Not Giving You A Pass To Sweeten The Pot

(Right before my shift, management, unfortunately, had to call the police to remove an unruly guest from a movie about fifteen minutes in. In order to make up for the inconvenience, the theater handed out free passes and concession vouchers to the thirty-or-so others in the theater, and give them an option: they could either stay and finish the movie, switch to another showtime any day and time during the coming week, or get a refund for their tickets and concessions if they bought any. Everyone is fine with this option, since hey… they’re getting about three times what they actually paid for. Until, of course, one cranky old man comes up to me at the concession stand a while after the film…)

Customer: “I want something to sweeten the pot!”

Me: “I’m sorry?”

Customer: “I was in that movie the cops stormed! I want something to sweeten the pot, or I go to the papers!”

Me: “Oh, did they not give you passes?”

Customer: “I got passes. I just want something to sweeten the pot! Or else I’m blasting you in the papers for scaring me half to death with cops swarming in left and right the whole d*** time!”

Me: “Let me go get a manager for you. Perhaps they can resolve this better than I can.”

Customer: “I already went to the managers!”

Me: “Well, sir, if you’ve already gotten passes, I can’t really give you anything else.”

Customer: *beaming; looking at my name tag* “Popcorn and soda, [My Name]! Or else your name will be all over the press for bullying an old man!”

Me: “Sir, I’m going to have to get authorization from my managers first.”

Customer: “But they said no!”

Me: “Then my hands are tied.”

(Suddenly, my manager bolts up behind me.)

Manager: “Sir, we’re calling the cops again if you don’t leave. Out! Now!”

(The man turned and fled out of the door. I asked what was going on. Evidently, he was the customer who had been removed by police, and he was denied passes or a refund. He’s evidently one of the local “old, crazy guys” who goes into businesses and starts trouble. He thought that the managers wouldn’t notice him coming back in and demanding free stuff.)