Everyone likes to help the less fortunate—at least, that’s what we’re going to go with publicly for the sake of this argument. That said, is it really appropriate to be asked to pony up donation money when you’re sitting in a theater waiting for your movie to begin? You’ve already paid more than you probably wanted to for the tickets, not to mention any refreshments—shouldn’t that ticket price also include an implied guarantee that you won’t be asked to tithe?
One reader, Karen, was particularly annoyed last week when the ushers walked around during the previews asking individual patrons for donations. Here’s the letter she sent to Regal:
On Monday afternoon, my partner and I attended “The Strangers,” at Regal, Union Square. In the past, our experiences here have been wonderful, with friendly staff and a comfortable environment. $12 a ticket is pricey, but it’s worth it for an hour or two of pleasant, quiet escapism.
I was SHOCKED when a manager of this studio came into our auditorium after the trailers had started to panhandle from patrons. The manager said something about collecting pocket change for a charity that Regal believes in. Then the staff proceeded to go around, foisting a money-bag in patrons’ faces and loudly asking, “Do you have anything you want to give?” It really put people on the spot, in front of others. The whole experience of being aggressively begged from in a space that we had paid to relax in was painfully awkward. It’s rude, and it alienates customers.
I discussed this event with friends, one of whom said it happened to him when he went to the same theatre. If this is a case of corporate offices forcing managers to engage in the humiliating behavior of begging money from patrons who’ve already paid, please put a stop to that. A donation jar in the lobby for any causes corporate believes in would be much more appropriate. (Donating a portion of the ticket prices we’ve already paid rather than trying to milk customers for more would be even more appropriate.) If this is a case of a lone employee begging from customers in this location, then that’s something corporate also needs to know about.
Is this sanctioned behavior? We’re not sure we want to go back to this theater again. Are in-theater, aggressive solicitations now part of your regular movie going experience?
Look, we’re not saying we’re against people helping people, and we don’t think that’s what Karen’s saying, either. For all we know, she pulled a wagon full of foster kids around Central Park earlier that day. What bothers us is when a business tries to force a donation at an inappropriate moment—that is, during a private business transaction.
As Karen points out, if the theater believes in this charity, they can donate a portion of ticket (or concession) profits, or screen PSAs during the previews, or make their employees wear slogan-filled t-shirts. (All of these things would also better serve the theater from a marketing perspective.) Just let us watch our crummy Hollywood summer movies in peace, Regal.
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I had the same thing happen at Regal in pensicola florida when they were re-releasing the star wars movies back in 1997. I dont recall what the charity was but they had 5 employees, 4 moving up and down the rows, and 1 doing a sales pitch at the front. At 1 point she said that they wouldnt be starting the movie until they sold x number more of whatever it was they were trying to sell. My friends kept me from calling them out on the BS as they didnt want us to get tossed out. It was the last time i went to that theater.
Living in LA spoiled me: I almost always go to the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood, even though I live over 30 minutes away. (A new one opened in Sherman Oaks, but it’s just too far LOL)
Arclight: no ads, no panhandlers
One caveat: albeit worthwhile, it’s DAMN expensive; however, its prices are nowhere near as expensive as what El Capitan charges…
If the movie isn’t played at the Arclight, and I’m too lazy to go to the Mann’s Chinese Theater, then I’ll go to the Pacific Theatre at the Grove. I’ve almost completely stopped going to AMC and UA/Edwards theaters because the theaters suck, the rude/immature patrons suck, and the commercials suck, including but not limited to the trivia quizzes…
Grocery stores are doing this too, at least at Publixes in my part of Florida. When I want to give money to a charity or cause, I do it directly, and I’m not inclined to help a company make a big donation (while enjoying its accompanying PR, tax breaks, etc.) they didn’t pay for.
Oh this company needs to be flamed. I went to their website to bring their attention to this article, at URL [www.regmovies.com] and how generous, they only ALLOW you 255 whole characters for your comment. FCUK THAT. We all know what that says – they could care LESS about your opinion, or your business.
The nerve of them holding people’s movie hostage and asking for charity money. I would have stood up and yelled at the top of my lungs, no jackass, why don’t you give me $12 – my money back for ruining this experience for me? For all I know you are pocketing the donations.
If people want to be hounded for donations, they go to church, a homeless shelter, a downtown street, or seminars.
Further, I would report the local manager to the State Attorney General as a possible scam artist, and call the local TV reporters – could be a juicy story for them too.
That should be more than enough to get him disciplined or fired, exactly what he deserves for pulling this.
I can only imagine what is next – homeless people being allowed to go and bother people during the film…? Phones on the aisle for telemarketers to call? Oh of course, silly me – commercials every 10 minutes – that will be next. Along with little screens in the seat back in front of you (like airlines) showing constant ads to distract you from the film (and with a credit card slot so you can give more to their bogus charities).
Maybe we need to start consumer and employee’s unions for movie theaters…
@BuddyGuyMontag: Um NO, why don’t YOU STFU asswipe? And leave people the hell alone at their PAID movie.
@MumbletyEmma: RUDE OBNOXIOUS MANAGERS = RUDE OBNOXIOUS PATRONS. There ya go.
Invoking how much the night cost you to justify not donating is not convincing. What, you’re so wiped out from enriching yourself that you can’t spare a dime for a worthy cause? It’s like you’re saying “Yes I have plenty of money. And it’s alll for spending on me. It’s mine.”
Or it’s like the holiday Salvation Army bell ringers, which I believe are also unpopular here. I mean, seriously, who is this jerkoff suggesting that you remember the neediest while you’re so busy buying shit?
(Suggested reading: Les Misérables.)
@WayneK2: For what it’s worth, this is an industry-wide annual appeal for the Will Rogers Memorial Fund.
I see now that Wikipedia explains it all. 72 years is a long time. Good for them.
@hamsangwich: So you’re saying it’s ok for us to give money to your corporation which then donates to the charity and gets the tax right off?
Why not? That you donate your time doesn’t make what Regal is doing wrong. You made a choice. They made a different choice. So what?
@sholnay: There is no reason for a company to ask its patrons to donate on their behalf.
Again, why not? They’re free to ask. You’re free to disagree and take your business elsewhere if they don’t accommodate you. Problem solved.
Exact same experience as the original post while watching Iron Man a few weeks ago! I was so baffled as to why the theater people were shouting at the top of their lungs to be heard over the previews that were going on at the very moment…THE NEW BATMAN preview of all things. Augh! Then they came around and shoved a big plastic bucket and blocked our view of the screen to solicit donations, pausing and repeating their donation mantra. It was completely uncalled for.
I give to charities on my own time, thank you very much.
First there were commercials and now shameless corporate panhandling.
Is it any wonder I haven’t been to a movie theatre in ages?
@Consumer007: Sounds like you told Regal. Please, flame the entire list of participating theatres. They’ll take your concerns very seriously. Happy Holidays!
You know, if I was that incensed, I’d have found out if they had a satisfaction guarantee. OP didn’t, and donated a LOT more than they wanted to the perpetuation of this. WTG
I work at a Regal theater and while I can’t tell what those specific employees did with that money, I can say that all of the money gathered from this is supposed to go here [www.regmovies.com] and that I hate the idea of begging movie patrons for money as much as anyone else, which is why I refuse to do it.
Wake up people, Mike Campbell, the CEO of Regal, was just honored by the Will Rogers Institute a few months ago with an award presented by Tom Cruise at their annual ceremony that was hosted at the Barker’s Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport. You think complaining to corporate headquarters is gonna stop this behavior? I doubt it. Mike Campbell met Tommy Boy on your dime.
@meadandale: You have it backwards. First (in 1936) there was “shameless corporate panhandling”. Then, a half-century later, there were commercials.
@MeMikeYouNot: I remember the Will Rogers Institute too. It’s still around, and Regal is listed as one of the participating theater chains: [www.wrinstitute.org]
It’s interesting that everyone here is basically complaining because they felt like they were shamed into giving money to charity. I’d argue that if you are feeling shame for not giving money to charity, give them a dollar or your pocket change. If you aren’t feeling guilty about it, what do you care?
If you really think that they are skimming donations, do a little investigating or report it to the police. I know times are tight and it’s hard sometimes to donate, but if you can afford to go to the movies at the prices they charge today you can afford to put a buck in a cup.
That being said, being all in your face and watching to see how much you donate is rude. I’ve seen the other extreme too, though. After running one of their commercials the theater employee said, ‘It’s OK, I’m not going to bother walking around. If you want to donate come find someone at the concession stand.’ Lots of people already had their wallets out. A good cause lost out on some money.
There are also some charities I won’t donate too, but usually most business places don’t tend to collect for controversial causes. If your feeling particularly grumpy, tell them you can’t donate because the tickets cost so much.
If I “put a buck in the cup” of every person who asks me on a daily basis, I’ll be one of the people that these charities need to help.
I’ll donate when and where I want, thank you very much, especially if I’m paying admission.
the only charity i give to is the salvation army…..they use most of the money for good stuff….i don’t like being shamed into giving…..
@nacoran:
(Emphasis added.) You are proving the point of those who say they are shamed into giving. We all know how much we give to charities. But the rest of the world does not. If you’ve already given much more than a dollar or if you find that the charity being promoted is not your cup of tea you may well make the decision not to give in this specific instance. Ah… well here’s the rub: when are in the theater and being pressed for a donation, what goes through the mind of other people is exactly what you said above “if you can afford to go to the movies at the prices they charge today you can afford to put a buck in a cup”.
Also, there’s no need to investigate or report any skimming to the police. The addition of middlemen in the chain of donation increases the risk that there will be skimming or mismanagement. It stands to reason then that you’d want to reduce the number of middlemen. The theater adds no value to the donation and thus should be eliminated from the chain to reduce the risk of skimming or mismanagement. If somehow the deal is that they match donations, there is a way to do it without being part of the chain. A company I used to work for did just that: they encouraged donations by employees and matched money donated by their employees but they never handled the donation money themselves.
OK… how ’bout when they ask me if I want to donate money to some charity as I’m paying for my groceries at the supermarket?! The OP is right: if the chain wants to support some charity, then please donate a portion of your proceeds/profits, but to hassle me at the check-out counter is beyond annoying!
It sort of warms my heart to know that there are people in the world who have so few worries that they can spend their indignant-letter-writing time on a movie theater that passes the hat for charity.
I agree that it isn’t my favorite part of a business transaction — I don’t love it when they ask me at the grocery store whether I want to donate a dollar to the Miracle Network or whatever. But for God’s sake, say no and go about your day. Businesses helping raise money for charity by asking their customers if they’d like to donate is a long tradition, and the Will Rogers campaign is a specifically long tradition. If having to say no to an appeal for loose change is the worst thing that happens to you at the movies, be grateful, because you could get the person behind you who keeps asking his companion what just happened in the movie.
A couple decades ago when I regulary went out to the movies, the Hoyts theatres chain (acquired by Regal a few years back) used to solicit for the Jimmy Fund. It was always about this time of year, just as the summer “blockbuster” films were released. More customers means more potential donations, I suppose. This usually ended after about two weeks or so.
I don’t go to the Hollywood movies anymore; my wife had to practically drag me into a screening of “Eight Below” a couple years back. The Nextel chirpers at the end of the first “Spider-Man” feature really killed it for me; I average about one visit to an IMAX theatre a year, the last time was for “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”. IMAX patrons seem to be a bit more mature and keep their wireless phones silent, possibly due to the higher ticket prices. The better seats, audio and occasional 3-D features keep me coming back too.
They asked people for donations at The Strangers? I sort of assumed that everyone who paid good money to watch slasher films was some sort of sociopath.
I’ve experienced this charity panhandling in the Dillons grocery checkout, the Walmart checkout, and McDonalds drive up window. These are three mega corporations that ironically, make out like bandits whenever there’s a local catastrophe and people rush to the store to buy water and other goods to donate. The charity panhandling by those corps makes me really angry, and it’s hard to keep my cool with the poor employee who’s supposed to ask for the donation. My urge, although I’ve refrained from actually doing this, is always to ask for a reciprocal donation from them for my two causes–Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
There’s a local Regal multiplex where the staff used to go into auditoriums (or maybe they still do, I haven’t been to that one in some time) to get donations during the WR Institute promotion. Fortunately, they did it by going in about 2-3 mins before the ads were scheduled to end, turning the sound off, and they were usually out of there and had the sound back on by the end of The 20/First Look. They shouldn’t actually be doing this during or after the trailers, that’s just out of line (in fact, I’d prefer if they didn’t go into the auditoriums to try to get donations – I’m glad to say I haven’t encountered this yet at any other Regal, except for one time when one of the Spiderman movies was out and they were doing Spiderman trivia contests where people won – well, I forget the prizes, I’m thinking free popcorn or something).
At the Loews near my house they pause after the trailers (or maybe before) and ask if anyone wants to donate to the Will Rogers Institute. It’s a little annoying but they only ask the group. If people want to donate they hold their dollar of whatever up. Going up to people and putting them on the spot is wrong.
I never met a panhandler that I didn’t hate.
Here’s some responses I’ve used in the past… “WTF! I JUST WANT TO WATCH A FUCKING MOVIE! YOU’VE ALREADY CHARGED ME $18! GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME YOU DAMN DIRTY APE! MOMMY HE’S TOUCHING ME! HEY KID, DO YOU WANT SOME CANDY! HEY ISN’T THAT LINDSAY LOHAN!
I don’t even go to the movie theater anymore because of the obscene prices. I wouldn’t mind paying $24+ for a good experience, but I’m sick of people talking, texting, kicking my chair, begging for donations, etc.
I have since started supporting local stage theatre. In the Washington, DC area, we have plenty of professional theatres, but I urge you all to skip one movie this year and go support your local community, academic, or professional theatre.
In the professional theatres, they don’t even allow kids, you get kicked out for using a cell phone, and most places offer “pay what you can” ticket nights or other discounts. Sometimes, I only have $5 and I want to see a show, so I go on one of these nights. And being that the shows are live, they usually turn out to be better than the overused, predictable Hollywood plot formulas.
If that happened to me, I’d be reluctant to go back to the theatre.
I donate to a charity I support every month, and I also donate sometimes at grocery stores, pet stores, you name it.
But if I am seated and ready to watch a movie, please leave me alone! Do not want!
I’m so glad my local theater chain (dickensons) doesnt do this (or at least I have yet to witness it so far). I agree with the others who say that the current movie theater experience has just gotten worse. Too expensive,commercials mixed in with previews etc. etc.. Its gotten so bad that I just download most of the “marginal” films I want to see (saves a ton of money) & then only go to the theater to see the very FEW movies that do interest me enough to waste money seeing it. It costs me roughly 23 bucks to see a film at a theater (ticket price plus my usual concession purchases). ANd I see a film on average about once every 2-3 months.
The last thing I would want when I am treating myself is an in your face sales pitch.
“…And Regal Cinemas is proud to present this check for $50,000 to the Human Fund…”
Nowhere will they mention $49,000 came from their patrons
@DeltaPurser:
I agree…. this recently happened to me at a walmart checkout. Was asked to donate for something & i was so suprised at it that I immediately kneejerked & said “no thanks”.
Businesses sure do have serious balls to actively ask from their customers who were gracious enough to buy from the business in the first place.
I’d be more willing to put some coins in a countertop jar than from being asked while i am basically captive (paying for purchases/watching a movie).
@Michael Belisle: There’s nothing wrong with asking for donations, but this is overly intrusive. The previews are playing, which means most people are now psychologically cemented to their seats, and some people actually enjoy this part of the experience. Employees are now coming up to you and asking for money, instead of you coming to them. Their kind of charity is soliciting their patrons at a very improper time. It’s pretty rude, and this site is about informing people of their options to take their business elsewhere.
The Salvation Santas are intrusive too, what with that goddamn bell ringing, but to a much less degree. I actually like seeing them and donating so long as they’re not the dirty, in-your-face turds that hang out at the grocery stores around here. The mall ones seem to be much nicer.
Folks, get used to it. As the economy weakens and the price of everything rises, you will be hit up more and more and in the most inconvenient and inappropriate places. You have to make a personal moral decision to simply ignore the request or give them a buck to get over your personal feelings of guilt or whatever. My family donates time to the community and our lightly-used second hand items to Goodwill and the Salv Army. I cant afford to give anyone my money. As it is, I’ll probably be panhandling because there wont be any Social Security by the time I retire. My only suggestion is to give to the charity of your own choosing and simply ignore all other requests. Doing otherwise will either render you broke or perpetually pissed off.
I saw The Strangers at a local Regal theater here in Dallas last Saturday and none of this crap went on.
I’m thinking this is isolated.
The movie, however, blew.
Whenever I get asked to donate money to some cause I always reply, “No, thanks. I’m a misanthropist.” I think it confuses people who relate it to philanthropist.
That happened to me a few weeks ago at Regal Union Square when I was seeing Iron Man. The manager was trying to talk in between trailers and kept getting drowned out. I had no clue what she was talking about, but she wanted money.
I don’t like donating at grocery stores/restaurants/etc because I don’t know how that money is being handled or where it’s going before it reaches its final destination, and in whose name the money is being donated. Usually prefer to donate directly to the charity, or to the Red Cross, or wherever.
Wow, I didn’t realize people would be so excitable on this topic.
There’s two things at work here: One, collecting donations for a charity and two, how aggressive the staff was in getting donations.
Karen’s letter smacks of self-importance, and that lends an air of exagerration to the entire piece. If the manager was in fact rude and demanding for donations, then I could see the problem. I don’t think that’s the case. I think Karen was just offended and tried to magnify everything that she saw that was offensive.
When we collected for Jimmy fund, it was easy. We went to the front of the auditorium, let the trailer run, and then slowly walked to the back making eye contact with people. If they wanted to donate, they’d get up and we’d go over to them. If not, we finished our lap and the movie would run. A little invasive, yes, but nowhere nearly as offensive as Karen lays out.
I agree that if the staff was over-aggressive, then yes, there’s your problem. But there is NOTHING wrong for asking for charity donations.
i don’t think theaters usually make anything off the ticket sales actually, those mostly or all go to the studios
that’s why a hot dog costs 6 bucks
Karen also may be confused about what the trailers are. My experience in a Regal theatre has been that the donation trailer runs between the entertainment infomercial (formerly called “The Twenty”, not sure if it still is or not) and the actual, REAL trailers. The Twenty is shown with house lights up, the trailers with lights down.
BTW, Manager of the “studio”? Did Harvey Weinstein come in asking for donations???????
@baristabrawl: Right. You paid $12 to see the movie. Most of that goes to the movie’s producers and distributors. Theaters make most of their money from concessions, and there’s only so much they can inflate popcorn and soda prices. It’s that or stare at a blank screen.
I haven’t had the pleasure of being hit up at the movies yet, but the continuous chorus of solits at the cash register and outside stores, post office, etc. has me very much in “sorry, no freaking way” mode. (Also thanks, but I’ve been declining your store card at the register for 20 years, get the hint?)
My kids’ teachers also want to tell me where to donate (and on whose behalf to have my kids hit up friends and family) and incorporate that into her lesson plan. I’m incorporating it into my own plan to teach my kids not to be mallable and “just go along”. I appreciate what I have and give to causes of my choice that I know to be legit and to have low overhead, but don’t tend to do so with anything but cash as I do not care to be hounded, and that is what the charity INDUSTRY has come to.
That’s odd. The Regal here asks you if you wish to donate as you are purchasing your ticket.
I am always annoyed by the charity pleas. Mostly it is “do you want to donate a dollar to so and so” and for this dollar, you get to put your name on some ugly paper shape that they tape up on the window of the grocery store and maybe five cents of my dollar has gone to actually helping somebody.
At the place I work, we were given really horrible raises this year. Not even enough to offset the rising cost of gas for the commute. And now, the whole month of June is this employee giving campaign where they expect us to donate money to make our facility better. It makes me want to kill somebody.
I worked for Regal Cinemas (or Regal Entertainment Group) for about 3 years starting from 2003. Right now there trying to push there “Stars of Hope” charity drive. The major charity that gets the most attention is “The Will Rogers Institute”. When I was working, they would have us ask if you would donate a $1 to the charity, and you get to sign a star, and we hang hundreds of these things up and around the lobby. We asked this, along with your Regal Crown Club Card (rewards points program).
Regal pushes this all summer. Probably for tax purposes, i don’t know. What I do know is that it was part of the theaters performance scores. If Manger Doe at y theater was getting less stars then Manager Bill at x theater, Manager Doe was in some trouble with the DM. So, if Manager Doe is in trouble, all his/her assistants are in trouble, and if their in trouble…. well, the saying that **** rolls down hill is true. Part of the incentive is that extra bonuses are given to the General Managers based on the numbers.
Now, in order to sell these an employee is REQUIRED to ask you about it at the box office, however, in order to sell more and be more competitive, they allowed us to use advertise it, and use marketing strategies. When I was working for the one in Round Lake Beach, IL, they put collection jars at the service counter, as well as at the concession stand by almost every register. Also, at this particular location, the managers added a button to the concession POS (point of sale) for the stars, and the managers required all concessions persons to ask for it as well (or you get written up). The company didn’t require, but the individual theater did.
Now, when you put money in the jar, or give it to the guy at the snack stand (not the ticket booth), you don’t get a star (well, maybe at the snack stand, depends) to sign like you do at the counter. The star was just a colored star that you put your name on to show you donated. What happens with all that loose money is that the managers count it up with the rest of the money at the end of the night, then count out how many stars needed signatures, and when it got slow we were filling out stars with random names (i always used “John Doe”, but a few came from “Capt. James T. Kirk”, “Moby Dick”, and obnoxious names like that). The purpose of doing this is making sure the inventory was accounted for, because in a movie theater, everything is based on cups and tubs. You are not in reality paying $8 (random number) for a tub of popcorn, but rather $8 for the paper tub, which so happens to have popcorn in it. Dumb, but it’s suppose to help with shrinkage. Same with the stars, all paper stars had to be accounted for.
I would like to add that theaters generally don’t make money from ticket prices. They typically make there cash from concessions. Those ticket sales go straight to somebody, or some persons, in Hollywood.
@Michael Belisle:
You’re right – Michael, I could just take my business elsewhere. If I felt bothered the way Karen did, I would have taken the issue up with management at the theater. Seeing as movie theaters are a monopoly in my town, I would be forced to either not attend movies for a while until ‘charity’ season is over, or just continue to refuse donating. Either one of those I am fine with doing.
My problem is that I see this type of charity donation almost as a scam – I posted earlier that when I donate money, I make sure that 100% of my donation will get to the actual cause or charity. I will consider donating to a worthy cause through my workplace as well because they match 100% what I donate – and they too go straight to the source. I am NOT a fan of going through a middle man to either 1) make myself look ‘compassionate’ in front of others, 2) Feel good about myself because I gave $1 to a ‘charity’, or 3) Make a company look better because they were able to ‘gather’ x amount of dollars for a charity.
Most of these companies that gather donations in this manner (forcing their CSR’s to skim from shoppers/patrons) have a 10 second to 2 minute spiel they give on the charity. That is HARDLY enough time to get enough information about a charity and know where your money is actually going.
So, with all that said – feel free to ask me to donate a dollar. I will feel free to encourage all around me to hold on to that dollar.
First, We donate to the ones WE choose. I prefer Salvation Army, Goodwill and American Vets. They get a lot of things from the entire family all year. We then get a small write off.
Now, the theaters I worked at in High School in the 80-90s had these. Did you know that some are NEVER collected? I remember the Will Rogers jar being a ‘video game kitty’ at one theater across town. (they went under in the 90s also I think they were USA cinemas)..
I went to a Hoyts in Manassas Virginia and they pulled that
yelling stunt during the previews before Harry Potter. I couldnt believe the attitude they had. Banging buckets and hollaring to ‘do the right thing’. We cannot afford to see movies very often and it was a rare treat to be able to see a movie on a nice kid free date. What a crap thing to pull.
Why not get 10-15 actors to donate 10% of the insane pay they get to ‘act’ and that should cover operations for the next decade. Why cant those millionaires make some real differences?