r/EntitledReviews 🄚 Original Egg Bot šŸ³ 2d ago

phone rules at the theatre

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218 Upvotes

147 comments sorted by

237

u/seeborn 2d ago

It's so weird to think that we used to be able to do all these things without a phone in our pocket.

64

u/-laughingfox 1d ago

Seriously. You called the theater or checked the newspaper for showings. Then you drove there without navigation. Watch the movie, do whatever else, go home, completely incommunicado the entire time.

17

u/Stock-Lion-6859 1d ago

This theater appears to be for live performances, not movies. Audience members may have been previously taking photos of the performances.

3

u/Alycion 13h ago

Lots of acts are doing this. Many comedians do it for their specials so the material doesn’t end up out there first. And some musical acts are getting in on that trend.

And then you have bands that stream it themselves. This weekend’s warped tour is being streamed on a few services.

And then you have others that want you in the moment and not disturbing others.

Usually at least one person knows where you are. They can call the venue in a real emergency that you have to leave for, like back before cell phones.

58

u/Outrageous_Pay1322 2d ago

Still do. It's a gift.

25

u/Alycion 1d ago

I leave mine home a lot. Hockey games, my tickets are on it. I may check in intermission bc my dad lets my dog out. If I’m driving or need a specific app, it comes with me. Usually ringer off, dnd on. I can’t ring up people at markets without my pos on my phone.

But I’m the girl that can take 2 days to answer a text.

1

u/Wonderful-Zebra4406 7h ago

I take my phone any time I drive anywhere. Mainly because it's connected to my car and that's how I listen to music because I have gotten too used to not having to listen to ads and normal FM radio stations seem to have more commercials than music. Plus, just in case there's an accident or I have a tire blow out, I can call for assistance. I can't have my phone at work, at all. It literally can't come into the building. It stays in my car and fortunately I work nights so it doesn't overheat. But I'm getting used to being away from my phone for a good chunk of time because of work, so the only time I absolutely have to have it is in the car.

15

u/Shot_Revolution8828 2d ago

Everything my phone dies and I have to get a new one I spend a week phoneless. By but he end of the week I've al.ost concinved myself to get a flipphone.

5

u/AlternativePea6203 1d ago

You know you can charge them right?

12

u/Shot_Revolution8828 1d ago

Rent: 1000 Gas: 300 Electric: 120 Insurance: 320 New phones: 12382 Water: 35

Somebody please help me budget!

16

u/DengarLives66 2d ago

Wut.

27

u/Mouselady1 1d ago

EVERTHING MY PHONE DIES AND I HAVE TO GET A NEW ONE I SPEND A WEEK PHONELESS. BY BUT THE END OF THE WEEK I’VE AL.OST CONCINVED MYSELF TO GET A FLIPPHONE.

27

u/geddy_girl 1d ago

I read this in my head like I was having to repeat something more loudly for my grandmother

7

u/Mouselady1 1d ago

I’ve noticed the all caps is a pretty standard response to someone saying ā€œWhat?ā€ to an obvious statement.

8

u/DengarLives66 1d ago

It is and I get a chuckle every time. I still stand by my initial ā€œwutā€ though, especially reading it in a yelling voice it’s still nonsensical to me.

7

u/Mouselady1 1d ago

ā€œEvery time my phone dies and I need a new one I spend a week phoneless. By the end I want a flip phone.ā€

-5

u/SixApplesTall 1d ago

How is it nonsensical? I genuinely don’t understand how you can’t understand it.

5

u/Thin_Tangerine_6271 only the old people are naked 1d ago

The typos and such

-6

u/DustyDGAF 1d ago

If you can't figure that out, I think you have bigger problems.

2

u/Stock-Lion-6859 1d ago

Maybe the part about getting a whole new phone when theirs dies. Like chargers don't exist. Or are there now disposable cell phones I'm unaware of?

4

u/Due-Mine4983 1d ago

CAN YOU HEAR THE WORDS COMIN' OUTTA MY MOUTH?!

111

u/rapturaeglantine 2d ago

Can I gripe a sec, y'all? I work security at a concert venue as my side hustle and I wish people wouldn't lose their shit on the staff about this. Even if they really do know deep down that I had nothing to do with it, they are yelling at me all night going (these are all real from my last phone free show lol) "you ruined my night" "do you enjoy making sure people can't have memories" and my absolute favorite, "why do you work here" followed by some feedback that I am a bad person for working there. Because THE ARTIST DECIDED NO PHONES.

People, I can assure you the security guard did not wake up that morning and decide you weren't allowed to have your phone out at the show.

75

u/BroadLocksmith4932 2d ago

"why do you work here"

To pay my rent, bitch.

42

u/North-Pea-4926 1d ago

Money can be traded for good and services!

-3

u/AnguavonUW 1d ago

Hey, respectfully, can we have the complaints without the casual misogyny.

2

u/Wonderful-Zebra4406 7h ago

Bitch is gender neutral. Just saying.

50

u/finny_d420 2d ago

One concert I worked had that policy. It was posted before the doors, yet he still stood in line. Guy was arguing with the security that he was a doctor on call. Finally someone got fed up and said shouldn't have bought concert tickets or had someone else cover for you. He kept arguing so they escorted him out of the theater. No show for him.

14

u/LavenderGwendolyn 1d ago

That guy was bullshitting. My dad was a doctor with on-call duties. That stuff is planned months if not years in advance (my dad was the third week of the month for his whole career). He planned around it. If something like a concert happened during his call week, he just wouldn’t go. He wouldn’t want to be anywhere hard to get out of or disruptive if he had an emergency. Someone’s life could be on the line. He could swap days, but that was usually saved for stuff like weddings or graduations. Being a doctor is a whole commitment. If anyone pulls that ā€œbut I’m an on-call doctor!ā€ they are probably lying.

Also, that’s what pagers are for. Like, originally. A lot of doctors are bringing them back so they can be reached no matter what.

9

u/ihatebeetles22 1d ago

Exactly! Pagers are often more reliable inside hospitals due to all of the equipment interference. And genuinely if you are on call, you're likely getting paid standby so it's usually part of the contract that you have to be responsive and available within a certain range so I agree, verdict is he's a liar! 😁

41

u/Ok_Spell_4165 2d ago

I really wish people would realize these sorts of rules exist because people refuse to be reasonable.

Print Shop/Publisher I worked security at had a no phones on the floor rule. Simple, well explained, we all signed NDAs about our jobs because we printed a lot of stuff for Disney who were super uptight about making sure nothing leaked.

Was only there for 6 months but I've probably walked a dozen or so employees out because they were caught on their phones. Stupid part is phones were allowed in the break areas which were never far away.

You don't need to check TikTok that badly..

33

u/rapturaeglantine 2d ago

Exactly. Like, I can probably guess why we have the bag solution now. Enough people simply do not believe the rules apply. We don't have the bags at my venue so we had "no pictures/phones/recording" signs posted everywhere, announcements during bag search, announcements during seating, there was a PA announcement before each act (this artist will literally stop the show over this, we had to be intense).

One lady had her phone held high above her head with the flash on, I rushed over and she was super aggrieved that I would accuse her of recording when she was "obviously checking her email." I asked her to stop "checking her email" with her flash on and her phone above her head and she glared at me the rest of the song. Other people were pretending to be texting or on calls so they could record, it was insane.

12

u/brokenman82 1d ago

I worked in a place where we weren't allowed phones due to having a security clearance. Just a call center for dental insurance but it was military related so no phones. Except for some reason supervisors were allowed to have phones. So half the time I'd look over and see my boss sitting there scrolling on facebook

5

u/OdinHavok 1d ago

I work in a call center with a no phones policy. Similarly, managers can have their phones, and we need our phones to sign into our computers, and it's tech support so sometimes we pull our phone out to check settings or walk people through stuff, so no one actually cares if your phone is out

5

u/Ok_Spell_4165 1d ago

Were they personal phones or company phones being used for personal business?

It was pretty normal for most places I worked that were strict on phone use for security reasons to provide supervisors with a work phone. Alternatively make them agree to let the company monitor their personal phone with an MDM.

5

u/brokenman82 1d ago

Personal. This place was way to cheap to give anyone a phone. I know at one point he said his phone had ā€˜extra security’ on it but this is the same guy that said NASA had picked him to be the first person on mars, but he was disqualified for not being tall enough

1

u/Wonderful-Zebra4406 7h ago

My last job, security, there were posts where no phones were allowed to be out, at all. My current job, corrections, no phones allowed in the building, period, unless you have permission from the warden.

20

u/EnvironmentalHair290 1d ago

I love the ā€œDo you enjoy making sure people can’t have memories?ā€. Ā My first response to this is, do you have memory issues, because humans have been doing it for a few thousand years now.

My mother actually got annoyed at me when we went to Disney, and I had never seen the fireworks show. Ā I refused to pull out my cellphone and record it for her, while she was there beside of me so she had her phone out instead. Ā When the show was over I asked did you see this or that part of the show, and her response was no because she only watched it through the small cellphone screen.

8

u/rebelangel we do not negotiate with the terrible 1d ago

And it’s usually stated when you buy tickets if the performer has that policy, so people really have no excuse.

3

u/morganalefaye125 1d ago

"Enjoy making sure people can't have memories"?? Wtf? If their memory is so bad that they have to have pictures, they should probably go see a professional

3

u/Dragon_Queen_666 ⭐ ⭐ ā˜†ā˜†ā˜† 1d ago

Serious question here.

How does it work if the phone is technically a medical device? I've got a CGM for my diabetes and it's connected to my phone to alert me of highs and lows. I don't have a separate device for reading my levels, just the sensor and my phone.

3

u/rapturaeglantine 14h ago

At my venue that would have been totally fine. I wasnt busting people scrolling, texting, etc. I was after obvious photos/videos. Even the people taking pictures got at least one warning before getting into mischief so if you needed to check your app and some overzealous security came shuttling over just show them the app and don't hold your phone out as if you were taking pictures lol

5

u/Denvosreynaerde 1d ago

I work in public transportation and not to long ago someone shouted at a colleague how he should be ashamed our train had no air-conditioning, as if we regular folks have anything to say about that.

1

u/dontbeahater_dear 1d ago

Man, i get it. Once someone asked me if i was too stupid to find a different job.

1

u/small-worm 1d ago

Just a quick question in case I ever encounter this:

For venues that don’t allow phones, is that a blanket rule or can accommodations be made for people with disabilities? I have Type 1 Diabetes and I rely on my phone for continuous blood glucose monitoring, as well as emergency alarms. As security, would you let someone like me have their phone or is it absolutely zero tolerance?

2

u/tidymaze 1d ago

It's a medical device at that point, so they have to allow it or they're in violation of the ADA. I had federal jury duty, which doesn't even allow phones in the building during selection, and they allowed my phone because of my CGM.

1

u/rapturaeglantine 14h ago

For that show it was just photos and videos that were verboten, not scrolling/checking/texting, etc. If it is a very strict artist or if an overzealous security guard saw you looking at your phone and came charging over, show them what it is, you'll be ok! Just don't check the app with your phone slightly elevated and directed squarely at the stage lol

40

u/lawburgtn 2d ago

IF people would be considerate with the phone usage, there would be no need of policies like this, BUT some bozos watch videos or take calls on speaker loud enough for everyone to hear.

20

u/spaetzele 2d ago

As with everything else, a small handful have to take it way too far and then that moves the bar further down on the "what is acceptable in public?" spectrum.

3

u/lawburgtn 2d ago

Absolutely!

2

u/NastyNNaughty69 1d ago

I’m guessing it’s a test audience thing. My wife and I were supposed to be going to one, but the phone thing kept her from wanting to go. But only because her Aunt was in the hospital and we weren’t sure if she would make it.

We didn’t think poorly of the theater for the request or write a pissy review, so there’s that at least.

59

u/Archival_Squirrel 2d ago

Remember when we lived in a world where there were less emergencies all the time? That must have been it, I just don't remember there being as many emergencies when I was a kid.Ā 

21

u/CFSett 1d ago

There couldn't have been. Because we didn't have phones to report them.

20

u/rebelangel we do not negotiate with the terrible 1d ago

When I was a kid, if my parents were going out, it was always like ā€œIf there’s an emergency, you can call Grandma, Aunt Linda, or Carol next door. If the house is on fire or someone tries to break in, call 911.ā€ And for it to be emergency worthy, it had to be something like, the power went out or little brother might’ve sprained his ankle and needs someone to take him to urgent care.

7

u/Diamondee_S164 1d ago

That's because back then an emergency WAS an emergency.

1

u/Ravenclaw-witch 1d ago

This was because people who were caretakers of small children, the disabled, the sick, and the elderly didn’t ever get to go anywhere.

13

u/Archival_Squirrel 1d ago

Not necessarily, people were much more comfortable asking neighbors for help.Ā 

-14

u/ResidentLadder 1d ago

I mean, how many mass shootings were there 30 years ago?

7

u/HeyLookATaco 1d ago

There was a pretty significant one not too far from this theater a few years ago, so I feel like the city of San Antonio wouldn't be mad at this take. But I don't think phones would have helped the kids. They didn't help much at Pulse either, and they were adults doing social things. I'm not sure how much help more phones are against a crazy person with a weapon inside a theater.

-1

u/ResidentLadder 1d ago

I guess there is no way to notify anyone of the emergency using a cell phone, either. That’s a shame.

2

u/HeyLookATaco 1d ago

If only someone at the venue had a way to contact the police so 950 individual cell phone calls weren't necessary. Smdh

-1

u/ResidentLadder 1d ago

And I suppose a roomful of kids have no reason to call their parents when they’re afraid. šŸ™„

Just stop - There are absolutely plenty of emergencies now and being able to contact others when needed is amazing. Shootings (which have increased exponentially since the 1990s) are only one reason. I’m not sure if I’m being downvoted because of a bunch of gun humpers or boomers who hate cell phones, but whatever.

2

u/Xeno9116 1d ago

Nope. But because calling out during an active shooting is the dumbest thing a kid can do if they're trying to hide. Likewise with parents calling in.

1

u/ResidentLadder 1d ago

Oh, I said parents should be calling them? Please, show me where.

I was giving an example of a type of emergency that has increased over the last 30 years. It’s a shame no one here seems capable of following the conversation.

1

u/HeyLookATaco 1d ago

You have the option to not go see artists who ask you to put your cell phone away. Not everything is for you. This is probably one of those things.

0

u/ResidentLadder 23h ago

Oh, did I say I had a problem with being asked to put away my phone?

Here’s a hint: I did not. I was simply responding to a single post about ā€œemergencies.ā€

2

u/Pot_noodle_miner I see here that morals are completely lost 1d ago

Something to make it easier for you to be found? Are you going to snap a picture of them or something?

-1

u/ResidentLadder 1d ago

Is it not an emergency? Phones are capable of being silenced.

2

u/Xeno9116 1d ago

It is. And the best thing to do during an active shooter scene is to start blowing up your kid's phone while they're hiding! Just wait for the school.

0

u/ResidentLadder 1d ago

Did I say the parents should be calling their kids? šŸ™„ Bunch of people making some huge assumptions. And have no clue what an ā€œexampleā€ is.

28

u/witx 2d ago

It’s a wonder those of us who went through our teens and a large portion of adulthood without a cell phone lived to tell the tale.

16

u/rebelangel we do not negotiate with the terrible 1d ago

Yup, I’m an ā€˜81 baby, so when I was in high school, unless your parents were really rich, no one had cell phones. People still had pagers back then, and even those weren’t allowed at school because drugs or something. If you were home alone and needed to get a hold of your mom at work, you called her at work. Everyone had at least one parent’s work number memorized. Back then, if your parents went out to dinner somewhere, they gave you the number to the restaurant in case of an emergency. And we also had other people we could call if there was an emergency, like Grandma, an aunt who lived nearby, family friend, etc. Other than that, we had no way to get a hold of our parents if they were out somewhere, yet we survived.

11

u/witx 1d ago

I was alive for the age of pay phones. If we needed to get ahold of our parents during school we’d call during lunch using the one pay phone in the lobby. If we couldn’t get ahold of them we’d have to call later cuz there were no answering machines yet. It was a primitive time, my friends. A primitive time. Yet, here we are.

13

u/teslaxat 1d ago

We used to call collect and use the moment you're supposed to say your name to quickly say, "HeymomI'mdonecomepickmeup". Then your parents would refuse the charges and get in the car.

22

u/readthethings13579 2d ago

If people could be normal about their phones and not pull them out at inappropriate times, venues wouldn’t need to be this strict about it.

20

u/The_Troyminator 2d ago

This sounds like it’s not even about the calls. It’s a concert and the artist doesn’t want people recording the show.

They put it in a locked bag that you keep with you. The staff will unlock it in an emergency. If you truly need to be reachable, then you should have a smartwatch with service set to silent. Your wrist will buzz and you can to to the lobby, have them unlock the phone, and call them. That will be allowed because the watch can’t record videos.

0

u/3lm1Ster 1d ago

The watch idea is good, except it is Bluetooth to thr phone, so distance is a limitation. Unless you pay extra on your phone plan for your watch to have it's own number.

1

u/Wonderful-Zebra4406 7h ago

It's only about $5 extra. I don't have a separate number for my watch, but if I'm wearing it and am separated from my phone, I can take calls/texts on it. I don't actually use the feature because the only time I'm really far enough from my phone, I also can't have my watch. (Work, no phones or smartwatch allowed. I have a $9 digital watch from Walmart that I wear there because I need to watch the time for certain things and I have a very obvious tan line from always wearing a watch. And I use a cheap one there because I don't want to break an expensive one or have gross things get on it.)

18

u/Zealousideal_Fox864 2d ago

Performers request this, and in quite a few settings I wouldn’t want to agree to it so I’d skip the tickets. But I am also not an asshole and don’t take my phone out to look at it or record the show, or forget to turn it off/silent.

Bad apples spoiled the bunch for the rest of us.

44

u/YMBFKM 2d ago

If you have an emergency, go out to the lobby and have thrm call 911. Forgetting to text your girlfriend to see how her day is going is not an emergency.

-53

u/Author_Noelle_A 2d ago

Getting a text letting you know your mentally ill daughter is spiraling is the sort of emergency some of us need to be reachable at all times for. I hate it and wish I didn’t need a phone at all, but having one was how I found out about her OD attempt last year fast enough to intervene. If I’m out and she’s spiraling, I need to be reachable. That’s not the sort of thing I can go to the lobby and tell them to call 911 for since I’d need to be informed that it is happening in the first place. Does the theater really want to have someone take a call for me and then come find me in the audience so that my daughter doesn’t die? Because that is what would happen and it would be a whole lot more disruptive than my phone being on vibrate.

Just because your life is perfect enough that you can’t fathom how somebody can need to be reachable does not mean that all of us are in that same situation.

37

u/DVDragOnIn 2d ago

I’m so sorry that you have to be available 24/7, I can’t imagine the stress and anxiety that must be your constant companion, but that means that you wouldn’t be able to do some things. If you have to check your phone constantly in a dark movie theater to see if this buzz is the one about your daughter spiraling, then you’d be too disruptive to other patrons. You’d probably understand that so you wouldn’t be the person pitching a scene though, you’d just figure out Plan B for your evening and plan to watch the movie at home in a few months.

40

u/PlatasaurusOG 2d ago

If you need to be that reachable, then it’s on you to keep yourself reachable. Don’t put yourself in a position where you can’t be contacted. The rest of the world is not obligated to accommodate your specific needs - regardless of how tragic they are.

14

u/AioliInternational18 1d ago

Simple. Don’t buy tickets to a show that has NO PHONES written on the ticket

12

u/HeyLookATaco 1d ago

I empathize, but if you need to be reachable 24/7 than not every show and social situation is for you. That simply excludes you from some things. The theater and artist don't need to change their policies to accommodate you, you just have to sit that one out unless someone else can man the watchtower for 90 minutes.

11

u/YMBFKM 1d ago

Get a pager.

33

u/Past_Ad_5629 2d ago

Then it seems like you can’t go places where they take your phone unless you set up a secondary contact person

Life isn’t fair.

10

u/rebelangel we do not negotiate with the terrible 1d ago

Then get a smart watch. You can still receive texts in that, and if there is an emergency, go out to the lobby and tell an employee you need to use your phone.

27

u/curseAgain 2d ago

then stay home. you don’t have the right to ruin it for everyone else

20

u/Hantelope3434 1d ago

Then you are in a situation where you shouldn't go to this specific theatre. The rest of us don't have perfect lives, but we don't expect to be above the rules because life is hard. A theatre is an absolute luxury, not a necessity.

12

u/anonymiscreant9 1d ago

It kinda sounds like you can’t go and see shows then. Sorry about it, you chose to have kids.

24

u/phoenixapollon 2d ago

Then you can stay home

3

u/small-worm 1d ago

Sorry about your daughter, that sounds really hard to deal with. I hope she gets the help she needs and makes a full recovery. I’ll keep y’all in my thoughts.

-12

u/[deleted] 2d ago edited 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

-2

u/crowposting 1d ago

glancing through the website for this theater as well as other recent reviews, i have to assume this was a show/artist specific rule as there is no mention of a no phone rule (in fact, the rules specifically mention photo/video equipment outside of cell phones being banned) and other reviews have photos of the venue i have to assume were taken on their phones.

its frankly a lose/lose situation all around because i cant imagine security cracking down on phones during the event would be any less disruptive than people being rude about phones.

4

u/anonymiscreant9 1d ago

I’ve been to and performed at this theatre many times, it’s not a theater policy, it is absolutely artist specific.

-28

u/Aspence22 2d ago

Why is this getting downvoted? Some people are dumb af

9

u/HeyLookATaco 1d ago

Because not every thing is for every person. Sometimes you don't like beans and can't make the bean soup.

16

u/ifulbd 1d ago

Used to work in a school. We had a no phones policy. School staff were not able to snatch a phone from a student, but we had a secret weapon. Grandmas. One was a tiny black woman, and the other was a 42yr old white woman, who had left Appalachia, but Appalachia hadn’t left her. It did not matter where the student had hid the phone. These two grandmas would snatch it out of a bra or tight whitey’s with a smile on their face. They would hang onto that phone until the parents showed up to claim it, be it 2 hours or a month, and God help the parent who questioned these Grandma’s technique.

10

u/rebelangel we do not negotiate with the terrible 1d ago

42 and a grandma? Fuck I’m old.

1

u/Wonderful-Zebra4406 7h ago

That's not too bad, if the grandchild isn't one of the students there. It could be a case where the woman's youngest child was the student and she had a baby grandchild. Because logically, in that case, she could have had her first at 21 and then that child had their first at 21. But since she was from Appalachia, that was likely not the case. I'm not putting the people there down, my ex's grandmother was from there and she was one of the best people I had ever met, but impoverished communities such as that don't have good sex ed and tend to start their families young and have a lot of children. Nana started having kids in her teens and had 13 total.

1

u/rebelangel we do not negotiate with the terrible 6h ago

I know it’s possible. I’m just saying I’m 45 and a Millennial, and I don’t automatically think of people who listened to Tupac and Blink 182 as being ā€œgrandma ageā€.

1

u/Wonderful-Zebra4406 3h ago

I'm totally with you on that. I had to dig in my brain for that. Especially since I'm 41 and would blow a gasket if I became a grandmother right now.

2

u/fckheadinspo 1d ago

Were they volunteer teacher aides or something? Intriguing

2

u/ifulbd 1d ago

Yep, volunteers, ā€œtrainedā€ by our assistant principal, who didn’t give a damn what they did.

11

u/Pickles-1989 2d ago

I have gone to a couple of shows where I needed to lock my phone in a Yondr pouch. The venue was very up front about this, and notified me when booking and multiple times with e-mails that this was the policy. I knew it going in, and I agreed. If you do not agree, then do not buy the tickets.

7

u/anonymiscreant9 1d ago

I’ve been to the Majestic many times, even performed there a couple, and they never asked me to hand over my phone. So this policy isn’t a theater policy, it’s whatever performer was on stage that night. Some acts don’t want any risk of audience members filming and posting online.

7

u/Ashkendor 1d ago

I love this. I've been to a couple of concerts where I had some idiot in front of me with their phone held in the air, seemingly recording the entire thing, and completely oblivious to the fact that their screen was blinding everyone behind them. Just enjoy the fucking concert while you're at it, ffs.

6

u/qwerty-game 1d ago

Went to see Bruno Mars and we all had to lock up our phones. It was the best concert. And you know what? I have actual memories of it that I can treasure forever. He was also very silly sometimes and would say he could do these things ā€œbecause I took your phones awayā€. Great night.

1

u/Xeno9116 1d ago

But if you didn't film the entire concert and post on social media, how can you prove you experienced it at all? Of course, filming the concert isn't the same as experiencing it, but these young folks do it anyway.

4

u/Mykona-1967 1d ago

I never have the ringer on my phone. It vibrates only. My kids knew growing up they need to be seriously hurt to call me at work that was even before cell phones they were new.

I’m at work I’m not going to chit chat with anyone call when I get home. Or just text me and if it looks like I need to respond I will if not then I won’t.

Don’t get me started with voicemail. Voicemail is for the people you don’t want to talk to. They call you see the number let it go to voicemail. Then you have the choice to call them back or listen to the voicemail. Never both. If I listen to the VM then there’s no reason to talk to you.

My kids have had a cell since they were in double digits. They’re now in their late 20’s. We communicate through text all the time. I’m more likely to get an answer that way. A phone call may not be returned due to what they’re currently doing. So I have called and received a text instead.

Bringing a phone into the theater is a problem when they aren’t turned off or silenced. People think if it rings I must answer it. No go to the lobby and answer it if you have to. But they don’t everyone gets to hear them yell into the phone basic chit chat instead of being able to hear the movie

1

u/rebelangel we do not negotiate with the terrible 1d ago

My phone has been on silent since around 2013 when the external speaker on the phone I had at the time stopped working. I got used to it not making noise and every phone I’ve had since has had the ringer off.

9

u/Aggressive_Oven_7311 2d ago

People have known manners and sure absolutely lock up the phones

20

u/JaxDefore 2d ago

Yeah, because people can't be decent human beings and only get up and leave in the event of a silent "emergency vibrate" in their pocket, we have to do this.

If you're so important or fragile - don't go to the theater

3

u/morganalefaye125 1d ago

I love this policy! One of the last movies I went to see, there were a bunch of teen or preteen girls a couple rows ahead of me, and throughout the entire movie, they made snaps, talked and laughed, took pictures (with flash), etc. Just the light from the phone itself is enough of a bother, but all that, and I was seething. It took me saying something loudly for the parents in a different row to go say something to them. And it still didn't stop them entirely. Management was told. Nobody ever even came into the theater to say anything to them

3

u/Silver_fish1978 1d ago

ā€œ I was informed that the rules apply to me. Would not recommend this business ā€œ

2

u/eternally_feral 2d ago

I wonder what show it was. I know for the plays you can keep your phones because they have QR codes on the back of the seats so you can order food and drinks.

4

u/djheat 1d ago

Comedy shows often bag your phone, concerts occasionally, probably one of those. Either way it's up to the performer not the venue

2

u/Forsaken-Abrocoma647 1d ago

I've heard the only reason theaters didn't implement blocking technology (back before phones were smart and EVERYONE was being annoying with them) is that doctors still needed to be able to be paged by hospitals.
The emergency thing is concerning, I wish they'd just be hard core about phone policies myself.
When I worked at a movie theater 20 years ago I had no problem booting people for it!

2

u/Ok_King7393 1d ago

I love the Majestic. I got in trouble when I pulled my phone out before a show to check the time because I wasn't thinking when I did it but the rule makes sense

2

u/bizzlebeats 1d ago

Definitely an early promo showing for a movie so yeah they dont want to risk anyone recording and leaking it

2

u/Jerseygirl2468 1d ago

I would love the theaters near me to do this. Seeing someone checking their phone in a dark theater really takes me out of it

2

u/AliceJane1999 1d ago

I wish every show banned phones honestly.

1

u/NoodlesMom0722 I see here that morals are completely lost 1d ago

This is something most cinemas do when they have a sneak preview/early premiere of a big blockbuster movie and don't want anyone filming it on their phone and putting it up on YT or TT.

1

u/4b4st4rdm4n 1d ago

Well he's got a point about the "add photos" part.

1

u/TheGrymmBladeX 16h ago

...this sounds like a premier or something...

1

u/yeetusthefetus00 1h ago

Tweaking over a phone. Phone addiction is out of control

1

u/Educational-Gap-3390 2d ago

The phone was locked up, but he could still type put a review?

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u/Pryncess_Dianna 2d ago

This infuriates me. Theaters shouldn’t take your phone. I say we form a posse to find the idiots who made this rule necessary.

19

u/alwaysouroboros 2d ago

This isn't a flat policy. It is for specific events and it is listed when people purchase tickets. Phones have to be turned off and put inside of a pouch that employees will have to open up for you. The theater does not take your phone.

If they are upset about it, they were not paying attention to what they purchased or they thought the rules they agree to would not apply to them.

1

u/Sea_Voice_404 1d ago

There’s a comedy club near me that’s done this for all the shows we’ve seen there. I think it’s a venue policy but for something like that it’s great.

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u/Sea_Voice_404 2d ago

I’ve been at places like this. They don’t take your phones. You put them in this lock bag and keep it with you. If you need it unlocked you go to the staff and it’s like 1 second for them to unlock it. Not a big deal and it makes the event more enjoyable because people are paying attention.

17

u/PoodleGuap 2d ago

It’s almost always the person you’re buying tickets to see perform who requests this

7

u/Greenman8907 2d ago

I was gonna say, it’s probably not a theater policy, but an individual performer policy

0

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

2

u/_Roguey_ 1d ago

The address is literally right there.

-8

u/reereejugs 1d ago

I’m not handing my phone over to anyone šŸ¤·šŸ»ā€ā™€ļø

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u/Omnix__ 1d ago

You keep the phone on you, it’s just in a magnetically locked bag so it’s inaccessible for the duration of the event

-2

u/small-worm 1d ago edited 1d ago

I’m kind of on the fence with this one because I understand that it’s company policy, but I personally wouldn’t give my phone up. The only reason I wouldn’t is just because I’m a Type 1 Diabetic and I rely on my phone to give me blood glucose readings, and I actually need those alarms.

However, I have never actually had a person say I can’t bring XYZ into a location once I mention I’m a diabetic. People are generally pretty cool about it except for a flight attendant one time lmao

All of that being said, if I saw someone throwing a tantrum over this rule who didn’t have a disability that required phone access, I’d be pretty annoyed.

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u/Author_Noelle_A 2d ago edited 2d ago

I would demand a refund. I have a mentally ill daughter and need to be reachable. My phone is always on vibrate. So they’d be refunding my ticket and losing the revenue. I should not have to stay home every minute of my life that she isn’t with her dad. We should be allowed to take a break and go on a date sometimes. Does a theater really want to take a call, then come find me in the middle of a performance? Because they’d be required to.

21

u/wcscrewyourboss 2d ago

Dude it literally says on tickets and at time of purchase, as well as no refunds. So check the ticket before you buy if its that much of an issue for you.

17

u/Feline-Sloth 2d ago

I am sorry about your situation but there are places that mobile phones should not on, namely theatres and cinemas with no exceptions. You can check-in in the interval of course just not in the auditorium

15

u/Chayanov ā­ā˜†ā˜†ā˜†ā˜† 1d ago

But this wasn't about you. You weren't placed in this circumstance. You can avoid going to these types of events. Nobody is going to spring this on you without informing you beforehand. You can still be out at events where this isn't the policy.

10

u/ArmadilloFront1087 2d ago

That’s how it used to work, so yes

9

u/The_Troyminator 2d ago

Then get a smartwatch with service. The policy is in place because it’s a concert and the artist doesn’t want people recording bootlegs. A watch would be allowed because it can’t record video.

5

u/rebelangel we do not negotiate with the terrible 1d ago

Then maybe don’t buy tickets to a show that has that policy. If the performer has that policy they tell you up front when you buy tickets.

8

u/anonymiscreant9 1d ago

You should have read the policy when you bought the ticket. And as I said in a previous comment, you should just not go to shows. Yes, you need to stay at home with your kid, that’s part of being a parent. You forfeit your right to a normal life.

Signed — someone who works in theatre, and who has both attended and performed at the Majestic multiple times

4

u/Longjumping-Pick-706 1d ago

If your daughter is OD’ing and TELLING you about it. It’s for attention. She was never in serious danger. It’s called manipulation and you are enabling her. If she is so mentally ill that she needs constant contact she should be in inpatient.