While there are rules that state there is no lining up before 3:30 p.m. people often arrive up to two hours earlier. Seats are first come, first served, and they are limited. More passes are given out than there are seats available, so people are always interested in making sure that they get there early enough to get a seat, especially for popular films.
Lining up should not be a problem for the movie theater. The industry deals with fans who line up for movies all the time. For some reason, the Larry H. Miller Megaplex Theater at the Gateway has a terrible time with coming to terms with the unofficial line.
Rather than opening the line when people arrive and letting them stand where they should be, they insist on telling people that there is no lining up before 2:45p.m. or 3 p.m. Even after that time when new people arrive they tell them that there is no official line – even when there is clearly an unofficial line.
Most people decide to respect those who got there early and line up at the end of the unofficial. Others decide to game the system and push their way through the front of the line when the official line opens.
Once tickets are distributed at 4 p.m., most theaters allow people to buy food, look at posters and use the restroom. Again, the Gateway Theater falls short. Promotional movie goers are allowed to use a one room unisex and must remain in the lobby. They are not allowed to look at the posters and other promotional materials in the theater area.
This may not seem like a big deal, especially since most people leave and come back for the movie at 6:30 p.m. However, restricting access to the promotional materials for people who are there to see a promotional film is ridiculous. You are limiting access to people who most enjoy going to see movies.
Promotional films should not be treated any different than other films being showed in the theater. They usually occur in days when the theater has the least amount of movie traffic. They increase revenue in the form of concession items purchased, and they increase awareness for the very films that your company is showing all over town.
I live in Salt Lake City. I like movies. You can bet that the treatment I get at your facility during a free show will directly affect my decision to go to your movie house for shows that I choose to pay for.
The Gateway is changing their policy about tickets released on preview days. Whether that changes the attitudes of those working there and their enforcement of ridiculous rules remains to be seen.