HWTK: do you like allocated seating at cinemas?

[Barfridge]

So lots of cinemas like you to book online these days, meaning they need to employ less counter droids to sell you tickets and $14 popcorn.

Do you like being able to get organised, choose your seat and enjoy the convenience of grabbing a ticket and going?

Or do you see the downside of having to get a group organised beforehand, not being able to move when you end up next to Andre the smelly giant, and inevitably having that flaky friend of yours not turn up when you've bought them a ticket, because you have to buy them all together when you want to sit together?

What do you reckon?

[Rat750]

I'm not a fan of it. Arguments ensue when prepaid arrives to find someone sitting in their allocated seat who had no idea it was reserved. I like to decide where I'm going to sit when I get there.

[rharris]

I say no everything is going on line these days but as you say it means less jobs + the banks make a cut from the transaction

[Huggy]

Meh, Dilligaf.

but it is annoying when it causes arguments over seats when some people choose not to obey the seating allocation and sit in your seats... these people are normally way too rough looking to confront for fear of getting shanked and you end up sitting somewhere else and then have to hope that you look like the type not to piss off to the next people that come along and tell you your in their seats... it's a viscous cycle!
actually, if i had my time again i'd vote Hell no.

[Jezzabelle]

Allocated seats would be OK if it was obligatory to input your height during booking ya tickets so you don't get stuck behind a tall bastard...

[Captain Starfish]

I don't go any more to at least one cinema that introduced this bullshit.

[Roger Explosion]

I don't go any more to at least one cinema that introduced this bullshit.

ditto. Reading are the only place that get my money when I plan things.

Sent using Tapatalk Nokia Beta version.

[Drasius]

Allocated seating can fuck right off. I rarely go to the movies, but one time I got this allocated crap and despite the session having only <20 people in attendance, they put me right next to a bunch of 12 year olds who wouldn't shut the hell up. I move a couple of rows back and some dude comes in 30 minutes into the movie and tells me I'm sitting in his seat. Seriously, FFS, there were at least 200 seats free, I'm sure you could manage to not be that anal about the seating arangements.

In conclusion; Go DIAF allocated seating, nobody likes you.

[XXX3]

It's fucked, option E. They seem to fill the cinema in groups too, so even if the session is only say 25% full, everyone ends up sitting in row A, M, or Z depending on their front/middle/back preference. I don't know whether they do that coincidentally, or if it's due to policy, or perhaps it's because the staff are massive jerks.

Also, pertinently, I don't know where I want to seat until I see the cinema. Went there with a lady friend recently and when we get into the cinema we notice the paired seats... if we were aware of these seats when we bought our ticket, we would have requested them.

[SweeT]

I am a organised person..but when the movie starts to get booked out u have people leaving a seat between them and other people so there may be 3 seats spare in the row but all in different spots...so you have to end up sitting at the front!

[Ryven]

I've never been overly concerned about where I sit in the cinemas. As long as I don't end up in the first couple of rows where it's a matter of looking up at an awkward angle, the remaining 80% or so of the seats are fine with me. Some of my friends, on the other hand, get overly stressed about this matter. Our group must be seated central, and no closer to the screen than four rows from the back. Oh how I miss having to queue to see half an hour of blank screen, followed by 15-20 minutes of trailers.

[Roger Explosion]

I've never been overly concerned about where I sit in the cinemas. As long as I don't end up in the first couple of rows where it's a matter of looking up at an awkward angle, the remaining 80% or so of the seats are fine with me. Some of my friends, on the other hand, get overly stressed about this matter. Our group must be seated central, and no closer to the screen than four rows from the back. Oh how I miss having to queue to see half an hour of blank screen, followed by 15-20 minutes of trailers.

I'm shocked and stunned.

[Scott52]

I hate it ... some MBA type probably came up with the idea and gave it no depth of thought as to how it works in the real world.

Here's a copy an email I sent to Hoyts four years ago ... never got a reply.

My wife and I went to the cinema tonight (31/12/07). When we purchased our tickets at the counter we were told we had allocated seats. I thought "They must have ushers now to show us to our seats because this will not work unless they have ushers" So we enter the cinema and there are no attendents so you supposedly just go to your allocated seat. After finding our seats one of them was already taken by someone else. The lady said that she was supposed to be somewhere else but her seats were also occupied by other people. We took unoccupied seats as close to our allocated seats as possible. Five minutes later a couple turned up wanting the seats we were in. We end up in conflict with other patrons which spoiled the evening. The system is unworkable without attendents/ushers. What happens if you book online and choose certain seats and when you arrive you have a couple of young "hotheats" in your seats. They are not going to move because you have booked online. Change the system please.