Mr. Brown,
My father and I are both big Indiana Jones fans, so we made plans to see a midnight showing of the new film at AMC Fashion Valley 18 in San Diego. We bought our tickets in advance and arrived at the theater an hour and a half before the show. As you might guess from the time stamp on this email, we never got to see the movie. After the previews finished, the screen went dark. It took several minutes for the staff to get an image back, but it had no sound. About ten minutes later, the manager, Carmen, came in to tell us that they'd have sound restored momentarily, but they would be unable to start the film from the beginning.
Since my father and I had no interest in seeing only part of the film, we left. Carmen issued us a refund, two complimentary tickets, and two coupons for a free small soda and small popcorn. Were this any other showing, I would consider this an extremely generous gesture. But I don't go to the first showing of a movie just to see the movie; I go to see it with a theater full of people as excited as I am, a group of people I know won't talk through the movie, won't bring crying babies, and won't have their cell phones ringing. If you've ever been to the first showing of a major release, you know that it's an experience that can't be duplicated.
There are several more movies coming out this summer, and I am allocating a significant portion of my disposable income to go see them. I will be attending a couple more first showings and a number of evening shows on top of that. But since I clearly cannot trust AMC not to waste my time, I will not see them at one of your theaters, and I will advise my friends and family to do the same.
Sincerely,
Richard
