Yet another reason why I avoid watching movies in the theater, whenever possible.

I remember going to the movies, I think late 80s --early 90s in Salt Lake City, UT. I don't remember the chain but before the movie they played a PSA for The Will Rogers Institute and then after it was over, they passed around a box or something similar. I thought it was a bother, but just didn't bother donating. It didn't last last, as I recall.

YUK. YUK. YUK.

If the corporation really wants to "help" a charity, then do so out of corporate proceeds (aka profits).

If it really important to the corporation then by all means toot your own horn and show a movie trailer that showcases your great works.

But strong arming customers, directly or indirectly, is in extremely poor taste. Besides, how do we know that the manager and employees didn't pocket most of the proceeds?

Adds this to the list of reasons I have not been to a movie theater since LOTR came out.

Does anyone know what charity they were pimping? I dislike being asked to make a donation at the register also. I just want to pay and go, processing the charity sales pitch just adds to the confusion of paying and making sure I didn't leave my wallet or a kid behind.

Gosh darn, I wonder why I own an extensive collection of DVDs. Know I know why.

I would have said very loudly so that everyone else in the theater heard "You have go to be kidding, get out of here you bum!!!"

@Corporate-Shill:
"Besides, how do we know that the manager and employees didn't pocket most of the proceeds?"

For that matter, how do we know that the manager employees didn't pocket *all* of the proceeds? There was no mention in the post (that I noticed) regarding exactly what charity they claimed to be collecting for, or if they even identified a particular charity at all.

I have a real issue with the corporations asking their customers to help THEIR charitable causes. Company gets the tax benefit and PR, charity gets little, customer gets screwed.

Want to really help your community? Volunteer/donate to LOCAL charities which have low overhead compared to their multinational counterparts. FWIW, your local food pantry/soup kitchen would absolutely love your help right around now. Demand's up substantially due to the economy & fuel prices and donations are either flat or down at most of them.

WOW are you that guilt ridden that you just can't say no thank you. Do you really care so much about what other people think? That you feel uncomfortable in saying NO. People stop complaining, just let the bucket pass. Really I find it pretty pathetic that we can't listen for a moment and maybe participate in helping someone out. We are really selfish bastards. Let em talk, you not obligated, who cares what other people think, let go of your guilt, eat your popcorn and Thank the good lord you don't need any help.

Regal just bought the local theater here and a few of my friends work there, they haven't said anything about having to ask customers for donations. I think its the employees at this location trying to make a few extra bucks

Back in the late 80's and early 90's, I was going to Rocky Horror pretty much weekly. It was a small arts theater, and they had a speaker about 4 feet high in the front.

Well, that time of the year came around, and theaters were collecting for the Will Rogers Institute. One of the gang brought a beanie with him, and just before the show started, he got up on top of the speaker, on his knees, and started singing that song they sung.

People started throwing change at him. He told me later he made almost 50 bucks in change that night.

If they were really serious about donations, they could do something besides taking a percentage of their ticket sales. They could of put a sign outside of each theatre door, explaining their charitable cause and ask to donate BEFORE you sit down.

Or else, they could do a concession stand sale. "Donate $4 to our charity, and you'll get a free box of candy!" MMM snowcaps... anyway, they pay less than $1 a box, and they charge $3-$4 anyway. They'd pretty much take away their profits for that weekend or whatever time span they did it, but the consumer feels like they are being charitable plus getting something for free. Just a thought, I haven't been to the theatre in years.

Darnit, I got snowcaps on the brain now. Anyone got some?

Every once in a while I see them do something similar here in Massachusetts. What they'll do is play a 30 second ad for the Jimmy Fund or some other charity then when it's over ushers at the front of the house will ask if anybody wants to donate. They then just slowly walk up the isles with buckets to collect whatever people offer. But at least they don't get up into individuals faces and try to embarrass them into donating. And I don't see it all that often these days either.

Speaking as a former movie usher who collected for the Jimmy Fund after a heart-tugging trailer where a mom finds out her kid is diagnosed with Leukemia, I respectfully tell Karen THAT I'M STILL GOING TO GO OUT, KAREN!

Wait, that's not it. Yeah, Karen's just an overpretentious sensitive snowflake. You don't have to give, and if you do, it's a buck at most. Deal with it or STFU, heartless heathen.

I think putting people on the spot like that is tactless. I donate to several local charities, and volunteer my time with the local legion's Ladies Auxiliary group. I believe in donating to organizations that don't take huge percentages for "advertising/administrating" fees, and there's no way to guarantee that the $$ was really going to help anything. Shaming people into giving money will just give them a bad name.

I am getting increasingly aggravated at ANY place of business that has a customer service rep ask for money for a charity, even at the jars that are put out! There is no promise any of that money will reach the advertised charity/cause.

If I am going to donate money - I research a charity of my liking - and do it in a way that I know ALL of my donation will go to that charity.

I feel for Karen's awkward position - I on the other hand have NO remorse or misgivings when I COLDLY and LOUDLY refuse to hand over my money to what I see as a scam.

@BuddyGuyMontag: @BuddyGuyMontag:

There is no reason for a company to ask its patrons to donate on their behalf.

My local regal cinema use to do this years ago with the Will Rodgers thing. I personally do NOT mind this as they usually start BEFORE the main previews start. It is for a good cause so I don't mind. Heck I've seen Tommy Lee Jones in the ad a few times...then all of a sudden they stopped. Guess snotty, greedy, uptight bitches like Karen started complaining because it "interrupted" her moving going experience and they stopped doing it.

If this happened DURING the movie, then yes I would be annoyed but it was before so no biggie.

Now all we have to have is a stop to all the loud talkers during the movie who can't keep their big mouth shut.

I feel the same way about the damn commercials. I did not just pay $12 to sit here and be annoyed by commercials. Shit, I can be annoyed by commercials at home. Ug.

So, what we do is wait for the movie to go to the $5 Movies at Karasotes and we go there. Sure we have to wait 2 weeks, but it's worth it.

Regal just took over a couple of theaters in my town and I have noticed that they have started hitting people up for donations when you buy your tickets. This bothers me for two reasons.

1) it's annoying and unfair to put people on the spot, and
2) it makes the line even slower because people are either actually being guilted into donating or hemming and hawing trying to figure out a polite way to say no.

When I want to be charitable I will do it on my own time.

@ITDEFX: I am kinda on Karen's side here, but I do want to comment about the loud talking and the phone answering and the texting. The texting is not an auditory distraction but it is a visual one. UG. There was a kid in front of us doing it during Iron Man. I finally got an usher to tell him to stop. The usher apologized and said, that he agreed that it was annoying even though you wouldn't think it would be.

Anyone else agree, or am I whiney?

@baristabrawl:
A huge pet peeve I have while watching movies is when someone checks the time. You are NOT alone. The light distraction is enough to annoy me - but if it is someone in MY group that checks the time/texts, I get the feeling like they are 'bored' by the film.

@BuddyGuyMontag: I disagree. I think she has a point. As others have pointed out, there's a time and a place for it, and the management is choosing this time and place for two reasons: nobody's going to get up and leave and peer pressure. This is being done in bad taste, and don't think that Karen was the only person in the movie theater who isn't coming back.

They were doing this at the same theater when my wife and I went to see Iron Man a few weeks ago.

A woman was walking up and down the aisle soliciting donations in a very loud voice while we were looking for seats, screaming, "Does anyone want to donate to a good cause?!"

Unfortunately, she yelled right into my poor wifes ear. As in RIGHT into it, nearly deafening her.

@baristabrawl
Time checking is a normal thing these days with people since I barely see anyone with a watch. It isn't much of an annoyance as usually they look at it and close it within 3 seconds. I haven't seen anyone text messaging infront of me (yet). There are a few who get calls but they usually get up and leave to answer it because it's almost impossible to hear the other person due to the loud volume of the movie.

As for the donations, they could simply put a donations box near the doors to the screen..however you will always get goof ball teenagers putting junk into it instead of money.

If you don't know how to say "no".....ante up sucker!!

@BuddyGuyMontag:

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?

A good excuse for everyone that doesn't want to donate is to ask to see their 501c3 proof, or just say no as I do. I already work 100+ hours a year at a non-profit and donate a lot of money so I feel perfectly fine saying no.

Will Rogers is still around, though I don't think Regal panhandles for that charity. That said, I took the boy to see Ironman at a Regal. The guy's going around doing the panhandling while the digital advertising is going on up on the screen. 5 minutes before there was this thing that came up like an old time slide ad with Will Farrell and John Reilly. They're standing there and then they move like they're looking at the audience. It's suppose to have this shock affect I guess. Well, while the usher's up front telling them that they're collecting for a charity the same 'fake' slide with Will and John comes up. But this time Will stops and says, "What was that? [pause] I don't think you meant to say that." And he acts like he's wanting to fight. In the meantime John Reilly holds back Will Ferrel from fighting and tells him its not worth it or something. They couldn't have planned it better if they'd tried.

@baristabrawl: I totally agree about the texting. I hiss and if I have to, I throw popcorn. Someday I'm going to get shot, I know. One time the person was right in front of me. I just leaned forward and said quietly, in my best serial killer voice, "Turn it off".

I had the SAME experience at a Regal Theater last Sunday in Dublin, Ca, and I will say this almost ruined the movie, and I will NEVER go to this theater again for this very reason. They turned the harsh lights on, it was rude. I certainly don't feel like a "guest" or even a customer. More that I have overpaid for a ticket, paid $5 for 1 box of small candy, $6 for a medium soda, I then get the pleasure of being harassed by staff when I go to sit down. Good bye Regal Theaters...

This happened to me sometime in the mid-nineties. It had already cost me something close to 40 bucks to get me and my date into a seat with drinks and some popcorn. I was then treated to some commercials, then a PSA followed by cup shaking as the OP described.

I did not go back to the movies for something like 2 years. Even though I live within walking distance of three theaters, I only go to the movies about 3-4 times a year. It seems like the theaters have been trying to drive me away.

What is with people today? I certainly understand that there are folks truly in need, but frankly I'm getting sick of being begged every time I turn around.

It's not enough that I have to deal with pandhandlers downtown, now we've got panhandlers in the (Chicago) suburbs begging for cigarettes from me from the alley while I'm standing in my back yard with my kids.

And I put any company that interrupts a business transaction I have started with them to beg for money in the same class as street panhandlers. They are becoming just as pervasive and intrusive. Do they really think it's effective to keep begging until people tell them to FSCK OFF?

I have a Regal theater (small) and a National Amusements Cinema De lux (huge). 75% of the time the Regal theater gets the summer block busters. I don't get how the Regal theater can still be in operation as the Cinema de lux is less than 2 miles from the regal and gets way more business than them.

A few hints from a former megamovie theater employee.

* The theater doesn't make a profit from ticket sales. Those go to the movie studios. They see none of that. All the profit past showing the movie goes to the studio.

* The theater makes it's profit, if any, from concession sales. That big tub of popcorn? After material costs and production costs, what's left is to pay for the employees. Anything after that is to pay for any debt they got when taking over or building the theater. I doubt my local Muvico hasn't paid off the morgage yet, and it's been ten years!

So, movie profits? What profits! Furgedabutit! Regal et all is just trying to survive.

My guess is that the theater was contacted by the charity to run the ad, and ask for donations (probably to pay for the ad placement and anything left over actually is used by the charity in their work). Some specify a certain way, like Will Rodgers. Some just run ads while you wait for the previews to start, and have you come to the customer service desk to buy a trinket for the donation.

But if they did the previews, then switched to the charity ad, then it's a major failure and I'd complain to Regal's head office to have them move the charity back. Ruined theater experience!!!

I used to be a manager at a Regal Cinemas in Florida. Every winter we were expected to do this for the Will Rogers Institute. Regal had big competitions for which district could bring in the most money: read - District Managers had their bonuses partly based on what they brought in. So our District Manager had all the General Theater managers competing against each other for some piddly prize (gift certificates to Outback or something) so that they would collect as much as possible. It all rolled down to the employees. Trust me when I tell you that most of the employees hate to do it as much as you hate to have it done. I did it once and felt so dirty I refused to do it again. I'm in agreement, that corporations should not be begging for money for some charity that they feel strongly about.

One thing I love about small towns. Specific examples are Moab, UT and Sioux Center, IA -- are that the local 3-plexes are small indy operations and still run SLIDES for community businesses.

So instead of stadium seating and watching extremely loud commercials and promos for 40 minutes before the previews even start - you get to see simple slides for local realtors, pizza joints, and movie trivia. Quietly I might add. Just like the old days.

james [www.futuregringo.com]

When I was an assistant manager at a Carmike theater I'd worry about our charity involvements sometimes; we were required to "upsell" for the Children's Miracle Network and my manager would often ask me to go into a theater before a show started, make a speech, and go row by row holding the donation jar.

I'm all for giving to charity but I never felt comfortable bullying our customers about it. Frankly, I didn't even like having to tell employees that they needed to close a deal by asking for that donation request. We'd have lines out the door in our concession stand and customers who were angry because they wanted their popcorn and here we are, taking time to get more money out of people who paid way too much for a show anyway.

I hate going to the movies now in general. Way too much money for what is sure to be an experience. When my boyfriend and I go to a show, I think more about the story I'll be telling afterward about the rude patrons than I think about the actual movie that I hope to enjoy. And, of course, the experience never fails to provide me with rude patron stories.

@WraithSama:

I was being nice. Just assumed a portion of the proceeds went into their pockets.

Good thing I'm a total cinatard. You could count the number of movies I see in a year on one hand and still have fingers left over.

If I were there when that happened I would have very loudly objected to donating anything to the charity. Tickets are $12 and after you factor in any refreshments your lucky to get out under $30. I also would have shamed the management for ruining not only my movie experience but everyone else's movie experience. If Regal really "cares" about the cause THEY could donate to the cause instead of "raising" money by harassing their customers for it and then taking credit for when they give your money to the charity.

It's inappropriate. Period.

When people pay $24 for two movie tickets, they are paying to:

(a) enjoy a movie
(b) enjoy the privacy of the movie theater
(c) enjoy being away from the outside world

The movie theater is not a public space. It is not a time for fund raising, it is not a time for reflecting on how to make a better world.

It is a time of escapism. When the lights go down, people want to forget their cares and worries. If you're in the movie theater business and you don't get that, then get out of the movie theater business. Fast.

Yup, there was one theater locally that begged from us, so I simply stopped going to that one and went to the competition from then on. The Will Rogers Institute, they claimed.

@BuddyGuyMontag: So Buddy, you won't mind if I stand up and go around collecting for my charity, right?

Also, you wouldn't terribly mind if I find out where you take your lunch break and stick a collection bag in your face while you're trying to enjoy the precious little time you have away from work?

What's that, Buddy? You don't like when people bother you when you're trying to have some private time after busting your tail all day working?

I thought so.

makeing their low wage employees wear slogan-filled t-shirts that some places make them buy is bad thing and makeing them buy new ones for a new slogan is a slap in the face.

I hate people using cell phones in theaters. The ligh from the LCD grabs my attention no matter where they are in the theater. To adapt I have began sitting closer to the screen so there are less people in front of me. Asking for doantions would be right on par with crappy parents bringing their small children to movies becasue they couldnt get a sitter. (Ive seen toddlers in horror flicks witha confused parent wondering why the child is crying durring a stabbing)

The problem with these on the spot donation places is that if the individual wanted to take a tax deduction, technically they couldn't. That's because the IRS requires receipts for all cash donations in order to be deductible.

Although from a practical matter, a few dollars or less probably wouldn't be even worth it.

I believe only that Regal in NYC does it, as far as I know. I've been to plenty across the city and have never had that happen to me, except there.

I manage a concessions operation at a decent sized sporting venue. I know how much money Regal Cinemas has in that 12 dollar bucket of popcorn. If it's a charity Regal believes in, they should by all means take some of that obscene profit and forward it on.

For what it's worth, this is an industry-wide annual appeal for the Will Rogers Memorial Fund.

Once it ran a hospital for show business professionals suffering from tuberculosis, now it supports research at 17 teaching hospitals, studying Alzheimer's, AIDS and other diseases.

It's a traditional collection you'll see in theaters nationwide each summer. It makes me feel uncomfortable, too ... a bit "put on the spot" - but it's legit and it's nice to see some traditions hang on in a cold-blooded industry.

@twophrasebark: Bingo! We have a wiener!

The manager was completely in the wrong. If this ever happen to me, I would never go to that theater again.