seen in the theater over the past few years.


So this is validation that some theaters do give back cash money. Am I reading this correctly Adam?

[A.J. Hakari]

So this is validation that some theaters do give back cash money. Am I reading this correctly Adam?

Yes, I did get money back, not just another pass, for at least one of the movies.

[SpiralEye]

No one should ever get their money back because they didn't like the movie. No one should get a free pass if they didn't like the movie.

I've read people comparing a movie (or any piece of art) to products and services. NOT THE SAME THING. Yes, you should get a refund or replacement for a flashlight that doesn't work. It has a function, and it either serves that function or it doesn't. Same with food. You ordered it your way, and it was well-done when you ordered it medium. Or it was inedible. Yes, get your money back.

But movies (or any art form, be it visual, music, etc.) are in the eye of the beholder. You pre-pay and take the gamble. You shouldn't get concert tickets back because you didn't like the music. You shouldn''t get money back for a CD you didn't like, and you shouldn't get a refund from a museum because you didn't like the exhibits. Because, in the end, it's all about TASTE. If you hated The Watchmen so bad that you feel ripped-off...too effing bad. Why should the theater have to take a hit for your personal taste? You're gambling to be entertained. GAMBLING. If you don't win the lottery, you don't get your money back. Same thing.

And let's face it: if you ignored all warnings and thought Land of the Lost was going to be the next Goodfellas...you deserve to ask for your money back and not get it. And the rest of us have the right to laugh at you.

[The Postmaster General]

I've read people comparing a movie (or any piece of art) to products and services. NOT THE SAME THING. Yes, you should get a refund or replacement for a flashlight that doesn't work. It has a function, and it either serves that function or it doesn't. Same with food. You ordered it your way, and it was well-done when you ordered it medium. Or it was inedible. Yes, get your money back.

Yeah, but you can get a refund on a flashlight even if it doesn't work. You can get a refund on a meal even if it's edible. You can also apparently get a refund on a movie if you didn't like it.

They were compared on the basis that the refunds are made available. We aren't talking about trying to see in the dark with a movie or eat a movie. We were talking about people getting their money back, so the reason they were compared should have been obvious.

Either way, the overall point was why exactly do people give a shit, if the people giving the money back don't give a shit and keep doing it. I've never heard anyone rant because someone got a refund much less worry about WHY they got a refund.

This was already spelled out when someone else pointed out the same thing.

[NuclearMisfit]

I can understand if something happens to the film within the last few minutes of the movie where the customers dont really get to see the ending but asking for a refund because you dont like the movie is just being an asshole.

[The Postmaster General]

I can understand if something happens to the film within the last few minutes of the movie where the customers dont really get to see the ending but asking for a refund because you dont like the movie is just being an asshole.


Agreed, but I still don't know who these people are. They might be assholes across the board.