Now I get that when you go to a concert, a play or a sporting event, you get a particular seat. That's how it's always been and it makes sense. If you want to see Adele or the Tigers and you're prepared to pay more, you get a better spot.
But I'm still having trouble with allocated seats in cinemas.
Not long ago, I found myself jammed elbow to elbow next to a dozen or so people - all in the back three rows in a cinema that was largely empty. Either everyone had either wanted seats there or they'd been given them at the box office when they mumbled something like "up the back is fine thanks".
Another time I arrived in a near empty cinema to find the only two people there were sitting in the seats I'd been given, so we had to go through that awkward conversation that starts "I think I'm supposed to be in that seat". Pause. "Sorry".
Everyone then checks their tickets like they're studying the Melbourne Cup field then the early arrivals shift to the right seats. I could have found another seat but when other people arrived to find me in their seat, I would have been on the other end of that conversation. "Ah." Scrutinises ticket. "Right. Yes, I'll move." Pause. "Sorry."
Allocated seats make perfect sense if you're booking online. If you want to finish a drink or meal in the foyer during the ads. If you don't like queuing outside the cinema. If you prefer a particular seat. If you have a disability.
But there are three reasons I'm struggling with it.
- It seems like an innovation that benefits the cinema more than patrons, encouraging people to book online, which means fewer staff at ticket counters.
- Cinemas feel like a democratic place, where some ticket buyers should not get advantages over others. No logic to it. They just shouldn't. You don't get an allocated seat in church, do you? Sure, I could just say "anywhere is fine thanks" but how often do people say that when they're catching a plane or seeing Bruce Springsteen?
- Unless there are ticket counter screens that swing around so you can just point to where you want to sit, it makes for awkward conversations.
Patron: "Up the back in the middle thanks."
Ticket seller: "Looks like it's a pretty full session. What about in the middle on the left?"
Patron: "Do you mean the middle middle or the left middle? And how far to the left?"
Patron's partner: "Is there anything on the right?"
As that conversation is settled, amid coughs and passive-aggressive groans from the queue behind, it's time for the next negotiation.
Ticket seller: "Would you like any drinks or popcorn?"
Patron: "What beers to you have?"
More passive-aggressive groans.
It could be that allocated seats in cinemas feels un-Australian. If you get there early enough, you sit where you want. If you're late, you take what's left.
But it could also be that as much as I love going to the movies, as much as I enjoy watching a film in a darkened cinema with a crowd of strangers who are drawn together in a shared experience, I just don't like making too many decisions beforehand.
"You can have two seats together in row C off to the side or one in row F in the middle and the other one in row R on the right? And what size popcorn do you want? They come in three sizes but it's better value if you want a soft drink and popcorn combo. We also have sushi. Do you need 3-D glasses?"
Flummoxed patron: "I, er, um, ah. Can I just watch the movie?"
Twitter @gmaddox
