The Alamo Drafthouses are by far the greatest theaters you can watch a film in, the food is pretty good, great alcoholic drink selections, fantastic previews that you won’t see anywhere else and also their policies for all movie-goers. Many have probably heard and/or seen something regarding their anti-texting policy and how they handle people who feel the need to disrupt a film. Well now they are taking things a bit further with their newest policy and by god, I can’t thank them enough!
Let me set the stage for you first! You arrive at a film usually about 20-30 minutes before the film starts. You get a great seat for you and who ever else is with you and you get comfortable and order some food and drinks to enjoy during the show. The place goes dark and the film starts. You then see some slap dick and his girlfriend trying to see if they can see open seats. They see some empty seats next to you in the middle and ask are those seats taken! You say yes, and they give you a dirty look or better yet they ask you if you can move down so they can sit together! Nothing infuriates me more when these pricks want you to give up your seat because you got their early and they decided to show up late just so they can sit together and have a decent seat. If you are nice enough to do so, they then sit down pull out their phone so they can see the menu and then ask about drinks and specials they have, all while ignoring the fact that the film is currently underway.
Well the Alamo is saying no more to this practice! Starting January 3rd 2013 the Alamo will no longer allow people into films if they arrive late. So that means if the ticket say 9PM you better make damn well you are there and in your seat at 9pm or else no movie for you. Now if you do arrive late, all is not lost. If you arrive late you will be offered a full refund on your ticket or you will be given tickets to a later showing. No more interrupting the fine patrons that decided to do the logical thing and get their early for a show.
Here is the announcement that came from the Alamo Drafthouse blog.
Most of you guys have noticed that the Alamo is growing and changing in a lot of ways; some big, some small. Through it all, we will always strive to maintain our identity as The Movie Theater For Movie Lovers.
This is hugely important to us and remains the foundation of our company. It is part of the the culture of respect from which our “Don’t Talk / Don’t Text” ethos was born. We’re truly fortunate to have customers who share our passion for not just movies, but for watching movies in as pure and uninterrupted a way as possible.
We are very excited to announce the rollout of a new solution designed to minimize distractions and make the moviegoing experience as pleasant as possible. It is an old idea, and one we have given a lot of thought to over the years, but we agree with many of our customers that its time has come.
Quite simply, no one will be seated once the film has begun. If you show up after the feature starts, you have missed it. The plane has left the terminal. If you bought in advance we can apply your ticket to another show or refund your money but you will not be admitted into the theater.
If a film starts at, say, 7:30 PM, you’re welcome to arrive anytime up to then, head comfortably to your waiting seat and enjoy the show, content in the knowledge that the only people you’ll see drifting past you in the darkness are our stealthy, ninja-like waitstaff. No more clumsy latecomers stepping on your Reeboks and fumbling up your elbows as they squint at their menus in the dark and chat with their server about the beer specials during the movie’s crucial opening scenes.
This change goes into effect on January 3. We will begin educating our customers immediately.
It’s a pretty major change, but a necessary one. We hope you like the new procedure and as always we’d love to hear your ideas on how to make it better.
I think all movie theaters need to take a few pages out of the Alamo’s book to better the movie going experience for everyone. That will probably never happen because most movie theaters only care about you spending money but still one can dream.
That being said, I can’t wait to see what clever PSA the Alamo comes up with to educate people about this change. The No Texting PSA is still one of my all time favorites. The Dallas location can’t open soon enough so I can watch as people new to a drafthouse are educated on proper movie etiquettes.
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